Seabound (Seabound Chronicles Book 1) (29 page)

Then a flash of
red appeared.

“Esther? Is that
you?” A voice drifted down to them on the wind.

“It’s Cally.
Cally! It’s Esther! Are you all right up there?” Esther waved her arms and the
loudspeaker over her head, jumping up and down.

“We’ve been
better!” Cally called. “We’re almost out of water, and we’re completely out of
fuel.”

“Is my father all
right?”

The answer took
far too long.

“He’s fine,” Cally
shouted. “Get yourself up here and I’ll tell you everything!”

“Thank God,” Esther
whispered. Then she shouted, “Lower a boat, will you? We don’t want to sit here
all day!”

Chapter 29—Reunion

When the speedboat lifted
the first load of people from the
Lucinda
to the deck of the
Catalina
, Esther’s
father was waiting. She leapt across the gap before the winch stopped and threw
her arms around him, burying her face in the warmth of his shirt.

“I was so worried
about you,” she said, pulling back to look at him.

It had been less
than a week, but it felt like she hadn’t seen him in years. He wore his
favorite green scarf, and his hair still needed a trim. His eyes were bright
with unshed tears, but he was smiling.

“Me?” he said.
“Button, you were the one lost in the storm.”

“I’m fine! I
brought us a ship with parts to fix the desal system.” She gestured toward the
Lucinda
below them. “And we brought
enough spare fuel to get us back to the
Amsterdam
.”

Simon laughed, and
it was his old laugh, as full and rich as before the melancholy set in. “I
should have known you’d be okay . . . and that you’d turn up with machine parts
to boot!”

Esther grinned and
hugged him again. When she pulled away, Judith was standing behind him, hands
on her hips.

“Esther,” Judith
said. “It’s about time you got here.”

“Sorry. Got held
up.”

“Didn’t I tell you
not to spend the night on the
Galaxy
?”
Judith said, lips pinched.

“Yes, ma’am,”
Esther said.

 
The newcomers from the
Lucinda
were gathering on the lifeboat
deck in a tight bunch as Reggie and Manny helped them from the boat. Dax
climbed down last and was quickly knocked over by a squealing Cally. David was
still on the
Lucinda
.

Judith frowned at
the former Galaxians. “And didn’t I warn you about the dangers of the
Flotilla
?”

Esther was
determined to take responsibility for her mistakes this time. “Absolutely. I
should have been more careful.”

Judith jerked her
head in a sharp nod. “Hmph. Well, thank you for bringing help. I suppose we owe
you,” she said, her voice tight and reluctant.

Esther raised an
eyebrow. “Really? Can I have some of the extra supplies then, for my work?”

Judith threw up
her hands. “Take it up with the council.”

She stalked off to
begin directing the Galaxians indoors.

At least that was
something. Esther smiled and turned back to her father. There was something
different about him. His face looked younger, more vibrant. He stood straight,
and Esther glimpsed a bit of the old Simon, the one who’d been her hero in the
early days.

“Don’t worry about
Judith,” he said. “There’s been a bit of reorganization while you were gone.
Now, let’s get these people taken care of and I’ll tell you all about it. We’d
better rescue that young man before Cally suffocates him.”

Esther laughed and
went to help him separate Cally and Dax. Cally babbled on about everything that
had happened to them, about how the storm started while they were still on the
ferry from the cabaret. They barely made it back to the ship and sailed away at
full speed to avoid colliding with any of the
Galaxy
ships. It had taken the last of their fuel. Esther sent
Cally and Dax off to get blankets and promised she’d listen to the rest of the
story after everyone was on board.

She greeted Reggie
and Manny and helped them lower the speedboat to lift the next load of people
from the
Lucinda
. They decided to
bring everyone aboard for the night. There’d be plenty of time to sort out what
to do with the
Lucinda
in the morning.

It took four trips
to get everyone on board. David arrived in the last load. Esther stood at the
railing, watching his blond head approach. She remembered how he’d looked the
first time she saw him standing on the deck of the
Abby Rae
: straight-backed and confident. Elegant. Even with broken
glasses and bullet wounds, he looked poised and self-assured as he approached
the stranger ship he’d risked his life to save.

