Bug Out Boat Survival: The Post Apocalyptic Survival Trailer Pod (Aftermath Survival Book 3)

by Ron Foster

  “Well I’ve seen many a catamaran parked on the beaches in Florida until the rental guy comes in the morning and puts the sails on them. Sometimes you see them change something but usually not. That’s just the place to keep them. As for those fishing kayaks, those people could be living in a hotel and going out every day for all I know. And that’s just a handy place to park them and not have to drag them down every day, if this area is as unpopulated as you think it is?” Lori asked with a question in her voice.

  “I don’t know. I’m not too much worried about them; we expected to see people and various and sundry small craft out here. I wouldn’t be surprised to see people on paddleboards around here trying their luck. Evidently, boat thievery is not on their minds or they have those two things locked together to deter thieves from launching them somehow but I guess we won’t know that until we get a little closer.” Sam said still wondering just how many people might still be living on this beach.

  “I don’t see anybody or any movement over by those kayaks but there’s smoke coming up on that hotel in back of the HobieCat. Looks like wood smoke.” Lori said.

  “Are they cooking on the beach or are they cooking at the hotel?” Sam asked as Lori trained her binoculars on the shore.

  “I see one guy using the grill in the pool area, it looks like.” Lori said trying to discern more detail as the boat bobbed up and down spoiling her view.

  “It’s nice to see someone barbecuing on the beach! Maybe things aren’t so bad after all, Lori.” Sam said with a mirthless chuckle.

  “I see four people, no make that five, one just came out of the hotel heading this way.” Lori said shifting her weight to look back at Sam.

  “I guess they are going to get an eyeful seeing us towing this stupid trailer but that can’t be helped. I wonder what they are going to think it is? That isn’t any inflatable banana boat kids ride we got attached to this thing.” Sam said throttling up as the incoming tide and wind kept wanting to drag their light craft towards shore and the trailer acted like a sea anchor.

  “There are two of them that just ran upstairs and got their binoculars and are looking out at us now, Sam. A couple of them have pistols on them but I don’t see any rifles.” Lori advised.

  “Oh, wave to them” Sam said and they did as they proceeded along at about medium speed and acted like it was the most common thing in the world to be towing a bobbing cork of a trailer in back of a Jon boat in front of the formerly packed touristy beach.

  “Well, that was interesting!” Lori said as she trained her binoculars in back of Sam just to see if anybody happened to want to come down and get in one of their boats which no one expected.

  “Sure was! That’s the thing, Lori. Those people might just be living the good life living in that hotel or they might have just pulled in to cook out after a day of fishing, there ain’t no telling. Thing is, if that’s their territory, and nobody’s living around it, they might think they have some claim to it such as first rights, if someone moves into the area unannounced or would compete with them for any salvageable materials in the surrounding buildings. We need to be careful of that when we choose us a place to settle down at. That’s another thing, what are we going to do with all this damn gear when we turn in for the night? That’s my worry.” Sam said enjoying looking at all the abandoned beachfront hotels and entertainment centers but worried about finding a safe landing place for the night.

  Not to be put off and spoil the good humor of the day that Lori had been enjoying, she turned around and sang a few bars of the country hit “Where am I going to live at when I get Home” in order to make Sam smile because he had been doing the same thing all the trip to her with his own rendition of the song not knowing from one moment to the next where they would be putting their heads down at night.

  “As much as I would like to pull into one of these places and explore a little bit, I think its best that we just keep moving on until we get to less developed areas.” Sam said.

  “Don’t forget we’re going swimming somewhere! This is the first time I am kind of glad we both have our individual hammocks because the two of us are starting to smell a bit rank!” Lori chuckled.

  “I can drop anchor and we can take us a quick dip pretty much anywhere but as long as we are out here sweating and exploring, let’s do it after we make camp so we can enjoy it.” Sam said looking forward to finding a place that would lend itself to just dragging up on shore and being secluded enough to not worry about our exposure too much...

  You can see a fire for miles at night and on an empty beach, it would be even worse unless they camped behind a sand dune or something. They had far too much gear to unload the boat or drag that trailer around and try to conceal it. The thing is, when you have beach in the tourist areas are the condo house and old beachfront vacation homes, it’s rare to find a place you can sling a hammock because there are no trees/ What to do tonight was particularly vexing because it looked like rain would be in the air before morning. They had their big tent with them, that would be no problem to set up but finding a clear area with a bit of a wind break could also be a problem. This would be the first time that they would likely not be sleeping close to the boat and all that gear and they tried to contemplate what solutions might be best available.

  This caused them a bit of anxiety as they had not planned on doing any breaking and entering or trespassing on anybody’s turf. Their preparedness supplies that sustained them well and they had not had to resort to any kind of looting or other illegal activities to get by so far and wished to keep it that way for a bit even though they knew that would soon become part of their lifestyle.

  “I say we keep going until we find a bit of undeveloped land or find some hopefully abandoned beach house distant from any other structures.” Sam said contemplating.

