Chapter 2

After a few seconds hesitation, Karl took a deep breath and moved to follow his newfound companion, ruefully admitting to himself that he found her quite appealing.

“Watch your head, low bridge,” she pushed aside a tarp and ducked under a huge branch that poked across the space where the side of her boat’s cabin had been.

Karl followed, bending awkwardly, and found himself standing under a tarp stretched from what was left of the cabin, over branches and tree trunks, then down to the ground. The boat appeared to have broken in two just aft of the cabin so they were standing on bare ground. The foam padding from a bunk and some blankets made up either a bed or a seat, while a former panel had been propped up on a box to serve as a table. On a low shelf by the table sat a battered and bent gas stove, a cast iron skillet, a badly bent pot, and two or three plates, along with some assorted cutlery. A towel hung from a short branch. Everything looked shipshape, considering it was all done from the salvage of wreckage. Karl was impressed.

There were tears in her eyes as she looked around, while her hand sought and squeezed his tightly.

“You know what you’ve got on your boat,” she whispered softly. “Is there anything here that we need to take with us?”

“Everything,” Karl smiled at her.

“What?” she stared at him. “What do you mean? Haven’t you got anything?”

“Linda, I’ve got lots of things, everything I need, probably even most of the things you need,” Karl smiled even wider. “But these are your belongings. There is lots of space on the ‘Skolka’ to store all of it. Even if we don’t use any of it right away, we may need some small item or another in the future, or else one day we may be able to trade it to someone for something we do need. Since the earthquake and the tsunami have destroyed so many of the manufactured things we use and need normally, I think anything useable may be valuable for a while.”

She was still staring at him, but after a second she broke into the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen.

“You’re right you know,” she smiled. “But we can’t possibly carry all of this with us right now. We’ll have to make at least two or three trips. What do you suggest we take first?”

“That’s your decision, but I’d suggest your personal articles, as well as much food and clothing as you’ve got, even if we have to make two trips to the boat this afternoon.”

“With that pack you’re carrying, you won’t be able to handle much more right now will you?”

“Oh, I think I could handle twenty or thirty pounds,” he grinned at her. “I’m not as old and frail as I look.”

“You don’t look either old or frail right now,” she smiled. “You’re huge and you look as strong as an ox. I just don’t want to tire you unnecessarily. I agree on the food, but I don’t really have much, maybe ten pounds or so. And I do need some of my things, but I lost a lot in the wreck. When it comes to clothes, I think I’ve got enough of those to fill a trunk. So all I’m going to take for tonight is stuff we can pack easily and clothes that I can wear in almost any situation. I’ll forget the fancy stuff for now.”

“You pick. I’ll pack,” Karl grinned, opening his pack. “See, my pack is only half full and I’ve got ties on the outside for a rolled up sleeping bag or blankets and things like that.”

He began by folding the blankets into a long narrow bundle that he could roll tightly. Meanwhile she went back into the wreck of the boat, emerging with a few small containers and some cans of food.

“Let’s set this stuff out first, and make up our minds what goes and what doesn’t,” she frowned slightly.

Karl stayed quiet, rolling and tying the blankets as she went back inside. She returned in a few moments with an athletic bag in her hand and grinned at him.

“I got sidetracked. This is all my ‘female’ stuff, like you said, it is important to me.”

“Fine,” he smiled. “Is the bag packed tight, no room in it for anything else?”

“I stuffed it. Most of it is underclothes and personal things.”

“Okay, we can carry it the way it is then. Do you have anything more in the way of food?”

“Not much, a lot of what I had was strewn around and ruined in the wreck. I’ve got a tiny bit of spices and stuff like that, but they hardly seem worth the effort of packing.”

“Linda, we’re going to want to take everything eventually. I’ve even been thinking of how to pack this tarp and your ropes.”

“The tarp is torn and the ropes are all old. They can wait until tomorrow, so can the stove and things like that,” she looked around. “None of this stuff out here is important to me. I can pack most of my clothes in two big bags and I thought I could carry them, if you can carry the food and that bag of my special things?”

