Rank 6 by Barry McDivitt

Author:Barry McDivitt
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781771871631
Publisher: Thistledown Press
Published: 2018-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

It took nearly ten minutes to pole out of the swamp, something that would have taken less than a minute with a proper paddle. As soon as they reached open water Emily dipped one of the milk tins into the lake and drank deeply. The water tasted like a mixture of smoke and candle wax, but it quenched her thirst.

“I think we’d be better off on the other side of the lake,” said Emily. “We know there are roads over there. That’s also where people are most likely to look for us.” Buttons barked in agreement. He was also glad to leave the stinking marsh and the bear.

Emily didn’t like the idea of trying to cross the lake without a paddle. She gingerly pushed the boat along the lakeshore, knowing the fragile pole wouldn’t take much stress, and hoping she’d spot the missing oar. It was now quite safe to hug the shoreline. There were plenty of burning logs and smoldering stumps, but there was no longer any imminent danger of being roasted.

Her biggest concern was the condition of the canoe. It was leaking badly. If the battered old boat had been taking on water the previous evening she hadn’t noticed in all the turmoil. She figured that being swatted by an enraged bear probably hadn’t done the bottom any good, especially if it was already leaky. Emily realized she needed a bailing can. The two milk tins were still in the boat, but they were too small to be of any use.

She decided that going to shore and abandoning the canoe would force her to walk through a hot wasteland where danger lurked at every step. Emily did not look forward to the prospect. It seemed better to occasionally take the boat into shallow water and empty it by turning it over.

Eventually she came to the ruins of the little shack that had provided her with temporary shelter and a handful of supplies. All that remained was the stove and the metal frames of the old couch and mattresses. The people who owned it obviously didn’t have much money. She wondered if they would be able to rebuild, or even if they would want to.

She continued to pole the canoe along the lakeshore, looking in vain for the oar. Emily had just about given up on finding it when she saw something truly amazing. The boathouse had survived the fire. Everything around it was gone. The log cabin was a smoking pile of rubble. For some inexplicable reason the boathouse had made it through the inferno with nothing more than a few scorch marks. It might have been saved by the fact it was beside the lake and there were no nearby trees.

When Emily originally broke into the building she’d been in a panic and didn’t have time to take a careful look around. She realized there might be something useful inside that she’d missed in the dark. There might be a paddle, food, another pair of flip-flops, or maybe even some dry clothing.

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