Africa (Complete)

Chapter Seven

The sky darkened and waters became more turbulent. The boat started to rock back and forth as Bill manned the controls. White knuckling the helm, the look of panic never left his face. Everyone remained silent allowing Bill to focus.

Nancy reached under a table and pulled out three life vests. Kam quickly put his on, as did Nancy. She tossed the third one by Bill's feet, but he was too occupied to bend down and put it on.

Everyone clung on as the yacht bounced around like a toy. Objects from shelves came loose and crashed to the floor. Dishes and bottles of alcohol shattered making it dangerous to crawl around.

Kam was on the floor with his arms wrapped around a solid post that was bolted to the floor while his legs were shoved under a bench.

"Bill!" Kam called out. "We good?"

"Hang tight."

One after another, they rode a seemingly never-ending series of waves. Up and down and back and forth. Large amounts of water entered the boat and soaked everyone through and through. Kam thought for sure they were about to capsize.

Even for religious people, it would seem senseless to pray to a god that would allow worldwide destruction to happen like this. However, in that moment, Kam didn't know what else to do but to pray to a god he didn't believe in. Gritting his teeth and keeping his eyes closed, he hung on for the nauseating, terror-inducing ride.

"Nancy!" Bill called out to his wife.

"I'm here, honey!" she yelled back. "I think I'm going to be sick." Neither one could see each other.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

The bow of the boat nearly went vertical before slamming down, over and over. They weathered the storm and the waves eventually dissipated enough for Kam to stand and assess the situation. He first rushed over to Nancy to check on her. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises, she was not injured.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like hell."

"That sounds about right. Do you want to stand? I can help you to your bed."

"Thank you."

Bill came over to lend a hand. "Sweetie, oh my goodness. Thank god you're okay."

"Don't mention god to me."

The boat was still unsteady, causing everyone to feel nauseous. Helping Nancy to her feet, Kam escorted her to her bed and gave her a towel to dry off.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" Kam offered. 

"Yeah, some motion sickness medication."

"I'm not sure if the medication is meant for a Category 5 storm, but we can try it."

"They're in the cupboard next to the... actually they're probably on the floor somewhere."

"Okay, stay here. I will go look."

After ensuring his passengers were safe, Bill walked around taking inventory of his vessel. Everything was soaked and scattered, and there was at least a foot of water on the lower level, but they were still alive and afloat.

Sloshing through the freezing and murky soup of debris, Bill picked up anything floating on the surface that could be salvaged — first aid kit, bag of chips, life vest... he gathered it all in his arms and set it aside. Then he saw his laptop — smashed and water-logged. Holding onto overhead railings, he returned to the cabin where the command post was and checked the ship's vitals. They had nearly a full tank of fuel and everything seemed to be in working order, including the satellite navigation and communications, which was a blessing all things considered.