Mason took another menacing step forward but before he could cut into David, Emily put her hand on his chest and pushed him back.
“That’s enough, Mason! I want out of here and David’s right. We have to sell this person on helping us so just be nice for once.” Mason looked at her with a hurt expression but finally stepped back and nodded at David.
David turned to the boat and called out, “Hello, on the boat! Anyone aboard?” There were a few moments of silence before they heard the sound of a door shutting and steps on the stairs. A man’s head came into view as he came on deck and stared down at them. He was tall with a dark tan. He was wearing tan cargo shorts and a tee-shirt that showed strong arms and hands that were covered in grease. He took in the group of kids with a neutral expression on his face. When he didn’t say anything, David stepped forward.
“Hi, we heard you banging around and we just wondered if you had heard any news about what’s going on?” David didn’t want to just hit the guy with, “Can you take us home?” He wanted to get him talking and build a rapport with him.
The man pulled a rag out of his back pocket and started to clean the grease off his hands before answering, “Not really, but it’s bad, really bad. Nothing electronic is working and the city is breaking down fast. Fires and gunshots everywhere. It took me all day to get here on foot,” he replied with a grimace.
David nodded. “Yeah, we saw some bad stuff too. We were at Disneyland on a class trip when everything stopped. Saw a plane drop out of the sky and on the way here, there were bodies all over the place. Our teacher thinks it was an EMP.”
“An EMP…that would explain a lot.” The man looked around and back down the dock before focusing back on David. “Where’s your teacher?”
“Not with us. She told us to try and get out of the city. Some of the other kids headed inland but we wanted to try taking a boat out. Mrs. Moore stayed back with the kids that wouldn’t leave. They think the government will come and rescue them so they’re headed to the consulate.”
The man scoffed, “They won’t make it. No one’s coming and if they did, there are millions of people here to help. What consulate, where are you guys from?”
“Canada, Alberta. We’re going to try and get a boat working and head up the coast to B.C. and head overland from there.”
“Man, I love Alberta. I’ve done a lot of skiing around Banff. I’m originally from the Seattle area so it’s a quick hop up there. At least it was.” He paused thoughtfully with a frown. “Do you guys even know how to sail? Nothing that’s engine-powered will work, at least nothing newer. You might be able to find an old tub that you could get working but you’d never get enough fuel to get that far.”
Mason, who had been standing back stepped forward and tried to sound confident. “I’ve done some sailing on small boats but only on lakes, never in the ocean. I thought we would stay close to shore and get as far north as we could.”
The man was shaking his head halfway through Mason’s plan. “That won’t work. If you don’t have experience with the tides and currents you would be wrecked in no time. That stretch is the last place you want to learn. It’s better to head out towards Hawaii and then turn northeast. Trust me, I’ve made the trip twice a year for the past 6 years. You guys would be better off finding something powered.”
Everyone visibly slumped in defeat. Everything in this marina looked newer which meant fried electronics. The man frowned again. “Do any of you guys know anything about engines?”
David’s head came up, “Yes, sir, I’ve been working on them for as long as I can remember.”
The man looked the kids over again. “So you know about engines and you know a little about sailing.” He shook his head. “Just enough to get into trouble or get very lucky. What about supplies? You can’t just go to the store while you’re out on the water and it would be weeks to go that far.”
Emily decided to make their case. The sun was getting even lower and she wanted to move on if this guy wasn’t going to help them so she spoke up. “We have three golf carts over there filled with food and water. We have enough with rationing to last that long. Water will be the biggest worry but we can hope for rain.” She stopped and took a breath. “Sir, David is really amazing with engines and Mason has some sailing experience. We have a lot of supplies and can take care of ourselves. If we stay here, we will die or worse. It’s too late for us to try and walk out of the city now. We have to go by boat as far as we can get. Will you help us? Will you take us with you?”
The man took a step back in surprise as if he hadn’t even considered it. Before he could respond, she introduced everyone. “I’m Emily and this is Lisa. The boys are David and Mason. Our friend Mark is guarding the supplies over there. Twenty minutes ago we were shot at and almost killed. If Lisa and I are caught by the wrong people, we’ll be raped and then killed. I’m only sixteen. I don’t want to die. We have to get out of here and soon.” She looked at the man pleadingly.
“I…I don’t…Oh, man!” he stuttered.
David jumped in again. “We’d do anything you want. We can help in any way and we’d stay out of your way. You can share all the supplies we brought and we can scavenge more from around here. We can get more gas from these boats and find more water. We’d do anything! Please, sir, help us get home.”
The man looked up into the sky and then rubbed his hands over his face. “Argg! Okay, but I can’t take you to B.C. I’m only going as far as Washington. You’ll have to find your own way from there!”
Emily sobbed out a ‘thank you’ and turned to Lisa and hugged her. She was so happy that they were getting out of here that she didn’t even care when the girl pushed her away. Mason and David were thanking the man who introduced himself as Tim Greyson.
