by Brenda Beem
I motioned for him to sit in the dry area next to me. “I was angry. I didn’t want to let go of Cole. I still don’t. And I hated that muddy and awful place.”
Takumi scooted closer. Our legs touched, and even through the layers of clothing, I felt a connection, a sense of longing. I cleared my throat and continued. “But as I watched you guys honor him, I realized that after all we’ve gone through, we’re like a family now too.”
Takumi put his free arm around me and pulled me close.
“Dylan and I saw it all from the deck of that fancy yacht. We couldn’t hear anything, but the sight of the raft on fire was lovely.”
Takumi grinned. “The paper flowers were Angelina and Makala’s idea. They needed to do something to thank him.”
“Dylan said he and Cole used to give a similar service to their action figures when they died as heroes. He thought Cole would have liked it.”
“I’m glad.” Takumi checked the sails then came back.
I rested my head on his shoulder. The rain slowed to a drizzle. Then the drizzle stopped. I peered towards where the shoreline should be but a thick fog blocked our view.
Takumi jumped up and hurried to the wheel. A wooden porch floated past us.
He adjusted the wheel one way and then the other. We were in another debris field.
Takumi came back to the bench and we snuggled. I thought about what Dylan had said about the island. I couldn’t wait to get off the boat.
We pulled apart when Zoë appeared on deck and asked for more ice.
“Angelina?” I scooped up the last of the slushy ice and handed it down.
“I don’t know.” Zoë was exhausted. “I’m terrified she’s going to …”
“Let’s try Jervis’ medicine,” I interrupted.
“It’s only been fermenting a day and a half.” Zoë stared at me. “He said it took three days.”
“But what can it hurt?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. Her wound doesn’t look good. And we’re out of Neosporin.” Tears dripped down Zoë’s cheeks. “I don’t know what to do.”
For the first time ever, I felt sorry for Zoë.
I hugged her and was surprised she didn’t pull back. “No one expects you to perform miracles. But we have to do something. Didn’t Jervis say all she needed to take is a shot glass full? And that moldy water won’t hurt her? There’s a lot of water in the jar. We can keep growing it, but maybe there’s enough penicillin in there now to help her, even if it’s just a little. What do we have to lose?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve managed to get her to swallow water. I’ll try it.” Zoë left with the pan of ice.
I felt so helpless. I crossed my fingers that Jervis’ medicine would work as I took the wheel. Angelina had to get better. She just had to.
Takumi decided to start a fire. He had to dig out the last of the dry wood from the storage locker. More debris floated around us and I swerved a couple of times. Even while standing out at the wheel, I felt warmer. The chilly bite in the air was gone. I checked my cell. It was four in the morning.
Takumi got a small fire going but felt he should to stand and drive. The fog was closing in. It was hard to see ahead and maneuver through all the floating wreckage. I missed having him next to me.
Dylan climbed out on deck and scowled. “You guys drunk or something?”
I gestured out at the water. “There’s a lot of floating junk.”
Dylan stood at the rail and squinted toward the mainland. “We must be close to a big city.”
“Go back to bed. I won’t hit any floating skyscrapers,” Takumi promised.
“Okay. I’m just waiting for Zoë. She’s been with Angelina most of the night. I’m not sure who I’m more worried about, Zoë or Angelina. I don’t think Zoë could forgive herself if Angelina…”
“Jervis’ moldy tea is going to help her. I know it.” I stirred the fire. “I’ll go down and see if she needs help.”
Nick was climbing on the steps as I started down. I moved aside to let him by.
He stood for a few moments at the cockpit opening. “Head to shore.” He pointed Angelina’s gun at Takumi.
Chapter Forty
Two Days Late to Find Dad
I stared in disbelief. Takumi’s mouth hung open.
“What the hell?” Dylan scowled.
Nick held the gun in his shaking hand. “Angelina needs a hospital. We’re off the California coast. There has to be lots of towns on the shore. I’m not going to sit by and let her die.”
