"But she was right, Simone. I don't belong here."
Simone dropped her hands and took a step back. "Do you wish to leave?"
Closing the distance between them, Julia shook her head. "No, no. I never wish to leave you. You are everything I have wanted my whole life."
"Then what is wrong?"
Julia took Simone's hand and pulled her toward the bed. When they both were seated Julia took a deep breath and turned to face Simone. "I am from a different time, Simone. I don't know how I came to be here, but I am."
Simone stared at her lover and opened her mouth to speak, but could think of no response. Julia smiled. "I am from a time in the future. I live on Tybee Island on the Georgia coast. I am a marine archaeologist. I was diving alone when my boat was stolen by...by pirates." The more she said, the faster the words tumbled from her mouth. "Pirates in my time are mostly drug smugglers. They took my cabin cruiser and left me in the open sea to die. When I was rescued by the Viper I was certain I was dreaming, seeing things that weren't really there. But now the dream has gone on for over six months. I...I can't explain how I came to be here in this time, with you." She stopped and looked at Simone. "Now you know. The woman who loves you is insane. You are a figment of my imagination. None of this can be happening, but it is." Suddenly tears sprang to Julia's eyes and she buried her face in her hands. "I don't want to lose you, but I'm afraid if I ever awaken from this dream you will be gone. I couldn't bear that, Simone. I love you too much to go on living without you."
Simone took Julia's wrists and pulled them away from her face. She wiped the tears from Julia's cheeks and leaned closer until their lips met. At first, even after the passionate nights they had already spent together, Julia was tentative. As Simone's kiss became more insistent, Julia's lips parted and she wrapped her arms tightly around Simone, pouring every ounce of emotion within her into the kiss. Breathless when the kiss came to an end, Simone whispered, "A kiss such as that cannot be only in a dream, my love." Her hand brushed over Julia's breast and she felt the nipple harden. "Your body would not react to my touch in a dream. As long as you breathe I shall be with you."
"I hope you are right."
Simone lowered Julia onto the bed, kissing along her neck. "Let me show you other things that cannot occur within a dream."
As she felt Simone's body move over hers, a feeling of dread and profound loss swept through Julia. She had dreamed these very things and felt them as much in her dreams as she was now. Please don't let me ever awaken, she silently prayed.
JULIA FELT BETTER after telling Simone the truth, or at least what she thought was the truth. They spent the next two weeks strolling the deck of Le Faucon de Mer, discussing their future together. Neither of them brought up the future as Julia knew it although they did discuss Julia's family and occasionally the work she was doing. Simone seemed fascinated by the excavation Julia described even though Julia was certain Simone was merely humoring her insane lover. Nevertheless, she had told the truth, knowing they might never discuss it again once they reached the island sanctuary.
A week from Martinique Julia leaned against the railing and gazed out over the orange and yellow sunlight streaming across the water's surface from the horizon. Nothing was more beautiful than a sunset on the waters of the Caribbean. A kiss against the back of her neck brought a smile to her face. "If you are not Captain Simone Moreau then you are in serious trouble, crewman," she laughed.
"In a week I will only be Simone Moreau," her lover said as she joined her to look out over the calm waters.
"The water is very still this evening," Julia commented.
"Yes, it is. Almost too calm. Without a wind we will make little progress."
"In a hurry to get home?"
"The journeys we are most eager to complete always take the longest. Or so it seems," Simone said with a smile. "Our dinner is ready."
Julia took Simone's arm as they made their way to their cabin. "You know, Simone," Julia started. "The things I miss most about the future are my cargo pants and t-shirts. Oh, and my sneakers. They were so comfortable!"
"When we reach Martinique I will see that you have pants at least," Simone smiled.
"Would you really?"
"Of course. I want you to be happy. But I do not know the things you call 'sneakers'. Are they for stealth?"
"I suppose so. I'm unsure how they acquired their name."
SIMONE WAS AWAKENED from a deep sleep by a thumping sound and sat up in bed. Looking at the windows on the far side of the cabin she saw water streaming over them.
