September 17 by Amanda West Lewis

Author:Amanda West Lewis [West Lewis, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-55244-326-2
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Published: 2013-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Tuesday, September 17, 1940, 10:34 PM

For a second, a sliver of moonlight showed what looked like a huge hole that the Benares left in the ocean. Another second and Bess saw the hole rise up as a thirty-foot tidal wave. It was on top of her before she could react.

She was flipped backward into the icy black sea. The intense cold stopped all thoughts. Her thick green dressing gown, which had kept her warm moments before, was as heavy as lead, pulling her down. She thrashed frantically, grabbing at the air, grabbing at the water, terrified by the violent waves.

But suddenly she heard her father’s voice in her head. He had taught her how to swim two summers ago.

“Your life jacket will hold you up, Bessie. You just have to relax. Don’t fight the water,” she heard him say.

She felt another wave crash above her, pushing her further down, twisting her until she had no sense of up or down. She calmed herself and stayed still. A moment later she popped up to the surface.

She took in a huge breath of the frigid air. She looked up and saw the lifeboat ahead of her. She pulled the water with her arms, swimming just the way her father had shown her. It was hard—the life jacket made her movements clumsy and awkward. Her dressing gown pulled her down. The sea pushed her backward as she struggled to reach the boat.

Her father’s voice rang in her ears. “Stroke, breathe, stroke, breathe.” Slowly, she got to the side of the boat. It was half submerged, barely floating. But she pulled herself up and lay on the gunwale, one leg in the boat, the other over the edge in the sea.

A cloud covered the moon. It was pitch black. The sound of rain and waves filled everything. Bess strained her eyes. Miraculously, her glasses were still on. She saw movement in the water, close by.

“Beth! Over here!” Bess called, the wind whipping her voice away.

Beth was struggling. She clearly was not a swimmer, but her life jacket was keeping her head above the water. A wave rose and she disappeared. Bess felt her heart lurch. The next moment, Beth popped up to the surface again.

As Bess kept her eyes glued on Beth, she was aware of other people thrashing toward the boat and grabbing hold.

She felt like she was willing Beth over, pulling her with her eyes. Suddenly, a wave rose and Beth disappeared.

Bess held her breath and counted. One. Two. Three. Four. Five seconds—how long could a person hold their breath under water?

Suddenly Beth’s head popped up, gasping, only a few feet from Bess.

“Beth! Here! Grab hold!”

The lifeboat listed to the side as Beth grabbed the edge and awkwardly pulled herself up. There were ten or twelve adults clinging along the side, but Bess couldn’t see anyone she knew. Where was Miss Hillman? Where were Patricia and Joan? Where were Gussie, Connie, and Violet?

Beth was breathing hard beside her. Her life jacket was shimmering, as though covered in sequins.

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