Beached

by Brenda Beem

  I wanted to argue, but knew he was right. The water under the hull was growing deeper.

  I went back to my job. All of a sudden I felt the boat break free. We were afloat. I dropped the depth finder, and called out, “Six feet four inches. Six feet eight inches… Dylan, we got it. Seven feet.”

  “Okay. I’m going to start the engine. Cross your fingers.” Dylan put the key in the ignition. “Keep an eye on the stern anchor. Hold the line off to the side as we back out. Don’t let me drive over it.”

  I ran to the starboard cleat where the stern anchor was tied. The anchor line went straight down.

  Dylan turned the key. Nothing happened. He tried again. There was a little sputter, then the engine died.

  “Use the choke,” I yelled.

  Dylan adjusted the choke and tried again. The engine roared, fizzled, and finally started.

  “Hold on,” Dylan yelled down to Angelina and Makala and threw the gear into reverse.

  The prop churned the sea floor. There was a terrible grinding sound. Sand and pebbles whipped around in the water. The prop stirred the bottom, but we were not moving. The boat shuddered. The engine roared.

  The boat shook. All of a sudden we lurched and broke free. Whistler was backing away from the beach. We made slow progress at first. The boat would start to move, stall, and move a short distance more.

  I fought to keep the stern anchor line away from the propeller below. It was tight and I ran from cleat to cleat, wrapping it so it wouldn’t slip through my fingers. All of a sudden, something felt wrong. We’d backed out past where the anchor was buried. It was pulling the hull of the boat toward the beach.

  “Haul in the anchor. It’s pulling us sideways,” Dylan screamed.

  I yanked on the line. The stern anchor was stuck. I pulled and pulled. It didn’t budge. “I can’t move it.” I shoved Dylan out of the way and took over the wheel. “You try.”

  Dylan heaved up on the anchor line. I spun the wheel away from the shore. Nothing I did helped. Whistler was now parallel to the beach.

  “Let it go!” I screamed. “Let the anchor go.”

  A wave hit us broadside. The keel hit bottom. The boat listed over onto its side.

  It was high tide. If we beached sideways at high tide, we’d never get off.

  Dylan tossed the line that was attached to the stern anchor overboard. I turned the wheel the opposite way and revved the engine. The stern swung back around. The keel scraped bottom. I throttled down. We zoomed off and away from the beach.

  “Slow down!” Dylan yelled.

  I adjusted the throttle and took a breath.

  We were over a couple of hundred feet from the beach. I spun Whistler around and motored, bow first, to the middle of the bay and put the engine in neutral. The engine roar died down. Dylan threw out the depth checker.

  I closed my eyes and gulped in air. We’d made it. We’d saved Whistler.

  When my pulse slowed, I searched the shore for Takumi. He wasn’t there. I gripped the wheel and kept the rudder straight. Dylan used our depth finder and reported that Whistler had twenty feet of water under her, perfect for anchoring. I ran below and checked for leaks. So far, there were none.

  While he readied the bow anchor, a shrill voice carried across the water. Dylan and I stopped to listen.

  Zoë stood on the beach and waved frantically. “Dylan! Come back! Don’t you dare leave me!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Dylan’s mouth hung open. I elbowed him and grinned and he closed his mouth and smiled back. All of a sudden we began to laugh. We laughed so hard our sides hurt, and tears ran down our cheeks. We had to hold each other up.

  I don’t know why we thought the situation was funny. The doctor was badly hurt. Takumi and Makala were in shock. But we’d saved the boat, and at that moment in time, Zoë seemed hilarious.

  “You didn’t tell her what we were doing?” Dylan chuckled.

  “I told you I needed to go back.” I snorted. My snort set us off again.

  After a lot of yelling back and forth, Dylan managed to convince Zoë that we weren’t leaving her and we anchored the boat. I stayed on the lookout for debris while he dropped the anchor.

  The floating pieces from buildings were now all broken up. It made it easier to find firewood, but the wood had been in the water for a couple of weeks. Trees that had been knocked down were still intact and a threat, however. I still saw the occasional plastic flower or rubber toy, and the always-present plastic bins.

