Landfall: Islands in the Aftermath (The Pulse Series Book 4) Read Free

crossing to the Bahamas, there was no treacherous Gulf Stream current to worry about, and they could stop along the way at the Marquesas Keys to break up the passage. It had seemed like a good plan at the time, and much better than just sitting around in a dark apartment, running out of food and sweating in the heat with no idea when or if relief would ever come. And at least on the water they could find food. Both of them liked to fish and they had fishing gear already on board, as well as several day’s worth of canned goods and snacks they kept in the lockers for their weekend getaways. It wasn’t much, and the boat was small, but once they cast off they realized they were better off than those stuck on the island with no boat at all.  
    Until this terrible night when it was all about to come to an end, they had managed okay aboard Intrepida . Sure, it was cramped, especially when it rained while they were at anchor, confining them to the minimal cabin. There was little below but bunks for two and barely adequate room to sit. But they realized the discomfort was worth it as they began meeting other sailors, particularly those who had sailed there from the mainland. The stories they told sent a chill down Thomas’ spine. As the days without power stretched into weeks, entire cities were swept up in rioting and violence. The police were overwhelmed and unable stop the looters from the beginning. And once store shelves were stripped, the gangs began targeting houses and even entire neighborhoods. They took what they wanted, killing anyone who stood in their way. From everything Thomas and Mindy heard, returning to any large population center would be a fatal mistake.  
    But the population at Fort Jefferson kept increasing and the anchorage had gotten crowded long before the U.S. Navy arrived and made them leave. Problems began to arise even among the boaters who had sailed there to avoid problems and violence. Disputes over anchoring spots and collisions and damage caused by the less experienced led to fistfights and brawls and even two fatal shootings. Thomas and Mindy had been frightened as the tensions grew worse, but aboard their little boat they were able to avoid most of it by anchoring in the shallows where larger vessels couldn’t. With no idea where else they could go, they’d made the best of the situation until the day the ship arrived, dispatching a boatload of armed commandos who informed everyone there they would have to leave.  
    Some of the refugees aboard larger cruisers decided to set sail for horizons beyond U.S. waters, opting to cross the straits to Cuba or Mexico, or sail east directly to the Bahamas. Thomas and Mindy considered all those options, but the thought of Cuba or Mexico frightened them as much as Miami. How could it be any better in any densely populated nation if the conditions were as bad as they’d heard they were in south Florida? Because there were so many uninhabited islands there, the Bahamas seemed like the only safe alternative in the region. But instead of risking such a long direct passage from the Dry Tortugas, they decided to make their way east in that general direction by sailing back along the chain of the Keys as they worked up the nerve to cross the Stream from a closer jump-off point. They avoided all the islands connected to the Overseas Highway and anchored mostly in the remote wildlife refuges, the majority of which were clusters of mangrove islands with little or no dry land to be found. With their relatively short mast and shallow draft, they had been able to tuck into seldom-visited hideaways, and had so far managed to catch enough fish and collect enough rainwater to survive.
    They had encountered a few others in small boats living out among the mangroves, but until this encounter, no one had threatened them directly. It just so happened that the hidden anchorage where they were now was midway between Key West and the mainland, and less than a mile north of