فصل 95

florian

We made it to the top deck.

“Hang on to me,” I yelled to the old man.

“Wait. It’s slippery. Our shoes will slide,” shouted the shoemaker. “We must crawl.”

Hordes of people emerged onto the icy deck. A man began to run. His feet slipped out beneath him. His body sailed through the air, his back snapping in two against the ship’s rail before bouncing into the sea.

I saw a lifeboat, only half full, lowered into the water. It had two sailors in it. The winds and sea spray whipped against our faces, making it hard to see or even move. People scrambled to the next boat, fighting and jumping to get in. Someone cut the back rope but the front rope didn’t release. The boat overturned and dangled, spilling all of the people into the deep black to drown.

Screams of death filled my good ear. The other half of my head felt detached, muted.

“Where is your life vest?” yelled the shoemaker to me as he clutched the wandering boy.

I had been hiding. I hadn’t been issued a vest.

Some passengers dove off the ship rather than wait for a boat. Countless bodies bobbed in life vests in the water.

“Look for our girls,” said the shoemaker. “Where are the girls?”