Seeking Safe Harbor: Suddenly Everything Changed (The Seeking Series) (21 page)

“Just to the supermarket and back,” said Wang, smiling.

Kotchel laughed. “I’ve never heard a cutter referred to as a store before, but I guess it fits.”

“Not much in this world is as it was,” said Wang, with tinge of sadness in his voice.

T
HE Coast Guard skiff took Captain Wang back to his submarine, and the Chinese warship submerged as soon as he was aboard.

Kotchel asked the crew of the
La Sirena
to gather around the cockpit. “We haven’t had a chance to discuss your plans, but you need to know that what I told Captain Wang was all true. The destruction caused by this war has resulted in the worst possible situation imaginable. People are dying everywhere, some from sicknesses, and some from starvation. Others are being killed by people that a little over a month ago, they considered friends. Some of the killers were bad to start with, of course. Most, though, have only recently turned that way. They seem to think that the only, or at least the fastest, way of getting sustenance is to take it from others.”

“More immediately, gangs of looters are running rampant throughout Santa Barbara. There is hardly an area that hasn’t been overrun by what has become the worst criminal element ever seen in this country. It is much too dangerous for you to go ashore there. Fortunately, you don’t have to. The reason we have access to food is because there is a settlement on Catalina Island. We helped them set up, and stop there regularly. We’ve taken some people there because it is still peaceful.”

“At Avalon?” Stacey asked. “That’s a nice little town.”

“No, I’m afraid Avalon has been taken over by the same kinds of hooligans that are terrorizing Santa Barbara. The settlement is at the other end of the island, the area called Two Harbors, or The Isthmus.”

“The Isthmus is a great spot to spend a few peaceful days,” Zach allowed, “but there’s not much there.”

“Before now, just a store, a restaurant, and a small hotel. There’s also a little schoolhouse, which will be getting plenty of use. The people have been able to live there without interference because there isn’t much there for people to steal. The thugs haven’t bothered to invade them like they did Avalon. Not yet, anyway. There were about a hundred and fifty people there to start with, and they accepted the newcomers without qualms when they learned a little about them.

“You see, the people we took there are survivalists. They had to leave their homes because they lived in areas that either were destroyed by bombs or were overrun by terrorists. They are tough, but the numbers were stacked too heavily against them and they had to get away. We came across them on the docks of Port Hueneme after they fought their way there. They'd come in vans and pickups, so they managed to bring most of the supplies they had stored with them. The people that were already at The Isthmus are not survivalists in the strict definition of the term, but people living in an isolated area like that are natural survivors.

“We figured The Isthmus was a logical match for those people. Fortunately, the people already there saw it the same way. What the newcomers brought with them, plus what the locals had on hand, has allowed them to live rather comfortably so far, and those supplies should carry them for another few months. There’s no sign of any radioactivity getting out that far, so the fishing is good, and they have buffalo.”

“Buffalo?” commented Ron. “On an island?”

“Yes,” said Kotchel. “Most people don’t know it, but a herd was started there many years ago. So, they have fish and meat, and the newcomers immediately planted crops. They’re in pretty good shape.”

“As I remember, it’s too hilly and dry there for crops,” said Zach.

“We took them tractors, so they’re cultivating the hills. As far as water goes, there are a couple of wells, and we gave them a water supply by towing a badly damaged guided missile cruiser out there. It is no longer useful militarily, but the desalinization plant is working just fine. We have an almost unlimited supply of diesel, so we can keep things going indefinitely.”

“You said the new people were at the docks of Port Hueneme,” Zach recalled. “That’s a navy base. Wasn’t it hit hard?”

“Yes, by missiles, but they were conventional. The base was wiped out, several docks were totaled, and all the gasoline tanks blew. However, there is enough dock space left for our use, and four diesel tanks are intact and full. One small naval craft and we are the only ships using the docks and the fuel, so what is there is more than sufficient. We collected all the surviving naval personnel we could find and set them up there. They’re guarding the facility.”

Kotchel ended his summary by saying, “That’s pretty much the situation as it stands. I’m telling you all this because we have an agreement with them. When we find compatible people, we take them there. That's where you need to go.”

“Eventually, we will,” Zach told him. “But, first I need to get to Santa Maria.”

“I told you,” Captain Kotchel said emphatically, “it’s too dangerous.”

“I heard you, but that’s where I’m going,” Zach stated flatly.

“W
HAT’S so all fired important in Santa Maria that you’d risk your life for it?” Kotchel wanted to know.

“My parents,” said Zach, not backing down in the slightest.

“Are they still alive?”

“With no communications, I don’t know for sure. But if enemy attacks didn’t kill them, then I’m sure they are.”

Kotchel tried not to sound too fatalistic but he didn’t beat around the bush. “It’s likely they would have run out of food weeks ago. Besides, they can’t be young, and there are many tough young hoodlums out there. An older couple wouldn’t stand much of a chance if they were attacked.”

