wrath of the Sea Queen (102 page)

While they talked, Vin walked out of the water
in
search
of
Apela.  He wanted a ride back to the hotel
immediately
to check on C
a
eli.  He spotted
his new friend
and a few others
near the truck
,
talking to another man Vin did not recognize.  They walked up and waited a few paces away from the group.  When Apela noticed Vin standing there, he offered him a
rest
in the back
seat
of
the truck's
extended
cab
. 
Vin
politely
declined, not wanting to open the door for idle chat, as he could hardly wait to return to
C
a
eli
.

"Vin, this is Colonel Franks,
regional commander and
head of the local guard unit," Apela introduced Vin to th
e white-haired man
.

"Franks?"  Vin looked over at Jeremy with an inquiry on his face.

"Yes," Jeremy nodded
to confirm th
e identity of
his father
.

"
It's n
ice to meet you, Sir.  Did you come down
to see
Jeremy?"

"I came
out
because of the explosion.  I
only
found out
about
Jeremy
's ordeal
when I arrived
. 
He is safe and sound. 
Thanks for asking.
"  The colonel did
n
o
t make the connection that Vin was the one who
s
aved his son.  He thought Vin was
another one
of the
many
levee workers who helped with the rescue.

"Any idea what caused the
blasts, Sir
?"  Vin asked as he leaned against the truck.

"
Blasts
? 
There was m
ore than one?"

"
There were two," Vin confirmed.

"I was
about to
get to that part, Colonel.  The first one shook the ground, but the second one caused all the damage.  It will take all afternoon to get back to where we started; and look at the sky.  We
wi
ll be lucky to get any of it finished before the next storm hits.  Most of us are done
with our shift
. 
I can't ask any of the morning volunteers to work any longer. 
You need another crew out here."  Apela added.

"I'm staying," Maku announced.

"Me, too," Jeremy joined the newly developing team.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get back to the hotel and check on Max.  I need to get Vin back to his hotel as well."  Apela managed to maintain Vin's secret, even under these circumstances.

"Vin, we sure could use the help.  Are you sure you won't stay?
  We can always find you a ride later,
" Colonel Franks asked.

"I wish I could.  I can see that this is important.  But, like Apela, I have
people waiting on me.  My wife is
very
sick, and I need to be with
her
."

"Vin, could I talk to you for a minute?"  Apela motioned Vin away from the others.

"Yes?"

"If you really want to stay and help, I can check on C
a
eli for you.  Do you have a cell phone?  I can call you."

"
I promised her I would be back soon.  She
wi
ll
be expecting me," Vin replied.

He
knew
that C
a
eli was in pain.  However, he
could not explain that to Apela.  He
did want to help
at the levee
, but C
a
eli was his first priority.

"I can call if she needs you.  Maku can give you a ride.  In fact, I can have C
a
eli call you as soon as I get back, if that will ease your worry."

"
I doubt my
cell
phone works.  It went in the water with me."  Vin reached into the
front pocket of his jeans only to find it
empty. 
Apparently he lost
his cell phone
in the ocean. 
Vin shrugged.
  It was as good an excuse as any not to stay behind.

"
H
ere then.  Take mine.  I
wi
ll ask Maku to drop you off at the lighthouse when you
a
re finished.  You can walk up the beach from there to the hotel.  It's less than half a mile.  I know it's an imposition, but since I can't stay, I
woul
d like to have someone competent to fill the gap
.
I wouldn't ask if this levee weren't cr
ucial
.  What do you say?"

Vin thought about it.  C
a
eli was hurting severely, but Salma would be there to take care of her.  She wouldn't want Vin hanging around
and probably would not let him see C
a
eli
. 
Salma would
likely
put C
a
eli to sleep again. 
Ben was there, too.  He would keep an eye on C
a
eli and Salma until Vin returned.  Apela was kind enough to let them stay at his hotel
and keep
their residence
a secret
. 
They were as safe as possible, and C
a
eli was in good
medical
hands. 
Vin decided that he could not refuse
Apela's request
.

"All right
,
I
wi
ll stay
, but p
lease have C
a
eli call me
the minute you get back
.  If Salma gave her more medicine and she can't
talk
,
then
have Ben call me
instead
," Vin set terms that he could handle.

"
That's f
air enough.  Thank you
, Vin
.  Let's go tell the others.
"

Colonel Franks was relieved that almost everyone from the morning crew would be staying.  He wanted a chance to talk to each of them, individually, to gather as much detail about the explosion
s
as he could.  After making arrangements for Maku to drop Vin off, Apela headed home.
  Vin and the others
set
to work repairing the most recent damage.

"
Vin!
"
  C
a
eli
came to and
tried to shout, but was so weak that her voice came out as a soft cry
,
obviously upset.

"He's all right.  Hold still now."  Salma
motioned
for Ben to move to the other side of the bed in case she needed he
lp
restraining
C
a
eli
.

Ben noticed that C
a
eli was
still
favoring her
right
arm, but seemed otherwise unhurt.

"Please, I need to see Vin," C
a
eli
insisted and tried to sit up.

Ben placed a gentl
e
hand on
C
a
eli's
shoulder, preventing the movement.

"There now, Lass.  Vin is fine, but he
wi
ll be quite upset with you if you don't take care and do as Salma says.  Vin is at the levee helping fix the damage.  Remember?"

"But
you don't understand.  H
e's hurt.  They fell in the water.  She tried to prevent…" 
C
a
eli
began
to panic and attempted to get up again despite the pain it caused her.

"
Vin said he was coming back.  Why
i
sn't he here?
"
 
She wondered h
ow long ago
that
had been
.

"C
a
eli,
Dear
, you have to calm down.  Everything is fine.  Please, you
a
re going to rip the IV line out of your arm.
Settle down."

Salma's words fell on deaf ears
as C
a
eli futilely tried to evade the hands holding her
down.
 
She
was determined to get out of bed and find Vin
.  S
alma
tried to talk to
C
a
eli
silently
, but C
a
eli's mind was chaotic.  There were so many things rolling around in
C
a
eli's
head that she didn't even realize Salma was
speaking
to her.  Salma had no idea how else to reach
her
.