Prepper Fiction Collection: Four Books in One Read online

  Asmus went around the small group and shook hands, then walked down the plank. When he reached the dock he waved, then waved his arm in a motion telling them to get going!

  “We will have more difficulty at sea without him,” Carl said. “What about the German fishermen? Can see use them to fill some of these positions?”

  Hendrik gave approval to interview them and assign stations.

  They moved the ship to the fuel bays, and as soon as they were fueled they headed to sea. The winter days were short, dreary, and cloudy, and it was dark again as they pulled away and sailed out of the bay. They headed north around the Island and west toward Scotland. Mike was pouring over maps and charts.

  “Where are we headed?” Carl asked. Mike looked up at him, then over to Hendrik.

  “To the states,” Hendrik said. Carl and Dennis exchanged looks with smiles behind them. Hendrik continued, “and not because it’s where you wanted to go! Because it’s home for most of us on board, so it only makes sense!”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir!” Carl said.

  “Cut the ‘sir’ crap. Mike, what’s our course?” Hendrik chewed on the cap of a pen and furrowed his brow at the map.

  “It is shorter to go through the English channel but likely it will be more dangerous. We can go north of Scotland and Ireland but it is farther and there could be ice this time of year,” Mike said.

  “Do we have enough fuel to go the northern route?” Hendrik asked.

  “Depends. Where do you want to make port in the states?” asked Mike.

  “Want? Tyler, Texas, where my parents live!” he smiled whimsically. “If we’re short on fuel we’ll head for something north, like Massachusetts or Maine, or even Canada. We can trade more cargo if we have to. Otherwise we will go as far south as we can, maybe around to the mouth of the Mississippi.”

  After a short discussion and poring over the maps the decision was made to take the northern route. All night long the ship plowed through the waves and sleet. The swells of the North Sea came in series different from that of the Pacific and Atlantic. The water was cold and heavy with slush, and the swells were sluggish.

  When daylight came there was land on both sides of them. Darlene climbed the stairs to the bridge with a pot of coffee and a basket of warm biscuits. When she entered she asked why they were surrounded by land.

  “We’re going through the Islands off the north coast of Scotland,” Mike answered.

  Carl gave Darlene a kiss before he took a buttered biscuit. “Did you sleep at all?” she asked him.

  “We took turns dozing when we were far from land,” he shrugged. “Once we’re past Ireland we’ll be on the Atlantic and we can take longer shifts of sleep. We’re going to interview the Germans and see if any could be of help here or elsewhere on the ship.”

  Darlene went to the windows at the front of the bridge and looked through the mist at the specks of land that rose in the distance on each side of them. She thought she saw a flash and she looked intently toward one of the Islands on their left, the port side. A moment later she saw it again.

  “There’s something flashing over there,” she said, and pointed.

  “Regular flashing, like a beacon or warning light? There could be a submerged rock that it’s marking.” Mike said.

  “No, it’s more like… like someone signaling for help? I only saw it twice. A white flash.” She wiped at the glass and leaned forward again. “There it is again!”

  Just then they could hear the radio crackle and Mike turned to them. “The watch has seen it too. Port side, 47 degrees off bow.”

  Carl went to the window with a pair of binoculars. The light was poor but he made out the ruins of a boat among the rocks near the Island. There were people standing on the bluff above, clustered together so that it was hard to count them.

  “Call Hendrik. There are people, and a wrecked boat. I can’t get a count on the people,” Carl said.

  Mike called, and in minutes Hendrik appeared, disheveled and unkempt, but alert. He went to the window and looked through binoculars.

  “Slow her down and bring her about. We must see about their situation. I’m reluctant to take on more people, but perhaps we can radio a port to get help for them,” Hendrik said.

  They cautiously eased closer. The waves crashed against the rocks and the slushy spray had a slow-motion effect to it. Carl stayed in the bridge as the others went down to the railing and looked over the situation. It was going to be dangerous in their little motorboat.

  A crew was rounded up and the motorboat was lowered. It chugged it’s way up and down through the water. Some of the men on shore had climbed down and were waving and shouting directions among the rocks. Soon the crew in the boat were able to throw a rope to those on shore. The boat bobbed dangerously close to rocky outcroppings, and two of the crew used oars to keep the boat from slamming into them.

  “Women and children first!” one of the crew shouted into the howling wind. The men either didn’t understand or couldn’t hear, and it was repeated a few times. Finally the cry came back “No women! No children!”

  The crowd on the bluff had separated as they climbed down the rocks, and the headcount was 5, all men. It was hard to tell their ages but they all seemed to be over 30. One man crept out on a rock toward the stern of the little boat. The crew tried to keep the boat in place as close as they dared. They were about to hand him a rope when he leapt across and landed nimbly in the boat. The crew jumped back in surprise.

  The man turned and offered encouragement to the next, in a language none of them recognized. One by one the other four men leapt to the boat while the crew held her steady. Feeling put-off they were at the same time grateful that these people were willing to help themselves.

