Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Thanks, CCG!
gonewacky
Veteran Member
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Ian and Oskar
Nadia’s radio call jolted him. He was working hard at staying on course and following the compass and GPS markers.
“Big ****ing storm. Raft up. Swim buddies pairs. Deploy sea anchors. Retract rudders. Activate the strobes on your helmets and tighten up everything. We’re stuck in the open and gotta ride it out. Nose to the wind and waves. Issues, sing out.”
When Nadia’s commands came over the radio, Ian was torn. He knew out here on the water, she was the boss. As much as all the years leading trips was ingrained in him, he knew she was the best one to be making such calls. That didn’t mean it was easy for him to just blindly obey. It was a fight.
His brain commanded him to check all the people, get a head count, make sure everyone was safe and doing their steps, scanning the weather to try and see what caused Nadia to make this call, picture on the chart where they were, try and remember where their next haven was, and on and on and on.
While his brain fought and fought, his hands worked at their tasks, thank God! He knew being in the front, the first thing he had to do was slow down and just keep headway. Erich would be coming up from behind to raft up. While he was waiting on his arrival, he turned on his strobe and checked his spray skirts. He couldn’t do much else until Erich got here.
It didn’t take long before he heard Erich’s voice from behind.
“Coming up on your right side.”
Ian swung his paddle out of the way and watched the nose of Erich’s Kayak slide up next to him easy as you please, like they were doing it in the pool back at the Lodge.
He felt Erich’s paddle hit the kayak behind him and felt the hull bump his as Erich secured the lashing.
“Ready”
At this command, Ian brought his own paddle down across in front of Erich and waited for him to adjust it until it was evenly spaced. When Erich started attaching the securing straps, so did Ian.
“Alright Ian, toss your anchor.” Erich said, as calm as if he was ordering an appetizer at a restaurant instead of preparing for a probably hellish storm about to engulf them on the open ocean.
It took some fumbling for Ian to get the right storage sack open and the sea anchor played out in front of them. As the line went taunt, Erich spoke again.
“Alright, rudders up then I’ll toss my anchor out.”
All Ian could think hearing him was ‘I’ll take the White Zinfandel with the fish.’ By the time Ian had his rudder up and secured, Erich was tightening straps and flaps and activating the strobe on the back of his helmet. When Erich paused and looked over at him, he pointed at Ian and gave him a questioning look along with a thumbs up gesture. Ian returned the Gesture, not knowing anything else he could or should be doing. At this point he was pretty low on the totem pole in things right now. Nadia, Erich and Mia were in charge. The radio in his ear crackled again. Mia’s voice this time.
“Sea anchors deployed, rudders up, strobes on. Bail bags and med bag lanyards connected. Securing all loose items now.”
Ian though Mia sounded like she was at the same table as Erich; calm, cool, collected. God! He envied them their poise.
“OK. Half hour check-ins and sing out if anything changes.” Nadia sounded more nervous, but that was only in comparison to Mia and Erich.
“Copy.”
Now it was Erich’s turn.
“Raft one, Comm check.”
“Copy, Raft one.”
“Sea anchors deployed, rudders up, strobes on. Bail bags and med bag lanyards connected. All loose items stowed. We’ll do five-minute laser sweeps once it gets dark to deconflict with islands.”
“OK, Raft one. Half hour check-ins and sing out if anything changes. Set off a flare if you make landfall or lost comms rally up.”
“Copy.”
Erich looked over at Ian.
“I bet since Nadia and Oskar are rafted up, that ****er will be napping before the next comm check since he doesn’t have to steer or paddle.”
Ian thought about Erich’s comment and thought back to the wild ride through the storm coming down. Even now, he could see Oskar dozing in the chair beside him on the pitching deck.
“No bet.”
Nadia’s radio call jolted him. He was working hard at staying on course and following the compass and GPS markers.
“Big ****ing storm. Raft up. Swim buddies pairs. Deploy sea anchors. Retract rudders. Activate the strobes on your helmets and tighten up everything. We’re stuck in the open and gotta ride it out. Nose to the wind and waves. Issues, sing out.”
When Nadia’s commands came over the radio, Ian was torn. He knew out here on the water, she was the boss. As much as all the years leading trips was ingrained in him, he knew she was the best one to be making such calls. That didn’t mean it was easy for him to just blindly obey. It was a fight.
