Horizons Beyond the Darkness

by Scott B. Williams

  Artie saw a woman step forward to stand beside the man. The couple looked to be in their early seventies, tan and slim and glowing with good health as they had obviously been enjoying their retirement. Brian was probably nearing fifty, his hair starting to show a bit of salt and pepper gray.

  “Great to meet you all! I’m Larry Drager, and this is my brother, Artie.”

  “Welcome aboard, Drager brothers! Come on up, I’ll pour us a drink. The liquor cabinet is still holding out for now!”

  Artie followed his brother up the steps, finding at the top a spacious cockpit area decked with teak planking and shaded by the overhanging flybridge that was the upper level. It only took a glance for Artie to see that cruising and living aboard a yacht like Pocket Change was a whole other world from doing so on boats like the Casey Nicole and the Sarah J. Of course he knew that Larry would tell him such a vessel had exponentially more issues and problems to contend with, but there was no denying the luxury. Artie imagined that many of the onboard systems were no longer functional since the pulse, requiring overrides or workarounds, and he figured this Charles fellow must be quite resourceful to keep it operational. But then again, Artie knew the man had to be resourceful to have obtained a vessel like Pocket Change to begin with, at least if he did it honestly. At any rate, he and his wife seemed more interested in Larry’s catamaran than anything else.

  “So you built it yourself? That’s amazing! How long did it take you?” Holly asked.

  “A couple of years, but only because I was gone half the time moving other people’s boats. I had good help when I was working on it, though.” Larry went on to tell them about Scully and his gunshot wound, and how that came about.”

  “That must be a smart young lady,” Holly said of Rebecca. “If she hadn’t found a way to get that fellow off the boat, there’s no telling where he would have taken her by now. I’d say you came out well overall, despite your friend getting shot and the boat ending up aground.”

  “That’s the way we figure it,” Larry agreed. “So tell me, what’s the situation down island? You say you’ve been to Long Island, Crooked and Acklins. What about Great Inagua or the Caicos?”

  “I don’t know about those,” Charles said. “We didn’t make it any farther than Salina Point, near the south end of Acklins. If you know the islands, you know not many cruising folk find their way to that area, so not as many were caught there because not as many were passing through. There’s not much protection from northers, but that’s not a problem now that we’re getting into summer. But the main reason we left was that we were just getting bored sitting in one place, to tell you the truth. That’s why we decided to come here. I got all excited when I saw your boat in the distance, thinking it was Darrell and Janice. It would be nice to find some of our old friends, but we know that might never happen. We’ll probably head back to Crooked or thereabouts after we cruise down to Ragged Island. It seems about as good a place as any to wait and see what’s gonna happen over the next few months.”

  “What’s gonna happen is hurricane season,” Larry said.

  “Every year,” Charles agreed. “But that doesn’t mean one will pass through the Bahamas. Most of them don’t.”

  “No, but with communications down there won’t be any warning if one is coming. It’s too much of a gamble for my taste. We’re gonna sail somewhere outside of the danger zone.”

  “Well, I suppose unlike us, you can go as far as you want, using the wind, but where? You might get away from the hurricanes, but I’m sure that the effects of this blackout must have been worldwide. I haven’t heard otherwise if they weren’t.”

  When Larry told them of their encounter with the U.S. Navy ship off the Dry Tortugas, and the gunboat near the Everglades, Charles and Holly and Brian were clearly surprised. They hadn’t seen anything like that in the Bahamas, but they had remained in a relatively limited area of the islands.

  “I don’t know how they’re operating, but I imagine they have backup systems or some kind of hardened defenses to withstand EMP events,” Larry said. “I know there was a risk of manmade EMP attacks long before this happened. I’m sure the military had at least some of their assets prepared for that. But where they came from and how many of them they have, I have no idea. All I know is that I’m not going anywhere near Florida. I thought I was going to have to go back to look for Scully, but that’s no longer an issue now that he’s here.”