Esther looked down
at her bloodstained bowling shoes and scrubbed a hand through her shaggy hair.
She’d have to do something about that.

She met David as
he stepped off the speedboat. “Welcome to the
Catalina
,” she said. “My name is Esther Harris and it’s my great
pleasure to offer you our hospitality. The
Catalina
isn’t a new civilization on the sea or anything. We’re just a bunch of people
trying to get by. And this is home.” She shrugged.

“I’m glad
everyone’s okay,” David said quietly. He shook her hand formally, then held on
to it for an extra second. “You did it, Esther.”

Esther smiled. “Come
on. I’ll show you around.”

Chapter 30—Fresh Start

Esther drank slowly from
a
bottle of water. She sat on an upper deck inside the
Catalina
, her feet dangling over the plaza. Beneath her, Cally and
Dax were arguing in a rousing fashion, attracting the attention of half the
community. She had no doubt they would patch it up. These days, when they
weren’t fighting they were getting caught making out in corners. Esther had
banned Dax from the engine room entirely.

Esther smiled down
at her assistant. Cally had saved the
Catalina
. After the storm, she
salvaged the remaining scraps of the desalination system and rebuilt one small
unit according to the plan Esther had scratched into the floor of the bowling
alley. It produced just enough water to stave off dehydration. It was a finger
in a dam, but it enabled them to conserve enough energy to last until they were
rescued. Cally had been brimming with a combination of pride and terror when
she’d told Esther the rest of the story. They couldn’t have made it another
full day if the
Lucinda
hadn’t
arrived.

Cally had told
Esther about how her father had emerged from his seclusion, like he did in the
old days, helping Judith keep everyone calm and overseeing the rationing. Simon
seemed to thrive in disaster situations, and everyone had been happy to have
him back. Even Gracie Cordova did what she was told.

The only casualty
had been Frank. When he learned they were adrift with no fuel and a severely
crippled water system, he had walked quietly into the sea. He’d scrawled a note
on a yellowed T-shirt and left it behind in his cabin, along with his shoes.
He’d written that it was up to the old folks to make sure the young people
survived. Bernadette later revealed that Frank had tried to talk several other
elderly people into sacrificing themselves to the sea alongside him. They’d
held out hope for themselves but didn’t try to stop him.

It had been the
day after this incident that the
Catalina
drifted within sight of the little island. It was no more than a pile of volcanic
rock, not even a mile wide, but the arm of stone protected them. They’d even
gathered shellfish from its crags. The opportunity to walk about on mostly dry
land was rare. It kept people calm, having their feet on solid ground. Simon
ordered regular excursions to the rocky surface, mandated just as solemnly as
the water quota.

Esther hadn’t been
over to the shore yet because she’d been too busy getting the
Lucinda
’s
crew settled. It had been rough
for everyone for the first few days. The spare water on the
Lucinda
was
not enough to meet the needs of the underhydrated Catalinans and the
Lucinda
’s crew. Esther and Cally spent
every waking hour installing the new filters and repairing the tanks so that
they could get back to a normal filtering schedule. The new materials were
superior in quality, and Esther followed Cally’s lead in using her own design
when she rebuilt the system. It
was
more energy efficient. Judith might never have let her rebuild using her design
if the system hadn’t been destroyed in the first place.

Simon found work
for the former Galaxians. After the initial transport of supplies was complete,
he had them working on shield repairs and other miscellaneous projects. Their
interactions with the Catalinans were still awkward, but Esther thought a few
of them would like to stay. Byron had already told her how much better he
thought the
Catalina
was for raising children.

Still, Esther knew
many of the newcomers would not stay long. They were itching for adventures and
new opportunities. The
Catalina
would dock with the
Amsterdam Coalition
in a few months, albeit carefully in case the
Galaxy
captains had allies there. Some
of the Galaxians would likely move on then.

As Esther watched
the people beneath her in the plaza, she didn’t know what she would do next.
There was work for her here, but Zoe had invited her to come with them when
they docked with the
Amsterdam
.
Judith wouldn’t stop her now. But there were other things to consider.