  They motored back to the ship. It was hard to steady it enough to attach the ropes to winch it up. Once it was attached a rope ladder was dropped and all but one crewman climbed up to the ship. Then the motorboat was winched up and secured on the deck.

  Hendrik had just stepped forward to greet the rescued men when they flung open their coats and drew pistols. Darlene gave a cry of “oh!”, and they all stepped back, stunned.

  “We are PIRATE!” shouted one man in a gravely voice, and the other four laughed raucously. They waved their pistols and the leader stepped forward. “Give manifest! List of pretty women, too!” He leered at Darlene, who flinched and edged farther back.

  Carl watched the whole thing from the bridge. He went to Mike’s radio and fiddled with the knobs, then spoke to someone in the engine room. Then he tried some of the other places such as the crew quarters and galley. He reached Katy in the galley and warned her. She screamed and dropped the phone, and he hoped she was okay. He turned back to the wheel, wondering if they should stay close to shore or put to sea.

  The door slammed open and the pirate leader entered the bridge. “Ahhhhh, you captain? Drive ship Portugal!” He cackled and waved the pistol. Carl could see a knife on the man’s belt, but couldn’t tell if he carried another gun or weapon. For a minute he thought of stalling by asking to confer with the owner, Then it occurred to him that the pirates maybe didn’t know the owner was on board.

  Carl nodded his head, held his arms out to the side to show he was unarmed, and backed toward the console. He looked briefly at the map to get the coordinates for the country at the bottom of Europe’s southwest coast, then typed them in to the computerized navigation system. He turned to the wheel and watched out the window as the bow began to swing away from the Island.

  On deck, everyone was herded into the lounge and forced to sit at the tables. Then the other three took off running while one pirate remained to guard them. The ship was searched and everyone was herded either into the engine room or the lounge. Darlene wondered why Katy wasn’t there. Katy had been working on breakfast for the rest of the crew when Darlene took coffee and biscuits to the bridge. Maybe she had been in the engine room when the pirates arrived. She tried to give Dennis an encouraging look
, but his face was lined with worry. They both knew what sort of bad things could happen.

  The German children and one of the German women had been brought into the lounge. Igor and Hendrik sat quietly, making hand signals whenever the pirate’s attention was elsewhere. Darlene wondered if they were planning to jump the pirate.

  The pirate seemed to have caught on, and he signaled that they all change seats so the four men were back against the wall, and the women and children were on the outer edge of the bench seats. The men would have to jump over the women and children to get out.

  Suddenly Dennis had a red face and was staring at the table. Darlene nudged him but he wouldn’t look up. Hendrik was at the next table, but Igor was at theirs, across from Dennis, and he looked at Dennis with a puzzled face. Darlene couldn’t see Hendrik behind her, so she didn’t know what was on his face or if he was aware of what was going on at their table.

  The pirate glared at them, then shouted something at Dennis. Dennis’ face got even redder and the pirate stepped closer. Darlene shrank away, then realized she would be crowding Dennis if he had to leap over her.

  Suddenly the pirate whirled, having heard or sensed something behind him. Katy stood there, a heavy iron pan in her hand, ready to smash it over his head. He lunged toward her at the same moment the four men shoved their way over the women and jumped on the pirate. They pried his hands off Katy and tackled him.

  “Quick! Find something to tie him with!” panted Hendrik as he and Igor held the man down, and Mike put his knee on the struggling pirate’s neck. Dennis was holding Katy, who had scratches and bruises from her momentary scuffle with the pirate.

  Darlene yanked the paracord bracelet off her wrist, and with a quick tug on one end, where Sue had showed her, it unraveled into a 10’ length of strong cord. “How’s this for starters?“ she asked tossing it to Hendrik. Then she ran into the kitchen and returned with an armload of aprons with strings.

  “Are these strong enough?” she asked, holding them up.

  “They’ll do for now. Igor can get rope after we get him secured,” Hendrik said. In short fashion they had the pirate tied up, and Igor went for rope so they could tie him extra-secure. They moved him into the galley and laid him behind the center Island, out of sight. They had to stuff a dishcloth in his mouth to shut him up.

  The phone on the wall began to ring. Hendrik picked it up and listened. Carl’s voice came over the wire.

  “Hello? Who is this?” he asked.

  “It’s me. Hendrik.” he said in a relieved voice. “The galley is secure.”

  Carl was stunned for a moment and realized those in the galley had acted against at least some of the pirates. He had to be careful what he said or did, so he wouldn’t let on to the pirate he was standing face-to-face with; a pirate who had very bad breath!

  “What say?” the pirate growled. Carl moved the phone from his mouth to talk to the man.

  “They make my crewmate talk on phone.” Carl hoped the pirate understood his crudely spoken English. Back into the phone he said, “This gentleman would like to see the cargo manifest.”

  “I will send Igor with it,” Hendrik said. They both hung up the phone.

