Dangerous Shores: Book Two; Hell or High Water

by Christine Conaway

  “Well that’s a strange way to act.” She said under her breath. “Not very friendly at all.”

  Alan dropped the anchor off the bow and watched as the chain played out. It hit bottom long before he had used up all of the chain, but he let it all out anyhow, threw the anchor buoy and more line. He cleated the line off and waved his arm at Frank who backed down to set the anchor. Having already picked out his reference points, he watched to see that they didn’t drag the anchor.

  At another arm signal from Alan, Frank hit the kill switch and the motor died. He could hear Hannah and Olivia laughing down below and wondered how they managed find anything to laugh about. Olivia had blossomed the past two weeks, she no longer woke up in the middle of the night crying and now used only the English language to communicate with them. Hannah had mentioned the need to not let her forget her heritage and he wondered if she talked Spanish to the little girl. He thought that she would, because Hannah seemed to care about everyone’s mental and physical health.

  A couple days before, he had overheard Hannah telling Olivia a story about a brave man and woman who had to find a loving home for their little girl when they could no longer care for her, and wondered at the time, if it was Hannah’s way of keeping the memory of Olivia’s parents alive. If the way she was with Olivia was any indication of what kind of Mother she would be, that baby and Olivia would be very lucky kids. If Alan managed to stay alive until they got to the farm, he would make an awesome parent also.

  When he saw that guy with his knife at Alan’s throat, all that registered in his mind, was the knife slicing and not quitting with a cut to the neck. In an instant he was back in Iraq. Shooting the man dead had been a reflexive action. He hadn’t had time to think about it or consider the consequences if he missed the shot; he just did it.

  Being around these people was turning into the hardest experience he’d ever had. He was back in Iraq with people he felt obligated to turn into hard-nosed soldiers. How could they ever survive if he didn’t? They could end up hating him for his trouble, but at that moment he could live with it. If it meant the five of them made it to Ellen’s farm somewhere in Washington, then and only then, would he take the time to feel again. Until then, the best he could hope for, was being a part of their lives. Watching over them like he did his boys in the sand pit. Only this time, they would all make it out or he would die trying.

  After everything the Staff Sergeant told him, Frank needed to turn his girls and Alan into hardened fighters, and he needed to do it overnight. They would need to be warriors before they entered Gatun Lake or they would never survive the trip across. The Sergeant had tried to warn them off of even making the crossing. He’d said of the last six to go through on his end, only one had shown up at the west end lock. He did admit that to his knowledge they were all virtually unarmed and had refused an offer of guns and ammo. The last boat that he’d made the offer of guns to, had been adamant about not using firearms. They’d told him it was his military mentality that had put the world where it was today.

  Frank at laughed with the Sergeant at the retelling of the story and accepted the offer of additional arms. At that time, Frank hadn’t known about the 50 cal. and wouldn’t say anything about it either. He was of the mindset that more was better, especially if the crossing proved to be as rough as the First Sergeant thought it was going to be. Before he left the office a private had told him that boat was to meet them in the morning before they left to go into the lock, he thought they would be bringing the long lines he’d heard they used to tie up in the lock itself, but maybe they would bring more.

  Once Olivia was safely tucked away in her bunk for the night the adults sat in the cockpit in silence. They had already agreed to their order of the watch, but it seemed no one was ready to turn in yet. Both Frank and Ellen were watching the two near derelict boats for any sign there were people aboard. Ellen had wondered aloud if they had gone ashore when she noticed they had no dinghy in the davits nor tied behind.

  “Do you think we should go over and knock on the hull?” Alan finally asked when no one else did.

  “No!” Frank and Ellen answered together. They all laughed at their response.

  “Well why not? What if they need help or something.”

  Frank and Ellen exchanged a look, with Frank nodding at Ellen to go ahead. He had already given this idea some thought and would like to hear Ellen’s thoughts on the subject. He had thought she would put up a protest, and had been a little surprised when she’d said no with him. According to Alan, Ellen had a penchant for taking in strays. Looking around the cockpit, he could see that she obviously did and was grateful, but they didn’t need to be sticking their collective necks out any more than they had to.

