Vanguard | Post-Apocalyptic YA

Part 10: Saying Goodbye

I step aside to show her the living area with its steel walls and gray carpet, which actually is in a bit of disarray. Anne-Marie, however, seems to have become bolder than I remember because she takes the opportunity to step inside the suite.

"That's perfect," she enthuses, looking around. "I could help you! It'll go much faster with the two of us."

She looks at me directly and I sigh. "That would be awesome."

The girl grins from ear to ear and heads toward the couch. She arranges the cushions back to their original positions and before I can stop her, begins to pick up my clothes from the floor. "Where do you want these?"

"Uhm, I'll take those." I take them from her, balling the assortment up under my arm. I never had a girl mess with my things besides my mom and Ellen, and although I appreciate Anne-Marie's intent, she's making me a bit uncomfortable.

"I guess I could vacuum?" She looks at me with a little more apprehension.

"Yes! That sounds great," I reassure her, figuring that's a less personal task.

Because the layout of most rooms on Vanguard are the same, she knows her way around and heads toward the cupboard to get the equipment. I, on the other hand, go to my room and begin making my bed. The last thing I need is for Anne-Marie to offer to do that.

I don't make my bed often, so it takes me a few goes around the bed to make it look presentable. By the time I'm finished, Anne-Marie's done with the living area and she peeks her head through the door.

"Do you want me to do it in here, too?" she asks.

"No, I got this. Thanks." I take the hose from her, but as I begin pulling on it to give it more slack, I freeze. My mind races as I recall various scenarios from the mechanics books. Yes! This could work!

"Oh my God, Anne-Marie! You are incredible," I praise the girl who's standing in front of me with a blank expression of her face. She probably thinks I've lost my mind, but I don't care. I quickly detach the vacuum head and begin coiling up the hose around my arm, making my way toward the central connection in the living room's wall.

Anne-Marie follows me and is still dumbfounded by what I'm doing. "What's going on, Will?"

I know I can't tell her, but I'm so excited, I can't help myself with my generosity. I turn around and take her face into my hands before kissing her on the lips. "You've just done me a huge favor. Thank you!"

I somehow feel like I'm going to regret that move later, but right now, all I want to do is get the crucial part to Dunstan and set my plan into motion.

It only takes my engineer a day to work out how to use the vacuum hose in rigging the Skipper to be able to resurface. He even praised me for coming up with the idea. His fleeting grunt of "not bad, boy" is the nicest thing he's ever said to me.

It has been three weeks less one day since Ray and I left Ellen with the survivors above. It has also been almost two week since their arbitrary deadline of us returning with the ferries. In spite of not knowing what I'll face when I get there, I'm determined to go back. I've already been out on a few missions since having my piloting privileges restored, and I know that with everything in order, I can't delay any longer. My sister needs me.

Last night, I made sure to have dinner with my dad to get a little father-son time in before I go. In case I don't return, I want him to at least have that final experience with me. He'll either get both of his kids back or none at all. I don't even want to think about the latter.

The timing for this mission is ideal for what I need. I'm scheduled to go out to harvest kelp at oh-six hundred hours, which will let me get back to land in time for nightfall. Based on what I know about currents, the tide should also be low, making it easier for me to hide the craft.

I pack my bag with some personal things and head to the maintenance bay a half hour early. I'm about to breathe a sigh of relief that I've gotten this far without interference when somebody addresses me from the open cockpit.

"So, today's the day, huh?" the familiar voice asks.

"I don't know what you mean," I reply, avoiding eye contact with Ray, but instead act like I'm looking for something on the workbench.

"Like hell you don't, Will. I know you better than anyone so don't lie to me. You're going back to them. And you're obviously not taking a ferry."

He sounds just as annoyed as before, so I take a few seconds to decide how to respond before turning around. Even if I deny it, he wouldn't have a good reason to believe me.

"Are you going to stop me?" I ask.

"If I wanted to stop you, I wouldn't have gotten you reinstated, you fool," he says, climbing out of the craft.

He did the what now? "What do you mean?"

He jumps down in front of me before responding. "In all your years of knowing me, would you have ever thought that I'd risk my rank for a game of basketball?"

Well, if he puts in that way . . . I blink, still not knowing how to respond, so Ray continues. "Like I was going to let you sabotage your chance of being able to leave by putting Jolly in the infirmary."

His conclusion reminds me of my initial explanations for his actions and I tell him so. "But at the same time you sabotaged yourself from being able to come with me. There's no way we could take both ferries back now."

He shrugs. "True, but you were never going to give them up, anyway."

I gasp. "How'd you know that?"

He cocks his eyebrow and smiles. "Because I'm your best friend. And because that's what I would have done."

I'm so happy to hear these words that I pull him into a big hug. It feels so good to have Ray on my side again.

"So, what's your plan?" he asks once we separate.

"Charm them with my wit, get them to let Ellen go, and return a hero." I grin as I begin climbing up the Skipper.

He laughs. "Sounds good. Best of luck, Wilhelm. I'll be waiting for you guys."

I give him a final wave as I take my seat in the pilot's chair. I lower the canopy and turn my attention to the pre-mission preparations. I don't even notice when Ray leaves.