Horizons Beyond the Darkness

by Scott B. Williams

  “I know, she was a damsel in distress, but what are you going to do now if she refused to go with us? It’ll be the same thing, leaving her and her child here at the mercy of folks like the ones that killed Thomas.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that, Doc, I really do. But I won’t put my crew at risk by staying here any longer. I hope she’ll come around when she realizes we really are going. I think part of it is that she is just stubborn and doesn’t like being told what to do. The bottom line though, is that she’s an adult and the captain of her own ship. It’s completely up to her whether we leave her here or not.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that either. I can’t imagine leaving the two of them behind.”

  “Well, she’s got to make up her mind pretty quick. Nothing’s going to convince me to hang around here waiting to see what happens next.”

  “I’ll try to talk to her some more too. I hope she’ll listen to us and not let Brian or his parents influence her decision. I would think she’d trust your judgment more than someone she just met after all we’ve been through together.”

  “Well, let’s see, looking at that from her point of view: Number one, her daughter tried to commit suicide by jumping overboard in the middle of the Gulf while I was asleep on my watch. Number two, my generous offer to give that idiot on Green Cay a ride back to Florida resulted in her boat getting taken with said daughter still aboard. Number three, I leave my gun behind and wander away on an uninhabited cay to take a piss, getting her awesome wooden sailing dinghy promptly and permanently stolen. That’s three strikes against me winning her trust, Doc! I think it’s safe to say I’m out of that game!”

  “Well, despite all that, she is here in the Bahamas on her own boat with her daughter solely because of us. She would have never made it here without our help.”

  “That’s true, but she never asked us to help her leave here once she arrived. If this is where she wants to be, then who are we to try and make her go somewhere else?”

  Larry was sick of thinking about Tara’s stubbornness and running short of time to devote any more mental energy to it. He was sure the idea would sink into her head that they really were leaving once she saw the rest of them continue their preparations. He had a full day of hard work ahead of him and he needed everyone’s help. Tara needed to come around soon and get her own boat sorted out, but if she wanted to spend half the day walking on the beach with Brian that was fine too, but Larry was going to focus on getting the Casey Nicole ready to sail.

  He briefly considered dropping the two masts again to complete the rigging work they’d had to cut short at Green Cay. Thinking about what happened there though, he didn’t want to get caught in another situation where a quick departure was needed with the rig down. He could reinforce the weaknesses by doubling up a couple of the stays and shrouds with the masts still standing, but that was going to require going aloft. Since his arm strength was still a long way from a hundred percent, he turned to Grant, knowing he’d volunteer to do anything that had to be done.

  Larry had plenty of extra rigging material on board since the Casey Nicole’s standing rigging was all comprised of lightweight synthetic rope called Dyneema. With spliced eyes that could be made up by hand and old-fashioned deadeyes and lanyards for tensioning, there was no part of the rig that couldn’t be quickly replaced with the spares on hand. The polished aluminum deadeyes would last longer than the boat itself, but the Dyneema was subject to U.V. degradation and would have to be replaced every few years. Larry doubted he’d ever be able to find any more given the present state of the world, but he had enough of the stuff on board to replace the whole rig twice and the doublers he made up now could be reused later. Larry erred on the side of caution as always when getting ready to put to sea, because a dismasting offshore would be an utter disaster. There was no excuse for it because another great advantage of the synthetic rigging was that there was no weight penalty for doubling up crucial components, as there would be with the more conventional wire rope most sailboats still used.

  “Keep an eye on the horizon while you’re up there too, Grant.”

  There hadn’t been another boat in sight since they’d arrived at Flamingo Cay, and Artie had said they’d seen nothing coming here from the sandbar where Rebecca had run aground, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t show up at any time. It was early afternoon by the time they were finished with the rigging work and Tara and Rebecca were still on the beach with Brian. Larry went and retrieved the binoculars Mindy had given him to get a closer look and saw Tara and Brian sitting on the rocks, apparently engrossed in conversation.

  He had planned to try and rig up a spare bilge pump to run the cooling system for Tara’s diesel engine, but until she was back on board, he wasn’t going to mess with it. Instead, he decided to tackle the modifications for one of the motor sleds so it would accommodate their newly acquired 50-horse outboard. The old Johnson two-stroke was a solid engine that Larry knew he could keep running indefinitely as long as they could find some gas and two-stroke oil for it. He didn’t expect to need it for the coming voyage but it was good to have the option, especially if they had to run a narrow cut through a reef or negotiate an inlet with a current. Making it fit was a simple matter of an hour’s work with the handsaw and some epoxy and scraps of wood.

  * * *

  Tara Hancock stared out from the island at the three boats in the anchorage, contemplating what life was going to be like for her and Rebecca going forward. She was still exhausted from the stress of not knowing if she would ever see her child again, and she’d barely had time to recover from the emotional trauma that incident caused her. Meeting the nice people aboard the motor yacht who had been willing to go out of their way to help free her boat from the sandbar and then tow it all the way here gave her a glimmer of hope, however. They had been right here, among these small, isolated islands of the southern Bahamas for the entire duration of the nightmare that she and her daughter had known since that day her car stalled after Tara dropped Rebecca off at school. They hadn’t encountered any trouble of the sort that Larry Drager and his crew had. They had not had to kill anyone and had not even had anything stolen from their yacht. Tara was convinced that it was because of where they’d been. Charles was smart enough to get out of the Exumas almost immediately, heading for the little-visited places he knew instead. While Larry knew a lot about these islands, his experience here was mostly in passing through on the way to someplace else. Charles and Holly had been practically living here since he retired, exploring all the remote gunkholes and hideaways that Larry couldn’t possibly know about.

