The Last Layover

by Steven Bird

  “Where are you from? What happened for you two to be out here?” Peggy asked.

  “Well, Bill is a retired Navy Boatswain's Mate, First Class. We had been in the Norfolk area pretty much throughout his entire Navy career. After he retired, we stayed in the area and he took a civil service job on base working as a building maintenance man. After our kids grew up and left the nest, with one joining the Navy himself and being stationed in San Diego, and the other going off to college in Texas, we figured we didn't need the house anymore. It was always Bill's dream to have a boat of our own to travel in our retirement. About two years ago, we sold the house to finance his dream. With the market being down, it wasn't the nest egg that we had hoped it would be.

  “We took that money and we bought our Little Angel. We moved into an apartment, not in the best part of town due to our fixed budget, and put the rest of our time, money, and energy into our boat. It's not quite what he had always wanted, but at least it was ours. We've spent the last two years working on it. Mostly painting and general fixer upper stuff. We hadn’t really taken it out other than to try things out. Then, last week I was at home and all of the power went out. My cell phone was dead too. I heard a lot of sirens all around and some helicopters flying overhead as if they were looking for something. Bill came home from work early, practically busting the door to the apartment down and started yelling for me to pack up. After he calmed down, he explained that there had been several mass shootings on base. Some terrorists with fully automatic machine guns had gunned down innocent people all over the base, from the pier to the commissary. He also said that a few car bombs had gone off and that the Navy was evacuating the ships from the pier.

  “On his way home, the traffic was madness. There were building fires all throughout the town and the power was down. He said he could hear some explosions off in the distance but didn't know what they were. With all of the uncertainty, we grabbed our things and headed for the marina. On the way there, we got caught up in traffic so bad, due to the subsequent mass panic, that Bill and I just grabbed our bags and walked the last few miles to the marina where our boat was berthed.

  “Our plan was to do like the Navy and pull out to sea to let the madness subside while the authorities handled things. Unfortunately, we abandoned the car in such haste that he left the bag behind that had his medication in it. He has been battling heart trouble for a few years now. Once we got out to sea, we rode the current north on what Bill called the North Atlantic Drift. Bill said it was the current that goes from the Gulf up around Florida and pushes up the east coast to Newfoundland and then across the Atlantic. I guess he underestimated its pull because we went to bed that night and woke up a lot further up the coast than we had intended. Then yesterday Bill started not feeling well. He spent most of the day lying in the cabin. I assumed everything was going okay, yet we had drifted even further north while he was resting.

  “He had me run the little kicker motor every so often to push us back to the west to keep within range of the coast. We didn't want to end up going too far out to sea and dying of thirst or something. Today, Bill got up to try and help me with a few things and collapsed. I've never been so scared in all of my life. The terror of knowing you may be losing your soul mate and only friend, while on a little boat out to sea by yourself, where there is no one around for miles to help you is overwhelming. I prayed and I prayed, ‘Oh please, God, deliver me an angel, please help me save my Bill. Please don't leave us out here to die like this’. And then I looked up and saw you on the horizon. I started the little kicker motor up and ran it as hard as it would go to try and catch up with you. You're my angels. God sent you to me.”

  Peggy wiped the tears from her own eyes, hugged Judith, and said, “You’re not alone anymore.” The two held each other for a few minutes and then let go as both women tried to regain their composure.

  Jason said, “If you ladies can keep an eye on Bill, I'm going to go check on Evan.”

  Evan turned to see Jason coming up the stairs to the flybridge. Jason shared with him what Judith had told him about what happened back in Norfolk. Evan just shook his head and said, “How far does all of this go? Who the hell is doing this and who is helping them? There is no way something so widespread could have gone undetected like this. Hell, they are listening to you and me on our cell phones but they can't stop this crap?”

  “Maybe they didn't want to stop it,” said Jason. “Remember, it is a whole lot easier to rebuild something into what you want after it is ruined than it is to convince people to let you tear it down in the first place.”

