SURVIVING ABE: A Climate-Fiction Novel (28 page)

"Just right, Ma'am."

"That's what I said," Sam finished for both of them, getting an approving smile from Reb and Melissa.

~~~

Later that evening after the group
had eaten supper and was gathered around the wood-burning stove, Tye said, "Andy, you were right-on with your concerns this afternoon, I'm glad we got back when we did."

"Not sure why that popped into my head, either Texas has knocked some sense into me, or all those hours I spent gaming weren't a total waste of time," Andy answered.  "It's a good thing Jennifer saw them and shouted a warning to me when I came up to the house."

"It all happened so quickly. I looked out because I heard the one-ton coming way too fast; I thought someone was chasing you.  Then I saw the fire and one of the men go around the corner of the house just as you were coming to the porch."

"Not knowing what is going on out there is hard.  I keep wanting to call somebody or turn on the TV to find out what's happening, but I can't," Reb said.

"Maybe we can rig up some kind of a TV antenna tomorrow and try to get some news when we have the generator running," Andy said.

"That's an idea, but for now what are we going to do to keep safe tonight; stand watch?" Tye asked.

"Probably best if Melissa and Leo keep watch on Sam, but if the rest of us do two-hour watches, that will get us through what's left of tonight," Jennifer said.  "Doesn't look like Ben is going to make it back here tonight.  Hope everything's okay and that he'll get here in the morning."

"Your mother and I will take the morning watches since our sc
hedule is normally early to bed, early to rise.  Wake me first when your watches are over." Tye stood up.  "Come on Ma, it'll take both of us to keep warm."

Jennifer watched her parents leave and then turned to Andy.  "I'm not sure that was my Dad.  Fi
rst, Mom goes out early with him, and now she goes to bed early with him; something's going on with them.  Did Dad say anything to you today?"

"Like what?"

"Like one of them being sick, or something.  They're close, but like an old married couple.  They're set in the habits that each of them has built over a lifetime.  Mom stays up late and gets up late; Dad's just the opposite.  Did he say anything, or act like he wasn't feeling well?"

"He seemed fine to me."

"It's you two that's the problem, they are just giving you lovebirds some room," Melissa said.

Jennifer just looked at her best friend, speechless.

"Close your mouth Jen," Melissa said laughing.

"And consider looking outside since you're both on watch," Sam said joining the fray.

"Sam, Dad was right about you getting back to your old self soon," Jennifer said.

"Okay, I'm taking a walk around the house to see if anything is moving," Andy said while getting the AR out of the closet.

Jen grabbed her shotgun and joined him, "Both armed, that's how we practice safe-dating in Texas."

~~~

"How are you feeling about all that happened today, Jennifer?" Andy asked.  They stood on the front porch watching the moon as it struggled to make its presence known through thick cloud cover.  Everyone in the house had finally gone to sleep and it was well after midnight, but neither of them felt sleepy.

"That man would've killed you if I hadn't stopped him.  Then he would've
tried to kill the rest of us, so I feel justified; but I wish none of this had happened.  How are you doing?"

"The same I guess.  The way you looked in the firelight, pumping another round into the chamber, is an even more dramatic mental image than the one of you stopping Jeff."  Andy paused.  "I sure do like the way you handle a shotgun, and thanks for saving me
again."

"The way Dad tells it, you saved all our lives by thinking of the danger when you did.  He thinks a lot of you
, from what Mom told me.  Come to think of it, she's the one that's been acting strange.  Shifting to Dad's schedule and letting a big lump-headed man invade the sanctity of her kitchen.  I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"You've been hanging around Dad too much; you're starting to talk like him.  Anyway, my question is; how are we going to know if anyone's sneaking up on us if you only look at me?"

"I thought I would watch you standing watch."

"Come on, Yank, let's do a perimeter check by walking around the house to see if the fire has attracted any unwanted visitors."

Freezing cold, shivering uncontrollably, Tess stood at Robin's helm in much the same condition as when Eric had dropped her off last night; maybe colder.  The wind had abated some once the storm cell moved east, so she risked a quick trip below to turn on her sailing instruments and to grab a blanket to wrap up in.

Back at the helm she mentally struggled to concentrate on the immediate issues, and put useless thoughts aside.  Once she had Robin following the reciprocal of her incoming track up the river, she locked in the autopilot and reduced speed to minimum steerageway, and then dashed below deck into the cabin.

After throwing on dry clothes she reached for her raingear before remembering she had taken it off in the water last night.  She grabbed a men's XL, foul-weather jacket that a friend had forgotten aboard, it fit her like a kimono—perfect for the circumstances since it covered her legs too.  She tried her VHF radio, but still found the airwaves filled with electronic noise.  The HF radio might be functional, but she didn't have time to try it.  She rushed back to the helm.

About a day later than she had planned to leave
, she was finally on her way.  Although she had both anchors back aboard she had lost her dinghy and outboard motor.  Those were items that she needed to deal with in Annapolis, her next intended port of call.  Most important, she was alive and Robin was afloat—basically undamaged from the knockdown.  Standing at the helm another thought crossed her mind, then shaking her head she disabled the autopilot and spun Robin around.

That she disliked the arrogant bastard was one thing, leaving without checking on him
was quite another.  Already pissed at herself for turning around she gritted her teeth and gave Robin some throttle, if she was going to deal with the bastard she was going to be quick about it.

As Eric's house came into view she saw near total devastation, only one corner of the house still stood.  What she didn't see unnerved her more.  She saw no emergency vehicle flashing lights, no running people, and no sign of Eric; just the eerie still
ness of a lone disaster scene during a morning of chaos.