"Is something wrong?" Julia asked, her voice heavy with sleep.
"No. Go back to sleep. I will see what has happened."
Simone slipped on her pants and boots, throwing her cape over her shoulders before she stepped onto the main deck. Cold rain pelted her face. The ship was listing slightly into the wind as she made her way onto the wheel deck. "What is happening, Gaston?" she said loud enough to be heard over the wind.
"The wind began increasing almost an hour ago, Captain. We have only just been struck by the rain. It is becoming more difficult to pilot the ship now that the wind has begun to swirl." The first mate clung to the wheel to maintain control of the vessel.
Simone went to the railing overlooking the main deck. "Lower the sails!" she ordered. "Gaston! Turn into the wind to let the wind from the sails!"
The wind velocity seemed to grow stronger by the minute as Simone and Gaston both attempted to hold the wheel away from the wind. She wiped rain from her face and watched her crew slowly making their way up the lines to take in the sails. If the wind filled them and continued to grow one or more of the masts could be broken or severely damaged at the very least. She glanced over her shoulder, but the rain made it impossible to see the Northumberland. It was a slightly smaller ship and she hoped Anton's sails were already lowered.
"Simone! What is happening?" Julia's voice called out.
Simone maintained her hold on the wheel. She couldn't believe Julia was standing halfway up the steps to the wheel deck. "Go back inside the cabin! You will be safe there! I will join you when this storm passes!"
Julia nodded and turned to descend the steps. It seemed as if a hole suddenly opened on the surface of the water and the ship plunged downward. To her horror Simone saw Julia fall the last two or three feet to the main deck. "Go to her, Faucon! I can hold the wheel alone for a few moments, but hurry!" Gaston said over the wind and rain.
Bracing her body, Simone carefully made her way to the main deck. As she reached Julia a wave of water poured over the deck, knocking both women off their feet. Simone held Julia's hand tightly, attempting to regain a foothold on the slickened deck. "Don't let go!"
It took every ounce of strength Simone could summon to maintain her grasp on Julia as they began to slide closer to the main deck railing. "Raul! Francois!" Simone called out. "Hurry!" She looked around and she saw the men making their way toward her, hanging onto ropes to pull themselves along. They were no more than a few feet away when a second wave washed across the deck, dragging Julia over the side, still clinging to Simone's hand. Simone's shoulder slammed into the railing support, sending jolts of pain through her arm. Fighting against the pain she managed to grab Julia with her other hand as well. "I've got you!"
Simone felt someone grab her legs and hold her in place. They would be all right. She only had to pull Julia back a few feet onto the deck. She felt her grip beginning to slip, her muscles screaming from the strain. "Pull me back!" she called over her shoulder. "Quickly!"
"Simone!" The sound of her name caused her to look over the railing at her lover. "I love you, Simone! Never forget that!" Julia shouted up to her.
"Don't leave me!" Simone called back. "Hang on a moment longer!"
"I can't. I don't belong here," Julia said, her strength finally giving way as she lost her grip on Simone's hands and fell toward the churning water below her.
"No!" Simone screamed, pulling herself up to the rai
ling. "Julia!!" Only the grasp of Raul and Francois prevented her from throwing herself into the water after her lover. Unable to break their hold, her knees buckled and she fell to the deck sobbing. Finally the men picked her up and carried her back into her cabin. She was soaked to the bone and shivering, but not from the cold. She curled into a tight ball as the men drew the coverlet over her and left her to grieve.
When she opened her eyes again the sun was shining brightly. Her clothes were still wet, but she ignored them. She stumbled onto the main deck and glanced around, hoping the night before had only been a nightmare. From the averted looks of her crew she knew the truth. The ship seemed to have sustained only minor damage and they suffered only one casualty from the storm, the one who mattered most to Simone.
Chapter Twenty-two
"RICKY! WAIT FOR me! I'm gonna tell Mommy!" The little girl scampered as quickly as her six-yearold legs would carry her along the shoreline. She saw her brother stop and examine something in the sand and tried to speed up. He had been teasing her all afternoon. He was bored with watching his little sister and decided the best way to get rid of her was to wear her out. It always worked with their new puppy. Just run his little legs off until he fell over exhausted.