“Alright, we only have about an hour before we lose the light to navigate out of here. We should really just stay here for tonight but I’m worried about looters and gangs showing up, not to mention the fires that are burning out of control. So go get your friend. You should be able to just drive the golf carts right out onto the dock. We’ll load up and see about getting some more gas. Most of the boats will have jerrycans on board and extra water. We’ll grab whatever we can in the next forty minutes and then we’re out of here.”
While Mason and David jogged back to get the golf carts and Mark, Emily and Lisa boarded the boat.
“Ladies, welcome to the Lawless,” Tim said.
Lisa just laughed at the name but Emily froze and turned concerned eyes to him.
When he saw her apprehension, Tim was quick to explain. “No, no, it’s not like that! I’m a lawyer and sailing is my escape from work, hence the name. Don’t worry - you guys are safe with me. I’ve got two younger sisters that I adore and the thought of them being stuck in this city was one of the main reasons I agreed to take you guys with me.”
Emily’s expression softened and she smiled gratefully at him. “You really are saving our lives. We probably wouldn’t have made it two days in there,” she said as she waved towards the smoky cityscape.
“Hey, Tim, do you have a washroom on board? It would be great if we could get cleaned up. We’ve been walking all day,” Lisa asked with a flirty smile.
“Oh, yeah, sure I’ll give you a quick tour while we wait for your friends to get back. Come on down.” He led them down into the boat and Emily was surprised with how much room there was. The main living area had a small kitchen and bench style dinette with a built-in couch across from it. Tim showed them the two bedrooms at the back of the boat and then went back to the stairs and opened a door beside them that led into another small bedroom. He finally turned to the side and opened a door that led into a tiny bathroom that had a toilet and the smallest shower that Emily had ever seen.
Lisa brushed past them and with another flirty smile, shut the bathroom door in Tim’s face.
“Oh, right! Sorry, forgot you had to go. Just take it easy on the water. We don’t have much and we have to conserve it,” he y
elled through the door.
Emily thought she heard a muffled “Whatever” from behind the door and suggested they go back up and see if the boys had returned. The last thing she wanted was for Tim to see Lisa’s true colors and change his mind before they had even left the marina.
The boys hadn’t returned yet so Emily tried to get to know Tim better. “This is a pretty big boat for one person, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah, it really is. I should have bought something smaller a while ago but I’m sentimental about the Lawless. My dad helped me buy it when I was nineteen. She was a wreck with so much damage that I didn’t think she’d ever float, let alone sail. But the price was right and he convinced me it would be a good project for the two of us. It took us two years just to get her on water and then another couple of years to outfit her properly. I’ve been sailing her for the past six years and have really come to love the big girl. The thing is, if I had traded her for something else, it would have been full of bells and whistles that would all be dead right now. So it’s a really good thing I kept her or we’d all be paddling a dinghy north.”
Emily nodded her agreement. “I can’t thank you enough for this. The things we saw on the way here…it was horrible. I can only imagine how much worse it’s going to get. I don’t think we would have made it out alive.”
Tim nodded thoughtfully. “I agree, this city is going to burn. Anyway, with all the supplies you guys have, it won’t be a burden for me to help you out. It will actually make things a little easier on me if Mason can help out some. And it’ll be a nice change to have some company. It’s a long couple of weeks to get up to Seattle so I’m glad to have you aboard.” He smiled reassuringly.
The sound of engines could be heard so they both moved over to the dock and saw the three golf carts heading their way. The boys parked and jumped out. Immediately, they started to unload the supplies from the back and passed them up to Tim and Emily. The deck started to fill up quickly so Emily started to carry things down into the cabin. On her fourth trip down, the living area had boxes and bags stacked everywhere and David followed her down with two cases of water.
As he passed her he asked, “You okay?”
She pushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes and nodded. “I can’t wait to get out of here. How much more is there to unload?”
“We have everything aboard now. Tim, Mason, and Mark just took two of the carts to scavenge from the restaurant. He wants us to try some of the closer boats for gas cans or other things we might be able to use.” David stretched his back after lowering the two cases of water and looked around. “Where’s Lisa?”
Emily froze for a minute. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten about the girl. Her head slowly swiveled towards the bathroom door. “Lisa?” she called. When she didn’t get an answer, she went to the door and was about to knock when the door opened. Emily’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Lisa stood in front of her with her eyebrows raised while she continued to dry her hair. She was naked except for a towel wrapped around her torso. Emily had to back away and close her eyes. She took deep breaths and tried to push her anger down. This…this stupid fool had had a shower!
David was looking at Emily in confusion. He stepped forward to see into the bathroom and a look of disgust crossed his face at the sight of a dripping Lisa.
“Are you really that stupid?” he asked her in surprise. “We need that water to live on. How much did you just waste?”
“What is your damage? I was so sweaty and gross from the walk here. I needed to get cleaned up. We have plenty of bottled water to drink,” she said nastily.
David shook his head in disbelief, “We could be on this boat for three weeks or more. Those cases of water won’t be enough! No one can have a shower! We can’t waste any more water!”
“Oh my God! Could you be any more of a drama queen?” she said with a roll of her eyes.
