Noah's Ark: Contagion Read Free Page A

could have left us here two weeks ago and gone on to your base, but you stayed here and worked on getting our two vessels connected.”
    “That was a different situation, old chap. We couldn’t possibly leave nearly three thousand people stranded and without power. It was also in our interests to pool our assets. You need power, we get space above the water.”
    “Are you saying you’re only here out of self-interest? I don’t believe that of you, Captain Coote.”
    “We’re all here out of self-interest, old boy. It just so happens that our interests align nicely.”
    “And what if that signal is another cruise ship, another three thousand stranded passengers?”
    “I think that’s unlikely,” Lucya interjected. The captains both turned to look at her. “I mean, the signal is very weak. A big ship would send out something stronger. Even without power, emergency batteries would put out a better signal than this. If I had to guess, I’d say this is more like a lifeboat, or perhaps even a raft.”
    “Even if there’s one person out there, we have to go and help them!” Jake couldn’t believe he was having this conversation.
    “You’re right, of course,” Coote said, smiling. “You have a good moral compass, Captain Noah; it’s a shame you chose the civilian route. You might have done well in the navy. Scotland can wait; we will absolutely go and find out where this mysterious signal is coming from. Ralf, are you still there?”
    “Yes, Captain.”
    “Inform the crew there’s a change of plan. Watch that signal like a hawk. If it moves or changes in any way, I want to know about it.”
    “Understood.”
    “Do we need to inform the committee of the new plan?” Lucya asked.
    “I don’t think so; this counts as an emergency,” Jake said. “No point wasting time getting everyone together. The committee has already agreed that the bridge crew have full authority to act in urgent situations. I’ve decided this is urgent. Helm, take us around. New heading: zero one zero degrees. Let’s go and see what’s out there.”

Two

    “E RICA ? A RE YOU outside, Erica? Come on, Daddy needs to talk to you, darling!”
    There was no response. The usually busy corridor lay silent. This last week it had reminded Scott of the East End street in which he had grown up as a boy, with people coming and going in and out of each other’s cabins, sharing gossip and rumours. A real little community. The kids played together in safety. Unlike the East End, nothing bad could happen to them here. There were no bogeymen waiting to swipe them off the street, no speeding motorcycles to knock them over. The only danger was boredom. The simply decorated cream and pastel-blue walls and brown carpet held little excitement, but children had a way of using their imaginations to change their surroundings. The previous day a group of them had decided that they were on a train journey across America. They had ploughed up and down that length of corridor for hours, stopping every now and then to let ‘passengers’ on and off as various members of the gang either returned to their cabins, or came out to join in the game.
    Now there was nobody. Scott knew where they had gone. Everyone was outside, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of land now that they were finally on the move again.
    Erica had told him she would stay close by. She was with Andrea, and she’d assured him they wouldn’t go further than her friend’s cabin up the hall. He couldn’t be cross with her; he would have gone outside too. Except right now he couldn’t go anywhere, and that was the problem.
    His feet had turned to lead, and he was losing the feeling in the lower half of his legs.
    At first he had assumed it was pins and needles, just as his daughter had experienced the day before. He had tried shaking the life back into his limbs, but his efforts were futile. Standing was impossible; without feeling, he couldn’t balance. After half an hour of waiting it