by Lee West
Joe turned their boat so that the fishing vessel would have to approach on the port side, as Frank had requested.
“Holy crap, you’re right. Look at that thing!” said Brett.
The ship pulled up next to them, exposing its broad side for their inspection. The vessel was nothing short of a floating death trap. Every conceivable surface was covered either with rust or some sort of combination of mussels and algae. The ship was in such poor condition that Frank wondered how it was still floating. The captain and crew appeared on deck, waving at them. Frank noticed one man stayed behind at the helm.
“Hello there! I’m Dan, captain of this fine fishing vessel!” the man yelled.
His dark beady eyes revealed a sinister motive for the stop. The man stood silently waiting for a response from their ship. His long stringy, greasy hair moved slightly in the wind.
A crewmember who wore a blood-splattered T-shirt over grungy, dirty and ripped jeans answered him, “Maybe no one’s home!”
“Get the ropes! Tie ’em off!” yelled the captain to his crew.
Frank knew they only had seconds to respond to the threat. He couldn’t let the men tie the ships together. If that occurred, there would be no way for them to escape.
Gathering his courage, he lifted the port hatch and greeted them. “Hey! Sorry for the delay. We’re all exhausted in here. Been floating around for days after our boat capsized in heavy seas. We’re just trying to make it back to shore! Do you have any supplies you could spare? Especially food or water?” said Frank to the mean-looking bunch. The men looked like a pack of jackals circling a kill, ready to pounce at any moment.
He thought asking for supplies would make their cover story more believable, but judging from their response, it clearly hadn’t.
“We were gonna ask you the same thing. We could use more water and food, as we’re nearly out and we didn’t come from a shiny new cruise ship either! Right, boys!”
The vile, dirty-looking bunch nodded and grumbled in agreement. They laughed at Frank and his attempt to lie about their situation. The men acted as though they had won the lottery by discovering the little lifeboat.
Frank’s mind scrambled to figure out how the men knew they had escaped the cruise ship. Then it occurred to him, the name of their ship was stenciled onto the side of their lifeboat. Of course. The lifeboat had to be identified in case of an emergency. They must have figured out the lifeboat probably contained a lot of supplies. Frank knew that the men were opportunists who just happened upon a gold mine of supplies. There was no way they’d be able to talk their way out of this situation.
“How about we join our two ships and share our supplies? You know, safety in numbers and all of that shit!” said the captain.
“I don’t think so,” said Frank. He desperately tried not to let his voice crack. Showing any level of fear would be deadly.
The man’s attitude changed in an instant. Suddenly the thin veneer of civility vanished, being replaced by nothing short of murderous rage. The man reached behind his back and yelled, “Grab the—”
Before the man could finish his sentence, Frank pulled the flare gun from behind his back and fired, hitting the man square in the face. The man toppled back from the force and shock of the flare. The others scrambled away from him as the flare danced across the deck, spewing hot pink flashes and smoke.
“Move out NOW!” Frank shouted to Joe.
Joe responded instantly, taking the small boat from neutral to full speed. As they passed the fishing boat, Frank aimed a second flare into the pilot’s room. The flare bounced off the side of their ship and landed harmlessly in the ocean. Re-aiming, he shot a second flare at the same spot. This time, the flare went straight into the small space. The shouts of the man at the helm could be heard even as the distance opened between the ships.
Frank feared he had failed in protecting their group. He knew they needed to disable the ship or the men would relentlessly hunt them down. Now the captain had two reasons to kill them: supplies and revenge. Those two motivating factors would guarantee their deaths unless they took immediate action.
“Turn around! We need to turn around NOW! Go back!” he yelled to Joe.
“No fucking way! Did you see those guys!” said Joe.
“I need to take out their engines. We have to go back or they’ll chase us! We don’t have much time before they start moving again! We can’t outrun them!” he shouted.
Joe seemed to be weighing the options but then spun the boat around in a large arc and pointed its bow at the ship.