"Hurry up, Pammie!" He was getting tired of the cat-and-mouse game himself. He squatted down and used a stick to loosen the damp sand around a sea shell. He picked it up and carried it to the waterline to wash the sand from it. It had seemed almost white, but the water brought out a pinkish hue. It wasn't as pretty as some others he had found, but was a good size to add to the shell collection in their aquarium back home. By the time he stuck it in his pocket, Pammie made it to him.
She grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers hard. "Ow!"
"You're 'sposed to stay with me," the pint-size towhead said with a pout.
"I know. I was just playin'. Ready to head back? Dad will have our burgers off the grill by the time we get to the tent and I'm starving."
The sun was dropping quickly toward the horizon, sending orange and red streams of light across the top of the water. Pammie shielded her eyes and smiled. "Good night, Mr. Sun." Looking up at her twelve-year-old brother, she asked, "Does the sun sleep under the water all night long?"
"It never sleeps under the water, Pam. It's always in the sky. When we don't see it here anymore it's because it's shining somewhere else. That's how we know it's time to rest."
"Oh," she said as she thought about that idea for a moment. Her eyes suddenly brightened. "I'll race you to that log down the beach, but you gotta give me a head start."
Ricky squinted down the beach and tried to figure the distance. "Okay, but only to five this time. Ready? Go!"
He smiled as his sister dug her little feet into the sand and sprinted away. He knew he could catch her, even if he counted to ten. Counting silently to five, he let out a war whoop and set out after her. She looked back over her shoulder and squealed with laughter which only slowed her down. A few seconds later, he flew past her, closing on the log. Laughing, he turned back toward the log. A few yards from it, he stopped quickly, breathing hard. He spun around just in time to catch his sister and swing her up into his arms.
Squatting down on one knee, he said, "Get on, Pammie. I'll give you a piggyback ride back to camp."
She glanced past him at the log. "What's--"
"Just get on! We have to get back right away!"
THE SUN WAS well below the horizon as the Jeep Wrangler began its trip down the beach, guided by Ricky Lawrence and his father. The sheriff's deputy shined a high power beam along the shoreline while a second deputy drove.
"How far from our camp were you?" Ricky's father asked.
"I don't know," the boy answered with a shrug. "I didn't think it was this far though."
"Are you sure it was a body?" the driver asked. "Not just some seaweed caught up on a log or something?"
"It was a body!" Ricky insisted, trying to see any familiar landmark in the dark. "With blonde hair."
"Could have just been a bleached out log," the driver muttered.
"There!" Ricky hollered suddenly. "Over there!"
The deputy swung the beam down the shoreline and backed it up to see the object lying at the edge of the water. "Wait here," he ordered as the two deputies jumped out of the Jeep and hurried to the waterline, flashlight beams bouncing on the figure. The closer they got, the more they knew the boy was right.
Kneeling on either side of the lifeless body, they looked at one another briefly before one of them reached down to feel for a pulse on the woman's neck. Quickly, he drew his hand back. "Fuck! It ain't much, but I think I felt a pulse. Call for an ambulance!"
As the second deputy sprinted back to the Jeep, the other placed his hand on the body's waist and carefully turned her over. The sight of the woman's face startled him and he barely stopped himself from falling over. "She should already be dead," he said to himself. "Jesus! What a mess."
By the time the county paramedics arrived, the woman stopped breathing and the deputy lost the weak pulse he found earlier. He and his companion began CPR, but they weren't confidant their efforts would be successful. As red and blue lights swept across the lonely strip of sand along the North Carolina Outer Banks, paramedics relieved the deputies. They quickly dragged her away from the water and stripped the rash suit from her motionless body, charged their defibrillator and carried on a nonstop conversation with the local hospital emergency room doctor. With each jolt, her body jumped involuntarily on the sand.
"Call in and see if we've had any missing person reports around here," the sheriff ordered as he watched the struggle to reclaim the woman's life.