  Takumi and Nick finally appeared on the beach. Their arms were full of camping gear. A couple of villagers held loads too. Boots sensed something was going on and ran in circles, yipping.

  “I’ll go ashore this time,” Dylan offered. “It’ll take a few trips.”

  Even though I was anxious to talk to Takumi, I was glad to let Dylan row back to the beach this time.

  Dylan returned with our gear along with Nick, and Zoë. Takumi stayed to help Kat with her father.

  Disappointed, I paced back and forth the length of the boat and tried to see what Takumi and Kat were doing. I knew I was being stupid––her dad was badly injured.

  Dylan and Nick unloaded the dinghy while Zoë complained about our leaving the shore without telling her.

  “What was so funny, Dylan?” Zoë placed her hands on her hips.

  “Nothing,” Dylan replied. “Toni got the hiccups. We were tired. Silly.”

  “Really? You weren’t laughing at me?”

  “Never, babe. I’d never laugh at you. Only with you. Forever. Remember?”

  I turned my back to them, grabbed the rails, and grinned. My brother was good. I picked up a rolled up tent and carried it below. There was work to do.

  “How’s Kat’s dad?” I asked Zoë as Dylan unloaded the last of the camping equipment from the dinghy.

  “He’s okay. We stitched him and wrapped the wound. A couple of guys offered to help us load the doctor into the dinghy. I don’t know how we are going to get him from the dinghy onto the sailboat, however.”

  “He doesn’t look like he weighs a lot. We’ll manage.” Dylan headed back to shore.

  I couldn’t wait to leave the bay. We’d had nothing but problems since we got here. But I had faith that we’d come back after we got the doctor to the military compound and find my parents on the island. Just at a better spot.

  I was sorry the doctor had been shot, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of Kat coming with us.

  Nick and Takumi carried the doctor down to Jervis’ mattress on the floor of the main cabin. Kat followed after them. Her eyes were red and swollen. She hovered beside her father, checking and rechecking his wound.

  I dug out the last jar of peanut butter and handed it to Kat with a spoon. “Sorry, it’s all we have left onboard.”

  She took a spoonful and closed her eyes. “I forgot how amazing peanut butter is.”

  “How about your dad? I could make some hot water with peanut butter in it.”

  “No, just plain water.” She scooted beside me on the couch and whispered, “His stomach is swollen. I’m worried he’s bleeding internally.”

  “I…I… can hear you.” Her dad tried to sit up, moaned, then fell back. His fingers gently felt his stomach. “I’ll be fine. Glad we a… are going to a hospital, though. Thank you.”

  Kat helped her father take sips of water. Takumi came down and we shared a spoonful of peanut butter. I screwed the lid back on.

  Dylan appeared and took a seat. I handed my spoon and the jar to him. “How’s your father?” he asked Kat as he opened the jar.

  Kat looked at her dad and waited for him to answer. “I hurt. Thanks for s… sailing to Santa Barbara.”

  “Just hang on. We’ll get you there as soon as we can.” Dylan started digging out a huge helping of peanut butter. “We’re all sleep-deprived. What do you think about taking two-hour shifts? Zoë and I will do the first one. Toni, you and Takumi take the second. Angelina and Nick, you have the third. Santa
Barbara is only thirty miles away, and with good wind, we should be there by late this afternoon.” Dylan shoved the heaping spoonful into his mouth.

  “Fine with me,” I said. “Two hours of sleep sounds like heaven.” I pulled my dead cell phone out of my pocket. “Is there any battery power left? We should all charge our phones. We might get service when we get close to the mainland.”

  Dylan turned on the battery meter on the electrical panel. “It’s low,” he said and pulled out his cell. “But cells don’t use much. Jervis mentioned we should un-hook the batteries to make them last longer.”

  “I remember.” I checked my phone for messages. None. “We should figure out how to do that before the batteries all die.”

