Sea (A Stranded Novel) (17 page)

As she stepped away from them, Joanna gave them another smile and said,

“I’ll be back in the morning after breakfast and we will discuss how to get you kids home. Enjoy supper and have a good sleep.”

They all stood watching as Joanna went back down the hill towards the old fishing boat. After a few minutes
, Betty ushered them away and they followed her to a small wooden cabin with a pretty little front railed porch. Betty went in first and started to open windows to air it out. The cabin was small with two rooms. The main room had a worn sofa and arm chair that faced a field stone fire place. Under the front window was a tiny dinette with four chairs. The bedroom had a double bed and a set of bunk beds against one wall. The room also had the smallest closet that Emily had ever seen. Once the tour was over they stood in the main room facing Betty.

“There are outhouses just behind the cabin and buckets by the water pump over at the main building so you can bring water over for washing up. The main building has working toilets and showers are available in the mornings and in the evenings. There’s a sign-up sheet on the wall by the washroom doors for that. Dinner is at six tonight and breakfast is at seven. Lunch is very small and cold, usually just a sandwich and piece of fruit. Once I show you boys to your cabin, you can get cleaned up and we will all meet for supper. We can discuss what work skills you have and where you will be working in the future.”

When Betty took a breath to go on, David interrupted her.

“Thank you
, ma’am, we appreciate you letting us stay tonight and the hot supper is a real treat but we will be heading on in the morning after we talk to Joanna. Also, we would be much more comfortable staying together in one cabin.”

Betty’s face creased into a huge frown. “Young man, it’s not proper for you two boys to be spending the night in the same room as these girls. The world out there is in chaos. It’s no place for children to be running around. It would be wrong of me to let you leave here where it’s safe and protected.”

This time it was Emily that interrupted her.

“Thank you again for your hospitality. We will get our things and leave now.” She stared the woman down with deadly serious eyes.

Betty sputtered, “You have no idea what’s out there!”

Emily tilted her head and said with the same dead serious tone, “We were at Disneyland…California when it happened. We know what’s out there because we walked through it. We have spent every night together since this all began and we will continue together until we make it home.”

When Betty just stood there in shock, Emily continued. “May we please stay together tonight in this cabin? After we speak with Joanna in the morning, we will be heading out. Our parents and families are waiting for us.”

Betty finally nodded. “I…yes, of course. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had come so far. I…well. I’ll leave you to get cleaned up and will see you in twenty minutes at supper.” She hurried out of the cabin and softly closed the door.

Emily slumped down on the worn sofa. She was suddenly drained and all she wanted to do was sleep. Lisa sat down beside her and leaned against her. It was comforting in a way. Mason sat on the arm chair and tilted his head back before closing his eyes. David wandered around the room for a minute before leaving the cabin. They were all so tired that they dozed off.

David woke them up ten minutes later when he came back with a bucket full of water and a bar of soap. Emily felt drugged as she washed her hands and face and then followed the others out of the cabin and over to the main building. As twilight
fell, there were people lighting torches along the pathways. The doors of the main building were propped open and the bright light of electricity flooded out. The combination of light and amazing cooking smells perked Emily up. They went in and joined the line that was edging towards a simple buffet. There was a huge pot of soup as the main meal but it was the small plates of greens that caught Emily’s attention. It had been so long since she had had anything fresh that she felt her mouth water at the plates of salad with chunks of tomatoes on top. There were pans with fried fish and small glasses of juice as well. David let out a whoop of excitement when he spotted the tray with tiny oatmeal cookies and the woman behind the table laughed at his expression and handed him an extra.

They picked a table away from the main part of room and dug in to their simple but filling meal. Once the edge of her hunger was sated, Emily let her eyes roam around the room and took in all the other people that were dining. Most seemed to be content but there were a few that looked shell shocked and overwhelmed. The one thing they all had in common was that they all looked clean. Emily scratched at her itchy head. Her hair was brittle from the salt water and her clothes were stiff. David noticed her fingering her hair and smiled.

“When I came over earlier to get the water bucket, I put all of our names down for showers tonight. There are a few people ahead of us but it shouldn’t be too long of a wait. There’s a tray by the door that has little paper cups filled with soap and shampoo. I can’t wait to get this salt crust off of me.”

Emily and Lisa beamed happily at him and Mason nodded with a smile. They finished up their food and took their empty trays back to the dishwashers. The thought of being clean sent them straight back to the cabin and they all grabbed their one extra change of clothes. Emily made a note to herself to see about washing their salt encrusted clothes before they moved on. When they arrived at the shower room doors there were only four people waiting in line. The two men and two women waiting there stared at the kids before turning their backs. David raised his eyebrows in a question at the others but they just shrugged. Emily didn’t care. She just wanted to be clean and then sleep. The camp was a nice setup but she wanted to be home and she wasn’t looking to make friends. Once it was their turn, they all took the little cups of soap and separated into the men’s and women’s rooms. The hot water felt like heaven and if there had been more shampoo available, Emily would have scrubbed her hair a second time. As she pulled on her clean clothes
, she felt sluggish and drowsy. The hot meal and hot shower had sapped all her strength as the lack of sleep from the past few days caught up to her. Lisa had to steer her back to the cabin and she helped her into bed. As Emily closed her eyes, she had a small smile on her face. Next step…home.

