Trapped in Time-Extinction Read Online Free PDF Page B

wheel on the rear of the ship and felt a range of emotions. She wanted to hate him, she longed to hate him for what he had done to her…but she couldn’t drag it out. He had saved her life, but that didn’t excuse what he had done to her. Did it? She wept and felt despair followed by depression. He was going to die. She knew how dangerous the waters around the Destroyer’s City were and there was no chance he would live.
    She hated and adored him simultaneously. She stayed at the cliff watching the ship until it disappeared. She was too weak to stand and continued to sit in the pouring rain. The community accepted her but kept their distance. Her brutality to him had made her a pariah. Everyone was nice and civil but they kept their distance. The only one that seemed to care about her had just sailed off trying to save her younger sister. She shook her head for an hour and then realized that he had done more than save her life. He had treated her better than he knew how. She forced herself to her feet and wished she had been able to thank him for all he had done. She stumbled up the hill and went to her quarters…alone.
    • • •
    The ship was flying and Zeck had several sails lowered to prevent the ship from catching up with the storm. The new sails were lighter than the cloth they replaced and they held the breeze better as well. The crew kept the sails trimmed and Zeck held the ship in the wind’s grip. He felt alive again. Sailing was something he did exceptionally well and he loved it. He was four weeks away from the land ruled by the Destroyers and soon the storm had out run them. The sky remained overcast with patches of blue peeking through occasionally and he kept looking for the next storm and one night it dawned on him: what if the next storm was also a violent one? If there had been five, why couldn’t there be seven? He began to worry that this voyage may be a big mistake. The ship continued heading east and he woke on the first day of the fourth week and saw the dark skies to the west. The next storm was approaching and it was coming fast. He rang the ships bell and roused the crew to the deck. “Get every sail out! We have to get close to land before this storm blows over!”
    He looked at the horizon and saw the storm was not gaining on him once he had every sail out. The ship was flying over the water at a speed he had never approached before. He looked to the east and saw the sun moving above the horizon. He squinted and saw a large cloud rising high into the air. He shook his head and knew it had to be the volcano fifty miles to the east of the Destroyer’s main city. He turned the ship’s wheel and turned the vessel north. They had made the trip much faster than normal. They would be moving in close to land within twenty four to thirty six hours. He had to slow down and allow the storm to pass him. “Lower two sails.”
    Rory came up on the deck and saw the dark skies in the west, “What’s going on?”
    Zeck nodded behind Rory and said, “That cloud you see rising in the distance is a volcano fifty miles inland from the coast.”
    Rory stared at it and said, “We’re almost there.”
    “Yes we are and if we don’t wait for that storm behind us to pass, we may run into the pickets the Destroyers have anchored out from their domain. We also need to start moving north so we won’t be directly out from their city.” Rory stared at him and Zeck tilted his head, “I’ve never made this trip this fast. The new sails make a huge difference in speed.”
    Rory nodded and leaned against the back rail. The ship slowed to eight miles an hour and the dark skies behind them began moving closer. The first black clouds were rushing overhead and they could hear thunder in the distance. Zeck kept glancing over his shoulder and watched for lightning. He began seeing occasional flashes lighting up the skies…but they weren’t as numerous as they would have been in a really violent storm. Thank the