Slaves of Elysium Read Online Free PDF Page B

returned to their posts and the Galatea started off once more.
    Another hour passed.
    Nothing changed.
    The fog did not thin and the sun, if it was the sun, hung motionless in the haze.
    Jeni found herself slowly loosing all sense of time. She glanced at her watch more and more often but found it scant reassurance. Once she could have sworn that at least fifteen minutes had passed yet it showed barely a minute, while later an hour slipped by almost unnoticed.
    She began to see shapes emerging out of the fog that melted away before she could call out a warning. In fact it was only her mind desperate to fill the grey veil with something to satisfy her imagination.
    After another three hours they paused for a hasty meal. Little was said and they ate in silence, each occupied with their own thoughts.
    Shortly after they resumed their cautious journey Jeni heard raised voices from the fly bridge. Glancing round she saw Rebecca was shouting at Devereaux, who was trying in vain to placate her. Jeni could hear an edge of fear in her tone, but mainly it suggested incredulous frustration. All her life Rebecca had got what she wanted when she wanted it. Now for the first time she was experiencing an obstacle to her wishes that could not be removed by wealth or influence, and she did not know how to cope.
    With a final bitter retort Rebecca vanished from Jeni’s sight. She heard her feet pounding down the bridge steps as she made for the saloon, and then from below deck came the slam of her cabin door. Shortly afterwards Rebecca’s CD player came on loudly, drowning the throb of the engines as it blasted out music to fill the silence. The fog swallowed the sound as it did everything else.
    Jeni realised Devereaux was looking down at her imploringly. ‘I’ll do my best,’ she said, and while he doubled as forward lookout, she went below and knocked on the door of Rebecca’s cabin. ‘Mr Devereaux is worried about you, miss,’ she called. ‘Are you all right?’
    â€˜Go away!’ Rebecca shouted angrily.
    â€˜Can I do anything for you, miss?’
    â€˜No, go away!’ The music went up another notch, so Jeni relayed Rebecca’s response to Devereaux and returned to her post at the bow.
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    After six hours Ash and Devereaux cut the motors and let the Galatea glide to a stop. The ripples rolled away into the fog and the water stilled again as though they had never been.
    â€˜We’ve covered better than a hundred and twenty miles and apparently got nowhere,’ Ash said to Jeni as the three of them gathered by the lower helm. ‘The radio and compasses are also still out. I don’t know what’s screwed up the weather so badly, but I do know we all need to rest. I’ve been awake twenty-four hours straight now and Mark and you for not much less. We’re going to start making stupid mistakes if we don’t rest. Maybe we can think of a new line to take with fresh minds.’
    â€˜Shouldn’t somebody keep watch?’ Jeni asked.
    â€˜Normally yes, but this isn’t exactly normal. We have to take the risk. The collision alarm is on. I’ll sleep on the couch here with the radio open on the emergency channel. Mark says he’ll sleep on the fly bridge sunbed. You go to your cabin. But keep your lifejacket ready.’
    It was a sensible plan and they followed it.
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    Despite her weariness Jeni found it hard to sleep.
    She drew the curtains over the portholes and lay on her bed. But the unchanging light seemed to penetrate the fabric and she tossed and turned, going over their strange situation. It was odd that, though she was unsettled and apprehensive, she was not as deeply fearful as she would have expected in the circumstances. Was fear partly due to a lessening of personal choices? Perhaps she was relatively unafraid because she never expected to determine the course of her life. She was used to being at the beck and call of others, and now