It was his single-minded focus on what he perceived to be the only threat that proved to be Russell’s undoing. Before he could steady the sights of the rifle on the moving boat, an excruciating pain ripped through his side at his lower rib and his ears rung with the sharp bark of another gun fired from just two feet away. Russell turned to see what had happened as his arms felt weak and the AK fell from his hands. Mindy was standing in the open companionway below him with a pistol pointed at his chest. She fired it again and Russell felt more burning needles of pain before his knees buckled and he collapsed onto the seat behind him. Soon after, he was vaguely aware of hands on him as he struggled to breathe, and then there was the cool sensation of water surrounding his body. As he opened his eyes he saw aquamarine blue that stretched to infinity, the color contrasting sharply with the cloud of red spreading into it from around his torso. The beauty of the mixing colors faded within seconds however, supplanted by total blackness as the crushing pain in his chest took away his last conscious thought.
Thirty-two
LARRY AND JESSICA WALKED the beach in front of which the Casey Nicole had been anchored just hours ago, wondering how Tara managed to talk Artie into leaving so soon. He couldn’t believe that Artie, or any of them really, could be foolish enough to leave already. Hell, it had only been a few hours. Anything could delay a boat as small as that sailing dinghy on a trip of several miles like that. What were they thinking? Larry couldn’t believe they would simply leave the whole area to go off searching for the Sarah J. the same day. Surely they would wait until at least tomorrow? He knew Tara could be persistent, but with Casey and Grant backing him up Artie wouldn’t give in that soon. Would he?
“What can we do now?” Jessica asked.
“I don’t know Jessica. I’m fresh out of ideas, how about you? We’re stuck on an uninhabited island with no water, no food, no weapons and no boat.”
“That’s not entirely true. We do have a boat. Well sort of.”
“If you can call it that. I hate to use the word ‘boat’ for that piece of crap.”
“It did get us here though.”
“Yeah, but it’s not going to really get us anywhere else. Especially not now. It’s going to be dark soon. We may as well figure out where we’re going to camp and settle in for the night. Maybe we’ll dream up a better plan in our sleep.”
“I don’t think they would have just left us like this for no reason. I think they must have seen something. Maybe they saw the Sarah J. go by in the distance or something. After we left.”
Larry considered this idea. It had not really crossed his mind until Jessica mentioned it, but the more he thought about it, the more that seemed like a real possibility. That could easily explain why Artie would leave. Maybe Russell had stopped somewhere out on the banks before he got here and they had unknowingly passed him during the night. They had gotten here first and after he and Jessica left on the dinghy, Russell showed up later. He might have seen the anchored catamaran and turned away to run for it. It would have taken Artie and the crew some time to get the anchor up and set the sails to give chase, so even if they caught up, which he was sure they would, it could be miles from here. The question was where though, and in which direction. Maybe the best thing they could do after all was just sit tight and wait. They would come back to look for him and Jessica regardless of where they went, maybe even before morning.
“Let’s find a place somewhere up at the top of the cliffs. That’ll give us a better chance of spotting them and hopefully we can signal them somehow.”
“We could build a fire,” Jessica said.
“Yeah, except that we can’t. I don’t have anything to start one with. Rubbing sticks together never worked for me and since it’s been so long since the last time I burned a joint with Scully, I don’t even have a Bic in my pocket.”
“Grant knows how to start fires without any of that stuff. He showed me when we were looking for Casey on that river. It didn’t look easy though. It was like a wooden drill and he had to make all the parts.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it done. Never tried it though. Anyway, we don’t need a fire for any other reason than if we see them, and jumping up and down will probably work just as well. We sure don’t want a fire up there on the high part of the island at night. No telling who it might attract.”
“More men like those two who took our dinghy, probably.”
“Or worse. Those guys just wanted a boat.”
“Well I hope it sinks. That would serve them right.”
“It won’t. It’s a damn good little dinghy. It will probably serve them well. Like I said before, they probably have hungry families to feed. It sucks that they took the boat, but we probably would have missed our ride regardless. If they did see Russell near here, it could have been right after we left. And we would have been gone a few hours even if nothing happened.”
“I know, you’re right. But it does suck that we’re stranded here now. At least if we still had the dinghy we could sail around and look for them.”
“It would probably still be best to stay put. Anyway, I’ll bet we’ll only be here one night. They’ll be back to get us. Sorry you’re stuck here with me instead of Grant, though. He could build a nice fire, too.
Jessica laughed. “Yeah and it would be so cold he would need to. I was stuck on the Casey Nicole with him for nearly a week and he acted like I was toxic or something. But I know what’s up now. I was interested in Grant, but not anymore. He’s exactly where he needs to be—with Casey. I hope it works out for them, I really do. It just took me a little time to realize he’s not my type after all and I’m totally okay with that now.”
“I’m glad you’re okay with it then. I was afraid this was going to happen. I could see how he and Casey were around each other. I’m her uncle and I want her to be happy of course, but if it had been me in Grant’s shoes…”
“Yeah?”
“I’m just saying if. Grant is a lucky young man, to have such a choice.”
