Bart put down his rifle and stood at the rail as he watched them approach. Eric and Jonathan had returned unharmed, but had they accomplished what they set out to do? Soon, he would know.
Three
“I DIDN’T PUSH THEM with any unnecessary questions,” Eric said, as the rest of the crew gathered around when he and Jonathan were back on board, “but it appears that the men running the blockade are just local citizens. Some of them were obviously commercial fishermen before; their boats are anchored just inside the line of barges. I don’t think we have to worry about being searched or arrested, but they do want to see proof that we didn’t steal the boat.”
“So there goes the whole plan, right out the window,” Daniel said, “because the boat is stolen. You don’t know that some of those men aren’t former police officers just because they aren’t in uniform. If they look closely enough, the fake papers and changed name aren’t going to fool them. Then we will all be arrested or shot. It sounds too risky to me.”
Eric ignored Daniel’s comments and continued with what he had to say to Bart and Shauna. “As long as they believe we’re not looters or boat thieves, I don’t think they could care less where we’re going or why, or what we have on board. They do want a rather exorbitant price to let us through though.”
“Figures,” Bart said. “Maybe you shouldn’t have shown them any gold after all,” Bart said. “We probably could have traded a couple of rifles and pistols instead.”
“Probably, but it’s too late for that now. I left the half-Krugerrand for a deposit. The man agreed to take the skiff and outboard in exchange for it when we get there. If you’d rather not, I’ll give him the gold. It’s up to you, Dad. It’s your boat.”
“I reckon that’s just as well with me. That motor alone is worth a lot more than the time it’ll take those fellows to move a barge, but I guess it’s their gate and they’re the gatekeepers, so they get to name their price. We’d probably have to cut the skiff loose out there in the Gulf anyway.”
Eric knew his father would prefer to keep the little runabout if it were feasible. They had agreed to tow it behind Dreamtime as long as the conditions allowed, and there was a chance they could get it all the way to Louisiana on a long towline if the seas were smooth enough not to swamp it or slam it into the hull of the schooner. Of course they would have to cut it loose at the first sign of trouble and Bart knew that as well as Eric, so giving it up now to get through that river blockade was a reasonable alternative to paying with a coin that would surely come in handy later. Besides, they had an inflatable Zodiac dinghy lashed to the coach roof of the schooner, along with a 15-horse Yamaha outboard to power it. Eric’s Klepper kayak that he’d used to approach the coast from offshore was also on board, lashed to the stanchions on the port rail forward. Between it and the dinghy they had the means to abandon ship in an emergency and to ferry the crew to and from shore when they made landfall.
“I imagine Keith can hook you up with another skiff once we reach the Atchafalaya.”
“I’m sure he can, son. We’ll worry about that when we get there. I’m just glad those men agreed to let us out without a fight.”
“You and me both, Dad. But we’re not out yet. I’ll breathe easier when we drop Florida under the horizon.”
Shauna agreed that the trade sounded reasonable, much to the dismay of her husband, who still was far from convinced.
“How do you know this isn’t a trap?” he asked Eric. “You and Jonathan told those men you had this big sailboat waiting upriver with your family aboard, and that you wanted out so we could leave on a long voyage. That tells them right there that the boat must be loaded with supplies and other useful stuff. If they have dishonest intentions, then of course they would tell you to come on down there. It just makes things that much easier for them.”
“When did you decide folks couldn’t be trusted?” Bart asked him. “The whole time you’ve been here you’ve doubted what I’ve been telling you about how dangerous it is to travel, and doubted me when I said the law wasn’t going to be able to do anything about it.”
“I understand now that it’s worse than I originally thought, but I was talking about Palm Beach County, not here. I don’t know anything about this part of Florida, but this whole blockade thing sounds suspicious to me.”
“Of course it’s suspicious,” Eric said. “And you’re absolutely right. It could be a trap and they could kill us all and take the boat and all our stuff. There’s only one way to find out if that’s going to happen or if they’re going to let us through like they said they would.”
“But why? We could still turn back and try to follow the waterway out to the east coast. I know it’s farther, and there might be a blockade or ambush somewhere that way too, but we know there’s one this way.”
“Yep, we know what we’re dealing with here, and at least they were willing to talk and make a deal. I’ll take that as a good sign. A long delay might send the wrong message though. I say we get going and get this over with. Is everyone else in agreement?”
They all nodded except Andrew, who just looked down, staring at the deck beneath his feet, unwilling to vote against his father but also unwilling to side with him and defend his position. Eric already knew the boy wanted to leave. He much preferred the prospect of going to sea on the schooner to staying any longer in Bart’s isolated little bungalow where there was nothing to do and little to look forward to.
“It’s going to be fine, Andrew. Why don’t you come with me up to the bow and help me haul the anchor?”
