Let Us Be Brave

by Linda Thompson

  He stayed on the job monitoring the radios for local traffic and the emergency channel for news, hoping for progress. The plane was back under water within the hour, but that didn’t stop the search parties.

  For the rest of that very long day, Mark hoped every time the radio went off someone would notify him of finding Helen. Hours and hundreds of calls later, he still knew nothing more. At least he knew the latitude and longitude of the plane. It was a start. There were hours and hours logged of search planes flying grids. They had to be narrowing it down, but nothing. Then the radio went off . . . .

  “Homer Radio. This is November 318 Whiskey Bravo,” said the young pilot.

  Mark replied on the radio, “318 Whiskey Bravo, this is Homer Radio.”

  “Homer, 318 Whiskey Bravo is departing Runway 22, destination South Naknek. Requesting updated Naknek weather.”

  Mark gave the weather and added, “Ash cloud from Mount Augustine west. Recommend flying north to avoid it. Also, beware search and rescue planes flying low altitude grid patterns on the west side of Cook Inlet. The missing plane has been found, but the search is on for its pilot and five passengers. If you spot anything, radio it in please.”

  “Roger, 318 Whiskey Bravo, out.”

  Mark leaned back in his chair, took a sip of coffee, and looked out the windows of the second-story building next to the airstrip. For two weeks he had been fighting his frustration with how slowly this rescue effort had gone. The hurricane-force winds, low ceiling, ash from Augustine, or generally dangerous flying conditions had been practically constant nightmares. Pilots en route were avoiding the area around the active volcano. He had been asking every pilot flying that called in to keep a lookout for Helen.

  Helen’s flight plan had been to fly on the west side; at least the search was narrowing down a bit. Now they knew she had stuck to her plan. People were trying to estimate how far the plane could have moved with the extreme tides of the inlet. Could it have moved north or south or even just crashed right where it was found?

  “Where are you, Helen? God, give me some idea.”

  While looking at a map of the other side of the bay, he thought about the one boat that had spotted a suspicious light the day before from Iniskin Bay. After search planes flew over the area, they saw the smoke from Indian Joe’s cabin and steam bath. All looked normal; he even was out on the porch and waving calmly. They concluded the light was from the windows of his house. He was always there except when he went commercial fishing.

  Hmm, commercial fishing. He should be gone. Helen couldn’t be there, could she? It’s over five miles from the plane and impossible. One person’s in a wheelchair. He had so many questions and he wanted answers. “Where are you, Helen?” he mumbled to himself.

  “Homer Radio, Homer Radio, this is November 206 Romeo Sierra,” screeched the radio.

  Mark pulled himself back to his FAA reality, picked up the microphone, and went back to work. At least that night he could stop worrying so much. He had been invited to a friend’s yacht for dinner. He hadn’t seen them for years. It would be fun to reconnect.

  Chapter 37

  News Update

  The newsroom was buzzing with activity. Multiple people were hustling to get ready before the lights on the TV camera indicated they were on the air. The announcer was holding the cold copy in her hand as she asked, “This is the latest on the rescue efforts, right?

  “Yes, just got it from Search and Rescue at Elmendorf Air Force Base,” answered her assistant.

  Matilda quickly scanned the pages for unfamiliar words to make sure she could pronounce them correctly.

  “It’s time, Matilda,” said the producer. “Three, two, one.”

  “Good evening, this is KBER News at 6:00. I’m Matilda James. Search and rescue efforts resumed today for the Special Olympics team from Pebble Lake that disappeared two weeks ago after days of bad weather and falling ash from Mount Saint Augustine halted all efforts in much of Southcentral Alaska several times. Volunteers and staff have logged many hours in search of the lost plane, but it was a little lady from San Diego that found the first evidence of its location.” A picture came on the screen beside the news anchor of Irene and Danielle being interviewed by David Alto, a Homer news correspondent. “David, tell us about what’s been happening down in Homer,” said Matilda.

