“Hey, sweetheart,” Vince said sleepily.
“Ugh.” Erika rolled over towards Daniel, wanting more sleep but Daniel was already up.
“Good morning, sis,” Daniel chimed in cheerfully.
Erika knew if everyone else was up there was no way she was getting any more rest. She rolled back over and sat up.
“Look what we found, Mom.” Star bent down by Erika to show her something in her gathering pouch.
Erika looked in and saw a big bundle of dandelion greens. Some even had yellow flowers still clinging to life at the end of summer. She also produced Dexter’s gathering bag full of end-of-the-season blackberries and currants.
“That is great, guys! Way to go!” Erika declared proudly, excited to enjoy the treats.
They munched on the blackberries for breakfast, laughing at one another as the purple juice trickled down their chins. The blackberries would not last as long as the currants, so Erika plopped the rest of them and a handful of currants into the empty stew pot. Vince had always loved morning coffee so Erika brewed a tea with the flowers from the dandelions. It wasn’t even close to the fulfillment of a cup of real coffee, but it was hot and had flavor. They ate the leached flowers that Erika had used for the tea, and put the rest of the greens with the berries in the stew pots.
“So, what did we decide?” Vince wondered, sipping his cup of warm tea.
“Maybe we should go to the coast and look for a boat,” Erika mused, swirling the liquid in her cup.
“I thought you didn’t want to go out on the ocean, Mom?” Dex teased.
“I don’t, but it’s not a bad idea. We can stay close to the coast and just look like another abandoned boat floating along,” Erika mused. She had to admit it sounded pretty easy in comparison to trudging over hundreds of miles. “Plus, now we have a little food for the journey, because you know we’re not getting any once we are out there on the water.”
“You’re right about that,” Star said, gazing out at the endless ocean. “I’m not eating anything caught in there.”
“We’re using my idea?” Daniel asked.
“Yup, buddy, don’t know what we would do without you,” Vince added, grabbing ahold of the boy and roughing him up.
Erika noticed Dexter looking on longingly. She could tell he yearned for those youthful days of the past with his father. That was over now. His childhood had been stripped away. He should have been entering high school this year, but not now. He had been turned into a soldier. A boy who knew more about the gun in his hand and self-defense strategies than the history of his country and proper English. It didn’t matter how many times Erika cursed the world for this horrible situation, here they were. They had to go on and try to find a place in this new world.
“Come on, Dex,” Erika prodded the boy, breaking his gaze, “Lets get packed up.” She hugged her eldest son tightly and felt him shudder in her arms. She could tell he was choking back tears. “You okay, buddy,” she asked, extending the boy to arm’s length so she could get a good look at him.
“I’m fine, Mom,” he muttered, trying to convince himself more than her.
She hugged him tightly again, even though he tried to pull away. Finally he relaxed and hugged her back. She could feel his twisted insides lose their tension. Soon they were joined by the rest of the family in one big hug. Their spirits found solace in the arms of one another, and the energy flew around them like the gigantic fireball that was rising in the east.
They headed down to the shoreline to look for the perfect boat. Their eyes and noses burned from the toxic assault of the water, but they would just have to deal with that. Slowly picking their way north, everything was looking smashed to bits.
“Do you think we’ll ever find one that will work?” Star questioned as she sat on a rock on the shore.
“We will. We just have to keep looking,” Vince reassured his family as he climbed across a large ocean liner inspecting the smaller boats that had smashed into the side of it.
The sun was now directly overhead and its heat beat down hard on them. The sweat dripped off Erika’s brow. It felt hopeless. All these boats were mangled piles of junk. They looked much better from a distance. She was just about to give up herself and go sit with Star when she noticed a small white boat that was bobbing in the waves. It looked sound enough.
“Hey, Vince!” she yelled.
“What, baby,” he responded.
“Come check this out with me,” she requested. Her survival instincts told her that going to check out a strange place alone was not a good idea. Someone might have had the same idea they did.