“Go to their stern! I have three flares left and want to take the best shot I can get!”
Joe drove the small lifeboat up to the mammoth-sized aged vessel, getting close to the stern as Frank had instructed. The men on the boat seemed to have recovered from the shock of being hit with the flares. They lined up on the deck and started shooting at the lifeboat as it advanced. Bullets sprayed the water and pinged off the front of the lifeboat.
Frank knew he’d only have a few seconds to get this right.
“TURN US PORT TO STERN! PORT TO STERN!” he shouted to Joe.
Joe slowed the boat and turned their port to the stern of the fishing vessel as Frank flipped open the hatch one more time. Frank bravely stood in the open hatch as bullets continued to rain down on them. He lined up the flare gun and took his shot. The flare bounced off the back of the ship.
“SHIT! Slow down! I need to be accurate!” he screamed.
Joe complied, slowing the boat down as much as he dared. Frank lined up the flare gun and shot again, praying it would hit the mark. The flare sailed through the air and then hit the back of their boat, entering a grated portion of the stern. He then used his last flare to distract the men from shooting at them. The flare hit the rise of the bridge wing and bounced onto the surface of the deck. The men scattered away from the erratic flare as smoke and flames licked the surface of their ship.
“Gun it! GET US OUT OF HERE! NOW!” he shouted to Joe.
Joe hit the accelerator hard, causing the front of their boat to flare sky-high. They pounded away from the other boat as quickly as possible. Frank closed and relatched the hatch just as sea spray splashed across the bow and sides of their boat.
“You think that’ll stop them?” yelled Nancy. “That looked like a really rough bunch. I wouldn’t want to tangle with them!”
“Those guys would’ve killed every last one of us and stolen our supplies. We’ll see if it was enough to stop them!” said Frank as he continued to watch the other ship.
Just as Nancy turned her head to look at the retreating vessel, a large explosion occurred on it. The ship was entirely engulfed in flames within seconds as several smaller explosions rocked its frame. Frank knew there would be no survivors.
“What did you do?” asked Brett in awe.
“I saved our asses. That’s what I did.”
“Clearly, but how?” pressed Brett.
“Many fishing vessels have vents on the back of the ship to keep the air circulating over their catch. I shot a flare into the vent and prayed that there would be enough diesel and ethanol fumes to do the rest.” Frank tried to breathe deeply to calm himself after the tremendous adrenaline rush. His hands and legs trembled as he breathed deeply.
“Looks like it worked. What was plan B?” asked Nancy.
“I had no plan B. It had to work or we’d be fish food right now. I was gambling on the fact that those older ships require a tremendous amount of maintenance to keep them safe. That ship didn’t seem to be under routine care. The rubber fuel lines in boats are only good for about ten years. After that, they need to be checked and systematically replaced. If not, they’ll leak fuel and fumes. One spark is all that’s needed to send the ship sky-high.”
Brett and Nancy both looked at Frank with renewed respect. He had used his knowledge to save them from the cruise ship and now murderous pirates.
“What sort of work did you do on the cruise line?” asked Brett i
n amazement.
“Maintenance,” said Frank with a shrug.
— 24 —
Nancy took a turn at the helm with Brett by her side as a lookout. She had grown up on the water. Her father was an avid outdoorsmen who loved to hunt and fish. He would take her and her sister out with him for various fishing trips. Over time, he had taught the girls how to use navigational charts and how to pilot their vessel. He said it was mostly for safety, but she knew he liked to brag to his buddies that his daughters were competent boaters, even at a young age.
“Man, it’s hot in here,” grumbled Brett.
“No kidding. The sun is just pounding on us. With any luck, we’ll be home soon.”
The lifeboat was equipped for rescuing people at sea, not for comfort. Its windows were small slats, only large enough to let a little light and air into the boat. They had opened all of the small windows as well as the hatches. However, the full brunt of the sun’s solar power bore down on them with absolutely no shade or cover.
