Chapter 10. Out of the Freezer and Into the Sun.

  Chuffing along for three weeks brought the Rose to the Newton Bay Area. The last weeks had been better than the first. Getting out of that North Sea had been a relief. The forty foot waves, icy spray, and numbing cold had given way finally, gradually and achingly slow but it was gone. “You know, I think I like snow and the cold more than rain.”, Minnie complained. Will agreed a bit with her, you could brush away snow but rain just soaked everything. And always found a way in your clothes. “My feet are wet, my socks are wet, my tails wet.”, she went on. “You could always make an umbrella hat, wear it all the time you’re outside.”, Will suggested. That made her think for a moment, “Like a little umbrella, fixed to my head.”, she laughed for a second or two. “Oh dad, it would be so silly looking, I think I love it. I’m gonna get to it, but for everyone including you.”. “I’d wear it, had one years and years ago. It was yellow and red stripes, mom hated it though, said I looked like a dope.”. Will could just see the whole crew wearing umbrella hats, he could hardly wait.

  So now they had a choice, head into Newton, probably do a gathering voyage. The town might need it after the last one being more than two months ago. Or head back to Laketown. That community probably needed it too, plus they had a outlet of jobs needing doing. The washroom in the wheelhouse was the main one. Another was the office/museum being built for Julian to work in. Work was started before they left on this unplanned voyage, it would be interesting to see if it was finished yet. He and Minnie, along with the other crew, were working on a revised schedule. “So, we have…”, Will counted on his fingers, “February, March, April, May, June, July, August and half of September until we head back to Iceland.”. Sitting around the map table in the wheelhouse and trying to come up with a schedule that was fair to both communities and not too onerous for the crew. “I’d still like to head south, at least find that FarHarbour place.”, Will proposed. “No map or chart shows it?”, Percy asked. Minnie shook her head, “Nope, we’ve gone through every scrap in here and in the ships office, nothing.”. Ron, to be honest, wasn’t really paying much attention to the schedule making, he was having thumb wars with Uma, “What about in the dock? There’s a bunch a papers in boxes under the workbench?”. “Hmm, I didn’t know that.”, Will was not surprised though, “Captain Magnus was a slob, so stuff being everywhere sounds about right.”.

  Going back to the schedule they worked out a plan to do a run for each town every other month. For example, head out of Laketown on February first and do a good two week gather, then a week downtime. Followed by a week travel time to Newton, arriving on March first. Repeat that for a couple of months to build up a good surplus in each community, then head south for a month. Returning and repeating until mid or late September, then head to Iceland. That trip was at least three weeks there and three weeks back. So having two or three weeks holiday in between the long sailings would be just fine. Writing all this on the blank calendar took a while, moving this trip, changing that date. Than as they looked at their creation proudly Minnie asked a question. “I got a feeling we’re missing something? Anyone else feel it?”. Will looked over the paper, “We got four basic objectives, gather for two villages, the trip south and the trip north.”. Percy looked over the busy months, “Looks okay, but I know what you mean, there’s something.”. Ron, who was now showing Uma that he could wiggle his ears, looked over. The where’s and when’s didn’t really concern him much. It wasn’t that he didn’t care but as long as he was with family it didn’t matter much where they were or what they were doing. “Ummm, seems fine to me, but I do have a question father.”, he looked at Will, “How long does a baby take to grow?”. And there it was. “It’s around nine months, why do you…oh crap. That’s what we forgot, who we forgot.”. Minnie shook her head, “We’re just a bunch of dopeys, back to the drawing board.”.

  So, an hour later, the new revised schedule had the month of September outlined in red. That was most likely the month that the newest member of the family would arrive. “Just remember, that babies are notorious for being early, hardly ever late though.”, Will reminded the rest of them. This topic made the decision of where to go, Newton or Laketown, a pretty easy one. The boat had been drifting along, barely under power while they figured things out, now everyone was pretty eager to get back to Naomi and see how she was. “Right then, off to Laketown we go.”, Minnie spun the wheel and slid the throttle to three quarters. The comforting thruuumm of the engine deepened and the stack was puffing out black smoke as the Rose was on her way again.

