Furious by Jeffrey Higgins (top 10 novels to read TXT) 📕

Brad growled and crawled forward, dragging his leg behind him.

I slid the flare into the gun and slammed the breach shut. Brad reached for my throat.

I pointed the gun at his chest and pulled the trigger.

The flare fired out of the barrel with a whoosh. A white trail of smoke obscured the space between us. Brad’s chest lit up with a bright red flame. He screamed and bolted upright, then scampered onto the deck clutching his chest. His shirt burst into flames with white phosphorus burning hot and bright. He stumbled backward, swatting at it.

He met my eyes, his face a mask of pain and rage. He snarled and took a step toward me.

The flare exploded with the secondary burst and red tracers flew out of him.

My leg burned, and I swatted at a flaming tracer embedded in my thigh. I dug at it with my fingernails, burning myself. It popped free, fell, and sizzled on the surface below.

Brad ran screaming across the deck, with the flare stuck in his skin, and the deck smoking in his wake. He ran aft and disappeared into the cockpit. He screamed and banged around below.

A loud whoosh erupted above me as the main sail burst into flames from the tracers. Fire crawled up the sail, burning and melting the Dacron. Black smoke billowed high into the air. A wide sheet of fabric, alive with flame, broke off and curled in the air. I ducked as it floated over me and drifted off to sea. Dark ash fluttered down and smoldered on the deck. Flames caught in a dozen places, and the fire spread.

I tossed the empty flare gun into the ocean and held the bowsprit with both hands. I moved my good foot behind me and hooked the metal. I knelt on one knee and walked my hands in toward my body to stand up. The bow pitched over a wave and the yacht canted to port. The weight of my upper body extended over the bowsprit.

I fell.

I hooked my arms around the bowsprit, and my legs dangled beneath me. Blood dripped off my toes. I looked left and right, but the shark was not in view. The metal dug into my arms. I tried to pull myself up, but I did not have the upper body strength left. Blood formed on the surface below me. I took a breath to compose myself.

Mind over matter—think it through.

I was not strong enough to climb up, but I could use my body weight to help. I twisted my torso and swung my legs beneath me, like a pendulum, reaching higher each time. At the apex of the arc I slung my left leg over the bowsprit and used my momentum to pull my body on top. I righted myself and tucked my knee underneath me.

I waited until the yacht lifted over a crest and plummeted into the trough. I put my weight on my knee and stood. The yacht climbed the next swell. I took two quick steps forward, grabbed the lifelines, and tumbled onto the deck.

I ran toward the stern. I slipped on a wet pile of the sailor’s intestines and grabbed the lifeline to stop myself from toppling overboard. The shark swam close to the yacht, probably drawn by my blood. Smoke wafted across the deck.

I had to get to the Odyssey. The Karna’s owner had stored the emergency life raft under the port berth. I limped through the cockpit, but the cabin was ablaze and acrid smoke poured out of the companionway like a chimney. I climbed onto the top step, choking on the heavy chemical smell. Brad banged around somewhere behind the smoke, screaming like a madman. Even if I could get to the berth without burning myself or being attacked, I could never drag a heavy life raft up the companionway alone.

I stepped into the fresh air. The deck burned in a dozen places. The sunscreen on the Bimini top burst into flames. I retreated to the stern. The Odyssey had drifted forty yards behind us.

What could I do?

I leaned against a stanchion and watched the shark swim past, making slow circles around the yacht. My eyes drifted to the transom beneath me. The rigid hull inflatable motorboat was in the tender garage. I could lower the dry dock, push the inflatable across it, and motor to the Odyssey. I had to hurry before Brad emerged from below or the fire consumed me.

I turned to the helm to lower the transom and open the dock, but the digital screen was black. The lightning had fried the electrical system, and I could not manually open the garage.

The deck below me warmed as both berths burned. Black smoke poured from below, and Brad’s screams resonated out of the stateroom. A wisp of flame licked the cabin top around the companionway. I stepped onto the deck, now hot to the touch. The yacht groaned and something exploded in the galley. When the flames hit the fuel tanks, the yacht would disintegrate.

The fuel!

I could turn the engine on, motor close to the Odyssey, and leap onto its deck. I jumped back into the cockpit and reached for the ignition.

Brad had taken the key.

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

I had to swim to the Odyssey. There was no other way. The fuel tank could ignite at any time and blow the yacht into a million pieces. Even if the fuel did not explode, the fire would breach the hull and sink the yacht, and then the shark would have me. Unless I burned to death first. I did not have much time.

At least I had a chance in the water. My God, the water. The image of my father’s pale, still body flashed in my mind. The Odyssey drifted fifty yards away. Could I swim that far? I was fatigued more than I had been after childbirth, but I had to try. I would not die here, afraid to act.

I climbed