“Yes, I believe I did see some,” said Jillian, reaching into a closet and withdrawing several blue slickers with hoodies attached.
Lex and Cleo changed into the dry clothes and hung their wet clothes up to dry. “Will please you take care of my mom, while I go relieve Jesse,” asked Lex, as he slid into one of the slickers.
“No worries love, but be careful,” said Cleo.
“I will,” replied Lex, before bending down and pressing his lips to Cleo’s. He turned and climbed the steps to the deck above, where he found Jesse at the helm, the rope still tied around his waist. “Your turn to go get dry,” shouted Lex, above the crashing waves and roaring wind.
“Thanks!” Jesse shouted. He untied the rope and handed it to Lex, who quickly tied it around his waist. “I’ll be back in a little while!”
Lex nodded and grabbed hold of the wheel. He watched, as Jesse disappeared below deck and fastened the hatch behind him.
The gale force winds lasted throughout most of the night. It wasn’t until the early morning hours that the relentless storm subsided and the sea became calm. Lex was still at the helm when the sun rose in the east, casting a ray of light across the deck of the Shooting Star. The warmth from the sunlight felt good and Lex could feel his muscles begin to relax.
Cleo lay curled up in a ball beside Lex, where she’d fallen asleep during the final hours of the storm. Although Lex wanted her to see the beautiful sunset, he was hesitant to wake her after such an exhausting night. When the sunlight covered Cleo with its warm rays, her eyes fluttered and slowly opened.
“Good morning beautiful,” greeted Lex, looking down at the exotic Australian beauty lying beside him.
“Good morning love,” smiled Cleo, followed by a yawn. “What happened? Where are we?” She sat up and looked around. In every direction and as far as the eye could see there was no sign of land, only an endless amount of blue water.
“Do you want the good or bad news first?” Lex asked.
“The bad news,” answered Cleo.
“I’ve no idea where we’re at,” said Lex.
“And the good news?” asked Cleo.
“The storm has passed and it appears to have taken the destroyer with it. Either that or they sank,” suggested Lex.
“There’s no way we’re that lucky,” smiled Cleo. “How’s your mum doing?”
“I don’t know,” answered Lex. “I haven’t had a chance to check on her again since last night.”
“Have you slept at all?” Cleo asked, brushing away a blonde strand of hair from Lex’s face.
“Nope,” smiled Lex, exhaustion reflected in his eyes. “I couldn’t let you go without your beauty sleep.”
“Your sweet,” said Cleo, kissing Lex softly on the lips. “Why don’t you go check on your mum and get some rest. I’ll let you know when we’re getting close to San Francisco.”
“Okay,” he said, as Cleo took the helm and tied the rope around her waist. “Thanks lover.”
“Just make sure you dream about me,” teased Cleo, casting a seductive wink at Lex.
He turned and opened the hatch to the cabin below. He descended the ladder and stepped over Duke, who’d fallen asleep on the floor at the bottom of the steps. The dog opened his eyes and glanced up at Lex, before letting out a yawn. He rolled over onto his side and within seconds was fast asleep, his hind legs twitching as he chased after something in his dreams.
Lex found Beth sleeping peacefully on the couch, her vomit bowl sitting on the floor beside her. As he tip-toed passed her, Lex glanced in the bowl expecting to see something foul, but instead he found the bowl empty. Someone must have been kind enough to empty its contents. Not wanting to disturb his mother’s much needed rest; he gently pulled the blanket up around her shoulders.
The door to the master cabin slowly crept open and Jesse emerged, pulling a t-shirt over his head. “Good morning,” he said when he saw Lex.
“Good morning,” Lex whispered, nodding towards his sleeping mother.
“Sorry I didn’t relieve you sooner,” whispered Jesse. “I must have been more tired than I thought.”
“No worries,” said Lex, a yawn escaping from his mouth.
“Are you guys’ hungry?” Jillian asked, appearing in the doorway.