“Bring out the rest of your food and spices, no matter how little it is, because anything of that sort might be useful if finding supplies gets tough. I’ll cram as much of it as possible in my pack, then I’ll tie your blankets in a roll on the outside of my pack and carry your bag. If possible though, I’d like to have one hand free.”

It took at least another half hour for them to pack everything to Karl’s satisfaction, leaving hardly anything behind that wasn’t badly damaged. He knew that crossing the downhill slope was going to be hard work, especially the way they were going to be loaded down. At the same time he knew that the weather and other circumstances might not be as favourable another day and he wanted to make the best of a bad lot, just in case they couldn’t get back.

He made sure he had the bottle of water easily accessible at the top of his pack and Linda dug out the last of her water supply. Assured that all she would need was a supply to travel to the boat, she insisted they both drink before leaving. They both drank heartily, then she tucked a small bottle of water into her bag as well.

Loaded as if they were heading out on a seven-day hike, they set out for the shoreline.

Linda had one huge bag tied over her shoulders, pack fashion, and carried another large bag in her hands, while Karl had her overnight bag in one hand and his pack on his back. They were able to move quite freely, but in several cases, had to put down their burdens and help each other over or under obstacles.

Once as they had to climb over the trunk of a huge tree, Karl had to put his hand on her body to help her. His hand was pressed on one cheek of her soft, but muscular buttocks when she turned her head to look down at him.

“I didn’t realize you were a butt man,” she grinned. “Just don’t bruise the merchandise while you’re handling it, please.”

Karl hadn’t really realised where his hand was, then was surprised to find he’d developed a blush and didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t move his hand or she might have slipped, but he was astounded that he felt almost like a young boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Linda just chuckled and clambered the rest of the way over the obstacle, then turned to reach her hands out to help him over as well. Once both of them were over the fallen tree, she leaned back against it, slid her bundles to the ground, and grinned at him. Both of them were breathing heavily.

“Let’s take a break,” she suggested. “I think we’d better have a talk now anyway.”

Karl looked at her askance. His eyes held low.

“Okay,” he sighed softly, not knowing what to expect.

“Look at me, Karl,” she insisted.

He raised his eyes, staring into her face. She reached out her hand and took his.

“I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” she said softly.

“Maybe,” he agreed, then had to smile. “ Well actually, I guess your teasing does get to me a bit.”

“Okay,” she grinned. “Let’s start with the fact that I’m a woman and you’re a man. I know you like the way my body looks. At least you certainly seem to look at it almost wistfully at times and I admit that I tease sometimes, but I like sex.”

Suddenly, her mood seemed to change and she was looking at him intently while her voice dropped until she was speaking quietly and seriously. “Heck, I’ll admit the truth, I love sex. We’re in a hell of a situation and while I don’t know what’s going to happen, I do know that we’re going to have to help each other with things that we each need. For instance, in the next while I know I’m going to need some reassurance, it’s just the way I am. I’m being honest about the fact that I find sex reassuring and in some ways I’m more like a man than a woman, so I may actually hit on you.”

She paused for a second and her hand stole out to grasp his again.

“Actually, I like being watched, but at the same time, I’m liable to tease you if I notice you regarding me in a sexual manner, especially if I haven’t been the one who started it. I can’t help that. I just do it automatically. I don’t mean to upset you, so please don’t take it the wrong way. Okay?”

She was smiling softly, her eyes staring deep into his. Somehow he knew what to do. He leaned forward and kissed her lips gently, then pulled back as she tensed.

“Okay. I can live with that I guess,” he smiled.

“Oh!” she giggled and he could feel her body relax. “I guess I’m not the only tease around here, huh?”

“Nope,” he grinned again.

Her face seemed to change, becoming sultry somehow. Her eyes seemed to change the most. They seemed to grow bigger and he felt his eyes being drawn deep into her gaze. Her breathing was deep and he could feel her almost melt against his chest, then her head dropped to rest on his shoulder. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he held her tightly for a moment.

“The tide waits for no man,” he finally said, pressing away from her.

“Huh?” she asked, lifting her face to stare at him.

He caught her hands in his and lifted them upward while staring directly into her eyes.

