Chapter Three
The alarm clock bolted to Kay's nightstand in her cabin projected 2:17 AM in its large, bold red numerals. She noticed this in the disorientation that came with being thrown out of bed and landing on the floor. She tried to stand up, but was thrown back down as the ship rocked violently back and forth. "Kay!" a panicked voice called as something pounded on her cabin door. She crawled toward the door, and managed to stand as she opened it.
"Kay?" Miguel asked as the ship lurched again, pitching him forward into Kay. They both fell backward into her cabin, Miguel landing on top of his best friend, his face just inches from hers. 'Whoa man,' he thought himself. 'There's a major crisis happening. Focus.' He carefully pushed himself up on his forearms and looked into Kay's semi-frightened eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.
"No," Kay replied bluntly, as he attempted to help her stand up, despite the ships consistent lurching. "What's happening?"
"I think we hit something," Miguel answered reluctantly.
Kay's eye's widened. "I knew this was going to happen!" she began to cry. "I knew it! We're all going to die!"
"Kay, calm down!" Miguel soothed as he took her in his arms. He really didn't want her to get hysterical, which he knew from experience would be her next reaction.
"Calm down? I'm gonna die! I don't know how to swim!" she wailed. Miguel grimaced at that reminder. He had almost forgotten why she was afraid of anything related to water.
When he and Kay were younger, around four or five, Luis would often take them swimming in the Youth Center's pool. One afternoon, Miguel had taken it upon himself to convince Kay that they were big kids and could go swimming by themselves. Kay had been reluctant at first, but quickly yielded to her best friend's pleas. She had never been a strong swimmer, but for some reason that day she decided to impress Miguel by swimming in the deep end.
After almost two minutes, Miguel realized that something had to be wrong since Kay wasn't surfacing. He jumped out of the pool and ran to get anyone he could find. Kay had spent almost a week in the hospital after that excursion, and hadn't gone near water since.
"Kay, I'm not going to let anything happen to you," Miguel tried to reassure as he held her. "But right now we've gotta get up to the top deck. The rest of the team is there. We have to go out onto the deck since the gate on the stairs won't open."
"Out there? Near the water?" Kay asked in disbelief. "No way!"
"Kay, do you trust me?" Miguel asked, looking her straight in the eye.
Kay sighed. It was always that question that ended up getting her into trouble. "Yes Miguel, I trust you," she answered reluctantly.
"Good, then let's go," Miguel led her out the door. "This is no big deal," he tried to reassure her. "Ships run into stuff all the time and everyone makes it safely to land."
"What about the Titanic?" Kay retorted. "Almost everybody drowned in the freezing water." Her eyes widened when she thought about what she had just said. "We're going to die of hypothermia in the freezing water!"
"Kay, we're off the coast of Flordia," Miguel said sensibly. "We're more likely to die from sharks eating us."
Kay stopped dead in her tracks. "I'd rather die by drowning in the freezing water."
"The only thing you're going to die from is old age," Miguel countered as he pulled her forward. "Now come on."
"This deck is awfully narrow," Kay fretted.
"Just hold on to the--" Miguel was cut off by the ship lurching again, throwing him off balance. When he looked up, Kay was gone. "Kay!" he yelled as he made his way to the edge of the deck. He looked over and felt his heart stop as he saw his best friend thrashing in the water. Without a moment's thought, Miguel dove in after her.
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