Soo, holding a bottle of water, padded down the steps in her bare feet. Her hair was still damp from her own shower and she wore an extra-large T-shirt she"d found in the master cabin"s wardrobe. It came down almost to her knees.
"Is she sleeping?" she whispered.
"Yep. Out like a light."
Soo nodded and took a sip of her water. "I can"t stop thinking about Dave. Do you think he"s all right?"
"Yeah, I"m sure he"s fine. If there"s one guy I"ll never worry about, it"s him."
She took another sip and tucked her hair behind her ear. She glanced at the door behind her. "Are you sure you don"t want to take this one? I almost feel guilty. It"s too nice. That bed in there is three times as big as what I had back home."
Howard waved his hand. "Nah, you take it. It"s the captain"s quarters and you"re the captain. I"ll just grab the other bed in here with Emily."
Soo chuckled at his captain remark and took another sip of water, appearing nervous. Howard couldn"t imagine why. She tucked her hair behind her ear again, something he could watch her do all day long and never get tired of.
"Well, uh..." he whispered. "I guess I"ll call it a night."
"Okay. Good night."
"You too."
He turned and took a step toward his door.
"Howard?"
He turned around just as she ran into him, slamming him up against the wall. The water bottle hit the floor, splashing cold water on his bare feet. She grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him deeply, a slight moan escaping her lips as she pressed herself against him. Howard"s mind turned in slow motion, taking a second to process that, yes, this was actually happening. He realized his arms still hung at his sides. He finally snapped out of it, embracing Soo and trying to keep up with her eager kisses.
Somehow they managed to stumble into her cabin. She slipped the T-shirt over her head and untied his robe, pushing it off his shoulders and dropping it to the floor. He ran his hands over the contours of her body. Her smooth skin, hot to the touch, glistened in the dim light of the cabin. He lifted her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around him. Howard lowered her to the bed.
They got an early start the next morning. Soo wanted nothing more than to spend the entire day in bed with Howard, making love and enjoying the soft mattress and silk sheets. But sitting a mile off the coast of Cuba wasn"t doing them any good, so she reluctantly got out of bed.
They headed east, keeping a mile or so off the coastline. After seven hours, they reached the mouth of Guantanamo Bay. They had a good view of the airstrip, which was located directly off sh.o.r.e, but the rest of the US Navy base was positioned deeper in the bay, out of sight. There was no movement on the airfield, no boats or ships of any kind in the bay. It was disappointing to say the least. If they expected to see any sense of normalcy in Cuba, any clues of resistance to the infection, it would have been at Gitmo. Howard tried to convince the girls it meant nothing, but he had doubts of his own.
Two hours later, they rounded the eastern sh.o.r.e of Cuba. From there it was a straight shot to Miami, four hundred and fifty miles away.
Howard brought Soo a plate of canned tuna, crackers, and sliced cheese. He set it down and started ma.s.saging her shoulders. Despite what had happened the previous night, several times, he felt awkward with the intimate gesture. He was relieved when she moaned in pleasure and told him how good it felt.
"How"s it going up here?"
She popped a chunk of cheese into her mouth. "So far, so good. We have less than halfway to go but over half a tank of fuel. I knocked our speed down a few knots, just to be safe."
Howard looked out the window to the west. The setting sun painted a spectacular picture of reds, yellows, and oranges.
"It"s beautiful, isn"t it?" Soo asked.
They sailed for a few more hours after dark before stopping for the night. Soo estimated they had about twenty hours to go.
Their luck with good weather and smooth seas held out another day as they pressed on. Soo insisted they sail through the night. Howard only agreed if she would let him relieve her for a few hours. She showed him the basics and he kept the course while she napped with Emily on the sofa nearby.
Around two in the morning, Howard woke to Soo quietly calling his name. He hadn"t realized he"d dozed off. He gently slid out from under Emily, who was sleeping on his lap.
"What"s up?"
Soo turned the cabin lights all the way down and stared out the window. Howard was about to ask what they were looking at when he saw it. The full moon not only illuminated the waves outside, but the dark Miami skyline in the distance.
