“I thought I’d never make it out of there alive,” Jack continued. “I’d been in some rough spots, but that one … there was no recovery. No one would find me at the bottom of the Atlantic, alone with the clams and crabs.”

The storm charged toward the shore, and Elizabeth knew it wouldn’t be long. Time could not be wasted. Still, she sat on the porch in the same place it all started.

Zim heard whispers on the other side of the door as he put his key in the lock. He stopped. A chill crept down his back like tentacles from an icy jellyfish.