  Dylan said something with his mouth full of peanut butter, and went up on deck with the plate of peanut butter for Zoë and Nick. I heard the anchor fall into the anchor locker and the sails go up. We were on our way.

  After a short while, Nick came down, checked on Angelina and Makala, and joined Takumi at the chart table. They opened up the large maps and began to study the California coastal charts. I found blankets and handed them to Kat. She covered her father and lay down on the couch above him.

  The guys marked a few places they wanted to avoid and noted the shallow areas of Santa Barbara Bay. Nick found his cell, plugged it in too, yawned, and joined Angelina and Makala in their cabin. Takumi and I looked around for a place to sleep, then headed to Dylan’s bed. Kat watched us leave, but I couldn’t read her face. I snuggled into Takumi’s arms and instantly fell asleep.

  It seemed like it had been only a few seconds, when my eyes popped open and I stared into Zoë’s face.

  “What are you doing in my bed?” she growled.

  “What time is it?” I felt even more tired than I had before sleeping.

  “You’ve been here for over two hours. Dylan and I haven’t slept forever. Now get out of my bed.”

  Takumi and I washed our faces in cold salt water. We’d finally run out of soap. I grabbed our coats, and headed up top. I was pleased to find a small fire burning in the barbecue pit and warmed myself while I tried to wake up. Takumi took directions and the wheel from Dylan, then Dylan headed down to bed.

  Dylan had filled the water tanks with water from the stream but it had to be boiled. I filled the teapot with stream water and placed it over the fire. Whistler was flying down-wind. The boat was only slightly heeled.

  “I’ll leave my phone charging for a few more minutes, and then you can charge up yours,” I told Takumi.

  He shrugged. “Okay. But I don’t see why I should bother.”

  I placed my hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

  “Are any of us are okay…” He stared at my hand. “The islanders had a good point. We do use the guns to get our way. We’re becoming bullies. I’ve never lost control like I did with Jeremy. If you hadn’t stopped me, I might have beaten him to death.”

  “But you did stop. And now you regret what you did. Next time you’ll stop yourself. We’re all doing the best we can.”

  “Well, we have to do better.”

  “I think we’re doing pretty well. We only bring out the guns when we’re threatened. Maybe, because we know we have the guns, we don’t feel the need to discuss or compromise as much as we would if we didn’t have guns. I don’t know. But I’m not going to feel guilty that Angelina brought a pistol. It saved us more than once.”

  Takumi pursed his lips and stared up at the sail. I dug a small log out of the wood storage bin and tossed it on the fire. It was damp and smoked a lot.

  The wind changed, and we tacked. Takumi brought in the sail and let it out while I turned the wheel.

  When we’d first arrived in California, the sky was cloudy, but seemed lighter. Now the clouds were thick and the wind had a chill to it. Was the Ice Age still following us?

  I zipped up my coat. “Do you think there really will be cell service?” Butterflies swirled around my stomach. What would it mean if we didn’t hear from our families? But then, if I heard from mine, I’d have to tell them that Cole was dead.

  “The closer we get to that base, the better our chance.”

  The tea kettle whistled. I tiptoed below and hunted for tea. There was none left, but I found some old Crystal Light mix, along with two mugs, and carried them up top.

  “How does hot lemonade sound?” I asked.

  For the first time in two days, Takumi smiled, and it was almost as if the sun came out. We sailed along in comfortable silence. I stared out at the gentle sea. Snow-white seagulls followed behind the boat and called to us. We had to adjust the sail to maneuver around a huge floating tree. I spied a red storage bin, but let it pass.

  It felt good to be back on the sea again, although I hadn’t missed the cold. Fog floated off the water and added to the overall chill. I checked my watch. Whistler had been sailing for more than four hours. We had to be getting close to the California shoreline.

  It was time to ask the question that had been bothering me for days. I took a deep breath. “Takumi, what’s the deal with you and Kat?”

  Takumi squinted and stared straight ahead. We entered a bank of fog, and he stood on top of the captain’s seat to get a better view. “What?”

  “You heard me. Are you and Kat…?”