His brain commanded him to check all the people, get a head count, make sure everyone was safe and doing their steps, scanning the weather to try and see what caused Nadia to make this call, picture on the chart where they were, try and remember where their next haven was, and on and on and on.
While his brain fought and fought, his hands worked at their tasks, thank God! He knew being in the front, the first thing he had to do was slow down and just keep headway. Erich would be coming up from behind to raft up. While he was waiting on his arrival, he turned on his strobe and checked his spray skirts. He couldn’t do much else until Erich got here.
It didn’t take long before he heard Erich’s voice from behind.
“Coming up on your right side.”
Ian swung his paddle out of the way and watched the nose of Erich’s Kayak slide up next to him easy as you please, like they were doing it in the pool back at the Lodge.
He felt Erich’s paddle hit the kayak behind him and felt the hull bump his as Erich secured the lashing.
“Ready”
At this command, Ian brought his own paddle down across in front of Erich and waited for him to adjust it until it was evenly spaced. When Erich started attaching the securing straps, so did Ian.
“Alright Ian, toss your anchor.” Erich said, as calm as if he was ordering an appetizer at a restaurant instead of preparing for a probably hellish storm about to engulf them on the open ocean.
It took some fumbling for Ian to get the right storage sack open and the sea anchor played out in front of them. As the line went taunt, Erich spoke again.
“Alright, rudders up then I’ll toss my anchor out.”
All Ian could think hearing him was ‘I’ll take the White Zinfandel with the fish.’ By the time Ian had his rudder up and secured, Erich was tightening straps and flaps and activating the strobe on the back of his helmet. When Erich paused and looked over at him, he pointed at Ian and gave him a questioning look along with a thumbs up gesture. Ian returned the Gesture, not knowing anything else he could or should be doing. At this point he was pretty low on the totem pole in things right now. Nadia, Erich and Mia were in charge. The radio in his ear crackled again. Mia’s voice this time.
“Sea anchors deployed, rudders up, strobes on. Bail bags and med bag lanyards connected. Securing all loose items now.”
Ian though Mia sounded like she was at the same table as Erich; calm, cool, collected. God! He envied them their poise.
“OK. Half hour check-ins and sing out if anything changes.” Nadia sounded more nervous, but that was only in comparison to Mia and Erich.
“Copy.”
Now it was Erich’s turn.
“Raft one, Comm check.”
“Copy, Raft one.”
“Sea anchors deployed, rudders up, strobes on. Bail bags and med bag lanyards connected. All loose items stowed. We’ll do five-minute laser sweeps once it gets dark to deconflict with islands.”
“OK, Raft one. Half hour check-ins and sing out if anything changes. Set off a flare if you make landfall or lost comms rally up.”
“Copy.”
Erich looked over at Ian.
“I bet since Nadia and Oskar are rafted up, that ****er will be napping before the next comm check since he doesn’t have to steer or paddle.”
Ian thought about Erich’s comment and thought back to the wild ride through the storm coming down. Even now, he could see Oskar dozing in the chair beside him on the pitching deck.
“No bet.”
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Ca;m before the storm! Thanks, CCG!
feralferret
Veteran Member
Thank you!
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Later
It was dark. She was cold. The gritty salt spray felt like sand on her skin. They had spun round and round, crashed up and down a thousand times or more. The flashes of lightning made the darkness deeper. The earpiece for the radio and the radio calls had given her a sense of time ticking by, but even those were just pinpoints in the blackness.
She kept her eyes closed as much as she could, otherwise, the brief glimpses of the flashing strobes and the intermittent sweeps of the green laser way out front all gave her competing input to what her ears told her. It was the only way to keep from vomiting again in spite of the patch Mia had put behind her ear earlier.
Evelyn tried to force her mind back into a happy place. She had years of practice as a kid being able to do that. It was one of the tools for her sanity following surgeries. Laying in hospital beds, able to do nothing, facing the crushing loss of mobility, the destruction of all her future plans, her hopes and dreams, her only salvation was going elsewhere in her head, away from the blank sterile walls and the beeping machines.
She hadn’t needed to escape like that in years. She still knew how, but the images and places she had used as a kid wouldn’t work for her now. The concept was still the same, and she knew more about the psychological underpinnings and the eastern philosophies wrapped into this type of meditation. Hell, she had taught it to her patients enough. Now she had to practice what she preached again.
