Seeking Safe Harbor: Suddenly Everything Changed (The Seeking Series) by Albert Correia Page A
Authors: Albert Correia
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for the watch after your turn.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll show you your bunk and get some linen out for you,” Stacey told him, leading him down into the salon.
When the two were gone, Zach took one last look behind the boat. They were leaving Hilo and the big island of Hawaii behind them. He could see a faint light in the sky where the city was, probably the result of the fires that were growing in size. He glanced again at the dinghy, which was skipping through the waves behind them. All looked in good shape, so he moved into the cockpit where he could keep an eye on things.
All was quiet. The
La Sirena
motored smoothly away from Hawaii and everyone except Zach was asleep. He was comfortable, looking out into the dark night and periodically checking the radar.
Even when the light shined on the dinghy, no one had noticed the fingers that grasped its transom. As time passed, and all but the man on watch slept, and the sloshing waters hid the sound as a man’s arm reached over the transom.
He slowly climbed into the little boat.
Chapter 23
S TACEY was on watch when the sun rose the next morning. Whatever the skies might be like in other places in a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust, there was no unpleasantness in the skies over the Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii this day.
It was the kind of day that made the Arthur family fall in love with cruising. The sky was a clear and pristine blue, artistically enhanced with a few cotton-like clouds. The sun threw light out upon an ocean that rippled with small waves pushed by light breezes, and there was just enough nip in the air to tell Stacey it would not be an overly hot, nor cool, day. There was enough wind to tell her that they would still make good time when they hoisted the sails and turned off the engine.
It was a beautiful sunrise, and she decided to walk to the front of the boat to see it better. The autopilot was on, so she needed do nothing before she climbed over the side of the cockpit onto the port side deck. A quick glance back over the diesel barrels told her there were no boats in the waters behind them for miles Satisfied with that, she looked left and right, with the same result, and then started toward the bowsprit to get an unobstructed view of the of the rising sun.
Like her husband, she was a thorough person. It occurred to her that looking over the barrels had given her a look at the ocean several hundred yards distant, but nothing closer. There was space between two of the barrels, so if she craned her neck a little she could get a better look. She stopped, turned, leaned to her right, and looked between the two barrels. In that way, she could see the ocean that was nearer, and the corner of the dinghy they were towing.
She saw nothing there except the ocean and the corner of the dinghy. She wasn’t interested in the dinghy, and paid it little heed at first. But something seemed… strange. Was that a part of a shoe she saw?
She reached back into the cockpit and grabbed the weapon that she kept on the seat beside her during her watch. Bending over and keeping behind the barrels, she stepped quietly toward the stern. Peering over the last barrel, she was able to see the entire dingy – and the man who was sprawled across it, apparently asleep, or unconscious or…
“Hey!” she yelled. The prone man did not move. She called again. Then again, louder.
“What?” Zach called from the cabin below.
“You better come up here, Zach. We have a… situation.”
A second later, the hatch leading down to the aft cabin slid open and Zach climbed up on the deck. He had on shorts and a t-shirt, and an AK-47 was in his hand. The deck above the cabin was over a foot higher than the deck Stacey was on, so he could see the dinghy as he walked over to join his wife. He stepped down and walked over to the aft rail.
He shook his head. “He couldn’t have been there the whole time,” he opined.
“No,” she agreed. “It was dark last night, but
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll show you your bunk and get some linen out for you,” Stacey told him, leading him down into the salon.
When the two were gone, Zach took one last look behind the boat. They were leaving Hilo and the big island of Hawaii behind them. He could see a faint light in the sky where the city was, probably the result of the fires that were growing in size. He glanced again at the dinghy, which was skipping through the waves behind them. All looked in good shape, so he moved into the cockpit where he could keep an eye on things.
All was quiet. The
La Sirena
motored smoothly away from Hawaii and everyone except Zach was asleep. He was comfortable, looking out into the dark night and periodically checking the radar.
Even when the light shined on the dinghy, no one had noticed the fingers that grasped its transom. As time passed, and all but the man on watch slept, and the sloshing waters hid the sound as a man’s arm reached over the transom.
He slowly climbed into the little boat.
Chapter 23
S TACEY was on watch when the sun rose the next morning. Whatever the skies might be like in other places in a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust, there was no unpleasantness in the skies over the Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii this day.
It was the kind of day that made the Arthur family fall in love with cruising. The sky was a clear and pristine blue, artistically enhanced with a few cotton-like clouds. The sun threw light out upon an ocean that rippled with small waves pushed by light breezes, and there was just enough nip in the air to tell Stacey it would not be an overly hot, nor cool, day. There was enough wind to tell her that they would still make good time when they hoisted the sails and turned off the engine.
It was a beautiful sunrise, and she decided to walk to the front of the boat to see it better. The autopilot was on, so she needed do nothing before she climbed over the side of the cockpit onto the port side deck. A quick glance back over the diesel barrels told her there were no boats in the waters behind them for miles Satisfied with that, she looked left and right, with the same result, and then started toward the bowsprit to get an unobstructed view of the of the rising sun.
Like her husband, she was a thorough person. It occurred to her that looking over the barrels had given her a look at the ocean several hundred yards distant, but nothing closer. There was space between two of the barrels, so if she craned her neck a little she could get a better look. She stopped, turned, leaned to her right, and looked between the two barrels. In that way, she could see the ocean that was nearer, and the corner of the dinghy they were towing.
She saw nothing there except the ocean and the corner of the dinghy. She wasn’t interested in the dinghy, and paid it little heed at first. But something seemed… strange. Was that a part of a shoe she saw?
She reached back into the cockpit and grabbed the weapon that she kept on the seat beside her during her watch. Bending over and keeping behind the barrels, she stepped quietly toward the stern. Peering over the last barrel, she was able to see the entire dingy – and the man who was sprawled across it, apparently asleep, or unconscious or…
“Hey!” she yelled. The prone man did not move. She called again. Then again, louder.
“What?” Zach called from the cabin below.
“You better come up here, Zach. We have a… situation.”
A second later, the hatch leading down to the aft cabin slid open and Zach climbed up on the deck. He had on shorts and a t-shirt, and an AK-47 was in his hand. The deck above the cabin was over a foot higher than the deck Stacey was on, so he could see the dinghy as he walked over to join his wife. He stepped down and walked over to the aft rail.
He shook his head. “He couldn’t have been there the whole time,” he opined.
“No,” she agreed. “It was dark last night, but
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