In the morning, Emily woke with a sense of excitement. Even though they had travelled hundreds of miles by boat
, it didn’t feel like they had. Today they would start the final leg of their journey home and she was itching to start walking. Everyone else must have felt the same because they were up early and ready to go. The main building was set up for breakfast and they eagerly joined the line that was forming. The meal was once again simple but filling. There was the biggest pot Emily had ever seen filled with oatmeal and raisins. A few bowls filled with canned fruit and small glasses of juice were also available. The teens savoured the meal as they knew that it would be the last one they had before they had to cook over a campfire.

After they had finished their meal they headed back to the cabin and packed their bags. Emily was getting antsy to leave but there was no sign of Joanna. They had gathered on the front porch with their bags ready at their feet. Emily was pacing back and forth ready to be on the way. They had just started talking about getting directions and leaving when they heard the sound of engines heading their way. They all turned to look around, trying to spot where the noise was coming from. It wasn’t long before two ATVs and one Quad came towards them from the main road leaving the camp. Joanna was leading them and Emily could see the two other riders where men. As they got closer she saw David stiffen and Lisa gasped. As the riders got closer, Emily realized that one of the riders was Jacob, the man who had stolen their boat.

When the three riders pulled up to the cabin and stopped, the teens were all on their feet on the porch staring down at them with grim silence. Jacob looked them over quickly and then stared at the ground. The other man with them was in his early thirties and he stared at them with a scowl on his face. Joanna approached the cabin and smiled.

“Good morning! I hope you all had a good night. This is my son Will and you know Jacob. We have some ideas about helping you kids get home. Jacob?” She turned and waved him forward.

Jacob didn’t seem like he was going to speak or even look at them for a minute. Emily was about to say something when he finally reached up and rubbed his forehead. He took a step forward and raised his eyes to them.

“What I did to you kids…” He stopped and shook his head and cleared his throat. “What I did was wrong and I’m sorry. I was out of my head with grief for my wife and desperation for my children. I’m sorry and I’d like to try and make it up to you.” He lowered his head again and Emily clearly saw the regret in his eyes.

It was David that replied to him. “Sir, we are sorry for what happened to your family. I’m glad you got your kids to safety. We would appreciate any help you could give us to get home.”

Emily shot a quick look at Mason who was frowning and Lisa who stood with a blank face. She hoped they wouldn’t say anything. There was no point in rehashing what had happened and if these people were willing to help them get closer to home they should just let it go. Jacob nodded at Joanna and her son crossed his arms and looked away angrily. Emily couldn’t tell who he was mad at.

Joanna sent Jacob a compassionate smile and turned to the teens.

“All right then. Will is leaving tomorrow to make a fish delivery to some of the rescue camps set upon the mainland. They go with armed guards and we think you should go with them. Their route will take you to about thirty miles from the Canadian border and past some of the more dangerous areas. Luke, my husband, and I talked it over and we want to give you kids this ATV. Jacob is going to give you his. You can double up on them and make much better time. Gas will be easy to find with all the abandoned cars on the roads. You just need to siphon it. We will give you some extra food and water and with a little luck
, it should only take you about a week to get home.”

Emily was shocked by the generous offering and she saw her friends felt the same. Mason’s face had a huge grin on it and Lisa had closed her eyes in relief. David had walked down the steps with his hand out to Jacob.

“Sir, we can’t thank you enough!” he said as he shook the hand of the now smiling man. When he tried to shake Joanna’s son’s hand, the man angrily waved him off and sent a glare at his mother. Emily saw this over Joanna’s shoulder as she hugged the woman in gratitude. She pulled back from her and her smile changed to concern.

Joanna looked behind her and met the glare of her son. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.

“Not one word! For the last time, this is not your decision to make!” she snapped at him harshly. Will shut his mouth and turned and walked away.

Joanna took a deep breath and turned back to the kids. “He’s not happy with giving up the ATV
s but we have an extra one and a truck that still works. It’s more than most people have and it’s the right thing to do. Don’t worry about him. He’ll get over it.”  Joanna smiled reassuringly at them before continuing. “You kids just relax for today and I’ll be back at dawn to get you. Be ready because they like to get on the road as soon as possible. I’ll head over and let Betty know that you’ll be staying another night.” Joanna called her son back over and Jacob gave them a nod before they started up their machines and rode away.

