Chapter 12
The two lifeboats carrying Helena's men left the yacht and headed back towards the island. The man who started the fire looked back at the yacht. The flames on the deck grew more intense. In the cargo hold, Laura and Lucky were still locked in.
Laura gave the hatch one last try before she gave up. She climbed back down the ladder to Lucky. "It's no use. We're trapped," she said.
"Do you smell something?" Lucky asked. He had a worried look on his face.
Laura sniffed the air. "That's Smoke. The boat's on fire!" Her eyes immediately looked to the boxes of explosives in the hold with them. "We've got to get out of here!"
Lucky climbed up to the hatch and pounded on it. He didn't care if they were caught now. Anything was better than staying down in the hold. "Help! Someone help us!" he yelled.
"Lucky, forget it. I'm sure all of Helena's men are gone. I knew our escape was too easy. We walked right into one of Helena's traps."
"Even if it was a trap, there has to be a way out of here," Lucky said as he continued to struggle with the hatch.
Laura walked around the hold opening the boxes to see what was in each one. Most of the boxes did contain explosives. She came across one box in the corner of the hold. Painted on the side of the box was the word supplies. She took the lid off and saw several different types of tools. Laura assumed that they had been used by Helena's men to build the underground complex that Helena was living in. Most of the tools were useless to her and Lucky, but she saw something that caught her attention.
"Lucky, what is that hatch made out of?"
Lucky turned and stared at her like she had lost her mind. As much danger as they were in right now, why was she concerned about the construction of the yacht? He sighed. "It's made of wood Mom and it's not going to hold that fire back for long."
"That's what I was hoping you'd say," Laura told him pulling an axe out of the box. "Here," she said as she handed it to him.
Lucky smiled and took the axe. He took him several minutes but he managed to chop a hole in the hatch big enough that he could reach out and unlock it.
"Come on Mom," he yelled as he swung the remains of the hatch open.
Laura quickly climbed the ladder and followed him out of the cargo hold. The flames were only a few feet from where they stood. Lucky quickly took off his jacket and handed it to Laura.
"Put it over your mouth and nose to block the smoke," he told her. He pulled the bottom of him t-shirt over his own face.
The steps leading to the deck had collapsed. Lucky lift Laura high enough that she could reach the edge of the deck and pull herself up. She quickly reached down to help him up. Most of the deck of the yacht was engulfed in flames.
Laura pulled Lucky to the side of the boat. "Jump!" she yelled.
They both jumped off the yacht. It exploded just as they hit the water. Lucky struggled back to the surface and looked around. There was no sign of Laura.
"Mom!" he yelled.