Page 7 of Deep Waters

Jacob sighed. “I heard it over the radio. It seems hard to believe, but I’ve been working around this station my whole life, and there’s very little that surprises me anymore. When the crew goes out in that boat, they’re trained to expect the unexpected.”

“Shit. He looked so young, too. Just a kid, really.”

“Don’t dwell on that. You saw him. If it wasn’t for you, he would still be out there with no one to take care of him. That’s what you have to remember.” The kettle came to the boil. Jacob made the tea and added a good splash of milk. He brought the mug to Christian with a plate of biscuits. “Eat these. The sugar is good for shock. You’ll need it.”

Christian thanked him. The biscuits were dry and difficult to swallow, but with a slurp of hot tea, he got them down. As he raised the mug to his mouth, he realised how badly his hand was shaking.

He jerked his head as the door of the crew room opened. It was Harry. The young man looked like he’d aged ten years since Christian had last seen him. His wet hair was plastered to his face. Water ran down his brow and dripped from the end of his nose and chin. His clothes clung to his body. Exhaustion was written clear across his face. Jacob brought him another towel and told him to sit.

“How is he?” Christian asked. “Niko?”

Harry opened his mouth to speak and faltered. He swallowed and inhaled before slowly shaking his head.

“Shit,” Christian gasped.

“Oh, no.” Jacob sagged against the kitchen counter.

The boy was dead. Suddenly, nothing seemed real. A heavy pulse sounded in Christian’s head, obscuring everything, and for a moment, he felt detached from it all, floating in another space and time. Harry’s voice snapped him back to the present.

“There was nothing the paramedics could do. They think we lost him out there. He was dead by the time we brought him in.”

Hot, silent tears rolled down Christian’s cheeks. “He was alive when we pulled him onboard.”

“Don’t blame yourselves,” Jacob said, “either of you. You did everything you could. You brought him home. Without you, his family would be left wondering where he was tonight.”

Wherever they thought he was, Christian couldn’t imagine it was dead on the deck of a tourist boat.Jesus. The poor people likely had no idea yet—not until they received the knock on the door that no one ever wanted to receive.

“Are you all right?” he asked Harry.

The nod was almost imperceptible. “When I was on the crew here, the aim was always to bring them back alive. The alternative is never easy.”

“No, but you were great. You did everything possible,” Christian told him. “From the moment we saw him, you were calm and decisive. I wouldn’t have been the same in your position. I think…the damage was already done. He must have lost so much blood in the water. He was barely alive when we found him.”

Harry turned to look at him. His eyes were moist and dark with sorrow. For the first time, Christian noticed the shades of hazelnut flecked with amber within them. Instinctively, Christian put his arm around Harry’s shoulder and pulled him close. Harry fell against him without resistance, and they stayed like that for several minutes. There was no need to speak. They took comfort from each other as they dealt with their deep, mutual sadness.

The spell was broken when the door opened again. As he came inside, Tom looked even more beaten down and weary than Harry did.

“They police are here,” he said. “They want statements from all of us.”

“Okay.” Harry made a move to stand.

“No,” Jacob said. “You’re wet, freezing and in shock. You’re not going back out there yet. Stay here. Have another cup of tea. I’ll tell the police they can speak to you in here.” He refilled the kettle and passed another towel to Tom. “Sit by the radiator. Get warmed up.”

Jacob left, and Tom did as he was asked. Christian, who had thawed out more than the other two, got up and set about making another round of tea.

“What are they saying now?” Harry asked.

“Not much.” Tom’s voice was flat, like he was disconnected from it all. “There’s a real fucking crowd at the door of the station, though. News travels fast. It’s just as well we stay in here out of the way. Stew Wallace is stopping everyone he sees, wanting to know what happened. He’s a fucking old gossip. Got nothing better to do than talk about other people. He’ll be in the pub later, holding court and making out like he knows it all. God, he gets on my tits at times, that man.”

“Ghouls,” Harry muttered. “Are any of Niko’s family there?”

“No. They probably don’t even know yet.”

“I hope the police get to them before any of those nosey bastards do.”

Christian handed out the fresh mugs of tea and topped up the plate of biscuits for Tom and Harry. “What did the police say?”

“Not a lot. Just that we shouldn’t leave until they’ve spoken to us.”

---