Chapter 82

The fire was beginning to bank so low that Jack was considering dragging another fallen tree over and adding it to the pyre. I'd dozed in his arms several times over the course of the night, marveling at how awake he seemed to be and how he never once stopped taking care of me.

Part of me didn't want him to get up and walk away from me, but I knew we couldn't let the fire die, and it would need enough strength to dry out the next tree.

Instead, I got up to help him again. We would need to make the most of the situation, and this would put some distance between us for a while and keep me awake. I didn't want to fully fall asleep. Wasn't sure I even could. And I knew I had to keep some distance between Jack and me if I was going to walk away.

Before I could help Jack, I noticed a flash of light on the water. I stopped and turned to see if it was just a trick of my overtired eyes. As I looked out to the horizon, however, I was pretty sure there was a light out there.

"Jack, there's a boat," I called.

He immediately dropped his ax and came to my side so he could see through the gap in the trees better.

My heart hammered as I waited for him to confirm what I thought I'd seen. He looked at me and back out to sea and squinted a little.

"Yes," he said. "That's a boat."

He grabbed my hand and almost dragged me to the water's edge. I went with him, my heart pounding even faster. Was this rescue?

"Wave your hands and yell for them. They might not hear you at first, but they should see your outline moving in front of the firelight."

I did as I was bid as he made his way back to the house. I tried not to worry about him, but it wasn't easy. And despite my best efforts to attract the attention of the people on the boat, it didn't appear to change course or notice me, and I quickly grew hoarse.

Thankfully, Jack wasn't gone long, although he made me jump as he waved what looked like a gun in his hand. A moment later, he shot it into the sky, and a trail of bright orange smoke flew up into the air with a loud hiss. A few seconds after that, the boat let out a loud horn blast and visibly turned toward us.

"We need to get more wood on the fire. They need to be able to see as much as possible in case they don't have a floodlight," Jack said.

He practically ran back to the tree we were cutting down, and I sprinted after him. Although it felt like there was always yet another hurdle, I helped as quickly as I could, taking the piles of branches I lopped off and dragging them to the fire as Jack swung his ax again and again.

This time, he cut larger logs than before, making me wonder if they'd hold up, but I grabbed the end of one and dragged it toward the fire as he did the same with one in each hand.

We added the three large logs, and then I added the branches and leaves as quickly as I could. The fire grew again, although it smoked once more. I backed up, not wanting to inhale the smoke but not wanting to get too far away from the fire's warmth, either.

Jack moved out in front of it again and waved, shouting.

The boat came closer, someone calling back, although I couldn't make out the words.

"It's not our boat, but they're still likely to help us get somewhere," Jack said. "Pack up whatever you want to bring with you in as small a bag as you can manage."

I hurried to the house to do so, but it was hard to see so far from the firelight, and the flashlights had been wrecked in the shelter when it flooded. In the end, I only grabbed my laptop, notebooks, and purse. The latter was a little wet, but the contents were safe enough, and it meant I'd have credit cards.

After shoving my notebooks inside the bag, I carried it back to the beach and put it and the laptop on the blanket we'd been sitting on. I then took over briefly while Jack went to the house to fetch everything he wanted.

He had a much smaller pile, just some keys and a wallet, as well as the broken phone, and I worried for him for a moment. Admittedly, I hadn't fared much better.

Trying not to think about it, I focused on the boat again. It appeared to have stopped a little way out from us, but I couldn't be sure.

Not long later, they lowered a smaller rowboat, which came closer, three people aboard.

"Is it just the two of you?" a deep male voice called when they were a little closer.

"Yes, me and a woman. Our power is out, the house is uninhabitable, and we're low on food, too. How badly have the main islands been hit?"

"They've taken a beating, but it hit this run of islands harder. It's growing in strength as it heads on, so we'll take you back if you don't mind going a bit farther and checking the other smaller islands."

"No, that's fine. We should make sure no one else is stuck," Jack replied, getting closer to the water as the boat came up, his few possessions in one hand.

I grabbed my bag and laptop and followed, the idea of a rescue so welcome that I didn't care who these people were or if they planned to head anywhere else first. They'd offered to get us safe, and that was enough.

Within seconds, the boat reached the shore, the sound of the bottom hitting the sand and sliding into it an almost comforting noise.

Jack immediately grabbed the prow and held it still, waving me forward. I walked into the shallows, getting my feet wet yet again, and the man I could just see in the firelight held out a hand to help me step over the side.

The boat wobbled, but the strong hand in mine made sure I didn't fall, and I quickly sat down and scooted across the bench to the other side of the small boat to give Jack room to get in and sit.

He didn't right away, pushing the boat back off the sand before he waded in deeper and then accepted a sailor's hand to help him aboard. Immediately, he sat beside me and wrapped an arm around my back.

"You've got a familiar face," our rescuer said, the light not enough for anyone to make out much but the boat we were returning to.

It was only then I thought of the fire we'd left blazing.

"Shouldn't we put that out?" I asked.

Jack frowned for a moment, but the sailor was the first to respond.

"There's no point worrying about it. It's already getting smaller, and in the middle of the sand like that, it shouldn't spread to anything."

"What about other boats?" I asked. "What if someone else comes along and thinks we need rescuing?"

"There won't be other boats," the sailor replied. "At least, not before that dies down enough for them to know you're gone."

I blinked. No other boats? How bad had it been elsewhere?

Shuddering at the thought of more destruction, I felt Jack tighten the arm he'd put around me and pull me closer to him. Unable to speak and suddenly fearful that our rescue wasn't much of a rescue yet, I leaned closer and tried not to panic.