She started simple. What did she want and, more importantly, what was she trying to block out? She wanted to be warm, comfortable and safe. She wanted something she could use to dominate her brain and force alternate inputs.
Her mind cast about, digging through her recent memories for something she could immerse herself in. Too far back would be rejected as no longer her, no longer fitting. Gradually her mind started with the simple parts. Warm. Comfortable. Safe.
She could feel the warm water flowing over her, the scent of the shampoo in her nose. The gentle scrubbing was making her clean. Charlotte’s hands. Their touch pulled her into another world. She could stay here a while until things calmed down.
It was dark. She was cold. The gritty salt spray felt like sand on her skin. They had spun round and round, crashed up and down a thousand times or more. The flashes of lightning made the darkness deeper. The earpiece for the radio and the radio calls had given her a sense of time ticking by, but even those were just pinpoints in the blackness.
She kept her eyes closed as much as she could, otherwise, the brief glimpses of the flashing strobes and the intermittent sweeps of the green laser way out front all gave her competing input to what her ears told her. It was the only way to keep from vomiting again in spite of the patch Mia had put behind her ear earlier.
Evelyn tried to force her mind back into a happy place. She had years of practice as a kid being able to do that. It was one of the tools for her sanity following surgeries. Laying in hospital beds, able to do nothing, facing the crushing loss of mobility, the destruction of all her future plans, her hopes and dreams, her only salvation was going elsewhere in her head, away from the blank sterile walls and the beeping machines.
She hadn’t needed to escape like that in years. She still knew how, but the images and places she had used as a kid wouldn’t work for her now. The concept was still the same, and she knew more about the psychological underpinnings and the eastern philosophies wrapped into this type of meditation. Hell, she had taught it to her patients enough. Now she had to practice what she preached again.
She started simple. What did she want and, more importantly, what was she trying to block out? She wanted to be warm, comfortable and safe. She wanted something she could use to dominate her brain and force alternate inputs.
Her mind cast about, digging through her recent memories for something she could immerse herself in. Too far back would be rejected as no longer her, no longer fitting. Gradually her mind started with the simple parts. Warm. Comfortable. Safe.
She could feel the warm water flowing over her, the scent of the shampoo in her nose. The gentle scrubbing was making her clean. Charlotte’s hands. Their touch pulled her into another world. She could stay here a while until things calmed down.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Nadia and Oskar
The storm raged for hours. Oskar kept telling her it wasn’t that bad, and they would be fine. She thought he was lying until she saw the gleam in his eye. Her kayak was connected to his, and if he was safe, then she was too.
That might have helped her own survival worries, but it didn’t do anything about her worries for the others. Her eyes were constantly sweeping back and forth between the two clumps of flashing lights, trying to see how they were doing without being constantly asking things on the radio.
Once the storm was upon them in earnest, the darkness wrapped them up, only letting the brief glimpses of the flashing strobes be seen from time to time. Later, she got glimpses of the laser flashing forward, searching for danger, but it was too far for her to see any results through the rain. As the night wore on, she just had to trust and wait for the storm to lift.
The storm raged for hours. Oskar kept telling her it wasn’t that bad, and they would be fine. She thought he was lying until she saw the gleam in his eye. Her kayak was connected to his, and if he was safe, then she was too.
That might have helped her own survival worries, but it didn’t do anything about her worries for the others. Her eyes were constantly sweeping back and forth between the two clumps of flashing lights, trying to see how they were doing without being constantly asking things on the radio.
Once the storm was upon them in earnest, the darkness wrapped them up, only letting the brief glimpses of the flashing strobes be seen from time to time. Later, she got glimpses of the laser flashing forward, searching for danger, but it was too far for her to see any results through the rain. As the night wore on, she just had to trust and wait for the storm to lift.
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Thanks, CCG!
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
And I love, LOVE them!
My wife however is totally in your camp on this which, considering her adventurous streak, surprised me no end. Oddly, even though I had Para wings, I don't like heights all that much and me in tiny craft on big water is not in a comfort zone.
Each to their own
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
On a Beach, Somewhere
The kayaks were pulled up onto a slightly less rocky spot along the shore. They hoped they wouldn’t be noticed among all the trash and debris tossed up on the rocks. No One really felt like doing much of anything after spending so much time in the giant blender. The first one to make a move was Mia.
