by Hoover, Gary
“As long as she doesn’t push me again,” John replied with a smirk and a nod toward Nahima.
Jeff looked at Nahima. She had heard the comment, but her face was expressionless.
Jeff opened his mouth to ask her if that was true, but he stopped as he heard his father’s voice in his head: Don’t ask a question if you don’t want to know the answer.
Chapter 52:
Jeff had the feeling of nervous anticipation combined with dread that had become far too frequent for him. The boat limped along, very slowly, with no land in sight.
He had his feet up on the bench seat to keep them out of the water as he bailed with a pot.
The others also bailed with any items they could find, but Jeff could clearly see the water level in the boat was rising rather than falling. He put his pot down, stood on his seat and stretched himself up so he could scan the horizon in the direction they were headed.
Nothing but water.
As Jeff turned to sit, he saw Nahima shoot an angry glare at John who responded with a broad grin. Jeff shook his head and went back to bailing.
“Stroing it, let’s just sink,” John said as he threw his bailing pot into the center of the boat.
“If you want to die, I can help you out,” Nahima replied.
“Yeah?” John responded with a twisted grin.
“Aaaah!” Jeff exclaimed in exasperation and threw his own pot down. He stepped into the water that covered the bottom of the boat and headed toward the ladder to the bridge area. The water made it hard to ‘storm’ in the way he wanted. Instead of an angry stomp, all he could manage was an awkward ‘sloosh, sloosh, sloosh’ as he struggled to push his legs and feet through the now knee-deep water.
“How are we doing?” he asked Dave from the ladder as he made his way up.
Dave shook his head. “I don’t know. We should be getting close, but I can’t see anything.”
Jeff pulled his magnifying viewer from his belt and scanned the horizon. “I don’t know how much time we have left before we’re completely swamped.”
Dave nodded.
Jeff scrambled back down the ladder and went back to his bailing. “We should be close now,” he said to no one in particular.
There was a long awkward silence. They’re probably thinking the same thing I am – ‘we’re all going to die out here’.
John pulled a cigar from a pocket and threaded it into his mouthpiece as the others continued to bail.
“I think I can see land ahead!” Dave shouted from the helm.
Chapter 53:
“Hang on to something, this could get rough,” Dave shouted.
Rasp scrambled toward the bow to calm Benji during the landing.
Jeff grabbed a firm hold on a rail as the boat rose above the waves. The extra weight of the water they had taken on was straining the levitation system.
Dave tilted them toward the port side, and Jeff could hear loose items in the cabin falling and rolling. Things had become such a mess since the attack that it seemed futile to try to keep any order. Water poured out of the holes the plesiosaur had made. When the flow slowed to a trickle, Dave tilted it a bit more to let as much run over the edge as he could. Jeff had to hold on tight as the boat went to an extreme angle.
When Dave had emptied all that would go, he tilted them back upright and headed toward the sandy beach.
He carefully guided them to a clear area on the beach and settled the boat on the sand. The flat bottom allowed them to rest upright without any external supports.
“If one person can help me apply the patches, everybody else can work on cleaning up the mess in here,” Dave said as he made a broad, sweeping gesture to indicate the debris scattered all around the boat.
“I’ll help you with the patch,” Jeff offered quickly before anyone else had a chance to respond. He wanted to get off the boat and didn’t want to deal with the mess.
Dave nodded as he opened a large tool cabinet. He removed a rolled cloth, handed it to Jeff and then selected several more items.
He nodded toward the ladder Rasp was lowering over the side, and Jeff moved toward it.
Once they were on the ground, Dave walked toward the rear. He pointed toward a two-inch diameter disk at the bottom edge of the boat. “Unscrew that,” he instructed.
Jeff knelt, brushed some sand aside and put his hand on the disk. There were recessed areas that allowed him to get a handhold. He turned it counter-clockwise and after a few turns, water sprayed from around the edges.
Jeff pushed himself back away from it to get out of the spray.
“What are you doing?” Dave asked. “You need to take it all the way out.” He smiled in the way he often did when he was making Jeff miserable.
Jeff moved back in and squinted as the salt-water spray hit his eyes. He got a hold and unscrewed it as quickly as he could. When the thread disengaged, a heavy stream of water knocked the plug out of his hand. Jeff stood and watched the thick, forceful stream of water flow from the hull into the sand.
“Don’t let me forget to put that plug back in once it’s all drained,” Dave said.
Jeff nodded and then followed Dave as he surveyed the damage.
There were two large, jagged holes, each approximately two feet in diameter.
Dave reached in and yanked out pieces of foam. He pointed and then stepped away so Jeff could look in. Jeff saw that the inner-hull was in much better shape than the outer hull, but there were areas of the inner-shell that were splintered and cracked.
Dave removed some wipes from a plastic bag and wiped around the splintered areas to clean them. He dropped the used wipes on the sand and unscrewed the lid on a plastic pail he had brought. He dipped a trowel into the pail and withdrew a glop of thick, pasty putty. He reached into the hole and carefully spread the putty across the damaged section of inner-hull. After repeating the process through the second hole, he put his trowel in the pail and rested the lid in top, then used solvent wipes to clean the edges around the holes in the exterior hull.
