Knockdown (33 page)

We’d hit something. We’d lost control of the sails.
Nick tried to shoot me. My heart raced.

“Move.” Dylan brushed past me and grabbed the wheel. “To
ni, get some line out to tie Nick up with. Takumi, check the damage and see if you can untangle the jib. I’ll turn us into the wind.”

I dug out a rope. M
y hands trembled. The dangling line danced in the breeze.

Takumi ran to the bow and peered over the starboard side. “We hit some kind of shed.” He checked the port hull. “There are dents and scratches. I can’t see below the wa
ter line.”

I took a deep breath and handed the line to
Jervis. “Tie his hands behind his back and take him below.”

Takumi
handed the gun to me. I pointed the gun at Nick while Jervis secured his hands.

Nick remained silent, his head bowed. When
Jervis hauled him up, Nick glared at Dylan. “If she dies, I’m going to make you pay.”

Jervis
shook his head. “Dude, don’t you know we’d all do anything to help Angelina? But smashing into cliffs won’t help. Look what almost happened. Now, move.”

Zoë
called out. “What’s going on up there?”

When she came up,
Takumi told her about Nick and the gun. She was stunned. “I can’t believe Nick would do that. Did Nick cause that crash too? It sounded like the boat was coming apart.”

“
We lost control for a moment. Will you check under the floor boards and make sure we aren’t leaking?”

“No sign of water under the floor,” Zoe said when she came back up.
“Makala came out of the cabin while Jervis was bringing Nick down the stairs. Jervis told Makala that Nick made a mistake and needed a time out. She seemed to buy it, although, if he stays tied up too long, she’s going to be upset.”

I dropped the gun into my lap
. “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“
Well, it’s our turn on deck now.” Zoë watched Dylan pull the main around.

Takumi gave a final tug
and the jib came free.

I touched Zoë’s arm.
“It stopped raining. We’re fine up here for a while longer. Why don’t you two go below and rest. We’ll come get you if we get tired.”

I handed the gun to Dylan.

“Thanks.” Zoë dragged Dylan down the stairs. “I’ll give Angelina more of the moldy water and then go to bed.”

“Do you think Nick would have
really shot me?” I asked Takumi as soon as Dylan and Zoë were out of sight.

“I doubt the gun was even loaded. Remember, Angelina
emptied out all the bullets.” Takumi stood behind me at the wheel.

“I’m not so sure. He
could have reloaded it. She has a box of bullets.”

“Nick is beyond tired and not thinking straight. I’m sure he never wanted to hurt yo
u. He thinks Angelina’s only chance is to find a hospital.”

“What if he’s right?”

“You saw what towns look like now. I’m sure any city on the coast we find will be a wreck. And worse, there are a lot of people living along the California shoreline. Many of them will be desperate. Taking Angelina ashore might get her and everyone with her killed.”

“
What about my parents. Do you think they’ll make it?”

“
I don’t know anything more than you do about what it’s like on the mainland. I just hope Jervis’ potion works. We’ll be better off waiting for cell service or your parents to show up, on the island. I don’t think wandering around a city the size of Santa Barbara is a good idea.”

I stirred the fire and added a piece of damp wood. Smoke bellowed out from the flames.
Takumi managed to snag a few pieces of the shed we’d smashed into and sat them on top of the cabin to dry. Then he went below and came back with the kettle and leftover cold pancakes.

“Both
Jervis and Nick are already asleep. I checked again for water under the floor. We aren’t leaking. Zoë said Angelina woke up and complained she had a terrible taste in her mouth.”

“I bet.” I grimaced at the thought of drinking the green moldy water. “She woke up. That’s good, right?”

“Zoë thinks her fever has gone down a little.”

Angelina’s waking up
had to mean she was getting better. The moldy water must be helping. I had to focus on something good. Our little group was breaking up. Zoë was talking to me, but might never like me. Nick tried to shoot me. Angelina was sick. We were all exhausted and cold.

“Sunny Californi
a!” I studied the low clouds, hoping they would part and I would see stars. But the mist just got thicker and lower and sometimes even floated on top of the water. “What do you think of the island?”

“What do you mean?”
Takumi passed a cold pancake to me.

“Do you think we should go there?” I rolled the
pancake up and took a bite.

“I
think it’s a good choice.” Takumi shrugged. “But a lot depends on what we find when we get there. I wish I had the Internet and could look it up.”

“What did the
book say?”

Takumi shoved a whole pancake in his mouth and took his time chewing and swallowing. “Not much.
It’s a tourist book. People go there to hike and camp.” Takumi thought for a moment. “It has fresh water. That’s huge.”

I blew on my tea. “
Sounds good to me. Especially if what you say about the danger in cities is true.” I shuddered remembering the bikers in Grays Harbor.

“It’s probably safer than anything else I’ve heard of this far north.” Takumi peered around the sail. “I can barely see past the bow of the boat. The fog is getting worse.” He rubbed his arms. “I’m so tired of
being cold. Part of me wishes were heading to some tropical island, somewhere really warm.”

I smiled.
He and I even thought alike.

“
But then we’d never know when cell service came back. We’d never find our families.” I put another piece of wood on the fire.

Takumi
drank some tea. “I’m not going to hear from my family.”

“You don’t know that.”

“All the cities in Japan were destroyed. Only the highest mountain regions could have survived.”

