Knockdown (16 page)

“Where did you go
?” Dylan stood back on deck with his hands on his hips.

“Could
n’t get the net loose.” I stared longingly back at the tree. Takumi squeezed my hand and paddled back toward
Whistler
. I searched for floating bins.

We snagged
the first one we came to. It was full of family photos and old novels. I dumped the photos into the water, but saved the books. The pictures floated, and then, one by one, sank into the sea.

A baby’s first birthday
. Gone.

A little boy crying on Santa’s lap
. Gone.

An old man
and smiling children with fishing poles. Gone.

“This is so wrong,” I whispered. Mom stored our photos and keepsakes in bins just like these. Was the record of my family floating out to sea too?

I reached for a red and green bin. Setting aside a tiny decorated Christmas tree, I tossed the rest. For a while snowmen and plastic poinsettias drifted away from us.

The third bin was stuffed with snow boots, gloves, and hats.

“We might need these. If the stuff doesn’t fit anyone, we can always dump it later.” Takumi put the full bin on the barge. “Let’s go back. We’re out of room.”

Angry voices floated
over the water. Takumi paddled faster.

“I don’t
care what she says!” Zoë flailed her arms.

Dylan hung his head.

“What’s going on?” I pushed a bin aside so I could see well enough.

“
Angelina found a message from the President on the radio,” Dylan said.

“What’d she say?” My heart beat faster.

Dylan rubbed Zoë’s back as she sobbed. “You can hear for yourself when you get back. Hurry. The sails are ready.”

Chapter Eighteen

Eleven and a Half Days to Go

The sailboat rocked as it floated just outside a debris field. Cole was the only one watching as we paddled back. He took our line and we tied up the raft.

“Where is everyone?” I asked as I handed up
the bins.

“Listening to the President
,” Cole said.

We left the
net in the cockpit and hurried below.

“What’s going on?” I
asked and then saw Zoë’s tear-streaked face.

“
What took you so long?” Dylan glared at me.

“We
were untangling the net.”

The radio softly buzzed. Someone on it was speaking, but I couldn’t make out the words.
Makala tossed a rolled up sock across Jervis’s bed and the dog chased it. The rest of the crew fiddled with their cell phones. Zoë was staring at a picture. Nick had a pad of paper and was copying from his cell onto it.

“
Is that the President? I can’t hear,” I said.

Cole turned up the radio. “It’s star
ting again.”

“This is the Emergency Broadcast
System. Stay tuned for a message from the President of the United States.” Everyone but Makala stopped what they were doing and stared at the radio.

“
Fellow Americans, if you are listening to my message, you have survived. I cannot begin to imagine the terrors you have experienced.” The President sounded weary.

Takumi wrapped his arm around me.
Dylan’s eyebrows knitted together.

She
continued, “We have suffered losses beyond anything we anticipated. The East and West Coasts have been devastated by earthquakes, flooding, and multiple tsunamis.”

The radio became static.

Angelina adjusted the frequency and the President was back. “Around the world, coastal cities in every country have suffered the same fate. Island nations have been destroyed. The Hawaiian Islands, the Caribbean Islands, and most of Japan are in ruins.”

Takumi bit his bottom lip
. I took his hand. Tears flowed down Zoë’s cheeks.

“Since the time of
the dinosaurs, nothing has decimated the earth as the Indonesian volcanoes have. But we are Americans. We are survivors. While we will never forget what we have lost, we will rebuild.”

She
cleared her throat. “All military are ordered to bring their families and report to the nearest surviving bases immediately. My first goal is to reestablish the electrical grid and communications. I want cell towers across the nation back up and functioning. If you have skills that can help in this goal, please find the nearest operation. As of this moment, I am nationalizing all cell phone and electric companies.”

Takumi began shaking. I walked him to his end of the bed and sat with him.

The President went on. “Scientists fear our skies will remain dark for an undetermined amount of time due to the ash and sulfur absorbed in our atmosphere. The Earth will experience increasingly low temperatures. We may experience a prolonged Ice Age.”

She paused,
and sniffed.

“
Everyone must prepare. The northern states will be affected the most. I am asking Southern residents to welcome refugees from the north. This includes our neighbors from Canada. Mexico has opened its borders. For this we are grateful.

“Citizens of the United States, you are not alone. Your government is determined to do all that it can to help in this recovery. I ask for your patience and your prayers. Please continue to check this
broadcast for further updates and share my message with those who cannot hear it. God be with you.”

Dylan dialed
the volume down.

Takumi chewed on his lip
. I didn’t know how to help him. I wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and his shivering lessened.

Almost everyone
began checking their cells.

“
The President just said she was going to start getting cell towers back up. Why are you looking at them now?” I asked.

“No one brought
their chargers. We’re copying phone numbers so we’ll have them later.” Cole lowered his phone. “You didn’t think to pack yours, did you?”

“
No, but Mom did. She even packed her universal charger. It has lots of different attachments. We can share.”

Nick and
Jervis closed their eyes and sighed with relief.

Cole smiled at me. “
Great. Okay, everyone. Every time we turn on the engine, we need to charge as many phones as we can. We’ll take turns with the chargers we have. But we will only have enough time to charge them all a little. We’ll need to keep them off most of the time.”

