The day dragged on and they were all lost in silence for most of it. Lisa and Emily tried to play cards but the rocking boat made it difficult and after one game of go fish, they gave up. The hardest part was not knowing how far they had come or where they were. The storm could have sent them north towards Vancouver Island or it could have sent them south back towards southern Washington or California. The worst case scenario was that the storm had sent them west and further from land.
It was late afternoon and after another boring meal of beef jerky and water everyone except Lisa, who was rowing again, had laid down to sleep. She was the only one who had slept the night before and they needed to rest. Emily was dozing. She was in that place between awake and full sleep when Lisa yelled out. Emily’s gritty eyes popped open and she pushed herself up and frantically looked around. David and Mason had sat up as well and they were looking around in confusion. Lisa was paddling hard and her face was a mask of determination.
“What’s wrong, Lisa? Why did you yell?” Emily asked her in bewilderment.
Lisa didn’t even look at her. She just grunted out “Boat!” in between heaving breaths.
Emily and the others scrambled up onto their knees and scanned the way ahead. It was Mason that spotted it.
“There! It’s right there!” He pointed towards a dark shape ahead of them.
David slid over to the emergency kit that had come with the boat and searched through it until he found the small pair of binoculars. Turning back, he scanned ahead again and cautioned, “It could just be another dead boat guys. But even if it is we might be able to scavenge stuff from it.”
Everyone waited impatiently while he looked through the glasses. It seemed to take forever before he lowered them and smiled. “There are people on deck! It looks like they are fishing.”
He handed the glasses to Emily who was closest and she quickly brought them up to her eyes. When she had found the boat she squinted to make out two people who looked like they were hauling a net over the side. A sense of panic overtook her and she almost threw the glasses at Mason as she dived for the other paddle. She shoved it at David.
“Quick! We need to get closer before they leave. It’s late afternoon and it looked like they were hauling in nets. They might be done for the day. You’re stronger than me so paddle, please!” David’s eyes widened in understanding and he quickly moved to the side and got into position. Emily sat on her knees in the middle of the boat with her eyes locked on the fishing boat in the distance. She chanted a mantra in her head over and over, Please stay, please stay...
Mason went to try and take over for Lisa but she just shook her head and kept paddling. He watched her in admiration for a minute before turning to the emergency kit that David had left open. From the corner of her eye, Emily saw him remove something and her whole body jolted away from him. Mason was holding a gun. She slapped at her pockets and remembered in a flash that she had put Mark’s gun in the bottom of her backpack. A whimper of fear escaped her.
Mason looked at her terror-filled face with shock and quickly looked down at the gun in his hand. “Emily! Emily, it’s a flare gun! We can signal them!” He tried to explain.
When her frozen brain finally understood what he was saying, she fell back onto her butt and dropped her head into her hands. When she felt Mason put a hand on her shoulder, she looked up into his sad eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Mason. I just flashed to Mark when I saw the gun in your hands,” she whispered.
He shook his head in disbelief. “I would never hurt you or the others. I know you don’t trust me but please know that.”
The hurt in his eyes sent shame flooding through Emily. As he turned away she grabbed his wrist.
“I know you wouldn’t, Mason. I really do! It’s just that in the past three days, I’ve had two people point a gun at me and I panicked. Honestly, it wasn’t you. It was the gun!” she pleaded with him to understand.
He searched her face for a moment before nodding and squeezing her hand in understanding. Then his face went fierce. “I will protect you. No one will hurt us again!”
He turned away before she could respond and all she could think was, “Wow”. She glanced towards David and he gave her a quick nod before focusing back on his paddling.
Emily grabbed the binoculars and looked at the boat ahead of them. She could see that they were on the other side of the boat now, pulling up a different net. It wouldn’t take long before they were done and if she guessed right they would leave. She wanted to scream in frustration at how long it was taking to get closer. They had to signal them but they had to do it when the people were looking so it wouldn’t be missed.
“Get ready, Mason. When I see one of them turn this way you need to shoot the flare,” she told him.
“Just say the word. I’m ready!”
Through the glasses, Emily watched as the people pulled the fishing net onboard. The sun shone off the silver fish that spilled over the edge of the boat and disappeared onto the deck. She barely let herself breathe while waiting for one of them to turn. When it finally happened, Emily almost fell backwards. It seemed from a distance that the man who turned around was looking straight at her. She yelled, “NOW!” and jumped when Mason fired the flare. Her eyes followed the flare as it zoomed up over their heads and then she quickly brought the glasses up and looked at the boat to see if they had seen it. After finding the focus again, she found herself looking at two people that were waving their arms above their heads. Emily couldn’t quite make out their features but she thought it was a man and a woman. The person she thought was a man lowered his arms and moved away from the woman and disappeared.
“They see us, guys! I think they see us!” she told the others.
Lisa slumped back against the side of the boat and tried to catch her breath. David leaned back also and rested his paddle on his knees. He wiped the sweat and salt spray from his face with his sleeve before speaking.
