Akasha 4 - Earth (9 page)

Looking for injuries,
perhaps? Would she be relieved or disappointed that we had
none?

I didn't get a chance to find out.
They rounded the river bend before I could read the expression on
her face. Their kayak disappeared from sight. A long silence seemed
to last forever, all eyes just beyond the trees, seeking out the
tip of their red kayak. Another horn blast. This one put me on
edge. The energy in the atmosphere heightened as Elementals put
their powers at the ready.

I wanted to shout out to hold fire,
until we saw the whites of their eyes or something, but the truth
was I was a hair away from blasting down those trees myself so I
could see what was happening. Finally, Robert and Margie came
paddling upstream. Robert waived his arm, gesturing the rest of us
forward. They both looked excited.

"Susan, can you tell what it is from
here?" I asked as we put our oars back in the water.

She put her hand in the water, too.
"Something big."

"Care to be more specific?"

"Can't." She looked back at me. "Fill
Bee's lifejacket, just in case."

I looked down, it was nearly deflated.
Our stitching job wasn't holding the air very well.

"Careful, Kaitlyn – we don't want to
attract any unwanted attention," Alex said.

I rolled my eyes. I
was
always
attracting unwanted attention; it was inevitable. I used
energy to inflate the pants hanging around Bee's neck. She didn't
notice, still staring at the direction of the horn.

As we rounded the bend, the horn
sounded again and the source revealed itself. I craned my neck up
to see a large steamboat barreling down on us. Four stories high,
with black and gold steam columns and red, decorative trim; the
ship was straight out of the 1920's.

I blinked, then rubbed my
eyes.

"Row!" Alex shouted. "Row, row, row!"
Our convoy of canoes split down the middle as everyone scrambled to
get their oars in the water. Our canoe shot forward.

I looked back; everyone appeared to
make it out of the way in time.

"Sorry!" Someone from the top deck of
the steamboat shouted apologies. I gave them a dirty look, then did
the same to Robert, who was laughing.

Something else caught my eye as the
steamboat passed. Dragged alongside it was several large water
filters. "Look!" I shouted.

Susan turned, and a wide grin spread
across her face.

"Micah's been here," I
breathed.

They were exactly the same as we found
near Robert's camp.

"Let's pull in over there," I said,
pointing to a large, cemented area that sloped down into the water.
"We need to check it out."

The other boats followed our lead. As
Robert came closer, I resisted the urge to dump him in the water
again. Just barely. He was still laughing when they pulled ahead of
us. As soon as our canoe hit cement, Margie was there, pulling us
in.

"Sorry," she said, voice lowered. "I
had no idea that thing could pick up speed like that. I don't think
they heard my warning shouts."

I put Bee on my hip and took Margie's
extended hand for help out of the canoe.

"Are you guys okay after yesterday?"
she asked. "When I came up and saw you, but not Bee, my heart
skipped a beat. I went back under and almost got caught in the
undertow and I just got scared—"

"Margie, come help with the boat,"
Robert growled at her. Their kayak was completely out of the water.
What help he needed was beyond me.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to
me, smoothing out her hair. "I should've kept looking—"

"No," this time I interrupted her. "It
wasn't your fault; don't worry about it."

She nodded. "I'm glad everyone is ok.
Thank God for Susan."

"Margie!" Robert yelled
again.

"I'm coming." Margie squeezed my hand,
wiggled Bee's bare toes and walked away.

I turned, watching Susan pack a small
bag with Bee's toys, a change of clothes, and extra
food.

Yes
, I thought.
Thank God for Susan.
Susan and Alex both.

Chapter
13

The Spirit of Evansville

"Welcome aboard your ship," the
captain held out his hands in a grand gesture as we walked up the
gangplank. I paused in the middle of wiping grime from Bee's cheek
to look over my shoulder. There was only Alex – standing off to the
side with his arms crossed. The captain was, in fact, addressing
me.

"My…my ship?"

He smiled, nodding his head with
enthusiasm.

"I don't follow."

"Come, come. Let me show you around.
I'll remain to drive you down the river, of course."

"No – me drive!" Bee shouted, kicking
to be let down.

As soon as I set her on the ground she
ran for the captain's outstretched hands. Alex stepped in between
the two, swooping Bee up in his own arms.

The captain shrugged. "Looks like I've
got myself a co-pilot." He tousled her hair and walked away with a
skip in his step, leaving me like an idiot, with my hand in the air
and speechless.

I glanced at Alex, who was glaring at
the captain.

"Come on," I said, nudging him
forward. "Let's at least hear him out."

"Now this ship wasn't a steamboat
until after Daybreak," the captain waited for us to catch up. He
reached over and pinched Bee's cheek. "No it wasn't. We had plans,
but weren't motivated to put them in effect until the diesel
stopped coming."

We followed him down some stairs. The
elevators had a large 'out of order' sign posted.

He continued, "Daybreak was good in a
lot of ways like that."

It was the first time I'd heard anyone
refer to Daybreak as a good thing. Bee leaned over to pull on the
captain's beard.

"Honey, be careful." I
said.

"She's fine. I'm Captain Carl, by the
way." He stopped suddenly and stuck out his hand in delayed
introduction.

"Oh, I'm Kaitlyn." I shook his hand.
"And this is Alex, and…well – I guess everyone else is
busy."

"Yes, yes – I'm having them load the
canoes and all your supplies on the boat. Eventually we may reach a
point where the steamboat is too big for the river. Anyway." He
turned down the stairs again. "Took us over a year, but we got her
ready just in time for Micah to come along."

