When A Plan Comes Together

by Jerry D. Young

  Without the satellite weather information, the six boats ran into a very bad storm. It wasn’t big, but it was severe. Normally the group of boats could have avoided it, but not without outside weather information.

  Two of the boats had serious trouble during the storm. One lost its main sail, and the other lost her rudder. The storm passed and the sea calmed. The four boats still maneuverable sailed up to the other two and the captains had a conference. An attempt would be made to repair the rudder on the one damaged boat. If it couldn’t be repaired, the boat would be abandoned, and all the supplies left and the passengers and crew would move to the other five boats. The one without a mast would be towed by the Fraulein Betta, the boat most capable of doing so.

  Unfortunately they had to go to that plan. There was just no way to fix the rudder. The boat would be uncontrollable. The changes made, the group was ready to sail away when the captain of the Mercury Express decided to try and transfer the fuel from the boat being left to his own tanks.

  The other captains tried to talk him out of it, but he was determined to get the fuel. It was a major error in judgment. As the other boats circled nearby, the Mercury Express was maneuvered up to and secured to the damaged boat again. A pump was rigged, and the fuel transfer was started. It didn’t go well. The swells weren’t particularly high, but they were enough to make keeping the boats together difficult. Impossible actually.

  A deck cleat pulled loose and the boats started to pivot around the other point of attachment. The fuel line pulled loose from the fuel intake on the receiving boat, but the pump on the disabled boat continued to work, dumping gallon after gallon of diesel fuel into the water, after showering the Mercury Express with fuel.

  Diesel isn’t particularly explosive, but it will burn, given a suitable ignition source. It wasn’t clear what set it off, but the diesel ignited, enveloping both boats in flames. The passengers and crew of the Mercury Express began jumping into the water, trying to get away from the flames on the boat. Several dove right into the flaming diesel.

  Jay didn’t think when he saw one of the children struggling in the water. He dove in and swam toward the girl. By the time he got close, the floating, burning diesel had drifted around her, trapping her inside a ring of fire.

  Though he tried to dodge a floating pool of the diesel that hadn’t caught fire yet, Jay wasn’t quick enough and the left sleeve of his shirt picked up some of the diesel. Ignoring it, Jay dove under the flaming ring of fire around the girl and came up beside her.

  She was hysterical, and grabbed Jay, trying to climb up out of the water on top of him. He managed to get her in a control hold, the way he’d been trained at the pool during rescue training he’d taken. He put his hand over the girl’s mouth and nose, and dove down again, to get outside the ring of fire.

  But the girl was amazingly strong from the adrenaline coursing through her body and she kicked free of Jay and surfaced. The wind knocked from his lungs, Jay had to surface, too. The girl was just outside the circle of fire and Antonio was there to get her to Fraulein Betta. Jay wasn’t as lucky. Just a few inches more and he would have been clear, but his left arm, the shirt sleeve soaked with diesel, came up in the flames.

  He jerked his arm down as soon as he felt the heat on his arm, and drowned out the fire. He swam over to Fraulein Betta and helped Antonio get the girl aboard. There were three other people in the water and Jay swam back.

  The boats were separating in the wind, the last line holding them together having burned in two. There were flaming spots of diesel everywhere. Jay got another of the survivors to the Fraulein Betta and helped her aboard. He saw Antonio swimming toward the other two survivors. He headed the same direction, but the fire encircled the three.

  Jay scrambled aboard Fraulein Betta. He pointed at Antonio. Hermann didn’t hesitate. He steered the boat toward the flames. When the boat broke through the ring of fire, Jay reached down and helped first a woman, and then a man aboard.

  “Hurry! Hurry!” Hermann said. The fire ring was closing.

  Jay reached down one last time and dragged Antonio aboard through the flames. His left sleeve ignited again and Jay struggled to get the shirt off. He couldn’t dive into the water. The fire was everywhere. Hermann had the engine going and they were motoring out of the danger area, but it was long seconds before they left the fire behind.

  Jay, the flaming shirt thrown overboard, held his left arm tightly against his body. It hurt like the dickens.

  The last man they’d pulled aboard worked his way over to Jay. “Let me see. I’m a doctor.”

  With a groan Jay held out his left arm. “I’m Dr. Marcus Tanner.” He inspected Jay’s arm. He looked up at Jay’s face. “This isn’t good.” He looked at Antonio. “Is there a first-aid kit aboard?”

  Antonio, nursing a few scorch marks himself, nodded and started to go into the cabin, but Betta brought the first-aid kit out. The woman that had been pulled aboard before the doctor took the large backpack from Betta. “I’m Sue. His wife. I’m a nurse. Thank you.”

  Betta nodded and retreated to the cabin to care for the young girl that had been pulled aboard.

  Sue opened the first-aid kit and began to hand Dr. Tanner the things he asked for. Though it was a very good first-aid kit, it only had a few items needed to treat serious burns. And the burns on Jay’s arm were serious.