Dylan clenched and unclenched his fingers. “Look! I have no idea what the shoreline is like. It’s suicide to get too close when we don’t know where we are.”
“No more talk. Change course. Due east.” Nick swung the gun from Dylan to me and back again. “Give the order.”
I felt totally helpless. This couldn’t be the Nick I’d known my whole life.
“Don’t be stupid. I know you won’t kill anyone.” Dylan edged closer to Nick.
“Dylan,” I whispered.
“You’re right. I won’t kill you, but I will hurt you. Or better yet, I could shoot your sister.” He turned the gun back on me. “Then you’d need to find a hospital, too.”
Dylan froze. “Put that gun down.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw the top of Jervis’s head at the bottom of the stairs. I forced myself not to stare in his direction.
Nick motioned to Dylan. “Move the sail. Takumi, adjust the heading. Do it, or I’ll shoot Toni in the leg.” He aimed the gun at my thigh.
Dylan growled. “Don’t you…”
Takumi gripped the wheel, crouched like a tiger ready to pounce. His eyes met mine. I motioned ‘wait’ with my hand at my side and hoped he saw it.
“Change course, now!” Nick waved the gun. His hand shook so hard I thought he might drop it.
Takumi swung the wheel far to the right. The boat heeled over and rocked. Jervis rushed the stairs and tackled Nick. They both crashed face first onto the deck. The gun went flying. It bounced off the cockpit bench and onto the toe rail. Jervis straddled Nick. Takumi let go of the wheel and leapt for the gun. He caught it seconds before it fell into the ocean.
The boat shook and the sounds of wood splitting and cracking roared in our ears. The boom flew through the air across the stern. Dylan and I ducked just in time. When we stood up, the small sail in the bow, the jib, was tangled around itself. The main sail was hanging still on the wrong side of the boat.
We’d hit something. We’d lost control of the sails. Nick tried to shoot me. My heart raced.
“Move.” Dylan brushed past me and grabbed the wheel. “Toni, get some line out to tie Nick up with. Takumi, check the damage and see if you can untangle the jib. I’ll turn us into the wind.”
I dug out a rope. My hands trembled. The dangling line danced in the breeze.
Takumi ran to the bow and peered over the starboard side. “We hit some kind of shed.” He checked the port hull. “There are dents and scratches. I can’t see below the water line.”
I took a deep breath and handed the line to Jervis. “Tie his hands behind his back and take him below.”
Takumi handed the gun to me. I pointed the gun at Nick while Jervis secured his hands.
Nick remained silent, his head bowed. When Jervis hauled him up, Nick glared at Dylan. “If she dies, I’m going to make you pay.”
Jervis shook his head. “Dude, don’t you know we’d all do anything to help Angelina? But smashing into cliffs won’t help. Look what almost happened. Now, move.”
Zoë called out. “What’s going on up there?”
When she came up, Takumi told her about Nick and the gun. She was stunned. “I can’t believe Nick would do that. Did Nick cause that crash too? It sounded like the boat was coming apart.”
“We lost control for a moment. Will you check under the floor boards and make sure we aren’t leaking?”
“No sign of water under the floor,” Zoe said when sh
e came back up. “Makala came out of the cabin while Jervis was bringing Nick down the stairs. Jervis told Makala that Nick made a mistake and needed a time out. She seemed to buy it, although, if he stays tied up too long, she’s going to be upset.”
I dropped the gun into my lap. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”
“Well, it’s our turn on deck now.” Zoë watched Dylan pull the main around.
Takumi gave a final tug and the jib came free.
I touched Zoë’s arm. “It stopped raining. We’re fine up here for a while longer. Why don’t you two go below and rest. We’ll come get you if we get tired.”
I handed the gun to Dylan.
“Thanks.” Zoë dragged Dylan down the stairs. “I’ll give Angelina more of the moldy water and then go to bed.”
“Do you think Nick would have really shot me?” I asked Takumi as soon as Dylan and Zoë were out of sight.