"I'm sorry – if you could explain how
exactly he purchased the boat?" I couldn't imagine what Micah had
traded.

"Well, for one – this entire community
owes him and The Seven. Under their guidance, the Wiccans were able
to build our own Chakra Center."

"Chakra Center?" I looked at Alex,
eyebrows raised.

He shrugged.

"Community-based farms that are able
to support any who come. Permaculture at its finest," touted the
captain.

"What else did he give you?" I
asked.

"A promise."

"What kind of promise?" I narrowed my
eyes, taking Bee from Alex.

"I get to captain one of the new
hybrid power stations. They are under construction just off the
coast of California, and in the Gulf, and at the Great Lakes. After
I drop you off, I'll be headed to California to take up my
post."

We were just outside a large steel
door now. Alex paused. "And you believe him?"

Captain Carl turned, crossing his
arms. "Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't believe him?"

Hybrid power
stations?
I glanced at Alex. He looked
just as lost as me, though I wasn't willing to call any of it into
question. I just wanted Micah to pop out from behind the
door.

Captain Carl pushed his glasses up on
his nose. The frame was duct taped together. "I'm a Coast Guard
vet, I'll have you know. Twenty years. Just because this boat has
never been more than a mile from the dock, doesn't mean I'm not
capable."

Alex held up one hand. "I'm sorry, I'm
just confused."

"Well." The captain spun the dial on a
padlock and opened the door. "Allow me to enlighten
you."

My shoulders sagged; no Micah.
Instead, three huge boilers took up the entire room.

"Cast iron and bronze. Thankfully we
had these babies built before Daybreak. Basically, we boil water
straight from the river inside, and the resulting steam powers the
boat."

"How do you boil the water?" Alex
asked, walking around one of the boilers.

"By burning trash, mostly. Oh – and
office furniture. No one needs it anymore."

I stepped closer, and Bee reached out
to touch the shiny cylinder.

"Don't touch!" I snatched her hand
back. "It's hot!"

She looked at Captain Carl for
confirmation.

"Nope," he said. "The outer shell
stays cool to the touch." He leaned against it with one hand to
demonstrate. "Although, they have been known to
explode."

I looked at him, mouth
open.

"No incidents with these particular
boilers yet. Top of the line, they are!" He patted it.

"Okay. This room is officially off
limits for anyone under the age of, well – me." I said.

"Ohhh," Bee let out a disappointed
sigh, as if she knew what I meant.

"Come on." Captain Carl shut the door
to the boiler room as we exited. "I'll show you the captain's
bridge next."

Last time I was in one of
those,
I thought
,
I…well…I met Bee.

Alex was quizzing the captain about
the hybrid power stations.

Captain Carl held open the door to the
captain's bridge for us. "They've been building them since before
Daybreak, preparing to run the country on renewable energy. A
combination of solar, wind, and hydro-power; eventually there will
be enough power to support the population."

"What about One Less?" Alex asked. "I
thought they were shutting down any attempts at energy."

The Captain shrugged. "I guess not
renewable energy. I've heard almost all of Germany is powered on
solar and wind, and has been since Daybreak. They've had no issues
with One Less."

A man, standing at the wheel inside
the captain's bridge, perked up at our conversation, inserting his
own two cents, "Hungary is powered by its nuclear reactors. They
were at thirty-nine percent before Daybreak but almost the entire
country has power now."

Captain Carl rubbed his temples. "Here
we go again." He addressed my raised eyebrow. "This is Arnold, the
First Mate."

Arnold looked at Carl with crossed
arms, "You only prefer renewable because you've been promised one
of those hybrid thingies."

"Hybrid power stations," Carl almost
yelled. He threw his hands in the air. "I prefer renewables because
there is no chance of nuclear meltdown!" He glanced at us. "Sorry –
we've had this conversation more than once."

Arnold didn't notice. "Renewables are
inconsistent – you know, those pesky clouds and all. And wind
doesn't blow constantly. Besides, too much land needs clearing for
wind and solar farms."

Carl rolled his eyes, then turned to
us to explain. "And the hybrid power stations resolve all that.
Wind farms do typically take up a lot of space, which is why they
are being installed in the ocean. The stations are basically large
floating vessels that patrol the wind farms. Plus, they are
outfitted with solar panels and hydro-electricity pumps. The three
renewable resources combined allow for more consistent power.
Developments in energy storage let us store more power, accounting
for dry spells."

Alex interrupted, "The Seven itself
has had this debate for some years. Nuclear vs. renewables; which
way does the world move forward?"

I rubbed my temples. "And the
consensus?"

He shrugged. "Never came to one. Susan
was all for hydro, of course. Cato seemed to be for
nuclear."

"What about you and Micah?" I
asked.

"We just sort of heard out each
argument, then tried to keep the peace."

I cleared my throat. "And
Shawn?"

"He never really stuck around for the
heated debates." Alex walked over to the large windows. "Um,
Captain Carl?"

"Hmm?" The captain flipped switches at
the helm.

"Are we leaving already?"

I joined Alex at the window, Bee still
on my hip. Most of the open decks were taken up with our convoy of
canoes and kayaks, along with our supplies. Someone was lifting the
onramps up.

The captain nodded his head. "Gotta
keep on schedule."

I sighed. I could've used a few days
on land. The buildings, even overgrown with vines as they were,
were a welcome site.

The captain tapped one of the steam
output gauges. "Barrel two is only at half capacity again. Check it
out after we get underway," he told his second in command. "Have
you ever considered that mining for Uranium could create just as
much damage to the earth as mining for natural gasses and
coal?"