“Time is passing quickly, and we’re only part way down this damn hill. Look at the sun. It’s going to be setting soon enough that we can’t take too long getting to the dinghy, because I want to be back on the ‘Skolka’ when it sets. I’m getting hungry and tired, but we have to carry on, even if I feel like I just took a ten-mile hike. I think we should have a drink of water and share an energy bar, since I’ve got one in my pack, but then we’ve got to get moving again.”

She sighed softly and smiled at him.

“You’ve got a chocolate bar in your pack, and you didn’t tell me?” she teased.

He grinned and swung the pack between them, pulling out the water bottle first, then finding something called an energy bar in his emergency pack.

“It’s not exactly a chocolate bar. It’s more like a granola bar,” he apologized, snapping it in half and handing her the largest share.

“I get the biggest piece?” she grinned at him as she sat on a large branch of the tree they had just climbed over.

“Unh huh,” he grinned back, finding a seat so he was facing her. “For three reasons, number one, I’ve probably been eating better than you have lately. Number two, you’re younger and probably healthier than I am, so I’m sort of depending on you to do the things I only wish I could do. And finally, you get the biggest piece because I feel like giving it to you.”

“Trying to bribe me?” she teased around a mouthful of the chewy bar. “Looking for a favour for later?”

“Maybe,” he teased back, reaching a hand out to clasp her leg just above her knee.

She looked down at his hand. Then her eyes lifted to his.

“Checking for padding?” Linda grinned.

“Nope,” he laughed. “Checking pulse rate and temperature.”

“Oh sure,” she giggled.

They teased back and forth for several minutes, then when he packed his water bottle in his pack, she quietly shouldered her own load. Without a word being spoken, they set out again.

Even with the two of them helping each other through the tough spots and the fact that they were moving downhill, it took almost as long to reach the tongue of rock where Karl’s dinghy lay waiting as it had for him to reach her. The dinghy was still resting where Karl had left it before his climb up the hill, only now the waves sloshed much closer to its stern.

Both of them were tired, but they wasted no time as they loaded their burdens into the dinghy and pushed it into the water. It was a small dinghy, so with the two of them, as well as their packs and packages, it was loaded to the gunnels. On top of that, the row out to the ‘Skolka’ was a lot more difficult than Karl’s trip toward shore had been. There seemed to be even more debris than there had been before, perhaps it had drifted their way with the breeze. Linda sat in the bow of the dinghy, pushing what she could away from them. That meant Karl only had to detour around two or three larger objects, but the sun was well down in the sky before they got to the ‘Skolka’.

“It’s big,” Linda said in a quiet voice, looking up at the side of the ‘Skolka’ as they approached closer.

“She’s fifty-eight feet on the water line, sixty-two feet on deck,” Karl felt the pride in his voice. “She has a double planked hull and I’ve rigged her up with a triple pass scotch boiler, a triple expansion steam engine, along with a keel cooler for water recovery and a steam powered still that uses the heat of the exhaust from the engine for water make-up. I try to keep a hundred gallons of fresh water in the main tank and about ten more in the hot water tank. She has tanks for four hundred gallons of fuel so I can travel a long time without going ashore, if I’m careful. On top of that, if I run out of oil I can pull the burner and put in grates to burn wood in a pinch. She has a head, a shower, my larger cabin, two smaller cabins, and a full galley, not to mention a work room in the stern, aft of the engine room.”

“Okay, you’re proud of her,” she smiled. “I just got the standard spiel you give to every tourist that passes by and asks, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he answered with a grin. “She’s a good boat and I am proud of her. Now if you climb aboard, I’ll hand up our gear.”

“Okay,” Linda said, reaching for a grip on the hull of the bigger boat.

She scrambled up the boarding ladder he’d left hanging over the side with a line in one hand and tied the dinghy to the stern cleats as Karl held it steady. He passed up their loads and then climbed aboard himself.

“With all this junk in the water I think we’d better get the dinghy up in its davits. Then we’ll get your stuff inside and I’ll see if we can find something to eat,” he said as he turned to set up the winch.