“I doubt the gun was even loaded. Remember, Angelina emptied out all the bullets.” Takumi stood behind me at the wheel.
“I’m not so sure. He could have reloaded it. She has a box of bullets.”
“Nick is beyond tired and not thinking straight. I’m sure he never wanted to hurt you. He thinks Angelina’s only chance is to find a hospital.”
“What if he’s right?”
“You saw what towns look like now. I’m sure any city on the coast we find will be a wreck. And worse, there are a lot of people living along the California shoreline. Many of them will be desperate. Taking Angelina ashore might get her and everyone with her killed.”
“What about my parents. Do you think they’ll make it?”
“I don’t know anything more than you do about what it’s like on the mainland. I just hope Jervis’ potion works. We’ll be better off waiting for cell service or your parents to show up, on the island. I don’t think wandering around a city the size of Santa Barbara is a good idea.”
I stirred the fire and added a piece of damp wood. Smoke bellowed out from the flames. Takumi managed to snag a few pieces of the shed we’d smashed into and sat them on top of the cabin to dry. Then he went below and came back with the kettle and leftover cold pancakes.
“Both Jervis and Nick are already asleep. I checked again for water under the floor. We aren’t leaking. Zoë said Angelina woke up and complained she had a terrible taste in her mouth.”
“I bet.” I grimaced at the thought of drinking the green moldy water. “She woke up. That’s good, right?”
“Zoë thinks her fever has gone down a little.”
Angelina’s waking up had to mean she was getting better. The moldy water must be helping. I had to focus on something good. Our little group was breaking up. Zoë was talking to me, but might never like me. Nick tried to shoot me. Angelina was sick. We were all exhausted and cold.
“Sunny California!” I studied the low clouds, hoping they would part and I would see stars. But the mist just got thicker and lower and sometimes even floated on top of the water. “What do you think of the island?”
“What do you mean?” Takumi passed a cold pancake to me.
“Do you think we should go there?” I rolled the pancake up and took a bite.
“I think it’s a good choice.” Takumi shrugged. “But a lot depends on what we find when we get there. I wish I had the Internet and could look it up.”
“What did the book say?”
Takumi shoved a whole pancake in his mouth and took his time chewing and swallowing. “Not much. It’s a tourist book. People go there to hike and camp.” Takumi thought for a moment. “It has fresh water. That’s huge.”
I blew on my tea. “Sounds good to me. Especially if what you say about the danger in cities is true.” I shuddered remembering the bikers in Grays Harbor.
“It’s probably safer than anything else I’ve heard of this far north.” Takumi peered around the sail. “I can barely see past the bow of the boat. The fog is getting worse.” He rubbed his arms. “I’m so tired of being cold. Part of me wishes were heading to some tropical island, somewhere really warm.”
I smiled. He and I even thought alike.
“But then we’d never know when cell service came back. We’d never find our families.” I put another piece of wood on the fire.
Takumi drank some tea. “I’m not going to hear from my family.”
“You don’t know that.”
“All the cities in Japan were destroyed. Only the highest mountain regions could have survived.”
I moved beside him at the wheel and touched his arm. “Your parents might have gotten a flight out. You don’t know.”
“You’re right. I don’t know anything for sure.” He finished the last of his tea. “You and your brother are planning to head back and rescue your family, wherever they are, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “As soon as Dad tells us where to pick them up, we’re off.”
“What about Zoë?”
The boat rocked and I gripped the overhead dodger. “I guess that depends on what she hears from her family. They were in Hawaii. Everything on those islands was wiped out too. She’ll probably end up coming with us.” I wondered why I didn’t tell him she might be pregnant.
Takumi glanced at me, then out at sea. “Do you think I can stay with you, too?”
I smiled. “Of course you can. Like I said before, we’re a family now.”
“I told you. I don’t want to be like a brother.”
I giggled. “I hope not.” I giggled again then snorted. I hated that I snorted when I laughed.
Takumi drew my face up to his. “Toni. I want to be with you. I think…I think I love you.”
