Knockdown Read online

  The three shook hands, said good-bye, and sprinted down the dock. The freckled running back kept looking back at us as he ran. I wondered if he’d change his mind, but he didn’t.

  Cole asked me, “Where should they store the bags they brought?”

  I shrugged. “I guess Zoë and I should take the aft cabin. You guys can have the main and v-berth. Go below and throw your stuff on the berths for now. We can work it out later.”

  The group stared at me.

  “What’s an aft cabin?” Zoë asked.

  I pointed. “The aft is in the stern, or back of the boat. The v-berth is the cabin in the bow.”

  Blank faces looked back at me again.

  “The front of the boat. When you see it you’ll know why it’s called the v-berth.”

  “Just follow me.” Nick picked up his gear.

  The group scurried around to find their school packs and climbed aboard the boat.

  Nick was the first to stow his stuff and come back. His long dark hair was tied in a ponytail and he was even taller than my brothers. In middle school, I’d had a huge crush on him. But like most of my brothers’ friends, he treated me like a little sister.

  Nick’s eyes were downcast as he pulled himself up on the dock storage box. He came from a large Italian family. I wondered why he wasn’t with them.

  The Asian guy came up top next. Unlike the rest of the guys, who wore sports shorts and sleeveless tees, he had on a collared shirt and dress shorts. I didn’t remember ever seeing him on the team. I wondered where he came from.

  He stopped in front of me. “I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Takumi.”

  My face was turning red again. “I’m Toni. Guess you know my brothers?” I silently groaned at my stupid question.

  He nodded and glanced at Whistler. “Beautiful boat.”

  “Thanks.” I hoped he knew something about sailing. “Are you on the football team too? I don’t remember seeing you.”

  “Yeah. But I’m really a soccer player. The coaches asked me to be the football kicker.”

  “Cool.” I stood tongue-tied.

  Takumi cleared his throat.

  Zoë zipped past me. She wore a low-cut halter top, short shorts, and flip-flops. Her long dark hair blew in the gentle breeze. My brother put his arm around her.

  Jervis joined us last. Although I recognized him from the team, I’d never really spoken to him. He was African-American, not as towering as my six-foot tall brothers, but wide, really wide. He would take up most of the room in the boat’s main cabin.

  My brothers told stories about Jervis. I guess he played jokes on guys in the locker room. He winked at me as he walked by.

  Really?

  “Okay, everyone!” Dylan shouted. “Dad and Mom loaded the boat with some supplies this morning. They worried we didn’t have enough food for the five of us, and now there are seven.”

  He brushed Zoë’s hair away from her face. “Did any of you bring extra clothing?”

  “Just my cheer stuff,” Zoë said.

  It was my turn to roll my eyes.

  Dylan glared at me. “We were at practice, Toni. We came straight from school.”

  “Okay. Okay.” I’d come from dive practice and was in a Speedo and sweats. Unless Mom packed some clothes for me, all I had was what I was wearing too. But at least I had sweats and not pom-poms.

  “We have less than forty-five minutes before we shove off.” Cole put his cell in his pocket. “There’s a marina grocery store. Toni and I will go there and find food.”

  “Fine. The rest of us will check out the boats and look for clothing and sleeping bags.” Dylan headed for the end of our dock.

  I grabbed Dylan’s arm. “Don’t take anything from a sail boat. The owners might show up to do what we’re doing,”

  “This time tomorrow, the marina, and all these boats will be wiped out.” Dylan pulled away.

  “I don’t care. Don’t touch the sail boats.” I turned. “Cole?”

  “I agree with Toni. Now, let’s go. We’ll meet back here at noon.” Cole headed for the store.

  “Give me a sec. I want to leave Mom and Dad a note.” When we got back, they were going to be at the boat waiting. I was sure of it.

  Before the boys could respond, we heard someone yelling. “Wait! Wait up! We’re coming!”

  Cole and I stared down the dock. The girl from the tent ran towards us carrying her sister on her hip and a giant pack on her back.

  “What the hell?” Dylan bumped into me. The rest of the group gathered close behind.