“As soon as we get everything under cover, I want to wash,” Linda laughed. “You’ve been bragging about this shower of yours. I want to try it out.”

Karl laughed with her and agreed that if that would make her feel better she could certainly wash up before they ate. They both worked to rig the dinghy to its sling and winch it up out of the water, then they carried Linda’s bags and Karl’s pack below, working with few words spoken. In the galley Karl bent over to check on the cat, smiling as he explained to Linda how he had rescued it. He could see from her face that she didn’t really appear to be a cat lover.

Leaving the cat, he led her to one of the two empty cabins and they put her bags there, then Karl pointed out both the head and the shower. While she cleaned up, Karl warmed up some stew and brewed some tea. He was surprised to hear her humming softly in the shower, then grinned as he realised that if she was humming, it meant she was comfortable. For some reason he found that to be quite comforting too. He poured himself a cup of tea and waited patiently for her to come into the galley, reaching down to gently caress the back of the old cat as it lay in its bed. The cat didn’t even move, making no response to his efforts.

When Linda felt she was clean, then had dressed and come into the galley, she drank tea and waited patiently as he used the shower and cleaned up. Later they ate the stew while sitting up in the wheelhouse. Then later still, they went outside where they watched the sunset as they sat on the gunnel of the boat, drinking a cup of fresh coffee.

“What a difference, I feel clean and relaxed,” Linda sighed. “I need to say thank you again for rescuing me.”

“Oh forget it,” Karl smiled. “I need your company as much as you need mine. It’s a pleasure to have you here. I was very lonely and scared silly when I found you, since I was worried that I’d be alone for a long time. I was being extra careful not to hurt myself, because there was absolutely no one to help me if I got into trouble. I was damn worried, almost paranoid.”

“I know just what you mean,” she nodded. “We’ve both grown up around people and although I think both of us are rather independent, both of us have the intelligence to realize that everyone needs help sometimes. I was so frightened of being alone much longer that I think I was going nuts.”

“Oh my goodness, look at that,” she raised her hand and pointed to the west.

The sun was setting and the whole western sky seemed to gradually turn into a gaudy display of reds, oranges, yellows, and shocking violet tints

“All the dust thrown up by the earthquake. I guess?” Karl frowned as he stared in wonder.

“It must be more than that,” Linda whispered.

“Maybe a volcano blew too?”

“Wouldn’t we see the smoke and the ashes?”

“Maybe, it depends on how far away it was. We’ve got volcanoes all the way up and down the west coast, one could have blown in the States or up north and we’d never know. I wish the radio was working.”

“It isn’t working at all?”

“All I get is static and garbled sound. I didn’t try too long though, although I listened to several channels.”

“Let’s try it again,” she said, immediately standing up.

Karl sat still and looked up at her.

“Umm,” he mumbled hesitantly. “I’d rather we didn’t do that tonight.”

“Why not?” she frowned lightly.

“It’s just that...” he hesitated for an instant. “Well, everything looks quite good right now. I found you today and we’ve made it back to the boat, that’s good news. Radios seem to be used more to pass along bad news. After today, I really need a good night’s rest and I don’t want to take the chance of trying to get to sleep with my mind cluttered by the news of others’ tragedies.”

She stared at him for a moment then smiled softly.

“I understand. Speaking of sleep, let’s wash up our dishes and then I’d like to go to bed myself. I’m bushed.”

“No hot water,” Karl laughed shortly. “We used it all showering. The boiler is shut down and I’m not going to waste oil to fire up the boiler just to reheat more hot water right now. The dishes can wait. I’ll rinse them in cold water, then leave them in the sink for tomorrow morning. You get to your bunk, and those are Captain’s orders. You look exhausted.”

She smiled at him; “Okay Captain, I am tired, but first...”

She stepped close and brushed her lips lightly against his, then hugged him tightly.

“Thank you!” she sighed, then she hurried off, leaving her coffee cup behind.

Karl stared after her. He had expected the kiss, but somehow had expected her to try for more. It was sweet of her, and yet, it left him feeling unsatisfied. He drained his coffee cup and took it below with hers, putting hers in the sink with the few dishes they had dirtied, then poured himself another cup of coffee. He glanced down at the cat again and was astounded to see that it was watching him.