“My parents would,” Zach argued. “And, they wouldn’t have run out of food; they are survivalists. They have twelve months worth of food and water on hand at all times.”

“The very thing gangs go after,” Kotchel pointed out.

“In this case, at the risk of their own lives. My dad and mom keep weapons on hand at all times, too. I’ve seen my father hit a running coyote at a hundred yards. My mom is just about as good.”

“It’ll be people after their food, not coyotes.”

“He was in the thick of things in Viet Nam. If anyone can protect himself and his loved ones, it’s my dad.”

Kotchel sized Zach up. “And he raised a son who’s just as tough.”

“I wouldn’t say that, but I’m just as determined.”

The Coast Guard officer sighed. “I can’t stop you, but I still advise against it.” He could see that Zach would not be taking his advice, so he asked, “Are you going by yourself?”

Ron spoke up. “I’m going with him.”

“Me, too,” added George.

“Me, three,” said Denise.

“In view of what the captain told us, we may have to rethink your going,” Stacey said to her daughter.

“It’s because of what he said that it’s important that I go,” argued Denise. “I’m the best shot on this boat.”

“I’m a pretty good shot,” Ron said.

Denise put her hands on her hips and stared him down. “I’m better.”

“She probably is, Ron,” Zach told him. “She’d be a terrific back-up for us.”

He turned to Stacey. The two communicated in the silent way couples do after years together, even in a situation as unprecedented as this. Stacey bit her lip but nodded.

“No going off on one of your wild goose chases, Denise,” her mother said to the girl, reluctantly relenting.

“I understand the situation, Mom. I’ll be right by Dad’s side at all times.”

“I don’t know if this is a family of ‘survivalists’,” Kotchel said, “but it’s obvious you’re a group of survivors.”

“We face situations squarely,” said Stacey.

“Okay, at least accept some advice. Forget Santa Barbara. Go up the coast twenty miles or so. You can go ashore at the area between Santa Barbara and where Vandenberg Air Force Base was before it was destroyed. Gaviota State Park. I would normally suggest even farther north, where you would be closer to Santa Maria when you went ashore, but we’ve seen some bad looking characters along the beaches there, so I wouldn’t recommend that. From the sea, it looked like Gaviota was deserted when we passed by last week. There is not much beach there, but there is a spot where we could get you in close and you might go ashore unnoticed. Don’t try it with that little dinghy you have hanging back there, though. We’re heading north, anyway, so we’ll go with you, and I’ll have a man take you to shore on our skiff.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, captain,” Zach said sincerely.

“I’m not just being thoughtful. If you’re willing, I’d like you to do something for the people at The Isthmus.”

“What do they need?”

“Seeds. They planted everything they had, but we keep adding people. They need a lot more vegetables. Large portions of the state are contaminated, so we can’t get seeds in those places. Santa Maria escaped radiation, and I don’t believe any of the rampant diseases have hit there yet.”

“As I recall, there are several nurseries there. If any are still in existence and still have seeds, we’ll find a way to get them.”

“I thought as much.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. Advice on how to travel. You will be closer to Santa Maria from where we drop you off than from Santa Barbara, but walking will take too much time. You'll need to drive. I see you have those barrels of diesel back there, so look for a vehicle that uses diesel. Most gasoline tanks blew, and so did a lot of diesel tanks, so there is little fuel available. Having your own is the safest bet.

“How do we get a vehicle?”

“There are cars and trucks abandoned everywhere. For the most part, the owners were killed either in the attacks or by carjackers since. The thugs drive the vehicles until they run out of fuel, and then they just leave them by the side of the road. If you can find a four-wheel drive, so much the better but you’ll probably have to take the first diesel vehicle you find. Do you have small cans to haul fuel?”

“Yes, a two-gallon can.”

“That won’t be enough. We’ll supply you with a couple of five-gallon cans.”

“I really appreciate that, captain. I think one is enough, but these aren't normal circumstances. Based on what we’ve run into so far, and from what you’ve told us, it’s better to have the extra can, just in case.”

“Expect the unexpected is the motto we live by these days.”

T
HEY reasoned that most of the people they had to watch out for were probably night owls. The thugs would probably be marauding until the wee hours of the morning and wouldn’t start up again until early afternoon. Therefore, it made sense to hit the beach just before sunrise. That should give Zach and his small crew time to find a vehicle and get to Santa Maria before the bad guys went on the prowl. Not having to fight their way to Zach parents’ house would be a relief after what they’d been through so far.

The cutter sailed north the afternoon before to check activities in the waters there. While they were gone, the
La Sirena
sailed to a position about a thousand yards offshore at a spot they reckoned was where they could go ashore safely. The place appeared to be easily accessible by sea, but not so easy to get to by land. Even in peacetime, it was unlikely that anyone used the tiny beach much. Now, they hoped, it wasn’t being used at all.