Forced Choice: Adrift

The keel of the barge gave stability to the vessel as it drifted down river barely avoiding the imposing obstacles in its path. The captain tried to show his moxie while quaffing booze followed by a chaser of juice, hoping the elixirs would quell his nerves. He had hocked everything to buy the barge and ignored the feeble attempts of his peers to dissuade him.

Now he was floating in the channel with no power, insecure about his situation and totally zugzwanged. The wanton yarn his pals will spin will become grafted to his wife’s raving thunder concerning this folly. It was too late for niceties. He keyed up the ship to shore radio setting the xenon gas into motion and sent out his SOS.