Survival (2 page)

ONE

Alex knelt on the fore-deck of the
Phoenix
as she cut a graceful path through the clear, blue water. The
Phoenix
was a beautiful ship; a newly-built replica of a three-masted schooner with white sails that curved like wings in the breeze. She was a week into her maiden voyage, sailing east across the Java Sea. To the south, the island of Java made a jagged scribble on the horizon and all around them clusters of smaller Indonesian islands dotted the water. The late-afternoon sun touched everything with a soft, golden glow.

Alex had no time to gaze at the view. He was concentrating on polishing the brass fittings of the deck rail to a high shine. His back ached and his chest and arms were beaded with sweat in the humid heat of the day, but, for the first time since the voyage began, he was happy. A-Watch were nearly at the end of their latest Watch Duty and, for once, nothing had gone wrong. Heather, their Watch leader, had been determined to have a good Watch. She had set them their tasks and then spent the whole four hours circling the deck, watching them coldly like a small, blue-eyed shark.

Alex glanced at the other four members of A-Watch. Amber and Hex were both hunched over a big, metal cookpot, preparing vegetables. They were working in a sullen silence and trading hostile looks, but at least they weren't fighting. Li was up in the rigging, clambering and balancing high above the deck with the confidence of an expert climber. Alex was not sure how much work Li was doing up there, but he supposed anything was better than the total lack of interest she had shown so far. Paulo was swabbing the deck. He had started off well, but now he was absent-mindedly pushing his mop back and forth over one very clean patch of deck while he gazed up at Li, hypnotized by her slim legs and the swing of her silky black hair.

'Paulo!'

Paulo jumped. Heather was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. He swallowed, then tried one of his trademark heart-melting smiles. The smile turned to a look of horror as Heather stalked across the deck towards him, her eyes like chips of ice. Grabbing the mop, Paulo moved off, swabbing at high speed and sending water flying everywhere. Alex grinned as he turned back to his polishing. Heather was tiny but very scary. She was in her mid-twenties, he guessed, which made her barely ten years older than the five members of her Watch, but she had started work aboard sail-training ships like the
Phoenix
at sixteen and she was as hard as nails.

Alex gave the brasswork one last swipe and straightened up, rubbing his aching back. He caught the tiniest nod of approval from Heather and grinned again. This trip might just start working out after all.

'Not bad,' said Heather, looking around the deck. 'Not
good,'
she scowled, folding her arms. 'But - it's a start. Now, listen up. B-Watch'll be relieving us here any minute, so let's get this deck ship-shape for them. Paulo and Alex, stow away your cleaning stuff. Hex and Amber, carry that cookpot down to the galley. Together! Li, enough of the circus act. Come down and take a bow. I'm off to write up the Watch log.'

Heather walked away and Alex breathed a sigh of relief. The Watch was over and nothing had gone wrong. He was beginning to think there might be some hope for A-Watch. He was mistaken.

As soon as Heather was out of sight, Hex dropped his side of the cookpot.

'Hey!' yelled Amber, jumping out of the way as water slopped onto the deck.

Hex ignored her. Pulling his palmtop from the pouch at his belt, he flipped it open and sat down with his back against the mast. His fingers keyed the air and he stared at the screen with a hungry look on his face as he waited for the machine to wake up.

Amber's dark eyes flashed as she glared down at Hex. 'Look at you,' she spat. 'Junkie hacker. Can't you cope with real life?'

'Not when you're in it,' muttered Hex.

Li hooted with laughter as she climbed down the last stretch of rope webbing. 'Way to go, Hex. Straight through the heart. You win the Mr Nasty prize for today.' She paused for an instant, looking down to check out her next foothold, and Paulo threw down his mop.

'Do not worry, Li,' he said, leaping to the base of the mast. 'I am here.'

