Hope: After It Happened Book 4

by Devon C. Ford

  As the land encroached either side of them Mitch slowed their progress in order to navigate the long, ponderous sandbanks sweeping inwards between the two banks of the river mouth. Slowly they steamed inland, this time without the obstacles of anchored wreckage as they had encountered the previous day.

  The wide, shallow inlet flowed lazily towards buildings in the distance. Almost half a mile ensued before a mooring appeared ahead.

  “Bring her in to the left,” said Dan, pointing.

  “Port,” replied Mitch.

  Dan shot him a quizzical look.

  “You have to say port for this side,” he gestured to his left, “and starboard for that side,” a gesture to his right.

  Dan paused, unsure whether he has walking into a joke or not.

  “Well, Captain,” he said with a small bow dripping with sarcasm, “kindly take us in to the port side.”

  Mitch smirked from one side of his mouth, happy to have corrected someone and not been rebuked.

  As the boat slowed, a flash of movement between some buildings launched Dan into a reflex action. As one, the cigarette was thrown away and carbine swung from his back in practised hands to point towards the source of his sudden wariness.

  Never, not since they had been attacked by a pack of dogs, had he ever let his instincts be ignored.

  “Go past, don’t stop,” he said in a low voice, his eye pressed into the scope.

  Mitch applied more power to the engines and veered their course to starboard as he also kept one eye on the buildings. Neil had responded to Dan’s reaction immediately and climbed down the ladder to hiss at the gathered people on the lower deck to get inside and stay quiet.

  They moved, silent and obedient, towards the relative safety of the cabin. Leah and Adam emerged, readying weapons as they came. The young girl shimmied effortlessly to the upper deck and asked quietly for a report.

  “Movement between the buildings. Could be nothing,” Dan said succinctly.

  Leah knew that it may well be nothing, but she also knew that they hadn’t survived as long as they had by not being careful. She turned and looked down to Adam, nodding towards the buildings now shrinking behind them. He crouched by the low bulkhead and watched over the barrel of his rifle.

  Now out of sight, Dan relaxed from squinting down the optic and asked Mitch to turn them around.

  “Big lazy circle like we don’t have a care in the world,” he said softly before turning to Neil and nodding aft for him to join Adam. He caught Leah’s eye and pointed her to the prow.

  Mitch did as was expected and turned the boat in a long, looping manoeuvre before aiming it back towards the small wooden dock.

  Five pairs of eyes watched like hawks for signs of anything amiss, four of those over the sights of weapons. Dan couldn’t quite place it yet but there was something definitely wrong about the place; not just that he had thought he’d seen something or someone but his skin tingled with a familiar sense of being uncomfortable with the mental picture of the dock, and knowing that meant his brain probably hadn’t connected the dots yet.

  He scanned every inch of the dockside through his scope, trying to figure out what it was that was making him so edgy.

  It began to dawn on him that the area didn’t have the look or feel of a place abandoned long ago, but more that it still held a type of function, like it still lived.

  As this realisation hit him, Leah called out from where she lay on the prow.

  “GO! GO!” she bawled, sounding desperate.

  As Mitch opened the throttle up wide and launched the pointed prow of Hope high on the water, a single shot rang out. The sound of hundreds of tiny projectiles hitting the fibreglass echoed like a sudden hailstorm of lead.

  Luckily the shot was small and the distance too great to do any real damage, but their fear was palpable at the sudden savagery of the noise. Dan heard screams from below decks as he fought desperately to hang onto the guard rail and stay upright; such was the aggressiveness of the acceleration. Mitch stayed at near full power for only a few more seconds, but that was sufficient to move them well away from any following fire. As he slowed to a more sensible speed Dan gave him further instructions.

  “Stick to the middle of the channel,” he said as he stood tall to see Leah at the very front of the boat. Their sudden flight had thrown her back, and Dan saw her on her knees rubbing the back of her head. She noticed her audience and made her way back to him unsteadily, protesting that it was nothing. He ignored her transparency and felt her head, prompting a pained gasp when he touched the sore patch on the back of her skull which was already swelling.

  “Get below and get something cold on it,” he said, expecting her to argue and have to be told again. She said nothing, and made slow progress inside.

  Neil and Adam had regained their composure after being similarly sprawled across the deck when they fled, but were unhurt. He followed Leah inside to find the cabin in complete disarray; his dog was howling from fear and feeling wretched at not being on dry land. Equipment was everywhere, as were the tangles of people who had been caught unaware by the powerful surge in movement.

  A dozen questions were fired in his direction at once and he held up his hands to ward off the onslaught.

  “Someone took a cheap shot at us from the docks, that’s all,” he said smoothly, continuing before anyone asked another.

  “Is everyone ok?” he asked, looking around. He saw Marie and Sera by Ash, the former rummaging in a bag of her equipment. He saw others dusting themselves off after being thrown around but nothing seemed overly tragic. His eyes rested on Kate who was holding Leah firmly by the head and looking into her eyes.

  She had that look in her eye that took over her whole expression when she worked on someone, and that worried Dan.