  “For one, I’m a little pissed at them. They abandoned us twice in the past…well not really abandoned, but they went off and left us behind. Dan chose to put his family and friends first and I don’t blame him for that and maybe in this new world that’s the way it has to be, but on the other hand, why not tell us and give us the option of either going with them or saying thanks but no thanks. That’s what I would have done.”

  “But Ellen, you always save everyone!” Hannah declared, “look at us for example.”

  “Except for Frank,” Alan reminded, “she didn’t save him. We did. Ellen didn’t have a choice when it came to him.” He was silent for a minute and then asked, “Do you think we should throw him back? He is a little on the puny side.”

  She looked at Frank as if considering Allan’s words, the corners of his mouth were turned up, as if their humor at his expense was amusing to him. “No, we’ll keep him.”

  “You may wish you had thrown me back after you hear what I have to say.” He waited for the three to give him their attention. “I know I am always preaching about staying safe and carrying a firearm when you’re on deck and above all being aware of what’s around you. Well, everything I have said on the subject comes into play starting right now. According to the Staff Sergeant, tomorrow we start our trip into hell.”

  He paused for his words to register, and saw when they finally did. All three stared at him as if he had grown an extra eye in the middle of his forehead. “Now that I have your undivided attention, this is what we are up against. Of the last six boats to enter the locks only one has come out the other side. One out of six…That’s not very good odds for us. The way I see it, we can turn around, cross the gulf into Texas and walk from there…or we can do this.”

  “Can’t the military help us?” Hannah had asked the question they were probably all wondering about.

  “I think they are doing as much as they can. Out of a company 240 strong they are down to less than a platoon. They are divided roughly in half between the locks.”

  “Do we want to know where the rest of them went?” Ellen asked, but thought she already knew the answer.

  “Some killed, some abandoned their post to go home and some just plain disappeared. The point is, they are running out of warm bodies to protect the people going through the locks. He did say this was probably the last day they would send anyone through. They just don’t have the manpower to look after them.”

  “Why would they stay then? Why not…Where are they going then?” Ellen wasn’t sure which question to ask first. According to the information Frank had tomorrow would be the only day to cross into the Pacific. The transit would take them about eight hours start to finish and that was if they didn’t have any problems along the way. She’d heard of people having to anchor and wait until the next day to get through the last set, but that was in normal times. This, by no stretch of the imagination could be considered normal. What would happen if they didn’t make the lake crossing in one day? Would there be someone there to run the locks and let them pass? She wondered if they could actually get stuck in Lake Gatun with no way to get out.

  “Wait a minute! Are they going to have someone waiting on the other end to let us out?”

  “I would hope so. We’ll kn
ow more in the morning. Staff Sergeant Wilson said they would be sending a skiff out first thing and give us the procedures for crossing.”

  “Look over there. I can’t be positive, but isn’t that Dan?” Alan grabbed the binoculars off of the table. “Well crap, it’s too dark for these,” and set them back down.

  Ellen looked to Frank who was watching the other boat, “What do you think? Should we go over?”

  “As much as I’d like to say no, I think we have to. We have to raft with them until we are out of the lock, so we may as well get this out of the way tonight.”

  “Cool, I’ll let the dinghy down,” Alan moved aft and began to lower the dinghy.

  “Alan, I think Ellen and I will go. Someone needs to stay here and keep watch.”

  “But wouldn’t it be better for us guys to go in case of trouble?” He sounded disappointed he would not be included in the short trip.

  Frank playing the role of peace keeper told him, “That’s exactly why I need you to stay here. Who better to look after Hannah and Olivia than you?”

  Pursed lips and a frown, Alan considered his words. “Yeah…I guess you’re right, as always.”

  “Alan, it’s not about being right. It’s about being smart. I’m not say you aren’t smart; I’m saying sometimes you speak without thinking first.”

