November-Charlie (23 page)
Jim came down and sat at the table.
Lou sat down and Staci put her plate in front of her. It looked lovely. Poached fish in a creamy mushroom sauce on a bed of rice.
Staci brought hers across and then Jim’s. Jim’s had a lid over it. “Don’t take the lid off yet,” she told him. She brought across a jug of juice and three glasses. “Juice, Lou?” Lou nodded and Staci carefully filled Lou’s glass and then hers. “Jim?”
“Please.”
Staci poured juice into Jim’s glass. As it went into the glass the orange juice turned purple.
Jim watched in amazement.
“You can take the lid off your lunch, now,” Staci told him.
He raised the lid and almost dropped it in shock. His lunch was fish in sauce and rice, but was bright purple. The girls screamed with laughter.
“You should see your face,” Staci said.
Lou had a mouthful of her lunch. “Eat Jim. It’s lovely.”
“But it’s purple.”
“Yeah, but it’s perfectly edible, honest.”
Jim looked at them and back at his plate. “It’s purple.”
“We know. It’s revenge. We said we would get you back and we have. Now eat. You can’t let good food go to waste. Remember all those starving children.”
“They’re welcome to it.”
“Now be a good boy and eat it before it gets cold.”
Jim ate every mouthful.
Lou and Staci smiled triumphantly at each other. Revenge was sweet, or in this case, purple.
~*~
In the early hours of November seventeenth, the fuel ran out. The engines spluttered and died. Lou, who was doing the nightshift, woke Jim, who put up the sails in dawn‘s early light. Fortunately, there was a good wind.
After breakfast, Staci and Lou went out on deck in the sunshine.
Jim leaned out of the door. “Lou, can I show you something on the bridge?”
“What’s up?”
“I’ve altered course,” he said. “Things have changed now. We should arrive the day after tomorrow.”
“Where are we headed?”
Jim pointed to the map. “Saipan. If that’s OK.”
“That’s fine.” She pointed to something on the horizon. “Where’s that?”
“Agrihan. Too small and no ports. Plus, it has an active volcano.”
“How active a volcano? It’s getting closer.”
“No idea. But like I said, it doesn’t have a port so we can’t stop there,” Jim said. “Beach landings are dangerous. Did you know that most accidents at sea occur when landing?”
“No I didn’t. How?”
“Hidden rocks, reefs, waves knocking against the side of the boat, white horses, your mate the shark to name a few.”
Lou grinned. “Wouldn’t you notice the horses?”
“Go.” Jim pointed. “I’ve got this.”
~*~
The afternoon passed with the island growing bigger. “It looks like a cardboard cutout,” Lou said as Staci dozed. “It’s pretty. All those trees. Jim, exactly
how
close
are
you taking us?” Lou called.
There was no answer.
“Jim?”
~*~
Jim jerked awake. The island loomed up in front of them, completely blocking their path. Jagged rocks pushed up from the sea and waves crashed over them.
Jim checked the helm. “I don’t understand,” he said. “She hasn’t kept her course.”
Lou hobbled up and looked over his shoulder. “The autopilots not on. You fell asleep, didn’t you? So no one’s been steering her.”
Jim grabbed the wheel, tried to bring
Avon
about and struggled to turn away from the rocks. It was a losing battle. A huge wave buffeted the boat and knocked her sideways. A horrific crunching tearing sound filled the boat and the deck vibrated under their feet throwing them to the floor.
Staci pulled herself up the steps. “Jim. There’s a hole in the hull. We’re taking on water. Fast.”
Jim flew down the steps to check for himself.
Staci shook her head. “But don’t take my word for it.”
Jim’s voice came through the intercom. “Staci, pack quickly. Lou, grab the charts and all you can. I’ll do the food.”
Avon
had a pronounced list by now which made walking difficult.
“Jim, we have to go,” Lou said. “Jim. She is going down under us. We have to go. Now.”
She pushed him towards the door.
They joined Staci and Deefer on the sloping deck.
Jim looked round him in disbelief.
“Jim?” Staci said. “What do we do? I’m scared.”
“We abandon ship, kiddo.” He put the bag down.
Avon
gave a creaking sigh and settled further onto the rocks with a jolt.
