Under Vanishing Skies (12 page)

Smiling at the simplicity of the place, I unrolled my data mat and set it down on the office floor. With a few flicks of my finger, I opened the surveillance app. A four-paned window appeared on the screen, each pane displaying a view from each of the four cameras mounted on the deck. The cameras had already switched themselves to night vision mode. It wasn’t like the modern, full-color, three-dimensional night vision system that was built into car windshields. No, these were basic infrared cameras that showed objects in ghostly black and white. It was all that Rick and I could manage given the parts we had to work with.

I made sure the app was fully operational and then stood up and stretched. The dim light of the data mat reflected off the snorkeling mask perched on top of the fishing gear. I had brought it along with a snorkel, fins, spear gun, and fishing pole. With any luck, I’d get a chance to do some fishing and maybe even snorkel off the reef. There was nothing like fresh fish cooked over an open fire in the middle of nowhere.

North Point sat off of a reef that extended out a hundred feet before dropping off a massive underwater cliff. What tropical fish were still around were usually swimming along the cliff’s edge. The fishing was nothing like when I had first arrived here, but it was better than nothing.

The soothing cadence of the waves lapping the shore filled the room. The more I listened to it, the sleepier I got. It had been a long day and I decided to turn in for the night. But I had to run my radio checks first.

I sat down on my bed roll and flicked an icon on the sidebar of the data mat. A communications panel opened. I clicked the address icon and a long list appeared. As I scrolled through the list, I only found three addresses that were colored green. Green meant that the data mat was within range for voice and video communications. People on watches and patrols were the only ones besides the MDF who could use that communication channel.

I clicked on Dhonakulhi and waited as the word CONNECTING blinked on the screen. With a ping, the word changed to CONNECTED and a small window opened. Inside the window was a familiar brown face. I knew who it was, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember his name.

“
Dhonakulhi, this is North Point with a radio check. How do you read me?” I asked.

“
I see you fine, Aron. How are you? It has been a long time.”

I fumbled for his name.  It started with an A. “I’m good, how are you doing?”

“
Very good, but very tired. I do not know if you heard, but Nisha had twins last month. I have been awake every night with crying babies, so I volunteered for the nightshift.  I figured that I had a better chance of getting some sleep.” He chuckled and his hoarse laughter triggered my memory. It was Anand. He had helped me put up the tower on Dhonakulhi, but that was...what...almost eight years ago? He had been maybe twenty then.

I remembered how he had asked us for advice on how to convince Nisha’s father to let him marry her. I don’t remember what we told him, but it must have worked. And I remembered that he had played the sitar by the campfire at night. “Are you still playing the sitar, Anand?”

“
Not as much as I’d like. Being a father takes up too much of my time. With the twins, I now have six children.”

“
Six! In eight years? You have been busy.”

He laughed and said, “Yes. But children are a blessing and I would not have it any other way. How about you, Aron? Any special women in your life?”

An image of Shannon wearing that tight black dress sprang into my mind. “Nope. Life’s too complicated as it is.”

“
Yes, that is true. But women bring such pleasure and peace to our lives, no?”

“
I guess. Well, Anand, I’ve got a couple more radio checks to make. It was good catching up with you. Tell Nisha I said hello and congratulations on the twins.”

“
Thank you, my friend. Please do not be a stranger. You know that you are always welcome in our home.”

“
Thanks, but I think I’ll wait until your babies are a little older. I was never very good with kids at that age. North Point, over and out.”

“
Over and out,” he repeated.

I pressed the DISCONNECT icon and the video screen disappeared. The communications panel returned to the list, but the other two addresses that had been green, Iru Fushi and an MDF patrol boat, had turned red. Connections weren’t that stable out here. North Point was just barely within range of the Dhonakulhi tower. Still, it was weird that the MDF patrol boat was now out of range. They usually kept a patrol running in this zone and those boats had some pretty powerful amplified antennas. Maybe it was interference from the storm that was moving in. Storms always played havoc with the VHF frequencies.

I thought about making a snack before bed, but I opted to sleep instead. No sooner had I laid my head on the makeshift sleeping bag than I fell asleep.

 ***

In my dream, the food dispenser was beeping. Kelly stood by the stove cooking some of her famous French toast. She was beautiful, exactly as I remembered her. As she reached out to silence the beeping dispenser, I tried to tell her not to do it. But no words came out of my mouth. I watched helplessly as she pushed the button and I woke up.

My eyes were met by darkness. I lay for a moment remembering where I was and trying to figure out where the beeping was coming from. It didn’t take me long to remember. I rolled over and tapped my data mat. It displayed a ghostly green image of a boat with at least three men on board. They were headed straight for North Point. From the video, I could tell that they were only a few hundred feet out. I didn’t have much time.

I overrode the alarm and switched to the communications panel. Dhonakulhi was still the only green name on the list. I pressed it. It showed CONNECTING.

“
Come on, come on.”

Finally, a sleepy Anand appeared on the screen.

“
Anand, I need your help. There’s a boat about to land on North Point and I can’t connect to the MDF.”

“
What? Aron, is that you? You are breaking up. Can you repeat?”

“
I said there is a boat heading straight for me. It’s about to come ashore and I can’t reach the MDF.”

The screen flickered and Anand’s image disappeared. The list reappeared and everything was red. I went over my options. There weren’t many.

Option one was fighting them off. Unfortunately, the only weapon I had was the spear gun and it wasn’t that effective unless you were really close. Besides, I’d only get one shot and there three of them.

