Survival Instinct (The Adventures of Eric and Ursula Book 2)

by A. D. Winch

  “It was good to talk to you, Henry. Look after yourself and don’t forget to say hello to Martha and your family from me.”

  “Will do. They are so far away now that we have to use the computer to contact them. It works well for us. We can see each other; we can chat, and I can even send them SMS messages to their cells. Unfortunately, if I do this, no number appears on their phone, and they sometimes don’t know it is me.”

  “That’s funny,” Professor Schwarzkopf laughed falsely.

  He knew that Henry was making a suggestion about how to contact Captain Wang, and he approved.

  “It does sound like a good idea if you want to confuse them.”

  “Sure does. Looking forward to speaking to you again real soon, Professor.”

  “Goodbye, Henry.”

  In a small windowless room, in the depths of the base at Roswell, a record of the conversation was appearing on the screen. Agent Turing looked up at the computer. He was a thin, pale man who had spent too much time with computers and too little time with people. He read what has been typed automatically in front of him, ‘Log: 495478. Device: Cell phone. Duration: One hundred and thirty-one seconds.’

  Underneath the number called, was listed the details of the person who owned the phone and a transcript of the conversation. Agent Turing read it through; it looked like a no-risk conversation except for one passage which read, ‘BEE BEDE BOR BELP. BO BO BANDA STAND. BES BO BAVE BAPER. BES. BEST BIS and then more nonsense. Following protocol, he ran the text through the most advanced code breaking software that had ever been written. No results were returned.

  Agent Turing concluded that the voice recognition software must have been compromised by a bad line and ignored the gobbledegook in front of him.

  A few minutes later an alert suddenly appeared on the screen.

  It read, ‘SMS Message sent to the cell of Captain Wang. Message reads: I only knew what hunted thought, quickened his step. Take care.’ The number of the sender was unknown.

  Apart from the gentle chug of the trawler’s engine, it was peaceful on deck. The sea had become choppier, and the wind was getting up, but there was no noise of traffic or people or technology. Alexander looked at the waves foaming to white as the trawler passed through the water and breathed in the fresh, salty air. These moments were so rare for him that he greatly appreciated the calm until it was rudely interrupted by the sound of a mobile phone receiving an SMS.

  Up in the wheelhouse, Captain Wang picked up her mobile phone and read the message. Initially, she thought nothing of it but as she sailed onwards the words in the text and the unknown sender played on her mind.

  When Arjuna came up to the wheelhouse to do his shift, Captain Wang mentioned it to him.

  “I am sure that it is just a wrong number. Absolutely nothing to worry about,” he reassured.

  “You are probably right,” said Captain Wang as she left the wheelhouse.

  On the deck, she met Alexander.

  “Evening Captain,” he greeted.

  His formality amused her, and she had to reply in the same manner, “Hello Doctor, are you enjoying our journey so far?”

  Alexander looked out at the distant lights twinkling on land and replied, “Yes. I am appreciating the peace and calm of being at sea.”

  Captain Wang smirked, “Don’t get too used to it. There is a storm coming.”

  They stood in silence, looking at the dark clouds ahead of them creeping over the sky and obscuring the moon. Captain Wang took out her phone and re-read the text message.

  “So, we can’t even escape mobile phones out at sea!” joked Alexander.

  “No, but I think I got a text meant for someone else.”

  “What did it say? If it’s not a personal question.”

  Captain Wang read from the phone, “I only knew what hunted thought, quickened his step. Take care”

  “It’s a line from an Oscar Wilde poem,” said Alexander instantly.

  Captain Wang’s eyes widened.

  “Who is he and how do you know that?”

  “He was a writer at the turn of the last century. I had to study him at school, and my mother also made me read his poems. She thought it would help with my English. She used to quote his poems when she was nervous. They calmed her down somehow.”

  “That’s a coincidence.”

  Alexander absent-mindedly chewed his nails before replying, “Yes, how do you know it was a message for someone else?”

