Free Seabound (Seabound Chronicles Book 1) by Jordan Rivet Page A

thriving community. Nothing moved on its decks.
    A spotlight from
the Catalina illuminated the name on the hull written in swirling, faded
letters: Orchid . Hanging above the name was a banner, clearly handmade
from a salvaged bit of sailcloth. In red paint, it read, “Disease. Stay Away.”
    The message
rippled through the crowd and made its way inside to the people who hadn’t been
able to fit on the decks. Disease. A humming silence descended on the Catalina .
The Orchid simply floated: no engines, no lights, no life.
    “Dear God,” Simon
whispered.
    “I saw them coming
on radar,” Neal said. “Thought it might have been a glitch because I got
complete radio silence.”
    “Ever talked to
them before?” Esther asked.
    “No. We’re already
outside of our normal drift range, what with the running storm and all.” He
glanced at Simon.
    “I remember this
ship,” said a deep voice behind them.
    Esther jumped.
Reggie had pushed through the crowd to join them. He put his rough hands on the
railing. A patch of grease glinted on his dark skin.
    “We’ve met them?”
she asked.
    “No, from before.
When I was looking for work on the ships, one of my buddies landed a job on the Orchid . She docks in Boston, on the East Coast.”
    “How’d they get
here?” The Catalina had never left the Pacific Ocean. It was plenty big
enough for their needs.
    “Tierra del Fuego,
I expect,” Reggie answered. “This ship is a long way from home.”
    “Do you think
anyone’s still around over there?”
    “Seems awfully
quiet.” The four of them stared up at the big ship.
    “What’ll we do
about her?” Esther asked.
    An idea came to
her. The Orchid must have a good desalination system, maybe even one
that used the same type of filters they did. If the ship was empty, or if only
a fraction of the inhabitants had survived, they might be able to take some of
their materials to repair the Catalina ’ssystem. It was a risk to dock with the Galaxy
Flotilla with so many unknown
ships and people , but the Orchid . . .
    Judith’s voice
crackled through the loudspeakers. “Attention please, everyone.” She had
climbed up to the bridge wing, a thin exposed balcony along the side of the
bridge. She had a death grip on the mic for the loudspeaker and a sour look on
her face. Judith hated interacting with other ships on the rare occasions they
encountered them. She ordered the navigation team to steer clear of strangers
whenever possible. “We have a situation on our hands. We have been unable to
make radio contact with anyone aboard the Orchid . As you can see, it is
unclear whether anyone has survived. We must be careful about how we engage the Orchid if we choose to offer help.”
    “Let’s get away
from it!” someone yelled.
    A few people
murmured their agreement.
    The elder Mrs.
Cordova stood in a prime spot on an upper deck, not too far from Judith. “We
don’t know what kind of disease we’re dealing with,” she shouted. “We can’t
expose the children.” She had one of her grandchildren clutched to her body.
Mrs. Cordova always made her opinions known—and she held a lot of
influence.
    “These are valid
concerns,” Judith said.
    More voices chimed
in. “There might be supplies. They don’t need them anymore.”
    “There could still
be people alive over there!”
    “It’s not worth
the risk.”
    The crowd
grumbled. The last vestiges of daylight were fading. The lights from the Catalina danced off the battered white hull of the Orchid . It glowed, ghostlike.
    “We should
investigate,” Esther said to her companions. “They’re right about the
supplies.”
    “We should be
helping the survivors,” Simon said.
    “There probably
are none,” said Neal. “Otherwise, they would have figured out how to radio for
help. We should leave it alone.”
    Esther stomped on
Neal’s foot. “I just mean that we shouldn’t leave it without knowing,” she
said. “A ship that size is bound to be hiding something,