“Be there in a second,” Vince replied. He hopped down off the large ocean liner he was perched on and began the trek across the broken boats to get where she was.
“See that one over there.” She pointed the boat out to him.
“Oh yeah,” he replied, thinking that it looked promising as well. He understood her apprehension in trying to get closer alone, “Come on.”
Erika had her sidearm out and steadily covered Vince as he climbed along the partially bobbing boats with the rifle. Then he would cover Erika as she approached the boat of interest. Reaching a position where Vince could peer inside, he noticed that the cabin door in the front of the boat was closed. Erika advanced into a position across from him. He hand-signaled to Erika for her to hold her ground and cover the door while he climbed aboard. Erika stood as still as possible on the floating debris with her gun fixed on the door. Nobody was going to hurt her man. No sir, not today! she thought. Vince climbed onto the cushioned chair that served as a passenger seat. The boat rocked as his feet hit the deck, but Erika kept her aim steady. Then Vince indicated for her to climb aboard while he watched the door. She holstered her sidearm, climbed onto the floor of the boat and quickly pulled the weapon out again.
They stood on either side of the cabin door, their hearts pumping with anticipation. Erika looked at Vince and then quickly ripped the door open. It was empty. There was a small kitchen area on the immediate left, a cushioned bed in the very front and another closed door on the right. Vince looked at Erika and signaled for her to cover him again. He went past it and stood on the other side of this smaller door. His gun was ready as Erika took position on the other side. She reached across the door and twisted the handle. It swung open, revealing an empty bathroom.
“Looks like no one’s home,” Vince announced with relief.
“Thank goodness,” Erika admitted, exhaling deeply.
Erika started scoping the boat out as Vince went and signaled for the children to join them.
“All right, Mom!” Dexter rejoiced as he approached.
“Yeah, way to go! This is great!” Star agreed.
Dexter helped Daniel into Vince’s awaiting arms. “Cool, Mom,” he marveled at the boat. “This is awesome...” He looked around for her. “Where are you, Mom?”
“Down here, buddy,” she announced. She was still rifling through the hidden compartments of the boat.
The boat reminded her of a vessel her parents had owned when she was younger in Michigan. They had fished the Great Lakes quite a bit. Her family’s boat was smaller than this one, but her grandparents had owned one that was very similar. It gave the cabin a familiar, comforting feeling. It also gave her a pretty good idea of all of the nooks and crannies of the boat that could be used for storage.
“Wow, this is great!” Daniel said excitedly, hopping onto the sleeping area in the bow of the boat.
“Find anything good?” Vince asked, following their youngest son down into the cabin area.
“Yeah, a couple bottles of Aspirin, some Rolaids, some anti-diarrhea pills and some antibiotics,” she explained, joyously shaking the jar at him.
“How ’bout any food?” Vince asked, not impressed with the meds.
“Believe it or not, we got some canned veggies and beans. They are way past expiration but I don’t think that really matters now, does it?” Erika said, flashing the dates on the c
ans at him.
“Nope!” Vince agreed. “We got them anti-diarrhea pills, right?” he jested. “But seriously, that’s awesome. Great job, baby. Let’s see if the engine will start.”
“No, Vince, we can’t. Even if it does work we would hardly look like a floating piece of junk would we?” Erika warned. She would have loved to start the engine up and motor up the coast but that would be a dead giveaway for anyone looking for them.
“I’m saying let’s just try it while we’re here and safe. That way if we had to use it in an emergency at least we would know if we could or not,” Vince countered.
“Okay, I’m buying what you are selling. Lets try it!” Erika agreed.
Vince turned the key and the engine sputtered loudly but it wouldn’t turn over. It made a horrible screeching sound while it sputtered that echoed off the surrounding hills. Vince halted his efforts, checking to see if he could funnel the gas out of the engine instead.