“I’ll bet you’ve had more pretty girls fighting over you than he has… seeing how you’re such a ruggedly handsome sailor and all.”
“Yeah, right. Ask Tara about that.”
“That was just a misunderstanding. She’s over it now anyway.”
“Nah. Too much drama there for me with the kid and all. Maybe she and my brother will hit it off. He’s used to dealing with a daughter anyway, and likes it just fine. He’d be a much better match.”
“So where does that leave you and me, Larry? We’re just the odd ones out. And now we’re stuck here on a deserted island while everybody else is having all the fun.”
“It leaves us with no choice but to make the best of a tough situation, Jessica.” Larry took her hand to lead her up to the top of the island. “But we’re survivors, right? I think we’ll do okay.”
“I think so,” she smiled. “Even without a fire.”
* * *
As Rebecca watched the sail that appeared on the distant horizon that morning, her heart sank as she saw it change course to approach the little island she was afraid Russell might have swam to. When she turned the binoculars back to the island, her fears were confirmed. Now that the morning sun was higher, she could just make out a human figure standing on the highest rock of the little cay, waving something overhead to signal the boat. So Russell had survived! And now he had been spotted by the crew of the new boat that she thought might come to help her. Her hopes of that happening were dashed now. Russell would either lie to them or steal their boat to get back to the Sarah J. She had no doubt he would do anything to reach her after what she’d done yesterday.
She went back into the cabin and grabbed the rifle off the bunk where she’d left it. She was determined to keep Russell from ever stepping foot aboard the Sarah J. again, because she knew that if he did, she was as good as dead. She didn’t know who these other people on the other boat were, and she didn’t want to hurt anyone unless she knew they were tying to hurt her, but
if they tried to bring Russell back to the boat, then she was going to stop them if she could.
With the rifle close at hand now, she stood there leaning against the stern pulpit, studying the scene on the little cay with the binoculars. She saw the sailboat drop anchor near the island and then she saw that it was towing something behind it. When someone from the boat got in the object astern and began paddling, Rebecca saw that it was a kayak, and that it was headed for the beach where Russell was now standing to meet it. She could tell that he got in it and she saw it going back to the sailboat. So they were helping him and she had no doubt they were bringing him back to the Sarah J!
Rebecca watched as the boat got underway again and started coming her way. She picked up the heavy rifle and rested the barrel across the stern rail to steady it. She had never shot a real gun like this, but she had used toy guns in arcades and knew enough to understand that the front sight had to be lined up in the notch of the rear sight. She wanted to shoot high, over the heads of the people on the boat in hopes of scaring them away, so she aimed at the middle of the mainsail, which even at a distance seemed a big enough target to hit. She couldn’t see the people on the boat from this angle, because it was coming straight towards her and she knew they would be in the cockpit, sitting lower than the cabin top. It was unlikely that a bullet would hit any of them, but she had to take a chance because she didn’t want them to get close enough for Russell to get aboard the Sarah J., no matter what.
When she squeezed the trigger, the sound the rifle made was much louder than she was expecting and because she was holding it loosely, it punched her shoulder with a painful kick. The boat turned off to one side, making a bigger target so she pulled the trigger one more time to make sure it had turned because of her shooting. Then she set the rifle down hoping she wouldn’t need to use it again, and grabbed the binoculars to take another look. That was when she realized how tiny the sailboat really was. It was way smaller than the Sarah J., that was obvious by how big the people in it looked now that it was turned beam to her where she could see them.
She could see a man standing on top of the cabin holding onto the mast, and a woman in the cockpit with Russell. But it was the sight of the man in the back, the one who was steering, that surprised her the most. He was a tall and lean black man, with dreadlocks down to his waist, and he looked exactly like Scully, Captain Larry’s best friend who had been left behind in Florida. When she pointed the binoculars at the kayak again, she knew this man was Scully. There was no doubt that it was the same two-person yellow kayak that had been aboard the Casey Nicole, and Rebecca knew that Scully had been in it when he was last seen.
She saw Russell grab something and then there was a lot of quick back and forth movement before she heard two gunshots and realized that Russell had a gun. Scully had fallen where he was steering and the man who had been on the cabin top by the mast jumped on top of Russell and knocked him down too. Rebecca saw that they were fighting and then she heard more gunshots. Her hands were shaking as she watched through the binoculars, fearing that Russell would kill everyone on the little boat and then come for her, but instead, she saw the other man get back up and then he and the woman bending down as they worked together to roll Russell’s limp body over the side of the boat and into the water. She kept the binoculars focused on the area around the boat, but she didn’t see him come back up. She couldn’t see Scully either, but she could see that the man and woman were bent down again, doing something in the bottom of the cockpit. Was Scully dead? She was quite sure he had been shot when the struggle started.
She wished she had a way to go to the other boat and find out, but all she could do was wait and see what the man and woman would do next. She stood at the stern rail and watched with the binoculars, and when the man looked her way she waved her empty hands overhead to let them know she wouldn’t shoot at them again. The boat had been drifting with sails flogging since Scully had fallen, but now she saw the man turn the boat off the wind so that they filled again and then it started moving. It circled around to get back on course and then once again it was sailing straight at her.
