Sea

The fifth night at sea has arrived. Benji relates in his diary that he has been thinking of when he had first met Annabelle; now it has been ten months since she had left him, and he is no closer to feeling okay. He continues to speak of his memory of leaving the yacht, insisting that he had nothing to do with its sinking: “I tell you again, Annabelle, I had no part in destroying that ship. I know what Dobby wanted, and the things I may have inadvertently helped him plan. But I was thrown into the sea with nothing but the clothes on my back” (39).

On the sixth day a storm threatens the raft and its inhabitants, but Benji watches the young man place his hand over his face and almost immediately notices the complete disappearance of the storm clouds and the stilling of the wind. Storing this experience away, the crew’s thoughts move to other concerns, like the possibility of sharks in the water and the fact that they hadn’t seen a single airplane fly overhead. The members of the crew converse about their circumstances and this strange figure claiming to be the Lord. Some comment on their suspension of belief, or possible belief, or their complete rejection of the idea. The young man, overhearing them, interrupts and reminds them that though they have explained away many things, there was one thing remaining that they could not explain: the greatest creation of all, human beings. The conversation dwindles away, and the primary concern is that of having enough drinking water. All they have are a few small cans.

The next morning, they awake to the sound of Jean Philippe crying; they discover that Bernadette has disappeared. Seeing only an empty space where Bernadette had just previously been the night before, they begin to interrogate the strange young man along with her husband, Jean Philippe.

Land

LeFleur had taken the notebook without completely knowing why; it was a breach of protocol. Wandering away by himself, he finds a place to open up the diary and peer inside. Finally alone, he begins to read.

News

Relating the search efforts in the wake of the ship’s sinking, the reporters relate the bad news: Nobody has been found, and the ship has not even been located. An investigation will be underway shortly, but so far nothing has turned up.

Eventually, after more than three weeks of searching, the Coast Guard announces that it has called off the search for the remains of the Galaxy and any survivors. Memorial services for the various personalities that disappeared on the Galaxy have begun, not least among them that for the ship’s owner: Jason Lambert.

Sea

On the eighth day of their journey the crew has begun to grow increasingly agitated. Geri, who had been a guest on the yacht, is active in leading the remaining castaways in activities that will help to pass the time and make their time onboard the cramped vessel easier. Eventually the group are able to discover the events that led to Bernadette’s disappearance and death: In the middle of the night she had died, and so her husband peacefully rolled her body overboard. Late that night Yannis leads the group in singing.

The next day Benji writes to Annabelle that someone else has died. Lambert has reached the point where he has become paranoid and is convinced that somebody sabotaged his boat and destroyed it on purpose, perhaps in an assassination attempt. At the point of his greatest excitement, however, the boat jolts and the group realizes they are being hunted by sharks. In the commotion, Mrs. Laghari falls overboard, and moments later there is a spray of seawater and blood.

Land

Jarty LeFleur is a law-abiding citizen, and so his decision to take the notebook is a surprise and largely out of character. He is married, his wife’s name is Patrice, and he had once had a daughter by the name of Lilly. At the age of four she died in a tragic accident at the beach, drowning under the care of Patrice’s mother. After this event, LeFleur spiraled into depression and a complete lack of faith. His wife turned to religion, but LeFleur backed away: “He disavowed God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, anything he’d been taught as a kid in church. No merciful god would take his child that way” (61).

Turning to alcohol and smoking, LeFleur developed his own way of dealing with grief and tragedy. In this moment of holding the confiscated notebook, however, he begins to feel something small that contradicts his previous coldness and doubt. Peering at the inside cover, the inspector sees a dedication; the author had clearly written to a woman named Annabelle and had even written down a plea for the forgiveness of his sins.

News

With the search for the lost yacht finally abandoned, the news begins to run various reports and memorial profiles on different members of the lost ship. The first profile to run is that of Latha Laghari, a woman who rose to global prominence and affluence from the slums of India in her youth. Presumed dead and lost at sea, Laghari was 71 years old.