by West, Lee
“Feels a little better out here. You were right. I too wish we could walk around on top, but it’s really not safe. How’re you feeling? You look better now than you’ve looked the entire time we’ve been out here.”
“I feel better too. I’m not as tired, and either the seasickness pills are working or I’m getting used to it. The air feels so good. The inside of this thing is so stuffy. I hate being in there. I’m getting claustrophobia.”
“Being on any ship, with the exception of a cruise ship, can cause that feeling. But, yeah, the air is hot and stale inside.”
Beads of sweat rolled down Meg’s back between her shoulder blades. The feeling of being refreshed by the cool breeze wore off quickly under the intensity of the sun’s rays. Meg had gotten sunburned so many times as a kid that she could barely handle direct sun. She always sought shelter from its heat.
“Sorry, I can’t take this much sun, even if it means forgoing the fresh air.”
She leaned over and kissed him softly before lowering herself back into the stale and heavy air. The change and odors inside made her gag. Her vomit had mostly dried and crusted onto the floor and side of the bench where she first sat. Its smell lingered.
The boat bobbed around in the gentle waves. Brett and Nancy sat together on one of the benches. None of them were strapped into the harnesses, given the light seas.
Frank crawled backward out of the bow crawl space with a metal box of tools and parts. He sifted through the contents, intently looking for what he needed to fix the boat. “I don’t have an impellor, but I have something else that I might be able to rig together that’ll do the trick. Let me give it a try,” he said excitedly.
He moved quickly through the boat to the back behind the head. A few minutes after he disappeared, the sound of loud metal banging reverberated in the small space.
“What do we do if this can’t be fixed?” Nancy asked Mike.
“The boat has several sets of oars. We’ll have to row the rest of the way,” he responded.
“That’s not good,” said Brett.
“Why? How much farther do you think we have to go?” asked Joe as he climbed down, joining them.
“We were thinking if we maintained a steady four knots in calm seas, then we’d be able to start seeing the shore in a few hours,” answered Brett.
“Geez, that far?” said Mike, looking worried.
“For sure. The cruise ship was pretty far from shore when we left. The distance combined with the heavy seas last night have put us farther away than we thought. We’re only a little more than halfway there,” said Brett, exhausted.
“I don’t think I can row that far,” said Nancy. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Frank can work some magic back there.”
A melancholy seemed to overcome all of them as they sat listening to Frank trying to fix the boat. Each person was lost in his or her own thoughts about their safety and survival.
“Joe! Joe! Turn on the engine! I want to see what happens,” yelled Frank.
“I’m doing it! Give me a second,” said Joe.
Joe quickly got up from the bench and mounted the captain’s chair. He exhaled and depressed the starter button. The engine roared to life, as it had done before. The problem was not evident from the command console.
“Go see what he wants me to do!” he shouted to Meg.
She ran back to the room in the aft of the boat for instructions from Frank. Just as she opened the door, he emerged.
“She’s fixed! Let’s get out of here!” he shouted excitedly.
The small group broke out into a round of cheers and applause for Frank, who had once again saved them.
— 26 —
The cheers of the others and the fact that they were once again moving toward shore lifted Frank’s spirits. While he was back in the engine room, he’d checked the fuel lines and hoses to verify that the lifeboat was in good working order. Once he repaired the impellor, the boat seemed to hum along nicely. The stress of the day’s events left him too amped up to sleep any further, so he volunteered for watch while Mike piloted the boat.
“Can you hand me another one of those cakes?” asked Mike.
The boat was equipped with very basic survival food consisting of several cakes per person. The cakes were thick, dense, dry, high fat and protein bars. Each bar contained over three thousand calories, more than enough for an entire day. The cakes also had a constipating effect, which reduced the chances of their sewage system malfunctioning.
“I don’t see how you can keep eating those,” said Frank as he handed one to Mike. “You aren’t going to shit for at least a week.”
“Maybe not, but damn, they’re good,” said Mike with a smile.
Frank was barely able to choke down one of the cakes, let alone two, as Mike had done. Once they reached the shore, he intended to split the supplies in the boat among them. Each person could carry their own stash of cakes and water.
“HOLY SHIT! LOOK!” shouted Mike.
Mike grabbed Frank’s arm and then pointed in the opposite direction from where Frank had been looking. Sure enough, a thin ripple appeared on the previously flat horizon.
“It’s land!” said Mike excitedly.
“Maybe. Or it could be very large swells mimicking the topography of land. We won’t know until we get a little closer,” said Frank.
Joe walked over to join them and said, “What’s all the excitement?”
“We might be seeing land!” said Mike.
As the boat moved closer and closer to the shore, it became more evident that they were seeing land. Meg hugged Joe and started crying with relief at the sight of seagulls circling their boat. Even Nancy broke into tearful laughter, her usual stoic self dissolving with relief.
“Where do you think we should go? Right to the port?” asked Mike.
Frank considered the question for a long moment, weighing their options. Finally he said, “I don’t know. I don’t want to get entangled with the Coast Guard and have to explain why we have this boat.”
“Neither do I,” said Brett.