Thirty-three
WHEN THOMAS READ THE name Sarah J. on the stern of the grounded yacht, he knew immediately that something was wrong with this Russell guy’s story. Scully had talked about the two boats he was looking for at length during their voyage together from Florida, and Thomas knew that the Sarah J. was one of them, especially when he saw that the hailing port lettering under the yacht’s name read “Biloxi.” It could be no mere coincidence, but he didn’t fully realize the extent of Russell’s ruse until he read the name out loud, so that everyone on board, including Scully and Russell could hear.
Russell’s move for Scully’s AK was unexpected and sudden. Scully’s reactive kick was just as quick, but not decisive enough to prevent him from pulling the trigger. When Thomas saw him bring the muzzle back in line to fire again, he knew he had no choice but to act immediately. Even so, he feared he was too late as the gun went off and he saw Scully fall. He landed on the stranger’s back from where he leapt from the cabin top, knowing that if he didn’t subdue the man he and Mindy would be next. He thought he’d succeeded when Russell collapsed under his weight and dropped the rifle, but Thomas had little experience as a fighter. He knew nothing of the tactics of maintaining the upper hand once he had it and he had no idea how resilient a determined foe could be. And so it was with great surprise that he found himself practically upside down on top of Scully. Russell had somehow managed to get up enough to flip him violently off his back. And upon landing, Thomas hit his head on the side of the cockpit seat; causing him to see stars and momentarily lose all motivation to continue the fight. Time seemed to stand still as he was vaguely aware of Russell getting to his feet and standing over him, the AK-47 in his hands again. Like that night when he knelt helplessly on a lonely beach in the Florida Keys waiting for the inevitable, Thomas fully expected to receive the bullet that would punch his clock for good.
He heard the sound of a gunshot and winced and closed his eyes as he did, but there was no pain that he could perceive. There was blood on the cockpit sole beneath him, but it had been there when he fell and he knew it was Scully’s. He heard another shot and opened his eyes in time to see Russell fall onto the starboard seat, and then he realized it was Mindy who’d done the shooting when he saw her emerge from the companionway with the pistol in her hand. When she was sure Russell was out of action, she put the gun down and knelt beside him.
“Are you okay?”
“I think so. Scully is hurt though. He got shot!”
Thomas pulled himself off of the wounded man. The blood was everywhere now, and now he saw that Scully was holding his leg just above the knee with both hands, trying to slow the flow of the blood pouring from the wound just below his knee.
“Hang on, Scully. We’ll get it stopped.”
“We’ve got to make a tourniquet. Use the end of the mainsheet. Anything! If we don’t he’ll bleed to death.”
Thomas knew she was right as he grabbed for the end of the Dacron line that was tangled on the seat nearby. Scully looked weak and grimaced in pain when Thomas told him what he was doing.
“Just let me get a loop around your leg. You can let go with your hands as soon as I pull it tight. It should work better than trying to hold it.”
Scully nodded and the Thomas tightened the tourniquet, wrapping it several turns around his leg. His hands were slick with Scully’s blood by the time he was done, but the bleeding slowed to barely a trickle. The bullet from the rifle hitting his leg at such close range had done tremendous damage. It was impossible to tell just how much, but Thomas had no doubt that bones were shattered in addition to the torn veins or arteries that had caused him to lose so much blood.
“Help me for a second,” Mindy asked, and Thomas saw that she was struggling to push Russell over the side. More blood now covered the cockpit seat from the two wounds in Russell’s torso, and it was obvious he
was dead or dying, but his eyes were still open and Thomas couldn’t be sure if he was already gone or not. Together the two of them lifted him up to the edge of the cockpit coaming and then rolled him off the edge of the narrow side deck. He hit the water with a big splash and slowly sank into the clear depths.
Thomas looked back at Scully, still slumped in the cockpit sole and then at the boat they had been sailing towards. He saw the girl standing at the stern rail waving her hands, and when he checked with the binoculars, he saw that she wasn’t holding the rifle any more. Reaching for a rigging knife he kept just inside the companionway, Thomas cut off the excess end of the mainsheet so that sailing the boat wouldn’t interfere with Scully’s tourniquet, then he turned Intrepida off the wind to fill the sails. As he got back on course towards the Sarah J., Mindy began dipping up bucketfuls of seawater to wash the blood off the decks and out of the cockpit scuppers.
“How many you see on de boat?” Scully asked Thomas, looking up from where he still lay slumped in the cockpit sole.
“I didn’t see anybody but the one girl. I think it’s the teenaged daughter you told us about.”
“Rebecca.”
“And that guy just completely lied to us, saying she was his daughter and her name was Rhonda,” Mindy said. “I wonder what happened here. How did he ever get on the boat in the first place, and did he really fall off like he said he did?”
“Maybe we’ll get the answers soon,” Thomas said. “I’m going to ease up to the stern end and hope we have enough water there to tie alongside without getting stuck on whatever she’s on.”
Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath Page 20