  Sissy lowered her little sister to the dock and caught her breath. I dropped Cole’s hand and stepped up to her.

  Dylan moved between us and asked me with his back to her, “What’s going on?”

  “You said we could come.” Sissy leaned to the side so she could see around Dylan. “You said…”

  “Out of the way, Dylan.” I pushed him, but he didn’t budge. “I told them if they made it here on time, we’d take them with us.”

  “Who are they?” Dylan glared at me. “We don’t have room.”

  “Are you kidding?” I folded my arms. “Three of your friends just left. We had room for them. These two will hardly take any space at all.”

  “You just finished telling us we needed more food and stuff.” Dylan swiveled to face Sissy and her sister. “My friends can help with the sails and take turns on deck. You would just be… Sorry. My sister shouldn’t have promised you that you could come with us.”

  Sissy’s eyes flooded with tears. She held her hands as if praying. “Please, just take my sister, then. She’s small and doesn’t eat much. Please!”

  The little girl wrapped her arms around her sister’s leg, and screamed: “No-o-o!”

  “Dylan!” Cole and I said together.

  Jervis pushed his way through the group and grabbed Dylan by his shirt collar. “When we’re out to sea, you can tell us what to do, and we’ll do it. But now we’re on land and we are not leaving little kids behind.” Jervis gave Dylan a shove, let him go, and picked up Sissy’s huge back pack. “Follow me,” he told the girls.

  Dylan charged Jervis, his fists clenched.

  Cole blocked his path. “Let it go, Dylan. He’s right. We can’t leave them and we’re running out of time.”

  “Later!” Dylan snarled at Jervis and stomped off towards the largest power boat on the dock. Zoë and Nick followed close behind.

  Sissy wiped her eyes. “We can come with you, then?”

  I grimaced. “Of course. Sorry about my brother. He’s really a good—”

  “Come on, Toni!” Takumi joined Cole at the top of the dock.

  Cole pointed toward Whistler. “Girls, get on board. Toni, let’s go.”

  I ignored my brother and addressed the girls. “I’m glad you made it. I’m Toni. What are your names?”

  “I’m Angelina and my sister is Makala.” Makala held tight to her sister’s leg.

  “Angelina and Makala.” Angelina’s name fit her. She looked just like a young version of the famous actress.

  Cole yelled for me to hurry.

  I started to run up the dock. “Jervis, find the girls something to eat and wait for my parents. We won’t be gone long.”

  Makala grinned when I mentioned food. I hurried after Cole and Takumi.

  The clock was ticking.

  Chapter Three

  Sixteen and a Half Hours Before

  We sprinted along the shoreline sidewalk past the dive shop, the harbor office, and fancy restaurant. Everything was closed. Making our way down D dock to the gas and marina store seemed to take forever.

  A poorly tied power boat bobbed next to the gas dock. A man on the dock was trying to get the gas pump to work.

  “God damn it!” he screamed. “Did you find the switch?”

  “I’m looking,” a woman inside the store yelled back. “I think the system needs a key.”

  “Well then, find the goddamned key.” The man kicked the pump.


  Two boys, around eight and ten, ran out of the store with armloads of canned goods, chips, and bottled water. They threw the stuff into the boat from the dock and sprinted back into the store.

  At the sound of our footsteps, the man turned. For a few moments we just stared at one another. Then he reached into his belt.

  “Until we leave, everything in the store is ours.” He pointed a gun at us.

  “Whoa, there.” Cole put his arms in the air. “We don’t want any trouble.”

  “Try it now,” the woman inside called out.

  The man threw a switch. The gas pump rumbled. “Just go back the way you came. What we don’t take is yours as soon as we’re gone. Now, get goin’.”

  “Mister, we don’t have time to come back,” Takumi said.

  “Not my problem. I’m not saying it again. Turn around now, or I’ll shoot.”

  I tugged on Cole’s shirt. We stepped backward, our hands in the air. “Okay, fine, don’t shoot. We’re leaving,” I said.

  The boys ran out of the store with another load and stopped to stare at us. They were pale as ghosts.

  A woman with short curly hair stepped into the doorway. “Is it working?” She saw us and then the gun. “Honey, they’re just kids.” She frowned at her husband.