“OK, guys. We need a plan, and for that we need to know where we are. Ian, Nadia, why don’t you guys crack out the GPS and maps and find out how far off course we are. Oskar, can you help Evelyn and Erich in double-checking the kayaks and seeing about repairs and shit?”
“And what are you going to do while we do this, Mia?” Erich asked.
“I’m going to go check the inland side of this beach and see if we have to worry about anyone else finding us.” She said as she pulled out the FAL and a bandolier.
The kayaks were pulled up onto a slightly less rocky spot along the shore. They hoped they wouldn’t be noticed among all the trash and debris tossed up on the rocks. No One really felt like doing much of anything after spending so much time in the giant blender. The first one to make a move was Mia.
“OK, guys. We need a plan, and for that we need to know where we are. Ian, Nadia, why don’t you guys crack out the GPS and maps and find out how far off course we are. Oskar, can you help Evelyn and Erich in double-checking the kayaks and seeing about repairs and shit?”
“And what are you going to do while we do this, Mia?” Erich asked.
“I’m going to go check the inland side of this beach and see if we have to worry about anyone else finding us.” She said as she pulled out the FAL and a bandolier.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Mia moved up the beach, dodging around all manor of trash and garbage. Fishing nets, refrigerators, boat parts, wood, bottles, bones, on and on it went. This part of the beach seemed to be in just the right spot where currents and tides would dump just about anything in the water, including them.
She counted them lucky to have come to this location with enough light to see, and low enough swells and waves to make it ashore in one piece. Just about everyone was seasick from being pounded and tossed about. The only two who weren’t completely wasted and spent were her and Erich, and Mia wasn’t trusting Erich to hike over this terrain, not and keep an eye on anything but his own feet.
Mia was worried. If this stretch of land was anywhere close to some sort of civilization, this area was probably visited frequently by scavengers, especially now. Her other worry was if someone else ended up here from their boat being blown ashore. She wasn’t about to let her guard down until she knew they were safe.
One of her first warnings was seeing the trail through the debris. It wasn’t a trail like you would expect an animal to make, following the path of least resistance. This was a man-made path. Things were stacked up and moved aside here and there.
She had the stock of her rifle folded out now. She was looking for more signs. She needed to know what they had here. She couldn’t rest until she had answers.
She counted them lucky to have come to this location with enough light to see, and low enough swells and waves to make it ashore in one piece. Just about everyone was seasick from being pounded and tossed about. The only two who weren’t completely wasted and spent were her and Erich, and Mia wasn’t trusting Erich to hike over this terrain, not and keep an eye on anything but his own feet.
Mia was worried. If this stretch of land was anywhere close to some sort of civilization, this area was probably visited frequently by scavengers, especially now. Her other worry was if someone else ended up here from their boat being blown ashore. She wasn’t about to let her guard down until she knew they were safe.
One of her first warnings was seeing the trail through the debris. It wasn’t a trail like you would expect an animal to make, following the path of least resistance. This was a man-made path. Things were stacked up and moved aside here and there.
She had the stock of her rifle folded out now. She was looking for more signs. She needed to know what they had here. She couldn’t rest until she had answers.
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Thanks, CCG! No free lunches!
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
At the Kayak
Ian sat there leaning against the kayak with his eyes closed. He flexed his fingers in the gravel he was sitting on. He was trying to…he didn’t know what he was trying to do. What he did know was he was thankful the beach wasn’t moving. He was tired of vomiting.
He heard movement, voices. It was Nadia and Oskar. Nadia’s voice sounded weak but steady. She sounded a damn site better than he knew his own voice did, or would if he were to summon the energy to speak. It would be hoarse and feeble if he managed to do so.
Then there was Oskar. That ****ing bastard! He looked like he just came from a fine day at a spa! He’s well-rested and chipper. It was infuriating! Ian could hear Oskar reassuring Nadia he would get started setting up tents and cooking dinner.
Ian was supposed to be helping Nadia figure out where they were and where they were headed. Right now, he couldn’t focus his eyes, much less even think. He forced his eyes open. Erich was sitting next to Evelyn against her kayak. She was slumped against him, her own eyes closed.
He knew she was exhausted. Erich was holding her as his eyes swept the beach. He came across Ian’s eyes. He just gave a small nod to Ian and continued.
