[I've got my hope set high
And like a star at night
Out of the deepest dark
It shines the purest light]
--- Lyrics to 'Hope Set High' performed by Amy Grant
Ray of Hope Part 36
A strong wind picked up as heavy, thick clouds moved in to blanket the sky and mid-day as soon turned into night. From the living room of the log cabin by the light house, Heero watched out the large window with worry.
"Something's wrong," the sailor commented quietly. Looking over to the others gathered at the couches and chairs, he frowned deeply, "Duo's been missing for almost two hours. He would have been back to start up the light house if he saw this storm moving in."
With a reassuring grin, Solo threw a windbreaker over himself and shrugged, "He's probably on the way back now. I'll get the lantern going for him." As he turned to leave, he gave a quick glance to Dorothy. Her own lips turning up at the look, the blonde girl giggled to herself. At either side of her on the couch, both Noin and Zechs shared a knowing smile of their own without her noticing.
Back on the opposite couch, Sally and Wufei sat with their hands joined as they sat anxiously. Up until then, they had been fairly sure that their braided friend would have returned at the sight of the dark clouds arriving. Biting her lip, the braided doctor turned to her boyfriend for some kind of reassurance. Gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand, he looked up to her with the same concern in his own eyes.
His cobalt eyes narrowing in thought, Heero continued to look out to the darkening sky and as he asked, "Did anyone try calling Howard?" He turned back to face the others and stated, "We tried everyone else that we know."
At that, Noin shook her head, "No, I didn't think to check with him." Quickly moving into action, Wufei removed his cell phone from his pocket and stepped from the room while dialing his old friend's line. Running her hands together nervously, the young mother muttered, "I should have thought to call him before." Zechs reached behind Dorothy's head to squeeze his fiancé's shoulder.
Moments later, Wufei returned to announce, "Howard hasn't seen any sign of him, but he'll be on the lookout for him. He closed the marina a couple of hours ago on account of the weather that's on the way here."
Chewing the inside of his cheek in thought, Heero turned back to gaze out the window as the wind continued to pick up. With a deep sigh, he rested his forehead against the glass and whispered, "Where are you, Duo?"
Just then, a flash of lightning pierced through the thick clouds and the air shuddered with the vibration of the thunder that quickly followed. Nearly jumping from her seat at the rumble, Dorothy placed a hand over her chest. Catching her breath, she moved to stand beside Heero for a look outside.
The tops of the few trees around the cliff side began to bend under the now forceful wind. Rain began to pelt down like millions of little daggers to quickly soak the ground. And what was once a calm sea stretched out before the dark slope was beginning to stir and rise, each white-tipped wave rolling in faster and higher.
Another bolt of lightning jutted through the sky, joining with another with the thunder to answer on its heels. Dorothy shuddered with a deep frown and rubbed her arms. "I'm certainly glad that I arrived yesterday," she commented quietly. "I wouldn't want to think what it must be like having to sail in weather like this." In sensing her dear friend tensing as he continued to watch the storm that arrived, the blonde girl squeezed his arm.
Just at the edge of their view, the lantern of the lighthouse was lit and its wide beams began spinning to pierce through the ominous sky. With a deep breath, Heero looked up to the tower as he silently willed for some word on his missing lover to come soon.
* * * * * *
Sighing deeply, Duo blinked his red-rimmed, violet eyes open after his rest. Pulling the light blanket draped over him off, he slowly rose from the cot to stretch his legs. Disoriented, he fought to keep upright when he rose to his feet while the boat rose and fell over the waves. Suddenly, another loud rumble that he thought he had imagined before waking reverberated through the cabin.
The boat was suddenly lifted with a jolt, causing the lighthouse keeper to stumble forward until he caught himself with both hands slamming into the wall. The haze from his waking quickly lifted and his eyes widened. The waves had not been nearly that choppy, or high, when he set it to anchor.
Duo struggled to make his way to the steps of the cabin as the Atlantis continued to bob up and down. Beneath him, he could hear the metal from the anchor chain moaning in its straining to keep the craft in place. At the sudden rise of the ship, he gripped the railing for support. When the boat quickly fell from the sky, a large spray of water fell through the opening and upon him. Crying out at the bitter sensation and at the sheer force of the water, he was knocked back-first into the cot.
Swallowing hard, the braided young man bent down to gather the emergency kit that had slid to his feet after being knocked from the wall. With his hands shaking, Duo removed the flares inside the kit and stuffed them into his pockets to keep them as dry as possible. He zipped up his vest until it reached the neck line before slipping across the floor to reach one of the life jackets hanging there.
Once the jacket was thrown on and tied in place, the lighthouse keeper made his way back to the stairs. Holding onto the railing tightly, Duo struggled to make his way up the stairs. Shielding his eyes from the stinging rain that pelted him, he waded carefully to the steering wheel. "Damn it," he hissed to himself as he recoiled from two waves crashing onto the deck.
Between the strong wind and the wet floor beneath him, it was about all he could do to finally reach the wheel. When he did reach it, Duo gripped the slippery metal to try and see if he could manage controlling the boat with the waves as strong as they were. After three attempts, he cried in agony at the strain he forced on his arms and back and all but collapsed from his effort. Yet another wave splashed onto the deck to try and knock him from the vessel.
