DAY 10. AT SEA. AFTERNOON.
Martin was listless. Today the ship seemed suffocating, and he felt sweaty and confined. His body strummed with pent-up energy, and he longed to run for miles, anywhere, in any direction, to leave the Australis Star far behind. He’d left Abbey and his friends by the pool, and gone in search of Thomas, finding him at last in the atrium on the fifth deck, with its floor to ceiling windows and outlook on to the open sea. Thomas wasn’t alone. Sitting next to him, watching the roughening waves, was the young Chinese woman Martin had glimpsed around the ship. He saw her close-up now for the first time, and his breath caught in his throat. For a moment, before either of them noticed him, he stood and admired her. Her olive skin was make-up free and flawless. Her brown
