Chapter 4
The next morningthe H2OPE anchored off a small outer island. Little more than sandy beaches and a rocky interior, with a few scrub trees clutching rocky outcrops. Thousands of birds flocked on every surface of water and land.
Beckett leaned on his favorite deck railing while birds swooped and flapped above the boat.
Dan stalked up. “Watch your head these look like poopers.” Bird poop splattered the deck beside Beckett’s foot. Dan laughed and called to Jeffrey, “Good news! Beckett’s hands have healed enough, he’ll be able to help swab the decks tonight.”
Jeffrey said, “Good, because this is one big mess already and we’ve only been here for ten minutes.” They all looked down, there was bird poop everywhere.
Rebecca pointed toward shore. “Turtles, see that? Turtles!”
Beckett peered in the direction she pointed. He couldn’t see anything different from seagulls, pelicans, pipers. Rebecca grabbed a net and buckets and raced toward the awaiting Zodiac.
Dan said, “I better hustle to captain their boat.”
Sarah ran by with more buckets, “Dan, hurry, turtles!”
Beckett’s job was to remain on deck and receive the samples and return by pulley the empty buckets to be filled again. The crew fanned out across the sand, bent over, scanning, collecting, digging, dragging bags and nets behind them as they travelled back and forth to the Zodiac.
Dan was sending two buckets of samples up by pulley. “You good up there Army?”
“How come Army is here on a ship while the ship’s crew is on land?”
Dan flicked his wet hair. He didn’t need to leave the Zodiac, but kept jumping out of it to plow waist deep through the water to collect the samples from the beachcombers. To a stranger it would have seemed selfless that he kept everyone else from getting wet, but the crew and Beckett knew Dan did it because he loved the water. Had to be in it.
Dan said, “You’re not in the water though are you? Always looking for any excuse to stay dry on higher ground.”
Higher ground. That was one of the last things Luna said, she was on higher ground. Now it had been hours and hours since their call was cut off…
Beckett unclasped the buckets, lugged them to the lab, poured them into tanks, and sent the empty buckets down the line back to Dan. Beckett said, “Better the high ground than the low, that’s where you have to swim.”
Dan laughed, “”Do you even know how to swim Army? Maybe we could get you some of those inflatable armband floaty things.” He sped the Zodiac in a wide circle to the beach.
_________________
Hours later everyone returned to the ship. The day had been a tremendous success. They had found about ten sea turtle nests, a sure sign that they were thriving, even with the hungry birds overhead. Sarah had some wild theories about how the one could live in harmony with the other, but said, “These are all conjectures though, I’ll need to study this, really study it.” They had taken photographs, notes, and recordings, and with the specimens and samples would have more than enough to catalog and study. For months.
Rebecca said, “We have to celebrate before Sarah and I disappear to start our research, let’s meet in the galley at sunset so we can par-ty!”
Beckett and Jeffrey grabbed mops and began the work of scrubbing the decks while everyone else set about doing the sunset work of the ship.
_________________
After dinner, Dan emerged from the kitchen with a tray of shot glasses and poured drinks and passed them around, but Beckett shook his head. “Nah man, don’t drink.”
“Even to celebrate?”
Beckett said, “Nope.”
Dan paused for a second eyes squinted.
Beckett asked, “What?”
“Never met any army guy that didn’t drink, escapism is the entire point, or didn’t you know?”
“Just not my point.” Beckett looked away.
Dan said, “Sure, of course, no offense meant.” He continued handing drinks to everyone else.
