by Brenda Beem
I thought for a moment. “I’ll get the dinghy oars. They won’t extend out as far as the boat hook, but they’ll work better than nothing.” I took the oars out of the stern locker and handed them to Nick and Jervis.
Dylan, Nick, and Jervis leaned far out over the bow, and shoved wreckage away from the boat as we made our way. Zoë ran from side to side, pointing and exclaiming as she spotted floating objects.
Takumi glanced at the dead instruments. All we had was the compass on the wheel. “Need help?” he asked Cole.
“My eyes are still blurry. Make sure we are heading south.” Cole leaned on the wheel.
I began pulling bits of tape off the storage lockers and lines. Takumi gently guided Cole. A squirrel climbed to the top limb of an evergreen and scolded us as we passed by. For the animal’s sake, I hoped the trees would float ashore soon.
We were making progress toward open water, but slowly. I checked out the coastline. Although it was still a long ways away, I could tell buildings and trees had been wiped away.
Was my house still standing, or was it debris too? Where were my parents? Were they safe? I shivered and glanced at the sea behind us. We were almost clear of the mess.
“No!” I screamed and ran to the stern rail. Two broken and unraveling lines trailed in the water.
Our dinghy was gone.
Chapter Sixteen
Twelve Days to Go
Both the sky and the sea were gray. If not for the chop of the water, it would have been hard to see where one ended and the other began. I hugged myself and shivered. It felt more like October than August.
I scanned the ocean searching for our lost dinghy. It was rubber and would float. But we had no way of knowing when it had torn away. It could be anywhere.
“Damn it.” Dylan stared at the dangling lines. “I should’ve let the air out. I should’ve stowed it. I should’ve…”
“It’s nobody’s fault. Whistler held up pretty well. We were knock-downed at least four times.” Cole sat on the stern, scanning the water. “It could be lots worse.”
The plastic window panes in the dodger still flapped. I gave up the search for the dinghy and worked at duct-taping the windows back in place. It made the cockpit warmer, although in a few places it was hard to see out.
“How will we get off the boat without the dinghy?” Zoë asked. “How will we get to shore? There won’t be any docks we can tie up to.”
“Guess we’ll have to swim.” Jervis leaned way over the side and tried to grab a soccer ball that was floating close to the boat.
“I guess when we get back to Seattle, there’ll be someone to help us.” Zoë glanced back the way we’d come.
Dylan, Cole, and I stared at each other. Did she really think we were headed back to Seattle?
Dylan wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Zoë, we told you from the beginning, we weren’t going back.”
“But you meant until after the tsunami. That’s all over now and we can go home.”
Nick hung his head. “Maybe we should go back. Maybe Seattle survived.”
Dylan put his hands on his hips. “No. We have to keep going south. Can’t you feel the chill? My Dad said…”
“Dylan,” I interrupted. “Let’s try the radio and see if we can get an update. Maybe we can find someone who can tell us what Seattle is like now.”
Cole gestured at the debris-strewn water. “First, we have to get the sails up. We’re wasting gas.” He moaned with pain and grabbed his head.
“Cole, you need to lie down.” A shiver ran down my spine. He needed a hospital.
“I’m fine,” Cole insisted.
Zoë, Dylan, and Nick made their way forward to work on the jib. Zoë continued arguing with Dylan. “You can’t mean it. We are going back.”
“No, Zoë––there’s nothing to go back to.”
“How do you know that?” Zoë threw Dylan’s arm off her shoulder.
Of course Zoë wanted to go home. We all did. And maybe she was right. In most disaster news stories, one area gets wiped out, while another just next door remains untouched.
I stood at the rail. “Maybe Seattle is okay? It’s far from the open ocean. Maybe…”
Cole shook his head and winced with the pain. “Seattle is gone and an ice age is coming. Dad’s counting on us. We can’t go back.”
“But?” I glanced at Takumi. He bit his lip.
The boat rolled to the side. Makala yelped from the cabin below. Jervis went to check on the girls.
