Beached

by Brenda Beem

  “I don’t know where your daughter is.” Nick paced back and forth. “She and Takumi went kayaking and haven’t come back.” He faced the doctor. “I’m sure they’re okay, though.”

  “First you take two of our men, now the doctor’s daughter?” A woman with a whiny voice poked Nick in the chest with her long fingernail.

  Kat hissed, “I’m going to diffuse this. Stay here.”

  I swallowed my clever comeback, and moved behind a boulder.

  Kat stepped into the center of the group gathered around the fire. “What’s going on?”

  “Kat? Where ha… have you been?” Kat’s dad raced to hug her in his too thin arms.

  “I told you we were going kayaking,” she replied in an annoyed tone. “We just got back.”

  “Where’s that Asian boy?” an older man with a huge pot-belly said behind her.

  “He’s Japanese-American.” Kat glared at the man. “Takumi stayed on the beach to gather firewood. There’s lots of new debris down there.” Kat nodded at Nick and Angelina. Makala smiled shyly. Boots wagged his tail and struggled to greet her.

  “See! I told you they were stealing all the firewood. I haven’t found a piece to burn since they arrived,” a gray-haired woman cried.

  “I still don’t know why everyone’s here.” Kat stood with her hands on her hips.

  Jeremy, who was Sophia’s father, stepped forward. “Hand over your gun before someone gets hurt.”

  “We told you. We left our pistol on the boat.” Angelina’s eyes narrowed.

  Makala hung her head. “Sissy! Mommy said we shouldn’t never lie!”

  Jeremy went down on one knee in front of Makala. “Sweetie, do you know where the gun is?”

  Angelina squeezed Makala’s shoulder. “Don’t say another word.”

  “Makala, look at me,” Jeremy demanded.

  Makala looked at her sister. Angelina shook her head.

  Jeremy cleared his throat and said in a friendlier voice, “We‘re starting a little school. Do you want to go to pre-school with Sophia?”

  Makala grinned. “Can I, Sissy? Can I go to school?”

  Angelina handed Boots to Nick, hefted her sister up into her arms, and headed to her tent. “Stop trying to bribe my sister, you jerk.”

  Boots growled at Jeremy.

  Jeremy kept his eyes on Makala. “Sweetheart, tell me where the gun is, and you and Sophia can go play.”

  Makala slowly turned her head, and stared at a hollow stump she and Angelina were passing by.

  Jeremy jumped to his feet and sprinted for the stump. Nick shoved the dog at Kat and ran for it too. Both arrived at the same time, body-slammed one another, and fell to the ground. A couple of big guys from the island ran towards them.

  My pulse raced. I had to help. I ran through the dark bushes, tripped on a root, and moaned with pain as I went down.

  Makala began screaming. Jeremy and one of the big guys held Nick. The second guy dug in the hollow of the stump and pulled out a plastic bag that contained the gun.

  Makala cried hysterically.

  “You got what you came for, now leave!” Angelina cuddled Makala close.

  Kat zipped Boots into a tent, turned, and walked up to the guys holding Nick. “What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?”

  Nick struggled to get free.

  Jeremy pointed the gun at Nick, then spun around and aimed at the tree I hid behind. “Dude in the trees, come out or I’ll shoot your friend.”

  “Dad, do something!” Kat cried.

  Kat’s dad held out his hand. “I think you sh-should give the gun to me, son.”

  Jeremy ignored the doctor and stared at my hiding place. “I’m going to count to ten. One…”

  I limped into the clearing. Jeremy jerked the hat off my head, and turned the gun on me.

  “You’re not the Asian dude. Tell me where he is. Now!”

  Jeremy and I glared at one another.

  A guy I didn’t know stared out at the bay. “White sails. The sailboat’s back.”

  “Just in time,” Jeremy smirked.

  The islanders hurried to the cliff’s edge and stared down at the sailboat rapidly approaching the beach.

  Jeremy swooped in and snatched Makala from Angelina’s arms. He aimed the gun at Makala’s head.

  Angelina screamed, “Makala!”

  The group on the beach gasped.

  “Dude! Not cool!” a young man cried.

  A woman yelled, “Put that gun down, Jeremy. Now!”