  Tara liked that Charles and his son Brian both seemed to have a laid-back attitude too, unlike Larry, who was always in a hurry and always worried about what he thought they needed to do next. Artie was relaxed like that as well, but Tara had seen early on that even though he was older and far more educated that his younger brother, he deferred to Larry for all things related to the boat and navigation. Of course, that was natural; since Larry was the most experienced in those matters, but Tara could see that Larry’s career as a delivery skipper had probably made him impatient and anxious, always ready to start the next voyage while worried about every little thing that could possibly go wrong. Tara was just tired of it. She needed a break he’d promised they’d have one when they made to the Jumentos Cays. She felt bad for Mindy after what happened to her husband, but she still thought Larry was overreacting and that leaving so soon was hardly necessary.

  If she had no other option and refusing to sail immediately meant she and Rebecca would be left here all alone, then Tara would have to give in and go when Larry said. But she did have another option. She could stay here for now in the same anchorage with Pocket Change and when Brian and his parents were ready to move on, they said she could accompany them. They weren’t planning any long voyages and couldn’t if they wanted to because of the fuel situation. At most they would go back to the Crooked Island District and maybe to some
of the other nearby islands such as the Plana Cays or Mayaguana. But before they did anything like that, Brian said Charles wanted to cruise all the Jumentos chain down west to Ragged Island to see what the situation was there.

  “We’ll stick close together, Tara,” Brian said as the two of them sat on a rock outcrop just above the beach, looking out over the anchorage while Rebecca looked for seashells along the tideline nearby. “My mother and father have enough stores on board to last us six months at least, even if we share some with you and Rebecca. I think that’s more than enough to get us through this. Now that the Navy is moving ships in close to Florida they’re bound to get things back under control by then. That’s the good thing about staying here in the Bahamas. We’ll be close enough to know what’s going on back on the mainland. That’ll make it easier to get back just as soon as it is safe to do so. If your friends sail all the way to those remote islands off Panama that Larry’s talking about, they’re going to be completely cut off from the outside world and won’t know a thing. From what my father said about that area, it was that way even before the lights went out.”

  “I know you’ve got a good point, Brian. I hate the thought of taking Rebecca that far away from home and everything she has ever known. It would feel like we were never going back. But here, it’s not really that far, is it? I mean, my parents sailed this same boat to the Bahamas almost every winter and were always back in Biloxi by late April or early May. Rebecca is not going to like having to say goodbye to Larry, because she’s really gotten attached to him since we got here, but I do think it’s what’s best for us.”

  “You’re making the right decision, Tara.”

  “I hope you’re right, Brian. I appreciate your kindness and I know Rebecca does too. I will tell them I’ve made up my mind to stay as soon as we get back to our boat.”

  Twenty-four

  THE MOOD ON BOARD the Casey Nicole was dark even before sunset after Charles and Brian finally brought Tara and Rebecca back out to the Sarah J. Artie was frankly surprised that Tara had so quickly made her decision not to go with them to Panama. He had expected her to try and stall Larry and make him delay for a few days, but he’d really figured she’d give in. But hearing what she had to say now, he had no doubt now that she intended to stand firm. Despite everyone else’s sadness at the prospect of an imminent good-bye, Larry took this news in stride and said he would keep his promise to get Tara’s engine fixed before they left.

  “I’ll get on it early in the morning. Everything that was urgent has been taken care of here. We’ll get you up and running before we leave, but we are leaving tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Larry, but you don’t have to do that. Charles said he could help me with it. He has a small spare freshwater pump that he said he could make work. He’s bringing it over in the morning. Brian said his father loves projects like that and that it’ll give him something to do.”

  The implication, from what Artie gathered, was that Tara didn’t really want Larry’s help anymore. She’d made her decision to stay here and part ways with them, and it seemed she was ready to do so already. The two boats were still rafted together for now, but Artie figured he might as well get his stuff off the Sarah J. and figure out where he was going to bunk on the Casey Nicole. It was going to be tight with seven people on board, especially when they weren’t underway and everyone wanted to sleep through the night. Larry said it wouldn’t be an issue once they got somewhere they were going to stay because they could rig a big tarp over the cockpit and eventually enclose it with the spare mosquito netting he had stuffed way forward in the spares locker. On passage, at least two of them would likely be on deck at any given time; so they could work out a rotation system for the bunks down below.