The radio static came back on. “This is Angelina. Anyone, come in, please. Over!” Angelina repeated her message, we heard static, and she tried again.
I glanced back at the debris field we’d motored away from. We were drifting or being pulled to it. I wasn’t sure.
A white picket fence floated a little ways off our stern. An animal whined. I concentrated and heard it again. I scanned the wreckage.
“Takumi.” I motioned for him to join me. “Do you hear something? It kinda sounded like a dog.”
He dropped the chart he was studying. “Probably a seal.”
I nodded. Seals and dogs do sound alike.
We searched the water behind us anyway.
“Here boy, here boy!” I called.
A small dog yipped. It was definitely not a seal.
I focused on where the sound had come from. “There.” I pointed to a huge evergreen tree floating a hundred feet behind us to the left. A tiny Dachshund ran out of the branches and onto the six-foot wide trunk. Its short legs and long body kept it firmly in place.
Takumi jumped up. “I see it!”
“Cole, look. There’s a dog stranded on that floating tree.” I began unfastening the stern lifelines so I could climb down to the swim platform.
“Where?” Cole asked, narrowing his eyes as he studied the water behind us.
Dylan, Zoë, and Nick hurried to the stern.
“What’s going on?” Dylan checked the water. “Did you find the dinghy?”
Angelina’s voice carried up from below. “This is Angelina. Come in, please. Over.”
“There’s a little dog over there. In that big tree.” I squinted.
Dylan nodded. “Too bad we don’t have a way to get to it. He walked over to Cole and tapped on the broken instruments. Did he think he could tap them into working?
The dog yipped. His tail wagged.
I glared at my brothers.
“What are you talking about? Turn on the engine and back up.”
“No!” Dylan and Cole spun around at the same time.
“Look. See that.” Dylan gestured at the tree. “That’s a float. There’s a fishing net caught in the tree. There’s no way to tell where it is in the water, but we’re screwed if we get that net caught around our engine prop or rudder.”
The dog ran back into the branches and barked.
I faced Dylan. “But he’s so cute. There has to be a way.”
Nick stepped to the side of the boat. “I could sit on that drift log and paddle to the dog.”
We watched a ten-foot long smooth log float by.
“Grab it,” Cole said.
“Are you out of your mind?” Dylan snarled. “We don’t have time for this.”
Zoë scrunched up her face. “I agree with Dylan. I don’t want to share my food with a dog.”
“It’s a tiny dog. I’ll give it part of mine,” I pleaded.
“I’ll share too,” Takumi said.
Nick nodded. “Me too.”
Cole stared at the sky. It was growing dark and colder. Clouds blocked what was left of the sun. He smiled at Dylan. “You’re probably right. But there’s been so much bad news. We need something good. What could saving one little dog hurt?” He nodded at Nick. “Make it quick.”
“This is stupid.” Dylan grabbed Cole’s arm. “We’re not going to waste time and risk lives for a dog.”
Cole jerked his arm away. “You were out-voted, bro.”
They stood glowering at each o
ther. Finally Dylan lowered his gaze, huffed, and stomped back to the bow.
We used the boat hook and paddles to capture the floating log. Takumi and Nick rolled it up to the swim step.
“Okay.” Nick picked up an oar.
“Wait a minute.” Takumi’s eyebrows cinched. “If we can find another one, we could nail the table top onto both, and make a raft.”
A broken tree trunk was headed our way. Not as big around as the drift log, but close. “How about chopping some of the branches off that?” I asked the guys.
Nick brought up Mom’s table and unscrewed the folding legs. The guys tied the two logs together. I winced as Takumi pounded nails through the teak design on the table top and into the logs beneath.
When they dropped the raft into the water it was a little lopsided, but floated. I tightened Nick’s life jacket.
“Here goes nothing.” Nick took off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and stepped onto the raft.
The raft tipped back and forth.
“Sit down,” I motioned with my hands. “Sit down.”
Faster and faster the raft rocked. Nick stood, arms waving. “Ah-h-h-h,” he yelled as the raft capsized and he splashed into the icy water.