  The Newton bay was a very big area, encompassed by two high ridges like arms stretching out from the shore. Keeping the enclosed body of water very smooth most of the time. The opening of the bay was wide, at least a mile and on the northern point, which was the highest of the two arms, was an observation point. Built years ago and maintained by the council, it was manned by a small dedicated crew. High on the cliffs and far away from the waters effects. A rough road had been cleared along the ridge but it was a very rough path. Not wide enough or fit enough for a carriage or cart, it was foot traffic only. Year after year these men and women had trudged along the path, bringing their supplies in push carts. Two people coming in and two out, this was the way things had been for years. A six month tour of duty, a very lonely tour indeed. Supplies were brought in every three months, other than that these crews were on their own. A natural spring provided water, and there was a fair amount of game in the thick forest surrounding the tower. Built of natural occurring stone and thick logs, the building had stood untouched by storms and cold winters for well over a hundred years.

  Their main purpose was to watch for the ship and let the town know when she was near. A mirror system was set up for this purpose. Highly polished mirrors to flash the message to the town, ‘the ships near’, or ‘the ships passing by’. Simple messages like that. Today the latter signal was sent out. The Rose had been spotted to the north, just moseying along, then the smoke from her stack increased as she sped up in a southerly direction. “Looks like she’s on her way to Laketown.”, Clyde mentioned to his partner. Wallace shook his head, “Hard life they have, no roots anywhere.”. They climbed down the ladder to the domicile, it was tea time after all.

  Aboard the Rose things were getting tense. Lines had been crossed, there was no coming back from where things were now. Too many times there had been betrayals, it finally came to a head. “Haha, I got a four, I can slide back at be right right at the entrance to home.”, Minnie said happily. “Yeah but if I get a sorry card you’re going back to the start again.”, Percy growled, he drew a five. Will looked over at the remaining cards, there were only a few left. The odds of a sorry being in there was low, but on the other hand a reshuffle was soon. Ron took a card, a two, but all his men were out so he moved the closest to home, he went again and showed a one. Will was next, but no sorry card showed, he pulled a seven. Minnie’s turn she drew a five and moved her last pawn into the safe zone. Well she’s all but won thought Will. The rest of the game progressed quickly with Minnie winning on her next turn as she pulled a three and got her last man home. “Good one Minnie”, Ron congratulated her, it had been a long game. He then scampered out of the wheelhouse and headed down to the galley. It would be a late dinner today, the ship would be anchored in a short while. The coast was coming into view, a large rock cairn showing ahead. This was where they’d rest for the night. Todays weather and water had been downright mild compared to what they’d been through in the last weeks.

  While Ronnie was preparing dinner Will wandered in to give him a hand. “Minnie and Uma are having a bath, Percy asked if he could shower in my quarters so…here I am.”. Ron smiled happily, he was always happy to have company. He passed a bowl of taters over, “Sliced nice and thin please, making cheesy scalloped potatoes.”. Hearing that Wills stomach gave a mighty gurgle. After washing up he got to work. “You know, in our old world there was a fad for a while of not peeling your spuds.”, he mentioned while peeling. Ron looked over, a bit aghast, “But sometimes the farmers manure the fields, helps things grow.”. Will nodded, “yeah, yucky right?”. As they talked of potatoes and poop, Ron was mixing a good sized meatloaf. Out of eggs to use for a binder he used oil mixed with a finely grated hard cheese. Onions, breadcrumbs, a selection of spices all mixed up and popped in the oven. Then the sliced potatoes , some canned milk and a cup or so of grated cheese and in they went too. A pot of carrots boiling away on top, and a rack of cheese biscuits ready to start, and of course gravy. “Wow, you amaze me more and more every day you know?”, Will said as they enjoyed a cup of tea. Even with all the food preparation the galley was still clean and well set up. Ron shrugged, “I love cooking, seeing you all tuck in and enjoying dinner makes my day.”.