  “Help your sons,” the man commanded.

  We began jogging back.

  “What now?” Cole ran beside me. “We don’t have time to wait for them to leave.”

  “The restaurant.” I made a sharp left at a popular waterfront cafe.

  The door was latched, but Cole broke a large picture window by throwing a heavy wrought-iron patio chair at it a couple of times. Takumi disappeared around the back and returned pushing two molded plastic loading carts. The carts were like giant wheelbarrows. We hoisted them up and around the tables and left them just outside the kitchen door.

  Cole and I grabbed everything we saw and soon the carts were full. Takumi came from a pantry area with an armful of cans and shook his head. He pulled ten loaves of bread from my cart and dumped them on the floor. “Look for beans, bags of rice, and more canned goods.”

  Cole stopped. “What are you doing?”

  “Most of this stuff won’t last more than a week. We need dried and canned food. Nuts too.” He crawled on his hands and knees in behind a stainless steel storage cart. “Look! Walnuts and dried cranberries. Perfect!”

  I threw some lemons and bags of rice in my cart.

  “Anyone see peanut butter or canned meat?” Takumi furiously opened and closed cupboards.

  Cole discovered tubs of peanut butter. I grabbed a couple of large bottles of olive oil and a giant jar of raspberry jam.

  “Here’s precooked bacon. Says it doesn’t need refrigeration.” Cole knelt beside a large cardboard box.

  “Great! Take the whole box.” Takumi stacked giant bags of pancake mix and oatmeal in my cart.

  Most of the large cans we found held pie filling, stewed tomatoes, or chicken broth. I threw a few of each into the cart along with a couple of cases of crackers. They wouldn’t keep either, but they’d come in handy when we started getting sea-sick.

  “Hurry!” I motioned to the guys. The clock in my head had begun ticking again.

  “This way.” Takumi unlatched the outside kitchen door, opened it, and nodded. “Just a minute.” I hurried to a storage unit near the restrooms, and came out with a case of toilet paper, some bottles of bleach, and boxes of tampons. Some things are as necessary as food.

  “What about water?” Takumi held the door open as Cole pushed the first cart through.

  “We have a big water tank on board, but grab a few cases of bottles for back up.” Cole went for the second cart.

  I found another empty plastic cart outside and dumped my paper products in it. There was some room left, so I ran back into the kitchen and snagged three more bags of pancake mix. The guys were leaving and I gave up on finding the syrup.

  We pushed the carts back along the marina at a jog. Cole slowed and finally stopped. He glanced down at the gas dock. The man with a gun was still there. “We need a weapon,” he said.

  “In Japan, I fish with spear guns. They could be good weapons. Maybe the dive shop has some.” Takumi pointed to the shop a few yards away. “Better than nothing.”

  When we broke the window to the dive shop, an alarm began to blare. I couldn’t believe we were breaking and entering again. Somehow, stealing food didn’t seem as bad as taking stuff from a store.

  “Come on.” Cole pulled me inside. The blare was louder inside than out. I covered my ears. “Over here.” He pointed at a variety of spear guns displayed on the wall.

  Takumi brought down the largest. “This is the best.”

  Cole studied the tags. “It says rechargeable. Are they all electric?”

  “No, some are manual. Here!” Takumi reached for a much smaller weapon. “It won’t shoot as far.”

  “Power’s a problem. Manual’s better.” My brother examined the spear gun.

  Takumi nodded and seized a similar one from the wall. I left the guys and wandered around the store. I found a flyer on different kinds of scuba gear. The guys joined me.

  “Wet suits might keep us warmer than the coats we have.” I showed him the rack of diving suits.

  “Quickly, then.” Cole’s arms were full. He and Takumi headed for the broken window.

  The scuba suits were bulky, so I only took two. As I was leaving, I grabbed a handful of diving gloves, boots, a mask, and a snorkel.

  We heaped the spear guns, spear shafts, and waterproof clothing on top of my now bulging cart. It was time to start back to the boat.

  As we ran, a group of about twenty people, some adults and some children were gathering at the marina parking lot. When they spotted us, some of them waved their arms and yelled at us.