“Can you believe what happened back there?” asked Brett.
“I know. That was nuts. Those guys were without a doubt intending us harm. I agree with Frank’s assessment of the situation. We’re lucky he acted so quickly.”
“I totally agree too. However, I can’t help but tally up our crimes. At this point, we’ve stolen a lifeboat, were the cause of another man’s death in the process, and were accessories to the murder of those five men back there. Things just keep spiraling out of control,” he said shakily.
“I hear you and agree. But we both know what waits for us at shore. We could—”
Brett interrupted her, saying, “But do we really know what awaits us at shore? What if I’m wrong? My God, Nanc, if I’m wrong about the detonation and EMP, we’re in deep shit.”
Nancy knew that Brett was shaken by the events that had just unfolded. They all were. Seeing the other ship explode had rattled everyone.
Trying to comfort him, she wrapped her free arm around his shoulder and said, “You aren’t wrong. We all agreed. We witnessed the detonation ourselves. We aren’t relying on someone else’s assessment of the situation. Besides, everything that has happened so far has confirmed that the blast caused an EMP. Our phones don’t work; the ship has lost contact with the port and coasties. Believe me, if I had any doubt that you were correct, we wouldn’t have left the ship.”
Brett seemed to relax a little under her arm. She knew he was just in shock and that it would wear off. At least she hoped it would wear off. She needed him. They needed each other if they would survive.
“What do you think we should do when we get home?” he asked as he scanned the horizon.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m worried that we won’t be okay on our own.”
“Why not? We have enough supplies. We’ll be fine,” she said.
“I know we have supplies, but maybe canned food and extra pasta isn’t enough? What about our protection? I would never have thought to do what Frank did back there. Let’s face it, if we were alone, those guys would have killed us,” he said, his voice cracking. Brett strained to hold back tears.
“We would’ve done something else to protect ourselves.”
“You’re not hearing me, Nancy. I can’t protect us. I’m worried about our safety. If things have broken down out there, we’re up shit creek.”
Nancy looked away from his broken, tired face toward the sea and considered what he said. “Maybe you’re right. We have some weapons at home, but I’d hardly say we’re in a fortress. Are you thinking we should ask the others to stay with us?”
“The thought crossed my mind. Maybe we’d be safer in numbers. Besides, I’ve grown quite attached to them. I’d hate for any of them to get hurt or suffer while we wait for things to return to normal.”
“I don’t think we have enough to feed everyone. We only have so much food saved up. Making the supplies stretch would be a real challenge with this many of us. But I agree, having others around would make me feel better too.”
“Let’s give it some thought. We don’t have to say anything just yet. How about if we wait until we get on land and get a read on the situation? Then we can decide,” he said.
Nancy hadn’t considered their safety as a big part of their survival, but she knew Brett was right. If this experience was any indication of how things were going on land, they needed the others. There was no way either she or Brett would have been able to pull off the escape Frank had orchestrated and she knew it. The two sat in companionable silence as the little lifeboat continued to bring them home.
— 25 —
Meg confined herself to the back of the boat, mostly away from the others. At this point, she was convinced they were either the scariest group of people she had met or the most resilient. Either way, she needed her space. Joe sat next to her, strapped into his harness. His head rocked against the restraints as the ship moved. Sleeping in an upright position while strapped in by a shoulder harness was not optimal but necessary. Lying on the benches and sleeping would only result in being dumped onto the deck. She knew Joe was exhausted from being up on watch most of the night. After having slept most of the night through her seasickness, she felt much more energetic today. She even seemed to be getting used to the seas, growing sea legs, as Nancy put it.
Frank sat closer to the front of the boat, sleeping. His snores were so loud they nearly drowned out the engine noise. Meg couldn’t believe he had done what he did. The men on the other boat would have hurt them, no doubt. Her sense of relief at getting away from them was quickly overshadowed by worry over what they would encounter on land. She could tell Mike was probably thinking the same thing. He sat alone on the other side of the boat. He seemed to drift in and out of sleep. While not sleeping, he just stared straight ahead, clearly in shock.