Angelina, Makala hurried up on deck. “What’s going on? Is everyone…?” Angelina shook her head at the floating wreckage around the boat. Then she saw the overturned raft.
“Nick!” she screamed.
Nick pulled himself up onto the raft and laughed. “That was smooth.” He shook the water out of his hair and smiled at Angelina. “Water’s a little chilly.”
The dog emerged from the branches again and scampered back and forth on the trunk.
Makala squealed and pointed. Jervis swung her up onto his shoulders.
Nick smiled. “Let’s try it again.” This time he sat on the swim step, scooted onto the table top, and slid to the front.
The tiny raft listed to one side. Nick leaned the opposite way and reached back to the table top to steady himself. He paddled slowly across the gentle ocean swells.
A loud thump rocked Whistler and Dylan scrambled forward to shove a plastic storage shed away from the hull. We were back in the debris field.
“I’m staying on the bow to keep watch. Let me know how Nick is doing.” He picked up the boat hook.
Makala squared her shoulders and nodded at Dylan. After a few moments she called to him in her high little voice. “Nick almost slid off, but he’s okay now.”
Dylan shoved part of a shake roof away.
Makala began to bounce. “He made it. He’s tying the boat to the tree.”
The little dog barked and spun in circles.
“The puppy is barking. He’s happy to see Nick.” Makala turned back to watch the rescue. “Oh, no! Nick called to him, but the dog ran away. It’s hiding in the bushes.” Makala jumped and almost fell. “A wave just hit the raft. Nick’s feet are in the water… It’s okay. He’s in the tree now.”
Dylan hurried back to the stern. “No wreckage around for the moment. You can just watch.” He patted Makala’s head. “Thanks for the updates.”
Angelina and I grinned at each other. Nick crawled along the floating evergreen tree. He pushed aside large limbs and disappeared into the branches.
“Gotcha.” He emerged holding the wet dog away from him. It squirmed and tried to lick his face. Finally he gave up and cradled it in one arm. “You’re welcome, you’re welcome,” he laughed.
Makala screamed. “He’s got it, Sissy. He saved the puppy.”
Nick leaned way out and sat the dog on the table top. A breeze swept over us. The dog cowered and shook. Nick climbed alongside the dog and paddled back. The dog snuggled as close to Nick as he could. Nick shivered too. I ran to get a couple of towels.
Angelina hurried down the swim platform.
Makala raced to the stern rail. “Can I see the puppy? Can I?”
Nick held the dog in one hand and climbed aboard our boat. Angelina wrapped a towel around his shoulders. They stood close together.
“I was so frightened…” Angelina touched his cheek.
Nick shrugged. “I’m fine.”
“Can I see it?” Makala pulled on Angelina’s sleeve.
I handed Nick another towel. He enveloped the quivering dog and handed it to Makala. “It’s your dog now.” He glanced nervously at Angelina. “If it’s okay with your sister, that is.”
“Mine?” Makala squealed. The towel fell and the dog buried its head in her neck. Makala looked up at her sister. “Sissy, can I…?”
“If it’s okay to have dog on board.” Angelina looked at Dylan.
The dog licked Makala’s face and she giggled.
Dylan eyed Cole and threw up his hands. “I was out-voted. We don’t have any dog food or a place for it to pee, but what the hell. Just keep it off my bed.”
The dog whimpered and shook again.
“Don’t be scared. He’s not a bad man,” Makala whispered. Angelina picked up the towel, grinned at Dylan, and stole the dog from her sister. “Come on, Makala. Let’s go below and clean your puppy up.”
I gave Dylan a hug. “She’s right, you know. You’re not such a bad man.”
Chapter Seventeen
We floated in the debris field. Dylan stomped around and checked his cell: Still no service.
“We’re running out of time. Can’t you feel it? The cold? We have to start heading south.” He untangled lines and tried again and again to raise the sails, cursing every time he failed. The ropes were snarled up at the top of the mast. Everything he did made the problem worse.