Shielding his eyes once more from the stinging rain, Duo peered through the darkness to where he knew the island sat miles away from him. His panic only grew when he realized that somehow, he managed to be drug back out to sea. The Atlantis was not built to weather a storm such as this, and so the anchor must be close to snapping in its strain to keep the ship from drifting further.
Through the fog that thickened out ahead of him, a wide beam of light broke through and spun away. The next beam followed soon after. Land, however, was impossible to see through the mist.
The wind picked up once more and the braided teenager had to grip the rail at the side of the boat to carefully make his way back to the stairs. After another couple waves knocked into him, Duo was all but knocked back down into the cabin. As he fell down the stairs he managed to grip the railing with his right arm.
His violet eyes squeezing shut at the pain that shot through his sockets at the sudden jolt and labor to keep the rest of him from falling, the lighthouse keeper screamed when something in his arm snapped. Still, he didn't dare let go of the railing lest he fall the rest of the way down and break his neck.
Finally able to get his footing when the wave passed, Duo made his way down the rest of the stairs while nursing his right arm. Using his left when he reached the radio and radar equipment in the driest corner of the room, he quickly turned it on and took up the receiver.
At the hum of the signal coming through the radio's speaker, he called into the microphone, "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is the Atlantis! I am anchored several miles out from Horizon Cove and I cannot attempt to sail back in on my own! If I lift anchor, I'll be pulled out to sea! I am initializing my radar frequency now in the hopes that someone hears this before my anchor gives way! If anyone is out there, I am in need of help..."
* * * * * *
Howard opened the one of the large double doors to the marina, grunting as he closed the door against the wind. Once the door latched closed, he sighed deeply and flipped the light switches to bath the empty building in light. Wiping off the rain off his poncho, he lowered its hood and removed his rain-spotted sunglasses.
Ever since that call from Wufei, the old sailor had been on edge. With the clouds that had rolled in by the time the officer contacted him, he would never have imagined the lighthouse keeper to be far from his tower. It just wasn't like Duo to leave his post like that at all.
What also had him on edge was the fact that before locking the marina, Howard remembered that he never did run a check to make sure that all of the boats were tied as they should have been and accounted for. It was a routine of his that he simply forgot, being under the assumption that everyone on the island knew what was headed.
Quickly walking down the middle pier, Howard held his breath when he neared the end of the long stretch. Pausing where there should have been three boats tied at the end, he gasped sharply as he felt the bottom of his stomach drop at the empty space where he had tied the Atlantis the day before. "Oh, God," was all he could manage in a choked whisper before running back to the front of the marina.
Throwing his office door open, he went straight for his radio. As soon as the transmitter was turned on, the sound of static filled the air before a familiar voice called, "If anyone can hear me, this is the Atlantis! Please use your radar equipment to find my signal!"
Howard fumbled to keep his grip on his receiver before he shouted into it, "Duo! Hang in there, kid! I'll be there as quick as I can!" Turning on his radar scanner, he announced, "I'll be picking up on your signal in a moment here!"
Elation was dripping from the lighthouse keeper's voice when he cried back, "Howard! Tell... Heero..." The connection was breaking up by thick static that drowned out the rest of what Duo was trying to say.
"Goddamn it!" the old man yelled as he threw the receiver at the radio. As the scanner started up, he removed the cell phone from his jean pocket and hit the redial button. Whatever he said to the person that answered, he didn't know. All that he focused on was the blip that appeared on his screen that was slowly pulling away from the island.
Paling, Wufei's arm slowly lowered the cell phone from his ear. His eyes wide, he slowly tuned to his friend's anxious lover and parents as they watched him. "Duo's out on the Atlantis. He's drifting out into the thick of this storm," he announced softly while Sally stiffened beside him in shock.
With a sharp cry, Noin covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Immediately by her side, Zechs wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace that she all but fell into. Dorothy gasped as her own eyes widened at the news, the grip of her hand on Heero's arm tightening.
His cobalt eyes widening, the young sailor looked out to the storm once more before determination filled his gaze. Without a word, Heero moved to the closet to remove a deep blue windbreaker. Throwing it over him, he frowned deeply when Dorothy untied the white shawl around her waist to cover her shoulders. "You're staying here," he demanded softly enough, but in a way that it allowed no room for argument.
Glaring at her old friend, Dorothy's voice matched his own as she replied, "I think not. Duo's running off is partially my responsibility and I have every intention on helping to bring him back. Arguing over the matter with me will only delay us." With a small sigh, Heero relented with a fierce nod before turning on his heals to lead them outside.
Sally sat stunned, but rose from her chair without much thought and gathered her own brown raincoat. Zippering the front up, she gestured to the couple on the couch and told her boyfriend, "Look after them."
Wufei met her gaze and swallowed hard. Nodding, he whispered, "Be careful." After quickly pressing her lips to his, the braided doctor ran after the others. When the door was blown shut with a slam, the officer's eyes closed.
And for the first time in years, he prayed.
TBC...
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