  “Matilda,” said David Alto, “today a tourist traveling across Cook Inlet spotted the tail section of the plane during low tide. Mrs. Irene Baranoff was traveling to Homer when she notified her pilot of her sighting.”

  In a close-up Irene said, “We were flying across from Bear Camp back to Homer after a day of bear watching when I saw a bright light reflecting in the water. I got my binoculars to see better and recognized a plane in the water close to shore. It was low tide. I started yelling, but no one understood me over the noise of the plane engine. Then others saw it and we flew low to see better. They identified the plane as the one lost with the Special Olympics team members. We flew around and around it while the pilot talked on the radio to someone. Then another plane came, and we returned to Homer to get back on this cruise ship.”

  “Was it exciting to be involved in the search?”

  “Probably the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. I have a feeling the people on that plane will be found. Hopefully they’re alive and well.”

  “Thank you for filling us in on your discovery,” David said.

  Danielle and Irene watched the live TV broadcast from dockside as David was interviewed. “We have to go, Grandma. The ship is waiting on us,” said Danielle. The two turned away, and the camera watched the two ladies walk slowly down the gangplank to the side of the ship.

  “Do you know anything else about the rescue efforts?” asked Matilda.

  “As of this moment, the people in the crash have not been found. Two small Super Cubs on wheels were able to land on the beach in the area of the plane. They didn’t find anyone on shore. It is thought that the plane has been moving up or down the shoreline with the tides for the past two weeks, but rescue people have narrowed the search to a smaller area and are more confident they will find the people now that they have confirmed the location of the plane.”

  “Have they been able to get to the plane at this time?”

  “It’s under water now, but rescue teams will be taking a much closer look at it during the next low tide, and hopefully it will give clues as to what happened. If the weather and volcano continue to cooperate, they’re hoping the lost people can be found within hours.”

  “Our prayers are for finding the athletes as soon as possible,” said Matilda.

  Watching from her favorite reclining chair in her living room in Anchorage, Auntie exclaimed, “Thank God! It’s about time they found something!” She quickly picked up her cell phone to call her husband to tell him the good news. She had been tied to the TV for almost two weeks and hadn’t wanted to go much of anywhere for fear of missing the announcement that Helen had been found.

  Chapter 38

  Next Low Tide

  The following morning a search plane, a Super Cub on large wheels, landed on the beach at the newly located plane site as the tide was going out. The pilot, Colton, and his search partner, Peggy, a husband and wife team, walked in the mud toward the downed plane. The fuselage of the plane was still under water with the tail section sticking up. The man and woman wore chest waders and were able to walk out in the water right up to the plane.

  “You know, Peggy, for a plane that crashed in Cook Inlet, this thing looks pretty good. The windows are all intact. Wings are still attached; it appears that the engine is still probably there.”

  “Look at the bottom of this thing. Looks to me like it bellied out on the beach and skidded a long way. Look: the paint is scratched only on the bottom.”

  “Yeah, and the landing gear is gone. Let’s try to get the door open and see what’s there.”

  They struggled to get one of the doors open. After much effort, they managed to
get one unstuck and swung it out. Colton climbed in with trepidation to take a look.

  “Are they in there?” asked Peggy.

  “You know, looks to me like this plane has already been stripped of everything. I don’t see any bodies, clothes, suitcases, or a wheelchair for the one athlete that needed one. I honestly think they got out. If the plane had gone down in deep water, there would been something in here. More than likely, their bodies would still be strapped in the plane.

  “Look, here’s the emergency locator transmitter. It’s dead—not surprising. I’ll grab it and we can take it back to Homer. Maybe it’ll be useful.”

  Peggy climbed in, and after climbing into all the seats and looking closely, she said, “I think you’re right; they escaped. I would say they probably made it to shore somewhat safely.”

  The two took pictures of the plane inside and out before heading back to their Super Cub.

  “Should we look around here before we leave?”

