Enduring the Crisis

by Kinney, K. D.

“If you‘re looking for a boat, it wasn’t that big.”

  Ben didn’t have to look hard anymore when the reflection in the distance he thought was perhaps a buoy started to rise. Water churned as it widened and then he saw the conning tower and the elongated top of a submarine surface. He backed away, as did Nate. They both went to join Anderson and Jackson.

  “Is it friendly?” Nate asked as the brothers were watching it closely and having a frantic discussion about the situation when they opened the door.

  “The boat is rocking so much, I can’t see details. I have no idea but we’re not going that way either and we’re going to start pushing it to Homer. I wish we were closer, though. I wish I could get some radio signal to find out what’s going on out here.” Jackson went back to steering the ship. They were cruising as he turned the boat to the east and acted as if he wasn’t going to look back.

  Anderson was out the door and headed for the stern as Jackson pushed the boat as fast as it could go. The engines vibrated the walls and floor.

  Ben chose to watch near the bow, switching sides to look behind them to see if the sub was following them or if they were about to get in the middle of another altercation at sea. He couldn’t tell if it was the same sub he saw on Randall’s boat.

  Nate was handling the stress well. He went below deck.

  As Ben was watching what was happening behind them, he didn’t notice the big swell that knocked him on the deck and washed him all the way to bottom of the wheelhouse. He couldn’t even get up before another one overtook the deck again. He saw that one coming and grabbed hold of the edge of a storage box as the boat rocked wildly. If he hadn’t been holding on, he would have been washing the deck some more with his chest.

  “Anderson, I don’t see Ben.” Jackson’s panic-stricken voice bellowed from the intercom. “He was near the bow before that swell hit.”

  Ben tried to yell, “I’m fine.” He knew there was no hearing him and he was still holding on for his life. The last thing he wanted was to be alone with the giant with those big swells washing over the side.

  He pulled himself up on his feet, which took great effort because of how sore he was from his previous run-in with Anderson. It hurt to use his shoulder blades. His current spill on the deck didn’t help matters one bit. He was still stunned but he needed to get his footing to get to safety. He’d much rather be inside with Nate even if subs, missile cruisers, and radar scrambling drones in the sky were after them. At least they weren’t looking to toss him overboard.

  When Anderson came around the corner, Ben nearly took another spill. The swell that crashed into the deck didn’t help a thing. Anderson kept his footing as he lunged for Ben. Instead of taking his arm, Ben pulled away keeping every inch of his body out of reach.

  “You want to get in where it’s safe?” Anderson shouted.

  It started to rain and not just sprinkle. It completely down poured making it impossible to see through his glasses.

  Ben still kept his arm close to his body and motioned for Anderson to go ahead. “I think I got it. I’ll follow you.” He waved the big man on. Ben got a hold of the railing and inched his way around the door to make it to the living quarters.

  Anderson held the door open and they both lost their footing when the momentum of the boat pushing ahead suddenly stopped.

  Ben had fallen at Anderson’s feet and he was able to prevent himself from completely falling on the deck. Ben scooted back and frantically looked for something to hold. The boat was tossed from side to side and dipped and rose. It did not feel as if the boat was moving where it wanted to at all.

  “First it was one but now both engines are down.” Jackson shouted through the loud speaker.

  Anderson scrambled over Ben to get inside. “If you wanted to make yourself useful, now would be the time.”

  Ben crawled inside and managed to get back up on his feet once he was on the carpet. He thought about taking all his wet gear off for only a second when he realized Anderson didn’t waste time. He tried to run for the stairs but it was impossible. Rain gear was unforgiving.

  He had a hard time figuring out where Anderson was in the engine room. Perhaps he over thought his hiding spot if a giant like Anderson couldn’t be spotted. Ben found him crouched down beside one of the engines.

  “What’s wrong? Why did the engines die?”

  “It isn’t typical but I think Jackson pushing this thing through the storm created oil leaks on both engines. We need to track it down and get them running. Check that one over there.