Paulo reached out his hands to her and Li looked at him with raised eyebrows, then threw herself backwards off the rigging. Flipping over in mid-air, she landed neatly with her arms outstretched and her uptilted eyes full of mischief. The thud of her feet hitting the deck startled Hex, making him look away from his screen for an instant. It was enough for Amber. She swooped down and snatched the palmtop, sprinting away with it as Hex struggled to his feet.

'You are dead!' yelled Hex and Amber laughed over her shoulder at him.

That was when the accident exploded across the deck. Still looking behind her, Amber ran full pelt into Paulo's discarded mop. The wooden handle smacked into her shins, knocking her off her feet and sending her hurtling across the deck. The palmtop flew through the air and disappeared over the side. In an instant that seemed to last for ever, Alex saw that Amber was either going to follow the palmtop into the sea, or smash her skull against the deck rail.

Without stopping to think, Alex put his head down and launched himself at Amber in an attempt to knock her off-course. The impact jarred every bone in his body and stopped his breath. For one, stunned second, he felt as though he was floating in mid-air, then he landed hard on the deck, knocking the remaining breath from his lungs and grating the skin from his elbow.

Alex sucked in air and blinked rapidly to clear his vision. Had he succeeded? He did not dare to look behind him. Instead, he looked up at Li, Hex and Paulo. All three of them were wearing identical shocked expressions. Alex closed his eyes, imagining the worst. Then a fist thumped him squarely in the back.

'You prize moron!'

Dizzily, Alex got to his knees and turned round. A relieved grin spread across his face. Amber was standing over him and she looked furious.

'You think that was funny?' yelled Amber. 'See what you did?' She thrust a grazed and bleeding knee in front of his nose. The wound looked startlingly pink against her black skin.

Alex stopped grinning. 'Sorry,' he muttered. 'I was just--'

'He was just saving your miserable life,' interrupted Hex, with an icy edge to his voice.

'Oh, puh-leeze,' sneered Amber.

'It's true,' said Li. 'Alex stopped you from going overboard.'

'Yeah, right,' said Amber uncertainly, peering over the deck rail.

'Really, he did,' said Paulo. 'You were about to follow that palmtop into the sea.'

Amber looked at Paulo, then at Hex. 'Your palmtop? In the sea . . . ?'

Hex nodded grimly. Amber looked down at her feet. When she raised her head again, there was a smile of pure delight on her face.

'Your precious palmtop . . . ?' She mimed a clownish dive and snorted with laughter.

Hex snapped. He started towards Amber, his green eyes flat and merciless. Amber grinned and settled into a fighting stance, her feet apart for balance. Hex was broad-shouldered and muscled, but Amber matched him in height and her reflexes had been sharpened by training in the sports only rich girls get to play. Years of fencing, archery and downhill skiing had taught her all about balance, avoidance, concentration and speed. Amber felt more than ready to meet Hex head-on but, before the fight could start, a wave of cold water knocked them both sideways. They stopped in their tracks, coughing and spluttering as they tried to clear the water from their eyes.

Alex, Li and Paulo all turned to see where the water had come from. Heather was standing there, holding a dripping bucket. She seemed to crackle with a furious energy. The freckles stood out darkly on her white face and the muscles jumped in her clenched jaw. She threw the bucket to the deck, where it rolled backwards and forwards with a metallic rumbling in the sudden silence. Heather let the silence grow until she had their full attention. When she finally spoke, her voice was tight and small, as though she was holding back a roar.

'Clean up this mess, then report to me on the aft-deck in ten minutes,' she snapped, then strode away without looking back.

TWO

They made it in nine. All five of them had managed to change into clean, dry clothes and Amber and Alex had plasters covering their grazes. Heather was already there, stalking up and down the aft-deck. They looked at one another, then formed a ragged line and waited in silence.

Heather ignored them. She had stopped pacing and was standing with her head down, apparently deep in thought.

Amber looked at her watch and sighed. Then she cleared her throat. Finally, she spoke. 'You do know our Watch is officially over, right? Hey! I said--'

Heather's head went up and she homed in on Amber like a heat-seeking missile. 'Hey? Hey? Hay is what you feed to horses!'