  “Because the sender was unknown.”

  Suddenly alarm bells went off in Alexander’s head. Over the years, he had spent trying to stay invisible, and sneak under the OSS radar, he had learnt many things. One of the most important was never to ignore apparent coincidences.

  In the distance, he heard a low rumble of thunder.

  “It’s going to be a rough night,” warned the Captain. “I’ll go and tell the others.”

  At first the waves were as low as the distant thunder. They gently rocked the boat from side to side, and the motion was calming rather than frightening. Even so, everyone had been instructed to put a life vest on and told not to take it off until the Captain had given the all clear. Lightning provided a taste of what was to come. Angry bolts shot across the sky and illuminated the black clouds.

  Arjuna was still in charge of the trawler, allowing Captain Wang some rest while he tried to navigate around the storm. He kept his eyes on the radar and listened intently to the coastguard on the radio. The storm was too large to go around; it covered the entire width of the channel from England to France. It was blowing towards them and moving too fast to outrun. As Captain Wang had said, ‘it was going to be a rough night.’

  It wasn’t long before the wind picked up, and torrential rain came down. Fast-falling, heavy droplets soaked the boat in a matter of seconds, and the wind whipped up the sea. The waves battered the trawler, sending water over the bow and made visibility difficult.

  Arjuna was joined in the wheel-house by Captain Wang, and they changed the bearing of the trawler, so it was sailing directly towards the waves. They wanted to avoid being hit side-on and capsizing. After they had changed course, the bow of the trawler rose and fell continually like a seesaw.

  All the passengers, except one, had taken refuge in the dining room. All were still wearing life-vests, but in addition, they wore yellow waterproofs and harnesses too. The adults were sat around the table on chairs that had been secured to the floor, but Eric and Ursula chose to stand.

  None of them looked concerned, and the crew were sharing stories of great storms they had previously been in. Andrea didn’t seem interested in their talk and continued to work on her tablet. She seemed to be in-tune with the waves and moved her arms accordingly, so the tablet stayed in her line of sight. Eric stood above her. Occasionally, he looked over her shoulder but the majority of the time he stared out to sea, lost in thought.

  Ursula stayed on the starboard side looking out. On the deck stood Alexander, the only adult who was not safely under cover, and he was definitely not looking as carefree as those inside. However, he was feeling better outside.

  Keiko had attached a rope to the back of this harness and secured it to the deck to stop him being lost overboard. Alexander’s face was green, but he did not feel as bad as he had on Captain Hudson’s plane leaving Paris. The fresh air, sea spray and fear of being on a small boat in a big storm were all combining to stop him from vomiting. He looked up at Ursula and waved feebly. His lack of energy and his position outside worried Ursula, who had never been in a storm like this. She would have felt more relaxed if she had known he was tethered to the deck, but she had not seen Keiko do this.

  The trawler continued to tackle the waves head on, lifting its passengers and crew out of their seats before sending them crashing down again onto their bottoms. As the waves grew in size and frequency, Eric smiled. He was enjoying himself. He would have preferred to be outside, but he was not allowed. Even though, he was still having fun. Suddenly a wave h
it the boat with such force that the adults were thrown out of their chairs and for a few seconds they could see nothing outside except water. When the windows had cleared Ursula looked for Alexander, but he was gone.

  “Alexander!” she yelled.

  Without considering the consequences, she opened the starboard door and sprinted outside.

  She had given Eric the excuse he was looking for, and he ran to join her. The moment he was outside he tethered himself to the deck. His parents had been very safety conscious aboard their yacht and Eric knew the dangers of storms. Wind whipped at his face, and he blinked away water that was being sprayed into his eyes as he looked in Ursula’s direction. She was approaching the side of the trawler where Alexander had been standing. Above the gale, she could just make out Alexander shouting for help.

