Chapter Fourteen

Day Seven, morning

Upon rising the following morning, bleary eyed after little sleep, Kate tried the radio again in an act of desperation. There were still no lights on the console, and she didn't care. When the radio gave no sound, she sent another text to her father and received the same previous result. Frustrated and worried, she had to remind herself that her father might just now be contacting the coastguard. Help would arrive today and Sam had to hold on.

The milk in the refrigerator was questionable for cereal, so Kate made pancakes. The sterno fuel's small can made it a slow process because it only heated half the pan. Sam wanted broth, so she heated a can of chicken noodles and strained the large pieces out. He ate little. He also fought her over drinking water but managed a few sips.

"My stomach doesn't feel well," he said gruffly. "I'll drink more later."

His temperature was up, and Kate gave him Tylenol. Should they move him? She had no idea what to do. When he woke up again, she would ask. The move would be painful, and they needed his help to do it.

Kate's biggest concern was the wound beneath the bandage. She had to check on it and change the bandage which was mostly dry. Getting it off would be uncomfortable but couldn't be helped.

She had always felt independent even after her marriage. As a child, her father expected the same things from her as he expected from an adult. She was usually up for the challenge. Right now, she felt helpless, which took her back to the first months following the accident. If she could handle that, she would handle this.

Kate gave a long internal sigh and tried to focus. She needed to get Ryan clean. With no water pump, showers were not an option. It would need to be a bath in a bucket of water. She could then move Ryan to the sink and wash her hair.

"What about you?" Ryan asked after Kate told her the plan and crinkled her nose with humor.

Kate gave a small tug on her hair. "Don't worry, I won't make you live with my smelly body. I'll scrub up while sitting in my chair and you can help me wash my hair once the rest of me is clean."

Ryan ran a theatrical hand across her brow in relief and giggled until Kate gave her the bad news. "We need water from the engine compartment."

Ryan went from silly to scared and Kate silently declared herself the worst mother on the planet for putting her child through this. Tears filled Ryan's eyes and Kate pulled her close.

"I know this is hard and you're scared. The definition of bravery is when you succeed at something that frightens you. I'll be right above you at the hatch. We'll work together and you won't be alone."

"Okay, Mommy," she said with a sniff.

Kate carried a solar light on her lap. She wheeled to the hatch leading down to the lower berths with Ryan behind her carrying the water bucket with a rope attached to the handle. Like the day before, Ryan went down first. Kate got off her wheelchair and handed Ryan the light and bucket. She then used the rope to lower herself to the waiting wheelchair.

They went to the engine compartment hatch and Kate shined the solar light downward. After a quick hug, Ryan went down the steps with Kate's reassuring voice following her. Ryan filled the bucket directly from the water tank and Kate raised the bucket using the rope which she'd tied to the handle. Once it was up, she placed the bucket in her lap and wheeled it to the bathroom where she poured it in the tub. It took time to haul the water this way, but they didn't have another option. Overall, the plan went smoothly and after a few rounds of filling the bucket, Ryan was no longer scared. When they finished hauling the water, Ryan came up the ladder and they went to the bathroom to use what they'd worked so hard for.

The day was going from warm to hot, and the cold water wasn't too bad. She had Ryan stand in the tub while Kate lathered her with soap before pouring the cold water over her.

"Is this how you had to take baths when you were little?" Ryan asked as she stood with goosebumps covering her skin.

Kate couldn't help a small chuckle. "I'm old but not quite that old. The year I was born was the first year AOL came online."

Ryan looked at her blankly.

"America Online, AOL." Her daughter's expression didn't change, and Kate realized she was the foolish one on this subject. "Never mind. Hot water came out of showers a hundred years before I was born."

This seemed to satisfy Ryan, but Kate realized her daughter, though mature for her age, was far too young to face the danger they were in. She had an entire life in front of her and she hadn't lived yet. These thoughts stayed with Kate while she rinsed the soap off her daughter.

They refilled the bucket when Ryan was dry. Ryan helped get a towel beneath her on the wheelchair's seat without Kate leaving it. It took some wiggling, but they got it accomplished with another round of giggling.

When both their bodies and hair were clean, Kate dressed herself and Ryan, wearing a thin bathrobe went to her berth for fresh clothes. It took ninety minutes to complete their bathing. Feeling clean made the day's mental gloominess fade a bit. Ryan put on her favorite pale green jumper that made her look too cute for words. She was growing up much too fast. Her front tooth was beginning to wiggle and Kate couldn't help wanting to see a toothless grin.

They checked on Sam and found him sleeping.

"Let's dry our hair on deck," Kate said after checking his forehead. The heat coming off him worried her.

They grabbed their water bottles and headed outside. Kate's gaze immediately traveled across the water's surface. Ryan had moved closer to the platform to fluff her hair.

"Mom," she cried and slowly backed away, her eyes glued to the shark.

It's huge jaws grabbed the wooden slats of the dive platform. Kate wheeled closer to see its size. She had trouble absorbing the raw power it took to move the yacht back and forth. The large body, a mottled pattern of gray and white, with scars from prior battles with who knew what, was intimidating in its ferocity.

The shark released the platform and swam around the yacht. Its torpedo-shaped form glided effortlessly in the blue water. The dorsal fin cut through the surface like a sharp blade. Kate rolled her chair closer to the side rail to watch it. The shark slowed when it was in front of her and cold, dark eyes peered soullessly into Kate's before it rolled slightly to its side and continued on. Intelligence had burned in its gaze. She rubbed her arms and continued following its movements.

Claspers on its lower belly, identified it as a male. Kate judged it to be seventeen feet long and its weight over a ton. The shark was more than three times Kate's five feet, five inch height. The gills undulated with the flow of water coming from its jaws that were incapable of closing all the way. Muscles ripple beneath its skin, propelling it forward until it turned and disappeared into the depths again.

Seconds later, it struck the bottom of the yacht with such force that Kate rolled backward. At the same time she watched as Ryan let out a horrific scream.

Kate lunged too late to keep Ryan from falling into the water.