  Well away from the fire now, Hermann brought Fraulein Betta up to the other three boats. The girl and woman Jay had rescued were transferred to the trimaran. Those aboard had picked up the girl’s parents after they abandoned the Mercury Express. The other woman was the girl’s Aunt.

  His arm bandaged, Dr. Tanner took Jay down into the cabin of the boat and helped him into his bunk. “You’re going to need a lot of rest and fluids.”

  Jay nodded. “You’re the doc.”

  “Yes. And thank you. You saved both my wife and me.”

  Jay shrugged. “Just doing what needed doing.”

  Dr. Tanner left Jay to allow him to rest. But Antonio came down a few minutes later, sporting several bandages himself, from minor burns.

  “Thanks, man,” he told a groggy Jay. “You saved my life back there.”

  Jay repeated what he’d told Dr. Tanner. “Just doing what needed doing.”

  “Thanks for doing it. Anything you need just let me know.”

  Jay nodded and then closed his eyes. The painkiller that the doctor had given him was putting him to sleep.

  It was several hours before Jay’s bladder woke him. He hurried to the forward head and did his business, and then joined the others sitting around the cockpit. He was holding his arm tightly against his chest.

  “Let me get you a sling for that arm,” Sue said, moving to the first-aid kit backpack that was sitting nearby.

  Antonio told Jay, “Doctor and missus Tanner are staying aboard to keep an eye on you.”

  “I think that might be a good idea. I don’t feel very well.”

  Sue was arranging the triangle bandage to support Jay’s arm. “The least we can do.”

  “Ja,” Hermann said. “Both good sailors, they tell me. Can help with the boat while you’re sick.”

  Jay looked around. The other three boats were cruising under sail again, as was Fraulein Betta. Jay could see their running lights. They were rather spread out, he thought, but said nothing.

  “Thank you, Sue,” Jay told her when she stepped back, the sling finished.

  Five days later, Dr. Tanner was checking Jay’s arm, in preparation for Sue to rebandage it again. He sighed and Jay looked at the doctor’s face carefully. “Infection?” Jay asked.

  “Of the worst kind,” Dr. Tanner said. “I’m sorry. Gangrene. I don’t have anything strong enough to fight it.”

  Jay bit his lip. “If I remember my history, about the only cure for Gangrene is to remove it completely from the body.”

  “Yes. It will mean taking your left arm from near the shoulder.”

  Jay hung his head, his eyes
closed. “It’s that or die, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. Jay, we’re getting close to Hawaii. It would be better if we could wait and do the procedure there. But I don’t think you have the time.”

  “Do you have what you need to do the operation?” Jay asked, looking up again.

  “Makeshift. But I think I can manage, tool wise. But anesthetic… we don’t have any. The pain killers in the first-aid kit will help after the operation, but not during.”

  Jay groaned at the thought. “I guess it’s the old whiskey till I’m drunk scenario.”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Going to be tough doing it here on the boat…”

  “We’ll transfer to the trimaran. It’s far more stable and has more room.”

  “Set it up while I go lie down and feel sorry for myself.”

  Dr. Tanner nodded and left Jay to his misery. “Lousy, stinking plan, this one is,” Jay muttered. He turned his face to the outer hull and tried not to cry.

  Jay discovered that getting drunk wasn’t as good an anesthetic as it was cracked up to be. It hurt when Dr. Tanner made that first cut. Jay knew he screamed, and then nature did its work, and he passed out from the pain.

  He came to, feeling groggy and definitely hung over. Jay was wondering why the doctor hadn’t taken the arm, since he could feel it laying right there at his side. But he looked and there was no arm. “Phantom feeling…” Jay mused, staring at where the rest of his left arm should be.

  “How are you feeling?” came a voice beside him.

  It was Sue. “Weird. I have a phantom feeling in the arm. I’m looking right at the space where the arm isn’t, but I can still feel it.”

  “That sensation will lessen with time,” Dr. Tanner said, coming over to the bed Jay was in. It was one of the settees in the trimaran that made into a queen size bed.

  “When can I get up?” Jay asked.

  “To go to the bathroom, any time. The rest of the time, at least until we get to Hawaii, I want you off your feet, resting.”

  “I don’t think I could do anything else, the way I feel right now.”

  “That will fade, too,” Dr. Tanner said. “You already seem to have a good attitude about this.”

  Jay shrugged and winced. “That hurt. What else is there to do? I have a family I have to get back to. Even with one arm, I can be of use to them.”

  “Of course you can,” Dr. Tanner said. “That is a very good attitude. I think you will be just fine.”

  Jay didn’t consider it fine, but he managed over the next few days to learn to do things one handed. It was strange, and many things were difficult, but he wasn’t going to give up. He needed to be in the best shape possible when he got to California. No telling what the situation was there, now.

  They’d finally managed to make a few contacts on the Amateur Bands. What information they had was that it was bad all over.

  They finally made it to Hawaii, with supplies and fuel to spare. It was a good thing. They avoided Pearl Harbor and went to the big island. It took some more of Antonio’s negotiating skills to get more supplies for the trip to California. It also took another third of Jay’s gold. It would have been more, but those in the other three boats decided to stay on the island.