  “This no map thing sucks. I know there are islands out here and maybe even a canal or two going back to some bayou but except for just saying Panama City is that way, I can’t tell you a whole lot about the shoreline.” Lori declared.

  “I have driven the highway between here and there several times but that has been over a span of years and just look at all the changes we saw the last time we got out and about. Places and directions we used to know are unrecognizable but I still say we will be able to find a deserted stretch of beach if we just keep looking.” Sam said speculating.

  “What about trying to make it through here at night? It’s not like the river where we got to worry about a log or a sand bar reaching out to grab us as long as we kept our depth.” Lori suggested.

  “Well I’m not averse to trying that, but as you know this trolling motor wants to overheat with continuous use. And the surf, we don’t have a whole lot of choices for propulsion. Let me think about it.” Sam said as they continued on for several miles more of the vacation hot spots that dotted the coastline.

  “There’s a big pier coming up ahead, Sam! One of those big commercial public fishing piers.” Lori declared.

  “Anybody on it?” Sam asked just starting to see it for himself in the distance.

  “Hard to say, it’s too far ahead. I see several kinds of boats pulled up on the shore and what looks to be a marina or something but looks pretty well torched.” Lori said.

  “Where are you looking at?” Sam asked snapping his head back towards the direction she was looking after just observing what appeared to be a man running between the condo buildings they were passing.

  “Down there on the far left past that little tiny wooded area next to the resort- kind of looks like a blue place in that shadow, wait a minute, that’s not a shadow that’s the side of a building that’s been burned!” Lori said scrutinizing what she was seeing to further inform Sam.

  “Shit! There are more people around here than I figured on it seems. I just thought I saw a guy running between those buildings we just passed wearing military web gear and shorts. I don’t know what all this means, but we got what appears to be lots of survivors living around he
re even though we’ve just seen a few so far. If there’s one, there are others and I’m still considering what that guy was in such a hurry about. I don’t see any boats though, except for what we’ve seen so far. We’ve seen a lot of those cheap plastic kayaks here and there though drawn up next to those snow fences they use to reduce erosion and conserve sand around the hotels and such. Whether or not folks are using those to fish with, we won’t know for a while I guess. It seems to me we should have seen a shitload of people out surf fishing if they are in the area and since we have not, I think my theory on the lack of fresh water and where civilization congregates must be true because although there is housing for tens of thousands, we have seen very little aspects of humanity today.”

  “I don’t know, Sam. I don’t like it. Everyone so far has been pretty well spaced out and no evidence of any type of community except for that group of boats I see up ahead pulled up on shore. Why don’t you find you a good position somewhere and throw the anchor out and have a look for yourself before going past what evidently is a marina of sorts at one time.”

  “How good can you see them, baby? We talking about a bunch of kayaks or speedboats or what? Sam asked not being able to see more than a blur up ahead before they got to the state fishing pier.

  “I don’t know, it’s a mish mash of vessels. A lot of them have gas motors and look like little runabouts or Boston whalers. Get a little closer and we’ll anchor up and pretend to fish like you said we were going to.” Lori suggested.

  “I don’t know about doing the fishing ruse, Lori but I’ll make a course for swinging way out in front of that thing but keep a weather eye out to the ocean for anybody incoming to that place so we don’t get surprised by an incoming boat when we are looking in the opposite direction. Better yet, look over at that fishing pier again if you would and see if you see anyone fishing or not.” Sam suggested.

  “I got two people standing at the far corner at the very end of it as far as I can see. Might be one or two down its length but it’s hard to tell if I’m seeing pier or people at this distance.” Lori said worriedly thinking she might not be giving Sam enough information to make the correct judgment.

  “Our dolphin friends are back.” Sam said regarding the pair of porpoise-like beings that seemed to want to show off and play with them.

  Lori instantly turned and looked in their direction and made Sam moan a bit when she stated “Aren’t they so cute?”

  Sam was grousing about her inattention in his mind to the pressing matters at hand for a moment before Lori said something that was quite intelligent and unique “Sam, don’t you think that if people were very desperate around here that the dolphins wouldn’t be so friendly and wanting to interact with humans? Maybe that’s a sign that things aren’t as bad as we think they are and unlike being back home, we can quit being scared of our own shadows.” his lady cajoled him.

  “Lori, you said a mouthful there! Let me take this in for a minute, if the dolphins are still friendly and seeking the company of humans, then they as a fisherman’s friend that are tolerated and sometimes even encouraged to interact or keep in their presence this close to the marina and fishing pier, so respect still rules and they are still appreciated as intelligent beings. Could be that either over time or because of location these aquatic mammals remember that they need no fear from people like us and that should be our indication of the nature of things in the area.” Sam said thinking he was letting his guard down for a frivolous reason but encouraged by the wisdom in it.

  “Hey it’s like that big pod of manatees that met us near the spring that fed into that river. It was too cold for them to enjoy habitat in the spring but they enjoyed it and had no fear of alligators in the vicinity as you said to bother their young. Some creatures are just gentle and some creatures like the poor manatee that doesn’t have sense enough to avoid crazy people with speed boats and need protecting still have a resolve to be gentle and kind no matter what.” Sam questioned.