'OK. OK,' muttered Amber.

'No, not OK!' snapped Heather. 'I expect you to do me the courtesy of using my name. Is that clear?'

'Sheesh! What is this? A floating boot-camp?'

Heather took a deep, calming breath. 'No, Amber, to most people this is the trip of a lifetime.'

Alex grimaced. The trip of a lifetime. That was what he had thought when he found out about the Phoenix Project nearly a year ago. A crew of young people from all over the world were to be brought together aboard the
Phoenix
to take part in the first of a series of eco-voyages. It was to be a special crew. The successful applicants would have to be fit, speak English and have a variety of useful background skills. The advert stressed that this was to be a working voyage, but it didn't sound much like work to Alex. The chosen crew would be surveying and recording the variety of plants, animals and sea-life to be found in the Indonesian Archipelago. They would spend the summer sailing amongst the thousands of tiny island groups dotted around the Java Sea, dropping anchor every few days to explore a new island and dive on its surrounding reefs.

It sounded wonderful. Alex had fired off an application and was thrilled when he was invited to join the crew. It had taken him the whole of a long Northumbrian winter to raise enough money to pay for his place on the
Phoenix.
He had spent his evenings writing to local businesses, asking for sponsorship. His weekends had been taken up with whatever casual work he could find. He had cleaned holiday cottages and cleared snow from driveways in sub-zero temperatures. For two gruelling weeks in December, he had felled Christmas trees non-stop until there were blisters the size of saucers on his palms.

Now, Alex grimaced again, remembering how hard he had worked to get here. At the start of the voyage, when the crew all came together, he had been full of excitement. It was a truly international crew. There were twenty of them, from all over the world. Alex had particularly liked a friendly Nigerian boy called Samuel and Kathe, a German girl with a beautiful smile, but, when the four Watches were chosen, they had all been put into different Watches. He had been assigned to A-Watch and his trip of a lifetime had turned into a nightmare.

Amber seemed intent on making things worse. She was looking down her nose at Heather as though their Watch-leader was a piece of chewing-gum stuck to the deck.

'Trip of a lifetime?' Amber sneered. 'I didn't ask to be here. I wanted to stay in Boston for the summer.'

Heather raised an eyebrow. 'All alone in an empty boarding school?'

'Yeah, well, I'd rather be on my own in Boston than here with him,' said Amber, throwing a sideways glance at Hex. 'Which reminds me, has my uncle arranged my flights home yet?'

'Unfortunately not,' said Heather, grimly. 'He spoke to the skipper this morning. Your request is denied.'

'What!'

'You're on board for the whole voyage. Your uncle thinks it'll do you good, mixing with people from all walks of life.'

'People I can handle,' retorted Amber. She jerked her head at Hex. 'It's street-rats like him I have a problem with.'

Silently, smoothly, Hex moved out of the line and headed for Amber. Paulo and Alex were standing on either side of her and they both stepped out to block Hex's way. Hex only stopped when he ran up against them. His green eyes were flat and his face was expressionless as he stared at Amber, but Paulo and Alex between them were struggling to hold him back.

'See what I mean?' said Amber, smugly. 'Straight to the violence. No discussion. Typical London street-rat reaction.'

'That's enough, Amber,' said Heather. 'And, Hex, there will be no fighting aboard the
Phoenix.
Understood?'

'My palmtop is in the sea,' grated Hex.

'Gone phishing,' smirked Amber, using the hacker's term for searching out information. 'Or, maybe, gone surfing?'

Hex surged forward again, nearly managing to power his way past Alex and Paulo.

'Amber! Hex!' snapped Heather. 'Stop it, now!'

'What's the problem?' sighed Amber. 'I'll buy him a new one.'

'You think money fixes everything,' said Hex, pushing Alex and Paulo away and returning to his place in the line.

'Yeah, right,' said Amber. 'What would you know about that, street-rat?'