  Cole scowled. “Hurry!”

  I tried to run with the cart but my load was tippy. Twice it almost fell and I had to slow down. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.” I pulled up a wetsuit that was dragging on the ground.

  When I checked behind me, I saw the crowd running towards us. What did they want from us? Our supplies? My heart began to pound in my chest. I raced to the ramp that led down from the Marina shops to our dock. The tide was low, which made the ramp steep. Holding the cart with one hand, I gripped the rail, and worked my way down as fast as I could.

  The families were still yelling, but I couldn’t make out their words. At the bottom of the ramp I focused on getting to our boat. Cole and Takumi were already tossing goods up to Jervis and Angelina. Dylan and Nick sprinted to help me.

  “Mom? Dad?” I searched the boat for their faces.

  Dylan shook his head.

  “Shove off.” Cole climbed aboard. He hurried to the wheel. The engine sputtered and roared to life. Jervis untied the dock lines.

  Dylan seized my cart. “Leave this. Get on.”

  I glanced down the dock. The people were almost to the top of the ramp. The children slowed them down.

  “We’re loose. Everyone on board,” Cole shouted and shoved the gear in reverse. The boat began moving out of the slip.

  I stared down at the box of tampons. We needed this stuff. “Help me!” I threw the diving gear, tampons, and toilet paper onto the bow.

  Dylan and Nick joined me. A bottle of liquid cleaner bounced and ended up in the water. A wet suit got snagged by the anchor, but most of the rest made it on board.

  Whistler continued backing away. Jervis climbed back aboard and ran to the bow to untangle the dry suit and secure our supplies. The families calling to us were only three boat slips away. I could finally hear what they were saying.

  A woman cried. “The cruise ship left us here.”

  “We can’t find any cabs,” a man yelled.

  “We’re trapped!” Another voice called out.

  Cruise ship? I could see the giant ships that sailed to Alaska docked a short ways from our marina.

  “Come on!” Dylan r
an down the slip, following alongside the slowly moving, Whistler.

  I wished I could do something, but we just couldn’t take that many people on board with us. I left the cart and ran after the guys. When they were alongside the boat, the guys leapt, caught hold of lifelines, and heaved themselves up and onto the decking.

  I reached for the nearest lifeline, jumped, and grabbed hold. I tried to pull myself up and on board, but I just hung there, my feet trailing in the water. I scrambled for a foot hold alongside the slippery blue hull. I tried to get my leg up above the boat edge, but couldn’t. My shoes splashed in the icy water.

  The boat picked up speed. My legs were going to be crushed if the boat got closer to the dock we were backing alongside. “Cole! Dylan!” I screamed and pulled myself up a little ways, only to fall back again.

  “Please. Help us!” a voice from the crowd screamed.

  My shoes were soaked. The water made the side slicker. My hands began to sweat. My fingers were opening. I gave up trying to get on board and focused on just holding on.

  The support piling at the end of our slip was coming right at me. It was covered in barnacles. The side of the boat and I were going to rub against it. My left hand lost its grip. I dangled and swung back and forth, holding on with one hand. My entire leg was now immersed in the water. My shoulder ached. I shrieked.

  I wasn’t going to make it. The piling was less than a foot away. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. My fingers were slipping.

  Someone grabbed my arms. I flew in the air and landed in a wet puddle on the boat deck. Jervis stood over me and winked. “Welcome aboard.”

  Tears welled in my eyes.

  “You okay?” Dylan asked, and then left before I could answer. He shoved the bow away from the barnacle piling.

  The families gathered on the dock still called to us.

  “Wait up.”

  “How’d you get here?”

  I lay on the teak deck and forced myself to breathe in and out. My parents hadn’t made it. I’d almost died just getting the boat out of the slip. We were leaving families with little kids behind. How were we going to survive all this?

  Water puddled around my ankles. My tennis shoes sloshed. Nick walked over the top of me while he untied the puffy blue fenders and stowed them in the rear locker. I crawled to the top of the cabin. A wave hit and the boat rocked. I gripped the teak hand rails and tried to tune out the desperate people on the pier.