Ian closed his eyes again and leaned his head back against the kayak. One question still bounced around his head.
Where was Mia?
Ian sat there leaning against the kayak with his eyes closed. He flexed his fingers in the gravel he was sitting on. He was trying to…he didn’t know what he was trying to do. What he did know was he was thankful the beach wasn’t moving. He was tired of vomiting.
He heard movement, voices. It was Nadia and Oskar. Nadia’s voice sounded weak but steady. She sounded a damn site better than he knew his own voice did, or would if he were to summon the energy to speak. It would be hoarse and feeble if he managed to do so.
Then there was Oskar. That ****ing bastard! He looked like he just came from a fine day at a spa! He’s well-rested and chipper. It was infuriating! Ian could hear Oskar reassuring Nadia he would get started setting up tents and cooking dinner.
Ian was supposed to be helping Nadia figure out where they were and where they were headed. Right now, he couldn’t focus his eyes, much less even think. He forced his eyes open. Erich was sitting next to Evelyn against her kayak. She was slumped against him, her own eyes closed.
He knew she was exhausted. Erich was holding her as his eyes swept the beach. He came across Ian’s eyes. He just gave a small nod to Ian and continued.
Ian closed his eyes again and leaned his head back against the kayak. One question still bounced around his head.
Where was Mia?
feralferret
Veteran Member
Thank you.
223shootersc
Veteran Member
THANKS, CCG!
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Elsewhere
Mia had followed the trail. She wasn’t sure why she went as far as she did. The trail worked it’s way off to the right, further down the coast. She couldn’t tell how long it had been since someone used this trail but she was wanting more information.
She went through a small gap in the rocks. What she found shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. There was another small beach, smaller than the one they had landed on behind her. This one was also choked with trash and debris, but she could see where the trail she was on led down into the mess.
Mia wasn’t going to just rush down there. She spent a good ten minutes looking everything over. One thing she was looking for was movement of any kind. She wanted to know who or what made this trail.
Tires, fishing nets, floats, bottles, Styrofoam, on and on the junk went. The biggest things she could identify appeared to be the remains of some kind of boat. Her eyes followed the trail up to the side of the vessel. This was where she watched hard for any movement at all, but nothing moved in the cold winter wind.
She didn’t know why she went down there, at least other than curiosity. She wasn’t seeing signs of a lot of people, or some other danger they had to worry about so this didn’t make much sense. Yet her feet kept moving.
As she moved forward, she was seeing the signs that at least at some point someone was here. Items were moved and arranged in ways not explainable by the wind or the waves. As she got closer to the boat, she could see more of it through the junk and debris festooned all over and around it.
It looked to be what was left of about a thirty-six-to-forty-foot sailboat, probably a pretty nice one once. No mast now, keel either gone or buried in the sand, at least one or two holes through the side as well if she was right in what she saw to be patches high up the hull. This thing was going nowhere.
A thirty-six-footer makes a great size for a live aboard for a couple people, right up to the point they get hit with a storm. Then it’s a cork in a hot tub with the jets on high. With the tidal waves and the later winter storms, this thing had no chance.
When Mia got close, she kept following the path around to the other side of the boat. Now she was on the side she couldn’t see before. Now she could see the steps leading up into the boat. Here was also the outdoor living space. Here was a makeshift table, a firepit to cook over, several chairs cobbled together from junk. People have been here for more than a day or two, that’s for sure.
She still hadn’t seen or heard movement. It was time to check the obvious. She moved towards the boat itself.
Mia had followed the trail. She wasn’t sure why she went as far as she did. The trail worked it’s way off to the right, further down the coast. She couldn’t tell how long it had been since someone used this trail but she was wanting more information.
She went through a small gap in the rocks. What she found shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. There was another small beach, smaller than the one they had landed on behind her. This one was also choked with trash and debris, but she could see where the trail she was on led down into the mess.
Mia wasn’t going to just rush down there. She spent a good ten minutes looking everything over. One thing she was looking for was movement of any kind. She wanted to know who or what made this trail.
Tires, fishing nets, floats, bottles, Styrofoam, on and on the junk went. The biggest things she could identify appeared to be the remains of some kind of boat. Her eyes followed the trail up to the side of the vessel. This was where she watched hard for any movement at all, but nothing moved in the cold winter wind.
