AFatBoyisMissing

by A Fat Boy Is Missing (v1. 0) (lit)

  She tried to creep back into the tent without waking her sleeping companion, but he had his eyes open and started to smile.

  "Jake, if you say one word I'll not talk to you for the rest of the day."

  She couldn't help laughing because she knew that she looked unkempt.

  "I wasn't going to say anything except you could come into my tent anytime. You look marvellous!"

  She was about to give him a sharp retort because she knew that she needed to brush her hair and do the other things necessary to look her best. But she saw too that Jake was serious and was not really joking.

  She looked over to him once again. "I had a good sleep and I did follow your advice about the bed bath. Thanks." The morning was gray and the clouds suggested that the weather had taken a turn for the worse.

  "Now for breakfast, we have scrambled eggs or scrambled eggs and the last choice in this World class adventure is scrambled eggs!"

  "Well, with so many choices how can a girl decide?" Sarah answered.

  "But I guess I had better go with the first choice, the second and third don't sound as delicious."

  While they ate their reconstituted and warmed up freeze dried eggs, Jake asked her about her father and what she knew of his last flight.

  "My father was a radiation specialist and always accompanied any flight that carried an atomic weapon. It was his job to activate the bomb in flight if war was declared. Back then the cold war had started to get serious and the military brains thought it was just a matter of time before we would be at war with the Soviet Union.

  So my father was assigned to this flight aboard the B-36 Peacemaker which had been specially designed to carry the weapons of destruction.

  The air force never gave my mother much information. Only that he had been killed while on duty in a plane crash on Vancouver Island. We now know that the crash site wasn't on Vancouver Island, but up here in the interior of B.C. Even the crew who were rescued were told to keep quiet and if any information came out they could be charged under the State Secrets Act.

  I think something happened on that flight. I discovered there were 17 men aboard. The regular compliment is 15. Having 17 aboard is strange. At first the military said there were only 16, but the crew had already said there was an extra man on board. But the strangest thing is that no one knows who that man was, or who had assigned him or what his role was."

  Jake rubbed his jaw. "That does sound fishy. Did you find out about the bomb?"

  "Well, yes and no!" Sarah said. "The crew said they jettisoned their bomb and that was the one my father was responsible for. If an atomic bomb needed to be jettisoned, it's supposed to be made useless by a special detonation device. That too was the responsibility of my father.

  The crew swore that when they hit the silk they heard an explosion far below them. So they assumed it was the bomb. It might have been, but fishermen who rescued them said they hadn't heard a sound. The bomb was supposed to have fallen right near them. So who is right? That's the mystery."

  "But if the crew hit the water where the fishermen were how could the fishermen not hear an explosion?"

  "Maybe it exploded at too high an elevation, but that doesn't check out either. The crew said they had barely enough time to pull their rip cords before the water rushed up at them."

  "Didn't you say there were rumours of another bomb?"

  "Yes, that was one of the rumours. The air force denied it, but said that the extra cargo was a mock up of a bomb with the equivalent weight of sand to simulate war conditions. The crew didn't remember if the extra cargo was jettisoned."

  "What about your father? Does anyone remember what he was doing that night?"

  A side gunner said that he and the bombardier had a fight and the bombardier went crazy and hit my father with a hammer. In the confusion and as the bomb doors opened my father nearly fell out without his parachute. The side gunner said he rescued him, but the crazy bombardier went out with the bomb into the blackness."

  "Sarah, where did you get that sort of information? That's something that the intelligence people would never reveal."

  "Baker, the side gunner wrote me. He was dying last year of cancer and had only a few weeks to live. Maybe he just wanted me to know about my father."

  * * *

  The green sea swept away everything on deck away. The safety lines strung with the hope of allowing the crew to keep safe were parted and the cargo tied on deck was washed away. The cages containing the chickens, geese, sheep and pigs were carried off by the storm.

  The bleating, oinks, crows and honks of the terrified animals were lost as the sound of the storm drowned everything.

  Marcus and his family had made it to the hold where they held onto each other when the horror struck. It was impossible to stand and they sunk to their knees along with the rest of the terrified passengers and held on as best they could. Nothing except for the frantic screams from the sail master's wife could be heard above the storm. Then another mighty wave hit with a force that seemed to submerge the entire ship. The sea rushed down into the hold and screams of panic and moans of despair could be heard over the wash of the water.

  The sunlight if it could be called that, suddenly illuminated their misery. The deck above their heads was gone and what remained of the deck was fractured and cleaved.

  How long the storm had lasted none could tell. Hours, days or weeks it mattered little because for them time stood still. No one had the strength to stand. No one knew what to do. Everyone who crawled up onto the shattered deck to see what was happening had been swept away by the angry, punitive sea. None could survive in the merciless depths.

  What had once been a ship now looked like a few planks and ropes tied together as the once proud ship bobbed in the waves. Where they were was impossible for them to know. The sailing master had been lost when he attempted to put out a sea anchor. He had screamed his lungs out, as the ship he was responsible for was swept away from his grasp and with it any hope of him surviving.