He rushed outside, holding onto the railing as the boat rode the waves. Not a single light on the horizon. Husks of once mighty skysc.r.a.pers on the southern edge of downtown still smoldered. A cloud of smoke hung over the city and stung Howard"s nose as it reached the yacht.
The engines shut down and a moment later Soo was at his side, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. "Dave was right. It"s just more of the same. All gone."
Howard stared at the dead city, not wanting to believe. He knew the odds were against them, yet for the past couple of days he couldn"t help but imagine this moment turning out differently: The three of them laughing and hugging and cheering for joy as the brilliant skyline shown as a beacon in the night a the triumphant glow of a city teeming with life. He didn"t realize how badly he wanted it until the harsh reality appeared over the bow of the yacht.
"What do we do now?" Soo asked.
He didn"t have an answer.
Nineteen.
They sat in a daze, exhausted but unable to sleep. Howard suggested they get closer, so Soo started up the engines. It didn"t matter. They sailed just a few hundred yards off the sh.o.r.e of Miami Beach, dark and quiet. Mixed in with the smell of smoke was an all too familiar odor of decomposition. Death. After nothing but fresh sea air, it smelled worse than ever and lowered their spirits even more.
Not knowing what else to do, they headed north. They sat side by side, not saying a word, consumed with their own thoughts as Emily slept, blissfully unaware. Miles of dark coastline slipped by. Howard was exhausted to the core but knew he wouldn"t be able to sleep. He also knew what they were doing was pointless. They might as well stop for the night and figure out what to do next after a good night"s sleep.
He looked over at Soo. She stared ahead with glazed eyes, a blank expression on her face. Howard racked his brain for something rea.s.suring to say, something to help lift her spirits, but he knew anything out of his mouth would be hollow.
Soo furrowed her brow and blinked. "Am I crazy or do you see a light up there?"
"Huh?" Howard leaned forward and peered out the window. "Where?"
"Right..." Soo pointed her finger to the left. "Wait a minute. I could have sworn...there! Right there. See it?"
Howard saw ita a momentary flash of light, followed by a beam shining out to sea before going dark again. A few seconds later it happened again.
"If I didn"t know better I would swear that"s a lighthouse," said Soo.
"I think you"re right. We pa.s.sed a couple a while ago but they were dark. How can this one still be running?"
Soo increased the throttle. As they got closer to the lighthouse, the soft glow of surrounding lights filled the sky. Soon they could make out individual lights coming into view as they got closer.
"What"s up there?" Howard asked.
Soo pulled up the map on the GPS system. "Mmm...Juno Beach, Juno Ridge...Jupiter. That"s gotta be Jupiter."
"Jupiter?"
Soo pointed at the LCD display. "Right there. Jupiter, Florida."
They sailed closer to the beacon that was Jupiter. Miles of sh.o.r.eline to the north were as dark as where they"d come from. As they got closer they could make out streetlights, signs, and porch lights. All the usual late-night illuminations common in any American town.
"They have power," Howard said. "How is this possible?"
Soo just shook her head and smiled, not having an answer. She knew one thing however, and that was power plants needed people to run them. Left unattended, any kind of plant, from nuclear to coal to natural gas, quickly failed. She remembered that simple fact from those Life After People shows she enjoyed watching years ago.
The yacht entered Jupiter Inlet, pa.s.sing a residential area to the right. To the left, dozens of piers and docks lined the sh.o.r.e.
"Look." Soo pointed. "Is that a car?"
A police cruiser came to a stop in the parking lot near one of the public docks. The car"s spotlight came on and shone directly on the yacht.
Howard squinted at the bright light piercing the cabin"s windows. "I guess we might as well dock."
Soo pulled into an open slip, the spotlight tracking their movement and never letting up.
Emily sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Soo muttered. "Why am I so nervous?"
"Don"t worry. Everything is fine." Howard was nervous as well but tried his best to appear calm. "Let"s just see what they want."
They exited though the stern of the boat and walked out onto the narrow pa.s.sageway. Before the operator of the spotlight saw them, Howard made out two men standing on either side of the car. The driver operated the light and his partner held a shotgun or rifle. A second later, the light hit them again, blinding them. Soo stood next to Howard with Emily behind them.