She didn’t know why she went down there, at least other than curiosity. She wasn’t seeing signs of a lot of people, or some other danger they had to worry about so this didn’t make much sense. Yet her feet kept moving.
As she moved forward, she was seeing the signs that at least at some point someone was here. Items were moved and arranged in ways not explainable by the wind or the waves. As she got closer to the boat, she could see more of it through the junk and debris festooned all over and around it.
It looked to be what was left of about a thirty-six-to-forty-foot sailboat, probably a pretty nice one once. No mast now, keel either gone or buried in the sand, at least one or two holes through the side as well if she was right in what she saw to be patches high up the hull. This thing was going nowhere.
A thirty-six-footer makes a great size for a live aboard for a couple people, right up to the point they get hit with a storm. Then it’s a cork in a hot tub with the jets on high. With the tidal waves and the later winter storms, this thing had no chance.
When Mia got close, she kept following the path around to the other side of the boat. Now she was on the side she couldn’t see before. Now she could see the steps leading up into the boat. Here was also the outdoor living space. Here was a makeshift table, a firepit to cook over, several chairs cobbled together from junk. People have been here for more than a day or two, that’s for sure.
She still hadn’t seen or heard movement. It was time to check the obvious. She moved towards the boat itself.
223shootersc
Veteran Member
Thanks, CCG!
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Sorrow
Mia was gone a lot longer than anyone anticipated. The camp was set up and the food almost ready when she came slowly walking back into camp.
“All good?” Ian asked her.
“No issues to worry about.” Her voice was weak and barely carried to him as she walked on past and set down her gear at the kayak.
“You were gone a while.” Evelyn said, more of a questioning tone to her voice.
“Just making sure of things.” Mia walked on past them, down to the water. She just stood there, staring out at the wind and the waves. She didn’t want to think right now. She wanted to forget. More questions would lead to thinking about answers. She just wanted to lock it away, like some other movie she had never watched, some book she never read.
She wasn’t sure how long she was standing there. She wasn’t sure of much of anything. She felt an arm slide across her shoulders and pull her gently. She went with it, leaning against Erich’s strong chest, the sobs she had been fighting since before she walked into camp were back now.
He just held her. Didn’t ask why, what was going on, none of it. Thank God! It was bad enough she couldn’t escape it in her head. She didn’t need to burden the rest of them. All it would do is make them sad for no real purpose.
“Come have some dinner or do you want me to just bring you a bowl here?” Erich said softly as he held her.
It was times like this she thought of the problem her and Evelyn still hadn’t completely come to a conclusion on. They both had developed strong deep feelings for Erich. Both of them had rescued him in their own way, and in turn he had done the same for them.
Right now, even this support, as wonderful as it felt, it hit too many of the story elements she was trying to forget. She saw the words on the paper again, saw the graves where he had dug them, saw their pictures of a happier time. Even just remembering reading his words threatened to have her bawling all over again. She wasn’t sure why it hit her so hard either. There were a hundred-thousand tragedies from the quake.
The happy little family had been sailing up the coast, husband, wife and young daughter. Then the waves hit. Their boat was tossed and battered and bashed, coming to rest on the shore here.
They had counted themselves lucky to be alive, even though they were marooned. They foraged among the debris for supplies and food, unaware of the huge scope of everything that happened. They were still a young family, full of hope and optimism, even in the face of their predicament.
With Thanksgiving coming upon them fast, he went to find more food for a celebration since it would also be their little girl’s sixth birthday. While he was gone they planned to surprise him instead with a special meal when he got back. If only he had been there.
The fresh mussels and clams were thick and abundant, and they didn’t know why he hadn’t seen nor collected them when he went fishing. They weren’t from around here like he was, otherwise they would have let them be.
They had been trying out the recipe the day before he was supposed to get back, or at least that was what she put in the note she wrote him while she still could. Their little girl complained her skin was tingling. Then the numbness started, first on her lips, then her arms and legs, as it got worse, his wife started feeling the same. At one point she was giving mouth to mouth to their daughter since she had stopped breathing. By the time he got back, fresh rabbits in hand for their Thanksgiving meal, it was already far too late. They were gone.
Mia never saw the wife’s note. She only saw the one he had left on the table in the boat. In it he had spelled all of this out, and so much more. What he did afterward, where he had buried them, his despair at their loss, his failure to protect them, his guilt at having them out on the ocean in the first place, it was all there.