  He reached them just as a small light was being shone at her pupils. Kate held a finger up directly in front of the girl and told her to follow it. Leah did as she was told and he sensed Kate relax slightly. Over the noise of the others disentangling and Jack’s expressive language, he asked his miniature assassin again if she was alright.

  “Hurts,” she said, screwing her eyes up, “a lot.”

  Dan suspected there may have even been a tear coming from one of her eyes, but reckoned that a nasty bang to the head was probably one of the few things which could illicit such a response from her. Leaving her in Kate’s capable hands he went back outside.

  Hoping to figure out what the hell to do now.

  ALL AT SEA

  “Well we can’t stay here,” said Mitch, “no idea if they were on their own or if they have boats or anything. It’s pretty clear they don’t want us visiting.”

  Dan agreed, looking around at the assembled faces. Marie, Kate, Neil, Mitch, Jack and himself huddled in a small circle on the upper deck of the Hope. Leah was inside, relieved of her equipment on Kate’s strict instructions – although Dan doubted she was still totally unarmed – and lay flat being kept watch on by Sera with the recently sedated dog lay flat against her, snoring loudly.

  “Well we can’t go out to sea without any working radar equipment or anything,” said Neil, “that’s just asking for trouble.”

  “Options?” said Marie, fractionally before Dan could utter one of his trademark lines. A small smirk to herself told him that she knew exactly what she had done, and the slightly bewildered look on his face let her know that her timing had been impeccable.

  “We’ll have to anchor up in the bay for the night,” said Jack. They all looked at him.

  “Well we can’t go inland past where we were attacked now, and who’s to say we’ll find anywhere safer there anyhow,” he answered their blank looks. “Plus, as Neil rightly says, we cannot go back into the sea this time of day. We’ve got maybe an hour of daylight left at best and that’s not enough to guarantee finding another safe harbour.”

  Nobody had a rebuttal, and nobody offered a better solution.

  “Three hour shifts, two on at a time though. M
itch, can you take second watch with Adam?” he nodded.

  “Jack? Can you take first watch with Neil, please?” he asked the older man.

  “Of course I can,” he replied, almost sounding affronted at the possibility that he wouldn’t be asked. “I’ll get some things and be back.” He left without a word.

  Mitch and Neil began discussing where to drop anchor, inevitably turning it into a heated debate so Dan led the two women down the ladder to talk further.

  “As Leah’s out for the day, I’ll need a volunteer to work the last shift with me, three AM until six so it’ll be a long day for them tomorrow,” he said to them. He didn’t expect Marie to volunteer, even though she hadn’t once claimed pregnancy to avoid any hardship, but because she simply wasn’t one of those people who can operate without sleep.

  “She may be out tomorrow too,” said Kate reprovingly, ever implying that he worked the girl too hard.

  A loud noise interrupted their discussion, as the loud chorus of the prow anchor chain falling away overtook all other sounds. It stopped quickly, betraying the shallow depth of the small inlet, and began to slowly swing the boat around so that the nose pointed into the flow of the tide, like a compass finding true north.

  “Ask carefully,” said Marie when she could hear her voice again, “because some people in there will say yes to anything you want. Now come and eat something before you get some sleep.”

  He followed her back to the main cabin as Jack emerged ready for an exposed few hours. He had a large pump-action shotgun slung over his back, offered a grizzly nod, and climbed the steps to the argument pit that was the flight deck.

  Dan checked in on Leah and Ash, finding both well cared for and not wanting to disturb them. Looking around the room he wondered who to choose as his backup during the dead hours before dawn – always the hardest shift of the night.

  Sera and Kate were caring for the injured and unwell – his adopted daughter and his dog primarily, along with the ever travelsick Phil who now looked very pale and dehydrated.

  Marie was not a woman to conduct sentry duty in the night, nor were Pip or Ana. Lou and Laura had become the worker bees inside the cabin, making sure everyone was fed and watered.

  His eyes rested on Henry, sat apart from the others and trying his hardest not to be caught staring at Dan with a devotion which would embarrass Ash if he were conscious.

  No, not Henry. He would want to talk all night and that would be worse than sitting on deck alone. Jimmy was his obvious choice but since setting sail two days ago he had been very quiet and withdrawn, no doubt suffering badly with being on the water for the first time in his life.

  Another face sat apart, peering through glasses at a small paperback book she had found aboard. Suddenly aware that she was the subject of scrutiny from another human being, she almost dropped the book in panic.

  Some time ago he remembered her admitting that she loved the lab work because she didn’t have to speak to many people. He understood that, but he also knew that there was always a time to be outside of your comfort zone. He moved over to her, seeing her shrink in size and almost try to get in the book without appearing overtly rude.

  “Relax, Emma,” he said, “I need your help.”

  “Me?” she asked, wide-eyed. “What can I do?”

  “Set an alarm for three AM and sit on deck with me until sunrise,” he said simply.

  Her already wide eyes grew even larger as she wouldn’t have thought to make any connection between herself and sentry duty.

  Dan stifled a laugh at her reaction.

  “Last watch of the night, because Leah’s hurt and I need someone with sharp senses to keep me awake. It’s not a date,” he said with a smile, “and bring your gun,” he added.