“Shush!” Jesse whispered, holding his finger to his lips and nodding towards Beth.
“Oh, sorry,” whispered Jillian. “Are you guys’ hungry?” She asked, repeating the question in a softer tone.
“I could eat a horse,” confessed Jesse.
“I think I’m going to get some sleep first,” said Lex.
“Of course,” agreed Jesse. “You can use the master cabin.”
“Thanks.” Lex closed the door and plopped down on the bed. He was fast asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.
When Lex opened his eyes a few hours later it took him a minute to remember where he was. He still felt sleepy and wasn’t sure what had woke him. He rolled over and was about to fall back to sleep, when he heard footsteps and voices on the deck above. Remembering the enemy destroyer, he quickly sat up and swung his feet to the floor. He found his mother still asleep on the couch in the main cabin. Her teeth were chattering uncontrollably.
“Mom, mom can you hear me?” Lex asked, bending down beside her.
Beth moaned, as though she were having a bad dream. Her forehead was covered in small beads of sweat and she was shaking like a leaf. Lex grabbed another blanket and covered his mother. He found a washcloth in the bathroom and dampened it, before wiping away the drops of sweat.
“Mom,” he said softly, “can you hear me?”
Lex was really beginning to worry. He’d felt sure that God had answered his prayers by providing both the satellite phone and the storm, without which they wouldn’t have been able to escape from the enemy destroyer. So why was He now forsaking them?
The hatch to the deck opened and Cleo appeared in the doorway. “What’s the matter?” She asked, noticing the worry in Lex’s eyes.
“It’s my mom,” he answered, “she’s got a really high fever. I thought God heard my prayer last night, but now look at her, she’s worse than before.”
“If she’s got a fever that means her body temperature is too high,” replied Cleo, removing the blankets. “We need to lower her core body temperature.” Cleo quickly grabbed ice trays from inside the refrigerator and emptied them into plastic bags. She then put the bags of ice on Beth’s chest. “Ya know love, for someone who’s asked God for help, ya sure aren’t giving Him much of a chance. You prayed for help last night and then what happened?”
“We were attacked,” complained Lex.
“True, but then a storm came out of nowhere and carried us far away from our enemies,” pointed out Cleo. “That sounds like divine intervention to me, but what do I know.”
“You might have a point,” agreed Lex. “Perhaps I should be a little more patient and trusting in the Lord.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” agreed Cleo, as she gently stroked Beth’s forehead with the damp washcloth.
Jillian’s head suddenly appeared in the doorway. “Jesse wanted me to tell you that we’re coming up on San Francisco.”
“Thank God!” Lex felt relief wash over him.
“And to think you were about to give up on Him,” teased Cleo.
“Will you stay with my mom while I go take a look?”
“Of course,” she said, casting a reassuring smile at Lex. “No worries.”
“Why don’t you both go,” suggested Jillian. “I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”
“Thank you,” said Cleo, handing Jillian the damp washcloth. “The ice is helping to lower her body temperature so don’t let her take it off.”
“No problem,” replied Jillian, sitting down next to Beth.
“There it is!” said Jesse, when Lex and Cleo emerged from the cabin below. He was holding the wheel with one hand and pointing towards the coast with the other. The sails were up and full of wind, as the boat sliced through the deep blue sea.
In the distance, Lex could see the smoldering remnants of San Francisco. The entire bay area looked like a battlefield, with columns of smoke rising everywhere. Even though they were still miles away, he could see flames from out of control fires glowing throughout the city.
“Here,” said Jesse, handing Lex a pair of binoculars.
Using the binoculars, Lex was able to locate the Golden Gate Bridge, or rather what was left of it. He scanned the city, trying to find the Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, but the smoke made it impossible to see much of anything.
“What do you see?” Cleo asked, shading her eyes from the morning sun.
“Not much,” admitted Lex, handing her the binoculars.
“Wow!” She gasped, as she scanned the coastline.
“Where do you want me to dock?” asked Jesse.
“Near the Golden Gate National Recreational Area,” said Lex.