  “We need to keep our eyes open, but they didn’t find any evidence of the passengers around here last night, so I doubt they’re here now.”

  Colton got on the radio and relayed their findings to Search and Rescue at Elmendorf in Anchorage. “Yes sir, we think they were probably alive after they crashed. The inside of the plane looks remarkably good, except it has a certain amount of silt in it from being under water. There are no bodies and no belongings, though we did find the emergency locator transmitter. Even the wheelchair is gone. Looks promising to us.”

  “Yeah, but could they live through a crash, violent storms, and a volcano?” asked Peggy. “Where could they be?”

  Chapter 39

  Depression

  Ever since the rescue pilot had flown right over the cabin and tipped its wings to say hello, the survivors had not been the same. Nicholi was constantly talking to his hand saying, “I should have done something. Not sure what, but something. Why didn’t they get us? It’s my fault.” He paced around and around the porch of the cabin, hoping someone would fly by again.

  Sam wasn’t playing with his cars anymore. He had been sitting around the house, not helping with chores, not communicating, just looking off into space. Truth was, he really missed his mama. This was the longest he had ever been away from her. Tears had been steadily rolling down his cheeks ever since that plane had passed overhead. He wanted to go home and give her a big hug.

  Patrick had been sick for days now. Breathing was more and more difficult for him. He didn’t say much to anyone about how he felt; it wouldn’t do any good. No one could help him. He could no longer sleep in the bunk. He could breathe better when he was in his chair, so to help him out, the others found a chunk of plywood near the woodshed and leaned it up against the bottom bunk. Then they took the mattress off the bed and put it half on the plywood and half on the floor, making a crude version of a tilted hospital bed. With that, he was able to rest, sleep a little, and not disturb the others as much with his coughing all night. Patrick was tired of this adventure. The fun of it was over; it hurt too much. He wanted to be somewhere where he could get well. He had plenty of bad memories of his life before he came to live with Billy, and he had learned to internalize and fight his personal demons, but knowing that he couldn’t just leave made it hard to fight the depression that was setting in.

  Helen was feeling a lot better. She wasn’t as helpless as before, though she still had her moments of weakness. Overall, things were definitely looking up. She wasn’t sleeping all day now, and she could stand up a little to cook. Thinking wasn’t so hard and her headaches were gone. Things could be a lot worse. Her charges were all doing okay. They had plenty of food because of Lillian’s excellent subsistence fishing and gathering. She wished the plane had stopped, but she knew why it hadn’t as soon as she realized what Nicholi was wearing. The pilot had thought Nicholi was Indian Joe.

  Suddenly everyone jumped. There was a ruffing sound outside, like a big dog.

  “Nicholi, what is it?” asked Helen from her bed.

  Nicholi bolted back into the house, slammed the door, and locked it. “Big brown bear with huge brown claws and sharp white teeth is raiding the smokehouse. He’s trying to break it down and get to the smoked fish.”

  Lillian had been standing by the cookstove, looking out the window, quite content with her life in the cabin. Her eyes opened up wide and her face changed instantly to one of anger. She reached up to the pot hangers above the cookstove to grab a big pot and a smaller pan, but she couldn’t reach them even when she jumped. Marie was just tall enough and took them down for her, not realizing what the plan was.

  Once Lillian had the pots, she ran over to the door, unlocked it, and charged outside, banging them together as loudly as she could. She wasn’t afraid of the bear. She was on the porch, and he would have to go around the porch to the steps to get to her. She had plenty of time to dash back in the house if he attacked her like he was attacking the smokehouse. She stood banging and banging, driving the bear to distraction. He stood on his hind legs and growled at her. He wanted the fish, but he really didn’t like the noise. He charged the porch, but she stood her ground and continued to bang and bang those pots in her anger.

  “Get away from my fish!” she yelled loudly. “My fish, not yours. Catch your own! Stupid bear! Get!!”