  Evan shook his head again and said, “I miss the good ol' days when conspiracy theories were about aliens in Area 51 and stuff.” They both chuckled under their breath and looked ahead.

  “The coastline is getting pretty visible now. It must not be too much farther away,” said Jason.

  “Yeah, we are making good time,” Evan replied. “I'm just glad that sail boat is towing as well as it is. I would have been heartbroken to have cut it loose only for you to tell me the story of what that boat means to them. Even if Bill doesn't make it, Judith should be able to barter it for something to help herself out.”

  After a few more miles, as the coastline began to come into better view, they could see billowing clouds of black smoke. “What do you think that is?” Evan asked Jason.

  Jason picked up his binoculars and said, “Looks like some large buildings. Isn't Atlantic City about the only place with buildings that big along this point of the coast?”

  “I believe so, if we are where we think we are that is,” replied Evan. “Crank up that radar and let's get a snapshot of the coastline.”

  Jason turned on the boat's radar, cranked up the radar gain, and adjusted the tilt as it began to show an outline of the coast. He pulled up the chart and compared it to what he saw on the radar display. “Come left about twenty degrees and I think we will be pointing at the bay,” directed Jason.

  Evan complied and set a course based on Jason's recommendation. About that time, Peggy came up the stairs onto the flybridge and said, “Dang guys, it's cold up here. Do you want some coffee or anything?”

  “You know you're not our flight attendant right now, you don't have to wait on us,” said Evan with a crooked smile.

  “I know. I just needed to step out for a minute and stretch my legs. Judith is down there lying next to Bill, praying for him. He's looking really pale to me and his breathing is very shallow. I'm no medical person, but I don't feel good about his condition at all.”

  “Well, Peggy, since you are offering, we'd love some steaming hot coffee. Besides, you had better enjoy that galley while you can because as soon as we get to Damon's brother, we are losing the boat and may even be on foot.”

  After a few minutes below decks, Peggy returned with a cup of coffee for both Evan and Jason. She also had two rain jackets that she found in the closet down below. “Here, this should at least keep the wind off of you. How much longer do we have?”

  “Oh thanks,” Evan said. “I'd guess fifteen or twenty minutes at the most. When we get close to shore, we need to be ready to defend ourselves if need be, but not too obvious in case there is some sort of law enforcement presence.”

  “We can just put some life jackets or something over our ARs next to us. Not sure we would need the Garands at that point,” said Jason.

  “I agree. Can you go ahead and get all that setup?” Evan asked.

  “Roger that,” replied Jason.

  With that being decided, Jason got all of their defensive measures in place and went below to the salon to check on the others. He also let them know that they were getting close to the bay and to stay inside until they figure out a safe place to port. Jason then re-joined Evan at the bridge and said, “I guess I'm riding shotgun, or rather, assault rifle.”

  Evan looked at him and said, “Oh c'mon, don't call an AR that. When a soldier has one it's a service rifle, when a cop has one it's a patrol rifle, but if a citiz
en has one it's an assault rifle? What the heck? Citizens do a lot less assaulting than the other two aforementioned groups.”

  “Yeah, Yeah, I know, I know,” Jason said. “I just wanted to push your buttons.”

  As they entered the Delaware Bay, Jason took the chart and said, “It looks like most of the coast on both sides is wildlife management area and the like, probably mostly marshy, otherwise they would have built on it. Damon's brother Jim lives in Delaware City right?”

  “Yep,” Evan replied.

  “Well, considering that, I think we should just press on to Delaware City. It's the first real populated area where we may find Bill some help and we don't have time to waste chasing maybes,” said Jason.

  “Sounds like a plan. You just use those binoculars to scan both sides of the bay as best you can and I will keep us as far from the shore as possible,” replied Evan.

  “Will do, brother,” affirmed Jason.

  As they continued into the bay towards the Delaware River, they saw a few small boats which were mostly staying close to shore, almost seeming to intentionally avoid the Mother Washington.