  Black oil covered the massive tray underneath the engine and when he searched for where the leak was coming from, he figured he was close where the black mess had sprayed all over the engine and the wall.

  He grabbed a rag and mopped it down until he finally found what had happened. “A hose popped off. Does that usually happen?”

  “No, but we’re usually going at a leisurely pace and not trying to outrun a sub. Which is stupid to even try. See if you can get it back on. Let me check the other side of this one.”

  Ben had to wipe down the engine to track down the spot where it clamped back on. Stupid clamp wouldn’t tighten and the boat pitched so hard, he lost his balance. He crouched with his knees in the hot oil puddle. At least the rain gear kept it from burning his skin. Finally he had the hose back on. Looking around for oil, he didn’t have a clue what kind of container he should be looking for.

  “I need oil. Where is it and where does it go?” There were a couple of unmarked caps and when he tried to open one, he flung his hand away. It was hot. Blowing on his hand didn’t give him much relief.

  “Don’t go hurting yourself. The oil is over there. This is where you pour it. Looks like my filter exploded. Can you find the spare?” He waved over to the closet where Ben had hidden in the middle of the night.

  Ben rummaged through the shelves and then looked again until he finally found the filter in the mess on the floor he’d made and two large containers of oil.

  He tossed the filter to Anderson. Burning his hand again on the next cap he touched, he ignored the pain as he filled the reservoir.

  Nate finally came to see what was going on. “Jackson is asking how close you are?”

  “Tell him engine two is ready. Engine one will be in a minute,” Anderson shouted.

  “I’ll let him know.” Nate pointed at Ben’s hand. “Do you need my help?”

  Ben was fanning it as he looked for another dry rag so he could close the lid.

  “Nah, I’m done now. Better go tell Jackson.”

  “Hopefully I don’t puke on the way.” Nate was gone.

  Ben was feeling it too. Perpetual motion to and fro and all over the place. He wanted it to stop. He found a rag and closed the lid.

  “Got it?” Anderson asked.

  Ben could only nod and kept fanning the burn on his hand.

  “There’s a key over there. Go ahead and see if it starts. I’m almost there.”

  Ben searched for it. The heat and pain in his palm felt as if it going deeper and he struggled to focus. There it was, already in the ignition and waiting for him the whole time. He turned it once. It sputtered but no luck. Another wave tossed the boat and pushed him sideways. He tried again and it roared to life.

  “Got it!” he shouted in triumph over the engine roar.

  “Oh really?” Anderson’s reply was thick with sarcasm. His hands were covered in oil when he stood and went for the key.

  The engine struggled to turn over. “Come on, baby. We need you.” Anderson patted the side of the engine’s enclosure. He tried again. No luck.

  Ben wanted to take over but stayed put and decided to mutter a prayer that it would start and they would get out of the standoff safely. As Anderson turned the key, he thought for sure it wasn’t going to go. But it caught at the last second and the engine roared as loud as its companion in the room.

  “Thank you,” Ben muttered under his breath.

  “We are on our way again.” Ander
son gave him a jovial slap on the back. Ben coughed and rotated his shoulder to ease the pain. He was slapped right where he was sore. He reassured himself that Anderson wasn’t trying to hurt him on purpose. The man obviously didn’t know his own strength.

  31

  Ben

  Nate helped Ben clean his burn. His palm was badly blistered and the pain was shooting all the way up to his elbow. Once it was bandaged, and he’d taken all the pain meds he could, he needed to do something to take his mind off the misery.

  The seas calmed once the storm had passed. However, it was still overcast and cold.

  Ben visited with Jackson in the wheelhouse for some time that afternoon. Tensions were high out on the water. The submarine had disappeared but there was no getting around the massive ship in the distance. It seemed to loom there. The closer they got, the bigger it looked. It didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere.

  “I think that’s a naval destroyer,” Jackson said once they were close enough to identify what they’d been looking at all afternoon.

  “Is it the only one?” Ben asked.