  “Well, if you’re not going back to the mainland, then I suppose you aren’t thinking of sailing north of the hurricane belt. Somewhere like Nova Scotia, maybe?”

  “We haven’t ruled out going north. There are plenty of remote places to hole up in the Maritimes for sure. But neither boat is really set up for that kind of environment, especially my catamaran. Wharram cats are designed and built for the tropics, as you probably know from spending time aboard your friends’ Tiki 38.”

  “So, what then, maybe somewhere south of the hurricane belt? The coast of Venezuela or Panama, perhaps? Have you thought of the Rio Dulce in Guatemala? I’ve heard it’s safe year ‘round.”

  “The Rio Dulce is safe from hurricanes,” Larry agreed, “but they’ve had some problems with boats being attacked even before all this happened. I’m not sure how the situation there might be now, but outside of the marinas it was already pretty lawless. I can’t imagine it would get any better. I’m thinking the best places to go with the grid down are the few places where there never was a grid to begin with. There are places like that in that part of the Caribbean—parts of the Mosquito Coast for one—and the San Blas Islands for another. We’ve talked about the Guyanas too, but it’s tough to get there from here against the trades. There’s a lot to consider, and once we get the Sarah J. floating again, we’re going to get serious about a decision.”

  Artie let Larry do most of the talking as they discussed the pros and cons of these various places that could be their next destination. Artie had been to none of them, while his brother had visited them all at least once. Charles seemed quite knowledgeable too, but admitted they had never taken Pocket Change beyond the Bahamas even before the collapse. Though Larry could have talked about it all night, Artie was relieved when he announced that they’d had little sleep the night before and needed to get back to their boats so they could turn in early. Paddling back in the dark and feeling the effects of the two stiff rum drinks he’d had aboard the yacht, Artie suddenly remembered Scully’s friends on the tiny sailboat.

  “I thought they said they were sailing back here first thing this morning,” he said.

  “They did. I was just wondering myself what’s taking them so long. They had a fair wind. They should have been here before dark even if they got a late start.”

  “Maybe they decided to stay put another day. That was a nice anchorage. I wouldn’t blame them.”

  “Maybe. They’ll probably be here tomorrow regardless. I hope so, because as soon as we get the Sarah J. off we need to move to a real anchorage.”

  Nine

  “I LIKE THE IDEA of staying right here in the Bahamas,” Tara said. “I’m looking forward to meeting Charles and Holly and Brian and hearing more about those islands where they’ve been staying.”

  Larry and Artie had just finished relaying all the details of their visit aboard the motor yacht to Tara and the others as they sat in the cockpit of the Casey Nicole, having an early morning meal. It would be hours before the high tide returned, so there was little they could do but wait, but they had plenty to talk about.

  “Crooked and Acklins are fairly remote, to be sure, although not so much as the Jumentos. They are still off the beaten path for most cruisers though, since they’re a long way to windward from Florida and well out of the way of the usual route from Georgetown down island to the Antilles. Far enough north of Cuba too, which is good.”

  “It’s amazing to me that things could be so different from one island to the next even though they’re all in the Bahamas,” Jessica said, looking at the char
t Larry had spread out between them all.

  “It’s not surprising really. It’s always been that way here and in a lot of other island nations, even before. That’s kind of the nature of islands, surrounded by water and all, you know. Maybe now the differences will become even more apparent over time, as each one is more completely cut off from the others.”

  “It’s hard to believe Charles and his family haven’t had the kind of trouble we have though,” Casey said. “No one trying to take their boat? No shoot-outs? No deranged kidnappers?”

  “They’ve just been lucky,” Grant said.

  “They have,” Larry agreed. “But remember, all of the islands in the Bahamas were generally a better starting point than anywhere on the mainland in this situation. That’s why I wanted to come here to regroup and make a plan, remember? For one thing, the population density is a lot lower most everywhere here, except maybe Nassau. People in the Out Islands have always been peaceful and serious crime is almost unheard of. Yeah, there might be a bad apple here and there among the locals, but most of them are farmers and fishermen who are self-sufficient, unlike people back in the U.S. who are so dependent on technology and the infrastructure and all that. These folks know how to take care of themselves and their families without outside help and without having to resort to thievery and violence. At least that’s the way I see it.”