  “I didn’t have time to check the cargo and see what we still have,” Igor said. “They could get very angry if they want something that we claim not to have.”

  “Well, take the list up there anyway. They’re not blind, they can see several containers have been taken off the ship. The problem is they weren’t officially marked off and stamped on the manifest. Do your best.” Hendrik moved to center himself in front of the pirate on the floor, the pirate’s pistol in his hand. Dennis stood nearby with a big kitchen knife, and Darlene sat with a rolling pin in her hand. Katy stood behind Dennis, leaning against him for comfort.

  Igor retrieved the list from his office and went to the bridge. He knocked carefully on the door and called out, “It is me, Igor. I have the manifest.”

  “Come!” shouted the pirate leader. The two of them bent over the list, one trying to tell the other what was on the list and that some things might not actually be on the ship, and the other one trying to argue with everything being said.

  Carl listened carefully to the pirate’s language, trying to figure out what nationality it was. He thought maybe Spanish or some dialect of it, since they wanted to go to Portugal. But it didn’t sound familiar at all. The man looked like nearly every other native male from that whole part of the world, to Carl, and he couldn’t pin down a country.

  In the engine room three crewmen and two of the German men were crowded into a corner, sitting on the floor. One pirate stood over them with a gun. There had been three pirates, but after the crew was herded into the corner the other two had left. They returned with the two German men and shoved them toward the crew. Then they left again. The pirate standing over them leaned back against a piece of motor and grinned at them, several teeth broken or missing.

  He never seemed to look away. The crewmen tried to speak quietly without moving their lips whenever they sensed he was focused on another man momentarily. Over the noise of the idling engine they could not hear each other, and being unable to speak more than a word or two at a time, they could not make a plan. They knew the doors to the room were noisy when opened, so it would be impossible for someone to enter stealthily to help them.

  Every few minutes the pirate spewed forth a stream of angry curses and muttered long tirades that no one understood. Each crewman was imagining what plan they would have made. Each hoped that the other was thinking the same thing.

  The other two pirates resumed searching the ship, fore to aft, top to bottom. Then they climbed to the bridge and reported to their leader. Being busy with the manifest he snarled at them and they left the room.

  Returning to the deck they stood idly at the rail for a minute. One pulled out cigarettes and offered them to the other. Soon they were both standing there, drawing on the cigarettes. They laughed and talked in their language, oblivious to everything around them.

  Oblivious, even, to the men sneaking closer and closer. As one they ran forward, grabbed the men, and flipped them overboard. One of the men grabbed for the pistols shoved in the pirates’ waistbands, but he only managed to get one of them. The men screamed as they fell to the water, then began to yell desperately as they bobbed in the cold water.

  The men on deck tossed them life rings, then one opened a chest and pulled out an inflatable raft and tossed that down too. More sputtering and curses came up from the water as the three German men crept toward the lounge and galley. They planned that one would open the door and pretend to surrender, then the other two would rush in.

  A man crouched on each side of the door. The third man knocked frantically and called “Help!” and opened the door. He dropped to the floor as though he was collapsing in fright, but it was actually in case a pirate fired off a shot at the doorway before looking. Shoot first, ask questions later. Diving to the floor made him less likely to be hit.

  A startled group stared at him. The German girl flung herself into the arms of the German woman and started crying. Hendrik poked his head out of the kitchen and said, “we’ve got it under control in here.”

  The two groups exchanged stories. There was now one pirate still in the engine room and one in the bridge. Carl and Igor were in the bridge, five men were assumed to be in the engine room with the other pirate, at best count. That left two women unaccounted for. The German men smiled.

  “They are hidden!” they simply said. “The others didn’t have time to hide.”

  In the bridge the pirate leader was becoming angry and jumpy. Carl wondered if he feared they’d gotten a distress message out. He felt stupid now for not having done so. The pirate made snipping motions as though he wanted to just open the containers and look for himself. Igor grimaced, knowing it wasn’t as easy as that.

  The pirate was not to be deterred. He ordered Igor ahead of him toward the door and stairs, watching Carl as th
ey left the room. Halfway down the stairs Igor ducked and swirled, grabbing one of the pirate’s ankles with both hands and flinging him over and down the stairs. The pirate’s gun fired and Igor jumped down and landed on the man. They rolled across the deck, both grasping the pistol.

  Hearing the shot and commotion the German men stepped outside the door and looked around the corner. In seconds they were in the fray and the pirate was subdued. Igor stood with the pistol. Four down, one to go.

  The pirate leader was trussed and gagged and placed at the other end of the galley on the floor. Close enough to watch both at once, but not within sight of each other. Igor had run back up the stairs to tell Carl, but he was already in the doorway and had seen the whole thing. Hendrik came up the steps and the three men discussed the remaining pirate in the engine room. They thought about trying to draw him out, but feared he would shoot one or more of the men he guarded. They could have coerced one of the bound pirates to speak on the phone and order him to come to the door or out into the hallway, but no one spoke their language and could explain what they wanted.