  “I believe there’s a naval base on Kodiak. No one hears much about it so I don’t know how big it really is. I happen to have a family member that used to train Navy Seals there. Perhaps we’ll eventually see more Naval ships. The Coast Guard’s primary base is there also. I suspect we’ll see some cutters this way too.” Jackson scanned the horizon with his binoculars. “There.” He pointed at a couple of specks to the east. “It’s about to get busy out here.”

  Jackson spoke the truth. He kept the boat far from the Naval Destroyer as they slowly worked their way around it. However, the specks in the distance were getting larger. As much as Jackson was trying to be conservative when it came to pushing his boat, no matter how hard he was trying to avoid getting caught in the middle of what was brewing, there was no getting around all the boats that were coming

  Anderson burst through the door. “I’ve been yelling at ya. Look what’s behind us.”

  Jackson stepped outside the door. There were more military ships gaining fast.

  “And I thought I was only in the middle of a peaceful building presence out here. Looks more like there’s a game of cat and mouse going on. Perhaps it’s a game of chicken. I think we’ll quit pandering around trying to avoid what’s in front of us and go between them.”

  He tapped at the radar screen that wasn’t giving him a thing and shook his head. “It would be nice to know what else is near us that we can’t see yet.”

  Jackson concentrated on where they were headed. The cutters were in full view and still coming straight for them.

  “Ah, they’re coming to escort us out of here, I believe. Look what else is heading this way.”

  The cutters circled the schooner and soon they had an escort past the much larger boats that were having their own get together, such as it was.

  “They’re waving at you.” Ben moved back against the wall in case he wasn’t supposed to be seen. “Should I hide?”

  Jackson waved back. “No. We are far from Dutch Harbor. No worries now. You and Nate just need to act as if you’ve been part of this crew for longer than a day. I think with communications out, they’ll want to board just to have a chat once we’re clear of whatever that is. At least we aren’t going to be stuck in the middle of it.”

  “But we’re still in range, aren’t we, if things escalate?” Ben asked.

  “What? Like shooting or bombing? Eh. I doubt we have to worry about that.”

  “I’d worry about that.” Ben stuck his head out the window to see if there was any action. Not like he could tell what was what.

  As tense as he and Jackson were, they felt helpless even though they were going to keep going no matter what. Ben couldn’t take watching the big boats anymore after awhile so he decided to go join Nate.He had enough trauma from the first time around.

  In the main living area, Nate was looking through magazines.

  “You do realize there are some pretty serious military maneuvers going on out there.” Ben sat across from his friend.

  “Do I look like I’m really reading anything out of this?” Nate flipped a few more pages. “And you’re not helping the chest pains I’m trying not to have. Why don’t you talk to me about what we’re having for dinner?” Nate’s eyes were wide.

  “That should be easy. More fish.” Ben was edgy too. He wanted to go look out the door again but it wasn’t going to help.

  Anderson walked in just then. Ben leaned back in his chair as if somehow he would become invisible, blend in with the furniture. He glanced at Nate. His friend was pretending to be engrossed in the magazine so he appeared unapproachable and preoccupied. Really he just looked silly and Ben realized he probably looked just as ridiculous.

  Anderson went to the galley and didn’t say a word. Both men relaxed. He came back and looked at them both, catching them with their guard down. “Yeah, I figured.” Anderson might have laughed a little. “Ben, I appreciate the help with the engines. You have no idea how much trouble we would be in if we didn’t get them running when we did.” He disappeared back into the galley.

  Nate scooted across the sofa and moved to the recliner next to Ben. “Can you believe it? He thanked you.”

  “I wouldn’t get too relaxed around him because of that. Sure, I helped save his butt, I’m sure he will get the best of us if we aren’t careful.” He gripped the armrests.

  Anderson went back on deck without saying another word.

  Ben’s hand was bothering him again. The meds he took made him tired and nauseous. He decided to go lay down. Propping his hand up on a pillow, he stared at the highly polished wood paneled ceiling over his bunk. As concerned as he was about being in the line of fire from what looked to be a standoff, his worry for his wife and family was starting to eat at him.