  “I agree,” Grant said, “though things could change here too, given enough time.”

  “Correct. But we’ve been through all the trouble we’ve encountered because of where we went,” Larry went on. “Sailing into urban areas like New Orleans has to be one of the riskiest things anyone could do during a massive breakdown like this, and most of the coast of Florida is not much better.”

  “Well I’m sorry we put you through all that trouble,” Casey said. “We weren’t expecting you to come get us, Uncle Larry. Grant had a plan to get us out and a place for us to go.”

  “Well, we would have come anyway, even if we had to walk,” Artie said. “You know that, Casey.”

  “I still think it’s a wonder that it’s much different here than out there in those woods and rivers where we ran into so many mean people,” Jessica said.

  “Part of that is because those woods are so close to the cities on the coast, like New Orleans,” Grant said. “It’s inevitable that there will be problems when you have a mass exodus of desperate refugees. Plus, so many people in that area already had guns and didn’t mind using them.”

  “He’s right,” Larry said. “The big difference here is that you’ve got to have a good boat to get to any of these islands, and the right kind of boat to get to the best of them. That eliminates probably ninety-five or maybe even ninety-nine percent of the kind of folks that would cause problems like we saw back there.”

  “It all sounds good to me,” Tara said. “That’s why I don’t see why we can’t just stay in the Bahamas, either here or at that Crooked or Acklins Island where Charles and his family were. It seems safer to me to do that than to just keep sailing on into the unknown and maybe running into who knows what out there somewhere over the horizon.”

  “Except that you keep forgetting the main thing I’ve been saying,” Larry reminded her. “Hurricane season will soon be here.”

  “I haven’t forgotten, but you know as well as I do that bad hurricanes don’t even happen every year. If they did, no one would live on the coast or on a small island. It might be years before one hits these islands again.”

  “It might be, but the way I see it, it’s a risk we can avoid, so we should. There’s enough to worry about as it is. Look, I understand that everyone is tired of sailing right now. And we’ve got a little time. Let’s just focus on getting the boats ready so we can leave when we need to. We’re lucky that we’ve got help now to get the Sarah J. afloat again. Hurricanes aside, I hate being stuck out here in on this wide-open bank like this. Even a minor storm could cause us a world of hurt with no shelter, and you could lose your boat with her laid over like that.”

  “I know. I’m grateful they’re willing to help us. I just hope it works.”

  “It will. When we hook your boat up to Pocket Change, she’s coming off that sandbar. Those diesels in her engine room won’t give her any choice.”

  They all saw that Larry was right by late afternoon. Due to its shallow draft of only four feet, Charles was able to maneuver the big trawler into the ideal position to set up a towline pulling from the same angle Larry and Grant had attempted with the anchor windlass. Unlike the day before, the Sarah J. began gradually spinning around on her hull side as soon as Charles applied the throttle to his powerful inboards. The sailboat slowly turned nearly 180 degrees and then continued sliding off the bar onto which she’d sailed as the big yacht slowly pulled. As soon as the keel was free of the bottom, Tara’s boat rolled back upright, floating freely once again. Larry and Grant ran forward immediately to unshackle the tow and then dropped the main anchor, so the Sarah J. wouldn’t drift back into the shallows.

  “WE DID IT!” Rebecca shouted, running up to the bow to join Larry and Grant.

  “Yes indeed! All I’ve got to do now, Rebecca, is put on my mask and snorkel and go under there to check the keel for damage. Do you want to go with me and help?”

  “Yeah, but I’m scared of sharks,” she said, looking out at the water on both sides, as if expecting to see fins.

  “Don’t be. There’s no reason for a shark to be out here on the bank this far from a reef. There’s nothing for them to eat.”