  Food and water was a luxury and for the six survivors from the original 20 souls, no one had a stomach that could hold down any sort of nourishment.

  "I'm sorry my dear Octavia that I have brought you to this. I'm afraid I have cost us our lives."

  "My dear husband, we are together and that is better than if we had stayed back home. You and the children would have been killed if the Mongols attacked. You knew that and so did I. I would have been taken and used until they tired of me, but I might have been kept as a harlot for years to sell my body for any morsel of food. No, I have no regrets. We are not lost. The day may soon clear and for all we know Scripio will come and rescue us."

  He hadn't thought of his friend. Yes, it would be good to see him and Augusta again. Octavia might be right, but in his heart knew better. Scripio, if he were alive, would be in no better shape than they were.

  "Yes, my darling, that is possible. I have no idea where we are, but it is warmer than when we were close to the Iberian coast. We could be so far from there that anything we see will be strange and unknown even to our most experienced sailors."

  She smiled and gave her husband a soft caress on his cheek. "You will see. We will survive. I wasn't very happy with the thought of going to the rainy Britain anyway. A warmer climate will suit me fine!"

  Chapter Seven - The Remains And A Discovery

  So Jake folded up the tent and Sarah rolled up the sleeping bags. Last night she had been too tired to worry about the limited space and only when she had awakened in the morning did she really see how small the tent was. Jake was asleep. He had carried that heavy backpack all day without complaints so no wonder he was tired. She crawled out into the crisp morning. Out there some 16 or so miles away she'd discover the remains of her father's plane. Then at least she'd have some sort of closure. When she returned Jake was awake and dressing.

  "I hope you had a good sleep?" he said.

  "Yes, I slept like a baby I don't even remember what happened after you star
ted to do that wonderful massage."

  He turned and looked at her. "Now that's a shame. I can't believe you missed the best part!"

  She was about to say something, but Jake couldn't continue with the serious face.

  "Jake, did anyone every tell you that you can be a bastard at times!"

  On the second day they made good progress. Jake looked at the sky and knew that trouble was brewing.

  "Sarah, we have got to make a decision. I don't like the looks of the sky and up here you need to be cautious. I think we may be pushing our luck if we continue. When a storm hits here all hell can be let loose."

  Sarah looked at him with a frown. The incredulity in her face said it all. "Come on, Jake, we are nearly there. It's only a mile or two you said that we'd be at the crash site. Can't we push on? It's too close. I need to go there!"

  Jake knew that she had her heart set on going to the site where her father died. He could understand her anxiety.

  "We can try, but if my premonition is right we should turn around. The way my bunion is throbbing I know we are in trouble."

  Sarah knew he was serious, but she also knew that turning back now after being so close after killing herself over the last 37 miles would be a crime.

  "Jake, we have come so far and it's only a few miles more. It's important to me. I don't know if I will ever be back and I for one don't want to make this god-awful hike again."

  Jake relented. "OK, but we need to make tracks. We can get there, but as I said it's my decision on when we head back."

  Sarah smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "Good, what's this about a bunion? This morning when you were getting up I saw your feet. There is no bunion."

  Jake smiled and then pointed to his head. This is my bunion it doesn't send out signals without a reason. Sarah, we have to put it in high gear. The sooner we are there the

  sooner we can get back. Up here you aren't allowed to make mistakes."

  So they pushed on. "The crash site is over on the left!" Jake said.

  It was only 3 p.m. so they had time to look around.

  A strange feeling swept over Sarah as she started to walk down to the remains of her father's flight. That feeling chilled her bones. She had been waiting all her life to come here. Here in the centre of nowhere! Here is where her father had lost his life. She couldn't stop herself as she started to tremble.

  Jake saw the pain and sadness in both Sarah's face and eyes. He also noted that she was starting to shake. It would be hard for her. To grow up without a father and always wondering about him and what had actually happened.

  He came up behind her and put his arms around her enfolding her and protecting her.

  Sarah didn't react to his embrace, his hug. She stood there looking at the wing and three engine pods from the B-36. The plane that had taken her father to his death was just a few remnants of twisted steel and aluminum. He could feel the tightening of her stomach and the gasp as she tried to control herself. She turned into his arms and looked up into his face.

  "Jake, I'm sorry!" as the tears started to flow down her cheek. But he stopped her words as he bent down and kissed her with all the tenderness and love he felt for her.

  "It's OK. You're going to be all right. From what I know of the human psyche you need to be here. You need to finish what you began. Anyone who starts a book where they are the main character and can't finish it will always be questioning

  and doubting and wishing that they had completed their journey. Go ahead and cry! You need to get it all out!"

  Jake's understanding and care strangely affected her. He was like no other man she had ever met.

  He held her as the sobs came and shook her young body. In a few moments he could feel her trying to recover. A snowflake fell on her face and it melted into the channel where her tears had flowed.

  The storm had come.

  "I guess we can go back now!" she said, as she steadied herself and turned around looking once again at the remains of her father's plane. "I've seen what I needed to see."