  “Maybe they think we are pirates,” Jason said.

  “Huh?” shrugged Evan.

  “Well, we are towing another boat. They may think we plundered it,” Jason said attempting to keep a straight face.

  “Well, you may be joking but that probably wouldn't be too crazy of an assumption right now,” replied Evan.

  Just then, a center console boat of about twenty-five feet in length left an isolated spot along the shore and began to motor towards the Mother Washington. “Well, what do we have here?” asked Evan. “We can't take any evasive action or outrun that thing pulling the Little Angel along behind, so you're just gonna have to deal with them with your so called assault rifle there,” said Evan.

  “You know it!” said Jason as he uncovered his AR-15 and pulled it into view. He stood up and held the rifle at the ready in the direction of the approaching boat. Upon seeing him standing there meaning business, the boat changed course and headed on out of the Bay.

  “Funny how that works,” said Jason.

  “Yep,” replied Evan. “Everybody is tough until they realize they may die for what they intend to do.”

  They kept to the center of the bay and reached the confluence of the Delaware River and the Bay. Looking at the chart again, Jason said, “As we go up the river, both sides are mostly parks and wildlife refuge. You will see an island in the middle of the river. That will be the Fort Delaware State Park. Delaware City is directly to the left of that. It's a smaller town, so hopefully there won't be as much mayhem going on there.”

  As they continued up the river, they both wondered what kind of reception they would receive. They were, after all, strangers driving a boat that belongs to a local, and to add to that they have his dead brother on board with only their word as to what had happened.

  “Well, there is the island up ahead,” said Jason as he pointed.

  Evan pulled the power back and brought the Mother Washington to a fast idle and asked, “Where is the marina?”

  “It's actually inland a bit, up a small channel. We will be in tight and not defendable at all if we get jumped. We will be at close range from both sides and won't be able to turn around with the Little Angel in tow,” Jason pointed out.

  “Oh well, gotta risk it for Bill,” replied Evan.

  “Yep,” affirmed Jason. “I'm gonna put this back under my coat for now,” He opened his rain coat and hid the AR-15 from plain view.

  As they approached the channel that led to the marina, a large plywood sign was erected that said, “Go Away! No Moorage! No Fuel! No Services! You Loot We Shoot!” Evan and Jason both read the sign, looked at each other, smiled, and simultaneously said, “Sounds like our kind of people.”

  They laughed and Evan said, “Oh well, here goes.”

  He pulled the left engine's transmission into neutral in order to bring the idle speed down a bit. If they had to come to a stop in a hurry, he didn't want the momentum of the Little Angel to cause it to collide violently with them. “There we go,” Evan said as he pointed to the pier. “Lots of pier space off to the right.”

  Several men began to gather on the pier. One had what looked like a pump shotgun, another had a bolt action hunting rifle, and a few others could be seen with bats and other makeshift weapons. “No services! Go away!” yelled one of the men. When Jason stood up to explain, the same man raised the shotgun, pointed it squarely at Jason, and repeated his demand.

  Jason yelled, “Do you know Jim Rutherford? We have his brother and a very sick man who needs help.”

  Meanwhile, Evan was trying to negotiate the big Mother Washington up alongside the pier with the Little Angel in tow, hoping he wouldn't feel Jason's blood splatter all over him at any second.

  The men turned and talked amongst themselves for a moment and one yelled back to them, “Who is his brother?”

  “Damon Rutherford,” Jason responded.

  One of the men then took off running up the pier and into town. Another of the men walked down the pier to get a view of the Mother Washington's name art.

  “I think they are beginning to put things together,” said Jason.

  “I hope so. I don't want your blood splattered on my jacket today,” Evan remarked with a grin.

  A long section of empty pier was available, enabling Evan to pull the length of the Mother Washington alongside with the Little Angel in tow. He got within a few feet and shut the engines off and glided silently up against the bumpers on the pier. Two of the other men on the pier then threw mooring lines around the cleats on the Mother Washington and tied it to the pier, while another man went back to do the same with the Little Angel as it bumped the pier and came to a stop.