"We'll probably be havin' to notify a next of kin."
After the third jolt, a paramedic felt once again for a pulse as everyone held their breath. A grin spread across his face. "We got her back, but it's weak," he said. "Let's get an IV going and get the hell outta here!"
Ten minutes later the ambulance made its way up a sandy hillock toward the only road on the island. The woman was unconscious, but had a faint heartbeat. Her breathing was labored and the mask feeding her oxygen didn't seem to be helping very much. It was twenty miles to the nearest hospital and the conversation between the paramedic and the hospital continued. Aside from the fact the woman definitely had sun bleached strawberry-blonde hair they couldn't give any further description. Her face, arms, and legs were heavily blistered and badly swollen. Her lips were cracked open and there was a fear that if the swelling continued from the burns, the skin on her feet and hands might split open as well. Her eyes were swollen shut and they struggled to insert a breathing tube. Despite the cool of the evening, her body felt hot to the touch. Her arms were heavily blistered and it took the paramedic several minutes to find a vein to start an IV.
The paramedic leaned over her to check the IV drip providing fluids for her ravaged and dehydrated body. "Think she's gonna make it?" the driver called back.
"I dunno," he answered. Looking down at her, he frowned. She might wish she hadn't made it, he thought. He wished he could stroke her head to let her know someone was with her, but there was no unburned spot on her head. "How much longer?"
"Five minutes!"
"Make it two and I'll buy you a six-pack!" the EMT laughed.
Suddenly the woman's body went limp. The medic searched for a pulse. "Contact the hospital," he instructed the EMT. "Tell them the victim is in cardiac arrest and we're starting CPR."
THE REAR DOORS of the ambulance flew open and the paramedic jumped out, pulling the gurney with him. A doctor and two nurses were next to him before the legs of the gurney were set. "We've got her. Vitals."
The paramedic began rattling off the patient's meager vital signs. "She went into cardiac arrest en route. We shocked her once and got a pulse back."
"Might be swelling in the brain from the heat her head has endured. You did good, Johnnie," the doctor said as they rolled the gurney into an empty bay and lifted the woman quickly
onto a treatment table. The doctor glanced briefly at the paramedic. They had done everything they could, but it didn't look good.
Chapter Twenty-three
JULIA SMILED AS she felt the coolness against her lips. She didn't need to open her eyes to recognize the touch of Simone's lips brushing against hers in the cool evening sea breezes wafting over them as they strolled over the deck of Le Faucon. Longing filled her soul, followed by desperate loneliness as she remembered. Simone was not there. Julia would never feel her warm embrace again. Tears formed beneath her eyelids and stung as she squeezed her eyes tightly, pushing them away and down the sides of her face.
The nurse softly applied cooling aloe gel mixed with an antibiotic cream to the burned areas of her patient's face hoping to successfully avoid any widespread scarring. She saw the tears as they made their way toward the pillow beneath her patient's head.
"I am so sorry, sweetie," she said. "I'll be through in just a few more seconds and let you rest."
Julia took a deep shaky breath. The fingers lightly touching her face were soothing. "H...hur...ts," she mumbled as she exhaled. The soothing touch stopped immediately. Julia felt the loss of it and tried to frown. Unexpectedly, a voice spoke softly in her ear. Simone?
"Can you hear me?" the voice asked. "If you do, can you wiggle your fingers?"
Julia's brain sent messages to her hands. She could feel them try to move, but wasn't sure they had. Her fingers felt heavy and stiff and she didn't know what was wrong. Frustration ran through her. She needed to do something. Where was she? This couldn't be what happened when you died, she thought. It hurts and it's not beautiful. Their family priest promised it would be beautiful! Her head began to throb as she concentrated on convincing any part of her body to do what she wanted. Suddenly, as if the flood of orders had all been released simultaneously, her arms and legs began to jerk and twitch, causing them to brush against the tent covering her body. As the pain seared through her, she tried to rescind her brain's orders, but they were just as slow to respond as the first orders had been.
The Sea Hawk Page 21