After Dave had cleaned the areas, he cut two large squares from the cloth Jeff had brought.
“Here, hold this end,” he instructed. Jeff took hold of one edge of the cloth patch. One side of the cloth had a layer of paper, and Jeff guessed it was covering an adhesive layer.
Dave stripped the paper off and tossed it in the sand. “Keep some tension on your side, but move with me,” he told Jeff as he moved toward one of the holes, carefully pressing the cloth against the hull so it sealed around the opening. He flattened and smoothed it on the edges until he got to Jeff’s side. “I’ve got it now,” he told Jeff.
Jeff released his end, and Dave pressed that side down too so the cloth completely sealed the hole. Dave stepped back and admired his work. “Not bad.”
They repeated the process with the second hole, and then Dave spread a thick layer of the putty over each cloth.
“Okay. Now we’ll need to give that about one and a half hours to dry.”
Jeff nodded. He knew that one of their hours was more than two of his. “That gives us some time to enjoy our island paradise,” Jeff said.
He eyed the jungle beyond the beach and wondered what might be lurking in there.
Chapter 54:
Jeff sat next to John on the sand. He sat at an uncomfortable angle because, unlike all the others, he faced the trees rather than the ocean. He didn’t want to turn his back on whatever creatures resided on the island.
Benji paced back and forth along the tree line, and that gave Jeff some comfort. He was concerned Benji had to spend so much time stuck on the boat, though Benji seemed to be taking it well, so he was glad the big guy had a chance to get some exercise.
“What do you think?” John asked Jeff.
Jeff responded with a puzzled expression.
John nodded toward Nahima who sat fifty feet away reading.
Jeff shook his head, not wanting to get in the middle of it.
“Do you think I have a chance
with her?” John asked.
Jeff wasn’t sure what he meant. “Chance of what?”
“You know, some romance and maybe some hot, animal stroinging… after a respectable time of course. I mean I know I have to show her I respect her as a woman first and all that plooch.” He reached into one pocket and extracted a cigar then pulled his mouthpiece from another.
Jeff stared at him with his mouth open for a few moments as John threaded his mouthpiece on to the cigar.
“You can’t be serious,” Jeff finally said.
John lit his cigar then flipped his lighter closed. “Sure, why not?” John exhaled a long stream of smoke.
Jeff shook his head and turned to Dave who was ten feet away on his other side. “Do you think the patch is set yet?”
Dave looked down at a timer on his belt. “It should be just about done now… but let’s give it a little longer to make sure.” He closed his eyes and tilted his face back up toward the sun.
“Plooch, what is that?” John asked and put a hand on Jeff’s arm to get his attention.
Jeff looked in the direction he was pointing. His first thought was that it was a very large turtle, but then it began to rise out of the water. Jeff could then see it was an enormous crab – ten feet wide with a pair of six-foot long claws.
“Wee zola!” John exclaimed.
“I think we better get on the boat,” Dave said. “Like right now!” he added with a bit more urgency.”
Nahima looked up from her book and immediately scrambled up – nearly falling back down as her feet slid on the sand.
Benji roared and headed toward the crab as the others ran for the boat.
“Benji! No!” Nahima shouted as the crab reached the edge of the beach. She paused, drew her gun and fired two quick shots that hit the crab squarely but didn’t slow it.
Jeff turned and ran toward Benji and the crab. He looked over his shoulder and saw the others had stopped. “Get in the damn boat!” he shouted.
While each member of the motley group had their flaws, some of them profound, not a single one lacked in courage when it came to helping a friend. However, they had seen what Jeff could do, and all but Dave continued toward the boat after a momentary pause.
When Benji was within fifteen feet of the crab, he appeared to have second thoughts and skidded to a stop in the sand. The crab didn’t stop. It charged Benji and clamped a claw on his midsection.
Benji yelped a sickening, painful vocalization. They appeared to move in slow motion to Jeff who ran at full speed and was soon on top of them.
Now what? If I bash it will it just clamp down on Benji?
As Jeff paused, the crab nearly got him with its free claw, but Jeff was able to jump away just in time. He ran to the claw that had Benji and tried to pry it open, but before he could do anything, the other claw came at him. He raised the bat to block it.
Damn it, I’m not going to have enough time to work as long as he’s got that other claw.
Jeff rolled up and over the crab’s body so he could get at the empty claw. As soon as he had replanted his feet, he brought the bat down on the free claw as hard and fast as he could. He heard a tremendous ‘crack’ and then hit it several more times for good measure.
The crab began a quick retreat toward the water, and Jeff realized he had made a big mistake. If he gets into the water with Benji still stuck in his claw…
Jeff rushed after the crab into the water and swung his bat repeatedly, striking it with a series of powerful blows until it went limp and slumped into the water. The claw that held Benji released, and Benji howled as he scrambled back onto the beach.
Dave had been running toward them, and he embraced Benji. “Come on, let’s get you back on the boat and patched up.” He looked Benji over as he struggled to help him toward the boat. “You don’t look too bad,” he said, relief clear in his voice. “You coming?” he shouted over his shoulder to Jeff.
