Chapter 6 The yacht

The wave crashed down atop the marina, snapping free boats as the water carried them to shore. The first buildings the wave engulfed washed away as if made of twigs. Freshly grown trees stood against the wave but they too uprooted, crashing down on nearby buildings as the water wiped everything clean. Debris carried by the wave minced any zombies unfortunate enough to get caught in its path as it rushed toward Main Street.

Elysia glanced over her shoulder, paling her already deathly pale skin. She frantically scanned for an escape, eyes landing on the old stone mayor’s mansion. With a burst of speed, she reached the sturdy wood double doors at the end of Main Street, yanking them open. Without taking time to admire the beautiful interior, she dashed up the staircase in the lobby only to stop lost for where to go next.

Her eyes landed on an elevator, but shook her head. Instead, she found a wooden spiral staircase to the right leading upward.

Charge 25.

A lightheaded feeling assaulted her as she panted for breath, scrambling up the staircase to reach the third floor. She glanced out the balcony window overlooking Main Street to find the wave devouring her father’s truck eight hundred meters away.

She scanned the open attic like room for a way to get higher, spotting a door opposite the balcony. With no other options, she opened it to find another much smaller room, and a hatch she assumed led to the roof. The hatch screeched from rusty hinges as it opened.

Elysia hopped onto a creaky wooden platform before ascending the steep roof. Her hands struggled to grasp the rough shingles but her stolen running shoes found grip propelling her upward. Less than a minute later, she reached the peak, straddling it as she turned toward the coming wave, praying she chose right.

A few seconds later, the wave crashed into the old building, shattering windows and caving in the door as it flooded the first floor, decimating all in its path. The building rocked, causing Elysia to fall, now grasping the peak with her hands and knees. The water impacted the support beams, but the sturdy century old beams held strong to the diminished wave, splitting the water as it flowed through. The rest of the house didn’t fare so well as interior walls and furniture washed away on its way to the back of the house, still strong enough to hammer through the windows and doors before continuing on.

The forest beyond the mansion flooded, bowling over smaller trees as it split past stronger trees dotting the once manicured lawn.

Back on the roof, Elysia stood and stared out at the devastation. Everything within a kilometer of the ocean no longer existed. Even the massive tree that grew out of the courthouse fell victim, toppled over, and buried under water and debris. She turned eastward to find the mansion was now an island.

Done with her observations, she scaled down the roof back on the platform before entering the house. Elysia descended the spiral staircase, only to find the second floor flooded with at least a meter of water. She returned to the attic and stared out over the balcony at a loss.

Well crap, what do I do now? I’m a decent swimmer, but I would rather avoid swimming in that water. Who knows what could be lurking below. What if a zombie survived and pulled me under? Yeah, let’s not swim! But then how will I get out of here?

Elysia leaned over the balcony railing. Tears gathered in her eyes at the sight. Oh, you poor beauty, you didn’t deserve this.

Floating up against the front of the mansion was the ship she coveted, piled under other boats and debris. Her tears dried as an idea formed. She climbed over the railing, dangling her feet while hanging by her hands. After looking down, gauging her fall, she let go, landing with a roll on the trash covered deck.

Her tears returned upon getting a closer look at the devastation. The once majestic ship had countless scrapes along its black hull and garbage filled water up to her ankles on the deck. She turned her attention to the now open door to the interior. While cringing at what she may find, she entered, sloshing through the disgusting water. The first thing she came upon was a living room area with a soggy U-shaped couch lining the walls on the right side, with a likely ruined TV positioned on the left wall. Past the living room was a full sized kitchen with a peninsula behind the couch. She continued on up a couple of steps to enter the control room. Unlike the previous room, water spared it, giving her hope. She walked up to the console positioned at the center of a large window overlooking the front deck. Which, while free of water, wasn’t spared from the debris.

Elysia scanned over the multitude of buttons and switches, puzzling out what each did from the labels. Is it even worth trying? I think I saw a lifeboat floating behind the ship. I could probably paddle to the new shore. Still, I owe this beauty to at least give it a chance. Besides, it’s not like I have anything else to do.

With her mind made up, she scanned over the gauges to find she had a full tank of fuel and battery charge, despite no lights on. While crossing her fingers, she pressed the ignition button. Nothing happened, causing her to facepalm herself at the obvious issue with her plan. How am I going to start it without a key or key fob in this case?

