wrath of the Sea Queen (34 page)

"
Salma!  Answer me,
Love
.
"
  Ben called out to his wife.  This time
,
the response was immediate.

"
Ben?  How did you do that?
"
  Salma asked, astonished at the sudden sound of Ben's voice.

"
No time for that now.  Can you see the ship out the window?
"

"
Yes.
"

"
Good.  We are ready to
start
the rescue, but we need to coordinate.  We are going to pull the plane up against the ship, pop open the door, and then...
"

"
Ben, won't the plane flood when you open the door?  How will we get out?
"
 
Obvious c
oncern
emanated from
Salma's
words
.

"
I have an idea about that,
"
C
a
eli chimed in as she gently squeezed Salma's hand to let her know that she had been listening ever since Vin's
strong
presence brush
ed
by
her
awareness
to stabilize the connection between Ben and Salma. 
C
a
eli
was still sitting in the aisle beside Salma's seat, but didn't feel like making the effort it would take to stand up and move
in
to
a
seat.

"
C
a
eli,
thank goodness
!
  A
re you all right?
"
  Finally hearing his wife's voice brought Vin fully out of his drowsy haze.

"
F
ine
, Vin
.  I saw a long rope under the pilot's seat
earlier
.  If we could find a way for everyone to hold onto the rope, then it would be easier to exit the plane.  Your
C
oast
G
uard team could haul on the rope to help us climb out.  And if nobody stands directly in front of the water rushing in
side
, that should help, too.  What do you think?
"

"
It
s
ounds
almost
too
simple
; alt
hough, honestly, I cannot
think of anything better
.  Can you two get that done?
"
  Ben answered.

"
Sure.  Give us fifteen minutes and then check with Salma again,
"
C
a
eli assured
Ben that they could handle it.

Then, without warning, she
dropped out of
the conversation as abruptly as she had joined it
.

"
Salma, where did she go?
"
  Vin asked, alarmed by her sudden departure.

"
Apparently, she is already working on it.  I told you she was acting odd, but right now, it's not a bad thing.  I
should
go help her.
"

"
Ok.  Fifteen minutes.  S
ee you s
oon,
Love
,
"
Ben reassured Salma
before the con
nection
ended
.

Ben stood up, but Vin stayed seated on the cot.  Ben looked down at him and noticed the furrowed brow and concern
lining
his face.

"
What's wrong, Vin?  What did I miss?
"

"
Salma was right.  C
a
eli is acting strange.  There is something more going on than she said, and she made sure I didn't get the chance to find out
what it was or question her about it
.  I don't like it
.
"

Vin
was puzzled by
C
a
eli's
aloof
behavior.
  It wasn't like her at all.
  He knew her well enough to know that
there was something
troubling her.

"
If the situation were any different, Salma would have told us,
"
Ben tried to offer Vin some reassurance.

"
Then it must be something only C
a
eli is aware of and isn't sharing.
"

"
Well, we can't do anything about it until we get them out of there.  So
let's
deal with rescuing them first,
"
Ben suggested.

They walked out into the steering room and relayed the revised plan to the captain, who was amazed that Ben had a means of personal communication that
could
get through to the plane.
  The captain was naturally curious, but Ben quickly dissuaded him from
asking
too many questions on the matter.

The
captain
maneuvered
the ship
into place alongside the wreckage
, and
the plane
was
secured against the hull as close as possible.  Crewm
e
n, along with Ben and Vin, moved into
place
at the railing and down the sides of the cargo net
.  They
prepared to help pull the survivors on board.  Ben and Vin
were assigned
positions where the railing opened, one on each side, attached with safety lines.  Since they did not have the proper gear, they were not permitted to help at the plane's door
as Vin
had
asked to do
.  Instead, they would help haul the passengers onto the deck as they reached the top of the cargo net. 

Once on deck,
guardsmen
and additional crew
took charge of the survivo
rs
, escorting them
to a
starboard
bunkroom
, just off the side of the mess hall
below deck, that had been
made ready with blankets, pillows, and dry
clothing
.  The ship's doctor
gear
ed
up
the infirmary for those who might need his help.  The
kitchen
crew was preparing a meal so that once the rescue was complete, the survivors
, guests,
and crew would be able to restore some of their vitality with a good
, hot
meal. 

The rain beg
an
to pick up again, and spray from the waves
drenched
the rescue workers.  It was going to be
very busy for the next hour or more on deck
.

On the plane, C
a
eli, Salma, and the pilot got every
one
ready
.  The passengers were all given a place in line and told to w
rap
their right wrists one time around the rope.  They were spaced as close together as they could be so that the exit could
be
made quickly, but without stepping on each other.  The co-pilot would exit first, followed by Salma,
and then Apela would carry Max
, the businessm
e
n
and other passengers
,
the redhead,
C
a
eli, and the pilot
last
.
 
As C
a
eli moved along the line, checking to make sure that everyone was secure, Max reached
out
and grabbed her hand.  She stopped and knelt down beside him.

"
Hi
,
Max.  Do you need something?
"
  C
a
eli smiled at him.

"I'm scared, pretty
C
a
eli
."

"That's ok, Max.  Honestly, I'm a bit scared myself, but everything will be fine,"
C
a
eli
smiled and tussled Max's hair.

"Are you sure?"  Max's skepticism seemed perfectly reasonable.

"Yes.  Do you know why?"

"Why"

"Because Vin is on that ship keeping an eye on me.  As long as
I know that
Vin
is here, everything will be all right."

Max considered her answer before continuing.

"
Ok then.  But
I have to tell you a secret
, pretty
C
a
eli
.  It's important.
"