BrokenTune

Yeah, you know when I said this wasn't really action-packed...?

‘Come on, quick,’ I urged James. But he sat down on the bunk with his head in his hands. It was as though he was deciding whether to come.

I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door. As I did, I heard a loud crash. The guard had managed to topple his chair and, still tied to it, was rolling down the gangway towards the main deck.

   James seemed to click into action. He grabbed the gun from me and pushed me against the wall. ‘Keep behind me. They must have heard that.’

   We slithered along the wall. I kept my eyes glued on James’s back. I saw him tense, raise his gun arm and fire. A volley of shots came back at us. ‘Keep your head down and run in the other direction. I’ll catch up,’ he shouted. I did as I was told, sprinting towards the front of the ship, where I’d earlier seen a lifeboat on a hoist. I was climbing in, when I sensed a hand by my shoulder. I spun around and lashed out at my attacker with an elbow. He grunted and jumped on top of me. I struggled as best as I could while he tried to smother me with his hand. I bit hard on his finger and he jumped back momentarily. As he was lunging towards me again, a single shot rang out and he collapsed as James jumped into the boat beside me. ‘Another form for you to fill in. Come on, Penny, we’re on our way. Grab that rope there.’ I pulled and the lifeboat plummeted down and landed on the water with a tremendous splash. I was thrown forward against the bow.