  Bewildered and flattered that she had been asked, she nodded and started to press the buttons on her digital watch as instructed.

  He ate beans and sausages cold from the tin before cuddling up with Marie in one of the bedrooms for a few hours’ sleep inside the lurching, cramped space.

  Luxurious as the Hope was, he doubted it was designed for seventeen people and a dog to live on board for any length of time.

  The night passed restlessly; most people were in more of a state of semi-consciousness or light hibernation than actual sleep.

  At two fifty-five in the morning, Dan’s watch began a high-pitched beep which earned him a sudden and sharp elbow in the ribs from Marie.

  He climbed over her to extract himself from the bed, earning more grumbling from her, and slipped into his vest before picking up his carbine. He closed the door as silently as possible and crept outside to find Emma waiting by the doorway wearing her own body armour with the gun on her chest.

  She hadn’t brought any extra clothing it seemed, so Dan picked up one of the blankets stored in a tub on deck for when the rich former owners felt a chill and sent one of the crew to fetch something for them.

  They climbed the ladder, nodding to Adam and Mitch and receiving a muttered report of no activity. They switched places with the two men and settled into the warm seats at the controls. A small camp cooker had been set up with a large bottle of water, two cups and the obligatory jar of instant coffee. Dan set the burner going to heat the two cups worth of water he poured in.

  Not a word passed between them until the coffee was made, even then it was only politeness in her thanking him which broke the silence.

  That was another reason for picking her.

  Only when the tide turned and the boat first went slack on the anchor chain, then turned ponderously around to face the prow where the stern had been, did she say anything.

  Her sudden panic had elicited a small laugh from Dan, unfairly as he wouldn’t have known about what would happen either until Jack had warned him to expect it in the early hours. Before he could explain it, she understood that she was experiencing the changing tide and settled down. He liked that about her; her analytical mind and sharp intelligence only complimented her lack of social comfort around others. She was actually very easy company.

  They sat on deck, Dan in short sleeves and his heavy vest and Emma feeling the chilly breeze far more and wrapped up in a blanket, enjoying the comfortable silence and waiting for the dawn.

  UNEXPECTED ARRIVALS

  The last thing anyone would have guessed was for a pair of new additions to arrive.

  Two men, both dishevelled, seemed to have been travelling for a while when they wandered up to the gardens on foot overloaded with whatever belongings they could carry.

  Although one was armed with a hunting rifle, neither seemed the slightest bit hostile. Still, their unannounced arrival at the gardens elicited a flurry of activity and not less than a few screams of terror.

  They were no threat to them; they were dehydrated and exhausted. They were taken into the cool, given chilled water to drink, and fed fresh bread and salad.

  The two bearded men ate as though they had never tasted such ambrosia before. They ate until their shrunken stomachs filled, and the pleasure of the food became sudden discomfort.

  Maggie was reminded of footage she had seen of prisoners of war being released into the care of their fellow countrymen; of their thin frames and looks of emptiness.

  Quietly, she sent Cedric away to call Lexi from the big house as they called it, to inspect and vet these strangers.

  They sat, full to the brim on very little food and water, almost comatose as the nutrients washed into their bodies. They could barely contain their gratitude, as one of them broke down in tears at their kindness. It was as though they had been walking through hell – it was almost hot enough that summer – and had just reached an oasis.

  Maggie accepted their thanks humbly, as was her manner, and returned to the doorway of the room in time to see Dan’s, no, Lexi’s Discovery fly down the small ramp into the courtyard. She slid lithely from behind the wheel, followed by the muscular and intimidating Paul from the passenger side.

  “Where are they?” sh
e snapped at the older woman. Maggie didn’t appreciate her tone; Dan always showed respect and deference to her and Cedric, even when the situation was dangerous. This upstart had a lot of growing to do before she could hope to fill his absent shoes. Still, she shook away the negativity and answered her kindly.

  “In the office,” she turned and walked as Lexi fell in step beside her. “They wandered in half an hour ago, both are dehydrated and exhausted. They’ve been carrying everything they could salvage from their vehicle after it broke down this morning. They’ve been walking ever since. I don’t think they are a danger,” she added finally, making her opinion clear.

  “We’ll see,” replied Lexi sullenly as she snatched up the hunting rifle they had carried and inspected it before thrusting it at Paul.

  In truth, her attitude wasn’t intended to be obnoxious but was coming across that way out of fear. Dan’s easy manner when gently interrogating newcomers was a talent, not a matter of training. He had looked so many good and bad people in the eyes that he just seemed to have a sixth sense about who to trust. She saw none of that skill in herself, so fell back on being the militant to be safe.

  The arrival of two armed people dressed all in black woke the two men slightly, sobering them from their blissful state of being fed and safe. They nervously sat up and waited for instruction from the woman in front of them who seemed barely able to contain her hostility.

  “I’m going to search your kit. Do you have any other weapons than the rifle?” she snapped.

  “No,” stammered one of the men, seemingly more alert than the other. His voice croaked and cracked, so he tried again.

  “No. Only a couple of sharp knives for food. We avoid trouble; the rifle is for hunting rabbits,” he said, trying to show as much deference as he could to appease the angry woman.