I ran into the passenger room as fast as I could. I burst into the girls bathroom, and called Lindsay's name.
Silence.
"Lindsay?" I asked, raising my voice. I felt panic rising up in my stomach. Where was Lindsay? Was she OK?
I heard more screaming coming from the guys.
I sprinted out of the bathroom, and turned the corner. I saw four blonde heads, standing like statues by the doorway.
"Guys? Guys, what's wrong?" I asked.
They all turned around, and wordlessly pointed to the closet.
I pushed my way past them, and looked in the small space. What I saw made me gasp.
There in front of me, in the passenger room closet, on the 'Island dreamer' were two men, all tied up! One was wearing a white captains uniform, and the other was wearing blue work clothes. They were both unconscious, and the captain had a trickle of blood down his forehead.
I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. What could this mean? If the captain was in the closet, then who was steering the boat?
I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in my throat. "Who are you?" I asked, trying to sound brave. "What happened?"
I'm captain Mike Smith. This is my crewman, Tim Jackson. We've been hijacked."
"Hijacked!" Lindsay screeched. "What do you mean, hijacked?"
"Well, this morning we were in the panel room, waiting for our charter, so we could set sail, when two men came on board and knocked us out. The next thing I knew, we were in the closet, tied up. The men are two criminals who escaped from prison. They are dangerous, and they took the 'Island Dreamer' because they figured the police would check all the major boats."
I felt light headed. I had to sit down. I nearly collapsed on the floor. This was bad. Really bad. The day had started out with such a promise. Now, who knew what could happen?
"Does anyone have a knife or something? We have to cut them loose!" I said frantically.
"I do," Zac said, holding up a Swiss Army Knife. "It might work." Zac set to work, holding the rope between his thumb and fore finger.
Next to the captain, the crewman shifted his weight, but his eyes still remained closed.
"It's not working!" Zac cried. "The blade is too dull! Now what are we going to do?" Zac looked like a lost puppy, totally helpless.
I looked around the small closet, racking my brain for an answer. My gaze fell on the captain, and I saw his eyes close. His muscles went limp, and I automatically knew he was unconscious.
"No! No, you can't give up!" Taylor said. He and Isaac went to Captain Smith's side, and tried to shake him awake. His eyes opened briefly, and he mumbled something barely audible.
"I think he said 'Stop them'" Lindsay said.
"Yeah, that's what I thought so to," Taylor agreed.
"Well, it doesn't look like there's much we can do," I said.
"You're right," Zac put his Swiss Army Knife back in his pocket, and walked out of the closet, with us following.
We ended up on the deck, outside, not a clue what to do. I glanced up at the sky, and saw that the clouds were growing darker than usual. "Uh oh, guys, I think we headed for a storm." I warned them.
They all looked up, and different emotions showed on their face. I felt torn. What would we do now? I mean, the captain and crewmen were tied up, unconscious, we were heading for a storm, we were being held by criminals...Could things get ANY worse?
I sighed, when suddenly the door to the panel room swung open. The hijackers came out, their faces grim. "So, I see you've found the captain and crewman, huh?" One asked. He had sandy brown hair, and blue eyes. He looked tough.
"Uhhhh..." Isaac stuttered. "Uh, yeah.."
"Well, now that you kids know, were gonna have to do something about it!"
I got a sinking feeling again. "Oh no," I muttered.
"Oh yes." The other one said, coming closer to me. He grabbed my hands and twisted them behind my back. I couldn't see what he was doing, but I could tell he was tying rope around my hands. After my hands were firmly tied together, he took out another piece of rope, and tied my hands to the guard rail. I closed my eyes briefly, hoping the pain in my wrists would go away. The rope was thick, and it was burning and scratching my skin.
They went down the line, until each of us was tied to the rail. I pulled and tugged at the rope, wincing in pain each time the rope slid back and forth, but no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't come loose.
I looked beside me, and saw Lindsay straining to get the ropes off. "Don't bother. It'll only hurt you more!" One of the thugs barked.
She stopped, and looked at me. "Now what are we going to do?" she asked me.
"I don't know..." I said, my voice weak.
"Hey Jack!" One of the hijackers called to the other.
"What Bill?"
"What do you think we should do with these kids?"
"Let them sit in the hot sun and roast!" Bill said. He growled with laughter, along with Jack.
I rolled my eyes. These guys were definately not smart.
"Well, what do you think we should do with the captain and crewman?" Jack asked.
"I know! Come on, Jack, I got an idea!" Bill said, a evil smile on his face.
They left the deck, and dissappeared out of sight. "I wonder what they're gonna do! I hope they don't hurt them!" Lindsay said, fearfully.
"Yeah, well from the looks of those two, they could do anything they want to. I mean, whose going to stop them?" Taylor asked, dryly.
"Not us," Zac said.
Jack and Bill came back, one carrying Captain Smith, and one holding the crewman, Tim.
"Well, since these two guys like boats so much, why don't we let them sail, Jack?" Bill asked.
"Okay, Bill."
They took out a row boat, and set it down on the wooden deck. Then they set the two men in it, and dropped the boat onto the ocean. I could see them from where I was tied, and I could see that they were still unconsiois.
"Wait!" I yelled. "You can't do that! And even if you do, if they wake up, they should at least have some water of food or something!"
"Your right, little lady," Jack said, walking over to the large coolers. He grabbed two bottles of water, walked over to the rails, and threw them over board, to have them land in the water with a splash. "There's their water!" He said, throwing his head back, laughing.
Now that the captain was gone, and we were tied up, all hope was lost. Now, I was starting to believe I would never see my family again. For the first time on this trip, I started to cry. I cried and cried, until I had no tears left.
"Its gonna be okay, Lauren." Zac said, trying to assure me.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I don't but I just have a feeling."
I sighed, and looked at him, fearfully. "I sure hope your right."
