Chapter 282: Moving Out Of The Rain

Hanchuan kept looking beyond the bow while Zeyu waited for an answer.

He knew where Beichen stood in relation to Jinhai. He could picture the road between them, including the turn they had missed on their first visit, but none of that told him which way to point the boat.

The distant speck Zhiyi had noticed disappeared behind a swell. When it came back into view, it looked farther away, though Hanchuan couldn’t tell whether it had moved or they had.

"Keep us steady for now," Hanchuan told Zeyu, resting a hand against the back of his seat. "Don’t use more fuel chasing a direction we aren’t sure of."

Zeyu glanced down at the controls, then eased his grip on the wheel. "I can do that, but we’re still drifting. I’ve been trying to keep the worst of the waves off our side."

Hanchuan nodded and looked back at the others.

Jingwei was crouched over the board, holding it against the folded cover while Shichen worked beside him. Qinghe took a bucket from Zhiyi and emptied it over the rail.

All four were soaked, and Zhiyi had begun rubbing her fingers against her skirt between trips.

He had to stop looking for a skyline that wasn’t there.

"Qinghe, take over for Zhiyi," Hanchuan said as he crossed the deck. "We need to know what’s aboard. I’ll check the forward lockers with her."

Zhiyi started to rise, then caught the seat when the boat rolled beneath her feet.

Hanchuan helped her up and kept her against his side while they moved forward.

Her bare foot was pale from the cold water, and the slipper on the other offered little protection.

He settled her behind the windshield, where she could reach the locker without kneeling on the wet deck.

She waited until he crouched beside her before speaking.

"Could we have passed Beichen without seeing it?" she asked, her voice soft.

"We could have," Hanchuan replied just as softly. He wasn’t about to sugar coat anything. She wouldn’t appreciate that.

Instead, he lifted the lid and held it open while she looked inside. "Or we could be moving away from it. I don’t know yet."

Zhiyi turned toward him. He expected another question, but she only touched his wrist before reaching into the locker.

They brought out a small tool case, a loose coil of line, and a stiff brush with its bristles bent against the corner.

Beneath those lay the fittings for the boat’s cover. Hanchuan set everything between his feet so it couldn’t slide away while Zhiyi felt along the back.

"There’s nothing else in this one," she told him, withdrawing an empty hand.

Hanchuan took the tools to Shichen before opening the next locker. He knew the emergency supplies had been packed.

He remembered seeing the bags beside the launching bay when they checked the boat, close enough to load before a planned departure.

He hadn’t reached for one when the floor began breaking apart.

The next locker held more rope and the remaining life jackets. Zhiyi helped him put them back, leaving the rope where they could reach it.

Neither of them mentioned food until they had checked every space they could open without disturbing the men working over the leak.

"There aren’t any bottles," Zhiyi said. She had one hand inside the last locker, as though a smaller container might still be caught beneath its edge. "Did anyone bring water out with them?"

Hanchuan asked the others. Zeyu checked beside the helm without taking his eyes off the waves for long, while Qinghe patted his pockets before shaking his head.

Jingwei looked up from the board. "I had a glass beside the bed."

His gaze met Zhiyi’s, and Hanchuan saw her fingers close against the empty locker.

Yesterday, Jingwei would have gone back to get it for her. Now he shifted his weight to keep the patch pressed down while water ran over his wrist.

Hanchuan closed the lid gently beneath her hand.

"We’ll collect what we can while it’s raining," Hanchuan told her. "Help me find something to hold it."

Zhiyi looked toward the bucket, then at the compartment where Qinghe was still scooping. Taking it away would leave them with only the pump, and the water had already begun climbing while they searched.

"We need another container," Zhiyi said, pushing wet hair behind her ear. "The cover would catch more, but Shichen’s using it."

Hanchuan followed her gaze.

Most of the heavy fabric was folded beneath the board. There might have been enough to cut away, but Shichen was already struggling to keep one edge from working loose. Hanchuan left it alone and turned back to the tool case.

Shichen had emptied the tools onto a seat. Hanchuan picked up the case and examined its shallow compartments while Zhiyi leaned closer.

"We can put that out," she said. "It won’t hold much, but we can drink from it."

He wiped out the loose grit with his wet sleeve, then let rain rinse through the open case before settling it where the windshield wouldn’t block the drops.

Zhiyi held it level with both hands. Water gathered slowly in the corners, too little to tip toward her mouth without losing some over the hinge.

Hanchuan watched her try, then put his hand beneath hers to steady it.

She managed a swallow before lowering the case. When she held it toward him, he almost refused. Her eyes stayed on his face, and he bent to take what remained.

Behind them, Shichen called Jingwei’s attention to the rope.

"Keep your hand there while I tighten this," Shichen said. He pulled carefully, checking the board before shifting his grip. "If it moves when you let go, put your weight back on it."

Hanchuan returned to help. With the rope secured around the seat support, the board stayed in place when Jingwei lifted his arm.

Water still seeped around the cover, but Shichen could finally sit back without immediately losing what they had gained.

He flexed his cramped fingers while watching the patch.

"That needs checking every time we hit a wave," Shichen told Hanchuan. "I wouldn’t trust it long enough to fall asleep."

"We’ll take turns," Hanchuan replied, taking the bucket from Qinghe. "You and Jingwei rest your hands while you can."

He began scooping, feeling the pull in his back as he passed the bucket over the side.

Qinghe moved forward to relieve Zeyu for a moment, giving him time to stand and straighten his legs without leaving the helm unattended.

For a while, the boat settled into work they could manage. Hanchuan emptied water, Shichen watched the patch, and Zhiyi kept the open case beneath the rain. Jingwei searched the horizon whenever the bow rose.

Then the drops stopped striking the plastic.

Zhiyi lifted her head and looked behind them. The rain remained visible in the distance, a gray curtain beneath the clouds, but the water around their boat had begun to brighten.

"Hanchuan, we’re moving out of it," Zhiyi said, holding the case level so she wouldn’t spill what they had collected.

Zeyu looked from the retreating rain to the fuel gauge. Hanchuan set down the bucket and joined him, feeling the boat carry them farther away while neither man touched the throttle.

There was barely enough water in the case for another mouthful.