First Fate (EBOOK)

No power. No comms. And no-one coming to save them.
Prepare for the cruise from hell.
When an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) strikes Rose of the Sea, the pleasure cruise becomes a drifting nightmare. Powerless and desperate, the eleven hundred passengers and crew must face their new reality: No one is coming to save them.

The First Mate. The EMP destroys the captain’s pacemaker, killing him in a heartbeat and Gunner McCrae is thrust into the top position. But no amount of training could prepare him for the savagery of desperate humans and an unforgiving ocean.

The Anchor-woman. Gabrielle Kinsella is known for bringing shocking stories to the world. She should be reporting on the headline of the century. Instead she’s fighting for her children’s lives.

The Acrobat. Held captive by a predator as a child, Madeline Jewel found freedom as the ship’s acrobatic dancer. But being trapped in an elevator brings her worst fears back to life.

The Gambler. Zon Woodrow, notorious gator hunter, won his ticket to the cruise in a poker match. But that isn’t the only pot he’s looking to score. With the ship’s security system obliterated, Zon turns his attention to the casino’s vault. And this time, the house won’t win.

As resources dwindle aboard Rose of the Sea, the body count continues to rise. Will ordinary people survive an extraordinary disaster? Or will they drown in darkness?

Chapter one

Gunner McCrae scowled at the satellite image of the category-three storm cell that had been chasing them since Rose of the Sea left Hawaii yesterday morning.

If the hurricane continued to intensify like it was, the captain would need to rethink the cruise ship’s course ASAP.

His monitor blinked out. As did the nav system. And the radar. “What the hell?” Gunner jolted back, scanning the bridge. Every screen was dead. The lights were also out.

The captain drove his hands through his thick hair. “Shit!”
Captain Nelson rarely swore. Never in front of women.
Gunner spun to his captain, seeking clarification. Nelson’s eyes were wide, darting from one screen to the next. “Sir?”

“The whole bridge is down.” The captain’s gaze shot along blank consoles. “Everything has died.” He spoke with his usual composure, but his expression was that of trapped horror. “We’re dead in the water!”

“What?” Gunner held the utmost respect for Captain Nelson. He was the father he’d never had. A pillar of strength.

A man in control. He didn’t look it now. For the first time since Gunner had known him, Nelson was lacking in action.

Gunner stood and strode alongside the center console, jabbing buttons, desperate for a flicker of life. Nothing. “But how?”
First Officer Cameron Sykes slapped the Electronic Chart Display joystick and shook his head. “I got nothing.”

“No. No. No! This can’t be happening.” Nelson darted his gaze from Gunner to the dead equipment and back again. His expression was loaded with fear.

Second Officer Pauline Gennaro spun to the captain, yanking off her headset. “Comms are down. I can’t get the engine room online.”

“It’s an electromagnetic pulse.” Nelson’s voice quivered, lacerated with anguish. “An EMP. It has to be.”

“All the security monitors are down too.” Deck Cadet Reynolds pushed back on his chair.
Sweat beaded Safety Officer Robert Hastings’ forehead as he stared at the closed-circuit televisions. The monitors should display key aspects of the ship in rotation, providing multiple visuals of each deck. All of them were blank.

Even the exit sign over the door was out.

Darkness seeped into the bridge. It wasn’t designed for blackouts. Day or night, Gunner could see every inch of that room. The banks of computers should be lit up like the party deck at the rear of the ship.

But with the sun hanging low on the western horizon, Gunner could barely see the length of the bridge.

Gunner turned to his captain. Nelson’s eyes were wide, his lips pale. “Are you sure it’s an EMP, sir? It could be—”

“Look around.” Nelson smacked his lips together as if wrestling with his words. “The electronics are dead.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down and he cleared his throat. “Not just the computers. Satnav. Lights. Comms.”

He sucked in a shaky breath. “They’re all on different circuits, yet they all died in the same instant. If it was just one, maybe even two circuits, we could attribute it to mechanical or system failure. But the whole bridge . . .” Shaking his head, he glanced at his wrist. “Even my watch is dead. Yours?”

Gunner stared at the watch his wife had given him last month for their tenth wedding anniversary. The screen was blank. He tapped the glass. Nothing. Dread crawled up his back.

“It was an EMP. And it’s happened exactly as they said it would when I was in the navy. Everything fried in an instant.” Nelson leaned his palms on the blank GPS console. “It’s the only explanation.”

Scraping his thoughts together, Gunner glared at Nelson. The air in the bridge seemed to crackle, loaded with static. “But how can that be? The hull’s solid metal. We’re protected.”

“Below decks maybe. But up here on the bridge . . .” Glancing to his left, Nelson’s eyes bulged. “And look.” He pointed at the exit. “The door was open!”

Sheryl, the middle-aged woman who’d been cleaning Rose of the Sea’s bridge since its maiden voyage twenty-five years ago, was humming to herself and gliding a squeegee over the glass like it was the most important job on the cruise ship. The squeak of rubber was like nails scraping up Gunner’s back.

Nelson’s face washed with a gray tinge. “We can’t even sound an alarm.” He jabbed the ship’s horn button. The blast that usually blared from the loudspeakers could wake an entire island. Not this time. “If . . .” Nelson sucked a breath through clenched teeth. “If I’m right, the whole world is—” He clutched his chest. His eyes flared.

“Sir!” Gunner ran to his aid.
Nelson didn’t just fall. He keeled sideways, smacked his head on a chair and hit the floor without so much as a hand to halt his impact.

“Sir! Captain!” Gunner dropped to his knees and rolled Nelson over.

Nelson’s blue eyes were open. His mouth too. His tongue was motionless.

Gunner pressed his finger to the clammy skin beneath Nelson’s neck, praying for a pulse . . . nothing.