Voyage After the Collapse (The Pulse Series Book 3)

by Scott B. Williams

  When Casey reached the cockpit, Larry gave her the helm while he quickly prepared the Lifesling rescue device that Tara’s parents had equipped their yacht with in accordance with U.S. Coast Guard and boating safety recommendations. It was a common type of throwable PFD that was practically ubiquitous on the stern rails of cruising sailboats. Attached to a long, floating towline, the Lifesling provided both floatation and a means of hoisting someone back aboard using a halyard. Larry knew he wouldn’t need the mechanical advantage of a halyard to get Rebecca back on the boat though. As soon as she had the device and had it in position under her arms, he intended to haul her back to the deck with brute force. That wouldn’t be a problem, even with his injured arm. The girl couldn’t weigh more than 90 pounds soaking wet, which she definitely was at the moment.

  With the Lifesling ready, he took the wheel again and steered so that the boat would pass just downwind of the kayak. He told Casey that as soon as they passed it, she was to bring the bow up quickly into the wind to stall it, and then let the jib backwind so she could put the helm hard over to the opposite side and make the vessel heave-to. In that position the boat would drift slowly to leeward, but even with the sails up, would not take off again until the helm was released. He knew Casey had never done the maneuver before on her own, but he trusted her to follow his instructions.

  Still ignoring Tara, Larry raced to the bow pulpit and called out to Rebecca, telling her what he had in mind as they sailed past. But Casey had a bit of trouble wresting the boat around into the wind, and so it happened that they were going too fast and too far before she was able to get it stopped. Seeing this, Tara screamed for Rebecca again and then without warning, dove over the side as far as she could in her direction.

  Larry was incredulous, yet unsurprised at the same time. Tara was just doing what most mothers would do, but now he had two people to rescue instead of one. If only she had shown some restraint, this whole operation would be much easier. He threw the Lifesling as hard as he could with his good arm, but it wasn’t hard enough. It hit the water about ten feet short of the kayak, and Tara could have grabbed it if she’d seen it, but she was fully focused on Rebecca and didn’t stop swimming until she reached her. Larry quickly pulled the line back in and scrambled back to the cockpit. There was no way to get it to them from here and he was going to have to get the boat underway again and make another pass.

  “Keep your eyes locked on them, Casey, and don’t let them out of your sight no matter what!” he yelled as he grabbed the wheel and ordered her to a higher vantage point on the side deck. Casey had done her best, but it had taken a few seconds too long, and in this building wind, they couldn’t risk that again. He was going to have to beat into it, probably on two separate tacks to get in range again. The kayak was also moving downwind, just not as fast as the yacht, with all the windage of her topsides, cabin house and rig.

  Larry saw that Tara had climbed aboard the kayak by now and was siting behind Rebecca, holding onto her with both arms. Larry had not seen the paddle when they sailed past Rebecca, so he assumed she’d lost it overboard long before they spotted her. Without it, there was little the two of them could do to aid in their own rescue, so he was going to have to put the boat practically right on top of them. At least it wasn’t still pitch black and raining though, and with Casey acting as his spotter, there was less chance of losing them.

  Just as he’d expected, it took him two tacks to close in on the drifting kayak. He wasn’t taking any chances of being out of range this time, so on his final approach he aimed the bow almost as if he were trying to run them down, turning away slightly to leeward only at the last minute. Loosing the sheets to let the sails flog in the wind, he left the helm and clambered to the rail again with the Lifesling, this time dropping it practically right on top of Rebecca.

  “Get it under her arms!” he yelled to Tara. “Hold on, Rebecca! I’ll get you right up here!”

  As he had guessed from looking at her, he had no trouble hoisting Rebecca to the rail. Once he had her inside the lifelines he lifted the sling off her and was prepared to throw it to Tara, when he saw he wouldn’t have to. She’d already slid back into the water from the kayak and was swimming for the stern of the boat with the towline in one hand. Larry figured out quickly that she didn’t want his help and he understood that even though Rebecca had been found and rescued, her feelings about him probably hadn’t changed.

  “Lower the swim ladder, Casey! She’s coming around to the stern!”

  * * *

  The mood aboard the Casey Nicole was as somber as the dark skies that promised even worse weather than the day before. Artie and Scully were both exhausted from staying awake the entire night as well as all the morning hours. Grant insisted that they both should try to get some sleep, saying that he and Jessica were more rested than either of them and that they could handle the afternoon watch.

  “If you see any sign of a sail, you’d better wake me up,” Artie told him before he finally agreed to try and rest.

  “I promise you I will.”

  “I will too,” Jessica said.

  Considering the weather, even Scully decided to go below for some sleep, despite his dislike of the confines of the cabin. Grant didn’t know whether he wanted to be alone or have Jessica’s company, with so much on his mind just then. When they started talking, he decided it was probably better than sitting there by himself though, with racing thoughts of the worst scenarios he could imagine replaying over and over in his head.

  “I just can’t understand how they could have gotten so far away from us in such a short time. We should have at least seen them in the distance this morning, when the weather was better,” Jessica said.