  With a suspicious and inquisitive tone, the man with the shotgun said, “Who are you and why are you on Jim's boat?”

  “I'm Evan Baird and this is Jason Jones,” Evan said. “Down below is Peggy Marshal, and the couple that own the sail boat are Bill and Judith Hoskins. Bill is in really bad shape and needs to see a Doctor ASAP. He may be having a heart attack. We met them a few miles out at sea in distress and pulled them here for help. We were on our way to bring Damon to Jim and to bring Jim his boat back.”

  “What the hell do you mean bring Damon to Jim? Where is Damon?” the man said, seeming to get concerned and tense.

  “He was shot while sitting on the bridge by a boat that attempted to hijack us out at sea,” Evan said as he pointed to the bullet holes on the flybridge. “He didn't make it, and we wanted to get him back to his family, where he belongs.”

  The man lowered the shotgun and silently said a prayer to himself. He cleared his throat, wiped a tear from his eye, and said in a somber voice, “Where is he?”

  “He's in the stateroom, but let's get Bill taken care of first.”

  “Right, of course,” said the man. He turned and yelled to another man, “Get the cart and get it now!”

  The man ran off and came back just a few minutes later, driving a propane-powered golf cart style utility vehicle with a small dump bed on the back. The men all hurried down into the salon, picked Bill up, and rushed him onto the pier and into the cart.

  “Ma'am, they are going to take your husband to my sister's house just up the street. She's an ER nurse and she will do everything she can to help. She brought a bunch of emergency supplies home when everything started to go down. You can ride with them.” Judith hurried onto the back of the cart and the men sped away to get Bill to the nurse. “You three come with me. Jim just lives a few blocks up the street. He's gonna want to hear everything you can tell him.”

  Later that evening, they arrived at Jim Rutherford's home. They exchanged pleasantries and Evan and Jason sat down with him in the living room and broke the news to him about his brother Damon. He was silent as they explained in detail their perilous trip from the hotel, out of the city, and to the Mother Washington. Jim's eyes welled up w
ith tears as he listened. They explained every instance of Damon's heroism in detail: how, without him, they wouldn't have made it out of the city and Bill and Judith would probably still be floating helplessly out at sea because they would have never been there to find them.

  They accompanied Jim to the Mother Washington and helped him remove Damon's remains. Jim told them that they would have a ceremony for him and get him a buried within a day or two, and asked Evan, Jason, and Peggy if they could please stay for the service.

  “Of course, we wouldn't dream of missing our chance to pay our respects to our friend and hero,” Evan said with a tear in his eyes. They then gathered their things from the Mother Washington and accompanied Jim back to his home, where they were offered a place to stay.

  “The power has been out all week so all of the fresh food is gone,” Jim said. “We will probably have to eat what's in the pantry on the boat very soon. Luckily, I kept it fairly well-stocked with emergency items. Please forgive us for the lack of a decent meal tonight.”

  “Oh, don't worry about feeding us,” Jason said. “We've got some tuna and stuff we can eat; we don't want to take your food.”

  “Nonsense!” replied Jim. “You risked your necks to bring my brother and my boat back. You didn't have to do that so you are welcome to dinner and I insist.”

  Chapter 12: Friendship through Fate

  That night, they had a simple but filling meal of rice that was boiled in a pot on a propane-powered grill in addition to some canned ham. After they all ate, Jim took Evan and Jason into the garage while Peggy helped Jim's wife, Lori, clean up after dinner. “So what do you know about what has happened?” Jim asked.

  “All we know is that there were some terrorist attacks scattered throughout New York City that pretty much collapsed the city’s infrastructure. Manhattan Island seemed to have nearly been burned to the ground from what we saw on our way out.” He then went on to explain what Judith had told them about Norfolk and what they had seen of Atlantic City from the boat.