The Bedrock by Shelbi Wescott

Author:Shelbi Wescott [Wescott, Shelbi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arthur Press
Published: 2019-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Aboard the Mama Maxine 14

The Atlantic Ocean,

off the coast of the former island

of Dominica

KOZO

His back was sore from Ainsley’s crude surgery, but after he learned she’d help amputate Ethan’s leg, he felt like he’d been left in better shape. The tiny sting of pain was nothing compared to the heartache he felt over Megumi and he prayed to his jiji to send his sister a message of forgiveness somehow.

They used to do that together, too. Pray over the ocean for messages to reach the people who needed them, and even though he knew it might be too late to save his sister, he knew he had to try—no matter what Ethan said.

It was morning and the boat made its way into the winds, charting a course to islands…land islands. Kozo found himself anxious and exhilarated as the bell rang on the deck and Ainsley called them up to each take a position to safely see the boat into port.

Kozo’s heart kept leaping as the land came closer and they sailed into the southern bay of the island. An extended archipelago of sand greeted them, as did a few anchored boats in the crystal blue waves. The water in the eastern and northern Atlantic never turned that shade of blue—a turquoise ring around a rocky coast.

They ran the boat on land and took turns climbing down off the bow to the beach below. Kozo hesitated but then stepped down. He felt his feet sink into the wet earth and he bent and picked up a handful of sand, his eyes adjusting to the green skyline of trees and abandoned weather-beaten buildings.

He was on land.

Ethan limped with difficulty through the sand, but soon they hit the pavement of an old road. If he was in pain or desired a different source of mobility, he never said. Malcolm, Monroe, Ainsley, Ethan, and Kozo created a motley crew—Kozo still in his kimono.

“It’s a three-hour walk to the gardens,” Ethan announced. “Maybe we go halfway today. Camp. Talk.”

“Then this is where I part from you,” Kozo announced. He stepped forward and took Ethan’s hand and shook it with forced bravery. “I can get to Bermuda from here.”

“You don’t want to do that,” Ethan tried again, but his arguments were worthless.

“Two minutes on land and he’s bailing,” Ainsley teased with good humor, helping to bypass the fight brewing between the man and the child. “Maybe walking on flat ground makes you feel a bit queasy?” She handed him a container of water but he declined.

“I don’t mean to be ungrateful for you saving me…”

“But you’re gonna waste it. Go off into the fray without any idea of what you’re up against? Dying before you ever get to that island is a possible blessing, but even then…what purpose would your death have? That’s not being a hero.”

“Dying valiantly saving my sister,” Kozo tried but already he felt the weight of Ethan’s remarks. The sting of undoing his nobility and belittling his intentions. “I admit it might seem rushed—”

“Two days,” Ethan said.

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