Iced (Chronicles of White World Book 1): A Dystopian Science-Fiction Thriller by M. Terry Green

Author:M. Terry Green [Green, M. Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Middleworld Productions
Published: 2015-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Eight

WITHOUT GOGGLES, CORD was careful to keep the gale at his back. Bright moonlight reflected from the shimmering ice sheet. Thirteen’s ship even cast a shadow. Visibility was so strikingly high, he could clearly see the impending collision. Despite the sloppy spacing of the ships in the laager, there was barely enough room to slip through.

Standing in the bow, he gave a quick chopping motion to the right. But without a sail and using only the ice rudder, there was only so much Thirteen could do. They were slowly skidding left. He kept motioning to the right. They weren’t going to make it.

Even at their slow speed, a collision would alarm the entire convoy. He unclipped his tether and dashed back far enough along the mainsail to cross the starboard wing. Then he jumped to the starboard hull and hooked up his tether to the jackline.

Cord sat at the edge and stretched his legs out as far as he could. They were nearly on top of the other ship. It was venting and Cord could even see steam from around the hatch. As the ships neared each other, his feet touched the hull of their port outrigger. Though he tried to keep his legs straight, they bent.

Thirteen’s ship was too heavy. Even at their glacial speed, the momentum was too much. Cord pushed, cursing silently, as he slowly lost the battle. The other hull was only centimeters away. Suddenly, feet appeared next to his boots.

Thirteen!

She’d abandoned the helm. In the skid it hardly mattered. She sat next to him and together they pushed. Though the hulls continued to close for another few seconds, the gap finally stopped narrowing. The ships were slowly passing each other. Cord was a moment thinking about the other ship’s screw—and whether it’d hold the weight of both ships—when he had a new worry. He and Thirteen weren’t at the widest part of the hull. A little further back, the bulging middles of the hulls were about to collide.

With a final shove, he leapt up and ran aft, passing Thirteen. He jumped down to the edge of the hull again. The curves of the opposing hulls were close. He gripped the edge of his own, put his boots on the other and pushed. The gap was barely a boot length wide. His feet felt like they were breaking. But if he had to, he’d put his body between the ships. They had to get out.

Though he’d seen Thirteen moving in his peripheral vision, she stalled. Their tethers had fouled. Without hesitation, she reached behind her and unclipped. In another few seconds, she was to his left and pushing with both feet again.

The hulls were almost past. Just another meter to go, but the gap was narrowing. Cord groaned and bore down. Though his knees felt like they would explode, he pushed. They didn’t have to move the ships apart, just keep them clear for another few seconds.

“Just a little more,” he grunted.

Their feet moved sideways with the stationary ship, urging it behind them, willing it away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.