  Everyone stood shocked in the cabin, watching the scene. Little Lillian was yelling loudly enough that they all could hear her. She was confronting an Alaska Peninsula Brown Bear, one of the biggest bears in the world, and she wasn’t backing down. She wasn’t shaking in her boots like any normal girl would.

  “That’s my Yoda,” Nicholi said as went to the cookstove and grabbed another pot and a wooden spoon from the kitchen and headed outside. He stood beside her and joined her in the band against the bear.

  Sam stopped crying and grabbed another pot and a big spoon and started banging even before he got out the door. He was smiling with wet tears drying on his face.

  Marie refused to go outside, but stood in the doorway banging two big metal lids together like cymbals. “Go away, you bad bear!” she yelled. “Go away!”

  Patrick was lying in his bed holding his breath, shaking with fear, wondering if the bear was going to get past his three friends.

  Helen slowly got up, grabbed a chair, and used it as a crutch to make it to the can of bear spray on the windowsill and to see what was happening. The bear was no match for the four. No worries. She put the bear spray back on the sill and sat down in the chair, hyperventilating while watching out the window. The four friends all stood smiling happily as they looked off in the woods in the direction the bear had gone. As they calmed down, they one at a time folded at the knees and sat on the porch, shaking as the adrenalin wore off.

  “That was amazing!” hooted Nicholi.

  “That was scary!” said Marie, relieved it was over.

  “Lillian,” said Helen, “I’ve never heard you talk so loud!”

  Lillian sat quietly and daintily on the porch with a big smile on her face. She was proud of herself, her subsistence skills, her native heritage, and the fact that she had confronted the giant bear.

  Sam leaned over to Lillian, put his arm around her shoulders, and smiled at her lovingly. For the moment, he forgot his mama.

  “Lillian, what do you want to do about the smokehouse?” asked Helen. “Should we build the smoke up again?”

  She looked straight at Helen, apparently having returned to silence.

  “That’s a yes,” said Marie.

  Later that evening before it was dark, Lillian checked the smokehouse and decided it was pretty bear-safe, but hopefully the bear wouldn’t come around again during the night. Bears that were hungry could really tear a cabin up if they thought there was food inside. The smokehouse was a big temptation, and the fish, though ready to be canned, was not ready to store with no refrigeration yet. If he did return, she would just deal with it.

  They climbed in their beds for the night and all was quiet.r />
  “We must make an SOS tomorrow,” Helen said into the silence. “Patrick, you and Lillian can stay here while we all go down to the beach. We’ll take the bear spray if Lillian agrees not to attack the bear while we’re gone.”

  Lillian smiled as she looked up at the ceiling of the cabin from her loft floor bed.

  “I’ll yell at her if she does. Just put the pans high enough and she can’t reach them anyway,” said Patrick, joking.

  “If Sam, Nicholi, and Marie help me,” said Helen, “I think I can make it down there to make sure the signal gets built, now that I feel so much better. Does that sound good to you all?”

  “Ate” (Great), said Sam.

  Helen could see him peering over the edge of the loft sleeping area, watching her. He had a big smile on his face. He was ready to do whatever it took to get home.

  “Tides should be going out about nine tomorrow morning, looks like,” she said. We’ll get down there and set up the SOS as it retreats. All right, everyone. Sweet dreams.”

  “Night night, everyone,” said Marie.

  “Good night,” said Patrick.

  “May the force be with you,” said Nicholi in his deep, manly voice.

  “Ite, ite,” said Sam.

  Lillian was quiet, listening, smiling, as the sound of light snoring filled the little cabin off Cook Inlet.

  Chapter 40

  The Signal

  When the time finally came to get out of the FAA tower, Mark was anxious to go to the post office and pick up a few things at Save-U-More, the locally owned grocery store in Homer, before heading to see his old friends on Acapella III. Those two had been married for years now, but Mark just hadn’t been able find the right woman. Truth was, he had never really looked around until he spotted Helen for the first time.