The storm struck with a fury that no one aboard had imagined.
One moment the Santa Lucia was battling heavy waves.
The next, it was fighting for its life.
A monstrous wall of water emerged from the darkness and slammed into the vessel.
The entire ship shuddered violently.
Passengers were thrown against seats and tables.
Several screamed.
Others cried out in prayer.
The lights flickered again.
Then steadied.
For now.
Captain Lubasi grabbed a railing as the ship rolled heavily to starboard.
The deck beneath his feet seemed alive.
It rose.
It fell.
It twisted.
It groaned.
Outside, the sea had become unrecognizable.
The peaceful Mediterranean of a few hours earlier had vanished.
Now it looked like a battlefield.
Lightning flashed continuously.
For brief moments, the passengers could see gigantic waves charging toward them like advancing armies.
Then darkness swallowed everything again.
A loud crash echoed somewhere below deck.
Another followed.
The sound of metal scraping against metal sent a chill through the ship.
Crew members rushed through the corridors.
This time they were no longer hiding their concern.
Fear was written plainly across their faces.
A woman grabbed one of them.
"What's happening?"
The sailor hesitated.
Then forced a smile.
"Everything is under control, madam."
But his eyes said otherwise.
The woman began to cry.
Another violent wave struck.
The ship tilted sharply.
People stumbled.
A serving cart broke loose and rolled across the lounge, smashing into a wall.
Children screamed.
An elderly man fell to the floor.
Captain Lubasi rushed forward and helped him up.
"Thank you," the man said breathlessly.
Before Lubasi could reply, a deafening alarm sounded.
The sharp noise pierced through the vessel.
Passengers froze.
Then came a second alarm.
Then a third.
The lounge erupted into panic.
"What does that mean?"
"Are we sinking?"
"Oh God, help us!"
Voices rose everywhere.
Some people rushed toward the corridors.
Others fell to their knees.
A few simply sat in stunned silence.
Captain Lubasi's heart pounded.
Military training told him that alarms were never sounded without reason.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
As another flash of lightning illuminated the room, he looked toward Fernando.
The old teacher was standing now.
Not because he was afraid.
Because a frightened little girl had wandered away from her mother.
Fernando gently took her hand.
"It's all right," he said.
"But the ship is shaking," the child cried.
Fernando smiled.
"Then let it shake."
The girl looked confused.
"What if we die?"
The old teacher knelt beside her.
"Then we will be with the One who made the sea."
The child stared at him.
To everyone's surprise, she stopped crying.
Captain Lubasi watched in disbelief.
How could this man remain calm when everyone else was falling apart?
A thunderclap exploded directly overhead.
The ship lurched violently.
Then came a sound that made every passenger's blood run cold.
A deep grinding noise.
Long.
Slow.
Terrifying.
It seemed to come from the very heart of the vessel.
Silence fell across the lounge.
Even the children stopped crying.
People stared at one another.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Then, somewhere below deck, a crew member shouted:
"Water! Water is getting in!"
And suddenly, true fear seized the ship.