They lose the navigation at one. By two o'clock, it comes back online and they have blown an hour off course, once more. Shelly paces in the bridge as Bellamy tries to diagnose the problem.
Devon sits at the table in the bridge, arms crossed over his chest.
"We'd really appreciate if you have anyone who can get out," she says after relaying their coordinates three times. The man on the other end has a thick accent, but at least they haven't crossed into Montenegro, where the coast guard might not speak any English at all. "We're going in circles, and I'm not turning the boat. Over."
The line crackles and crackles. Shelly smacks the radio.
"Sorry, can I speak to the Captain? Over." The man on the other line asks.
Shelly's face scrunches up, "this is the captain. Over."
The radio is fuzzy again. Bellamy tightens his face, waiting to hear it screech again.
"Sorry, can I speak to the Captain? Over."
Shelly clutches the radio in her fist and holds it up above her. For a second, Devon thinks she's going to smash it. Instead, her hand curdles, writhing in toward the rest of her. She collapses in a curled-up ball on the floor.
"Just write down what you want me to say, Captain," Devon offers, his voice calm. "I get that it's shitty, but at this rate we won't be there by nightfall."
Bellamy doesn't say anything, but he suspects they won't arrive until dawn.
"Gather the crew," Shelly tells Devon. "They have a right to know."
That is when they hear her scream. The shrill high-pitch sound, muffled somewhere deep in the boat. Devon, already in the doorway, is out first, and Shelly is sprinting behind him.
Bellamy stares at the desk in the bridge and sits down. Someone always has to watch the ship.
~~~
A young woman crawls out from under the bed, her hands raised and shaking as she starts at Audrey Wilson. The hole bangles on her wrist clink together. Then, Audrey screams again and sprints out of the door.
"Shit," Zahira says, hurtling out the door after her.
Audrey Wilson is too fast. She bolts down the hallway, clutching her open phone where Zahira's eyes are shining under the bed. She bolts into the lounge, where Ethan has already sprinted. The two nearly slam into each other.
"What- fuck!" he points at Zahira running towards the pair.
Edwin, clutching his burnt but wrapped up hand, gets in the lounge just as Zahira enters. The four of them, eyes wide and breath ragged, stare at one another.
"I'm Shelly's friend!" Zahira offers quickly trying to fix her hair, clinging to the sweat on her forehead.
Edwin furrows a brow, "sorry, what is going on?"
The words blur like a night out in Audrey Wilson's mouth, "you're a stowaway!"
Her hands shake as she holds up the photo. Edwin snatches the phone from her hand and Ethan feels how stuff his entire body is.
"I know Shelly!" Zahira insists, lungs still huffing.
That is when Devon and Shelly burst into the lounge. Devon raises his brows and look at the captain who huffs.
"Really, Zahira?"
~~~
It is easy to gather everyone in the bridge. Half the crew heard the scream and were already roaming the halls looking for the source of the sound. During those ten minutes, Shelly disappears to sequester Zahira to the master suite. She is the last to arrive.