  Eric joined Ursula, and they both looked over the side of the trawler and into the sea. The boat continued to rise and fall violently, and they gripped the side tight to avoid falling. They could not see Alexander as it was too dark. Eric used his hands instead and felt around where he stood until he found a tight, taut rope. He grabbed it with both hands and began to heave. In front of him, Ursula took hold and did the same, behind him someone took up the slack and heaved too. The rope was wet and as the boat rose and fell it slipped out of their hands on a number of occasions.

  “I can see him,” yelled Ursula.

  A few minutes later, Alexander was safely back on deck. He was soaked to the skin; coughing and spluttering but otherwise fine.

  Keiko was behind Eric and as she helped Alexander back towards the dining room another wave hit them.

  Eric saw Ursula fall over the side and, in the same moment, realised that she was not tethered to the deck. A split second later he dived off the trawler towards her. He caught hold of her feet in mid-air and then swung back as his rope snagged above him and tightened. His hands held her tight, and he hit the hull with his full force; cracking his knees, ribs and head against the cold metal. Below him, Ursula was under the waves. He pulled her up as far as he could and then grabbed hold around her knees. He did it again and held her hips, then again and held her waist.

  Ursula was out of the water, and she lifted her arms above the waves. She found Eric’s hands, linked fingers with him and gripped hard. She rolled back like a trapeze artist until she was face to face with him.

  “Thanks, Eric,” she tried to shout, but a wave hit them, and her mouth was filled with salty water before the words were out.

  “Why didn’t you tether yourself to the deck?” shouted Eric.

  “I didn’t know,” Ursula yelled back.

  “Do you know anything about being out at sea?” Eric demanded.

  Before Ursula could answer, they were being yanked back onto deck and chaperoned towards the dining room.

  Andrea briefly looked up from her tablet as four drenched individuals stepped in from the storm.

  “We will have passed through the storm in approximately forty-seven minutes,” she began. “In the meantime we should stay inside where it is considerably safer.”

  No one disagreed.

  Back to Contents

  ***

  Chapter 24 – Shark!

  Agent Hoover spoke into his microphone, “You told me to inform you when anything interesting happens, Sir.”

  “What has happened?” asked Agent Angel.

  He sounded impatient.

  “They’ve stopped. About five clicks off the east coast of Ireland.”

  “And what are they doing?”

  “At the moment nothing, Sir.”

  “Obviously you and I have different definitions of the word ‘interesting,’ Hoover. Keep watching. I want a report every four hours and only call me again if they are looking to leave. I will plan a rendition exercise while we have them in our sights, but first I want to know what they are up to.”

  Captain Wang cut the engines. The constant chugging stopped, and the trawler began to drift in the Irish Sea between Ireland and Wales.

  It was a grey, overcast day, but the weather was calm, and so was the sea. Small waves bumped against the hull and the trawler gently rocked.

  “We’re here,” shouted Captain Wang, climbing down from the wheelhouse.

  She walked towards Andrea and Ursula, who were sat at the stern.

  “We’ve arrived at the coordinates you gave me,” she said to Andrea. “What are you going to do now?”

  “We will be searching for plankton. Do you have the diving suits and equipment I requested?

  Captain Wang nodded, “Of course. They are below deck. I’ll have one of the crew bring them up.” She paused, “And you said you will pay us back for the suits?”

  “Yes, thank you for your help. Please could you also ask Alexander and Eric to join us.”

  Captain Wang left them, and a few minutes later Arjuna and Kim-Ly replaced her on the deck. They were carrying three black diving suits, masks and closely woven, mesh nets. Kim-Ly dumped the equipment at Andrea’s feet, and Arjuna placed his neatly on top.

  “I suppose you would like the oxygen tanks to go with these?” Arjuna asked with a big grin and walked towards the base of the crane.

  “They are all here,” he continued, lifting a grey tarpaulin to reveal ten gas canisters. “There should be enough here for up to five days of diving. After that, you will have to use a snorkel. Happy fishing!”

  Arjuna passed Alexander as he left. His clothes were crumpled, his well-trimmed goatee beard had become scraggly, his eyes were bloodshot and he looked vaguely green.