I moved beside him at the wheel
and touched his arm. “Your parents might have gotten a flight out. You don’t know.”

“You’re right. I don’t know anything for sure.
” He finished the last of his tea. “You and your brother are planning to head back and rescue your family, wherever they are, aren’t you?”

I nodded.
“As soon as Dad tells us where to pick them up, we’re off.”

“What about
Zoë?”

The boat rocked and I gripped the overhead dodger.
“I guess that depends on what she hears from her family. They were in Hawaii. Everything on those islands was wiped out too. She’ll probably end up coming with us.” I wondered why I didn’t tell him she might be pregnant.

Takumi glanced at me
, then out at sea. “Do you think I can stay with you, too?”

I smiled. “Of cour
se you can. Like I said before, we’re a family now.”

“I told you
. I don’t want to be like a brother.”

I giggled. “I hope not.
” I giggled again then snorted. I hated that I snorted when I laughed.

Takumi drew
my face up to his. “Toni. I want to be with you. I think…I think I love you.”

I
pulled his face down closer to mine. “I…”

He stepped back.
“Do you hear that? Listen.”

“What?”
I stood shocked, my hand poised in the air, my words left unsaid. Then I too heard the sound of crashing surf.

Takumi
leapt to the top of the captain’s seat and peered out over the dodger. “Get everyone up here. Those are huge breakers. We’re close to land.”

Chapter Forty-One

Fog

I raced down the stairs two at a time. “Wake up! Everyone on deck.”

Jervis
and Nick woke with a start. Nick struggled to stand. His arms were still tied behind his back. We hit a swell and he fell back on the couch.

I pounded on the front bedroom
door.

Dylan
moaned, “What now?”

“We
can hear waves crashing. There’s so much fog, we can’t see. We’re close to land.”

His eyes grew huge and he rushed past me up the steps
without putting on shoes or grabbing a coat.

Jervis
started getting dressed. “What about Nick?”

I put my han
ds on my hips. “Nick, do you promise not threaten us again?”

Nick bowed his head. “I promise. Untie me.”

Dylan yelled from up top. “We’ve dropped the sails. We need everyone’s eyes and ears.”

I
motioned to Jervis. “Go! I’ll take care of Nick.” Jervis grabbed Nick by his arms. Nick moaned with pain.

“Dude! Keep your promise.”
Jervis held Nick suspended in the air, shoved him onto the couch, and left.

Zoë
leaned on the door frame. Her hair stuck out in all directions.

“What?”
she asked.

“We can hear breakers,
but can’t see land.” I untied Nick. He rubbed his arms then ran past me to the stairs.

Zoe
disappeared into the cabins. In seconds, she was back, dressed for the cold with Dylan’s coat and boots in her arms.

Makala
stood in her pajamas, cradling Boots. “We wanna help.”

“
Get some warm clothes on, but wait until I tell you it’s safe to come up.”

I started up the steps
, but paused in front of the tool drawer where the gun was hidden. Had Nick really planned to shoot me? I found the handgun under some maps and checked the cylinder. There were no bullets in any of them. I sighed with relief and shoved the gun back in the drawer.

When I got on deck,
Zoë was standing at the rail pointing out. “There! The waves are crashing over there.”

Takumi
leaned out on the tip of the bow. “I can’t tell.”

Jervis
gestured at the side opposite Zoë. “I think the sounds are coming from that direction.”

Whistler was a
drift. Waves were crashing on a beach somewhere close by. The sound seemed to be growing louder. I walked around the boat listening for some clue to where the danger was coming from.

The fog
grew thicker and thicker. After a short while I couldn’t see the front of the boat from where I stood at the back.

Makala called out, “Toni. I’m
ready.”

“It’s too foggy right now
, Makala. I’ll be down when we can see better,” I told her.

“Shush.”
Zoë held her finger to her lips. “We can’t hear.”

The crashing waves
grew louder.

“Dylan!” I cried.

“I don’t know what to do.” He eyes were wide with fear.

Whistler
healed slightly over. I spun and studied the water behind us. The boat was leaving a wake. We were moving forward.

“W
e’re being pushed by the current.” I pointed to the left side of the boat.

“Anyone see land?” Dylan yelled.

Jervis called out from the bow. “Sounds like the waves are breaking right in front of me.”

“But the
mainland should be over there.” Dylan pointed to the left and tapped the compass.

Takumi
yelled and gestured widely. “There’s a rock! To the left of us.”

D
ylan swore, bent down and flipped on the engine. “Hold on, everyone. I’m putting her in reverse.”

I
yelled for Makala to hold on and crossed my fingers. Was reverse the right direction? I peered down at sea behind us.

“An
other rock!” Takumi pointed to the right.

Dylan swore again. “Toni, anything behind us
?”

“All clear
as far as I can tell,” I yelled.

We held our breath. The sound of the surf seemed to be growing softer, but with the engine on, I couldn’t be sure.

“Look!” Zoë screamed.

I swiveled
. The fog off the bow of the boat was starting to clear. A huge mass of rocks seemed to rise from the sea. We had been seconds from crashing into it.

Dylan’s face was ashen
.
Whistler
continued backing up.

The fog behind us grew wispy
and I got occasional glimpses of the sea. It was all clear. Dylan had chosen the right direction.