Option two was swimming to Bandos, but that wasn’t much of an option either. In these strong currents, chances were that I’d be swept out to sea or chopped up on the reef before I made it there.

The third and final option wasn’t really an option: make some kind of deal with them. But the thought passed through my head faster than Mohammad’s mango juice passed through my bowels. Others had tried to reason with them. Rick had tried. There was no way I would let them get their hands on me.

I checked the communications panel one last time, but all the addresses on the list were still red. Time was up. I selected for Option two, swim to Bandos.

I stripped down to my underwear, but kept my t-shirt on. Although hypothermia was a risk, I knew that the jeans would weigh me down.

I folded up my data mat and shoved it into the crotch of my underwear. It was uncomfortable, but I couldn't let them get ahold of it. With my data mat, they would know everything about everyone in the Maldives, including where they lived.

On the way out the door, I grabbed the spear gun and snorkeling equipment. Crouching down, I worked my way back to the flat rock in the dark. I prayed that I didn’t land face down in the tide pool. That’s all I needed, a swirly. I made it to the rock and stepped into the tide pool.

I walked out into the shallow water of the coral outcropping, When I reached the edge, I stopped and pulled the rubber swim fins over my cut up feet. Then, placing the mask over my eyes and nose, I grabbed my spear gun and stepped off of the reef.

I swam in the opposite direction from where the boat was coming. About twenty-five feet out, I could make out the roar of their diesel hybrid motor over the sound of the waves. It was hard to judge in the dark exactly where the sound came from. I swam as hard as I could. How far had I gone? I couldn’t tell, so I stopped and turned around. Lifting the mask onto my forehead, I struggled to see if they had landed on the island. There was a half-moon in the sky, but it was hidden behind some clouds. I could barely make out the silhouette of the shack. But after a few minutes, my eyes adjusted to the light and I could make out two men up on the observation deck. The sound of the water made it impossible to hear what, if anything, they were saying. But I watched helplessly as they ripped the cameras off the posts.

Bastards!

One of the guys turned on a flashlight. The silvery blue light of the ULEDs washed over the island. They were looking for me. He pointed the light over the water and swept it back and forth. I watched the light glide over the waves farther away from me.

Bandos was behind me…at least I thought it was. There was no way I would know until I was much closer. There was also another reef or two between me and Bandos, so I’d have to swim through the narrow zigzag channel. If I miscalculated, I would be dragged across the reefs and ground into fish food. Of course if I went back to North Point, I would be tortured and killed. I decided to take my chances with the reefs.

I lowered my goggles back over my eyes and nose. Turning, I began to swim away. The current wasn’t too bad yet, but it would be once I got around the next reef. I did the side stroke, since it was the only way to swim while holding on to the spear gun. This was nuts and my nerves were shot. I kept waiting to smash into a reef. My muscles burned, but I pushed on…stroke after stroke.

After a few minutes, I stopped again to catch my breath. My heart pounded wildly. I couldn’t tell if it was from swimming or from the fear of being caught. Turning back, I saw the light on the boat. It was heading my way. They must’ve seen me.

I started to swim again, faster this time. I glanced over my shoulder after each stroke, keeping an eye on the boat. It turned away, so I stopped to see what they were  doing. Someone in the boat panned a large floodlight over the water. Maybe they hadn’t seen me. The boat was closer now, maybe a hundred feet away. Suddenly, it turned back towards me. I couldn’t catch my breath. There was no point trying to outrun it. I floated there helpless, watching the boat as it closed in on me. It kept turning back and forth. Fifty feet away now. I could tell there was only one son of a bitch on board. The other two must still be on the island.

I could hear the engines clearly. A few more yards and he'd be on top of me.

I took three deep breaths and dove underwater.

It was completely black and I was completely disoriented. I decided to swim back to the reef. I pulled myself along with one arm, holding tight to the spear gun with the other hand. I felt the sonic vibrations of the propeller ripple around me. Surfacing just enough to bring my eyes above water, I saw a circle of light five feet to my right. The boat was only ten feet away. I dove under the surface again. My hand hit something sharp and pain shot up my arm. At first I thought I got clipped by the propeller, but it was the reef. I grabbed it. Then I surfaced, took a deep breath, and pulled myself down as deep as I could.

Looking up, I watched the boat pass right over me. It seemed to slow down. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I knew that I couldn’t hold my breath any longer. Suddenly, the pitch of the engines increased. Looking up, I saw a vortex of bubbles and then nothing.

I let out some air, but it didn’t help. I started to spasm.

So this is what drowning felt like. It wasn’t nearly as peaceful a death as I had thought it would be.

I had no choice but to surface. My face cleared the water and I gulped in air. When I finally caught my breath, I lifted my goggles and looked around. The boat was heading back to the island. I waited, unsure of what was happening. The boat docked. After a few minutes, I heard the engines rev up again and I watched the boat as it sped away toward the east.

 
I waited until I was sure the boat wasn’t coming back before I swam back to North Point. I reached the shallow reef shelf, took off my fins, and climbed out. As I walked, I had to use the spear gun to steady myself. The pain in my feet was excruciating. But somehow, I managed to limp out of the water.

When I finally reached the shore, I dropped the goggles and fins on the sand. Still using the spear gun as a cane, I hobbled back to the shack and collapsed on the ground, dropping the spear gun next to me. I don’t know how long I laid there, but by the time I sat up I noticed that the sun was above the horizon.

I looked around. The food and water were gone and so was my lucky fishing pole. The ladder up to the observation deck lay smashed outside the door. At least they had left me the shack.