I pulled his face down closer to mine. “I…”
He stepped back. “Do you hear that? Listen.”
“What?” I stood shocked, my hand poised in the air, my words left unsaid. Then I too heard the sound of crashing surf.
Takumi leapt to the top of the captain’s seat and peered out over the dodger. “Get everyone up here. Those are huge breakers. We’re close to land.”
Chapter Forty-One
Fog
I raced down the stairs two at a time. “Wake up! Everyone on deck.”
Jervis and Nick woke with a start. Nick struggled to stand. His arms were still tied behind his back. We hit a swell and he fell back on the couch.
I pounded on the front bedroom door.
Dylan moaned, “What now?”
“We can hear waves crashing. There’s so much fog, we can’t see. We’re close to land.”
His eyes grew huge and he rushed past me up the steps without putting on shoes or grabbing a coat.
Jervis started getting dressed. “What about Nick?”
I put my hands on my hips. “Nick, do you promise not threaten us again?”
Nick bowed his head. “I promise. Untie me.”
Dylan yelled from up top. “We’ve dropped the sails. We need everyone’s eyes and ears.”
I motioned to Jervis. “Go! I’ll take care of Nick.” Jervis grabbed Nick by his arms. Nick moaned with pain.
“Dude! Keep your promise.” Jervis held Nick suspended in the air, shoved him onto the couch, and left.
Zoë leaned on the door frame. Her hair stuck out in all directions.
“What?” she asked.
“We can hear breakers, but can’t see land.” I untied Nick. He rubbed his arms then ran past me to the stairs.
Zoe disappeared into the cabins. In seconds, she was back, dressed for the cold with Dylan’s coat and boots in her arms.
Makala stood in her pajamas, cradling Boots. “We wanna help.”
“Get some warm clothes on, but wait until I tell you it’s safe to come up.”
I started up the steps, but paused in front of the tool drawer where the gun was hidden. Had Nick really planned to shoot me? I found the handgun under some maps and checked the cylinder. There were no bullets in any of them. I sighed with relief and shoved the gun back in the drawer.
When I
got on deck, Zoë was standing at the rail pointing out. “There! The waves are crashing over there.”
Takumi leaned out on the tip of the bow. “I can’t tell.”
Jervis gestured at the side opposite Zoë. “I think the sounds are coming from that direction.”
Whistler was adrift. Waves were crashing on a beach somewhere close by. The sound seemed to be growing louder. I walked around the boat listening for some clue to where the danger was coming from.
The fog grew thicker and thicker. After a short while I couldn’t see the front of the boat from where I stood at the back.
Makala called out, “Toni. I’m ready.”
“It’s too foggy right now, Makala. I’ll be down when we can see better,” I told her.
“Shush.” Zoë held her finger to her lips. “We can’t hear.”
The crashing waves grew louder.
“Dylan!” I cried.
“I don’t know what to do.” He eyes were wide with fear.
Whistler healed slightly over. I spun and studied the water behind us. The boat was leaving a wake. We were moving forward.
“We’re being pushed by the current.” I pointed to the left side of the boat.
“Anyone see land?” Dylan yelled.
Jervis called out from the bow. “Sounds like the waves are breaking right in front of me.”
“But the mainland should be over there.” Dylan pointed to the left and tapped the compass.
Takumi yelled and gestured widely. “There’s a rock! To the left of us.”
Dylan swore, bent down and flipped on the engine. “Hold on, everyone. I’m putting her in reverse.”
I yelled for Makala to hold on and crossed my fingers. Was reverse the right direction? I peered down at sea behind us.
“Another rock!” Takumi pointed to the right.
Dylan swore again. “Toni, anything behind us?”
“All clear as far as I can tell,” I yelled.
We held our breath. The sound of the surf seemed to be growing softer, but with the engine on, I couldn’t be sure.
“Look!” Zoë screamed.
I swiveled. The fog off the bow of the boat was starting to clear. A huge mass of rocks seemed to rise from the sea. We had been seconds from crashing into it.