“Emily!” Sophie screams in the dark.

I scramble off the floor as vertigo races through me, feeling my way back onto the couch. “I’m here.” Holding her shaking form, the world stops spinning.

She sniffles. “What is going on?”

“I have no idea.” I gulp around a wave of nausea.

The whir of an engine roars and I blink at the No Signal message across the TV. “Well, at least the power’s back. But no more movie.”

“Think the storm will pass soon?” Sophie grabs a tissue from the end table.

I go to the window. Dark clouds still loom on the horizon, a light mist falling from the sky. “It’s slowing down.”

“Thank god!” Sophie flops onto the sofa, tucking the blanket around her.

I grab the DVD for Indy’s first movie and pop it in the player before squeezing in next to her. My phone beeps. “It’s Xander.”

“Everything okay?” Sophie leans in, her eyes puffy from crying.

“Yeah, he’s just checking on us. Guess it got hectic in the Hangar. Everyone’s fine, though, so they’re all calling it a night.”

“Feel that.” Sophie props her feet on the coffee table, resting her head on my shoulder.

I yawn. “Same. We’ll be meeting up for breakfast at regular time tomorrow.”

“Great, we can finish this movie and then go to bed.”

I hum in agreement as we fall into a comfortable silence. Raiders of the Lost Ark continues to play, but I can’t help my thoughts returning to the storm. I hope we never have to experience that again.

***

“Oh, fuck.” I stare at the three missed calls and five text messages. All from Xander. “We’re late!”

Sophie groans from her spot beside me on the couch.

“I need coffee.” I stumble to the closet for clothes.

Sophie wraps herself in the duvet. “Can we call in sick?”

“Ha! They wouldn’t believe it, even if we tried.” I throw on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans and grab the blanket from Sophie. “Get up, Soph!”

“No,” she whines.

I grab a breakfast bar from our mini kitchen and turn the coffeemaker on. “Don’t make me pour coffee on you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” She sits up to glare at me.

I arch a brow. “You wanna test it?”

She purses her lips. “No.” She plods to the closet and grabs some clothes before heading to the bathroom.

“You ready?” I pull out two cups to go as she comes back into the room.

She bobs her head, and we head to the elevators. “I hope the guys aren’t too mad at us for oversleeping.”

“I texted Xander and let him know. He seemed chill, especially given last night’s storm.” The pungent aroma of coffee fills my nostrils as I take a sip from the glass in my hand, the warmth expanding in my chest like a hug.

The elevator doors open on Deck Three and the smell of waffles slaps me in the face. “It’s unfortunate that we missed breakfast, though.”

“Yeah, I could go for a stack of pancakes,” Sophie sighs.

We pass the Caferia and make our way down the long corridor to the computer lab.

“Good morning, sleepyheads.” Xander waves his chocolate croissant at us.

I plop down in the chair beside him. “Sorry we’re late.”

“You’re here now.” Xander shrugs off my apology. “I brought some donuts from the Caferia, if you want some.”

Sophie plucks a glazed ring off the table before taking her seat. “You the man, Xan.”

“You know I am.” Xander winks at me.

I chuckle and grab a donut. “So, what did we miss?”

“Not much, except Nathan almost died last night.” Xander points at him.

Sophie’s jaw hits the floor. “What?”

“That boat was inches from flattening me like a pancake.” Nathan pops a piece of bacon in his mouth as he recounts the events. “We had almost all the equipment strapped down when the storm hit. Fortunately, Xander pulled me away before it could crush me, and we got it secured without further incident.”

Xander snorts. “I thought you were a goner, D-man.”

“Holy Shit. Are you okay?” Sophie’s eyes are round and intense.

Nathan shrugs. “We got lucky. That storm was worse than any I’ve experienced.”

“I was going to ask if storms are normally that intense out at sea.” The tang of raspberry explodes in my mouth as I take a bite of my donut.

Xander shakes his head. “Not like that. We’ve never lost everything. Even the Tower went dark.”

“The tower?” I frown.

“The thing that makes our phones function. I mean, among a few other things on board. How else do you think we run this ship? Only the best for Lucas Tech.” Xander smirks.

I look at Sophie. “Rich people.”

She nods and Nathan snickers.

Xander rolls his eyes.

“Did you guys see that bolt of lightning?” Sophie grabs a napkin. “It was so bright, I thought I was blind.”

I nod. “Me too. It was scary.”

“Nah, we couldn’t see outside. But it had to be massive to take the power out.” Xander checks his watch. “Want to get the live footage up?”

Nathan double-clicks on a link and a deep blue fills the screen. The depth counter reads fifteen thousand feet.

“Maybe we can plan a trip down to see it for ourselves soon.” I lean in my chair.

Sophie’s eyebrows shoot up. “You want to go back down?”

“Yeah, Em, you sure?” Xander grabs a can of Coke off the desk in front of him.

I lift a shoulder. “Why not?”

“Uh, because you’re claustrophobic and don’t like small spaces?” Sophie frowns at me.

I roll my eyes. “I’m facing my fears, Soph. And it wasn’t so bad last time.”

She arches an eyebrow. “Ok, who are you and what did you do to my best friend?”

“They’re almost at the bottom, guys.” Nathan interjects, nodding towards the computer monitor. Several translucent fish dart past as the ground comes into view.

Xander frowns as he checks coordinates and depth. “Hm. That’s odd.”

Sophie and I stare at the screen. Giant coral shelves speckle the silty bottom, alien-like creatures floating weightless through the anemone. “What’s odd?”

Xander pulls out his phone, dialing a number.

Nathan answers, “This is where the shipwreck should be.”

I glance at him. “You sure?”

“Yeah, checked the coordinates twice.” Nathan nods.

“Wait.” Sophie frowns. “Are you saying the shipwreck is gone? That’s impossible.”

Xander hangs up the phone. “Just confirmed with command in the Hanger. There’s no sign of the shipwreck anywhere.”

Editor: Shannon Hensley