Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban

Author:Diana Urban [Urban, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2023-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Panicked murmurs rippled through the packed Student Union, and I gripped my red-cushioned seat’s armrests to keep my hands from shaking. Captain Hwang had just said onstage he believed a student, Lainey Silverton, had gone overboard, and though he hadn’t used words like fell or pushed—nothing to indicate the circumstances—it was like people knew.

“. . . couldn’t have been an accident . . .”

“. . . railings are too high . . .”

“. . . that super-rich girl, right?”

“. . . she’d never have jumped . . .”

I squeezed my eyes shut, like that’d somehow plug my ears and mute the murmurs. The captain had asked the seven of us to keep mum on the details, only revealing Lainey’s identity so people wouldn’t panic about who might’ve gone overboard.

But it was only a matter of time until someone blabbed. Until those whispers were about Silas and me.

Silas was clutching his head in the front row, surrounded by Jamal and a few buddies consoling him like a bereaved spouse in a missing persons case. A shiver rippled through me despite my numerous layers. Eager to lose the bloodied shirt, I’d dashed back to my room before the assembly and changed into my favorite cozy tunic, leggings, and moto jacket in an attempt to quell my persistent trembling. It didn’t work.

A hand on my knee jolted me back to reality. Felix. I entwined my fingers with his.

“Your attention, please,” said Captain Hwang. “I need everyone to remain calm.”

The room quieted except for a lone sob. Sheffia, in the first row of the balcony seating behind me. She clasped her mouth, cheeks shining with tears. I didn’t see Tate anywhere. Despite everything, my heart ached for her, having seen that bloodied room, hearing how her friend was officially missing, alone now in a crowded room.

“We’re following standard man-overboard procedures,” said the captain, “and are backtracking now to attempt a search and rescue. A couple of ships within thirty nautical miles are assisting as well. But the tropical storm we avoided yesterday is heading in our direction, so we can only go so far before posing a risk to the ship.”

“. . . no way in hell . . .”

“. . . drowned by now, right?”

“. . . needle in a haystack . . .”

They were right. Of course they were all right.

I could imagine Lainey clutching her wounds as some shadowy figure dragged her from the bed, wrestled her to the balcony, pushed hard enough to flip her over the rail. I could image her falling, plummeting into the murky depths below, then kicking, straining to reach air as her lungs screamed for oxygen. I could imagine her finally breaking the surface as rivulets of blood flowed from the gashes in her chest, sputtering, splashing, flailing as the ship grew smaller in the distance.

Yeah.

There was no way she could’ve survived that.

Her forlorn gaze during the pool party flashed through my mind, and a sob scraped at my throat. I’d loved that girl—loved her like a sister.

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