“Do you think they will come and get us?” he panted.
Before Emily could answer, they saw the boat turn towards them.
“Here they come. Please let them be nice people!” she begged.
Emily closed her eyes at the thought of more misfortune finding them. She looked at her backpack and decided she would be ready for anything. Snagging it with her foot, she pulled it closer and dug deep into it until she felt the cool metal of the gun. She pulled it out and stuffed it into the pocket of her jacket. When she looked up, Mason was looking at her with a frown on his face. Emily nodded at the flare gun he was still holding.
“Are there more flares for that? It’s not ideal but it could be used as a weapon.”
He opened his mouth to say something before closing it and slowly nodded. He turned to the emergency kit and pulled out two more flares.
David looked at Lisa and told her, “Keep that paddle with you. You’ve got a great swing. Don’t hesitate if things go wrong.”
Lisa gripped her paddle close to her chest and gave a sharp nod. The sound of the fishing boat’s engine was getting louder and they all turned to watch it approach. Everyone in the lifeboat was struggling with their emotions. They were excited at the possibility of being rescued and wary of what kind of people might be on the fishing boat. Emily prayed that they would be decent and willing to help them get to shore. She hated that there was an automatic suspicion after what happened on the Lawless.
When the two boats were about fifty feet apart, the sounds of the engine changed as it reversed and slowed to come alongside the lifeboat. This close, Emily could clearly make out the features of the woman that was staring down at them from the deck. She was an older woman and Emily guessed her age to be in the sixties or early seventies. She had a kind but weathered face as if she had spent many years outdoors. The woman had a concerned expression on her face but as the distance closed it changed to one of astonishment. She turned away and Emily could clearly hear her yelling at the man.
“Luke! Luke, they
’re kids! There are four teenagers in that boat. Hurry up and help me get them on board.” She turned back and yelled over the side at them. “Just hold on! We’ll get you out of there in a jiffy!” and she disappeared from view.
Emily looked to the others to gauge their reactions. They all seemed to relax slightly, but David looked a little apprehensive still.
“I think they are okay but just stay sharp.” He reached over and started to gather up things that were loose and stuffed them into the closest backpack.
Mason nodded and emptied the emergency kit supplies into another pack. There were still a few clothes draped out to dry so Emily and Lisa folded them up and packed them away. It didn’t take long before the fishing boat was alongside them and David used his paddle to manoeuvre the lifeboat down its side and under the ladder. He tied them off on it and shouldered his pack. Looking up he could see the woman staring down at him with concern. The man, who must be Luke, stuck his head over and waved David up the ladder. His face was weather-creased and brown with sun like the woman's and his eyes were also concerned.
David scrambled up the ladder and felt strong steady hands grip him as he came over the rail. He almost panicked and struck out at them until the grip changed to a pat on his back.
“There you go, young fella. You’re safe on board now. Don’t you worry; we’ll get all you kids up here safe and sound,” the man said in a gravelly voice. He turned away and peered over the side for a moment before reaching out and helping Lisa over the rail. Emily and Mason quickly followed and the kids grouped together on deck, watching the two strangers warily.
The woman scanned them each in turn and nodded to herself.
“Well, you all look healthy enough. You must not have been out there for too long. My name’s Joanna and that’s my husband Luke. We were just headed back in when we saw your flare. Good thing too as the weather will be turning in a few hours and you kids would have been battered right hard in that little dinghy. Well, come on then, let’s go get settled and you can tell us your story on the way.” She waved them towards the cabin but none of them moved.
David stepped forward. “Ma’am, we just want to say thank you for picking us up but could you tell us where we are and where you are taking us? We haven’t had the best experiences with people out here and we are a little nervous right now,” he said seriously.
The woman’s face made a comical “oh” expression before it turned thunderous. She looked at the two girls and then swung back to David.
“Did somebody hurt you kids?” she asked in outrage. Before David could respond she barrelled on. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that on my boat! No sir, Luke and I will take care of you and see that you get to shore. Oh, you poor babies! Imagine that! In a disaster like this people should be coming together to help each other. Unbelievable!” She seemed to run out of steam then and when she took in the wide-eyed stares, she smiled reassuringly and said softly. “It really is okay. You’re safe with us.”
Emily felt tears come to her eyes. This woman was so much like her granny who would also go off on tirades. In an instant, she felt like a little kid again. After all they had been through; here was an adult that wanted to take care of them. She found herself pushing past David as the tears broke free and wasn’t surprised at all that Joanna opened her arms and wrapped them around her in a comforting hug.
Chapter Twenty
After Lisa had gotten a motherly hug and the boys received back pats, they entered the cabin and settled in. Joanna quickly presented them with hot coffee and ham sandwiches. While the kids ate, she filled them in on what had been happening on land.
