Free Lost Republic by Paul B. Thompson Page B

her away, but she was easily his size and just as strong.
    â€œLeave me alone, rich boy! You don’t care about your things, but I want mine!”
    He put his face inches from hers. “You’re going to die! What good are ‘things’ to you then?”
    To underline his words, the
Carleton
gave a savage lurch. The distinct sound of flowing water reached them. Eleanor lost all the color in her face.
    â€œOh my god,” she gasped. “We’re sinking!”
    Emile grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her toward the door. At the last instant, Eleanor grabbed a photo from the stubbornly open suitcase. It was an LCD picture of her and her mom, taken outside the Parliament building in London.
    In the corridor, they discovered the water they heard wasn’t the sea filling the ship; it was from the fire extinguisher system overhead. They groped along the crazy, slanted corridor to the steps and started up. In the lounge they ran into Ms. Señales and a pair of worried sailors.
    â€œWhat are you doing here? Get to the boats!” she said.
    Emile nodded and kept going, dragging Eleanor by her unburned arm. On deck, Brock berated them both for leaving during an emergency.
    â€œI went to find Miss Quarrel,” Emile replied. Eleanor had never heard him sound so humble. “No one missed her but me.”
    The second lifeboat was in the water. Leigh, Mr. Chen, Kiran Trevedi, and France pulled on the oars. Their technique wasn’t any better than the first boat’s, but by sheer determination they managed to get away from the dying
Carleton
.
    They put Eleanor and Emile in the third boat first. More passengers filled in behind them. The fourth was hung up on its crane. Crewmen swarmed over it, hammering and tugging to free it.
    There was a lull in the terrible blows striking the ship. Eleanor slumped low in the boat. She didn’t like seeing that they were dangling a dozen meters above the ocean. While there, she cast a secret eye at her rescuer. Emile risked his life to bring her up on deck. He was weird, but maybe he wasn’t so bad.
    The third lifeboat rode the waves at last. Some of the men got them under way. The fourth lifeboat, freed of its snag, came screeching down behind them. It held the last of the passengers.
    The ship’s list was so severe now, the boat cranes wouldn’t work.
Carleton
’s crew launched an inflatable life raft. Sailors began leaping into the water to swim to the raft until Brock and Captain Viega stopped them. Their comrade Ramundo had gone into the water and never come up. There must be rocks or shoals down there, holding the ship and transmitting the awful shocks from shore. Diving in was a good way to break your neck.
    The first boat, laden with women and kids, crawled to the beach. Fortunately, the surf wasn’t high, and the boat washed up with a gentle bump. Linh and a woman at the bow leaped into the water with lines and dragged the boat higher onto the sand.
    â€œEveryone out!”
    The boat emptied. The sailor on the rudder and the four rowers remained.
    â€œBack to the ship?” asked Jenny. The sailor nodded.
    With much grunting and yelling, the women on the beach pushed the boat back into the surf. Getting used to their task, Jenny and the other rowers turned about and slowly paddled back to the
Carleton
.

Chapter 8
    Wet from the waist down, Julie pushed her hair out of her face and gazed at the stricken ship. Leaning way over, with smoke and steam leaking from every vent and port, the
Carleton
looked like a set from a disaster movie.
    â€œDoesn’t look so bad from here,” said Linh quietly. Julie almost laughed.
    Some children tried to head up the beach, exploring until their mothers called them back. They made them sit down on the sand facing the ship. Surprisingly, they all did as they were told.
    Linh looked up and down the wide band of sand. It was a remarkably empty beach. No driftwood. No drying strands