  “Jeremy! Don’t do this!” Jeremy’s wife grabbed his arm and tugged on it.

  Jeremy turned to his wife, still holding Makala fast. “Go to our campsite and pack our things. We’re trading these kids for the boat.”

  “You’re threatening Makala with a gun.” His wife slugged his shoulder.

  “We’re leaving on that sailboat. Go pack our things,” Jeremy said.

  “I don’t want to have any part of this!” Sophia’s mother cried.

  “I’m not letting my daughter grow up sleeping in the dirt. I asked these guys if we could leave with them. They told me, no. They had their chance. With that boat we can sail to South America. We can make a new life for ourselves.”

  “We can’t make a new life by destroying the lives of others,” Sophia’s mother argued.

  “Go pack. Come or don’t. I’m taking Sophia.”

  Sophia’s mother glared at Jeremy. She reached down to pick up her daughter.

  “Sophia stays with me,” Jeremy spat.

  “You’d risk her too?” Sophia’s mother’s shoulders slumped. “Jeremy, what’s wrong with you!”

  Jeremy gestured for her to go.

  She slowly walked away, pausing to look back at her daughter and Makala every few feet.

  “Mommy!” Sophia screamed.

  Makala struggled in Jeremy’s arms and whimpered.

  A young couple standing at the edge of camp stepped forward. “We came here to make sure the gun didn’t fall into the wrong hands.” The young woman stared at Jeremy. “You’re the wrong hands. Put the gun down before someone gets hurt.”

  “Enough!” Jeremy turned in a slow circle, the pistol still pointed at Makala. “Listen up! I’m going down to the beach and tell the kids on that boat that if they want their friends back, they’ll have to give us the sailboat. Anyone who helps me can come with us. If you try and stop me, the girl gets hurt.”

  The young couple shook their heads and backed away.

  “Help us!” I pleaded.

  A man with a beer belly shook his finger at me. “This is your fault. You brought the gun to our island.”

  My mouth dropped open. “The convicts brought a gun here. If we hadn’t shown up, they would have made your lives miserable.”

  A young man with a beard stepped toward Jeremy. “Come on, bro. Hand over the gun.”

  Jeremy aimed at the sand in front of the young man and pulled the trigger.

  I held my hands over my ears.

  Makala and Sophia screamed.

  Jeremy turned the gun on the young man. “If you aren’t with me, you should leave.”

  The young man raised his hands in the air. Most of the group gathered on the beach followed his example. After a few minutes, one by one they left.

  Kat, her father, and six of the younger guys stayed. The young guys shifted from one foot to another. I wanted to scream. We’d saved these people from the convicts. We’d risked our lives for them.

  Jeremy signaled for us to start moving. “Head to the beach. I’ll follow with Makala… Anyone makes a wrong move, the girl gets a bullet.” Kat and her father started down the path. Four island guys followed after them. Two held tightly onto Nick’s arms. Angelina stayed close to Jeremy and Makala.

  Sophia clung to her father’s leg.

  “You!” Jeremy pointed the gun at me. “Take my daughter’s hand and make sure she doesn’t fall.”

  I reached for Sophia. She screamed, “Mommy!” and darted off into the
woods before I could grab her.

  “Stop her!” Jeremy yelled at me.

  “No!” Sophia’s mother arrived back in the clearing. “I heard the gunshot. I’ll find her. We’ll meet you on the beach.”

  Jeremy stared at his wife. “If you don’t show up, I’ll come looking for you. Don’t let that happen.”

  She took off after her daughter. “Sophia, it’s Mommy. Where are you?” Her cries grew faint as she moved farther and farther away.

  While we hiked down the steep path, we peeked through openings in the trees and brush, and watched Whistler’s progress. I kept shaking my head. How had my plan failed so badly?

  When we got to the beach, I couldn’t take my eyes off Whistler. It was sailing too fast. It should have lowered its sails and needed to drop anchor.

  I limped faster. “Kat, they aren’t slowing down. Something’s wrong.” Kat and I began to run. The others followed close behind.

  “Slow down!” Jeremy yelled. I didn’t know if he was talking to me or to the boat. I ignored him and moved as fast as my ankle would allow. When we got to the shore, I stared in horror. The sails were still up. The boat was headed straight for the beach.

