Enduring the Crisis by K.D. Kinney

back of the hotel. It must have been really nice when they built it a few decades ago. It had sort of a spa look when spas were the rage. However, the carpet was worn and dingy. When they were taken to the end of the hall, almost to the stairs, he walked past a massive window and opened the door to a rundown exercise room. Several pieces of equipment were actually in pieces on the floor. Only a treadmill and an exercise bike looked as if they might be usable.
    “If you come back here, there’s a big changing room and restroom. It doesn’t have a shower that works anymore but I can give you washrags and towels. Most of my roll-aways are in use but we do have a couple that are broken. If you want to come with me, you can bring the mattresses in here and I’ll give you some bedding.”
    “Sounds perfect.” Ben nodded eagerly. Nate was not impressed though. “This is better than sleeping outside, isn’t it?”
    Nate dropped his things on the ground and resigned himself. “At least it’s not a fishy smelling boat or a street.”
    The desk clerk made sure they had all the things they needed before he left. They were setting up their beds in the back of the room as guests walked past the room on their way to the ice machine.
    “I feel like we’re the polar bears at the zoo,” Nate complained.
    “It is what it is, my friend.” Ben sat down on the worn mattress and called Dave.
    “Hello! Where are you right now?” Dave answered.
    “We made it to Dutch Harbor. It was rather eventful and it was almost iffy we’d get here. Our boat is not leaving anytime soon so we need a new ride out of here.”
    “You’re kidding me? That was not easy to get as it was.” Dave was silent for a long time.
    “So… do you have any ideas? Randall said there were ferries out of here but from the schedule I saw, they don’t come very often.”
    “No, they don’t. In fact, their season is almost over. We did look into that. I’m thinking. Of course, I can’t do anything tonight. It’s too late.”
    “Yeah, and there aren’t many places to stay here and they’re all booked. We’re sleeping in an exercise room and are taking sponge baths tonight. They said a bunch of people are stranded here when they grounded the planes.”
    “Yeah, I heard on the news that they are going to place restrictions on boat travel too. Something about activity out there?”
    “Oh, yes. That’s what we encountered. A missile cruiser was shooting at us, or maybe it was the sub nearby and we were in the crossfire. Some crazy stuff.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “I wish I was. I just want to get out of here though. They can’t keep us stuck here.” Ben closed his eyes and pictured the map. There wasn’t even a way to get home by land where he was now.
    “If there are people stranded there, they might be planning something to get them out. Maybe. First thing in the morning, I’ll see what I can find out. Because you’re there, you might have better luck with the locals finding a way out. If you can get on something, do it. Give them my number and we’ll make sure it happens.”
    “All right.” Ben nodded for a long time. He wasn’t going to give up hope.
    He lay on the pathetic excuse of a mattress and couldn’t get his mind to calm down. The harder it was to get home, the more he ached to be there. His girls would be Tammy’s strength. She would pull through for them. It wasn’t like they weren’t capable either. Usually when they went camping, they were eager to learn how to start fires, and how to navigate in the forest. At the cabin, he could always count on Amanda to help him first. She was as physically strong as her mom, which had always blown his mind how strong they were. However, Charlie was the grief-giver at first, but she would always stick with a project until the end. She was tough, would stick up for those she loved, and was as feisty as her bright red hair. He missed having their war with words sessions even though she