Page 86 of Guarding Bristol

“Ohmygod,” she cried, and ran for the bow.Blood was spattered across part of the port wall and deck.Her heart lurched.TJ...

She spun around, squinting through the driving wind and rain to scan the roiling ocean.The boat that had attacked them was speeding away.There was no sign of TJ or her captor anywhere.Had TJ been killed?Was he aboard the other boat?

Fighting tears, she continued searching the water, looking frantically in every direction.Her distance vision was shit without her glasses, but she thought someone’s head and shoulders appeared between the waves off the port stern.

TJ!

Not knowing for sure if it was him, she spun back around, spotted a life ring tied to the side of the seating area and fumbled to get it undone.The person in the water was too far away for her to get the ring to him.She rushed to the helm, turned the wheel to steer back toward him, but after ten seconds nothing had happened and the dot in the waves was even farther away.Either the wind and waves were pushing her out to sea, or the fire had disabled the steering mechanism.

She rushed back to the railing.“TJ!”she shouted, praying it was him, and that he could somehow keep his head above the surface.Dammit, she couldn’t see him anymore.

She cupped her hands around her mouth.Leaned her stomach against the railing to yell with all her might.“Swim for the life ring!”It was his only chance.

She gripped it with both hands, turned her body sideways, and hurled it as hard as she could away from the boat.The wind caught it.It hit the top of a wave and slid down the other side at least twenty yards from where she’d seen the person.But it was all she could do.

The boat pitched sharply to port.She grabbed the railing, managed to catch her balance just in time to stop from falling overboard, but a big wave crashed over the edge, knocking her backward and soaking her from head to feet.Sputtering, she climbed to her feet and staggered through the ankle-high water covering the deck to the helm.The smoke at the stern rose in a tall black column into the thick clouds above, the wind whipping it out behind the boat like a banner.

Bristol gripped the helm and tried to turn back toward shore, shaking from a mixture of shock and fear and cold.Her teeth chattered, rain pelting her head and face.

The boat didn’t respond.She tried turning the other way.Nothing.

More waves crashed over the deck, rushing down the open hatch into the cabin.And she prayed it was just her imagination, but it felt like the boat was listing to the rear.

Glancing behind her, a new shockwave of fear hit when she realized the boat was slowly sinking at the stern.She looked around frantically, finally spotted a compartment marked life jacket in the helm station and ripped it open.She grabbed the first fluorescent orange vest she found and quickly put it on.

There was a radio nearby.She didn’t have a clue how to use it, but if she could perform and read medical ultrasounds, she could damn well figure out how to operate this thing.And she’d just seen a show a couple weeks ago about a sinking fishing boat in Alaska.There was a specific frequency they used to call the Coast Guard.She was sure the channel was somewhere in the teens.

She found the power button to turn it on, then grabbed the handset and started looking for the button to switch channels.There was a red one with sixteen printed on it.She hit it, then pressed the key on the mic.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday.”She knew that much.“Can anyone read me?I’m on board a small boat...”There was a fancy painted wooden sign hanging near the helm, and the name on it matched what was on her life vest.“Sea Siren.It's on fire and taking on water.Unsure of my location.Over.”

She released the key, her pulse thudding in her ears as she awaited a response from someone.Anyone.

“This is US Coast Guard Air Station North Bend,” a male voice said.“Mayday relayed,Sea Siren.”

Thank you, God.

The pressure of tears burned the backs of her eyes, her throat as she kept going.“Another vessel shot at us.”Her words came out fast, as fast as the gunfire earlier, her jaw trembling.Her whole body was, her breathing rapid and shallow.“Two other people aboard went overboard a few minutes ago.I spotted one in the water about twenty or thirty yards from the boat before I lost sight of them.I don’t think either of them were wearing a life vest.”

She was shaking all over, trying to keep her teeth from chattering so they could understand her.Wanted to cry at the thought of TJ lost in the water, drowning.Maybe already gone.The other guy?Fuck him.She hoped a passing shark ripped his limbs off and left him to sink to the bottom.“Please help,” she added, voice wobbling.“Over.”

“We read you.What is your current location?Over.”

She grabbed hold of the ledge as another wave tipped the boat sideways, stumbled before finding her balance.“I’m n-not sure.”Don’t cry.You have to be strong.She looked behind her.“I was taken aboard as a hostage with a blindfold on.But I can still see the marina behind me, and it’s close to Crimson Point.”The coastline was to her right.“I think I’m drifting northwest.”

The boat tipped again, the sharpest yet.She dropped the mic, grabbed hold of the back of the seat to stop from slamming into the wall.The stern was sinking faster now.A gust of wind blew thick, oily smoke into the cabin.She coughed, covered her nose and mouth with the inside of her elbow and looked frantically through the windscreen toward the bow.It seemed to be rising out of the water.

The Coast Guardsman was saying something else through the radio, but the smoke was too thick in here.She grabbed hold of the doorframe and fumbled her way back out onto the deck, forced to lean forward to stay on her feet as she made her way toward the bow.

She looked around, squinting and throwing a hand up to try and shield her eyes from the pelting rain.The other vessel that had attacked them was long gone.Off to her right, the shoreline stretched out in a fuzzy haze of browns and grays.It might be closer than it looked, but without her glasses she couldn’t be sure.Behind her, she could just make out the harbor and the masts of the boats moored there.

But there was no further sign of anyone in the water.

A powerful gust of wind kicked up a giant wave over the bow.It hit her hard enough to knock her to her knees.She managed to keep hold of the railing, both feet braced against the edge of the deck to stop from sliding into the water.

Her muscles shook all over as the cold wind raked over her, making the water feel like ice. The stern continued to sink lower into the water.She didn’t have much time left before she would be forced to abandon ship.

Icy fingers clenched around the metal railing, she huddled up into a ball to try and conserve body heat, and shut her eyes.She’d done everything she could to save herself.The Coast Guard was sending someone.She would hold on here, stay aboard as long as she could before resorting to jumping in the water.

---