Martha and Jack ran all the way to the jetty. Martha was praying that the boat would be there and that her grandad and the others had just gone somewhere for dinner or something. Deep down she knew something was wrong though.
"It was tied up right down the end this morning, so I'd say that's where they would put it back when they returned," Jack yelled to Martha. She could barely hear him over the sound of the rain and wind.
They ran right down to the end of the jetty. "Can you see it?" Martha asked with hope in her voice.
"No, it's not here," Jack told her. "Damn It," he cursed.
Jack turned to face Martha. It was dark now and he could barely see her face, but he could tell that she was shattered. He knew how she was feeling; his family was out there too. He wanted to comfort her, but when he reached out to touch her she spun around and started running away.
He started running after her. "What do we do now?" he yelled out to her.
"I need to call Sally and let her know about Ric, she's probably already starting to worry," Martha replied. "I'll tell her to get Flynn to call the other SES members. They'll meet at Noah's and split into search teams," she continued.
Jack grabbed onto her arm and spun her around to face him. "I'm sure they'll be okay," he tried to reassure her while still grasping her arm.
She looked up into his eyes. "I hope so," she said.
"Come on, let's get to Noah's and make those calls," Jack said while pulling Martha along.
Ric was thanking god that he had a life-jacket on. He hated to admit it but he was scared. "Grandad," he called out. "Grandad, where are you?"
"Ric, is that you?" Ric heard a voice call out. It was Tony. He swam towards him. "Tony, have you seen Grandad or Lucas?"
"No, Can you see the boat anywhere?" Tony asked him. "It's too dark," Ric replied. "Dad. Dad, can you hear me?" they heard Lucas call out from their left. "Yeah Luc, over here," Tony yelled to his son. "Mr Stewart's here with me," Lucas yelled back. "Thank god," Ric sighed.
A few seconds later Ric could see his Grandad and Lucas swimming towards them. "What are we supposed to do now? Just float around in this raging water until someone finds us?" Lucas asked.
"I'm sure they know we're missing by now," Alf panted. Ric could tell that his grandad was losing energy. He wasn't as young as the rest of them.
"There was a little island not to far from where we were fishing. I'm pretty sure it was to my left," Tony told them. "I say we take our chances and swim that way. We might be lucky and come across some land".
"Alright. Let's go then," Alf replied. "Let's try to stay together".
Tony grabbed onto his son and Ric grabbed onto Alf. "Don't let go of me grandad. I'll make sure I get you to safety," Ric promised him.
It was half an hour later and quite a few SES members had gathered at Noah's. The teams included Scott, Robbie, Kim, Flynn, Dan and Barry. There was a few other men and women aswell. One group had just left and another was about to leave.
Scott had already made it quite clear that Martha and Jack were to sit this one out. He wanted them to stay put; Jack had only just gotten out of hospital the day before and Martha was a bit too emotional at the moment. Scott thought it would be safer if they stayed at Noah's.
At first Martha was not too happy about being told what to do; she wanted to get out there and help find her family. Scott wouldn't take no for an answer though.
So for the next hour and a half Martha just sat in silence, praying that her family plus Tony and Luc would be okay.
Every now and then Colleen would come over to check on her and to see if she needed anything. Martha looked around the room. Irene, Leah, Sally and Hayley were sitting at a table talking quietly; occasionally one of them would look over at her and smile. Tasha was standing at the bar talking to Beth. Matilda and Cassie were sitting together on the small couch holding hands. Every once in a while Martha would hear a small sob come from one of the young girls. Matilda; worried about Lucas- her new boyfriend. And although Cassie and Ric were no longer together, she was still worried about Ric.
And then there was Jack. He was also getting fussed over by Colleen. He was sitting by himself at one of the corner tables. He wasn't doing anything; just sitting there drinking a cup of coffee that Colleen had just given him.
Martha looked at him, wondering what he was thinking or feeling. Jack then looked up and caught her watching him. He gave her a small smile. Martha, not knowing what to make of it attempted a smile back.
At that moment Scott came in with Robbie and Flynn. They were drenched. "Did you find them?" Jack asked.
"No, not yet," Flynn replied.
"What's wrong then?" Martha asked.
Scott sighed. "We've had orders to put the rescue on hold. The weather is getting, it's too dangerous to send anyone out," he told them.
Martha was fuming. "What? No. We can't just leave them out there. You have to keep looking," she yelled. Her eyes started brimming with tears.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have a choice. You know the rules Martha," Scott told her.
Martha couldn't believe it. "This so stupid," she cried while violently knocking a stack of plastic cups off the counter onto the floor, scattering them everywhere.
She looked over at Jack, he too didn't look happy about what had just been said.
Martha felt a soft hand on her shoulder. It was Tasha. "Come on Martha. Come sit down," Tasha asked her soothingly. Martha couldn't do anything except to do what she was told.