  The snow had started in earnest and Jake said. "There is no need to go. It's too late to begin our trek back to civilization. We can set up our tent and start back first thing in the morning. We can still look around before the snow covers up everything."

  He knew that the army had already been here so the chance of finding anything was remote at best. The army would have taken anything they could have carried back as evidence.

  So they walked down and around the remains in ever enlarging circles, but nothing was found.

  "We had better put up the tent before the weather gets too ugly. Then we can have some tea and a hot meal and get comfy." The temperature had dropped a few more degrees and the wind was cold and biting.

  So they had finished their trek and found the remains. She looked at Jake, he seemed to be able to handle any crisis.

  It was just as the dusk took over that Jake saw it. It was only a silhouette, but it made him wonder. He walked over

  to the fir tree that was isolated and fighting to survive in a crevice of bedrock. He knew what it was. He knew, but he didn't want to acknowledge it.

  Sarah was at the tent flap and she turned to see where Jake was. "What are you looking at?" she asked.

  "Sarah, you might want to come here and look at this."

  There was something different in his voice; maybe it was a tone or a warning. She walked over to his side.

  "What have you found?" Again she didn't suspect the significance of Jake's discovery.

  "Sarah, it's a harness!"

  He climbed up into the prickly branches of the fir tree and unlocked the harness from its place where it had remained untouched for over two decades. Even in the failing light of the waning day he could see the identification and still read the name of the owner. It was a parachute harness. The name was weathered but the name was discernable.

  "Jake what is it? What have you found?" her voice had a plea in it and then Jake stepped down from where he had been in the tree.

  "Sarah, it's a parachute harness --and it was your father's!"

  The words froze Sarah, as if she had been dropped into liquid nitrogen. Her face turned deathly white and her breathing stopped.

  Jake pulled her into his arms and the warmth of his heart. He knew, as did she what that harness signified.

  Ted Redbourne might have been alive and might have survived the crash of the Peacemaker.

  That evening Sarah didn't know what to do or what to say. She thought she had put all her fears and all the bad dreams of childhood aside. Now she didn't know what to believe. Her nightmare was getting worse. Had her father survived the crash of the aircraft? Had he been injured and managed to parachute to safety to the ground only to die here starving and in pain?

  Jake had cooked dinner, but she hardly remembered that it was some sort of Beef Stroganoff. She looked at the empty bowl and knew she had eaten. Yet, she couldn't even remember chewing or swallowing a spoonful.

  "Jake, what does it mean?"

  "Sarah, I know it's hard and all your fears have raised their ugly heads again. First we don't know if your dad even used that parachute. Things could have been mixed up and some other crewman might have taken his in error. If your dad did use his parachute it doesn't mean he was alive. He could have died from the effects of the hammer attack; you told me about. We don't know. If he did make it to the ground then other things must be considered. Could he have died shortly afterwards from injuries from the fight or because of the jump? I've heard of people being killed when they don't jump clean from an aircraft.

  If he did live then what did he do? Was he the only person who landed near the crash site? Now with this winter storm we just can't find the answers. We might never find an answer here. We know he never returned home, so we have to assume the worse."

  "Maybe when I get back home I can make use of some IOU's that I have with some of my former clients. I made them a fortune and maybe they can get into some of the secret files t
hat the armed forces have not declassified. Twenty-three years is half a lifetime. You need to look after

  yourself and not worry about something you had no control over or any responsibility for," Jake said.

  Darkness came and Jake continued to hold Sarah, as they tried to work out her fears and all the other possibilities of what they had learned in finding the parachute harness.

  "Sarah, we are in this together and together we will work it out."

  He softly held her chin and kissed her brow, then her nose and finally her lips. "When we get back I'll see what I can learn. I know it's important to discover what happened here. There are just too many loose ends and from where I stand it looks like I too feel someone is trying to keep the lid on a secret that has been kept under wraps for far too long. Well, that will change now. I think we owe it to your mother and to your father to find out the truth. But some of it may be rocky. If it's really a state secret, you'd be surprised at how vindictive some authorities can be. Are you prepared for that?"

  Sarah stirred and felt Jake's strong shoulder under her cheek. It was a nice feeling to be held like that.

  "Yes, I am. I'm not a quitter! But I think I'll need your support. Having you hold me makes me feel cared for. It's not so lonely when you have someone you can stand with.

  Why did you kiss me?"

  The change in her direction surprised him. He paused and then held her face once again in his right hand while his left arm squeezed her closer to him.

  "I'm holding you because you are the most precious person in this world. I'm holding you because if I couldn't do that I'd be outside ranting at life for hurting you and making your childhood so lonely while you were growing up. I'm holding you because you have started me down a path that I

  was afraid to take, but that I now know is inseparable from you. I kissed you and tasted the tears that you have shed. I kissed you, Sarah, because I'm falling in love with you."

  Chapter Eight - The Cold War

  "Not in my backyard" is an expression that applies to garbage dumps, heavy manufacturing plants that belch out pollution, state or federal prisons and nuclear storage sites.