Chapter 3 - Dark Tides
The sea was a churning, freezing mass of black foam as they reached the wooden dock. The wind was howling now, driving the cold Atlantic spray directly into their faces.
Caleb lowered Dr. Vance into the small cabin of his lobster boat, the Sparrow, while Lily scrambled to untie the thick hemp dock lines. Barnaby, whimpering softly, huddled close to Lily's legs, his wet fur shivering in the cold.
"Caleb! The boat from the shipping lane—it's moving!" Lily shouted over the roar of the wind, pointing out toward the dark horizon.
The unmarked surveillance vessel had fired up its engines. Its high-powered searchlight snapped on, a brilliant, blinding beam of white light cutting through the thick coastal fog, sweeping across the water toward their position.
Caleb jumped into the driver's seat of the Sparrow, throwing the ignition switch. The heavy diesel engine rumbled to life with a deep, comforting roar, but the sound was instantly swallowed by the crash of the waves.
"Hold on!" Caleb shouted.
He slammed the throttle forward. The Sparrow surged away from the dock just as a hail of automatic gunfire chewed through the wooden boards of the pier they had just left behind.
The boat slammed hard against the rising swells, nose-diving into a massive wave that sent a wall of freezing water crashing over the windshield. Lily held onto the grab-handle of the console with one hand, her other hand keeping a firm grip on her pistol as she kept her body positioned over Dr. Vance.
"We can't outrun them, Caleb!" Lily signed frantically as she looked back. The dark surveillance vessel was fast, its twin hull cutting through the water with terrifying speed, closing the distance between them.
We don't need to outrun them, Caleb signed, his eyes locked onto the GPS monitor on his dashboard. We just need to get to the shoals.
The Cape Elizabeth shoals were a labyrinth of jagged, underwater granite reefs that had claimed dozens of civilian ships over the last century. Only local fishermen who knew the precise depths and tides could navigate them in the dark.
Caleb guided the Sparrow directly into the roaring surf of the reef. The boat rocked violently, the hull scraping against the kelp-covered rocks below with a terrifying, hollow sound.
Behind them, the massive surveillance vessel pursued them blindly, its searchlight locked onto their stern.
"Caleb, they're going to crash!" Lily warned.
Caleb didn't answer. He turned the wheel hard to the starboard side, slipping the Sparrow into a narrow, deep-water channel between two towering granite rocks.
A second later, a deafening, metallic shriek echoed across the water.
The surveillance vessel had slammed head-on into the hidden reef. The impact was catastrophic. The twin hulls buckled, the ship’s engines screaming in protest as the sudden deceleration sent its crew flying over the bow. The brilliant searchlight flickered and died, plunging the water back into a deep, silent darkness.
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Caleb slowed the engine of the Sparrow, letting the boat drift into the quiet, protected waters of a nearby cove.
He let out a long, shaky breath, his forehead resting against the steering wheel for a single, quiet second before he stood up and walked into the small cabin to check on his family.