As if in response, a ding sounded, followed by text appearing in her vision.

Would you like to claim ownership?

Elysia’s eyes ran over the soggy trash filled boat, wrinkling her nose at the stench. Before giving her answer, she peered out the windows, but as she saw from the mayor’s mansion, no other boats besides a few half sunken rafts were in reach.

After shrugging her shoulders, she sent a mental yes prompting another text prompt.

Please choose a name for your boat.

She paced in the control room, mind running through ideas for a name. What should I name her? I don’t even know if she is savable. Though if the name is permanent, I need to pick a good name. Before the wave, she was a sleek black, so maybe something along those lines. Without lights, I doubt anyone would see her at night, so maybe midnight? That seems too boring, though. It’s better than something like blackie.

Sunlight shined through the windows, leaving shadowed areas. When her eyes landed on her own shadow, an idea sparked. She stared at the prompt while picturing her choice causing it to disappear as a warmth flowed between her and the boat.

Congratulations! Ownership of the boat named Umbra registered.

Achievement! Claimed.

“Stepping up in the world.”

Reward: What? Are you expecting something beyond a free boat?

Curious what ownership meant, she tried to ask for clarification, but received no response. An annoyed scowl formed, but she pushed her thoughts away in favor of focusing back on the control console. She pressed the start button again. This time a rumbling vibrated the floor, giving her hope, but after a few seconds of turning over, it quit. She pressed the button again, but nothing happened. Refusing to give up, she pressed it a few more times, firing up the engine with a roar.

A giant smile grew as the engine idled down, churning away below the rear deck. She crossed her fingers as she shifted the lever to the right of the steering wheel into drive before pushing the lever next to it forward.

Elysia felt the engine kick into gear, hearing the distant sound of water churning from behind. The powerful engine propelled the buried yacht forward, effortlessly pushing through the debris and other smaller boats as it freed itself. She turned the steering wheel to the left, pulling away from the mansion toward the ocean.

After cruising over the once marina she throttled back and shifted the boat into neutral. While the boat floated on the now calm waters, she returned to the rear deck. She stood, hands on her hips, while surveying the deck. I think I saw a switch labeled pump on the console, but even if it does what I hope it does, what will I do with all the garbage? How much damage did the water do to the boat itself? The motor and controls work, but I think there’s some damage somewhere in the ignition circuit. This boat is a mess, but I think it’s worth a shot to fix up. If nothing else, I have somewhere to hide from the zombies at night if any zombies survived. The flooding didn’t reach the cemetery, but who knows where those nasty things were hiding.

Elysia returned to the console, flipping the pump switch crossing her fingers it worked. A quiet humming sounded below deck, prompting her to turn around to watch the water pump out several one-way holes on the hull just below the deck.

After several minutes, the slight tilt she didn’t notice before corrected itself as the pumps shut off automatically. With one problem solved, Elysia returned to the rear deck to solve the next issue. Strewn about the deck was trash and debris from washed away buildings. I don’t want to dump the trash in the water. Even though there is already a ton in there. Should I drop it onshore? But what if I beach myself? There is a depth finder, but it doesn’t seem to work. Yet another thing to work on later. I guess I’ll explore the ship more. I’m scared to even check below deck. I’m sure it’s a mess down there.

She checked the storage compartments running along the sides of the rear deck finding fishing gear, including fishing poles, crab cages, and nets in the left compartments along with several mops and push brooms. On the right side, she opened a three meter long compartment, finding a deflated raft. The compartment behind it held a ten horsepower outboard motor.

A smile formed as she thought of a solution to her problem. She pulled the light aluminum floored inflatable raft out of its compartment, dragging it across the trash to the back of the boat before climbing down the steps leading to another small deck just above the water. She laid the raft on top of some debris before returning to the compartment to grab the pump. Crossing her fingers it worked. After hooking up the pump to the raft, she flipped the switch, causing it to fire up.

Elysia left the pump to inflate the raft, returning to the second compartment, dreading the next step. To her relief, when she fully opened the compartment, she found the motor was on a wheeled cart. Only to frown when she surveyed the deck. With time to wait for the raft to inflate, she took out a push broom from a compartment on the left side of the deck next to the fishing supplies. She created a path from the compartment to the raft before rolling the motor over. Again, to her relief, the cart fit into grooves at the back of the ship, allowing her to lower the motor to the raft.