“Where’s that?”
“Just passed the Golden Gate Bridge,” replied Lex.
As the wind and waves brought them closer to the shore, the city became more visible. Every now and then Cleo noticed people darting in and out of buildings, but at this distance she couldn’t tell if they were friend or foe. “I see some people,” she said, handing the binoculars back to Lex.
“I can’t tell if they’re wearing uniforms,” replied Lex, peering through the binoculars.
“Are you both going ashore?” asked Jesse.
“I don’t know,” confessed Lex, glancing down at Cleo. He’d like to have her with him in case of trouble, but he didn’t like the idea of leaving his mom alone.
“It’s okay,” said Jesse, as if he were reading Lex’s mind. “Jillian and I will watch over your mom until you get back. If anyone tries to harm her they’ll have to go through us first.”
“Thanks.” Lex looked at Cleo and asked, “Do you want to come with me?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Cleo.
“Alright then,” said Jesse, “I’ll get the dinghy ready to launch. I know it looks like it’s far away, but we’ll be there before you know it. You guys might want to start getting ready.”
“That’s a good idea,” agreed Lex. “I don’t suppose you have any hand-held radios onboard so that we can stay in touch?”
“As a matter of fact, I believe that my grandfather kept a set under the bed in the master cabin,” said Jesse. “If I remember correctly, you’ll find them in a yellow lunch box.”
“Lunch box?”
“Yeah, my grandfather told me the tin box would help protect the radios from an electro-magnetic pulse. He was kind of a conspiracy theorist,” explained Jesse.
“He sounds like a smart man,” replied Cleo.
“I guess he was,” agreed Jesse, remembering the old man with a renewed sense of pride. “Will you send Jillian up?” he added, as Lex and Cleo disappeared below deck.
“Sure mate,” replied Cleo.
Once Jillian had left to help Jesse with the dinghy, Lex and Cleo quickly changed back into their own clothes, which were now dry and hanging in the bathroom. Lex pulled his shirt over his head and glanced down at Beth, who still lay sleeping on the couch.
“She’ll be alright love,” said Cleo, when she saw the worried look on his face.
“I hope so,” confessed Lex.
They checked their weapons, making sure that each gun was dry and loaded with the maximum capacity of shells. Lex found the radios inside the yellow lunch box, exactly where Jesse said they’d be. After making sure that they worked, he handed one to Cleo. “What’s that?” he asked, when he noticed her slipping a couple of face masks and two pairs of medical gloves into their backpack.
“Just in case we run into anything radioactive,” she explained. “I don’t want you to grow another nose,” she added with a smile.
“Nor I,” laughed Lex.
With their bags packed and ready to go, Lex bent down next to his mother and kissed her gently on the forehead. He wanted to tell her goodbye, but didn’t want to wake her when she needed rest so desperately.
“Take care of her boy,” he said, patting Duke on the head. The dog licked his hand and wagged his tail, before lying down at the foot of the couch.
“Ready?” asked Cleo.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” replied Lex, casting one final look towards his mother. She looked so peaceful; her chest slowly rising and falling with each breath that she took. “Please watch out over her Lord,” he said softly, before turning and following Cleo to the deck above.
Lex was surprised at how close they were to the shore. It seemed like only a few minutes ago they were miles away. As they sailed into the bay, Lex looked up at what was left of the Golden Gate Bridge. The center of the bridge was completely gone, making it impossible to cross. All that remained were the sections connected to the land, at the north and south ends of the opening to the bay. He could see jagged chards of metal dangling over the edge, as they passed under. Lex thought he saw movement on the south end of the bridge, but when he looked again nothing was there.
“Are you guy’s ready?” Jesse asked, as he guided the boat towards the shore.
“Yep,” answered Cleo, holding a rifle cradled in her arms. She had a handgun strapped to her waist, with the hand-held radio clipped to her belt.
“I’m gonna drop the anchor here and lower the dinghy,” said Jesse.