The last part of the letter still hung in her vision as she has stared out into the sea, as he had done for a couple weeks as he tried to come to grips, as he wrote their story. The bottom of the page was where he apologized to them again, and wrote to whoever found it about how he was headed out to the water, his plan to take a handful of sleeping pills and swim for the horizon, so he could join them.
She stood there letting Erich hold her as she looked into the sunset over the water and hoped they found peace.
Mia was gone a lot longer than anyone anticipated. The camp was set up and the food almost ready when she came slowly walking back into camp.
“All good?” Ian asked her.
“No issues to worry about.” Her voice was weak and barely carried to him as she walked on past and set down her gear at the kayak.
“You were gone a while.” Evelyn said, more of a questioning tone to her voice.
“Just making sure of things.” Mia walked on past them, down to the water. She just stood there, staring out at the wind and the waves. She didn’t want to think right now. She wanted to forget. More questions would lead to thinking about answers. She just wanted to lock it away, like some other movie she had never watched, some book she never read.
She wasn’t sure how long she was standing there. She wasn’t sure of much of anything. She felt an arm slide across her shoulders and pull her gently. She went with it, leaning against Erich’s strong chest, the sobs she had been fighting since before she walked into camp were back now.
He just held her. Didn’t ask why, what was going on, none of it. Thank God! It was bad enough she couldn’t escape it in her head. She didn’t need to burden the rest of them. All it would do is make them sad for no real purpose.
“Come have some dinner or do you want me to just bring you a bowl here?” Erich said softly as he held her.
It was times like this she thought of the problem her and Evelyn still hadn’t completely come to a conclusion on. They both had developed strong deep feelings for Erich. Both of them had rescued him in their own way, and in turn he had done the same for them.
Right now, even this support, as wonderful as it felt, it hit too many of the story elements she was trying to forget. She saw the words on the paper again, saw the graves where he had dug them, saw their pictures of a happier time. Even just remembering reading his words threatened to have her bawling all over again. She wasn’t sure why it hit her so hard either. There were a hundred-thousand tragedies from the quake.
The happy little family had been sailing up the coast, husband, wife and young daughter. Then the waves hit. Their boat was tossed and battered and bashed, coming to rest on the shore here.
They had counted themselves lucky to be alive, even though they were marooned. They foraged among the debris for supplies and food, unaware of the huge scope of everything that happened. They were still a young family, full of hope and optimism, even in the face of their predicament.
With Thanksgiving coming upon them fast, he went to find more food for a celebration since it would also be their little girl’s sixth birthday. While he was gone they planned to surprise him instead with a special meal when he got back. If only he had been there.
The fresh mussels and clams were thick and abundant, and they didn’t know why he hadn’t seen nor collected them when he went fishing. They weren’t from around here like he was, otherwise they would have let them be.
They had been trying out the recipe the day before he was supposed to get back, or at least that was what she put in the note she wrote him while she still could. Their little girl complained her skin was tingling. Then the numbness started, first on her lips, then her arms and legs, as it got worse, his wife started feeling the same. At one point she was giving mouth to mouth to their daughter since she had stopped breathing. By the time he got back, fresh rabbits in hand for their Thanksgiving meal, it was already far too late. They were gone.
Mia never saw the wife’s note. She only saw the one he had left on the table in the boat. In it he had spelled all of this out, and so much more. What he did afterward, where he had buried them, his despair at their loss, his failure to protect them, his guilt at having them out on the ocean in the first place, it was all there.
The last part of the letter still hung in her vision as she has stared out into the sea, as he had done for a couple weeks as he tried to come to grips, as he wrote their story. The bottom of the page was where he apologized to them again, and wrote to whoever found it about how he was headed out to the water, his plan to take a handful of sleeping pills and swim for the horizon, so he could join them.
She stood there letting Erich hold her as she looked into the sunset over the water and hoped they found peace.
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Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
You're not used to his patented rapid directional deviations and bone-jarring braking efforts yet?
All things in good time . . . . . . .
Take comfort in knowing a) it's not personal and b) these are shared experiences.
Feel better now?
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
What I'm interested in is Donstoy's opinion when he catches up. He started about mid-June and has been reading straight through. Currently where Odina and crew are emptying out her grandfathers place.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Not that I’m not interested in everyone else’s, it’s just he is new to the story and taking it in one full lump