Ready and Eager

A roaring noise woke Brandi from a sound sleep. It was so loud she felt her body shaking with fear. Then it registered with her that a storm caused all the noise outside her cabin window.
Darkness still shrouded the room, but an occasional flicker of lightning seared its mark through the small porthole. Thunder boomed loudly overhead, filling the room with a deafening sound.
Brandi shivered with fright over the intensity of the storm. She placed her hands over her ears to block out the sound, but this didn’t help much. Her next thought was to awaken Link so that she wouldn’t be alone. Brandi ran into the hallway and stopped outside his door. She raised her hand and pounded.
After several more attempts to wake him, she turned the knob and pushed the door open. His room was empty, but it looked as if he'd slept in his bed the night before. Where could he have gone? The enormity of the situation caused her to have all kind of crazy thoughts. She only hoped nothing had happened to him.
She didn't waste any time in making her way along the hallway and returning to her room. She quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, a blouse and her sneakers. Her frantic efforts to hurry made her fumble with getting dressed, but she kept telling herself to calm down. There wasn't any time to lose if she wanted to find Link.
She made her way up to the top deck and a shock ran through her at the storm howling above her. The winds were blowing at gale force, buffeting the yacht from side to side. She held onto the railing as she walked because of the slippery surface of the wet wood to try to keep from being swept overboard.
Her terrified gaze searched the deck for any sign of Link. Finally, she spotted him over near the lifeboats. It looked to her as if he was trying to loosen them from the heavy rope that held them in place. She made her way precariously across the deck to reach him. As she got closer, she saw that this was exactly what he was doing.
"Go below and gather us some clothing,” he shouted above the racing wind. "Try to carry some blankets and anything else you can think of to bring along.”
Brandi nodded and headed toward the staircase. The yacht tipped and bounced dangerously. She thought it might overturn at any second. Holding her breath, she eventually reached the stairway leading down to their cabins.
She reached her room and opened a case stuffing as much clothing inside that would it. On impulse, she gathered soap, a tooth brush for both of them and a tube of toothpaste and other toiletries from the bathroom.
Her next stop was Link's room. She rummaged through his bureau and found jeans and sweaters, and stuffed them inside as she’d done her own. After securing the lock on the case, she grabbed blankets from the top shelf of the closet.
When she managed to lug everything to the deck, Link ran across to help her. He took the blankets and stuffed them in a plastic bag, along with the case to keep them dry. He motioned for her to follow him. Brandi was only steps behind as they made their way over to the railing. She stood in terrified silence watching his slow descent to the lifeboat bouncing on the choppy water. She lifted the bulky bag and the cases down to him. He dropped them precariously in the pitching craft below.
"Start down the ladder and I'll meet you halfway,” he cupped his hands around his mouth to call up to her. "Come on and I'll help you. We don't have a moment to lose."