Emily couldn’t take anymore. She stepped right up to Lisa and put her face close to hers. “I will not die because of you. If you do one more stupid, selfish, shallow thing, I will personally throw you overboard. I am not joking, Lisa. If it means you have to go so that the rest of us will live, I will do it.” she hissed through clenched teeth.
David pulled her away from Lisa and looked to her. “She still doesn’t get it, Em, and she won’t until she’s dying from dehydration. Lisa, don’t use any more water. Get dressed, now. You’ll help us search the other boats for supplies and keep your mouth shut or Tim might decide you’re too much trouble to take with us.” He didn’t wait for her response. He just pushed Emily ahead of him and up the stairs.
Up on deck, Emily was shaking from anger and fear. All she could think about was Alex. She would do anything to go back to the start of this day and change her decision. She and David should have gone with them. She rubbed her face with her hands and tried to keep the tears from falling.
Chapter Five
David finished carrying everything down into the cabin and returned with a now dressed Lisa. The girl wouldn’t look at Emily as she went past and down the ladder to the dock. After they had all climbed down, David waved them into the last golf cart and they drove to the next dock of boats. Tim had told him that he had already searched the closest boats and to start further away. He parked halfway down the dock so they wouldn’t have to carry the supplies that they found so far.
“Keep your ears open, girls. We haven’t seen anyone here yet but that doesn’t mean that no one is onboard one of these boats. We are running out of time so we should split up. Emily, you and Lisa take the right side and I’ll take the left. I got a couple of crowbars from the golf course. Do you think you can force the cabin doors open?”
Emily reached out and took the tool with a nod.
“Okay, look for gas cans. The more we have, the further we will get when we need to use the engine. Also, grab any water and food, first aid kits, any stuff that you think will come in handy. Let’s move as fast as we can but be careful.” He glanced at Lisa meaningfully before continuing. “I know we need all we can find but just stick to the yachts without sails. Those owners will probably not try to get here but the sailboats owners could still get out so let’s leave their stuff, okay?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea, David. I would hate to think of a family who had a chance to get out of this city suffering because we stole their stuff.”
Without looking at Lisa, Emily turned and headed down the row of boats to a huge power yacht. She climbed the ladder awkwardly with the crowbar and stepped up onto the deck. There was nothing out in the open so she headed straight for the cabin door. It took four tries, but she managed to get the door open and she was sweating from the effort. Emily ignored Lisa, who was standing behind her, waiting for the hard work to be done.
What a useless waste of space, Emily thought to herself.
The inside of the cabin was dim and she went over to the windows and pulled back the curtains. Emily turned to open the curtains on the other side of the cabin and was surprised to see Lisa already pulling them open. The girl turned and caught Emily’s surprised expression.
“What? I know you think I’m useless but I’m not brain-dead you know,” she said sarcastically.
“Then stop acting like you are, Lisa,” Emily countered.
Lisa’s lips pressed flat together and she looked down at the floor. “Look, I’m sorry about the shower, okay. I didn’t think about the water issue. This isn’t exactly familiar territory for me.”
Emily studied Lisa’s frowning face. She was surprised that the girl had apologized and forced herself to soften a little. They were all out of their comfort zones and if she could forgive Mason for his actions then she should be able to ease up on Lisa too.
“Listen, Lisa, I’m sorry I got so mad at you. It’s just that I’m so scared right now, and this situation is really serious. We have to make smarter choices if we’re going to survive. I meant what I said earlier. We’ve got to work as a team no matter how we feel
about each other. It’s the only way we’ll get home. None of us are exactly in familiar territory here. We’ve got to really think about what we are doing so we don’t make mistakes. Everything is different now. All the things that used to matter don’t anymore. Just try and make smarter choices, okay? You can’t just think about yourself because…we’re all in the same boat together,” she finished with a grin.
Lisa had been staring at the floor while Emily talked but at the pun, she looked up and gave a half laugh.
“Oh, that’s so bad. Funny, but bad.” Her smile faded. “I just wanted to say thanks for taking care of me back on the street, after the shooting. I was terrified.”
Emily reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. “Yeah, me too. Come on, let’s see what we can find.”
They searched eight boats and came away with a surprisingly large amount of food and water. Every boat had gas cans with extra fuel and they piled them on the deck for David to load in the cart. By the time they had finished their golf cart was full and there was a huge pile still to be loaded on the dock. Mason pulled up with another cart and helped load the rest. The two carts were so overloaded that Lisa and Emily had to walk back to the Lawless.
By the time they made it back, Tim and the boys were just finishing loading everything onboard and the sun was almost down. The girls climbed onboard and Emily surveyed the piles of supplies everywhere. She was so tired from the long day and her arms ached from prying open cabin doors and hauling so many heavy items. She couldn’t help the groan that escaped when she reached down and lifted two one-gallon jugs of water. They had to clear the deck and secure all of this before they got under way. She carried the water down the stairs and shot Lisa an understanding smile over her shoulder when her groan followed. They had seemed to have declared a truce, and she was happy that Lisa was doing more to help out.
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 24