David climbed the
staircase toward her, his left arm in a sling. “Esther.” He nodded at her.

She kept her face
straight, feeling an extra beat in her chest. “Hawthorne. How’s the work
going?”

“It’s not bad. I
think I understand every inch of that ship by now. I could take her anywhere.”

He’d taken
unofficial ownership of the
Lucinda
and spent most of his time studying
her capabilities. He sat beside Esther and watched the people milling about
below. Cally and Dax had stopped shouting. A few people waited around in case
it started up again.

“Where to first?”
Esther asked.

David shrugged his
right shoulder. “I don’t know. Not the
Galaxy
, obviously, but there’s
always the
Amsterdam
.”

“Are you going to
set off on your own?” Esther asked, trying to keep her voice casual. “We’ll be
there in a few months anyway.”

“Not sure. I’ll
probably stick around for a while. And it’s up to the crew, whoever the crew
ends up being.”

Dirk crossed the
plaza with his entourage of former oil workers. A handful of
Catalina
men walked among them. Esther
had expected Dirk to take over the
Lucinda
,
but he had eyes on a bigger prize. David was free to take the
Lucinda
and go.

After a few
minutes, Esther said, “Are you happy you came?” She stole a glance at David’s
face.

He smirked and
nudged her with his good arm. “You couldn’t have done it without me.”

“That’s true,”
Esther said. “I owe you one.”

“I know how you
could make it up to me,” David said.

“How’s that?”

David’s voice was
suddenly serious. “Come along. We need a good mechanic.”

“There are other
mechanics. What about Dirk’s buddy? He’s good.”

“How about first
mate then? Everyone would rather listen to your voice than mine. I’ve had
enough of talking at people.”

“I don’t know
about that,” Esther said. “Anyway, I still have a few projects to work through
here.”

She took another
sip of her water.

David adjusted his
broken glasses with his right hand. “I’m not really asking you along because I
need a mechanic. I’ve kind of thrown my lot in with you, Esther. I want to have
you around.”

She was quiet for
a moment. “Look, David, I’m not sure what to do. It’s been kind of a
whirlwind.”

“Do you regret
that night on the
Mist
?” he asked quietly.

“I just want to
get my feet under me again, spend a little time deciding what to do,” Esther
said.

The answer felt
like a cop-out. She almost followed it with something more concrete, but she
left it at that. For now.

David touched his
glasses again. His response was brisk. “Fair enough. Well, listen. I’m going
over to the island. You want to come along?”

“Sure.”

They met the
speedboat as it was returning from gathering clams. They helped unload the
day’s catch and then took their turn in the boat. A few people were out on the
island already, sunning themselves or just walking slowly over the rocks as the
waves broke around them. When the boat bumped into the rock, Esther scrambled
over the side and upwards a few steps before she really had a chance to take it
in.

She felt like she
was still moving with the sea around her, making her feel queasy. The rocks
beneath her boots were alien, both rough and smooth. She took a few steps and
knelt down to touch the stone with both hands. It was real, solid, impervious
to the motion of the wind and the waves. There were sparse patches of lichen
growing on the rock. Esther dug her nails under a few gray-green wisps.

David came up
beside her. “It’s strange, isn’t it?”

“The rocks?”

“The fact that we
could all be moving back to land someday. Maybe even someday soon. Not sure
what we’ll do without the sea.”

“We’ll never be
without the sea,” Esther said. “And we don’t know anything about life on land
anymore. Why can’t we just keep doing what we’re doing?”

She crumbled the
lichen, wondering if it was edible. There were sprinkles of ashy sand in the
cracks of the rocks.

“The ships will
rust. The salvage we can pull from the sea is already scarce. We all have to go
back someday.”

Esther ran her
fingers along the rock and thought about his words. She didn’t know what living
on the land again would mean for someone like her. The
Catalina
was all
she knew. Still, as she twisted the sand between her fingers and felt her boots
on solid ground, it was tempting to think of the possibilities. Solid ground.
Trees. Flowers. Wide spaces that could be crossed without a boat. Land.