  Dr. Tanner and Sue opted to join Jay back on Fraulein Betta. The Doctor made some connections at one of the hospitals and rebuilt the medical bag he’d lost to the fire at sea. There weren’t many medications left, but he bought, with Jay’s gold, everything he could. Fraulein Betta’s first-aid kit was replenished, too.

  With the boat low in the water again, Hermann set sail for the coast of California.

  They saw not another boat or ship, until they were within a few miles of the coast. Cautiously they hailed the first boat they saw. Hermann’s shotgun at the ready, the two boats came together and exchanged information.

  It was a fishing boat out looking for a catch. Thankfully, they were helpful and not aggressive. They were out of Monterey, and told those on Fraulein Betta that the small town on the Bay was holding things together pretty well.

  Captain Sugarman was eyeing the Fraulein Betta. “Sweet boat like this could make a man a good living, with the fuel situation being what it is now. By next fall there’ll be a decent supply of biodiesel, but still not enough to go around for everyone that wants it.”

  Turning his gaze from the boat to Hermann, he added, “You could get a good price for her. Or lease her out to the highest bidder. There’re several of us pooling resources. If you aim to stay and might be interested in a deal, contact me first.”

  “Ja,” Hermann replied. “Maybe so. Will see when we get there.”

  “What are things like toward Reno?” Jay asked. He waited anxiously for the answer. It was a disappointing one.

  “Heard the airport in Reno took one, and Carson City got hit. Fallon got hammered, it’s said. At least three small nukes at the Naval Air Station.”

  Antonio, Hermann, and Betta looked at Jay. “They could still be alive. We’re northwest of the airport. The Carson City nuke wouldn’t affect us, except maybe ground shock and weak blast wave. Fallon not at all. I have to believe they are alive and well.”

  “Better watch your step going that way. Sacramento got it and there have been problems in the mountains. City survivors with nothing but guns going after those that were prepared in the country.”

  “Thanks,” Jay said. “We’ll be careful, believe me. I’ve come too far and lost too much to give up now when I’m this close.”

  “Keep me in mind about your boat, mister!” called Captain Sugarman as the two boats separated, Sugarman heading further out to sea for fish, and Fraulein Betta pointed to Monterey Bay.

  When they got close to the city, the sails were brought down and secured, and Hermann motored them in the rest of the way. Jay, using his single hand and arm had learned how to help where he could, and stay out of the way when he couldn’t.

  Betta had the shotgun ready, but out of sight as Hermann found an empty slip and eased the motor sailer into it. Antonio and Marcus got the lines secured and Hermann stopped the engine. Everyone stood waiting anxiously as a tall, skinny man came down the gangways toward the boat.

  “You’re new here, aren’t you? You can’t stay here. That slip is taken. We have several open, more suited to that boat anyway, the other side of the marina.”

  “But it is okay to stop here in the marina until we decide what we’re going to do?” Jay asked.

  “Sure. What we’re here for, you know. But it will cost you. Just like in the old days. No cash money. I’ll take silver, gold, food, fuel, or ammo. You got two days to pony up or we’ll run you out of here.”

  Jay looked around at Hermann. “Ja,” he said softly.

  “Okay,” Jay said, looking back at the man. “What’s your name, Harbormaster?”

  “Nigel Smithson.”

  “Can you show us where the open slips are, Mr. Smithson?” Jay asked.

  “Just Nigel, as long as things stay peaceful. Sure.” Nigel pointed through the forest of sail boat masts. “Over there. I’ll go around and meet you and we can discuss prices.”

  Jay and Antonio untied the boat and Hermann guided it back out into travel way. Antonio kept an eye on the Harbormaster. He’d retrieved a bicycle on shore and was pedaling along the pavement above the bay that paralleled the shore.

  When they got close to where Nigel had pointed, the openings that had not been visible were noticeable. Nigel was standing on the walkway when Hermann brought Fraulein Betta to a gentle stop and Marcus and Antonio jumped to fasten her securely.

  “You want to come aboard and arrange things?” Jay asked.

  “No thanks. No offense, but I don’t know you. Come on up to the office when you get settled. We’re not unreasonable here, but we do insist the rules are followed. You can’t keep those drums on board like that. I assume they’re fuel.”

  “Were,” Antonio said. “Only one is still full. We’ll transfer it to the tank an
d find someone to take the drums off our hands.”

  Nigel nodded. “Ask about for Old Man Jenkins. He’ll try to get you to pay for him to take them, like in the old days. Don’t take less than a Silver Eagle for each one. He can, and will, pay it. They’re almost as valuable as the fuel they contain.”

  “Will do,” Jay said. “Thanks.”

  “Okay. See you in a little while.”

  The six went into the cabin of the boat and sat down around the dining table to discuss their respective futures. “Well, as all of you are aware, I’m headed to Reno to find my family. Captain Sugarman implied that it could be a dangerous trip.”