Codes of Courage by A.L. Sowards

Author:A.L. Sowards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2023-09-11T14:36:07+00:00

Chapter 29

An explosion of intense force and penetrating sound threw Karl from his bunk. He crashed onto the deck with a grunt. He listened for a moment. Thumps. Shouts. Buckling metal. Then the klaxon calling everyone to battle stations.

It shouldn’t have surprised him. The day before, one of the boilers had overheated, damaging some of the pipes. They’d been forced to reduce speed and drop out of the convoy. Now they were slow and alone. Karl tried to switch on the light in the crew cabin, but it wouldn’t work. Whatever had hit the Hillingdon had knocked out her electricity. In the dark, he ignored the pain of fresh bruises and the tendrils of new fear and felt around until he found his lifebelt.

“Anyone else here?” Karl had gone to bed early rather than stay up for the card game, but he wasn’t the only man who had a watch coming up.

When no one answered, he headed for the hatch. The deck slanted at a precipitous angle, which didn’t bode well for the Hillingdon. Karl swallowed, though his mouth felt dry. He needed to get out fast. He stumbled on something that felt like a limb and reached down to feel. The arm was attached to a man, but that man wasn’t moving. Karl dragged him to the door. The man didn’t flinch, didn’t move a single muscle to help with his rescue. Maybe he’d hit his head on the way to the deck and been knocked unconscious.

Karl heaved him to the foot of the ladder. He didn’t know the unconscious man’s identity, but he guessed either Jacky Rounds or Bob Sheffield, based on size and watch assignments. Somewhere, a pipe must have burst, because something wet dripped all over them. A flashlight bobbed toward him, the beam bouncing off the otherwise dark bulkheads.

“Torpedo ’bout cut the ship in half.” Billy Scarlett’s voice. “She’s goin’ down fast.”

“Help me get him up top.” When it came to hauling an unconscious sailor up a ladder, Karl’s last choice for help was someone as scrawny as Billy, but there wasn’t time to look for a brawnier replacement.

Billy adjusted his light. “No need. He’s dead.”

Karl bent down to check with Billy’s flashlight for illumination. Maybe it hadn’t been a pipe leaking on them. More likely, it had been Sheffield’s blood.

Billy scrambled up the ladder, and Karl followed just behind. The Hillingdon already listed to port, and the crush and groans of the ship were almost deafening.

On deck, Captain Blake ordered the port lifeboat lowered. He noticed Billy and Karl and ordered them to the lifeboat on the starboard side.

“Watch it!” Captain Blake shouted from the deck.

Karl turned back, but Captain Blake wasn’t shouting at him. One of the davits for the port lifeboat was damaged, and the rope had slipped loose on one side, dumping the passengers into the water. Karl ran over to see how badly they were hurt. The Hillingdon still moved forward, so the bobbing heads of the survivors appeared trailing astern.

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