  “I say we move in closer to shore maybe, and see if like you said, the marinas are still doing business and this place has restarted as a fishing village of sorts. It would make sense, Sam. Always said that checking the marinas made sense after you first mentioned it that people wanted to be secure where they put up their boats and got supplies from. I think you need to try to study why those boats are pulled up on the shore more and figure out if we need to pull in there or not before traveling on. I’m not saying we should spend the night there, don’t get me wrong, I’m just saying that you said to look for the signs such as this that civilization still existed and that was what we wanted wasn’t it?” Lori asked looking at him questioningly.

  “Of course, darling, I see your point. That’s the reason we came down here was to seek a better life and try for some community support. Not that we need them, mind you, ‘because we’re doing pretty damn good on our own but I’m just not too happy at the moment. Thinking about getting all chummy with a bunch of strangers and having a freaking trailer of supplies with us if you know what I mean! Now it could be too, that by avoiding this place we could sign our own death warrant as any place that is full of people has its own opportunists waiting to observe those that pass by or come into town to mark them for theft or worse at a more distant ambush site away from prying eyes or justice. It’s just too soon darling’. The plan was we play hide and seek for a month or two exploring the coast and we slowly integrate ourselves into society if we can find it by brief encounters or probing actions into an unknown situation. To go in there now is an all or none proposition to me.” Sam said with quite a few reservations and more confusion than he was willing to admit to.

  “Look at it this way, Sam. They aren’t smugglers or boat wreckers standing on the shoreline in the storm luring in unwary ships from sea to steal their cargoes like the old history books! You and I were taught stories that say that this type of trade existed, do you think? I mean, if you got a whole bunch of people gathered together at a singular point, it’s for trade and not like the Barbary Coast or a pirate port in Jamaica but has an economy based on pillage. They do that elsewhere. Of course, I know you, you are going to say it’s brilliant if that was their plan not to set up a nice little port for boats to visit and rob them as they come in instead of working the waters to rob them with guns and bloodshed. I mean hell, if they drive up and surrender why even go out? I can already hear your argument, Sam, but I can also hear the other side of your brain and my own experiences that say that kind of fishing village cannot exist for too long. So you tell me: what is it we are going to do? Are we pulling in or are we pulling out and trying to bypass it and observe? Remember now, this boat isn’t built for deep water and if we get too far out we could get swamped. These waves are lapping at the sides of this little Jon boat a bit more than I like, if you know what I mean!” Lori said, giving Sam ‘the look’.

  “Aw, sweetie, I know what you mean. I got enough salt spray on me and these blue jeans now to feel like I already got a bath. You know the value of long sleeves and long pants we’ve been arguing about this whole trip when the mosquitoes and the midges come out and try to suck our blood nightly to understand the value of such apparel beyond the cancer/sunburn thing. Saying that, I can’t wait until I find that perfect place that has a spring to wash the salt out of my clothes on the island somewhere and give us fresh water but an ocean basin to give us crab to eat and mullet for a fish fry. I haven’t told you yet, darling, but many times with those crazy neighbors we had, I felt like I needed to go war on them before they started sneaking around my house at night. Call that paranoia, call that old wartime memories but call it the ability not to use the gun and just keep hoping for the best while thinking the worst which you know is against my credo. I can’t change me or my distrust for others, especially at this time and I am just not comfortable pulling into that place yet. It makes no sense and I’m liable to ally myself with the first idiot that tries to be friendly with whispered warnings of what others might possible have in
store for me or about others without me knowing anything about this community at large. We need to go heal up, reflect and recuperate and evaluate what kind of life it is we want and what kind of risks are we willing to do to attain that goal.” Sam said firmly but dejectedly as he evaluated his circumstances and possible wrong or right decisions.

  Sam needed community; the whole reason they were towing that bobbing cork of a trailer was not only for them but for others to benefit from as well. He in his own mind began to call their small boat the Light Ship because it bore the gear needed to remake society in a small way. If other people had organizations and gear serving the same purposes, so be it. They could attach themselves and be introduced into the community as ones that either carried their own weight or added to the benefit of the whole group. However, Sam and Lori were not naïve that the always damned jealousy factor would not come in when they offered the factor or supplies and offered capabilities similar to what already existed in communities that some might think they were competing with or usurping previous agreements with other benefactors.

  “I don’t see any people around that marina, a lot of those boats up on the beach look like they have been there for awhile. Guess they are out of gas or something.” Lori said still scanning the area.

  “We will check it out maybe someday, what are the Pier folks doing, anything besides fishing?”Sam asked getting back underway.

  “I count five people so far but I am only seeing this side of the pier.” Lori said.

  That’s five people getting along and cooperating with each other, good deal!” Sam replied encouraged they had made the right decision to come to the coast.

  Sam and Lori waved to the people on the pier and noticed a few others fishing by themselves on the other side of the dock. This they took as another good sign. Evidently there were many more survivors about than they had anticipated and they were not all holed up in their houses hiding from one another or shooting at each other over what was left to eat in this modern world.