'Speaking of street-rats,' said Hex, 'I read about your father on the Net.'

Amber blinked with shock at the mention of her father and her hand went up to the chain she always wore at her neck. An oddly-shaped twist of beaten gold hung from the chain. It had been roughly hammered into a coin-sized circle, broken at the base with the two ends bent back on themselves.

'He might've died a software billionaire,' continued Hex, 'but he was born and dragged up in the Bronx. A ghetto boy. A street-rat.'

Amber ducked her head and, for once, said nothing. There was an awkward silence, then Heather stepped closer to Amber and laid a hand on her arm. 'I can see you loved your parents very much, Amber,' she said, gently.

'Don't bring my mom and dad into this,' said Amber, clutching the broken circle protectively and glaring at Heather.

'But that's why I can't understand your behaviour on this voyage,' continued Heather. 'The
Phoenix
was built in their memory--'

'I don't need a stupid sailing ship to remember them, OK?' snapped Amber. 'That was my uncle's stupid idea.'

Heather sighed and tried again. 'You know what a phoenix is, don't you?'

'Yeah, yeah,' drawled Amber. 'The bird that rose again from the ashes. A new beginning. A rebirth. Well, I don't want any new beginning. My parents, they died. The e-end.' Amber stopped as her drawl developed a wobble. She swallowed, then lifted her chin and tried again. 'The end!'

'Omega,' said Hex, gazing thoughtfully at the twist of beaten gold in Amber's fist. His voice was quiet, but Amber jumped as though he had shouted the word in her ear. She stared at Hex in shock, but he did not seem to notice. He just kept looking at the twist of gold.

What's that about?
thought Alex, watching them both.

'Gee, Heather, you really brightened up her day,' said Li, seeing the tears in Amber's eyes.
'Always Keep a Happy Watch,
that must be your motto, right?'

Paulo snorted with laughter and Li rewarded him with a smile. She did not seem to notice the way Heather's face was darkening but Alex groaned inwardly and took a step away from the others. He stared straight ahead and tried to pretend he was nothing to do with A-Watch.

'That, Li, is just the smart-ass kind of remark I've come to expect from you,' snapped Heather.

'Only joking,' muttered Li.

'This is no joke! Amber could've died back there! And do you know the scary part? It could happen again tomorrow. Because A-Watch is not a team, it is a total disorganized mess! The other Watches, they've made friends--'

'I have made friends,' objected Paulo.

'No, Paulo. You have tried to make it with every girl on board. That is not the same as making friends. You lot don't know the first thing about the people standing right next to you! Well, I'm going to tell you a few truths! Amber and Hex, you are two of the most selfish people I have ever met.'

Hex and Amber started to protest, but Heather cut them short. 'Neither of you wants to be here, so what do you do? You both go into a permanent sulk! And Li, you think that because you're our animal expert, you don't need to do any of the work on-board ship. Wrong! Paulo, what can I say? You seem to think you're too good-looking to work!'

Alex lowered his head to hide a smile. Heather had captured them all perfectly.

'And you, Alex,' continued Heather, moving to stand in front of him. 'First, I have to say thank you. I think Amber probably owes you her life.'

Alex shrugged and started to say something modest, but Heather hadn't finished.

'But I also have a question for you, Alex. Do you think you're too good for us?'

Alex's grey eyes widened with surprise. 'What?'

'I saw you step away from us just now. That's how you always are. One step away from us. Observing. And you don't seem to like what you see.'

'I--' Alex could feel a flush spreading up his neck and across his cheeks. He glanced sideways at the others, then straightened his back, squared his shoulders and stared over Heather's head into the middle distance.

Heather stepped back to take all five of them in with one glare, then she moved along the line, handing each of them a pencil and a pad of paper. 'You will each report to me first thing in the morning, with an essay on the meaning of team spirit. Until then, I do not want to see any of you. So, you will not, repeat
not,
watch tonight's film and you will not eat dinner in the mess with the rest of the crew. Just - keep out of my way!'