Loss of the
dingy now limited her choices of getting ashore, leaving the remnants of an old dock in front of Eric's property her only option.  The water depth held steady at six feet as Robin coasted to the wooden structure, and then rapidly decreased, putting Robin aground three feet short of the landing.  Tess took a mooring line with her as she leapt to the dock, looped it around a piling, and took off running for Eric's house.

When Tess got close to the house she started shouting his name.  Finally, a muffled response came from a pile of rubble and Tess called out, "Eric, it's me, Tess.  Keep talking.  I'm trying to locate you!"

"I'm in the northwest corner bedroom, I think."

Moving carefully through the rubble Tess worked toward Eric's voice, "Do you hear me?"

"Yes!  Yes!  You are right above me!"

"Are you under the bed?"

"Yes!"

"Figures," Tess muttered.

"What?"

"Figure you're injured?" Tess covered with guilty pleasure.

"Oh.  No, I don't think so."

Tess started movi
ng pieces of debris that had blown in with the walls and landed on top of the overturned bed.  She moved lumber, bristled with nails, and large chunks of jagged masonry from the pile on the bed's underside.  Through it all Eric gave encouragement as the weight that had slowly been crushing the life out of him diminished.  The culmination of her efforts came when she used a length of 2x6-inch planking to pry the mattress up far enough to allow Eric to crawl out.

Tess gave him a quick once-over and checked for bleeding and other damage, as he stood in his boxers surveying the sodden mass of debris that had been his castle an hour earlier, "Guess hiding under the bed does have its merits, you look to be in one piece, unlike your house.  I'm sorry."

"One of what I truly believed would be my last thoughts was of you, Tess.  Figuring that the tornado probably killed you too, I wondered if we would meet in some sort of waiting room, while our afterlife identities and accommodations were being readied," Eric said with a rueful smile.

"Look, it's starting to rain again and Robin is the only dry spot in the area.  That's where I'm headed, and you're welcome to come along."  Tess took off toward the dock; Eric picked up some scattered belongings and followed her without a word.

Once aboard, Tess gave Eric a towel and a blanket.  They sat under the bimini in the cockpit, both in a mild state of shock.  Tess watched a shivering Eric as he looked through the rain at the pile that used to be his house.  She decided to give him a few moments before pressing him for a decision.  Her desire to leave this side of the Chesapeake had only grown stronger with the morning's excitement.

Eric turned toward her, "Tess, this is a bit awkward for me, considering how we got to this point.  Earlier when death came to add me to its collection, I regretted my arrogance toward you, realizing you were the closest person that could conceivably come to help me, if you were still alive.  I told myself if I had only been a little nicer—then assured myself I was about to get what I deserved, and should just prepare myself for it.

I now know the face of death comes etched with only the truth of one's life, leaving no room for self-deception.  Something changed inside me when I heard your voice, you came to help someone you disliked, and now you are sharing your boat with me without me even asking.  I can't reconcile that and continue as if nothing happened."

"Don't worry about it.  We're even in my view," Tess said.  She looked him in the eyes as she said it to make sure he understood her meaning.  In doing so
, she realized she had not seen Eric without tinted eyeglasses before; his eyes were such an unusual shade of gray.

An unforgettable eye color
might explain why he hid behind tinted lenses, but only if he didn't want to be remembered.  Since most of the people she knew spent untold amounts of money and effort to be noticed, why did Eric hide?

"Not in my mind.  When I saw you fall into the water I had the ulterior motive of not wanting to deal with something happening to you while you were on my land.  What you did, coming here to help me instead of leaving, you did because you're the type that does the
right
thing, regardless of personal feelings of dislike—or risk of danger.  That's the definition of a hero, or heroine in your case, Tess."

"There's a hero in you too, hidden along with your other personas, I'm sure.  But right now I can't tear my mind away from
the storm and how to get myself, and my boat, through it in one piece—preferably still afloat.  Now I've got the added worry about what to do with you.  Keeping in mind that this morning my intentions centered on putting as much distance between us as possible; I'm conflicted here.  Help me out."

"Whatever cosmic chance brought you and this boat up the creek to my property is one thing.  But when you consider each of us sits here now only because the other one happened to be nearby at a crucial moment for the other, it get's a bit more intriguing.  You see that,
don't you?"

"Eric, I see a myriad of things fighting for my attention, and all about how precarious my position is with Robin again aground, no dinghy, radios not working, and more storms coming.  Intriguing conundrums about why you're sitting on my boat isn't even on the list.  A way to get you off my boat, so I can get out of here, is."

"Okay!  Okay, I get it.  Here's what I can do.  I need to grab some more clothes and my emergency reboot case from the house.  Then I'll get the kayak and take your anchor out, so we can winch the boat out of the mud.  There's only one catch; you have to take me with you."

"A deal I can't refuse since I don't see a way to leave without your help.  Where am I taking you?"

"The next place we come to with transportation out of the country.  I'll tell you more later, if we have a deal."

"Deal."

While Tess again tried the radios Eric went to his SUV, now on its side with pieces of the house's roof draped over it, and began looking for a waterproof briefcase.  Once he found it and pulled it from the wreckage he moved to where Tess would not see him, and he opened the case.  Inside the case was a BGAN terminal (Broadband Global Area Network) and a tablet computer that allowed him direct access to Inmarsat communications satellites for voice, fax, and email from almost anywhere on Earth.

Even though the Internet had been s
hut down in the U.S., and the massive radio interference kept most radio frequencies unusable, the finely aimed transmission from his terminal aimed straight up to a satellite would get through and be "parked" on the satellite until picked up by the recipients.  He was anxious to see if any messages were waiting for him.

After firing up the terminal and using the built-in compass for a
rough aim, he was able to fine-tune it by signal strength and lock onto a satellite.  When the tablet came to life he brought up his encrypted email program, plugged in the key, and waited.