Burnt Sea: A Seabound Prequel (Seabound Chronicles Book 0) Read Online Free PDF

they
entered the ship, climbed onto the empty reception desk. She had a glass cup in
her hand that she must have found in the lobby somewhere. She hurled it to the
floor behind the desk with a smash and shouted, “Shut up and listen, people!”
    In the sudden silence following the crash, she turned to Simon
expectantly. Red-rimmed, frightened eyes followed her gaze. He nodded at her
and cleared his throat.
    “Okay. Sorry to yell,” Simon said. “I think we need to stay calm and
figure out what’s going on.”
    “Stay calm!” The suited man roused from his stupor. “Did you see that
cloud?”
    “We’ve been nuked I tell you!” shouted a voice from the back. “It’s
already too late!” A few heads nodded in agreement.
    “We’re poisoned!” said a middle-aged woman wearing a wide hat with
sunglasses swinging from the neck of her polo shirt. She clutched at her
throat.
    “I was just outside.” Simon spoke slowly, as if he were soothing a
frightened horse. “I saw the cloud. But the wind currents are keeping the ash
close to land. As long as the ship keeps moving out to sea, we should be okay.”
He had no idea if that was true or not. How
long does radiation take to kick in if you aren’t in the initial blast? It
had to be almost immediate at this range, and his skin was still firmly
attached to his body.
    “What happened out there?” asked the elderly woman who had shushed her
husband. She appeared to be one of the passengers.
    “Are we at war?” asked an old man with a thick accent.
    “Was it the terrorists?”
    “I don’t know what happened,” Simon said, “but panicking won’t help
right now.” He stayed still, fighting to use his best, authoritative teacher
voice, the one he used to calm students the day before a big final. “I think we
need to focus on helping this lady and getting the kids calmed down. We should
also find the captain.”
    One by one the adults—and some of the teenagers—nodded.
They looked at him anxiously, waiting for him to tell them what to do.
    “ Uhhh , okay. Let’s try to arrange care for
any injuries. Does anyone here have medical training?”
    Nobody volunteered. The ship had to have a doctor or a nurse. Someone
else should be taking control by now, telling them where to go. All Simon
wanted to do was search for Esther, but the crowd was still watching him. They
huddled together, strangers pressed against strangers, many whimpering.
    “Maybe we should move further into the ship,” Simon said finally. “It’s
pretty crowded here. Is there a central meeting area or dining hall or something?”
    “We can go to the plaza,” said one of the passengers. “It has space for
hundreds.”
    “Good. Let’s try to get everyone together there. And let’s find someone
official from the cruise who can help us.” He singled out the older couple.
“Would you two please take all the children out of here so we can give the lady
some space? And would you”—he turned to an Asian woman with an ID card on
a lanyard around her neck—“please ask around for anyone with medical
training?”
    On cue the pregnant woman hollered again. Simon felt like throwing up.
He went over to the group surrounding her as the people he had delegated leapt
to their duties.
    “Will you be able to move her?” he asked quietly. The blood smell was
stronger.
    “It’s too late,” said a tiny older woman with long lavender hair. “This
child’s coming any second.”
    “Okay, we’ll get out of your way,” Simon said.
    “What can I do to help?” The blond jogger had climbed down off the
desk.
    “Can you find the bridge?” Simon said, turning toward her. She looked
scared but determined, and she’d already proved she could keep a cool head.
“See if you can find the captain or an officer to take over.”
    “No problem,” she said. She gave a sharp nod, setting her ponytail
swinging.
    “Thanks. Sorry, what’s your name?”
    “Judith.”
    “I’m Simon.”
    Judith bared her