The captain hollers to a crewmember standing nearby and he goes over to the dinghy and with the help of two others, gets it ready to be lowered overboard.

“Good luck to you boys,” the captain says.

“Sorry to have endangered your vessel,” James says to him. The captain just nods his head.

Grabbing a very unhappy Miko, he makes his way down to the main deck where the dinghy is already on the other side of the rail, ready to be lowered.

Coming to the rail, he climbs over into the waiting dinghy. Once he’s in, he turns back and helps Miko. Jiron climbs in after Miko and when they’re all settled in on the seats, the sailors begin to slowly lower them to the choppy water below. A sailor comes to the railing and tosses their packs down to them.

Once the dinghy is resting upon the water, James and Jiron release the ropes and the sea begins to drag them away from the ship.

The sea quickly takes them, and pulls them away from the ship. Waves crash over the sides of the dinghy as the wind pummels them with rain and spray. James looks back to the ship as the gap between them widens rapidly and sees the captain watching them as they drift further away.

The warship must’ve noticed them there in the dinghy for it changes its course slightly as it begins bearing down upon them.

Chapter Three

The dinghy rocks in the waves, all three holding on and praying they don’t tip over. A large wave crashes into them, causing the dinghy to pitch precariously. Miko screams as the edge of the dinghy dips into the water, but then the wave passes by and it once again rights itself. The amount of water in the bottom is growing by the minute.

“We’re not going to last much longer!” Jiron hollers over the roar of the storm.