Suddenly, a noisy metallic pinging sounded from the engine, startling her. Frank’s and Joe’s heads popped to attention at almost the same moment. The pinging gave way to a loud whine, which dramatically changed the engine noise.
“SHUT OFF THE ENGINE! SHUT OFF THE ENGINE!” shouted Frank as he grappled with his harnesses.
“KILL IT! NOW!” he screamed as he ran toward the command console.
Nancy was quick to respond. She lowered their speed almost immediately and then turned off the engine entirely. As soon as the engine noise stopped, the entire cabin became silent. The only sounds were those of the waves gently lapping the sides of their boat.
“What the hell happened?” shouted Nancy. “I didn’t do anything. We’ve been traveling at a steady four knots all morning.”
“I’m not sure, but whatever it was, it’s not good. We should never hear a sound like that while the engine is in operation. I’ll open it up and take a look. Nancy, I’ll need the two of you to climb down from the console. Make sure the power is completely off,” said Frank.
Nancy checked over the simple command console to confirm no lights were on, making it safe for Frank to open the engine and inspect the system.
Frank lifted the small captain’s seat and placed it in its upright position. Next he lifted the cover off the large diesel engine, which sat immediately below the stowed seat. He pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and inspected the engine.
“What will we do if he can’t fix it?” asked Meg, turning to Joe.
“I don’t know. We’re still a ways away from land. We can’t even see it yet,” said Joe.
“You see anything wrong with it?” asked Mike as he peered over Frank’s shoulder.
“Not yet, but I could use less of an audience. I’ll update you guys when I know something,” said Frank.
Meg smiled at the comment. She had really grown fond of Frank, even if she thought he was a little crazy. His sarcasm had a way of breaking the tension, something they all needed. Grabbing Joe’s hand, she said, “Maybe we could go outside for a little, for some air. What do you think?”
“No way. It’s not a good idea. These things aren
’t equipped with the right handrails to allow us to walk safely topside. One wave and you’d topple into the ocean. And trust me when I say we don’t need to add a ‘man overboard’ drill to our to-do list.”
Frank closed the lid on the engine and moved to the back of the boat toward the head.
“What’s happening?” asked Mike.
“I don’t see any reason why the engine would have done that. There’s nothing amiss. All of the belts are fine and it seems to be in good order. I need to check the cooling system’s source for a failure.”
Frank disappeared behind the tiny back door of the boat. A few minutes later, he emerged. “It’s the impellor. It’s completely shot. We’ll need to replace it or we can’t continue.”
“Do you have the parts? Or any tools at all?” asked Brett, worried.
“I’m not sure. The boats come with a tool kit and basic parts to repair certain items. Whether or not we’ll have a new impellor? Who knows?”
“What if we don’t replace it and continue to run the engine? What’ll happen?” asked Nancy, her mind already jumping to the worst case.
“We won’t get far. The impellor is part of the cooling system. If it’s not working, the engine will overheat and burn out very quickly. We’re dead in the water without a new one,” said Frank as he wiped the sweat from his dirty brow.
“Oh shit. We’re screwed,” said Mike, crestfallen.
“Maybe not. You heard him. He might be able to fix it,” said Meg, trying to cheer him.
Frank opened a compartment in the bow of the boat, which Meg had never seen before. The vast V-shaped crawl space was neatly organized with all sorts of items. Ropes, preservers, hooks and other things Meg couldn’t identify were hung along the walls of the bow. Frank peered into the space with his flashlight.
“Well, they definitely have enough tools for us to use. Let’s see what sort of spare parts they have!” he said, his voice muffled by the depth of the bow.
Joe stepped up through the open hatch and signaled for Meg to join him. She stepped up beside him and placed her arm around his waist.
