shoot me too."
Victor squeezed her cheeks in his hand and pushed his face close to hers. "Listen to me, bitch. You and I have some business of our own to attend to before this is over and if you think that will keep you from getting what she got, you better think again. I don't particularly care what condition you're in when I take what I want from you. Keep that in mind the next time you want to smart-mouth me."
He released her face with a shove and Aster quickly turned her back on him. She grasped Cherry's good wrist and located a weak pulse. The brunette's eyes were closed now and her face somewhat relaxed in unconsciousness. Aster could see Cherry's chest rising and falling very faintly but knew she was losing too much blood to hold on without medical attention. Time passed, but Aster refused to move. She stroked the other woman's hair, counted to three, stroked again then counted to three. Her body rocked back and forth in time with her counting until she blotted out everything but the numbers and the rocking. It had been some time since she had needed her mental escape routine.
The reduction in the boat's speed roused Aster from where she had fallen asleep next to Cherry, and she noticed that night had fallen.
"What did you slow down for?" Victor demanded of the captain.
"Look around us. We'll tear up the engines if we try to race through that. Anyway we're almost at your coordinates."
A full moon and a clear, star-filled sky dimly lit the interior of the lounge. Slowly, sleeping forms moved and stretched, perhaps awakened by the same thing Aster had sensed. Cherry's limp hand felt cold in hers, but it was not yet rigid. Reassuring herself that her friend was still alive, she rose. Her legs throbbed as the blood pumped feeling back into them.
"How is she?" Betty asked.
"Alive. But I don't think she's been conscious for a while." Aster gave Cherry another glance before turning to Betty. "What's going on now?"
"Come take a look outside."
They had cruised right into a solid green mass of seaweed. The breeze had completely disappeared and the air had changed as well, heavy now, so that it was impossible to take a deep breath. She looked questioningly at Betty.
"We're in the Sargasso Sea. People often include it as part of the Bermuda Triangle mystery but it's only very thick seaweed. Johnny and I usually try to avoid the area if possible." Betty lowered her voice to a whisper. "I overheard Victor talking to someone called Madre Uno over the radio. He told Johnny packages had been dropped for us to pick up."
The ship plowed slowly through the dark green field then José's shout announced the end of the trail. Thousands of brown plastic bags tied to blocks of wood floated on top of the plants.
Victor ordered everyone to go below as Captain Johnny reduced speed and the ship drifted to a stop.
After a quick glimpse at Cherry's still features, Aster went down onto the deck with the others. José hauled in one of the packages with a fishing net while Victor kept his gun pointed at them and issued his directions.
"José and you three men will bring the packages in using the nets. The women will start stacking them along the companionway. Now, move it! We want to be out of here before dawn."
Victor's eyes were bleary and the gun shook slightly in his grip. Aster imagined him passing out. With all of them moving around freely, surely it would be possible to push José overboard before he could shoot anyone. With renewed hope, she whispered her plan to Betty and found her companions had been thinking the same thing.
The task of loading the boat was monumental. Aster watched as the men's arms strained under the effort of lifting the packages out of the tangle of seaweed. As she placed one of the packages on top of another, perspiration trickled down her face and made her pajamas cling to her body. Package after package was carried from the nets to the growing stacks on deck and Aster realized that breathing itself had
Victor squeezed her cheeks in his hand and pushed his face close to hers. "Listen to me, bitch. You and I have some business of our own to attend to before this is over and if you think that will keep you from getting what she got, you better think again. I don't particularly care what condition you're in when I take what I want from you. Keep that in mind the next time you want to smart-mouth me."
He released her face with a shove and Aster quickly turned her back on him. She grasped Cherry's good wrist and located a weak pulse. The brunette's eyes were closed now and her face somewhat relaxed in unconsciousness. Aster could see Cherry's chest rising and falling very faintly but knew she was losing too much blood to hold on without medical attention. Time passed, but Aster refused to move. She stroked the other woman's hair, counted to three, stroked again then counted to three. Her body rocked back and forth in time with her counting until she blotted out everything but the numbers and the rocking. It had been some time since she had needed her mental escape routine.
The reduction in the boat's speed roused Aster from where she had fallen asleep next to Cherry, and she noticed that night had fallen.
"What did you slow down for?" Victor demanded of the captain.
"Look around us. We'll tear up the engines if we try to race through that. Anyway we're almost at your coordinates."
A full moon and a clear, star-filled sky dimly lit the interior of the lounge. Slowly, sleeping forms moved and stretched, perhaps awakened by the same thing Aster had sensed. Cherry's limp hand felt cold in hers, but it was not yet rigid. Reassuring herself that her friend was still alive, she rose. Her legs throbbed as the blood pumped feeling back into them.
"How is she?" Betty asked.
"Alive. But I don't think she's been conscious for a while." Aster gave Cherry another glance before turning to Betty. "What's going on now?"
"Come take a look outside."
They had cruised right into a solid green mass of seaweed. The breeze had completely disappeared and the air had changed as well, heavy now, so that it was impossible to take a deep breath. She looked questioningly at Betty.
"We're in the Sargasso Sea. People often include it as part of the Bermuda Triangle mystery but it's only very thick seaweed. Johnny and I usually try to avoid the area if possible." Betty lowered her voice to a whisper. "I overheard Victor talking to someone called Madre Uno over the radio. He told Johnny packages had been dropped for us to pick up."
The ship plowed slowly through the dark green field then José's shout announced the end of the trail. Thousands of brown plastic bags tied to blocks of wood floated on top of the plants.
Victor ordered everyone to go below as Captain Johnny reduced speed and the ship drifted to a stop.
After a quick glimpse at Cherry's still features, Aster went down onto the deck with the others. José hauled in one of the packages with a fishing net while Victor kept his gun pointed at them and issued his directions.
"José and you three men will bring the packages in using the nets. The women will start stacking them along the companionway. Now, move it! We want to be out of here before dawn."
Victor's eyes were bleary and the gun shook slightly in his grip. Aster imagined him passing out. With all of them moving around freely, surely it would be possible to push José overboard before he could shoot anyone. With renewed hope, she whispered her plan to Betty and found her companions had been thinking the same thing.
The task of loading the boat was monumental. Aster watched as the men's arms strained under the effort of lifting the packages out of the tangle of seaweed. As she placed one of the packages on top of another, perspiration trickled down her face and made her pajamas cling to her body. Package after package was carried from the nets to the growing stacks on deck and Aster realized that breathing itself had
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