Shipwreck Island by S. A. Bodeen Page A

dad to remark, “Sweetie, are you okay?”
    Sarah scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head. “I just want the boat to stop moving!”
    John put an arm around her and crushed her face into his smelly life jacket. “We’ll make it through this,” he said. “The storm has to end at some point. And I’m sure the skipper knows what he’s doing up there.”
    Sarah thought her dad did not seem the least bit convinced. His words, despite brimming with reassurance, did nothing to comfort her. She wrapped her arms around her knees and wished to stop moving, to be still. Sarah held her breath, willed her body to freeze, but the boat itself wouldn’t stop the constant motion. Even if she stopped her own trembling, the boat refused to do the same.
    Yvonna’s voice was shaky as she asked, “How long do you think it’ll last?”
    John shook his head. “I have no idea. I don’t get how we could go from clear skies to this so quickly.”
    Sarah wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it herself. The stars had been there above her, the sky full of them, and then they’d just blinked away.
    Ahab nudged her arms and she lifted one, letting him snuggle up to her. His warm body felt comforting, and she put an arm around him. “It’s okay, boy.”
    Nacho sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Maybe we should try and go to sleep.”
    Yvonna ruffled his hair. “Are you tired?”
    Nacho shook his head. “I was hoping I could go to sleep and it would be all over. Like when there’s a tornado watch at home, and you tuck me in the sofa bed in the basement, and when I wake up, it’s all over.”
    Marco snorted. “You sleep through everything.”
    But to Sarah, Marco sounded like he wanted that storm to be over as much as everyone else did. Maybe it was just easier to make fun of his brother than admit he agreed with him.
    The sailboat lurched, more violently than before, and Sarah called out, “Dad!”
    But John was staggering from one side of the galley to the other as the boat jerked, and then he started up the steps.
    Yvonna yelled, “You can’t go up there!”
    John stopped, took a deep breath, and then faced her. “What if he needs help?”
    Sarah stood up, wobbling with the sway of the boat, and then dug her hands gently into Ahab’s fur. He led her to the galley. “Dad! Don’t go.”
    â€œI have to see if there’s something I can do to help save…” Then he pushed on the door to the deck. He twisted back around. “Marco, can you help? It’s jammed.”
    Marco climbed the few steps to the hatch and stood beside him. Together, they pushed and managed to open it a bit before it slammed shut. John said, “The wind is too strong! We have to try again.”
    Suddenly, there was a loud CRACK and something slammed hard above them, causing the boat to shudder momentarily.
    â€œDad!”
    Ahab was on his feet, barking at the hatch, trying to get past John, who glanced back at Sarah, before shoving his body into the door. “We’ve got to get this open!”
    Marco stood beside him and they managed to get the door open. John slid through and was gone, Ahab at his heels, a burst of seawater pouring in where they stood as the door slammed shut.
    I have to see if there’s something I can do to save …
    Sarah hadn’t heard the end of his sentence. But she could imagine what he said, and she filled in the last few words.… the boat. Us.
    They were in just as much trouble as she suspected they were.
    She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that somehow, someway, her dad and the skipper would save them all.

 
    12
    Dripping wet and out of breath, Marco leaned against the closed hatch. How could John go back out there? The wind, the rain, the weather conditions in general … Marco had been so glad to get back inside, even though, with