  Without contradicting Frank, Alan finished lowering the dinghy and pulled the bow close so that Ellen and then Frank could get in. With Frank on the seat with the oars, and Ellen sitting on the bow they left.

  “Thanks. Sometimes he is so…rambunctious for lack of a better word. I needed to get off the boat if just for a little while.” She sat quietly until they were out of earshot. “Seven men.”

  “What? Sorry I was lost in thought, thinking about how to deal with Alan and not be overbearing or sound like an ass.”

  “We killed seven men. I thought maybe they were going to leave when one of the boats circled around to the other side. Hannah still hasn’t said what exactly happened, but when she opened fire, I saw knives in the hands of the guys I was talking to. I don’t know if they had guns or not but they were going to take us if they got aboard. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  “You did the right thing. I hate to think what could have happened if they’d gotten on board. We met a couple of their friends on the beach. Did Alan tell you what happened to us?”

  “No, but I wondered about the bandage on his neck. Did they do that?”

  “Yup and because I’m talking to you, I can say it was his own fault. He fell asleep while I was in the brush taking a leak. They walked right up on him. I guess I didn’t stress enough the need to be on guard at all times, or maybe he just plain didn’t listen. I forget he’s just a kid sometimes.”

  “Well, he’ll do some growing up by the time we get through the canal if I read you right. Do you think it will be as bad as the Sergeant was making it sound?”

  “Chuck.” At a blank look from Ellen he clarified. “His name is Chuck and I think if anything he was glossing some of it over. He wanted us to stay with them and not even go. They have enough guys to man the locks but not enough to send security with us on the lake. That’s partly why we have to raft with these guys so we have enough rope handlers. He said if we hired handlers, they would be the ones most likely to rob and murder us. He also said to not trust anyone.”

  “We have four handlers right here and those guys should have enough too. Six adults and the two kids should be able to handle theirs. It looks like Jeff and Linda’s boat is missing, I wonder what happened to them. By the shape of their boats, they must have had a rough time where ever they went.”

  “It looks that way. We’re not going aboard and I don’t think we even want to tie off to them.” Frank waved when Dan hollered at them.

  Ellen waved to acknowledge they had seen him. Frank rowed close enough they could talk.

  “Throw me your bow line there.” Dan said and reached down as if to catch it.

  “We’re good. We’d just as soon not tie up. Things happen too fast around here for comfort.”

  Dan sat back on his heels and sighed. “You’re not telling me anything. Come on up Clare.”

  “What happened?’ Ellen asked. She wasn’t talking only about their boat, but Dan looked as if he had been on a starvation diet. His clothes hung on his bony frame. His wife Clare, who was thin to start with was little more than a walking skeleton. She shook constantly as if she had palsy. She sank on to the side gunnel seemingly exhausted.

  “Clare? Are you okay? I can get Alan or Hannah.”

  Clare shook her head no, “I’m fine.”

  “She’s been sick. We all have but we’re getting better.” Dan said, his voice thick with emotion. “We lost Millie and both of her kids…and Linda. Jeff couldn’t handle losing her and took his own life. It’s only us and Brian left. As soon as Brian gets up, we’re going to transfer his stuff over here and leave his boat. Besides the mast his motor is shot too.”

  “Is there anything we can do to help? Do you have enough food?” Ellen was concerned by how thin they were. She wondered if they had any food stores left. She was sure no matter how little they had she would share with these people. It no longer mattered that that she had been pissed about their secretive leaving. She could see these people needed help; and helping is what she did best.

  “I don’t like to ask and if you can’t help I understand. We used up all our ammunition on the last bunch of pirates. We have a couple left for each of our guns but that’s it.”

  “Of course, if we have any. What do you have?”

  “My 38 and Clare has her 357 and I think Brian has his Glock. I think it’s a 45 caliber.”

  Frank waited to see what else they needed shells for. When Dan just sat there in silence he exploded, “That’s it? No long guns or…anything?”