“Well, hello, are you feeling better?” he asked as he slowly squatted down and reached out a hand to gently stroke the cat’s back.

A hesitant purr greeted his soft strokes and the cat’s eyes slowly closed. Some of the water was gone from the saucer and the cat was definitely breathing easier. It was lying on its belly now, curled in a tight circle, not on its side like it had been earlier.

“I think you’re going to make it, old timer,” Karl whispered softly as he stood again.

There was still some water in the saucer and although the bowl looked untouched, he added a bit more to the saucer.

“Maybe tomorrow we’ll try you with some fish,” he sighed before he turned and headed back out on deck with his coffee in hand.

He glanced out and around the boat. The whole bay seemed awash with debris. Setting his coffee down, Karl walked forward to check the anchor line first, then astern to check that line as well. He studied the drifting debris for a few moments, then decided he would feel safer if the boat could shift into the wind, just in case a stiff breeze came up.

He struggled with the stern line for a few moments, but found he couldn’t raise the anchor. He went forward and let out another fifty feet or so of anchor line so the boat had a longer swing. Then he moved back astern, where, after a few minutes struggle, he managed to raise the stern anchor by using the hand crank on the winch, then stowed the anchor out of the way. Out of habit, he picked up his coffee cup and headed into the pilot house to snap on his anchor light, then walked back out on deck to glance up, making sure it was alight. After that he sat down and waited for full darkness to fall.

He was tired, but he wasn’t sleepy. His legs and back ached even though he’d taken both an analgesic and a muscle relaxant. He felt extremely uneasy being surrounded by this field of debris and having the boat riding at anchor. If a wind arose, they could be in trouble. Habit almost made him rise to turn on the radio so he could check for the weather forecast, then the realization came that the radio hadn’t worked right for several days. Resolutely, he slid back into his seat.

The water was glassy smooth, not a whisper of a breeze. A glance at the sky showed him that the earlier cloud bank had drifted off; all that was left of it were a few tiny drifting clouds that were hardly moving. He could even see the evening star clearly, but a haze of mist was rising from the water.

“Damn, there’ll be fog again tomorrow morning,” he sighed.

Even that quiet statement seemed loud. He held his breath momentarily, listening intently. He heard almost no sounds, a trickle of water somewhere far away, the rubbing of a bit of flotsam against the hull, then surprisingly, a creak from the bunk below him. Oh yes, he had a guest aboard. She must have shifted in her sleep. Karl smiled to himself, he was glad he had found her, not only was she smart, but she was attractive as well. On top of that she was good company, and he needed company badly right now.

When he’d arrived in the bay that morning, he’d been holding his apprehensions in check for days. As sheltered from his surroundings as he’d been while on board the boat, he’d still noticed enough incongruities during his trip that he’d been certain a tragedy had happened. Even so, seeing the devastation left by the tsunami had shocked him. Then moving on foot through the desolation had turned his mind to mournful thoughts of the friends and acquaintances who must surely have died in the disaster. He realized that he hadn’t really expected to find any survivors in that vast wreckage, so finding Linda still alive had relieved his tensions. More importantly, being able to rescue her had given his ego a tremendous boost and made him feel quite proud of himself. He’d set out to help others and he’d accomplished his goal.

Tired now, in fact nearly exhausted, he felt some satisfaction in what he had done that day. As he leaned back, letting his body relax, Karl thought about going to his bunk, then just didn’t bother. He was comfortable, more at ease than he had been in days. While he knew he was almost dozing off, he didn’t care, since he was back on the ‘Skolka’ he felt safe and secure. The boat was solid and safe, while the surrounding water was not only protection, but the mist rising from its surface hid the horror that lurked onshore, at least for now

However he knew that before he’d be able to sleep he’d need to shift his thoughts away from the horror he’d seen that day. He closed his eyes and thought back to the harbour where he had been only days before, now able to let his mind wander over what he’d been through in the last week. Memory came flooding back as if the intervening days hadn’t happened.