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  Soon a damp Percy joined them, he asked Ron to braid his hair. Ron pointed to the mess hall, “Sure, but not in here.”. Will poured a fresh tea for them, asked Percy if he’d like something. “You know, I’d like a glass of ale, the really dark bitter one…what did you call it again father?”, he replied. “Guinness, at least it’s a lot like it.”, Will said, drawing a tankard from one of the casks in the mess. Percy took a big draw of the dark brew, “Ah, that hits the spot.”. His brother tapped his shoulder to stop him moving, “Quit squirming.”. It didn’t take him long to finish the braid and then tie the end with a bow of pink ribbon. Percy flipped it around and looked at it and smiled, “Thanks Ronnie.”. Seeing these two always gladdened Wills heart. From the day he and his wife had picked up the kittens from their daughters house they’d always been entertaining. They took Percy first, a tiny little scrap of orange fur. He was sad being away from the rest of the kittens, all he did was sit on his wife’s lap, or cower into her shirt. Minnie tried to play with the tiny thing, but he didn’t respond. After a couple of days they asked their daughter to bring over Ron. Actually he wasn’t named yet, so the exact words were, “Hey, can we take the fat little guy too, the one with the white nose.”. The daughter was only too happy to part with another, having six cats was a lot. Kittens are wonderful creatures, but they do grow. So over she came, with Ron. The minute Percy saw him was so special. He charged over and was tumbling around the floor, just solid play for hours. Then they both passed out, woke up for food then play play play. No longer sad or lonely Percy was a changed kitten.

  Next to join them was Minnie and Uma. Both with towels wrapped around their heads like turbans. Again it was time to take care of hair. Percy was brushing Uma’s carefully, then separating the long locks to braid. Minnie’s, while not as long as Percy’s or Uma’s, still had a good length and hers was thicker. Harder to do by herself, but Ron had it in hand. The galley was beginning to emit wonderful odours, the meatloaf was making itself known. That and the familiar smell of boiling carrots, mixed with the scalloped taters, more stomachs rumbled with anticipation. Will went to check on dinner, he reported that the two dishes in the oven were very nearly done and the carrots were just about perfect, not too soft or too hard. “Put the biscuits in will you father?”, Ron asked. Percy finished braiding first and went to set the table. Gathering plates and silverware, trivets and condiments, he had it done in a few moments. “Oh boy, everything smells great, I’m starved too, look at me…just bones and fur.”, Minnie groaned piteously. “Good thing everything’s ready then.”, Ron called from the galley. He and Will were bring in the main dishes, then he returned to drain the carrots and mix honey and butter with them. His last task was to pull the biscuits out and brush a mixture of butter, garlic and grated cheese on them. Setting the plate on the table he sat with a sigh. They all looked at the table for a moment, “Thanks Ron, this looks great. Well done.”, Will said. The others echoed him and started dishing up. Uma took a bit of everything, not too much though. “Not hungry sweety?”, Percy asked. She laughed, “Oh no, I’m as starving as auntie but I’ll take another helping. I don’t wanna load up too much and waste it.”. Good point Will thought.

  After dinner, dishes done and leftovers in the ice box. Sadly that was coming to the end of its usefulness, ice was getting scarce. The few blocks left were getting smaller and smaller every day. And where they were headed ice was nonexistent. There could be a few slushy snowfalls but the cold weather needed to make ice blocks just didn’t happen here. So tomorrow’s plan was to clean out the ice box and repurpose it for some other storage. Always something to do on the ship, that’s for sure. But now, Will was on deck. Checking anchors, making sure the small boats were covered tightly. Same with the various cranes and davits, windlasses and winches. Everything was fine but he didn’t head down, it was quite nice to sit on deck without the worry of freezing solid. And, after checking the time, he found the days were finally getting longer. Here it was well after seven but it was still light. The short daylight hours were ending, thank goodness. As he was thinking this the sun did dip below the far horizon and evening fell. Not much really changed when you’re on the water, it was on land that the birds started nesting, animals headed to the barns. In towns children were coming home, time for a late dinner then a bath. He envied the land dwellers, a little bit, but just a little bit. Their life was secure, solid and predictable. No worries really, the harsh weather didn’t really affect the people of Newton or Laketown like it did the crew. But he wouldn’t give this life up for anything.

