"I know, I found some of it."
"Do you mind taking over for a little while so I can eat? I could eat while piloting, I've done it before, but I could use a break if we're going to be traveling all day. The water's a lot calmer now."
"Sure," Lucy said, before she could lose her nerve.
As soon as she got her hands on the wheel, though, she could feel herself enter a kind of peaceful inward stillness. Her anxiety evaporated, and she felt as if the boat was an extension of her body, as if she was swimming along through the cold northern water just like Dane.
She noticed that the killer whale had dropped back so that he was keeping pace with the boat rather than being way out in front.
"Is he getting tired?" she asked Eren, who was sitting on the bench seat with his sandwich.
"Probably not yet, but he'll signal if he wants to come on board. If so, we'll cut the throttle and let him climb on."
"Signal how?"
"It varies, but you'll be able to tell."
For now, however, they motored on as the clouds began to clear and the afternoon brightened around them. Abruptly, a shaft of sunlight cut through the clouds and turned the water to brilliant, translucent green glass in front of her. Lucy gasped aloud. After the hours of endless gray monotony, it was magical.
The clouds were blowing away rapidly now, streaming off to the horizon. The sky turned to a blue dome streaked with sunset colors, and Lucy shed her windbreaker. She was surprised to see how low the sun was. Under the unchanging gray clouds, it had been impossible to tell if it was early or late, if the sky was bright or dim.
"Dusk soon," Eren said. "I don't know if Dane has somewhere for us to pull in, but at this time of year, it's only dark for a few hours anyway."
A moment later, Dane cruised around the bow of the boat so abruptly that Lucy, startled, yanked the throttle lever back. The boat rocked sharply. She realized an instant later that he was too far ahead for them to be in any danger of hitting him.
The boat was almost at a standstill now. The killer whale circled around to the back.
"Was that the signal you mentioned?" Lucy asked.
"Probably." Eren stuffed the last of the sandwich in his mouth and stood up. "Here, I'll take over and hold it steady while he gets on board. Do you mind getting his clothes from belowdecks?"
"Glad to!" Lucy said, and hurried down to collect the bundle.
"And a towel!" Eren called down.
She came back up with the armload. Dane had climbed up onto the deck, naked and streaming water. His long tanned arms were prickled with gooseflesh and his dark hair was slicked to his head, all of which Lucy saw only in peeks as she extended the bundle to him while trying not to look.
"Thanks," Dane said. He sounded amused.
A moment later he joined them in the pilothouse, still drying his hair. Eren reached down and cranked the heat. A hot draft blew from vents under the windows.
"Thanks," Dane said. "I smell coffee. Got any more around?"
Lucy brought him the rest of the thermos and a sandwich. He settled on the bench seat with a nod of thanks.
Now that the water was calm, Eren steered with one hand loosely draped on the wheel. The sky was going through a brilliant series of colors, gold shading salmon shading red, reflected across the lightly ruffled wavetops. Clouds flecked the heavens, and there was a dark mass of something, land or clouds, low on the horizon. Lucy pointed it out.
"Could be another storm system moving in." Eren glanced back at Dane. "How close are we to the island?"
"Close, but not close enough to get there before dark," Dane said. "I don't think it's a good idea to try to land at night."
"No big deal," Eren said. "We can take watches through the night, keep an eye on weather conditions and so on. Lucy, do you think you'd be up for standing a watch by yourself?"
"Sure!" Lucy said. It was hard to believe she had been terribly intimidated about the boat just a week or so ago. Now it felt like she was born to be here.
"You can take a late watch and wake us up immediately if anything happens," Eren suggested. "That way you'll get some sleep beforehand."
"Sure, I'm good with anything."