Colony 2: Beach, Chapter 3, by DarkBeta

[Beach, Afternoon of the First Day]

Willie Colton was the last person to wake up. He leaned against his grandmother, still yawning. They sat in the shade of the sandstone bluffs, all in a loose circle except Jack Dalton. He'd stretched out nearby, and looked as if he'd fallen asleep again. Cynthia Wilson had gathered her charges for a moment of prayer.

"All right. Everyone's awake. So far as we can tell, no-one was injured. Whatever the kidnappers used, it's wearing off without residual effects. They didn't even bother to empty our wallets," Pete established, once they were done. "What now?"

"My watch stopped. Does anyone have the time?" Sam asked.

In a synchronized gesture, almost everyone reached for their timepiece. Pete snapped the watch crystal up, felt the rugged hands, and shook his head.

"Damn thing's supposed to be shockproof," Jesse Colton complained.

"Mine's shockproof, and waterproof down to a thousand feet. It went through a tsunami and never missed a second," Willis mourned.

"Mine stopped, but I wound it again and it seems to work," Mrs. Wilson said. "I don't know what time to set it to though."

"By the sun it's about ten a.m." Mac pointed out. "We've been unconscious ten or twelve hours at least. We could be almost anywhere."

"We can't be kidnapped," Veronica complained. "Dad and I have a full card at the ring tomorrow!"

Her father put an arm around her shoulders.

"Honey, it's not, you know, anybody from work?" Shirelle asked her husband.

"Don't worry, honey. None of the idiots we're dealing with right now have the imagination for this. Drive-by's are about as complicated as they get."

"Maybe somebody wanted us to have a great vacation," Penny Parker suggested. "This place is gorgeous!"

Kiley snorted. Jack waved a lazy hand in the air.

"When the waitress comes by, tell her I want a Mai-Tai."

"They did something to my cell phone," Billy said, snapping it shut. "All I get is static."

"We're out of the service area. This isn't the California coast. When was the last time you saw a beach this clean? In fact . . . ."

Ms. Carpenter hesitated. Pete turned in her direction.

"What is it, Nikki?"

"I can't say yet. I need to check out the shoreline, see what the evidence is."

Connie Thornton nodded.

"I've got a magnifying lens in my purse. I wish I'd brought a sample kit though."

"To a party?" Lisa Woodman whispered to Sam.

He shrugged, watching his father. Willis lifted his duffle.

"I've got one. If the samples say we're back in the Baja though, you've got my vote for this whole thing being a nightmare."

"We've got to keep an eye out, see if the kidnappers come back. I'm heading up onto the bluffs."

Frank Colton stood up. Across the circle Lieutenant Murphy rose too.

"Good thinking. I'll come along."

"Jesse'll come. Don't need you tagging after . . . ." Frank started.

"I'll go. The grapevine says you're still an outpatient, Murphy. And I outrank you."

Kate glared at Kiley.

"I finished occupational therapy and got a clean bill of health. Sir. We can't send the civilians out on their own."

"Thank you anyhow, but us 'civilians' don't need any nosy cops," Jesse said, but Kiley spoke across him.

"All of three months ago. And I still outrank you."

As she glowered, Jesse ignored the police the way they'd ignored Frank.

"Maybe we can spot a boat. Billy, you stay here with Ma."

"Hey, wait a minute . . . ."

Ma Colton patted her capacious purse.

"You go on, boys. I'll keep an eye on Willie."

"Three people should be enough of a lookout. We need somebody else to look for shelter above the tide line," Pete suggested. "Billy, would you be willing to check out the base of the cliffs with Lieutenant Murphy?"

Shirelle Kiley raised her hand.

"I'll go too, okay? Gotta do my bit."

"I've got fishing line and some hooks," Lisa Allen said, pulling a plastic box from her tote bag. "Might as well try 'em out."

"Any chewing gum in there?" Mac asked.

Grinning, she held up a packet. He grinned back.

"She brought fishing line? To a party?" Woodman hissed.

She frowned as if she'd just realized she'd fallen among savages.

"So, what's in your purse?" Sam whispered back.

"Lipstick, compact, and cab fare, mostly."

Sam raised his voice.

"Lisa, uh, Lisa W. says she has a mirror. Maybe she can watch for airplanes, and try to signal them."