David slung his arm around Emily’s shoulder as they watched them leave. “This is huge
, Emily. We will be home in no time now. I figured on at least two or three weeks walking to get there but with ATVs it will only be days.”

Emily smiled up at him. His face was so full of hope and happiness. She was happy too but she couldn’t get the angry look on Will’s face out of her mind. They would be leaving with him in the morning and she hoped he had a change of heart by then.

“I’m going to grab Lisa and see about washing up our clothes. Everything is still covered in salt and it would be nice to clean them while we can.”

“Good idea! Would you mind doing mine as well? I want to go around and see if anyone is familiar with what’s between here and the border. It would be good to know what we are facing before we get there
,” he said.

“Yes, of course. We might as well do Mason’s clothes too but you boys are doing the next load!”
she teased him.

Lisa and Emily unpacked their bags and sorted out the salt encrusted clothes. Once they had the boys
’ laundry, they headed to the main building to see what the setup was. They were directed to a fire pit off to the side of the building that had a big barrel of water over it. There were tin washtubs and plastic containers set up in a row. Emily was delighted to see an antique roller wringer on a stand. After washing and rinsing the clothing they took turns feeding each piece through the wringer while the other cranked the handle. There were clotheslines strung between trees and they hung everything to dry in the spring sun.

When they got back to the cabin, David and Mason were gone. She puttered around the small room but couldn’t seem to settle. Lisa was staring out the window with a far off look on her face. Emily knew her friend was still trying to deal with what happened on the boat with Mark. She wished that she could help but knew that Lisa would have to come to terms with it herself. She gave the girl a hug and reminded her that she was there for her if she wanted to talk but Lisa just sadly shook her head.

“I’m going to go for a walk and see what else is around here. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“Thanks
, Emily, but I just need to have some time to think. Thank you for being such a good friend. It means more to me than you will ever know.”

After another quick hug, Emily slipped out of the cabin. She needed something to occupy herself or she would go crazy waiting to leave in the morning. She saw people carrying boxes and crates into the main building and decided to head over and see if she could help out with anything. When she poked her head in the main doors
, she saw that all the tables were empty but she heard voices coming from the kitchen area. When she saw Betty walking by the door, she headed that way. The kitchen was bustling with people prepping for the next meal and when she caught Betty’s eye, she went over to the lady.

“Excuse me
, ma’am. I was hoping you could put me to work. I’m pretty good in the kitchen but I could lend a hand with whatever needs doing.”

Betty wiped her hands on a towel and smiled at her. “We can always use extra hands around here. It’s Emily, right? Follow me and I’ll introduce you to these busy ladies. They
’ll love the extra help!”

Emily spent the rest of the day hard at work with her mind occupied. They all chatted as they made up sandwiches for lunch and prepped the food that would go into dinner. Her heart felt light in the warm room. It was so much like being at home during the holidays when her
mom and all her aunts would work together to prepare the holiday meal. At one point, she felt tears dripping down her face in homesickness. The woman next to her handed her a dish towel and rubbed her back.

“Don’t worry
, sweetie. I do that at least three times a day.”

She worked all day helping to make food and clean and wash dishes. When the dinner was being served, Betty handed her a tray and told her to go and eat. She offered to stay and wash dishes but the older woman just shooed her out.

“Go on now, eat with your friends. You’ve done enough today and Joanna says you will be leaving at dawn. I put your name down on the evening shower list. You’ve got a long road ahead of you so take what comforts you can before you leave.”

Emily impulsively threw her arms around Betty. “Thank you for letting me
help out today and for everything else you have done for us. I won’t forget you!”

Betty smiled and nodded then pushed Emily towards the dining area where her friends were waiting. When she settled at their table they were talking about tomorrow and what David and Mason had learned from some of the others in the camp.

David was talking about the border crossing. “They said that they tried to cross into B.C. because they have family in the interior but that guards have the border crossings locked down. They aren’t letting anyone across even with Canadian ID. Other people that know that area said it was just a chain link fence and if you go further away from the crossing there would be no one to stop us from just going over it. They said there isn’t even a fence in some places. We shouldn’t have a problem. With the ATVs, we don’t even have to stay on the roads. We can easily go over fields if we have to.” He looked at all of them and grinned. “We will be in Canada tomorrow night!”

They finished their dinners and stacked their trays in the dish area before heading back to the cabin. Emily was happy to see the neat pile of clothing that Lisa had taken down from the lines and folded. After they had repacked their backpacks, they headed to the showers. They all knew that it would probably be the last one they had for a very long time.

Lying in bed, Emily stared at the ceiling and thought about Alex. Where was she? How far had they come and were they all still alive? Her biggest hope after seeing her parents were that Alex and her other friends would already be home or that they would arrive soon after.