  “Until we get in the water…”

  “Naw, we won’t be in there long enough to get their interest. Come on, it’ll be fun!”

  Larry found no signs of damage to the hull of the Sarah J. during his quick inspection, and since the weather was settled and it would be getting dark again soon, he said it was safe to stay put on the bank for one more night. Sailing the Sarah J. to Flamingo Cay, the next one in the Jumentos that offered a decent anchorage, would require full daylight for a safe approach, especially without the use of the engine. Larry still had to come up with a workaround for the cooling system; he just hoped it wasn’t too late. Rebecca had told him that Russell had run the engine hard when she was locked in her cabin. Larry didn’t want to start it up again until he had time to check it thoroughly, and that would best be done at Flamingo Cay, in a calm anchorage.

  When he mentioned this to Charles, he said they would stick around tonight too. Then he really surprised Larry by offering to tow the Sarah J. to the anchorage. He wasn’t the least bit deterred when Larry said it was nearly 26 miles. Charles said the 37-foot sailboat would barely be noticeable behind them as long as they kept their speed slow and steady and there wasn’t a contrary wind. It was generous of him, and Larry didn’t argue the point further. Getting Tara’s boat to a safe harbor was top priority, and if Charles and his crew were willing to help, that would free Larry up for something else he knew he would probably have to do.

  Scully’s friends, Thomas and Mindy, still had not arrived from the Exumas. When they did, they would expect to find the Sarah J. here where she was when they left. Staying here another night would give them that much more time to find their way back, but Larry was concerned they might have gotten lost or had some other problem after talking more with Scully. The young couple had little experience with the kind of sailing and navigation required in these islands. They’d had enough time to get here by now, even if they took an extra day to rest before leaving Darby Island. Knowing this, Larry was beginning to fear they might have gotten off track or encountered some problem over there that kept them from leaving. He brought up the subject to the others when they gathered aboard the Casey Nicole for an evening meal.

  “What if they’re not here in the morning?” Tara asked. “We can’t sit out here indefinitely. Like you said, we’re wide open to the weather out here with no protection.”

  “We won’t wait longer than tomorrow morning. I don’t want to hold Charles up any longer an
d his offer to tow you is mighty generous. If they’re not here by sunup, I’ll sail the Casey Nicole back to Darby Island and see if they’re still there.”

  “What? All the way back there?” Artie asked. “That’ll take two days to go there and back!”

  “It might, but we can’t just leave them after what they did for Scully.”

  “Maybe they decided they liked it there. Maybe they’re tired of sailing too,” Tara said. “I can’t imagine coming as far as they did in such a tiny little boat. It must be terribly uncomfortable and scary too. Scully said all they wanted was to get to the Bahamas. They’re here now, so I’ll bet they’re happy to stay where they are.”

  “It’s possible, but I don’t think so. They said they were coming back. They would want to know how Scully was doing. He saved their lives too, you know, and without him they would have never made it here.”

  “I thought we were done splitting up, little brother,” Artie said. “Every time we do, something bad happens. I don’t think it’s a good idea. If you go, we ought to all go.”

  “It doesn’t make sense to take both boats, especially not before I can check out Tara’s engine. The Casey Nicole will be much faster there and back. If Grant wants to go with me, I could use his help, but you and everybody else can go with Tara. Charles knows where the anchorage is, but we don’t know whether it’s already occupied or not.”

  “Sure, I’ll go with you, Larry,” Grant said.

  “I want to go too!” Jessica said. “We can’t all fit on the Sarah J. and I’m afraid I’d get seasick on a monohull anyway, since I’ve never sailed on one.”

  “That’s fine with me, Jessica,” Larry smiled. “I was hoping you would.”

  “I can go with you too, Uncle Larry.”

  “No way, Casey!” her dad interrupted. “Please, just let your uncle do this. He’ll have all the help he needs. I don’t want you and I to split up again. Not now! It’s just too soon after all we’ve been through. Besides, we might need your help. Scully’s not up for it yet.”