Chapter 11

Act 2

Scene 4

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Any station, come in, over!"

"Topaz Fire can you hear us? We are being chased by pirates! I repeat, pirates! Mr. Winton, please respond!"

Kimber stared at the radio dumbly for several seconds. Then, frantically, she keyed the mike. "Dragon Lady! This is Topaz Fire, we read you, over!"

Kimber waited for a response from the radio. "Evan, come quick. I think I have the Dragon Lady! I couldn't make everything out, but I swear they said they were being chased by pirates!"

Evan looked up from the chart and raced below, the word pirate not quite registering in his mind. Evan stopped short, then asked, "Kimber, that's great! But, what did you just say, pirates?"

Evan landed next to Kim and snatched the mike from Kim's hand and spoke as calmly as he could.

"Dragon Lady, this is Evan. Please repeat your last message, over"

The response from the radio was almost immediate. Evan and Kim held their breath as they listened to a voice speaking very fast.

"Mr. Winton! This is Pam, please help us! There are three pirate ships after us and they are firing cannons and almost hit the Dragon Lady! We are going as fast as we can but they are still after us! Where are you? Over."

Evan took a deep breath, still not quite believing what he had heard and responded. "Pam, calm down. Where is Mr. White? Over."

After a brief pause, the radio crackled to life with Paul's voice.

"Evan, you heard us right. We have three pirate ships on our ass, I repeat, three actual brigantine pirate ships! We are southbound heading to round the southern tip of Roanoke Island. What is your location? Over."

Bell and Jenny, seeing all of the commotion, ran to Kimber's side. Hugging the girls, Kimber looked at the radio and then to Evan. In a panicky voice, "Evan, honey, I don't understand what is going on here. But we have to get to Paul and the kids fast!"

Not thinking twice, Evan yelled up to Beth on deck, "Beth, bring me that chart right away! We made contact with the Dragon Lady and there's some sort of trouble".

His attention back on the radio, Evan replied to Paul "Dragon Lady, this is Topaz Fire. We are heading south on the east side of Roanoke Island. Just west of Big Island making about four knots. Beth handed her dad the chart and he continued, "I make it that we are about two miles from your position, over".

Sarah sat in the hatchway and watched intently as they all waited for a response from the Dragon Lady. Beth, realizing she was just in the way, took Bell and Jenny from Kimber and moved over toward Sarah.

"C'mon girls, let's give them some room. Sounds like things are going to get a little messy in the next few minutes," Beth said reassuringly as they sat on the hatch steps holding each other.

Paul's voice came back over the radio. "Topaz Fire, this is Dragon Lady. We just cleared the point for the last bay and are less then a mile from the southern tip of Roanoke. Do not. I repeat, do not, try to meet us. The pirates have launched at least two longboats. While we can lose the brigantines in the tiny islands near the southern end of Roanoke, the longboats will be all over us. You should head due west. Head for the mainland, we'll meet up with you there. See if you can find a place for us to hide the boats."

Evan nodded and handed Kim the mike. He said, "I'll go up and change course Kim. Find out how the kids are doing."

Kimber sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she tried, unsuccessfully to steady her voice. "Paul, how are Becky, the girls and your boys doing?"

Paul's voice came back, "Sit down Kimber."

With fear surging, Kimber collapsed to the cushions of the galley table. Terror clawed at her, as she blurted, "What's wrong? What happened to Becky? Over."

"Settle down sis. She should be fine. She bumped her head when we went through the purple fire, and might have a concussion. Over."

"Oh my God! A concussion! We have to get her to a hospital! Over."

Paul's voice snapped back, "What do you think I was trying to do when we ran into the Pirates!" He paused, then continued, "I've treated her for shock, and she's regained consciousness. That's about all we can do for now. Over."

"Can I talk to her?" still distraught, Kimber waited for a reply. Realizing she hadn't ended her radio communication, she quickly continued, "Damn it, Paul, let me talk to my daughter! Over."

Taking a deep breath, Paul tried to continue to calm his sister, "She can't get out of the bed Kimber, at least not without tossing her cookies. And believe me, I already had that happen and really don't want to repeat it. We will meet up with you soon and then you can see for yourself, she is going to be alright. Over."

Kimber just sat there and held the mike in her hand for a moment. Looking at the girls, the overwhelming need to cry almost overtook her. Swallowing back her tears, knowing her daughter was in good hands, she asked about the rest of the family.

"Thanks Paul, I know you are doing the best you can. How are the rest of the girls and your boys? Did anyone else get hurt? Over."

"Other than the headaches, everyone is fine Kimber. Over."

Thinking about her own headache, Kimber replied, "I'm glad to hear everyone else is OK. A few of us have headaches too. Over".

Realizing this simple chatter with his sister was calming her down, Paul knew that they were in imminent danger and needed to get back on deck. "Sis, we will all be together real soon, but I have to get going. I love you. Now get up top and help Evan get that damned overgrown bathtub to the mainland. Over and out".

Kimber took a deep breath, hung up the radio mike and looked at the girls watching her from the steps of the hatch. As soon as Bell and Beth made eye contact with her, they ran over to their Mom for a hug.

"Mommy, is Becky going to be OK?" asked Bell through her own tears in a small voice as she crawled into her lap.

Kneeling at her mom's knees, Beth looked at up at her mom, "Uncle Paul is taking care of Becky and we will see her real soon." Trying to peel Bell from her Mom's grip, Beth stood up, "C'mon squirt, we need to help Dad get this boat to the mainland". Knowing her daughter was right, Kimber took a deep breath and started up top to help her husband. Turning to Beth, she replied, "You're right honey, the sooner we get to the mainland, the sooner we will all be together again".

"We're here to help Evan. What do you want us to do?" Kimber asked as she and the girls came up on deck. Looking up from the chart, Evan smiled at them. He said, "Oh, for right now I just need someone to trim the jib and some lookouts. I'd like to be able to spot Dragon Lady as soon as possible, and if I'm doing everything, I don't have much time to look for her."

Beth and Sarah raced to sit next to the jib sheet. Giggling, Beth hip checked her friend out of the way and onto the deck. She chortled, "I've got the jib!"