More gun shots. The sounds of a bolt being slid back. The door opened just a crack.

Lucya looked at Barry. Mouthed to him, “Ready?”

He nodded quickly.

The door opened further, the barrel of a rifle poked through the gap. Lucya grabbed it and tugged as hard as she good. The man holding the gun came tumbling through the door and crashed to the ground. Lucya pulled the gun from his hands, swung it round and pointed it at him.

Another man stepped into the small dark room. Barry leapt out from the wall and onto the man’s back with a primal scream. The man turned on the spot, trying to shake him off.

“Stop!” a voice cried out. “Everyone stop!”

Lucya swung around.

“Jake? Is that you? Jake!”

She saw him staring there, framed in the doorway. She threw the gun to the floor and ran to him, threw both arms around him, hugging him tight to her.

“Argh, ouch! No!”

She fell back, he grasped at his side.

“You’re hurt? What happened?”

“Save it!” Ewan yelled. “He pushed the two of them aside as he entered the room, weapon raised. He swept quickly left to right, back to the left.”

“It’s only us,” Lucya said. “There are no guards here, only us.”

Ewan lowered the gun, grinning at the girl.

“You must be Lucya,” he said. “I’ve heard about you.” He looked down at his colleague, cowering on the floor. “Looks like it’s true what Jake said!”

Jake grinned. He picked up his radio and found the transmit button.

“Ralf? Jake. Are you receiving?”

“Jake, got you loud and clear.”

“What’s happening on the bridge?”

“Blue team have taken it. They’ve confirmed four disciples dead.”

“We’ve taken out two, and there are two under guard in the engine room. The hostages are safe. You can go ahead and play the tape.”

“Understood,” Ralf said. The radio went dead.

A few seconds later, a voice began to speak. It could be heard throughout the ship through the public address system.

“Mr Noah, congratulations. You played your role better than I could have hoped. I was afraid you would have dropped the gun as soon as Gunter put it in your hands…”

For the next ten minutes, everyone on board the Spirit of Arcadia listened in silence to the recording, and learnt how very close they had come to death.

Sixty-Seven

JAKE, LUCYA AND Martin sat at the table in the cafe. Claude had brought them all extra rations.

“I meant to ask you,” Jake said. “Where did you get the gun?”

“I found it.” Martin said. “On deck three, near your cabin. It was just lying there. I picked it up, meant to bring it up to the weapons cabinet, but then everything went mad.”

“So that’s where it went,” Jake said nodding.

“You know, there are still three guns unaccounted for,” Lucya said. “And there are at least two disciples out there and we have no idea who they were.”

“At least?” Martin asked.

“It could be three. We don’t know if he replaced Gunter, after Zhang killed him.”

“Well whatever happened to them, I feel a lot safer now with your new friends around,” Martin said, nodding towards the next table at which half a dozen submariners were sat eating. “And I have to say, great choice in friends. They come with their own nuclear power station. You’ve not only saved the ship from Flynn, you’ve solved our little energy crisis.”

“You think that could really work?” Jake asked. “Can we really power the Spirit of Arcadia from the sub’s reactor?”

“Well, it’s not quite as simple as plugging it in like a television. But yeah, technically there’s no reason why not. For electricity at least, if not propulsion. That thing could provide power for this ship for at least twenty five years.”

“It’s not just about power though is it Martin?” Lucya said. “We’ll run out of food before twenty five years.”

“Well, I had some thoughts about that too,” Martin grinned at Jake. “It starts with planting up the Palm Plaza with fruit and vegetables.”

“As long as it doesn’t include culling the population, I’m all for giving it a try,” Jake said.

“Then you’d better start reassigning roles, Captain Noah.”

“Wait, what? You’re going to take over as captain again?” Lucya’s face lit up. “Really?”

“There are some fine details to work out with Coote. His ship is still his ship, even if we’re going to be tied together from now on, sharing resources. But yes, I’m ready to take it on. There’s hope now, real hope. There must be more submarines out there, and maybe other survivors. And it’s like you said, we have all the skills on board to create a real society. It will be hard, but life is worth fighting for. I’m ready to lead that fight. We’re the survivors, let’s keep on surviving.”

###

Also By The Author

Discover a world where dreams are real...and so are nightmares. Discover the world of the Dreamshifters.

Jessica Kayne's life is in danger, not that she knows it. She's busy trying to work out how it can be that a man she's been dreaming of just turned out to be real. Real, and recently murdered.

Then there's the mysterious Selena who keeps turning up in a recurring dream. She's trying desperately to tell Jessica something, and it seems important. But a dream can't be important, can it?

As Jessica investigates the murder of the man from her dreams, she begins to discover her incredible power. A power to cross between worlds. A power that is desired by another, someone who thinks nothing of killing to get what they want.

www.HarryDayle.com

Noah’s Ark:

Survivors

Published by Shelfless Ltd.

Copyright © 2013 Harry Dayle

All rights reserved.

First Edition (1) published 2013

Cover Design by HumbleNations.com

This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning, or by any information storage and retrieval system known or hereafter invented, without prior written permission from the publisher, Shelfless Ltd.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.