The rest of their day was spent pilfering the other boats surrounding them. The kids gathered anything that had value and Star found a box of 45 MM ammo for her 1911 pistol. Almost no food was found but they got enough gasoline to fill a five-gallon storage container. Star had found oars from another boat and suggested using them to quietly move along the shore. Dexter and Vince even raided the other boats for scrap wood and pieces to make their boat look more dilapidated than it was. This would help conceal the fact that there were oars moving it through the water.
They slept that night right where they found the boat and delighted in a can of beans for dinner. They kept the regular watch pattern. Even though they only needed one lookout, two people helped ensure the person on watch would stay awake. There would be plenty of time to sleep during the voyage up the coast, because there was only room for two rowers at once.
When it was finally Erika’s turn to sleep, she slept more soundly than she had in years. The sleeping area was soft and the gentle rocking of the boat reminded her of the safety and security she had known in her youth.
In the morning they set off. Erika and Vince were first up to row. They got the boat turned around and aimed north. Slowly but surely they pushed along at the outer reaches of the wrecked boats. The constant tug of the waves and tides, plus the rocks, wrecked boats and old cars made travel a very tedious process.
As they crept along the edge of the mountains it was hard to visualize the tragedy that befell this area. The sprawling valley where so much of the nation’s food had once been grown was now flooded with water. There was nothing but brackish water with trash floating in it as far as they could see. The coastline was a sickly green, as the mountain trees and foliage were poisoned by seawater and toxic leftovers.
Erika remembered driving down the highway through the valley as the mountains loomed in the distance. She had never really been a fan of the valley but she never would have wished for this. She wondered what the final death count had been when the water was done with its fury. It was a sobering sight.
“Everyone get down,” Daniel screamed.
“What, why?” Erika responded quickly, awakening from her daydream.
“Helicopter!” Daniel declared.
Vince looked at Erika, “Has he even seen a helicopter before?”
“Yeah, once!” Erika panicked.
“Get those cloaking blankets!” Dexter yelled. He was thinking about the heat sensor. He knew the toxicity of the ocean threw of their thermal imaging, but he wasn’t about to take any chances.
They all ran into the cubby cabin and covered themselves in the camouflaged cloaking blankets they had pilfered from Clint’s men. Clint and his three friends had received the cloaks as a gift from the medicine lady in Reno. They possessed a technology that sensed the ambient temperature around the user and adapted the fibers in the blanket to match.
It was so quiet. Erika could hear the sound of the water lapping on the side of the boat and the thump, thump, thump of their boat bouncing off of other debris.
“Do you hear anything?” Erika questioned Vince.
“No,” Vince whispered.
“Shhhh...” Daniel shushed his parents, twisting his head to try to use his youthful ears to pick out the sound.
Vince and Erika looked curiously at the boy and his audacity. Then they heard it: the smooth sound of the propellers in the distance. Before too long it was a whirl of sound over the top of them. Holding their breath, they waited. Slowly the sound moved up the coast. Their breathing returned to normal and they relaxed under the blankets. There was really no reason to move just yet.
“Good job, Daniel,” Erika exclaimed, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, great job,” Vince, Dex, and Star agreed in unison.
They all loved him up, hugging him and scuffing up his hair. Daniel was so proud that he had protected his family.
“Guess we’ll have to trust those eagle ears more often,” Vince praised the boy.
“Do you think it will come back, Dad,” Star wondered.
“Depends on where it was going,” Vince answered honestly. “If it was a patrol, they might take off and land at the same spot so they might come back. But if it was a search team they might loop around and scout the mountains. They would be out of our range then.” Vince explained his logic.
“And if they were looking for us, they’ll most likely fly back through here,” Star added nervously.
“Not necessarily, Star. Dad’s right, even if they are looking for us they would probably want to have a look over the mountain ridge as well,” Erika reassured her.
“What should we do if they do come back?” Star wondered.
“We keep going,” Dex answered.