Jeff stumbled onto the beach and sat heavily. “I’ll be there in a minute. I just need to catch my breath. Fire it up, and let’s get out of here.”
Jeff let his body fall back into the sand. He spread his arms, closed his eyes and rested on the beach as he tried to relax and get his breathing back to normal.
While he was very fast and very strong, he didn’t feel much different than he had back on earth. His friends saw him attack the crab with a blinding flurry of powerful moves, but he had to push to move fast and hit hard. It wasn’t easy just because his abilities were magnified.
After two or three minutes, his breathing returned to normal, and he pulled himself up to a sitting position.
He watched the waves and enjoyed the feel of the sun on his face.
Crap!!
Jeff saw what he thought was the crab coming back to life. It was to his right and coming out of the water between him and the boat. He looked over his left shoulder, saw the lifeless body of the crab washing back and forth in the waves and realized the one to his right was a new one.
He reached for his bat, which he had dropped in the sand beside him, and jumped to his feet.
Chapter 55:
The crab noticed him moving and turned toward him. Then Jeff saw a second and third crab rising from behind the first. He looked at the boat and realized the crabs would soon be between him and the boat.
Jeff didn’t feel he had the energy to either run or fight, but he realized he would probably have to do both as he saw two more crabs – for a total of five – scrambling up the beach.
“Hurry,” Nahima shouted from the boat while gesturing frantically. Then she, John and Rasp began firing at the crabs, but their shots didn’t do much to slow them.
Jeff picked a line to his right up the beach toward the bow of the boat to try to get around to the ladder on the other side, but the crabs had long legs and covered ground quickly. Jeff’s opening was shrinking fast.
He did his best to pick up his pace to a run, but his legs were tired. He wasn’t able to get the speed he needed. He saw the crabs slowing, but they only slowed to half-speed rather than quarter-speed, as they would have if he had been able to move at full speed.
Jeff could see he wasn’t going to get around and decided to attack the one on the right. He went right in and struck it between the eyes, but he wasn’t able to crack the shell. The crab’s right claw came at him. He managed to turn, swing and hit it moments before it got him. His blow didn’t do any damage, but it knocked the claw away. He swung again with more time to aim and hit the inner part of the claw hard enough to crack it. The claw was clearly damaged enough that it couldn’t grasp anything.
Jeff swung around quickly and saw the other claw coming at him in slow motion. He hit that one with three quick, powerful swings, doing more damage with each swing until it was clearly useless.
Without either claw, the crab backed away into the group of other crabs that grew as others continued to emerge from the ocean.
Jeff was, for all practical purposes, surrounded and completely cut off from the boat. The others continued to fire at the crabs in an attempt to open a path for Jeff, but the shots glanced harmlessly off the shells. Dave worked to get the boat started.
Jeff was exhausted and trying to catch his breath, not sure if he had the energy to fight off another one.
The crabs seemed uncertain, and they kept some distance. Jeff scanned the group and turned slowly to make sure none advanced from a blind spot. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one approaching from the left with both claws open.
Jeff charged and hit one of the claws. He didn’t feel like he did much damage, but it backed away after the first strike.
Then he saw three approach in unison from the right. There are too many of them. They’re just going to wear me down. He had been too busy up until that point to feel any fear, but desperate fear started surging through him at that point.
The center crab of the three was leading, and Jeff decided to charge that one. He ran at it and swatted one claw, but as he swung at that
one the other came at him and nearly got him. He spun away from that one and swung at it but his feet weren’t planted. He missed with an awkward, flailing swing. He saw the boat start to rise in his peripheral vision. Hurry up. Hurry up!
The center crab backed off a bit, but as it did, the other two approached. All three were slightly out of range but uncomfortably close to striking distance. As Jeff backed slowly away, the one on to his right moved in. He could see a fourth to his left and behind him starting to move in as well.
His fear shifted to panic.
He charged the one to his right and swung at one of its claws, but he was over-anxious and fatigue made everything more difficult. His bat missed and hit the sand as the other claw came at him. He tried to hit that one with an awkward upswing. The bat connected with the claw but didn’t do much damage. He stumbled backward and fell into the sand. His movements were slowing, and that made the crabs’ movements relatively quicker. He scrambled away with his belly up and his hands and legs propelling him as quickly as he was able. He got back on his feet just in time to swing at a claw and hit it with satisfying force that cracked the shell.
He looked over his shoulder and saw the one behind him just feet away, but then a shadow fell over him. The boat hovered over him. The crabs began to back away, intimidated by the large object.
Jeff was under the boat, but he could see two hands dangling. He put his bat through a loop in his belt and ran toward the hands. He grabbed those wrists and felt fingers close around his own.
“I’ve got him. Go!” Jeff heard John’s voice shout. Then he felt his feet leave the ground as the boat rose. He heard John grunting and then felt himself rising and sliding against the side of the boat. His back bounced and scraped along the hull, and then his arms were wrenched at an uncomfortable angle as he was pulled over the edge. He felt multiple hands clutching at his clothes and belt as he was dragged violently over the edge and into the boat. He landed on top of John who ended up sprawled on the inner deck.
