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“Charlie!” Ruth yelled.
“Let’s get you out of there,” he said.
“It’s locked,” Meg reminded him. The water had risen so high, she could no longer even see the keyhole.
“It’s a good thing I have this, then,” he replied, pulling the gate open and showing her the key he had used to do so.
“A key! Where did you get a key?”
“Come on,” he said, taking Ruth out of her arms and pulling her back the way he had come. “We need to get you two to a boat immediately.”
The water on E Deck was rising, but they were able to walk out of the deepest part fairly quickly. Charlie seemed to know exactly where he was going, and Meg held onto his hand and let him lead her.
“I need to go back to the stairwell and see if I can find Daniel,” she explained.
“No time for that,” he said dismissively.
“But I promised him I
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