I’m not about to cross the railing. Luckily, the ladder is reachable from here. I get down, flat on the ground, wrap one arm around the post for good measure, and extend my hand, nearly grasping it.
“Just about got it,” I yell out.
“Thank you! There are just so many ropes! And the one I thought I’d climbed down on fell as soon as I pulled it. I’m Elliot, by the way.”
Fingers brushing the rope, I crane my neck to look at him. “Hank,” I answer, and our eyes catch.
He looks vulnerable and perhaps a little confused, and it sends another jolt of panic through me.
I need to get my boss’s son to safety, immediately.
I grab the rope, my eyes fixed on him, like he might accidentally fling himself from the raft if I look away. “I really should get someone on the crew to assist you up,” I say. Theladder is caught, so I give it a good, strong tug. It comes loose, and as it does, the platform beneath me quakes.
Fear shoots up the back of my neck, an electric shock. I grip the rope hard, but it tugs back harder, lurching me off the side.
The life raft comes free, and as I let out a terrified yelp, Elliot and I go tumbling down.
