Ocean Blue (Sea Lab Book 1)

CHAPTER 8

Sarah hit the deck and a second later, the ear popping bursts of automatic gunfire blasted over the boat. Lead ripped through the leather seats and shattered the windshield. The vessel rocked in the speedy craft's wake as it blazed by with a deafening roar. In the chaos, Ben's shoulder crashed down on her arm.

She pressed her hands to the deck to rise, but realized her fingers were wet, stained red. Then it occurred to her it was blood, but not hers. "Ben. Are you okay?"

He groaned and pushed up, but collapsed to the floor of the boat.

Sarah rolled him over and discovered a dark circle on his shirt, but she couldn't focus on it because of the continuing threat. She glimpsed the attackers as they circled the diver's fishing trawler, found it empty, and then whipped around in their direction to give them another pass.

Sarah stumbled over Ben and fell into the pilot's seat. As the vessel turned and sped their way, she rocked in the chair, her body quivering, her hand twisting the key, but the engine only sputtered.

The men swept by again and forced her to the deck with a hailstorm of lead.

Once the boat passed, Sarah raised her head and found Ben gasping for air, his skin pale and eyes faint. She pulled up, using the steering wheel as the boat came around for another run at them.

Ben was fading fast.

With the dark craft within range, Sarah knew she had to save him. She grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the edge of the boat. His limp weight was more than she could muster. Please, God, please. A desperate sob escaped her lips. She tried again and her foot slipped on the blood-drenched decking. Her body swung backwards, and she plummeted overboard, the ocean swallowing her up.

While she sank upside down, Sarah peered through blurry eyes as bullets sliced through the water, followed by a propeller churning up a milky froth. She kicked her legs and waved her arms to orient herself, and then she raced for the bottom. The fading sunlight could enable her to hide in the depths, but because she fell in so fast, she failed to take in enough air to stay submerged for as long as possible.

Sarah looked up to see if the men had located her. The craft idled twenty yards away.

She inched backwards, hoping to remain invisible. It seemed like it was working, but her lungs yearned for oxygen. She resisted the urge to surface, but she couldn't compensate for her body's burning desire to live.

She wrenched with an uncontrollable spasm.

Bullets ripped through the water.

Unconsciousness crept over her like an unavoidable shadow, but instinct kicked in. Sarah bent her knees, ready to push off from the bottom, when something grabbed her from behind. The unseen force pulled her into the darkening sea, and in her weakened state, she couldn't resist its clutches.