Cole and Takumi’s heads were bent over the sea charts, looking for clues to where we might be. Below deck the dog barked excitedly, and Makala laughed.
Nick rubbed the towel over his head and studied the water. “On the way back I was thinking. Maybe we should gather up some of this stuff. The fishing net might come in handy. And we could empty out some of the plastic bins to carry water or supplies back to the boat when we go ashore.”
It was a great idea.
Dylan stared up at the mast and pulled a red line. “Our first priority is the sails.”
“Takumi and I can get the net,” I said before I had a chance to think.
Takumi grinned.
Dylan swore at the sail, tossed the line down on the deck, and clamped it off. “Fine.”
Nick hoisted Dylan up to the top of the mast in the boson chair while Takumi and I paddled back to the tree. It was eerie how calm the seas were. I watched the gentle swells raise and lower the floats in the net as we approached. The seas wouldn’t stay this calm for long.
Freezing water from the paddle splashed my leg and I gasped. Dylan was right. The wind had a chill to it that hadn’t been there just a day before. I held onto Takumi, as much for warmth, as affection.
“This is nice,” Takumi whispered.
I rested my head on his back. “Beats the bathroom, but can you turn the heat up?”
“Wish I could.”
The net was tangled in the tree’s branches. Takumi climbed on to the trunk to loosen it. He was only gone a few minutes when he called from deep within the tree’s foliage.
“Toni, come help me.”
“What’s wrong?” I tied the raft to a strong branch. ”Where are you?” I couldn’t believe he could disappear so quickly.
“Over here.” He parted a couple of huge limbs, and waved his arm.
I crawled until I found him perched in the ‘v’ of the trunk. “Is everything okay?” I searched his face.
He took my hand and pulled me to him.
“What are you doing?” I protested.
He held a finger to his lips to shush me. “Just breathe.”
“Toni!” Cole called. “Toni!”
“The net’s stuck. We’re working on it,” I yelled back to Whistler.
I glanced around and inhaled the piney aroma of the tree. It smelled like the forest behind my house and Christmas. Light filtered through the long nee
dles. It was magical. The tree rocked in the gentle ocean swells and for a few short moments I forgot all about the horrors of the last two days.
Then almost everyone from the sailboat began calling for us. I sighed. The spell was broken.
“Thanks. That was so pretty,” I told Takumi as we climbed out of the tree. We freed the net and dropped it on the raft. It had only a few gaping holes. I figured we could fix those with fishing line.
“Where did you go?” Dylan stood back on deck with his hands on his hips.
“Couldn’t get the net loose.” I stared longingly back at the tree. Takumi squeezed my hand and paddled back toward Whistler. I searched for floating bins.
We snagged the first one we came to. It was full of family photos and old novels. I dumped the photos into the water, but saved the books. The pictures floated, and then, one by one, sank into the sea.
A baby’s first birthday. Gone.
A little boy crying on Santa’s lap. Gone.
An old man and smiling children with fishing poles. Gone.
“This is so wrong,” I whispered. Mom stored our photos and keepsakes in bins just like these. Was the record of my family floating out to sea too?
I reached for a red and green bin. Setting aside a tiny decorated Christmas tree, I tossed the rest. For a while snowmen and plastic poinsettias drifted away from us.
The third bin was stuffed with snow boots, gloves, and hats.
“We might need these. If the stuff doesn’t fit anyone, we can always dump it later.” Takumi put the full bin on the barge. “Let’s go back. We’re out of room.”
Angry voices floated over the water. Takumi paddled faster.
“I don’t care what she says!” Zoë flailed her arms.
Dylan hung his head.
“What’s going on?” I pushed a bin aside so I could see well enough.
“Angelina found a message from the President on the radio,” Dylan said.
“What’d she say?” My heart beat faster.
Dylan rubbed Zoë’s back as she sobbed. “You can hear for yourself when you get back. Hurry. The sails are ready.”
Chapter Eighteen
Eleven and a Half Days to Go