From Sand to Nand

Chapter Twenty-One

"So, what's it going to be, everyone?" Peter asked more impatiently. "Are we happy where we are? Is this where you want to raise your family?"

No one dared to say a word. No one wanted to be the first to take the risk of solidifying everyone else's funeral. It was a quiet moment, and the air was as still as ever before.

"I'm in," Savathi, Peter's wife, stood begrudgingly lifting the weight of her womb. Her sudden enlistment was incredibly powerful and unexpected.

Peter smiled. Seeing his wife's fear fade into bravery made him proud to be her husband. The pair had a momentary stare and an exchange of wordless love between them.

With Hope in her arms, Mahalia, who was sitting adjacent to Savathi, stood in agreement and announced, "I'm coming with you."

"I am, too," McSchmitt stepped forward from the side where he had been standing, giving Savathi a reassuring wink.

"Me too," yelled a voice from the crowd. It was John, the pessimistic engineer who believed the group would perish during the expedition.

Yini's eyes held back tears. She was terrified to return to the sea but knew how important this moment had been to Pei, who could only look down. Without looking his way, she too stood and announced, "I'm in!" She kept her eyes shut, still fearful and praying she was making the right choice for her fallen loved ones, her friends who were still alive, and Pei.

Pei was astonished as Yini had been very vocal to him about never returning to sea until help arrived. He appreciated her support, rose to his feet, silently grabbed her hand, and made eye contact with her. Hearts racing, they couldn't hold back their grins. If they had been told by God right then that they would die trying to get home, they would have still chosen to die together.

Suddenly, without warning, the rest of the crowd stood in a wave of unison and cheered. Their spirits were reminiscent of a first century military preparing to be slaughtered on the battlefield as they were outnumbered one hundred to one—only more fearless. The collective emotional strength in that moment was mightier than even the most famous of those recorded in history.

Finally, Peter had gotten his answer. Everyone was going. "Godspeed," he uttered.

The crowd continued, some jumping with joy or hugging their neighbor. The celebration went on for nearly a minute. Their lives no longer mattered to them as much anymore, as did their care to save one another. The island quieted down and looked back to Peter.

Raising a confident hand to display his palm he said, "Alright, everyone. Let's come to order."

There was still a lot of work to be done. The remainder of the meeting involved answering the toughest questions, including, "How soon can we expect to leave?", "What's the backup plan?", and "Will the second ship actually hold?"

It was decided that a second ship was to be commissioned, much bigger than the first, capable of sailing with 250 to 300 aboard and with 20 extra paddle boats. Just in case. The rest would be placed aboard the fleet of row ships, but thus far, there were only 10 completed, each able to hold 15 to 25. The fleet was to be expanded to 25 row ships, each with 2 emergency vessels. This provided enough emergency space for everyone in case something was to go wrong, but there wasn't much else. The expedition would also tie each vessel together and divide the most able-bodied to man the oars. Anyone not assigned to work on building efforts was to train for 4 hours per day rowing and 4 hours per day retrieving food. The crops and other projects were to be abandoned as all resources were to be focused on the commission of the main sea vessel. There was no backup plan to stay behind as there would be nothing left for any stragglers. Ample food supplies were to be collected and the animals that remained would be stored for food below deck. The only cooking that was to be allowed would be on the main deck to avoid fires. This made fresh supplies more ideal, and they would be collected before departure. The new ship was to be built closer to the low tide area where there was a sudden drop into deeper water further west of the main landing at the beach.