The Stranger in the Lifeboat

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“Benji! Where are you?”
Geri. Little Alice. Who would help them back in? With no passengers to
weigh it down, the raft was drifting away. I looked over my shoulder, but
there was no sign of Lambert now, and no sign of the Lord. The orange raft
was the only thing breaking up an endless panorama of water and sky.
So I swam, with my lungs bursting, until I reached its edge. I tried to pull
myself in, remembering how hard this had been the night the Galaxy sank. It
was even harder now. I had used my depleted strength going after Lambert.
Every muscle from my toes to my jawbone felt unresponsive.
Pull, I told myself. I tried. I slipped off. Pull! Inside is life. Outside is
death. Pull! With a final yank I lifted myself to neck level, then flopped onto
my shoulder, the weight of my body depressing the raft enough for me to fall
forward, until the heft of my torso slid me down. I had to lift my legs in with
my hands, that’s how exhausted they were. But I hit the raft bottom and was
never happier to feel any surface beneath me.
I heard Geri weakly calling my name, and I scraped across the floor to the
side where she and Alice were bobbing in the water.
“Take her, take her,” Geri panted. Little Alice’s expression seemed a
reflection of my own, mouth agape, eyes wide and horrified. Geri pushed her
up, and my trembling hands pulled her in. She fell onto her back.
“Are you OK, Alice?” I shouted. “Alice? Are you OK?”
She just stared at me. I turned back to Geri, whose arms were resting on
the ocean surface, her head down like a marathoner who had just finished the
race and was considering the enormity of the distance run. I was flushed with
admiration for this woman. At every turn she had shown such strength, such
courage, the kind of courage I only wished I could possess. For a moment,
even amid the horror, I felt a wave of hope, as if, with her help, we might
somehow survive this.
“Come on, Geri,” I said. “Get back in.”
“Yeah,” she panted, raising her arms. “Gimme a hand.”
I steadied myself against the side, pulling the safety rope around my waist.
I reached out to her.
Suddenly her expression changed. She convulsed, her head jerking
forward.
“What?” I said.