Dylan dropped his cell on the desk. “
And since we’re all here, I think we should have a meeting.”

Makala giggled, climb
ed off Jervis, and scampered after the dog. This time it had her sock in its mouth.

Angelina snatched
up both the dog and her sister and cuddled with them on Nick and Takumi’s bed. Takumi still sat unmoving, staring at the floor. My heart ached for him.

Dylan waited until the girls were settled, then began. “You heard the President. It is going to get real cold and Seattle has been wiped out.”

“She didn’t say Seattle was wiped out.” Zoë whined. “She just said Hawaii.”

“
Zoë! She said all the coastal cities. Seattle is a coastal city.”

“But it’s in a bay, not open ocean. Maybe it did
survive. What if my parents got a plane back? I didn’t even leave a message. They might be waiting.”

Cole put his hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “You’re right
, Zoë. They might be. And as soon as the cell towers are up, they will call you.”

She
shook her head.

Cole sighed. “The big problem will be surviving the next month or so. We always planned on sailing
south. I’m sorry if you didn’t understand that.”

Dylan crossed his arms
. “We spent a lot of time thinking about this. Dad said our best chance of surviving would be to sail to warmer waters. Now the President is saying the same thing. If we go home, we’ll be on foot. We can travel faster and safer on this boat. We have food and shelter. Most of all, we have each other.”

Zoë
sniffled. Angelina hugged Makala. Jervis flipped through pictures on his cell. Nick paced back and forth across the cabin. Takumi wiped his eyes.

“What are you asking?” I handed Takumi a tissue.

“Our plan is to sail this boat south.” Dylan picked up the note Dad left. “Dad wrote about an island he found that he thinks we should head to. We will be sailing night and day and need all your help. Without cell service, you won’t be able to find your families for a while anyway. When you do hear from them, we can take you ashore. Most likely they are traveling south too.”

Takumi looked up at my brothers and wiped his eyes.
“I’m in.” He held out his hand. My brothers, one by one, shook it.

The rest were silent.

“Maybe we should take a vote,” I whispered.

“What’s the point,”
Zoë said. “You’ve already made up your mind.”

I ignored her.
“Raise your hand if you want to help us sail south.”

Angelina was the first to raise he
r hand. She whispered to Makala. The little girl raised her hand and the puppy’s paw.

Jervis
stood. “I’ll go as far as the southern coast of California. Then I’m getting off and searching for my mom and sisters. They went to Disneyland and probably stayed somewhere down there.”

Dylan and Cole nodded. We stared at Nick.

He stopped pacing and faced my brothers. “I’m with you until I hear from my family. They’re visiting relatives in Idaho. I hate that I’m getting farther and farther away from them, but there’s no pointing in trying to make it to Idaho on foot.”

This time we all nodded.

Last was Zoë. She sniffed. “I want to go back!”

We all
groaned.

Cole walked over and knelt in front
of her. “Zoë, we are not going to sail back. But we aren’t going to keep you captive either. We’ll have to go ashore soon and find fresh water. We can give you what supplies we can spare and a pack. You can try to make it back to Seattle on foot. It will be dangerous, and if you find a destroyed Seattle and no family, you will be stuck. But, it’s your choice.”

“I’m not going to let her go off…” Dylan huffed.

“Then that’s your choice too.” Cole grabbed his head. “I’m going to go lie down for a while. We should set sail as soon as possible. I’ll take the late watch.”

Dylan avoided looking a
t Zoë. “Okay, let’s get those sails up. South it is. I need some help. And if you’re going up top, grab a coat. It’s getting cold.”

Nick, Takumi
and Jervis followed Dylan up on deck. I stood, trying to decide if I should try to talk sense to Zoë or not. Before I’d taken a step toward her, Takumi leapt down the steps and into the cabin.

“What the…” I
said as he pushed me out of his way.

“We g
ot company. Move Cole!” He pulled up the mattress in the v-berth and opened the hidden storage area.

Cole scooted off the bed and leaned against the closet, cradling his head.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Sailors
.” Takumi stood holding two spear guns in the air.

Chapter
Nineteen

Eleven Days to Go

Zoë leapt to her feet and headed for the stairs. “We’re saved. I can go home."

Takumi shook his head
. I grabbed a handful of spear shafts and followed him up top. ‘Good people do bad things when they get desperate,’ Dad always said. How desperate were these sailor guys? He paused halfway up the steps and turned to Angelina. “You and Makala stay down here until we know it’s safe.”

A large inflatabl
e raft with the words ‘USCGC MIDGET’ on the side floated about fifty feet off our starboard. I gasped. That was the name the helicopter guys called out on their radio just before the tsunamis.

The raft’s
canvas cover was ripped and flapping in the breeze. I counted eight sailors. They all wore red survivor suits. Two men were rowing and three had their arms in make-shift slings.

Zoë
jumped up and down and waved. “Over here, over here!”

“Knock it off,”
Dylan snarled.

Zoë
’s face fell. “What?”

Takumi handed
a spear gun to Nick. Nick started to protest. I nudged him from behind and handed him an arrow.

“Where’s Makala?
” Jervis whispered.

“I told them
to stay below.” I stepped to the rail.