They stood together and silently contemplated their options.
Meg said excitedly, “I see another boat! It looks like a sailboat!”
“Really? Can I use those?” asked Frank.
Meg handed him Brett’s high-powered binoculars. Sure enough, Frank spotted the sailboat right away. The couple on the deck of the sailboat appeared to be vigorously waving to them, calling them over.
“Brett, can you tell if they’re stationary?” said Frank, handing the binoculars to Brett.
“Of course.”
A few minutes later, Brett confirmed Frank’s assessment that the sailboat was stationary. Either they were anchored or something had gone wrong and they were adrift.
“Look, everyone! They’re waving for us! What do you want to do?” Mike asked the group.
“How do they look? A couple in a sailboat can’t be as bad as the last crew we ran into,” said Nancy.
The couple looked young, maybe in their mid-thirties, and were well dressed. Their navy-blue-hulled large sailboat glistened with obvious care. All of the wooden surfaces were highly polished and well oiled. The sails were down and were meticulously folded and strapped down. The ropes were coiled in various sailor coils and fancy knots. They were obviously experienced sailors in a very expensive sailboat.
“I’d say they look fine. I think we should stop. Maybe we could learn something about what happened on shore,” said Frank.
Mike moved the lifeboat close to the sailboat and killed the engine. The couple smiled and waved at them as Joe lifted the hatch to talk.
“Hey there! Thanks for stopping! We weren’t sure you’d see us!” said the man.
“No problem. Is everything alright?” asked Joe.
“We were hoping you’d tell us,” said the woman.
“What do you mean?”
“We were just on our way back to Port Lorraine after a two-week sail up and down the
coast. When we entered the port, Coast Guard fast ships circled us. They screamed at us over their loudspeakers saying that we couldn’t dock and had to go back out to sea. It was the freakiest thing we ever saw. They wouldn’t even come close to us or allow us to ask questions. And if we needed help, I’m sure they would not have rendered any sort of assistance,” said the man.
“Have you been back there? Where did you come from?” the woman asked.
Frank poked his head out of the hatch and answered, “We escaped off the cruise ship we were on. It had lost all communications with the shore. We suspect a large detonation triggered an EMP, wiping out the U.S.”
The couple looked at each other, stunned. The man reached for his wife, protectively placing his arm around her shoulders.
“That explains it,” said the man.
“What? Explains what?” asked Brett as he too squeezed into the open space.
“There are no lights out there,” she said.
“No lights where?” asked Joe.
“No lights anywhere. The entire shoreline is dark as far as the eye can see. We were wondering what would cause such an outage. I guess that explains it.”
“What’s your plan going forward?” asked Brett.
“We have no idea, but we can’t stay out here forever. Eventually, we’ll need food,” said the man.
“We were thinking of anchoring the lifeboat in a protected cove while we get a look around on land. Any ideas where we should go?” asked Brett.
The couple looked at each other and talked quietly, considering the question. Finally the woman said, “Lovers’ Cove. It’s attached to the state park. No one goes out there except teenagers who are making out and smoking pot. You could anchor out there and then make it to shore fairly easily.”
“That sounds like a great suggestion, thanks. Will you two be okay out here?” asked Joe.
“Sure will. We’ve been sailing for a long time, all over the world, in fact. This is nothing for us. We were just thinking about making this an adventure by heading farther south. Who knows, maybe things are okay down there,” said the woman confidently.
“That’s what the cruise ship was trying to do when we left,” said Mike.
“Really? They’ll run out of fuel if they have to island hop. From the reception we got from the Coast Guard, you can be sure they won’t be allowed to pull into port for fuel. Eventually, they’ll be in real trouble. That’s the beautiful thing sailing, we can sail the Magnifica around the world without worrying about fuel,” said the man with obvious pride.
“That’s what we were thinking and why we chose to leave,” said Brett.
“Safe travels!” shouted Frank as he climbed back into the lifeboat. He started the engine and pulled away from the well-cared-for sailboat.
They left the couple with renewed strength. Anchoring at Lovers’ Cove was the perfect place for them. Away from houses and the Coast Guard.
— 27 —
Getting to Lovers’ Cove didn’t take them long. Once they said goodbye to the sailing couple, they set a course directly to the cove. Joe made sure to give a wide berth to Port Lorraine, not wanting to tangle with the Coast Guard in any way. The couple’s account of their experience with the Coast Guard was not something Joe wanted to repeat. While Joe drove the boat, Frank spent a good portion of their time during the ride to shore getting their equipment ready.
With the cove in sight, Joe shouted, “How close should I get?”
“We have a five-foot draft, so you can get in pretty shallow. I’d like not to have to swim too far,” said Frank.
The others gathered around the windows for a look at the cove. The excitement among the small group was palpable. Everyone, including Joe, wanted to get off the lifeboat and back to his or her regular life. Joe worried about what would pass as the new regular once they got onto land. He and Meg had discussed how they would cope. They knew that they didn’t have a lot of supplies at home. They lived in the small town of Stevensville, close enough for them to walk to work. Their tiny apartment didn’t have the room to accommodate large stores of supplies, even if they had thought of it.