  He headed below. Carefully closing the doors behind, both upper and lower. Then it was his turn for a bath. Calling out and letting them know he headed to the bathing room. Filling the giant claw tub with steaming water and slipping in. Loosening and relaxing muscles he hadn’t realized he even had. It felt fantastic. Showering was faster of course any you did get just as clean, if not cleaner. There was just something about the bath though. He soaked until the water cooled, thinking of everything and nothing. Getting dressed in a clean robe and fuzzy felt slippers he decided to have an early night. Finding them in the lounge he bade them all goodnight. “Feeling okay pop?”, Minnie asked. He nodded, “Just tired, full of food relaxed from the bath. I’m done, night guys.”. Giving hugs all around he managed to get to his cabin and slip into bed. Falling asleep near instantly the next thing he felt was Minnie huffing around as she got comfortable. Mumbling something he dropped away again.

  Elsewhere things were happening.

  Cozumel sucks, it was the first thought Trevor had when he woke up. Face full of sand, soaked and sore. He clambered painfully to his feet, searching for his companions. Alone on a sandy beach. But the water was the bluest and cleanest he’d ever seen, so was the golden sand. The usual trappings of civilization, garbage washing up on the sand, were missing. No trace of anything but driftwood and sea turtles. Gulls wended their way overhead in the deep blue sky. Past the beach was a line of scrub trees, small bushes, sand turning into the usual rough grass.

  Clutching at various sore spots he was sure nothing was broken or dislocated, just bumped and bruised. Trying to call out his throat was dry, but he eventually managed to creakily call out their names. “Judy! Oliver! Lisa…is anyone here!”. Nothing, no response but the cry of the gulls. Then…from further down the beach he saw a figure flailing in the water, then another and another. It was if they’d just appeared out of nowhere, but there they were. Each managed to get to their feet and stagger to the shore. There they fell to the sand, as he ran closer he could hear the coughing and rasps of breath. “Are you all right, what happened, where are we?”, the words tumbled out of his mouth. The large other man, Oliver, raised a hand, “I got no idea, one minute we’re in that jet boat, slamming us around through the waves and then I was in the water.”. A groan came from one of the other figures, “I’m gonna sue that little jerk for everything he owns.”, that was Judy of course. “I’ll help, I’m prelaw, remember?”, and that was Lisa. A check of arms and legs showed that no one was broken or damaged other than a few bruises.

  Helping each other, the three new arrivals managed to stand. Looking around they could see nothing, no people, buildings, nothing. “Let’s head inland, there’ll be something, there has to be.”. Toiling through the sand, up the slight incline to find…nothing. More trees, no signs of, “Hey is that a path?”, Oliver was pointing inland. It was and when they followed it they came upon a, “What is it, like a camp?”, Lisa asked. The door, gate, whatever you call it was tight, immovable. Oliver managed to climb the fence, it wasn’t easy, being nearly eight feet. On the other side he found there was a simple locking mechanism, a huge bar keeping the gate sealed. With the help of a nearby branch he tipped the bar up and out. The three on the outside pushed and shoved til it opened wide enough to let them in.

  The group found them selves in a large compound. No structures, but there were marks where some had been. A large, very large fire pit was off to one side, the massive boulders forming the ring were blackened. “Been a while since this was used, but there’s tons of firewood.”, Lisa said, “If we could find a way to light it.”. A call from Judy brought the rest of them to the far side of the compound. A lush and lavish garden was growing there. “Well we won’t starve for a while.”. Poking around the rest of the camp found a couple of primitive fishing rods, the only good part were the hooks. The lines were a tangled mess that could maybe salvaged, if a person was dedicated enough. “Hey look at this!”, Oliver was poking around the fire pit and was now clacking his hands together. Every time he did a shower of sparks erupted, “I can make a fire now, and I think just in time.”. He was right, the sunny afternoon was gone and the gloom of the evening was coming. The fire would help as would the vegetable garden. They’d stay alive, at least for a while.