  “The truth is that Jeff went a little crazy after Linda was shot…he threw almost all of our guns overboard.”

  “Oh Dan…tell them the whole truth for God’s sake. She wasn’t shot…She killed herself. Linda…killed…herself.” Clare spaced her last three words out as if it would make Dan hear them more clearly and finally accept them. “Linda never got over being raped. She said she felt like Jeff blamed her for letting it happen. She finally couldn’t take it anymore and used their shotgun on herself. Jeff flipped out and got rid of every gun he could get his hands on. He threw them in the water. We didn’t realize what he was doing until all but the ones on our person were gone. And while I’m confessing…we ran out of food three days ago, and except for the fish we’ve managed to catch, we have nothing.”

  “Didn’t the Sergeant offer you food when you checked in for the canal?” Frank asked, his voice puzzled. He couldn’t believe the Sergeant wouldn’t have offered them something.

  Clare waited a few seconds for Dan to answer. When he didn’t, she did. “Dan told them we were fine; that we didn’t need anything. It was because he didn’t want to accept charity. He let his stupid pride get in the way of feeding us!” Tears were streaming down her face while she talked.

  Dan looked ashamed as if he’d personally let his family down. He had sat with his head down, chin resting on his chest, his shoulders shook as he cried silent tears. He looked like a beaten man.

  Both Frank and Ellen sat staring in disbelief. Compared to what they were hearing from Dan and Clare; their group may as well have been on a great sailing vacation., compared to this groups ordeal They heard a hatch slide open and saw Brian come on deck. He looked surprised to see them. While he was thinner than they last saw him, he wasn’t broken like Dan or Clare. With the loss of both of his children and wife his losses would have devastated a normal person. He actually looked pleased to see them. His and Dan’s boats were rafted together and he climbed over the gunnels coming over to the side closest to Frank and Ellen. He rested a hand on Clare’s shoulder.

  “So…you heard?”

  Frank nodded unsure what to say. “I’m sorry to hear about…
”

  Brian’s eyes became glassy and he had to swallow before he answered. “Thanks, it’s been one hell of a trip. I think the lucky ones are the ones who are already gone. Us, we’ll just take it one day at a time until it’s our turn.” He already sounded resigned to their fate as if there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

  Frank put the oar tips back in the water, with the use of just one, he turned the rubber boat away. “We’ll be back.” Frank began to row.

  Chapter Twenty

  Ellen sat not saying anything until some distance separated the boats and dinghy. She watched Frank’s back as he strained against the oars. The tide must have changed because he seemed to be working harder going back to their boat.

  “I know it will go against your grain to hear this, but we have to help them. Not so much because they need help, but because we couldn’t live with ourselves later if we didn’t.”

  Frank hesitated before he dipped the oars back in the water. He remained silent except for the sound of his oars splashing as he rowed. Finally, he answered her, “I know. But the thought that crosses my mind is how much and for how long? I realize we have a humanitarian obligation to do what we can, but when someone is capable of looking after themselves and they don’t, where does our obligation end?”

  “We don’t know that they didn’t do all they could to be safe. We really don’t know anything about what happened to them, we only know the outcome; they are out of food and ammunition. We have a little of both that we can give them.”

  “Okay, but keep in mind we still have a long way to go and whatever you decide to give to them will take away from Olivia, Hannah and Alan. With that thought in mind, I have no problem with helping them.”

  Frank was right. As much as she hated the thought, she had an obligation only to the people on her boat. If they could share enough to help Dan and his crew until they parted ways on the Pacific side of the canal, she was okay with that. Two months of no grocery stores and five people on board had put a dent in her two-year supply of survival food she had left Palmetto with. The canned food she already had and what they had confiscated off the other boats in Pelican Bay had supplemented their needs. Hannah was a genius when it came to making tasty, nutritious meals for them. The calorie count she had them all on had further extended their supplies. They had all lost weight, but the fat loss had been replaced by muscle.