  Without thinking, I limped into the water and headed to the spot where Whistler would crash. Kat and her dad pulled me back. “You can’t stop the boat!”

  “It’s going to hit the beach! We have to do something.” I screamed. “Dylan! Takumi! Drop the sails!”

  No one answered. I could see people on deck, but it was so dark, I couldn’t tell who.

  Whistler was only a few yards off the beach.

  A shot rang out from the boat.

  Loud voices began arguing.

  Dylan yelled, “Grab the day anchor!”

  Whistler kept coming.

  The sails were still up.

  The hull of the boat hit the rocky shore.

  There was a terrible crunching sound. The bow was held fast.

  Whistler was beached.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The shoreline was in chaos. Jeremy held Makala under his arm and aimed the gun at me, at the boat, then back at me. Nick yelled and struggled to break free from the guys holding him. Makala kicked and flailed her arms.

  “Let her go.” Angelina edged closer to Makala.

  Jeremy turned the gun on her. “Back off,” he growled.

  Two guys held onto Nick. The four remaining island guys, Kat, her dad, and I sloshed around in ankle-deep water and stared in horror. The boat was stuck, bow first, up on the shore. The keel was dug in, and Whistler was heeled over almost thirty degrees, although water still surrounded the mid-ship and stern.

  How had this happened? “Dylan! Takumi!” I screamed.

  “We’re all okay. Give us a minute,” Dylan yelled back.

  Jeremy ran down to the shoreline with Makala under his arm. “It’s beached,” he bellowed, then turned to me. “You and your brother! You did this on purpose.”

  I shook my head, speechless.

  “You’ve ruined everything.” He marched back and forth, huffing and puffing.

  “Get a grip.” I found my voice. “I don’t know what happened, but I know Dylan would never do this to our family’s boat.”

  Whistler was so close, I could now make out the people onboard. Takumi leaned on the mast and held a gun on two guys huddled on the bow. Their backs were to us, but they had to be the ‘B’s’.

  Dylan lowered the main and wrapped lines around the sail to keep it folded onto the mast. The jib fluttered back and forth and made a terrible noise. I didn’t see Zoë anywhere.

  “Toni?” Dylan began rolling in the jib. “What’s going on?”

  Jeremy grabbed my arm. “I’ve got a gun aimed at Makala and your sister. Get that boat off the beach. Now!”

  “Toni! Are you okay?” Takumi stepped to the rail.

  “I’m fine.” I shook Jeremy’s hand loose.

  Dylan tied the jib in place and moved beside Takumi. I could see them whispering.

  Dylan gestured at the guys on the bow. “Brad and Banks beached the boat. They jumped me and took over sailing. Jeremy, if you want to blame someone, blame them. There’s nothing I can do now. We’ll have to wait until the tide comes in. Then hope it’ll float off.”

  “We have a gun too, and it’s pointing at Banks and Brad.” Takumi went back to leaning on the mast. “Give us our friends, and we’ll give you, yours.”

  “You said they’re responsible for crashing the boat. They get what they deserve,” Jeremy cried.

  “So, we can just shoot your friends?” Dylan sounded incredulous.

  Banks and Brad hunched over even farther.

  Jeremy looked back at the path to camp and then the boat. “I don’t want anyone injured, but I’ll do whatever it takes to get off this island.”

  Dylan took the gun from Takumi. “The boat isn’t going anywhere until high-tide. Are you just going to stand around for eight hours?” When there was no answer he continued. “It’s getting cold. At least let Makala come onboard and get warm.”

  “Let all the girls go. I’ll stay. I’ll be your hostage,” Nick offered.

  “We wait for the tide.” Jeremy shifted Makala to his other arm and faced the four young men still hanging around. “Guys! Make a fire.” He leveled the pistol at Whistler. “Dylan, if you try anything, I’ll start shooting.”

  “Dude, this is going too far,” a young man in a cowboy hat said, and stepped away. “The boat’s beached. Give it up.”

  “The tide will free it,” Jeremy insisted.

  “I’m outta here.” The cowboy put his hands in the air and walked away.

  Another guy mouthed, “Sorry,” and followed him.