  “I thought so too, but Scully still doesn’t think it means anything. He says it’s very possible they somehow passed us during the night, maybe even just outside the edge of visibility, in the rain. We were going slowly for a long time, at least two and half-hours. I guess that’s what happened. And now we’re even that much farther behind because Artie and I insisted on turning back to look for them.”

  “Well, it’s not your fault, Grant. I thought we should have looked for them too. The whole thing sucks because we should have all stayed together. It seems like something like this happens every time we don’t. Just look at what happened when you and Scully insisted on going up that river alone. We’d didn’t think we’d ever see the two of you again.”

  “Yeah, but we had a good reason to try. There were supplies in that cabin we could have used. I know Larry thought it was a good idea to help Tara and Rebecca too, but I just wish we could have all stayed on one boat. I’d rather be crowded than to not know where Casey and Larry are right now.”

  “Me too, I guess.”

  “Look, Jessica. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings last night. I didn’t mean to if I did. You’re a gorgeous woman and I would have given anything to even get you to talk to me back before all this happened. It’s just a weird time right now and we don’t know what’s going to happen next. I hope you understand that it’s not personal or anything. I want us to be friends.”

  Jessica slid closer and put her arm around him as Grant steered the boat. “I do understand. I’m sorry I came across as so needy. I just missed that time we had together, sleeping out there in the woods, even though it was scary. I liked the way you made me feel safe, Grant. I can’t tell you how much I’m grateful for all that you’ve done for Casey and me. I want us all to be friends and I’m not trying to hurt her or anything. I guess I just couldn’t help myself.”

  Grant put his free arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. He didn’t really know what to think, but he was sincere when he told Jessica he didn’t want to hurt her. He had to admit that he had liked the feeling of closeness the two of them had shared as well, even as he was worried for Casey’s life then as well. It had worked out before and they had all been reunited. He had to keep the faith that it would happen again. There was no use making
Jessica feel bad for what was a normal human instinct and a normal desire to feel loved in a time when the world had turned completely upside down.

  TWENTY

  THE SITUATION ON BOARD the Sarah J. was a bit awkward for everyone after Tara had climbed back into the cockpit and taken Rebecca into her embrace. She’d handed the kayak towline to Casey as she boarded and Casey had tied it off to the cleat where it had been secured before this whole ordeal began. Casey had heard Rebecca whisper her thanks to Larry and apologize for what she’d done just before the two of them stepped down from the side deck to the cockpit. Larry kept his distance from Tara and Casey thought that was a smart move on his part. She knew that Tara’s emotions had gotten the best of her when she first discovered her daughter was missing, and she knew too that Tara might be a long time forgiving him since she put all the blame on Larry. The two of them disappeared down the companionway without another word, leaving Casey and her uncle alone in the cockpit. Casey gave him a hug as he took the helm again and turned off the wind to fill the sails.

  “You found her, Uncle Larry. That’s all that matters now. It wasn’t your fault she did what she did.”

  “It was my fault for falling asleep. I don’t blame Tara if she never speaks to me again.”

  “She will. Just give her time. I know you’re exhausted and she’s not going to help with the boat right now. I’ll take the watch so you can rest. Do you think we’ll be able to catch up to the others?”

  “I’m sure we will, but it may be a few hours. I hope Scully kept the boat moving, but you never know. It’s a long time to be out of touch.”

  “My dad would want to come back looking for us. I know him.”

  “Yeah, that’s what worries me. If they did turn back, they could have passed us in the night in all that rain. And it doesn’t look any better for today, at least so far,” Larry said as he scanned the overcast skies around them.

  “What do we do then? Should we try to look for them?”

  “No, it’s pretty much impossible to know if we’re behind them or ahead of them. We might as well lay a direct course for the Dry Tortugas as we planned at Cat Island and hopefully our paths will cross on the way. If not, they’ll be there either when we arrive or soon after.”

  “You know what you’re doing, Uncle Larry. I’m all for whatever you say. I just hope my dad is not freaking out too much about this.”

  “You can bet he is, Casey. You’re everything in the world to him. He would sail to the ends of the earth to find you, and he practically already has. I hate it for him that this happened. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved with these people after all. Tara seemed so cool, and they needed help, but like your dad tried to tell me, we can’t help everybody.”

  “No, but we can help those we can. You did the right thing, Uncle Larry. Even if you think Tara hates you now, she’ll be grateful when we get to wherever we’re going. They couldn’t have survived out there at Cat Island—especially unarmed.” Casey shuddered to think what it would be like to be alone and unarmed in the world they now inhabited. Terrifying beyond words, that was what. Casey knew she was incredibly lucky to have a capable protector like her Uncle Larry. Grant had done an amazing job as well, getting her and Jessica safely out of New Orleans. And now, even though they were separated from it temporarily, with the wonderful catamaran her uncle had built, they were all in far better shape than the vast majority of the population they’d left behind on the mainland.