Karl Larson had been born on a farm in the Peace River country and had been introduced to steam power there, watching a neighbour use an old steam powered sawmill. Then when he and his parents had moved to Vancouver Island to take up commercial fishing, he’d taken an apprenticeship at a pulp and paper mill. During his time at two different paper mills he had become a steam engineer - first class, was promoted to crew foreman, met a woman and got married.

Then his life had spiralled out of his control. His wife had become demanding just about the same time that he’d begun to develop arthritis. Then to make matters worse he’d been injured in an industrial accident and was classed as permanently disabled, then pensioned off. In the search for some form of personal dignity, he’d ended up buying an old fishing boat with a ruined engine, which triggered the final breakup with his wife. As a result his marriage had ended in separation and divorce.

Once he was separated from his wife he’d trimmed his belongings to bare minimum and moved onto the boat as a live-aboard. Then he had begun to convert the old boat to steam power, but to earn the cash needed to pay for the project, he’d put his engineering training to use. After doing several small jobs for various friends, he’d been hired by a reclusive writer who lived with a far worse disability than his and resided on an almost inaccessible island. The initial job was just to find some way to provide the writer and his family with a reliable source of electricity, but since the island had a decent sized stream, the job had been relatively easy. While doing the initial job, he’d also handled several other small chores that had cropped up and as a result the writer had offered him a permanent position.

In the long run that job had developed into something he really hadn’t anticipated. Somehow he had become involved with the writer’s eldest daughter and she had even born his son. As well as that Karl had built a log cabin on the island as well as a place where he could permanently moor his boat. Once he had finished the major projects planned for his cabin, as well as almost all the modifications on the ‘Skolka, ‘ he’d been able to take longer trips aboard her.

When his boss had suggested that he take a holiday and he’d immediately thought about visiting his friends, Kate and Charlie. Kate was an old friend from his school days and he’d been a friend of Charlie’s for almost as long. Hell, he’d stood up as best man at their wedding. So, since he hadn’t seen them for years, the first long trip he’d planned had been a visit to see them. Even though it had been a long trip for him to take on his own, careful planning and caution had resulted in a thoroughly enjoyable break from his routine and had led to further trips. Last year he’d made the trip twice, once in the spring and again in the late summer, carefully selecting times when the chance of heavy storms wasn’t too strong. The boat would have handled any storm easily, after all, it had been originally built to fish in rough waters, but it wouldn’t have been enjoyable for him. Since he made the trips for relaxation and enjoyment, he couldn’t see the point in fighting the weather.

Now though, his trip was done; he’d had his visit and it was time to leave them once more. He was headed out of the tiny harbour, waving back over the stern at his friends as they stood on the shoreline. He grinned to himself. Kate and Charlie were good people. He was sorry that they were leaving their little house on the bay and moving up into the interior. He wouldn’t be able to visit them as often and he wouldn’t be able to take the boat. He was going to miss his trips up to visit them just as much as their company

More than anything else, he was going to really miss taking his two friends and their family out on short cruises. They were some of the friendliest people he knew and he would do anything for them, but as things stood now though he felt he was in their debt.

He glanced behind at his stern deck and laughed to himself. There were two forty-five-gallon drums of diesel tied to the stanchions that held his dingy. The ‘Skolka’s tanks were full to the brim and those two drums held extra fuel, fuel which had been in the heating oil tank of Charlie and Kate’s old house. They had sold the house and since the new owner was going to demolish it to build a new and larger house, the fuel tank had to be emptied. Charlie had over-estimated how much fuel the ‘Skolka’ could take in her tanks. Even then he’d insisted Karl take it all, declaring the fuel to be a part payment for the many cruises that they had made together over the years. So they had found two clean drums in order to handle the extra fuel, then had filled and lashed them temporarily where they stood now.

Kate had done almost the same thing in his galley with supplies that she claimed she didn’t want to pack for their move. While he and Charlie had been out fishing one day, she and her daughter had crammed every available space in the boat. He had enough food on board to eat well for at least two or three months. To top it all off, while Kate had kept him busy one afternoon, Charlie and his son-in-law had installed a brand-new GPS in Karl’s pilot house.