  Two of Jeremy’s friends tied Nick’s hands together with a plastic bag, pushed Nick onto an upside-down bin, and perched on a log behind him.

  The islanders who were not guarding Nick collected wood and dried seaweed. In no time, a large smoky fire was ablaze. I was chilled and held my hands out to the flames. But the warmth didn’t make me feel any better. Whistler was stuck. There might be cracks or a big hole in the hull. And Jeremy was starting to lose it. Waiting would only make him worse.

  Jeremy cradled Makala and sat on the edge of a partially destroyed wooden rowboat near the fire. Makala cried herself to sleep. Kat and her father huddled together on a beached tree.

  We settled in to wait for the tide. Time seemed to stand still.

  I rested my head in my hands and closed my eyes. I tried to think of a way to end the standoff, but couldn’t. We seemed to be in gun-related conflicts a lot. Were the pacifists right? Were our guns the reason we were threatened everywhere we went?

  I opened my eyes and checked on Dylan. He was waving the gun around as he talked with his hands. He’d never even held a gun before this journey.

  I thought back on our trip. Back on all we’d gone through. Without Angelina’s gun, our voyage would have failed. We’d have lost the boat to the sailors––and if not to them, then the motorcycle gang. It made me sad to think how much control the gun seemed to have over our lives.

  Zoë appeared on the boat deck with an arm full of blankets. She even handed a couple to the ‘B’ guys and spoke in a quiet voice to Dylan. I realized I hadn’t seen Takumi on Whistler’s deck for a while.

  “Is Takumi feeling okay?” I tried to keep the worry out of my voice.

  Zoë glanced at Dylan, then called back, “He’s making dinner.”

  Dinner! I couldn’t remember when I’d eaten last. I plopped back down. My stomach rumbled. My mouth was dry. I needed to go to the bathroom.

  The tide had only just started to change.

  We had at least six hours to go.

  Makala whimpered and sucked her thumb in her sleep. I’d almost woken her. Kat and her father threw some wood on the fire.

  “Doc! Kat! I’m surprised you stayed to help me,” Jeremy whispered.

  Kat squeezed her father’s hand before he could respond. “We want to get off th
is island too.”

  Jeremy snarled. “Let’s hope those idiots haven’t ruptured the hull. We’ll find out soon enough.”

  I bit my lip. Nick kicked the sand and pebbles at his feet.

  “Knock it off!” One of his guards gripped his shoulder.

  We watched and waited. I tried to doze. Makala slept.

  The sea came farther and farther up the beach. The stern of the boat bounced with the gentle waves, but the hull and bow were still held fast.

  A gust of wind blew sparks from the fire toward Kat and the doctor. They hopped up and brushed the embers off their clothes.

  I checked on the boat. If the wind or tide pushed it broadside onto the beach, it would roll onto its side, and we’d never get it off. But so far, the anchor Dylan had thrown off the back was holding the stern in place. The boat remained perpendicular to the shore.

  Jeremy kept checking the trail for his wife and daughter. Finally, he sent two of the island guys to find them. Our numbers were improving. Now there was only Jeremy and the guys guarding Nick. I could tell Nick and Angelina were thinking the same thing, but with Nick tied up, I didn’t have a clue what we could do. Besides, we couldn’t risk Makala.

  Time dragged on.

  I checked my watch. We’d been sitting, doing nothing for almost four hours. I popped up and told Jeremy he could shoot me if he needed to, but I couldn’t hold it any longer: I was headed to the bushes. Jeremy scowled, then ordered Kat to guard me.

  Kat leaned on a tree with her back to me while I did my business.

  “What kind of game are you playing?” I asked.

  “Game?” Kat replied.

  “You told Jeremy you’d help him.” I zipped up my jeans.

  “That’s what he heard. What I said was that I wanted to leave the island. I do. Dad and I are here to help you. Believe it, or not.”

  “Kat! Toni!” a voice whispered from behind a nearby tree.

  I jumped. “Who’s there?”

  “Shusssh!” Takumi stepped out from behind a tree.

  I wanted to throw myself into his arms, but held back. He was dripping wet. I stared at his skin-tight rubber outfit and ace-bandaged foot. The wet suit! He was wearing the wet suit I’d loaded in Seattle. I’d forgotten we even had one.