  Aside from space, the other challenge was going to be their stores inventory. Larry had originally planned to stay here in the Jumentos long enough to stock up on fish that they could dry and pack away for further use. Now, they were going to have to rely on catching more along the way if they wanted additional protein. They would have already run out of basic supplies if not for the opportunity to restock from what was on board the 42-foot Windshadow after Mike and Lillian Owens were murdered off Cat Island. Half of those goods were aboard the Sarah J. now, but on the catamaran they still had enough rice, pasta, oats and canned goods to last for the voyage. The one thing they were shortest on was coffee, and Artie dreaded the day that the last of the grounds would be washed out of Larry’s French press. Maybe they could get some more from the Kuna people in the San Blas. At least he could hope.

  They spent their last night at Flamingo Cay still rafted alongside the Sarah J., and just as he’d promised Charles arrived early in the dinghy with his tools and the spare water pump to fix Tara’s cooling system. Larry insisted on helping out, at least until he was sure that Charles had it under control and that the modified pump was going to work. The morning slipped by and it was nearly noon before they were ready to test it, but when they did, the pump worked just fine. Tara would be able to use the engine now without worry of it overheating, and that would give her and Rebecca an additional safety factor, especially if a storm blew up in one of these unprotected anchorages. Tara thanked Larry for sticking around long enough to be sure it was going to work.

  “I know you’re anxious to get going. It looks like the weather is going to hold out for you, she said, as they all gathered on the foredeck of the Casey Nicole before untying the two boats and stowing the fenders.

  “We’re going to miss you two,” Artie said, as he gave Tara and Rebecca a big hug. “Please take care of yourselves and don’t ever let your guard down, Tara.”

  Rebecca was in tears as she hugged Larry goodbye. Artie knew his brother had helped her tremendously after her attempt at giving up on life. The change in her was apparent to everyone. He hoped she wouldn’t fall back into a depression when they left. But she seemed enraptured by the clear water here and all the interesting shells and other things she found on the beach. Maybe hanging out with Brian and Charles and Holly would provide much of the same support she’d found with Larry and the rest of the crew. Artie could only hope so, just as he hoped the two of them didn’t run into the kind of men that Mindy and Thomas had encountered at Darby Island.

  On the other hand though, they would be here in a quiet anchorage while he and the others on the Casey Nicole faced the hardships and dangers of the open sea. Artie knew anything could happen out there, and all of them might perish before they arrived in Panama. There were simply no guarantees, whether one chose to go or stay. Tara would likely never know if they made it to their destination or not, just as Artie and the others would never know what became of her and her daughter. That was simply the reality they all lived in now. All one could do was to take it one day at time, making decisions based on what was happening at the moment.

  * * *

  As soon as they were done with the engine repairs on her boat, Charles had returned to the trawler to pick up Brian and Holly in the dinghy so they could bid Larry and his crew farewell. The three of them stood there with Tara and Rebecca on the deck of the Sarah J., watching as the catamaran sailed away to the south. Larry had plotted a course that would keep them on a close reach passing just to the east of Ragged Island. They would have to tack more than once to gain the easting to clear the tip of Cuba and make the Windward Passage, so they had some hard sailing before they reached the Caribbean proper. Tara knew the whole trip would involve round the clock watchkeeping, little sleep, and staying wet with spray most of the time. She didn’t envy them, but she knew she was going to miss them all, even Larry. She couldn’t help but feel a little down about the whole situation, and it was obvious to Brian. When Charles and Holly were ready to leave, Brian offered to come back and pick up Tara and Rebecca for a visit aboard Pocket Change.

  “We can play some chess or a card game or something. Or we can just hang out and talk. It might do both of you good to get off your boat and into different surroundings for a li
ttle while.”

  “Sure, that sounds good. Is that okay with you, Rebecca?”

  “I guess so. I’d rather play video games than chess though.”

  “Well, if my Dad keeps up his tinkering, the TV and the computers might be back in business before too long. He won’t give up until he figures out a way to fix everything on board that the EMP fried. If you don’t want to play a boring game though, there’s lots of books in our library too, Rebecca.”

  Tara had to admit that Brian was right. Getting out of the cramped confines of the Sarah J. and into the relatively palatial interior of the motor yacht was a welcome change. She had no idea what it would be like to cruise on such a vessel, but living on it at anchor was as comfortable, or more so, than in a house. There was none of the ducking to avoid hitting your head or moving things around to get to something else. The furniture inside looked like ordinary couches, chairs and tables, although Tara assumed they were bolted in place, as it was still a boat, after all. Brian had just shown Rebecca to the bookshelves when Charles came in to tell them he’d spotted a boat.

  “It’s some kind of commercial fishing vessel. Hard to tell from here, but probably 40 or 50 feet long.”

  Charles said he’d spotted the boat approaching from the northeast, following along the Jumentos chain in the same direction from which they’d towed the Sarah J. Tara’s immediate thought was that maybe they were looking for the catamaran; maybe Larry was right!

  “No, I seriously doubt it. I doubt they’re doing any commercial fishing either though. Maybe they’re using it for passenger or freight service. Come on, let’s go up on the flybridge and see.”

  “What if they stop?” Tara asked. I should be getting back to my boat. The rifle Larry left me is on board.”

  “I doubt you’ll have a need for that, Tara. Let’s just keep an eye on them. Most likely, they’re just passing by here on the way to Duncan Town down on Ragged Island.”