“Staci, give me a hand with this.”
Together they pushed the boxed dinghy to the side of
Avon.
Jim opened it.
He and Staci threw it over the side into the sea. It inflated automatically. They threw the holdalls containing the food, the rucksacks of clothes and Lou’s sewing bag into the dinghy.
Lou sat on the side of
Avon
and with difficulty lowered herself into the dinghy.
Staci followed her.
Jim handed Deefer, and then Lou’s crutches, over the side. He stood there, unwilling to go but unable to stay, finally understanding why the captain always went down with the ship. As
Avon
moved and the deck slanted more, he finally went over the side. He pushed away and began rowing towards the shore. Halfway there he paused.
They turned and took a last look at
Avon
.
Listing badly she was almost off the rock. A large wave crashed onto her deck and she began to sink below the waves.
“I didn’t pick up the laptop,” Staci said.
“Don’t worry about it.” Jim began to row again. He guided them through the rocks around the coast a little until he found a beach. Reaching shallow water, he jumped out and pulled the dinghy ashore.
Deefer leapt out into the water. He splashed onto the beach, shook himself and barked.
Jim helped Lou out of the boat. Her crutches sank into the sand and made it impossible to walk. Jim swung her into his arms and carried her. He went back to the boat and pulled it well up the beach.
He and Staci took the bags up to where Lou sat.
He stood there in a state of shock, full of mixed emotions. Joy at having made landfall, but deep sadness at the loss of
Avon
.
Avon
was more than just a boat; she was a friend. She had been their shelter, their home, and a part of their lives for almost six months. She had brought them safely halfway across the world and now they had failed her.
Jim was devastated.
Avon
was his and now she was gone.
Staci rubbed the tears off her cheeks. “Where to now?” she asked.
Jim looked round.
The beach they had landed on was no more than a small cove, leading up to the forest. Trees grew at the top of the beach.
“It’ll be dark soon,” he said. “I suggest we stay here tonight and find help in the morning.” He looked at the others. “Come on,” he said, sounding a lot cheerier than he felt. “Why the long faces? We are alive, aren’t we? Besides, we can’t stand here all night. In the words of Baroness Thatcher, ‘now there’s work to be done.’”
The girls laughed.
However, the thought or rather, the reality was still there. They were shipwrecked on a remote island without any possibility of rescue.
Jim set about building a campsite just on the edge of the forest. As darkness fell, Jim made a fire and balanced a pan on top of it. He poured the last of the milk into it and heated it. He made cocoa and they sat quietly drinking it.
The fire crackled and the darkness closed around them.
“It’s so quiet,” Staci said. “I’d got used to the background engine noise. It annoyed me at first, but I miss it.”
They lapsed into silence again.
Then Staci said, “Knowing our luck this place will be inhabited by cannibals.”
“I doubt it, Stace. This is the twenty-first century. They don’t exist anymore.” Lou said.
“You said that about the sharks, Lou,” Jim teased.
“It’s not as if I could forget them. Am I ever going to live that down?”
Jim shook his head. “Nope.”
“I’m tired,” Staci yawned. “I’m going to turn in.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Lou said.
“I’ll come too,” Jim said, forgetting there was nowhere to go. They lay close to the fire, under the stars.
Staci shivered.
“Are you cold, kiddo?”
“Not really.”
Jim lay awake for a while. By the turning and tossing, he knew no one was getting much sleep. The loss of
Avon
was very much on his mind. As with most deaths, it had happened swiftly, with little or no warning.
Both girls seemed to finally cry themselves to sleep, but Jim lay awake.
He too shed a tear or two, being careful not to let the girls see, having been told from an early age that big boys don’t cry. He did thank God for the fact that their lives had been spared, although he couldn’t work out why they needed to be shipwrecked.
Lying on the sand wide awake in dawn’s early light, Jim realized that they must have been stranded here for a reason, and it was not up to him to question why.
He just had to find a way home. But he’d failed in his quest to find his parents. And he’d failed to keep his sister and his best friend safe. Because of a decision he’d made, they were stranded without chance of rescue.
Ironic.
He’d set out to rescue his parents, but now he needed saving.
Who will rescue me
?
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