“We were lucky. We live on an island named Samish and it only has a narrow land bridge to the mainland. There are only about five hundred houses on the island and half of those aren’t full-time residents. Most of us are already self-sufficient with generators and gardens. There isn’t a big commercial presence on the island so we are used to fending for ourselves. The mainland wasn’t so lucky. We could see the fires and smoke for days. Our youngest son made it home to us on day four and he told us of horrible things. So many people died on the first day from accidents and crashes. He told us that by day three people were rioting at stores and there was chaos everywhere. We barricaded the landbridge and posted guards but we couldn’t just turn away families who were trying to find a safe place for their kids. We set up the community campground as a refugee center and we’ve just started to move people into empty homes. There’s plenty of food to be had as long as you like seafood. Almost all the locals have knowledge of fishing, crabbing and clamming so no one will starve. Luke used to fish for a living on this old beast and he only retired from it a few years ago. This warhorse was old enough not to be affected by the pulse so we’ve been hauling in fish for the past ten days. It helps that we have an ice plant onboard so we can store the fish and pack it to transport it. We have about twelve working vehicles on the island and we have set up a delivery system to help some of the refugee camps on the mainland. I’m sorry to say that we have to send armed guards with them after they were attacked by starving people.” When she paused to shake her head sadly, David jumped in.
“Where are we? We were caught in a storm last night and blown all over the place.”
Joanna stood and peered out of the window and then waved them over. She pointed out to the northeast.
“You can just see it now. That’s Vancouver Island. We are headed into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Samish Island is just northwest of Burlington and Mount Vernon.”
David’s expression was hopeful when he asked, “How far is that to the Canadian border?”
Joanna was surprised by the question. “Well, it’s probably about sixty miles or so up the interstate. Why do you ask? Are you kids from B.C.?”
Wide grins had spread out on all the kid's faces at her answer. They had made it so close to their home country that hope swelled in them all. Emily answered Joanna.
“No, we are from central Alberta.”
“Alberta! Then how and the heck did you kids end up in the Pacific Ocean?”
Emily explained about the class trip to Disneyland and how they had found their way to the coast and onto the Lawless. Joanna was shocked at how far they had come.
“Well, that’s just incredible! What are the odds of that! You know, you kids are so lucky. Luke and I have no reason to even be out here. There’s plenty of fish closer to the Island. The only reason we came out into open water was to look for friends of ours. They had gone out the day before the pulse for a family getaway in their new cruiser. We were hoping to spot them adrift out here. We are so worried about them. Their two kids are like grandchildren to us.”
The silence from the kids and the looks they sent each other confused Joanna.
“What? What’s wrong?”
No one wanted to say what they were thinking but Lisa spoke up.
“The kids, they wouldn’t be named Sarah and Ben would they?”
The shock on Joanna’s face said it all. Lisa shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. “You don’t have to worry about them. They are probably home by now!” she said sarcastically.
“What, you met them? How…what?” Joanna stuttered out in confusion.
Lisa just shook her head and looked away. Joanna was looking from face to face in bafflement.
Emily sighed and explained.“They took our boat. Or rather their father did. We stopped to help them and he had a shotgun and he ordered us off the boat and took it,” she said quietly.
“Now that’s a load of bull! There is no way Jacob would do that! Besides, I thought you said you were in a storm.” Her face held disbelief and anger.
David intervened. “We were in the lifeboat when we were caught in the storm. Before that, when we had the boat, we stopped when we saw the children on deck. We offered to help them but the father was scared. He told us that another boat had stopped and stolen all their food and water…they took his wife. He was desperate and scared. H
e said he couldn’t take the chance with us. He just wanted to protect his kids. He wanted us to go on his boat but we convinced him to let us take the lifeboat so we would have a better chance of making it to shore.” David paused as Joanna deflated and slumped down into a chair. “I think he was crazy with grief and desperation to protect his kids. I got the feeling he wasn’t happy with what he did.” David tried to console her.
Joanna just sat there shaking her head in disbelief. After a while, she looked up at them. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what he did but you are all safe now and in a few hours we will be back on land and I will do whatever I can to help you kids make it home.” She gave them all a sad smile and left the cabin.
The next two hours were mostly spent in silence. They were all exhausted and they dozed off one by one. Emily found herself nodding off only to jerk awake with thoughts of home. It had been more than two weeks since they had last stood on land, the day the whole world had changed. On one hand, she wanted desperately to get to shore so they could continue their way home. But on the other, she was scared of leaving the ocean. Even after all the terrible things that had happened, they were somewhat sheltered from the reality that awaited them on land. She gave up trying to sleep and quietly left the cabin so as to not wake her friends.
She went to the bow and took a long look around. The sight that greeted her made her gasp. They were surrounded by land. She could see many small and large islands and mountains in the distance. They were almost to shore. Emily closed her eyes and tried to picture the area they were heading to on the map that they had studied. From what she remembered, they would come ashore south of Bellingham. She knew that was a small city a lot of Canadians crossed the border to shop at so it couldn’t be too far from Canada. She opened her eyes with a sigh. With only their feet to travel on, everywhere would be far.
STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 35