  “I’ve got to sleep a while, if you can handle it, Casey.”

  “Of course. I told you I could.”

  “I’m not taking a chance going down there. I’ll sleep out here. Wake me if you need me,” he said, as he pulled his jacket hood over his head and curled up on the wet cockpit seat.

  Casey didn’t blame him a bit for not going below. She knew Tara didn’t even want him aboard right now, but she was stuck with the two of them until they made landfall. What happened after that was up to her. Casey didn’t care much one way or another, just as long as she and Uncle Larry were reunited with the Casey Nicole. She felt sorry for Tara and all she was dealing with though. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a suicidal daughter, nor could she imagine what Rebecca herself was thinking to do something like that. What could be so bad about life to make a person simply try to throw it away? All Casey could think was that Rebecca simply didn’t have the experience to know that even the worst situations always got better. She had obviously changed her mind about drowning in the ocean though, and Casey wondered if this experience would permanently cure her from such inclinations in the future. It was impossible to know, but undoubtedly, being out there alone in the middle of the dark, rainy ocean on that tiny kayak had taught her the true meaning of fear. She might try to off herself by some other method later, but Casey was quite sure she wouldn’t pull that stunt again.

  As she steered the Sarah J., Casey continuously scanned what little horizon she could see for the outline of a sail. The rain was not as heavy as it had been in the night, but it was enough to reduce visibility to less than a half a mile. It would only be by pure chance if they passed close enough to see the other boat, and she knew it, but that didn’t keep her from hoping.

  * * *

  Tara Hancock spent most of the day in the V-berth with Rebecca. The girl had been terrified when they found her and after the two of them went below into the cabin, she apologized profusely for what she had put her mother through. She said she thought she wanted to die, but once the boat had sailed away and disappeared from sight, she realized the finality of what she’d done but it was too late to change her mind. She had tried to use the paddle that was tied to the kayak but quickly found that no matter how hard she paddled, it didn’t feel like she was going anywhere. Then, a gust of wind blew it out of her hands and she’d watched helplessly as it floated away on the waves. She didn’t think the boat would come back for her, because she thought Larry would sleep a long time and no one else would get up before daylight. But she had screamed until she was hoarse anyway, hoping that maybe somebody else in some other boat would happen to pass close enough to hear her cries.

  While she was sitting there on that kayak in the dark, pouring rain, what she wanted more than anything was just to live. It no longer mattered that her dad had abandoned her and it no longer mattered that the lights had gone out and the world had turned crazy and she would never see her friends again. She wanted to live, and she knew that all she needed was one more chance and she would never do something so stupid again. Rebecca had given up on getting that chance though, and each minute that passed like an eternity as she sat there, diminished her hopes of ever being found. By the time the Sarah J. had materialized out of the gloom and she’d heard voices calling her name, she thought she was hallucinating.

  “It wasn’t Larry’s fault, Mom. I was thinking about jumping overboard all day yesterday. I was just waiting until it got dark. I didn’t want anyone to see me do it, especially not you.”

  Tara didn’t care what Rebecca said about Larry. He had fallen asleep when he shouldn’t have, leaving her daughter alone on deck in the night. Yes, Tara knew she was partly to blame as well for leaving Rebecca in his care. She had mistakenly put her trust in him because he talked such a big talk and seemed to know everything there was to know about boats. Now, she was stuck with him and his niece on her own boat with no way to get rid of him for days. It was a nightmare, and Tara wished she’d never met any of these people. Maybe if she’d stayed put next to the Owens’ boat instead of going looking for help, those people that killed them wouldn’t have attacked. Maybe they would have had second thoughts seeing two boats together instead of just one with a helpless old couple. These thoughts went through her mind, but Tara didn’t really believe it would have made a difference. She didn’t know what to believe or what to do anymore. She was tired of this whole situation and weary of having to make all these life or death decisions for both her and her daughter with no one in her life
to lean on that she could trust. Thinking of this, she was seething with anger at Brad Hancock, and she realized that she was probably taking a lot of it out on Larry Drager since he was the only man around now. Tara dreaded it, but after Rebecca fell asleep, exhausted from her ordeal in the night, she knew she had to go up on deck and find out what was going on. Two strangers had taken control of her parents’ boat and she needed to know if they were back on course for the destination they’d planned before leaving Cat Island.

  She was relieved to find Larry sleeping while Casey steered, although the sight of him stretched out there in the cockpit seat brought back the fury she’d felt when she’d slapped and hit him before. Didn’t he get enough damned sleep last night while her daughter was sneaking off the boat to go drown herself in a kayak? She restrained herself from the impulse to kick him awake and instead asked Casey if they were on course.

  “Yes, we’re southwest of our original track because of searching for Rebecca downwind, but I’m steering on the new heading Uncle Larry worked out that will take us to the Dry Tortugas. How is Rebecca?”

  “Sleeping. She’s worn out and I think she’ll sleep the rest of the day. What about the catamaran?” Tara stretched to look forward beyond the bow, and then on both sides of the boat into the gray horizon.