“I’m so excited to get off this thing!” said Meg as she looked out the windows.
“We all are, but I’m also really worried about what’ll happen out there,” said Nancy.
“There could’ve been rioting and looting. Who knows? It’s been long enough since the event that people will be reacting to it,” said Brett.
“Do you think we’re safe to get off the boat?” asked Meg, turning to Nancy.
“I don’t know. I’d sure feel a little better if we had some sort of protection. We have nothing but the clothes on our backs,” she said.
“We have more than nothing; the boat’s equipped with tons of supplies. Just look,” said Frank, waving a hand over the items.
He had pulled out all of the usable gear and laid it out neatly on the benches and floor for everyone to see. Nancy surveyed the stockpile. It consisted of an axe, a jackknife, several rocket flares, a rain catcher, fishing supplies, water, food and portable first aid kits. In addition, Frank had piled up all of the thermal blankets, the water and cakes for their use.
“If you guys are done holding hands back there, I could use help anchoring!” shouted Joe from the command console.
His call seemed to break everyone out of their thoughts.
Frank was the first to respond. “I need to go topside. The anchor is stowed in the anchor hold in the bow,” he shouted to Joe over the engine noise.
Frank unlatched the hatch and climbed out of the stuffy boat. He moved quickly toward its bow, grabbing handrails as he went. Once there, he lifted the lid to the hold and heaved out the anchor. Joe suspected the anchor wouldn’t be too large; however, it was bigger than he thought it would be. It also had a lot of line to it. The anchor was clearly intended for use in deep rough waters.
“I’ll drop it, and you reverse until it catches!” shouted Frank.
Joe gave him a thumbs-up and slowed the boat. He shifted the gear to reverse and backed up slowly. After a few feet, Frank gave him a thumbs-up. They had landed. Joe smiled, thinking that their harrowing journey would finally be over. He couldn’t get off the boat fast enough.
“What do you want to do with all of the supplies?” asked Nancy.
Frank jumped back into the boat, obviously relieved that they had arrived. “We need to divvy up everything between us and take what we can carry.”
Brett and Nancy looked at each other and then Nancy spoke. “We don’t think splitting up right away is the best idea. Who knows what we’ll face. Brett and I think we would all have the best chances if we stick together.”
Joe finally relaxed for a moment. He suddenly realized how being on their own, with just him and Meg, scared him. His brother, a survivalist, had always said civilization would break down. There was no way he would be able to protect himself and Meg without the group’s support.
“We agree! Just looking at the shoreline is scaring the crap out of me. There’s no way I want to walk out of here without you guys,” said Meg, the first to speak.
“Frank? Mike? What about you two?” asked Brett.
“We were going to my house to be with Sharon and the kids. I live in Lawrence, just past the state park. You guys are welcome to join us. Maybe Sharon will have real food for all of us?” said Mike.
“What do you guys think about leaving some of this water and food on the boat?” said Nancy.
“Why?” asked Joe.
“We don’t know what we’ll face out there. For all we know, we’ll get attacked and everything will be gone as soon as we get to shore. This way, we’d have something in reserve. Besides, what if we need to get out of here quickly? I’d like to know this boat still contains some food and water.”
Joe considered her plan for a minute and then said, “She’s right. I would love to know we could escape on this thing if we need to. We could even bring others, like Sharon and the kids.”<
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“Thank you,” said Mike, clearly moved.
The group worked quickly to conceal the water and food they left behind. The lifeboat did not contain a key or locks, so their supply would be vulnerable. However, someone would have to swim out to it. The swim might dissuade the lazier looters looking for a quick score.
“Do we really have to swim to shore?” asked Meg.
“Unfortunately. This is the escape pod, not a life raft. We’ll be fine,” said Joe, kissing her lightly.
Frank set them to work tying together various lifejackets to create a makeshift raft for their supplies. The lifejackets were double stacked and clipped together using their built-in joining clips. If they were out at sea, stranded in the water, they’d be able to use the joining clips to band together in order to prevent anyone from drifting away. With any luck, double stacking the jackets would keep their items above the waterline. Once the raft was assembled, it was time to go to shore.
Joe felt oddly sentimental leaving the little boat. They had been together on it for a long time and through a lot in the process.
“Here goes nothing!” shouted Frank as he jumped in.
Brett and Nancy jumped in next and then Meg. Joe and Mike quickly handed them their bags, supplies and shoes before each jumped in.
“Wow! The water feels great! It’s warmer than I expected!” said Mike with a broad smile.
“What feels great is rinsing off the three inches of slime that accumulated on my skin, hair and clothes. This feels positively magnificent after being stuck on that boat for so long!” said Nancy. She floated on her back, swishing her hair in the salt water.
Once on land, Joe helped Meg and the others to grab their packs. They broke apart the lifejacket raft and hid the jackets in the thick bramble of wild beach roses. A four-hour walk lay between them and Mike’s house on the outskirts of Lawrence. With any luck, the group would be there for dinner. Joe’s mouth practically watered at the prospect of eating a real, home-cooked meal.
