Soon, cries and screams were heard. Riley got up to check the situation. Seeing that the gunman has fled, he ran to the kitchen to get a paring knife. Then he helped Michelle stand up. They cautiously walked through the hall, evading corpses as they go. When they reached the door, there was a loud sound akin to an explosion, then ship stared to move as if it was toppling, throwing them against the wall.
Riley's back hit the wall hard, as he tried to protect Michelle in his arms. They could hear louder screams from the upper deck. When they reached the deck, clearer sentences can be heard.
"The engine room exploded!"
"Zhadan*!"
"Nani?! Bakudan!*"
Everyone had a look of panic. The crew tried to calm the passengers down and assembled them to the muster station. Then they set up a couple of life boats. To their surprise, the rest of the inflatable liferafts did not work as they hit the water. Someone might have tampered with them!
Suddenly, Tang Jinxuan pushed through the crowd. "Let me through! Get out of the way!" To everyone's surprise, he went to board one of the tenders and sped away. Some had jumped in before he escaped, but it was still spacious to accommodate more people. People left were swearing and cursing him. They can barely fit in the remaining lifeboats and he dared to get away with one.
Michelle was scared to death, clinging onto Riley as they made their way to the stern.
"Riley, why are we here?" she asked while sobbing. "This is not the way to the lifeboats!"
"I know." He tried hard to sound calm but his heartbeat is banging in his ears. He remembered the CEO. "Sh*t! Michelle, have you contacted CEO Zhou yet?"
She tried to call her boss again, but it went straight to voicemail. She shook her head.
They had been calling the CEOs for over ten times already. It was even hard to make one call for the network signal was fluctuating.
As they were running, another explosion was heard and the floor they were running in tilted downwards, sending them sliding towards the exit.
Riley managed to hold onto a pillar and scooped Michelle with one arm before she fell straight into the ocean.
He was bearing both their weights with the arm he used to hang on the pillar.
"Can you climb onto my back?" he said while panting. It was not a question but a request.
She gulped while looking down the water. She mustered all courage she had and used her arms to shift her body so she'll be on his back.
After making sure she will not fall from him, he started to reach to another pole, to a beam, railings and all sturdy things he could reach.
"Let go!" he ordered her.
She shook her head violently.
"Michelle, listen to me. See that jetski down there? We will ride that. So we just need to fall in the water for a bit, okay?" He tried had to sound reassuring.
"No!" she argued as her body trembled.
"It's gonna be fine. Trust me, okay?"
"I...I don't know how to swim!" She was in tears.
Riley did not know whether to laugh or cry at this moment. They were actually wearing lifevests. In the end, he chose to be considerate of how scared she was.
"Hey, it's okay. The vest will keep you afloat, okay? Michelle, you have to jump now!"
The ship was moving again, at this rate, he was afraid that the jetski might get toppled on. He used all his strength to free himself from her embrace.
"Noooo!" she screamed while falling.
He adjusted his position and jumped into the water as well.
Michelle frantically waved her hands around, she thought that she was drowning.
Riley pulled out the knife he took from the kitchen and started to cut the rope that was securing the jetski on the ship. It was hard for him to do so, for she kept splashing water on his view.
"Michelle!" he finally snapped and shouted at her. "You're not drowning! Climb up on the jetski! Now!"
She finally stopped and realized that she was on the surface. She glanced at the jetski and looked back at him.
Seeing her hesitation, he lowered his tone. "It's okay. I will go with you."
With that, she paddled herself and somehow managed to get on.
Finally, the rope was cut! He hurriedly swam towards her and got on.
Before parts of the shipwreck fall on them, the motor sounded, and they managed to escape.
After some time, lightning flashed and thunder struck. Soon, heavy rain fell, with raging waves.
Rescue boats had just arrived. The survivors were transferred to a larger vessel, which was still small enough for the waves to sway.
The ship finally sank with its silhouette disappearing in the heavy rain.
The assistants looked over each survivor rescued in the large vessel.
"I can't find CEO!" They said to each other in chorus.
Michelle tried to look into the ocean. All she could see were rain and violent waves. She started crying. "I...I can't believe CEO is gone!"
Riley took her in his arms.