  “Hello,” he greeted weakly and sat down heavily next to the oxygen tanks.

  His body was slowly getting used to life at sea, but he felt strongly that the sooner he was back on dry land, the better. Gradually he slid down until he lay on the deck and looked at the grey sky above him. He waited for someone to tell him why he was needed.

  “We are waiting for Eric,” announced Andrea.

  Eventually, Eric appeared. He walked towards them reluctantly, dragging his heels and looking down at his feet.

  “What do you want?” he asked, refusing to look up.

  “We have arrived at the coordinates. This is the place where we have the highest probability of locating plankton. If our hypothesis is correct, this plankton will be of benefit to your health. I would now like the three of you to dress in these diving suits and enter the water. You will then be responsible for finding and retrieving the plankton.”

  “Why aren’t you going to do it?” asked Eric accusingly.

  “I do not go into the water,” Andrea answered bluntly. “In addition I need to coordinate activities from aboard the trawler.”

  “If you won’t go then neither will I,” Eric huffed, crossing his arms. “This won’t help us because there is nothing wrong with us. I am as fit as I have ever been.”

  “I will not argue with you, Eric. You are thinking emotionally rather than logically. Therefore, I will not waste our time by trying to reason with you.”

  She turned to Alexander and Ursula.

  “The two of you will have to go without Eric.”

  Alexander looked mortified and turned greener, “I’m sorry Andrea. I know that I said I would go in, but I’m really not well enough, nor do I have the energy. I have not kept any food down since the storm. Ursula will have to go alone.”

  “Okay,” Ursula agreed meekly. However, she did not feel confident in going by herself.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she was sure she saw a grey, dorsal fin breaking through the waves and felt even more nervous.

  The wetsuit hugged her skin, the mask was tight, the flippers awkward and the oxygen tank weighed her down. She waddled towards the port side feeling ridiculous and waited to be told what to do. With Alexander visibly unwell, Eric unwilling and Andrea needing to stay on board, going into the water solo was her only possible option. Even so Ursula felt that everything now rested on her shoulders. She didn’t know if Alexander and Andrea were right abo
ut their life expectancy. It was possible that Eric was correct when he refused to acknowledge what they were saying. However, she did know that she wanted to live for a long time and, if her life was possibly in danger she wanted to do all she could to correct that. Even if it meant swimming in the Irish Sea and collecting plankton.

  What surprised Ursula most was that no one asked if she had ever scuba dived before or even if she could swim. Everybody just assumed that she could do it. Secretly, she was flattered that everyone thought her capable enough but she was convinced they were soon to find out that she was only a beginner.

  On occasions, she had visited the public swimming pool in Saint-Denis but had only ever managed to swim a few lengths. After that she got bored and, as no one had ever taught her to swim, concerned that she was doing it wrong. Her thoughts were interrupted by Andrea placing the mouthpiece between her teeth.

  “Remember to breathe normally,” advised Alexander.

  He was taking slow, deep breaths as he tried to keep the nausea at bay. It didn’t work, and he suddenly leapt to his feet to vomit off the port side.

  Ursula moved to the starboard side and hoped the waves would send Alexander’s breakfast in the opposite direction.

  It can’t be very hard to scuba-dive, she thought and remembered all the times she had watched Jacques Cousteau on the television with Granddad Benjamin. He would talk over the presenter, explaining what to do as if he were an expert and laugh if he felt they got a minor detail wrong. Ursula had laughed with him. She had always found his roaring laughter infectious.

  Ursula recalled that she had to stay relaxed and not to rush. She also remembered that she should stay calm at greater depths and ascend slowly. Luckily she would not have to dive deep. Andrea had explained when they were leaving the Netherlands that they were most likely to find the plankton they needed near to the surface.

  Ursula tried to look like a diver and sat on the side of the boat with her back to the sea. When she felt comfortable, she tilted her body backwards. The weight of the oxygen tank pulled her down, and she flipped into the sea.