"Good! I doubt we're on any of the jet routes, but that means anything you spot will be low enough to notice us," Mac said.

Woodman looked about to protest, but she subsided. Earl Dent waved a huge hand in the air.

"Uh, whaddaya want me to do?"

"You stay here on the beach," Mama Colton stated. "Any trouble comes up, you look big enough to handle it. And your little girl can play in the water."

"I'm not a little girl. I'm Dad's business manager," Veronica insisted.

Mrs. Wilson bent a look of concentrated instruction on her charges. Breeze gave her a hunted look.

"Uh, it's not like we done it before or anything, but maybe we can help with the samples?"

Lisa A. looked considering.

"I've got plenty of line, and an extra hook. You guys want to learn how to fish? You never know when it'll come in handy."

"Me, I will speak with the loa," Mama Lorraine announced. "Ask them to show us the way home."

Cynthia Wilson went indignantly stiff.

"Thank you. We need all the help we can get," Mac said. "I think I'll check along the beach. Try to spot a wharf, or fresh water, or whatever. Pete, you want to come along?"

Jack yawned and sat up.

"I'll head the other direction, then. Might as well cover all bases."

He got to his feet. Mac did too.

"Right. Sam, can you go with him? This place looks safe enough, but we don't know our way around yet. We'll meet back here in, uh . . . ."

He looked at his useless watch.

"Well, sometime around noon. Everybody, buddy up. Don't go off by yourselves, okay? This place could be more dangerous than it looks."

oooooooo

Mac mapped the beach as he walked. Dry grass -- might be good tinder. Driftwood. That ground cover -- were the stems strong enough to use as binding? He'd made sure the Swiss Army knife was still in his pocket, but if they needed more sharp edges the broken shells might do. Chunks of sandstone had fallen from the bluffs. Might make a windbreak. Were they dry enough for a fire ring?

No tins, or broken bottles, or washed up plastic. He never thought he'd miss the presence of litter.

"Are they going to be all right?" Pete asked, looking toward the sound of the surf.

Behind them Cynthia Wilson and Mama Colton presided over a pile of abandoned shoes and nylons. Willis, Connie and Nikki were wading knee-deep (and sometimes waist-deep) in the surf. A few dozen yards away Lisa A. showed Breeze and Solana how to cast out their lines. She'd found straight branches in the sea-wrack for poles. Veronica jumped in and out of the waves. Giggling, Penny joined her. Lisa W. stood above them on the beach, watching the sky when she wasn't playing tag with the edge of the surf.

Mac shrugged.

"You can't strand oceanographic researchers on a beach and expect them to stay dry. Or kids."

Somebody shrieked with laughter. He thought it was Connie. From Pete's grin, he thought so too.

"Yeah? Which ones are the kids?"

"Not us, anymore."

Pete raised an eyebrow at that.

"Forty hitting back, already?"

Oops. He hadn't meant to sound down. Time to change the subject.

"Some of the wood out there hasn't been in the sea long. If it washed down from the mountains, we could be near a river mouth."

"You think there might be people? A harbor?"

"I'm hoping for fresh water. Those bluffs look dry."

Pete swallowed.

"I wish you hadn't said that. A minute ago I wasn't thirsty."

"We'll manage."

One way or another. Solar stills? They might not have enough plastic. Look for a seep, maybe. If the watercourse was dry, they could try digging into its bed. He'd have to ask the Colton brothers what kind of vegetation they'd seen. Maybe take a look up there himself.

"Do you remember anything about the kidnapping?" Pete asked.

"No. Do you?"

"I don't think so. Bright lights, and floating, and weird smells. Drug reactions, I guess. Not memories."

"I dreamt some salesman I met in the midwest said he had a special offer. He traveled in vacuums. Weird, huh?"

Pete stumbled on a half-buried strand of kelp, like a snare in the sand. Mac steadied his friend.

"Sorry. I should have seen that."

"You should have brought someone else. I'm useless if we run into trouble."

Mac started forward again. Maybe he'd been selfish, dragging Pete with him. And it was hard to explain why he did it. Harry's instructions to a young man on what to do had always been clear. What you felt wasn't as well addressed.

"I worked a long time with you," he said, finally. "I trust you in an emergency."

"That's a mistake."

"I don't think so."