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“What’ll we do once we reach shore?” Ted looks up at Commander Palmer.
“We’ll secure the module and supplies and look for someone who can tell us what’s going on.”
“Are we going to land at Virginia Beach?” Jackie emerges from the module.
“If the current and wind is in our favor, I think we should try to push around through to Norfolk in the module. It’s going to be a hike from the beach over to the Naval base otherwise. I don’t want to get stranded out in the water, though, so it all depends. We’ll play it by ear.”
Ted shivers involuntarily and Commander Palmer looks over at Jackie. “Any luck finding the emergency blankets?”
“Not yet. I think they must have gotten stored in the outer lockers.”
“All right. With the temperatures like they are I don’t want anyone out here for more than thirty minutes at a time, starting now through dawn. Ted, get back into the module and warm up. I’ll take the next thirty minutes, then it’ll be Jackie’s turn. Bundle up in your suits and amongst the supplies as best as possible; I’ll shout if I need anything.”
***
“Heave!” Soft sand shifts underfoot and taut lines dig into shoulders as Commander Palmer shouts. He, Ted and Jackie all groan as they strain against the weight of the module, working with the rushing of the waves to pull it farther onto shore. The module shifts several more inches, falling slightly to the side then collapsing down into the white sand as the wave retreats. The three astronauts stand against their lines, panting and gasping while they wait for another wave to come rushing in.
“Once more! Heave!” Again they pull, dragging the module a few more inches before the wave retreats. Instead of ordering another pull or resting, though, Commander Palmer takes up the slack of his line and runs forward along the beach. “Come on, let’s tie off!”
Ted and Jackie jog behind him, their boots churning up sprays of sand as they pull their lines, each of them headed for a separate bollard that stand at the edge of the beach. Put in place to stop vehicles from roving off of the road and onto the sand, the bollards are strong enough to stop a tractor-trailer hitting them head-on at sixty miles an hour—more than adequate to keep the module from drifting back into the ocean.
Once the module is secured, the trio collapses onto the sand, panting too heavily to talk about what they just accomplished. It had taken a full five hours to get the module to shore and another two of coordinated pulling to get it far enough up that they could tie the lines off. With the module—and their supplies inside—finally secured, though, they can rest.
Sleep comes fast for the trio, and it isn’t until the early afternoon that they wake. Jackie is the first to sit up, checking to make sure the module is still there and smiling when she sees the gleaming silver, white and black contoured shapes of it resting in the sand. Aches and pains from both the labor of dragging the module through the sand and the effects of gravity make her groan as she stands to her feet, and she is soon joined by Ted and Commander Palmer. They make their way to the module and begin going through their supplies while constructing a strategy for their next steps.
“We should head for Norfolk as soon as possible,” Commander Palmer says. “We can leave most of the supplies here and take enough for a day or so’s worth of travel time.”
“Shouldn’t we hide some supplies away from the module?” Jackie looks at Commander Palmer. “This thing’s a pretty big, obvious target for anyone around here.”
“Are we really assuming that this is some kind of an apocalyptic scenario here?” Ted joins in the discussion as he pops out of the module, throwing a bag of dried food out into the sand.
“We all know it is, Ted.” Commander Palmer looks back toward land and the burned buildings beyond the sand. “Denial won’t do any good. Facing the situation head-on and rolling with whatever punches come our way will, though.”
“It’d be nice if we had some way to defend ourselves.” Jackie shook her head. “Us walking around with sacks of food and water are going to draw attention if there’s anyone left around here.”
Commander Palmer looks up at Ted. “Did you find it yet?”
“Yep, just dug out that compartment.”
“Good. Bring it down, then close the hatch up tight. We’ve got enough food and water out now to make it to Norfolk and back, if necessary.”
A black case lands in the sand next to Jackie and she picks it up, handing it to Commander Palmer. “What’s this, then?”
“Something to deal with anyone who might be unfriendly. Courtesy of the Russian portion of the ISS. Ted grabbed them before we left.” Commander Palmer opens the black case to reveal two Makarov 9mm semi-automatic pistols, along with four extra magazines.
Ted drops down into the sand outside the module and glances in the case, then looks at Jackie. “Russians always carry firearms of some sort in their survival kits. I didn’t think they would leave any on the ISS but Commander Palmer was right.”
The commander picks up one of the pistols, ejects the magazine, racks the slide, inserts the magazine and racks it once more. He then hands it to Ted before looking at Jackie. “You want the other one, or you want me to take it?”
“You go right ahead. I never did very well in the mandatory firearm training sessions.”
Commander Palmer smirks and nods as he takes the pistol and spare magazines. “Neither did I, but that’s okay. With any luck we won’t need to use them.”
“I think we’ve just about used up our fair share of luck just getting back to dry land in one piece, don’t you?” Ted shoulders his bag and looks toward the ocean. “But who knows? Maybe it’ll keep holding out.”
Chapter 12
Washington, D.C.