The cruiser"s PA system squealed into life. "That"s far enough." The man"s voice had a slight Southern accent. "How many people aboard?"
"Just us three!" Howard stepped aside, placing a hand on Emily"s shoulder.
"Do you have any weapons aboard?"
"No."
There was no response for a moment as the men at the car exchanged words.
"Tie off the boat," the voice boomed. "I want to see hands the whole time. Nice and easy."
Howard glanced at Soo. She looked scared but gave him a nod. The three of them walked up the length of the yacht. They tied the yacht to the pier and the voice commanded them to walk toward the car.
As they approached, the spotlight was finally turned off. A heavyset man in uniform stood next to the driver side door, one hand on his holstered weapon, the other on the flashlight he pulled from his belt. He turned it on but pointed it at their feet. The guy on the other side, a kid barely out of his teens, held a shotgun pointed at the sky.
"Howdy," Heavyset said. "Now what in the blazes are you folks doing out on that thing at 4:30 in the morning? You ain"t from around here are you? Don"t recognize any of you."
Howard cleared his throat, conscious of where his hands were. Heavyset still hadn"t taken his hand off his gun. "We came all the way from Jamaica. We saw the lighthouse."
The two cops exchanged glances. "Jamaica? You s.h.i.ttin" me? You sound American. Y"all on vacation or something?"
"Something like that."
"What"s it like down there?" the kid asked. "How many survivors?"
"Not many. It was pretty bad."
Heavyset clicked off his flashlight and finally took his hand off his revolver. "Sorry for the third degree but we ain"t used to seeing any boats out after dark." He held out his hand. "Jack Phelps. That"s Tom Weslow." They took turns shaking hands and exchanging names.
"Most survivors come in on the road," Jack said. "but we"ve had a boat or two lately. Not as many as we"d like to see, but..."
Soo looked around. "How many people are here?"
Jack clicked his tongue and looked at the sky. "Mmmm, last count was eight hunerd and...seven, weren"t it Tom?"
"Sounds "bout right."
Jack smiled. "Guess it"s up to 810 now. a.s.suming y"all are staying."
"Are there any other towns like this?" Soo asked. "Can you communicate with other cities? Are there phones?"
"Where you folks from originally?" Jack asked.
"California," Soo said. "He"s from Wisconsin."
Jack and Tom exchanged glances. "I"m afraid you folks are standing in the only functioning city, relatively speaking, in this part of the state. As far as your neck of the woods, there"s no way to tell."
"There"s a guy in town, used to a be a pilot for United," Tom said. "He took a Cessna up a few times before the fuel let out. Flew as far as Jacksonville to the north. Orlando and Tampa to the west." He shook his head. "Nothing."
"We still get survivors tricklin" in from time to time," Jack added. "Most see the lights at night, like you folks. We have a broadcast goin" out on shortwave too."
"How do you still have power?" Howard asked.
"Got lucky as all h.e.l.l. The plant manager at the Bay Beach nuclear plant up the road lives here in town. He"s been working there since high school and could run that place by himself if it was possible. Seems like he trained half the town to help keep the place running, and we"ve had steady juice ever since things went south."
Jack squatted down to Emily"s level. "And you, little Missy, you ain"t so lucky. We don"t have any of that Internet or cartoon channels on the TV, but we still got school."
"Do I get to wear a blue dress like Jackie and use a back-a-pack?"
Jack laughed and stood up with a groan. "I reckon you can wear whatever you want to school. The subjects may have changed some," he told Soo, "but Miss Johnson"s been doing a darn good job with the kids. That"s our future, like the song says, ya know?"
Howard took Emily"s hand. "That sound great."
"We should get back on patrol," Jack said. "If you folks are squared away on that fancy rig of yours, I can pick you up in the morning to meet with the town council. They"ll help find you a house and a.s.sign you a job. What line of work were y"all in?"
"I"m a nurse pract.i.tioner," Soo said.
"Great! They could definitely use some more help down at the clinic. How "bout you, Howard?"
He put his arm around Soo and thought for a moment before answering. "I"ve dabbled in a lot of things. Antarctic explorer, medical guinea pig, tropical explorer, alien hunter, and most recently...first mate aboard an Italian yacht."