Could this process get any easier? If it weren’t for all the trash, I could get the motor down to the raft within a minute. I guess this is what I get for claiming a luxury yacht, though I have my work cut out for me to fix the electrical gremlins if they are even fixable. That’s not even counting the likely ruined furniture. One problem at a time. I can always scavenge furniture from other surviving ships or from land. It’s not like I have to spend thousands of dollars to buy shit. I wonder what my total thievery adds up to. One good thing about the tidal wave is it washed away all the evidence.

Charge 15.

Elysia swayed on her feet, having to lean up against the wall for support. What is with this charge stat? Every time it warns me below 25, I feel a wave of weakness. Does it have something to do with the lightning touched thing? If only the system came with an instruction manual. Considering the charge lowers when I’m active, it’s probably like a stamina stat. Though if the achievement I got earlier was anything to go by, hitting zero can’t be good. Would I die? But how did I survive last time? Maybe the level ups saved me? I probably should find out soon. I think I’ll put off my garbage clean up until this charge stat is higher, just in case.

She stared down at the now inflated raft, then at the motor before sighing. After descending the steps, she pushed the raft into the water before tying it to the side of the deck. Next, she rolled over the motor, bending her knees as she lifted the motor off the platform. She waddled to the boat, face reddening with bulging veins, as she dropped the motor onto the back before clamping it down. With the job done, she let out an exhausted sigh, climbing up the stairs, arms dangling limply at her sides. I really hope the raft doesn’t float away on me. I tied up in four places, so it should be fine, but who knows, maybe I’ll get hit by another wave. Though the ocean seems calm right now. Should I drive the boat into the bay a couple of kilometers to the north? Did the bay even survive? I guess it’s worth a try. It may protect me from another tidal wave.

Elysia double checked the raft was out of the way of the props before returning to the control room. She shifted the boat into drive, turning northward. The boat cruised along through the clear waters, reaching a dozen meter wide opening ten minutes later. She raised the props before squeezing through the opening to enter another harbor, this one much smaller than the previous one and somehow intact.

After a quick scan of the piers, she anchored in the middle of the bay. She searched the console, finding a front anchor switch, flipping it on, crossing her fingers it worked. A splash reached her ears a few seconds later, followed by the boat stilling. It’s really shallow here. I can see why only small fishing boats dock here. I wonder why the wave spared this side of town. The wave looked like it came from the Southwest, so maybe it ran out of gas before reaching this far. It helps that the southern side of the bay is a cliff and the highest point in town. If only I could’ve reached there before the wave hit. Oh well, I survived. Though it was pretty sketchy for a while there.

Elysia left the control room, climbing down the stairs in the soggy living room area. She flipped the light switch at the bottom of the stairs but sighed in exhaustion when nothing happened. Wonderful, yet another thing to fix. I can’t see anything down here. Maybe there’s a flashlight upstairs. After fetching a flashlight from the control room, she returned only to wish she hadn’t. The carpet made squishing sounds as she walked through the soggy below deck area. Despite flooding only a couple of hours ago, the area stank like sewage.

Charge 10.

She swayed for a moment while plugging her nose before she took a tour, finding a bedroom under the front deck with a king-size bed. The center area was another living room area with couches, a bar, and a TV with a dozen speakers mounted along the walls. The next room was a storage room stocked with boxes of dry goods that were not quite dry anymore.

After the storage room, she came upon a sealed door. Inside, she found the engine. She let out a whistle as she ogled the two massive diesel motors with four electric motors all connected to shafts leading out the back to props. No wonder the engines survived. The designer sealed this room off. The only way water to get in would be through intake vents or exhaust. Which fortunately didn’t take in water. I wonder why that is. From what I can tell, the intake goes upward, so maybe it comes in from high up. Whatever their design, it works as the power train is pretty much the only thing that survived down here. If I keep this ship, I think I’ll have to gut the rest of the interior below deck. I think I can save everything above deck, though. Before I do anything, I need to take a nap. I’m exhausted, probably because of this charge thing, but after the day had been through, I think it would exhaust me either way.

Elysia sealed the engine room, walking through the squishy carpet up the stairs. She collapsed face first on the couch in the control room. The only dry couch in the entire ship.