Impact

19

Abbey jammed the pin into the anchor stay and came aft, hopping down into the wheel house. 'We're outta here,' she said, grabbing the wheel and revving the engine, swinging the prow away from Marsh Island, which they had just searched.

'That was a bust,' Jackie said crossly.

'Two down, three more to go,' said Abbey, trying to put a little cheer into her voice. 'Don't worry--we'll find it.'

'We better. Crawling through that brush just about did me in. I feel like I was tied up in a sack full of wildcats. Look at all these scratches!' She stuck her arm in front of Abbey's face.

'War wounds. You can brag to your grandchildren about them.' She guided the Marea around the northern end of Marsh Island. The sinking sun blazed blood-orange over the distant mainland, a soft haze drifting in the air. She checked the chartplotter and set a course for the next island on her list: Ripp. She could see it on the sea horizon, several miles beyond the old Earth Station complex on Crow. The station always looked so out of place, a huge white bubble rising from the rugged islands like a giant puffball mushroom. A small cluster of lights floated on the water, the Crow Island ferry heading for Tenants Harbor.

'Remember when we went out there on a field trip?' Jackie said, following her gaze. 'Those three freaks living on the island, tending the station 'round the clock?'

'That was when they were using it to send signals to the Saturn probe.'

'You have to wonder what kind of crazy-ass person would take a job like that on an island in the middle of nowhere. Remember the guy with the buck teeth leering at us? Ew. What do you think they do all day long?'

'Maybe they're busy calling E.T.'

'Yo, E, got any more of that Martian bud?' Jackie said.

Abbey laughed. 'Speaking of mind-altering substances, I note the sun's below the yardarm.' She held up a bottle of Jim Beam.

'Roger that.'

Abbey took a pull and handed the bottle over. Jackie took her own swig. The sun winked out on the horizon and a slow twilight spread across the glassy bay.

'Uh oh,' said Abbey, peering ahead. She picked up the binoculars from the dashboard and glassed the island ahead. 'The lights are on in the house on Ripp. Looks like the admiral's already up from Jersey for his summer vacation.'

'Shit.'

As they neared the island, a shingled mansion hove into view, all turrets and gables, lit up by exterior floods.

'That admiral, he's one crazy motherfucker,' said Jackie. 'They say he was in the Korean War, killed a bunch of women and children.'

'Urban legend.'

'What I'm saying is, maybe we should forget Ripp.'

'Jackie, the line runs right across the middle of the island. We'll search it at night--tonight.'

Jackie groaned. 'If the meteorite landed on Ripp, the admiral would have already found it.'

'He wasn't around when it fell. And it's a big island.'

'They say he has security guards.'

'Yeah, right, a couple of donut-eaters parked on their fat asses in the kitchen watching American Idol.'

Abbey scanned the harbor and house with the binoculars. The admiral's launch, a Crownline outboard, was tied up to a floating dock while a large motor yacht was anchored in the cove. She could see activity in the windows of the house.

'We'll anchor on the other side.'

'Watch out for the riptide running along the western side,' said Jackie. 'It's pretty vicious. The best approach is from the south-southwest at a bearing of twenty degrees.'

'All right.' Abbey turned the wheel, altering their course to approach the island from the far end. They halted about a hundred feet offshore and anchored. The stars were coming out. Dousing the anchor lights and electronics, she left the boat dark, while Jackie stuffed a small backpack with the essentials: Jim Beam in a metal flask, scuba knife, binoculars, canteen, matches, flashlights, batteries, and a can of Mace.

They climbed in the dinghy. The water lay glossy and dark, the island looming ahead, swallowed in blackness. Abbey rowed toward shore, feathering her oars to reduce the splash of water. The boat crunched on the sand and they hopped out. Through the trees Abbey could just see the glimmer of light from the house.

'Now what?' Jackie whispered.

'Follow me.' Abbey took a heading with her compass, crossed the beach, and bulled her way through a thicket of beach roses, finally breaking into the forest. She could hear Jackie's breathing behind her. In the trees it was as black as a cave. Turning on her flashlight, she kept it hooded with her hand as they moved through the mossy woods, casting right and left with the light, looking for a crater. Once in a while Abbey stopped to check their bearing on the compass.

Ten minutes passed but they found nothing. Toward the far end of the island, they slogged through a swamp and waded across a sluggish stream, water up to their chests, Abbey holding the backpack over her head. The swamp gave way to an open field. Crouching in the trees, Abbey scouted it with the binoculars while Jackie took off her shoes and dumped out muddy water.

'I'm freezing.'

The field sloped up a hill to a manicured lawn and tennis court, beyond which stood the giant house. She saw a movement in one of the windows: a moving shadow.

'We've got to cross that field,' whispered Abbey. 'Could be a crater there.'

'Maybe we should go around.'

'No way. We do this right.'

Neither one moved.

Abbey nudged her. 'Scared?'

'Yes. And wet.'

Abbey slipped the hip flask out of her pack and handed it to her friend. Jackie took a shot and Abbey followed with a slug of her own.

'Fortified?'

'No.'

'Let's get this over with.' Abbey could feel the warmth creeping through her belly and she headed into the field. The glow from the house was all the light they needed and she shoved her flashlight into the backpack. Moving slowly on hands and knees, keeping low, they crept across the dead, matted grass.

About halfway across, a dog barked in the distance. They both instinctively flattened themselves in the grass. The faint sound of Frank Sinatra came from the house and then faded--someone had opened and closed a door. They waited.

Another distant yelp. Abbey could feel icy water trickling down her back and she shivered.

'Abbey, please. Let's get out of here.'

'Shhh.'

As Abbey was about to rise, she saw two fleet shadows come tearing around the corner of the house and hurtling across the top of the lawn, weaving back and forth, noses down.

'Dogs,' she said.

'Jesus, no.'

'We gotta get the fuck out of here. On three, we break for the stream.'

Jackie whimpered.

'One, two, three.' Abbey leapt up and tore across the field, Jackie following. A furious barking erupted behind them. They dove into the stream, the sluggish but powerful current pulling them along, swirling them toward the woods. Abbey immersed all but her face, trying to breathe through her pursed lips.