"Christ, I hope I never have to do this again..." Peter complained after replacing the cap for the gas tank. He had found a length of hose and sucked enough gas out of the tank to half-fill the gas can he had taken from the emergency kit. He stood up and replaced the cap on the gas can. "That should about do it," he said and went over to Lindsay, who was holding the rest of the supplies he needed.
"Do you think this will work?" she asked, a little skeptical of his idea. She handed Peter his things and went in search of an ax, a board, something to break a window with.
"It might. I'm not promising anything though." He taped the flares onto the red can and made sure they were fastened tightly.
Lindsay found an ax and held it tightly. She walked cautiously to the front of the boat (she had to walk carefully otherwise she would fall- the boat was still gaining speed) and smashed the front window. She kept her face out of the driver's line of sight, to make sure she wasn't attacked again. Peter handed her the can with the flares on it, and she held it while he took matches out of his pocket. He lit the wicks of the flares and Lindsay tossed the can inside. They ran to the back of the boat and dove off the end, just in time to miss the explosion. 
The three nervous spectators watched the large boat go up in flames before it exploded. They prayed with all their might that Peter and Lindsay were okay.
The water was cold and dark as Lindsay and Peter watched each other underwater. They seemed almost angelic, illuminated by the fire on the top of the water above them. Lindsay wished she could stay there with Peter forever, in suspended animation. But time raced by in the real world and they rose to the surface, seeking air.
Peter and Lindsay's heads broke the choppy surface of the water. They took deep breaths of the cool night air and shivered, swimming closer to each other. Lindsay was once again glad she had decided not to wear a dress that night.
They stayed where they were for a while, treading water, their teeth chattering. They watched the flames leap from the wreckage of the boat as it started to sink. They swam to the pier where Anton, Matt and Jill were and were hoisted onto the now stable floats. Everyone could see Derby's floating corpse, but no one made any effort to go and get it. Peter and Lindsay sat in each other's embrace, watching the wreckage as it disappeared below the surface of the oil-black water. |
