“Is that a…” she began.
“It’s a sailboat,”
Wylie answered.
“A big sailboat,”
Tull added. “More like a schooner or a yacht.”
“Should we try and
flag them down?” Harper wondered, glancing at each of them.
Tull turned to his
father. “Whaddaya think? Overtake? Or ignore?”
Wylie gave them
his two cents’ worth. “I vote we stay low and hope they don’t see
us.”
Bud narrowed his
eyes. “I gotta bad feeling about this, too.”
“Why?” Harper
pressed. “You don’t think they’ll take us aboard?”
Wylie turned to
Tull. “You said we’re a couple of days from the coast?”
“Give or take.”
“So why is that
vessel this far from the open ocean?” Wylie asked. “Also…” He held
out a hand. “How much wind have we been getting lately? Zero to
none, right?” He pointed to the craft. “Those sails aren’t doing
shit for them. They have to be using their engines. Plus, they’re
going against the current.”
“Maybe they’re
here to try and find supplies like we’ve been doing,” Harper
suggested.
“That’s a
possibility,” Bud acknowledged.
“Think they’re
armed?” Tull softly asked. Wylie suspected the question was meant
for Bud.
Bud sighed.
“Unless we discover differently, we’ll always have to assume the
worst from here on end.” He looked directly at Wylie. “You still
have that pistol?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Uhh, guys?”
Harper pointed. “I think they’re coming toward us.”
“Think they
spotted us?” Wylie inquired.
“We’ll soon find
out,” Tull answered. “Here’s the deal. Keep your gun within reach.
Act nonchalant. If they hail us, don’t reply, but don’t flat-out
ignore them. That’ll look too suspicious.”
“What are we
supposed to do if they try to board us?” Harper asked, voicing the
same problem Wylie was about to address.
“That’s when we
defend our property,” Tull answered in a voice that was
all-business.
Wylie smiled to
himself. He wasn’t the least bit worried. Not with these two guys on
their side.
Harper moved up to
his side as all eyes remained on the oncoming vessel. “Should I try
to stay out of sight?”
Bud replied, “Come
get inside the tent, out of sight. If shit goes sideways, huddle
down against the sides and away from the middle of the boat. Make
yourself as inconspicuous as possible. With luck, if they believe
we’re all guys here, they’ll have second thoughts.”
Wylie gestured to
her. “Go get inside now before they get any closer.”
She gave a nod and
with Tull’s help, climbed into the inflatable and into the tent.
Wylie noticed the man didn’t zip up the opening and asked about it.
“If they see it
closed, they might suspect someone’s inside,” he explained. “I’ll
make sure she remains out of their line of vision.”
“Where are you
taking a stand?” Bud questioned him.
“I’ll sit in the
pilot seat.”
“Okay. Dad’ll sit
outside the tent with an oar. I’ll pretend to tinker with the
outboard. You just follow our lead.”
Nodding, Wylie
went to sit. To whomever was approaching, they’d get the impression
that the two crafts were travelling together, and the inflatable was
having engine problems. They’d never suspect their prey also had a
plan in mind.
Before long, the
deep sound of the vessel’s engine came to them, confirming his
suspicions. He had to admit the sailboat looked much more
intimidating with all its canvas deployed, and wondered if that was
done for show, or on the chance they might catch a breeze here and
there.
A lone figure
moved onto the bow sprit and waved at them.
“Don’t reply,” Bud
murmured.
Wylie didn’t and
tried to appear both curious and uncaring as they continued to
watch.
The boat came
closer, but at a slower speed. This time the guy yelled at them.
“Ahoy! Ahoy, there!”
“Ask him what he
wants. Don’t be nice,” Bud whispered.
“What do you
want?” Wylie loudly demanded.
The guy waited as
his boat came within a hundred feet. For Wylie, that sense of
impending danger was rapidly becoming sirens and flashing red
lights. It was an effort to keep his hands on the wheel and not
reach for the pistol lying a few inches away.
Before Bud could
say it, Wylie addressed the stranger again. “That’s close enough.
What do you want?”
“It’s good to see
another living being!” the man called back. “We were afraid everyone
else had drowned!”
We. The man had
said we.
Wylie started to
get to his feet when a shot rang out. He instinctively ducked,
snatching his own weapon, when he realized the shot had come from
behind him.
He was aware of
the guy on the bow sprit pulling a weapon from behind his back when
a second shot exploded. Blood blossomed in the middle of the guy’s
chest, stark red on the white t-shirt, and the man fell backwards. |