Humanaty's Blight

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Steve and I raced into the cabin. Sue darted to the desk with all the radios. She had the volume up and people were talking over each other, some shouting to make themselves heard. The resulting cacophony of noise was almost undecipherable. Now and then a few words or a phrase came through clear enough to understand.

The three of us listened in stages of increasing confusion. From outside, a hail drew me away. I went to the stern and found ourselves surrounded by the four boats, including the new open one with the huge outboards. They all came to rest within fifty feet, with the Truant as the focal point.

The man I’d spoken to before on the cabin cruiser was standing on his bow, nearest to me. Another was at the helm keeping their position stationary to us. To my wary eyes, everyone looked confused—but at what? With my appearance, he called, “Captain, have you heard?”

“Too much confusion and too many people were talking at once on the radio,” I called back, seeing a few people on the other boats nod in agreement that they were experiencing the same.

He understood. “We’ve been listening since the beginning, more by accident than anything else. Up where that blockade was at the top of Whidbey. It just blew up.”

I started to smile. So, someone had defeated it and the way would now be clear for other boats. I was glad but still intended to continue north and sail through Deception Pass instead of circling around again. However, the expression he wore prevented my smile from developing. I said, “What else?”

“Ships.”

“Ships?” I asked, not understanding what he meant. He’d almost spat the word.

“Coming in from the Pacific. Big ships. All in a row. Troop carriers, they say.”

Finally, there might be some order returning and we could revive our civilization and that was also good news. I felt like dancing and slapping a few backs when Steve placed his calming hand on my shoulder. He called, “You’re holding back.”

The captain of the cabin cruiser visibly drew a deep breath and raised his voice so all on the other boats could hear, “They are troop carriers loaded with soldiers. Not ours. They are not flying any national flags.”

“What?” Someone asked in a shocked voice.

He said softer, but all heard every word, “We’re being invaded. America is under siege.”