As the sun disappears over the western horizon, the wind picks up strength behind them. At first, everyone smiles and laughs as the tiny boat begins to pick up speed and the temperature cools. But as twilight turns to night, Captain begins to look nervously over his shoulder. One by one, each passenger turns to see huge thunderhead clouds forming behind them as the wind strengthens. As the first stars begin to appear, lightning flashes across the sky and the sound of thunder grows closer.
Concern turns to fear as Captain begins giving sharp orders to Bouki, “Top off the fuel in the motor. Get it started now.” As the crewman unscrews the cap on the motor’s fuel tank, Captain lowers the sail. The wind is blowing much harder now, but he’s able to get the sail lowered and stowed as rain begins to fall. The warm, soft rain is a relief and many of the passengers hold their heads back, opening their mouths to swallow it as it falls. A few strip out of their clothing and try to wring their wet clothes into empty water jugs.
Suddenly, everyone’s attention is drawn to Captain as he begins shouting and swearing at Bouki. The motor will not start. He shoves Bouki aside and begins pulling on the starter rope. The rope pulls freely but the motor will not fire or sputter. After several minutes of pulling on the rope without result, Captain becomes winded. Slowly, he opens the motor’s fuel tank and confirms that it isn’t somehow empty. Then reluctantly, as if he desperately wishes he could be anywhere else, he puts his nose to the tank opening and sniffs. He turns slowly to Bouki and says in a low yet urgent voice, “The fuel doesn’t smell right. Give me the can you used to fill it.” Bouki hands him one of the fuel cans. Captain carefully sniffs its opening, pours some onto his hand, and tastes it. His shoulders slump and he looks at Bouki. “That mal leve bastard sold us water, not fuel. You put water in our fuel tank. This motor will never start.”
Everyone stares in disbelief, until all the passengers start asking questions at once. They shout over each other, the entire boat rocking violently as everyone struggles to reach Captain on his perch. They plead with him to say it’s all a ruse. In less than a minute, the passengers exhaust themselves and begin to cry or stare off into space. Henri watches as the captain and Bouki exchange a long look. Captain nods and without another word, the two of them climb out of the wallowing fishing boat and into the dinghy.
Before anyone can react, Captain cuts the dinghy’s rope and shoves away from the side of the larger vessel. Bouki begins to pull on the oars until the life boat is out of reach of anyone on the fishing boat. Now the passengers begin to scream and shout. Some fall onto the slippery deck while others plead, some threaten, everyone trying to be heard over the din. But Captain doesn’t turn back and Bouki keeps pulling on the oars. This has the effect of silencing the passengers, with the exception of some racking sobs. When Captain is barely visible, he calls back to them, “We’re going for help. Just stay in the boat until we return.”
The dinghy disappears into the mist and fog. The passengers begin looking around frantically, shoving past each other to look into the hold for life jackets, but each emerges onto the deck empty-handed. The boat’s mast suddenly explodes above them as it’s struck by lightning. Everyone on the boat crowds to the stern as far as possible from the mast. Another bolt lights the sky and Henri sees an enormous wave coming straight at them. The wave effortlessly lifts the bow of the boat out of the water and he finds himself launched into the stormy sea.
Henri kicks and pulls with his arms until he breaks the surface and can take a deep breath. That deep gulp is mostly seawater and a puff of air, as a massive wave crashes over Henri and submerges him again. He manages to fight his way to the surface and through streaming eyes sees some debris floating nearby. He swims toward it and grabs onto a chunk of wood with both hands. After taking a few coughing and retching breaths, he begins to get his bearings. Another flash and crack, and the struggling fishing boat capsizes. It slips silently into the inky water, taking another handful of passengers with it. One moment they are screaming and pleading to “Bon Dieu”. The next, they are gone as if God never even dreamed of them.
Another flash splits the sky and illuminates the aftermath. Henri sees Jocelyn struggling to keep Espwa’s head above water in the churning sea. He tries to swim toward her but the waves are too high. Other passengers sink into the water around them, their hands reaching toward the sky as they sink. The wind shifts, pushing Henri toward Jocelyn and Espwa as another wave washes over them. The rain is falling sideways now, its hail-like drops and gusting wind flaying them mercilessly. Henri turns his face back and forth in agony as the hard rain lashes his exposed skin. Another wave washes over him but he stays afloat. When his vision clears, Henri sees Jocelyn still floating next to him on the debris pile, baby Espwa clutched to her chest as another wave rises behind them.