  Takumi held up his hand for silence. “Look!”

  “Really? You’re not going to answer?” I swiveled to see what he was so focused on.

  In our path, a huge cruise ship floated, upside-down. My hand flew to my mouth. What had happened to all the people on board? Was the boat full of bodies?

  I studied each and every window and porthole for survivors. No one appeared. I couldn’t tell if the life rafts had been used or not. The top half of the boat was under water.

  The breeze we needed to fill our sails was non-existent, blocked by the massive ship. We almost came to a stop. When we finally made it past the ship, we were struck by a massive blast of wind. Whistler heeled far over. I struggled to let out more sail. We picked up speed. The California shoreline appeared on the horizon.

  We were surrounded by hundreds of large vessels. They all floated, either on their sides or fully capsized, in the waters off the coast. I wondered how many had already sunk. Maneuvering through them took all our concentration.

  “We need to get close enough to the beach to see landmarks. Something we can use to navigate,” Takumi told me.

  I shivered as much in fear as with the cold. We could easily run into a submerged ship. And he was right. We needed to figure out where we were.

  As we drew close to the shore, the famous California beaches appeared rocky and dotted with clusters of tents and huts made from debris. There were no permanent structures. No high-rises. No hotels. Nothing. Even the famous highways had disappeared. And most of the palm trees were gone.

  An endless mass of people swarmed the beach in both directions. They seemed to roam, back and forth.

  There had to be thousands of them.

  How were they surviving?

  And which cluster of tents was a military base?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Takumi and I scanned the coastline for military uniforms or some other sign the army was close by, but nothing appeared.

  A toddler wading in the water got knocked down by a wave. I waited for a concerned parent to rescue the child, but none came. I waved my arms. No one noticed. The child’s head disappeared under the water. Another wave washed ashore over the top of where the toddler had gone down. A second child, not much older than the toddler, ran into the water and dragged the drowning child to shore by his or her arm.

  I couldn’t breathe. I lowered my head and gasped for air.

  “What was that all about?” Takumi asked. Before I could answer, he spun the wheel. The sail got back winded and the boom jived across the stern. I tried to bring in the boom before it crashed, but I was too slow. The jib spun around itself and became useless. The main sail flopped in the wind.

&nbs
p; Dylan raced up the steps. “What the hell?”

  Takumi shook all over. “The top of an antenna was sticking up in the water directly ahead of us. I turned to avoid going over the top of whatever was under it.”

  “Without controlling the sails?” Dylan jumped around the deck, inspecting the boom and main. “We’re lucky the mainsail didn’t rip off the boom. What were you thinking?”

  Takumi shook his head. I put my hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off.

  I took a step back and leaned against the wheel.

  Nick came up on deck. “Holy cr…” He nodded toward the shore. Dylan finally stopped ranting and looked too.

  “That’s what we were trying to tell you.” I gestured at the sea. “Look at all of the damaged ships. And just as many have probably sunk. Takumi swerved to miss a sunken ship.”

  “Don’t make excuses for me,” Takumi snapped. “I panicked. It’s my fault.”

  Nick moved to the jib, untangled the lines, and pulled out the sail. “All good,” he cried.

  Dylan watched the waters around us as he pulled in the sheet and tightened down the boom.

  Takumi brushed past me and went below.

  This wasn’t the Takumi I knew. Had the fight with Jeremy affected him more than I’d realized? Or was it something else––something to do with Kat?

  I stayed on deck to give him some space, even though our shift was finished. I took the wheel and headed into the wind while Dylan checked out the sail. “How are we going to find the base?” I asked Dylan. “You were here before, right?”

  “No. Not here.” Dylan turned his back on the view of the beach. “We were further north.” Dylan gripped the wheel. “That’s where the base is. There were people camping, here and there, but not like this. And the tents were a ways away from the military compound. You’ll know when you see the army base. It’s easy to find. Barbed wire and lots of soldiers with guns.”

  I checked the little wind arrow at the top of the mast. “How did Jervis get in? Did you see him actually go inside the base?”