Africa (Complete)

Chapter Thirteen

The night sky had set in and they were sitting in the dark, eating fish.

"How's the fish?" Bill asked.

"Best fish I've ever had. You?"

"I wouldn't go as far as saying it's the best fish I've ever had, but given the circumstance, it's pretty damn satisfying."

"You know, we make a pretty good team," Kam said, taking another bite.

Suddenly, Bill stood up and looked out in all directions.

"What is it?" Kam asked.

"Shh," Bill said, placing his finger to his lips.

As they bobbed in silence, all Kam could hear was the whistling wind and sounds of the water.

"Do you hear that?" Bill said in a whisper.

Kam listened intently. "I don't hear anything. Are you feeling okay? I think you may be having a reaction to the fish. Maybe you should sit—"

Kam stopped mid-sentence as he heard it too. For a second, he thought he was tripping as well. Then, in the distance, he saw a faint glow coming through the fog. There was another boat just up ahead. They heard the rhythmic pounding of drums coming from the boat.

"I hear it too," Kam said still speaking softly. "The Litig8?"

"Not sure," Bill said. "I can't quite see it."

"What should we do?" Kam asked.

"Okay, here's the thing," Bill contemplated quickly. "We sneak up on them, take them out while they least expect it, rescue Nancy, and go about our merry way."

"I'm waiting for the 'but'," Kam said.

"If we take the boat, they'll see us coming from a mile away. Our best chance of being stealth and remaining unseen is to swim."

"Okay, so we swim."

"Well, that's just it. You see, unlike you, I'm not an Olympic swimmer, so I won't be able to make it."

Kam followed the logic through to conclusion. "Look, I can make the swim, that's not a problem, but what do you expect me to do once I get there?"

"You're going to have to take them out."

"Take them out?" Kam repeated. "How exactly do you expect me to do that?"

"With this," Bill said with a look of a stone-cold killer.

"A knife?" Kam said. "I don't know, Bill. It takes a special kind of person to take another man's life, especially with a knife, and I just don't think I have it in me. There's so much that could go wrong. Last time I froze, remember?"

"This won't be like last time. Nancy is on that boat and she's family. You can do this, okay?"

Kam didn't say anything. Bill was still holding the knife waiting for Kam to accept it.

"I believe in you. You can do this, okay?"

"There has to be another way," Kam pleaded.

"There's no other way. We take back what is rightfully ours... or we die on this boat. That's it, those are our two options."

"What do you mean, we have all the fish we can eat."

"Dehydration, scurvy, vitamin and mineral deficiency... those are just some of the things we have to look forward to until we eventually die."

"We have to be close to Africa by now," Kam said.

"We have no idea when, if ever, we will reach the ever-receding African shoreline. For all we know, we could be less than halfway. With this boat, we will run out of fuel by this time tomorrow. And that's if we don't encounter another storm, which we have been lucky. Any second, a storm could roll in, and in this boat, we'd be as good as dead."

Kam listened to Bill and understood the position they were in. Their backs were up against a wall and they didn't appear to have many options. In the name of survival, he was willing to shift his moral compass. 

"Alright, give me the knife," Kam said.

Kam extended an open palm toward Bill, who looked at him proudly like he had made the right decision. Bill placed the knife handle in Kam's hand then placed his other hand on Kam's shoulder for assurance.

"You can do this."

Kam nodded. "I can do this."

"Take this life vest just in case," Bill said.

Kam took it and then said, "Take off your belt."

Bill hesitated for a moment before complying. Kam affixed the long sheathed blade onto the belt, fastened the buckle making the belt a closed loop, then slipped the belt around his head and one arm.

Once you get out there, it may be difficult to find your way back, especially if the boat spins around. You will lose your sense of east and west. Use the stars. I will be aligned with Orion's belt."

"Shouldn't we have some sort of signal or something?" Kam asked.

"You can fire off a flare gun," Bill replied. "There should be two in the control station. Just point it toward the sky in any direction and I will come find you."

"What if I get into some sort of trouble and I need help?"

"As soon as you get more than halfway," Bill paused, "then you're on your own. If you need help, we will have no way to communicate with each other."

"What if I never see you again?" Kam asked.

"You will," Bill said. "Everything is going to be okay."

Kam said his goodbye. He hugged Bill and thanked him for everything he has done.

Good luck were the last words spoken before Kam edged toward the back of the boat and dove head first into the frigid, black water. 

He fought hard, paddling toward the other boat. It wasn't like swimming in a standard pool, the turbulent ocean waves and icy drained him of his energy, especially considering he hadn't been eating or training properly.

As the boat approached closer, Kam took a break. Waiting in the water, he looked up ahead trying to get the salt water out of his eyes. As his vision returned, he could see the boat was not the Litig8, but rather some other boat, nearly as large. It was beaming with light and playing loud music. Whoever was on that boat seemed to be making the most of the apocalypse.

In that moment, Kam had a choice to make — swim back, or continue. If he were to swim back, he would return to a boat with Bill that would run out of fuel, and eventually they would likely die or become ill within days. The other option was to see who was on the boat and see if they could help them in some way. With a little good fortune, perhaps they could give Kam and Bill a lift or provide them with some food.

Kam choose to continue. Taking a deep breath, he plunged his face in the dark water and continued toward the glowing boat.