The boy followed him to the windlass, and Eric let him have a turn at cranking the handle as Bart eased the schooner forward under power to ease the tension on the rode. The sails were bent on and the running rigging organized, but they would stay furled for now. There wouldn’t be any sailing until they were clear of the blockade and clear of the shallow waters near Sanibel Island, but Eric and Bart wanted to be ready before they left the river. Once they were beyond the blockade, the last thing they wanted to have to do was sort out all that.
Eric knew Daniel could be right about running into a trap, of course. There was always a chance they could be betrayed by those men guarding the river mouth, but still, Eric didn’t think it was likely. After his meeting with them, he leaned towards his original assumption that they were simply local fishermen and other citizens who’d banded together for security purposes. Being boatmen, they’d recognized the importance of restricting access to the Caloosahatchee early on, and having the means to do so with plenty of industrial barges conveniently nearby, they had taken the matter into their own hands. Eric was sure that many communities around the nation would be doing the same in one form or another—at least those places that still had a surviving population of willing and able-bodied men. The choice was simple in the absence of law and order—either band together and fight back or let those willing to take what they wanted by force have their way. Because he understood this, Eric didn’t mind paying the price these men demanded, whether it seemed reasonable or not.
Nevertheless, once the anchors were up and the boat was moving downriver with Bart at the helm, Eric went to work making preparations for the worst. He would be the one going ahead alone to deliver the skiff once the schooner was within sight of the barricade, as he’d been the one doing the negotiations. Like before, he would carry only his concealed Glock for defense, and he wanted everyone else to appear unarmed as well, like the family seeking safety he’d portrayed them to be. The weapons would be out of sight, but Eric distributed several loaded rifles around the decks, including his two personal M4’s, tucking them beneath the dinghy, seat cushions and other hideaways within easy reach. If anything happened, Bart, Shauna and Jonathan could grab a weapon from wherever they happened to be on the deck at the time, giving them at least a fighting chance. They would be at a great disadvantage though, and they all knew it, so it was strictly a last resort. The men at the blockade outnumbered them and would be watching them close
ly with weapons already in hand from higher, protected positions aboard the steel barges.
Bart kept to the middle of the channel to stay as far as possible from the banks that were increasingly urban with every mile. They passed storm-damaged and burned out homes and businesses, and cleared the final bridge spans with just inches to spare above the VHF radio antenna at the top of the mainmast. There were a few small powerboats out and about on the river at this midmorning hour, but all of them gave the schooner a wide berth when passing, including a center-console fishing boat that Bart pointed out, telling Eric it had approached them while he and Jonathan were away. When they rounded the final bend and came in view of the blockade, it was obvious to Eric there had been some activity since he and Jonathan had left. One of the big steel-hulled fishing boats had upped anchor and was rafted alongside one of the barges, which appeared to have been pulled aside by its anchors until it was perpendicular to the rest. From what he could tell, Eric thought the opening was wide enough for Dreamtime to transit. He directed Bart to the spot where the man had told him to have the crew stand-by in the sailboat, and then he climbed over the side into the skiff, carrying with him a Ziploc bag containing the forged ship’s papers for Dreamtime.
“I suppose I’ll hop back on board when you come through the gap. Don’t sail off and leave me! I’ll call you on Channel 16 with their instructions as soon as they tell me what they want you to do. Keep your eyes and ears open and wish me luck!”
Eric motored away with Shauna calling after him to be careful. It sounded sincere, whether because she still cared about him or because she knew that without him there would be no finding their daughter, Megan. Daniel, on the other hand, was so nervous he could barely speak, and was now pacing the deck, certain that what they were doing was a mistake. But when Eric pulled up to the opening formed by the relocated barge, the man he’d spoken with before was there to greet him. It appeared he was a man of his word, and Eric tossed him a line as he shut off the outboard and let the skiff drift alongside.
“Looks like that was easy enough,” Eric said, nodding at the opening that was clearly sufficient for the schooner to exit.”
“Not as easy as you might think. In fact it was more trouble than we figured, moving three anchors and then having to reset them with the tide falling like it is. It’ll be even harder to put back after you’re gone.”
“But you’ll have a nice little skiff and great Yamaha outboard for your trouble. Have you got my coin?”
“I do, and that’s what I’m saying. It was more trouble than we thought, so we had to raise the price. The boat and outboard, plus the coin will cover it, but I’m going to need to see your ship’s paperwork… proof of ownership like we discussed. I suppose that’s what you’ve got in the bag there, but we’re going to need to come aboard and inspect the vessel too… make sure you’re not carrying stolen goods. Unless of course you happen to have found another one of those coins. Then we can waive all those formalities and just let you sail right through.”
“That’s not what we agreed on,” Eric said, fighting to suppress the rage building inside him at the man’s treachery and greed. “That’s more than double, in fact! I thought we had a deal!”
“It was more like an estimate, if you want to look at it that way. If your father owned a boatyard, then you should know how that works. Somebody brings in a vessel for maintenance and repairs, and it turns out there’s almost always more work to be done than it seemed at first glance; extra labor and extra parts and materials, just like at the auto repair shop. That’s why there are always two prices in such establishments: an estimate and then a final invoice. That’s just the nature of the business. Surely you understand?”