Star was still not convinced, “Yeah, but if they’re looking for us and they see the boat moved or moving, it might be suspicious?”
“Do you really think they would spend all that fuel in a helicopter to look for us?” Vince asked, directing the question at Erika. “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t know,” Erika admitted. “They sent that tracking party north, and they knew they had found something or they wouldn’t have followed us so far. I didn’t think Mathew would expend the resources to do that, either.”
“True,” Vince agreed. “It would make sense for them to comb the general northern area, if that’s where they thought we were going.”
“Let’s just stay in tonight, then,” Dexter said.
Erika thought this was a great idea. They tucked the specialized cloaks into the ceiling panels to provide a constant shielding. Then the family broke out a can of beans and corn and passed them around. Dexter produced a pack of UNO cards he had pilfered from the toy store and they played. Hushed laughter filled the small cabin of the boat as they enjoyed the moment like the world was at peace. It had been so long since they relaxed and had fun. Erika felt as if her nerves would burst from the amount of tension she was walking around with every day they were on the run. She had tears in her eyes as she reflected on her family, smiling and teasing. If only my mom were here to see this, she thought.
“It’s your turn, Mom,” Daniel proclaimed to her, his beautiful brown eyes fixed on her.
“Blam, draw four!” she said, laying the card down and giving Vince the “you’re screwed” look. “Blue,” she announced the next color to play.
“Really, Mom!” Dexter said. Apparently he didn’t have any blue cards.
They fell asleep one by one, until finally just Vince and Erika lay awake. They snuggled in each other’s arms, watching their beautiful children sleep, until they drifted off to the land of dreams themselves.
The helicopter was never seen or heard again after that day. The sun beat down and the toxic water stung their noses as day after day they plodded along. They hadn’t anticipated it taking this long to navigate the coastline. Their bellies rumbled as the food supplies ran desperately low. There was no resupplying on land now. The broken cliff line had begun and the fractured mountain loomed above them.
Chapter 7
“Ahoy there!” Vince yelled, breaking the silence on the boat.
Erika was in the cubby with the kids. Their food had run out days ago and they were going to try to boil leather to get something in their bellies. Erika blasted out of the doors.
“What are you doing, Vince?” she yelled in a panic.
“There’s people in that boat over there. Maybe they’ll trade gas for food,” Vince stammered desperately.
“We don’t need food that bad. We can’t risk meeting others,” Erika was freaked.
The kids stared at the two of them from the cabin. They had bags under their eyes and they were weak.
“You’re down there boiling leather! Come on, Erika,” Vince insisted, trying to get her to see the reality of the situation. “Look at them!”
Erika looked deliriously at the children. Her head was full of fog, but she could see their frailty and it scared her.
“Okay,” Erika agreed. “Kids, get your guns and cover Daddy. If they so much as move wrong, shoot.”
The family was on the ready when Vince yelled again, “Hello!”
There was no response from the other boat. The man at the steering wheel didn’t even move.
“Hello,” Vince tried again. “Dex, Star, bring us up behind them.”
“Hey buddy,” Vince yelled to the guy. “I’m coming aboard.” He looked back at his family and shrugged.
Erika signaled to Dex to keep his rifle on the guy at the wheel and Star to keep her pistol on the cubby cabin door that was closed. Erika traded Vince her sidearm for the rifle and the two of them cautiously boarded the boat. It rocked gently as their feet touched down on the deck.
“Hey, buddy?” Vince said again as he stepped forward and grabbed the guy by the shoulder.
The guy’s head slowly slid from his neck bones and rolled onto the deck at Vince’s feet.
“Oh my God!” Erika yelled, jumping back a little.
“Cool,” Daniel cheered from their boat. Dexter moved Daniel back behind himself when Erika shot a disconcerted look their way.
“That explains why he didn’t answer,” Vince said chuckling.
The Changing Earth Series (Book 3): The Walls of Freedom Page 5