  He missed Tammy terribly. If only he could hear her voice again. The nightly visits on the phone were so routine and at times he would get impatient when she wanted to talk while he was trying to make himself some dinner. Or he was so tired at times that he would drift off while she was telling him all the things the girls were doing. What he wouldn’t give to hear how they were faring now, if they had loaded up and got out of Dodge. If not, were they all together in the safe room waiting for him? That was his huge worry. He knew how to talk Tammy into doing what was best for her and the kids when she was afraid of doing something far out of her comfort zone. There wasn’t anyone there to give her that push. She kept to herself and was independent when doing things her way. Her way would be to wait. How long would it take and how dangerous would it get before she would know she needed to take the girls and go? He said a prayer that she would be safe and that somehow she would find the courage to go on her own if that’s what she needed to do.

  32

  Ben

  After he woke from his nap, Ben couldn’t shake the horrible feeling from the nightmare that woke him. He wished he’d never slept at all. It only escalated his fears for his wife and daughters.

  As Ben was washing his face in the bathroom, Anderson hollered at him to go out on deck. The Coast Guard was boarding.

  Jackson greeted them while his brother took care of things in the wheelhouse.

  “I’m Seaman Miller.” He shook their hands. “We don’t need to inspect your boat at this time. We know you have no communications or any means to track what’s going on out here right now. We’re trying to get the civilian boats out of harm’s way.”

  “What is happening?” Jackson asked.

  “There are foreign ships heading into our waters and we’re building our presence to prevent a potential invasion. With the E.M.P. down south and Alaska being an oil rich state… come to your own conclusions. We want to make sure you get to Kodiak safely. As soon you see land, you should be in the clear to use your communications and radar again.”

  “Actually we were headed for Homer. We don’t want to be stuck on an island.” Jackson shook his head emph
atically

  “You don’t want to be stuck out here in the middle of what’s going on right now. So be sensible.” He was firm.

  Jackson and Miller continued their discussion as they walked to the wheelhouse leaving Ben and Nate on deck with the other seaman.

  “It’s been rather busy here lately, huh?” Nate asked.

  “And getting more so. My companion didn’t want to mention it but we have a lost a few civilian boats and two of our cutters. When we’d respond to their SOS calls, all we could find was boat debris and an oil slick so tell your friend we’re serious. That’s also why all communications are jammed. At least now we’re coming across civilian boats that are still intact. My best advice is for you to stay put in the harbor once you get there.”

  Seaman Miller returned and they were off.

  “What do you make of that?” Jackson asked as he watched the cutter pull ahead and Anderson followed them.

  “I believe we’re lucky we’re still alive.” Nate stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Are we heading to Kodiak?”

  “We’ll pass by it, yes. But we aren’t staying.” He smiled at Nate. “Aren’t you up to the adventure? It’s already been an eventful one.”

  “I’m beginning to think you are a bit of a lunatic,” Nate replied.

  “Well, you sure are a stick in the mud. Actually, Anderson and I have been traveling for so long that the only adventures we’ve had have been on land and our time on the water tends to be rather… dull. This is far from that and it sure has the blood pumping. I’m taking us to our intended destination. To Homer. In one piece, mind you.” He raised his arm as if he’d already triumphed as he went inside.

  “I’ll believe it once we get there,” Nate muttered. “What has you so quiet? It’s not like you.”

  “I haven’t been able to shake off the nightmare I had. Usually I can brush that stuff off. That one is haunting me. It seemed a bit too real. It was like I was watching what was unfolding at home, what might be happening to Tammy and the girls. In the dream I must have been a ghost or something to be hovering there like I was.” He rubbed his eyebrows. “It’s like… does it mean I die out here and then my spirit is going to watch them suffer? Or are they going through all that terrible hardship there and I need to try even harder to get myself home?” He sat on the bench along the wall. “It’s starting to feel a little pointless. Everything is taking so long. We’re still so far. What if I do get all the way down there and I can’t find them. Or I actually find out it is too late, they’re already dead?”