Eric knew by the finality of the man’s tone that further negotiation was off the table. The choice was to either agree to his terms, or turn back and figure out another way to get Dreamtime out to sea. He wasn’t prepared to spend weeks attempting to go east through the waterway and around the peninsula of Florida to get to the Gulf when it was right there in sight beyond that gap. There were nearly a dozen men armed with rifles watching and waiting for his answer, so he made the decision without hesitation.
“Fine. I’ll go back and get the other coin, but it’s staying in my pocket until our boat is outside this barricade.”
“Good decision! When you get over there, tell your father or whoever is at the helm to keep it nice and slow, well under five knots, and to steer right for the center of the gap. Tell him not to stop until he is completely outside of the river mouth and in the channel out there. You come back here in the skiff first though and bring the other coin with you. Once you’ve paid up, one of my guys will run you back to your boat when it’s out there in the clear.
“Oh, and one other thing: I know you’re probably carrying weapons on board. If you’re not, then you ought to be. When you get back over there, make sure to tell your crew that if we see one of them brandishing a firearm of any kind, the men will open fire without hesitation.”
Eric nodded but said nothing. He wasn’t going to acknowledge the weapons even though he was paying to avoid a vessel search. The sooner he could get this over with and leave this place behind, the better, because if anything else came up, these men would probably want even more to let them through. Bart wasn’t going to like it, but the gold was Eric’s and if it took every bit of it to make his way to wherever Megan was, then so be it. He sped back to the schooner and climbed aboard with the news, and then disappeared below to retrieve the coin from his stash.
“This is exactly what I told you was going to happen,” Daniel said. “Now that they know you have gold, and that you’re paying them not to come aboard and look around, they’re just going to assume we’re loaded down with more gold and illicit cargo. They’ll probably shoot us all once we get near that opening. This is crazy!”
“You may be right,” Eric said, “but it’s still our best option. If you want out I’ll run you ashore now, before we go through with it. It’s up to you.” Eric pointed to the small beach on point upstream of the blockade, the same hidden beach from which he and Jonathan had launched the kayak after sneaking across the point that night they began their journey upriver.
“Don’t do it, Daniel,” Shauna said. “Eric has experience with situations like this. Just trust him and let him handle it.”
“That didn’t work out so well for you and Megan, did it?”
“Don’t even, Daniel! This is a matter of survival now. We’re all going to be better off once we’re out of Florida.”
“Whatever. I’m outvoted five to one anyway,” Daniel said, glaring back at her and then at Andrew before entering the companionway to go below. “I don’t want to see it when they start shooting. I guess they’ll just kill me later when they come aboard for the loot!”
Eric grinned at the look of disgust on Shauna’s face. Whatever she saw in this guy when she married him wasn’t evident now. Poor Andrew didn’t know what to do or say. Eric gave him a wink and assured him it was going to be all right. Then he turned to Bart as he climbed back into the skiff. “Let’s do this. I’m ready to get it over with!”
Four
ERIC RETURNED TO THE barge where the man he’d been negotiating with was waiting, and showed him the second coin, putting it back in the pocket of his shorts afterwards as they waited for Dreamtime to approach the gap. Eric wasn’t volunteering information, but now that the man in charge had what he wanted, he seemed genuinely interested in their proposed voyage across the Gulf. Without getting too specific, Eric truthfully told him he had a brother on the northern Gulf coast that they were going to try and get out, and that he didn’t know where they’d go from there. He didn’t mention his daughter in Colorado, and that he was going there for her too, even if he had to walk.
“We’ve heard the hurricane damage is even worse up there than it was in Florida. I’m not surprised really, as warm as the Gulf has been this year. The big ones always strengthen when they get out ove
r the Gulf, and the shallow water off the coast up there makes the storm surge a lot worse than here.”
“That seems to be the pattern,” Eric agreed.
“You’re going to see a lot more than storm damage though if you end up near any of the cities up there, especially Houston, New Orleans or Mobile. It was as bad or worse there than it was in Miami or Tampa. I’m sure they had already cut the power grid in most of those places before the hurricane hit. It was a war zone, man.”
“I’m sure it was. We don’t have any intentions of going to any of those cities. And we don’t plan to stay in the area long anyway. Just get in, get my brother and his wife, and get out.”
“But get out to where? If you’re not part of a community with organized defenses like we have here, you and your family won’t last long no matter where you go. It’s like this all over the country.”
“So we’ll leave the country then. I never figured on staying here after what’s happened anyway.”
“Good luck then. If I were you, I’d be on my way out from here. Going up there to look for your brother is probably a lost cause, and it’ll probably get you all killed. But that’s a decision you’ll have to make.”
Feral Nation Series: Books 1-3: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Series Boxed Set Page 20
