Barnes. Em knew that Sergeant Barnes would find shelter fast. He was now only about fifty feet from touchdown when he heard a loud noise behind and above him.
The ship’s alert sirens were wailing, and the lights suddenly went out. The dark was all-consuming. Em wished silently that a flash of lightning would occur. The sirens stopped as suddenly as they had started, but the lights never came back on. The boom began to swing back and forth. The deck below him was now looking smaller and smaller. When he passed over it and could see the people scrambling around below him, he thought they looked freaked out. The boom lurched forward, slinging him even farther from the deck. Now he had to turn himself around to see the little boat at all. With one hand, he tried to get the harness to spin. The other hand refused to let go of the strap that was holding him in. When he finally started to go back toward the boat, he could tell that he was much lower to the water. He could feel the splash from the white foamy waves. He thought that if he could keep himself turned toward the boat, when he passed it, he could stretch his leg, and maybe someone could grab him. If not, then his momentum would carry him way beyond reach. He could see the rail now and thought that he would clear it. Now he could see Jack’s face, and his friend had a very determined look on it again. Em thought that Jack would grab him and be hauled overboard. Thoughts of basic training went through his head. The mud pit scenario was racing through his head. He wondered what made a person’s brain return to the past at such a strange time. When his feet touched the rail and he felt the deck rising and falling beneath him, he was afraid he would never be able to stop. The other rail was approaching fast when he was tackled from the side. Jack was laughing when both of them smacked into the rail on the opposite side of the boat. Jack quickly unhooked the strap, and Em fell hard onto the wet deck.
Before they had a chance to say a word, Sergeant Cannon yelled from behind them, “Hey, you two! Come on!” No explanation was necessary. The look on his face was enough.
Em and Jack quickly hauled themselves to their feet and followed Sergeant Cannon. Jeff was already going down the hatch that led below deck. Instantly, Em felt the movement of his new home. The Indianapolis moved as much as a tombstone compared to this bucket, he thought. Ironically, he did not feel nauseated. Before he entered the hatch, he looked back at the giant ship and saw that she had already began to turn. “Goodbye,” he said to himself.
The first thing he noticed when he began to look around at the rocking boat was just how small it was. The room he was in was barely big enough to hold the people in it. With everyone holding on to keep themselves from being tossed about, he found it hard to concentrate on one thing. Jack was looking at Jeff and talking to him quietly.
Sergeant Cannon was not holding on to anything and was using a towel to dry himself off. Even soaking wet, Em thought he looked rather sharp. The expression on his face suggested something intense. “Listen up, we’re getting out of here. Captain Nakahara has already set his course to follow this storm. We’ll ride it in to the mainland and return to sea with the other fishing boats. Right now, the Indianapolis is creating space. She thinks that sub is in the area. She knows that it will follow her. After all, who in their right mind would get off of that and onto this?” He paused. Then he looked at Em and said, “I can just imagine how many questions you have. Well, fire away.”
Em thought that this was not the right time, but when he opened his mouth, what came out surprised even himself. “I don’t know what the hell you guys are up to, but I didn’t sign up for this. I thought that at least I would know what the hell was going on. You treat us like little kids. I remember the colonel saying he wanted someone he could trust. Well, did he change his mind? Where the hell are we going? Japan, really? I don’t think it’s a good time to go to Japan.” Em could feel his face getting hot. His anger only intensified when everyone laughed when he stopped talking.
Jeff was the only one who remained quiet. Jack was still at Jeff’s side. He looked like he was about to say something. Jeff reached out and put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and said, “Excuse me, Jack. Let me say something.” Jeff stood up, and everyone suddenly got quiet. “I know some of you know why we’re here. The rest of you deserve to know more. Jack, Em, and Sergeant Barnes are still a little in the dark.”
The boat continued to sway back and forth, back and forth, and Em could feel the nausea returning. He looked at Jack and thought that he had a look of knowing on his face. He had been talking to Jeff since he had crash-landed on the deck. Jeff had a calm look on his face that had not been there for the past few weeks. He was actually smiling. Jack looked like the cat who ate the canary. Em knew that Jack enjoyed being “in the know.”
“The past couple of weeks have truly been an adventure. I am so sorry that we were delayed. You will understand in just a minute. Colonel Roth will be out shortly. He will inform you of what our specific plans are henceforth.”
Em sat back in his makeshift “chair” and waited on Jeff to continue. Jeff told them that when they left Hawaii, they had anticipated a quick trip and an uneventful pickup. After all, his parents were simply visiting family. Em tried to sit up when he heard him say parents. He lost his balance and nearly toppled out of his chair.
Jeff stopped in midsentence and began again, “My parents always assured me that it was completely safe. They have made this trip dozens of times. I have even made it a couple of times. However, as you all are aware, things in Hiroshima have been strangely quiet. My mother’s family has lived there for centuries. The people there are scared. My mother just had to go back and see her family one more time before the war advanced.” Jeff seemed eerily at ease.
Em thought that if his parents were in Japan, he would be frantic. Em did not even find it strange that Jeff was talking about a Japanese mother. Em was aware that Jeff spoke fluent Japanese and also knew that he had spent time in Japan before the war. Now that Em looked at him, he could see the Asian features in Jeff’s face. He remembered that Jeff had told him and Jack that his dad was a merchant marine. He had retired from the US Navy and now made a living on a boat in the Pacific. He went wherever the trades were most profitable. He had met Jeff’s mother while he was spending a few months recovering from a bout with dysentery. They had fallen in love over a hospital bed. She had run away with him two weeks after he had been discharged. She returned to America with him and became a citizen long before Jeff was born. His father still went on trading expeditions. His mother often accompanied him. Some of the men in her family were fishermen, and she would go home to see her mother periodically. Her father had never forgiven her and had forbidden her to return home. When she learned of her oldest brother’s death in the war, she became distraught. She feared for her entire family’s safety. Jeff’s father had no choice but to let her go home one more time. They had met a friend of Jeff’s father’s in Saipan before the Allies had invaded. From there, they boarded another fishing boat. This one belonged to Jeff’s uncle. His mother’s brother was a prominent fisherman and delivered fresh halibut to the port in Hiroshima every day. He was well respected and sailed through the passageway into Hiroshima harbor unobstructed every morning at four-thirty. They had no trouble getting into the harbor. His mother had departed the docks inside the fish trailer with the ice and fish. She knew the routine well. She waited until she had crossed three sets of railroad tracks and then climbed out of the back, and no one ever paid her any attention. She thought the city had not changed. It was still clean and had no indication that a war was raging all around it. From there, she took the familiar path up the hill to her neighborhood. She knew her father would not be home. Her mother’s last letter had told her that he spent most nights at the fort near the harbor. His military career had become the most important thing in his life. When he learned that his oldest son had died, he had not even come home. Jeff’s mother told him that his grandmother had secretly expressed her desire to come to America with her daughter. She thought her two other sons, Jeff’s other two uncles, would follow in her husband’s footsteps and make a military career out of their lives. She was deeply concerned that none of them would survive the war.
Em came back to reality with a thud when the boat slammed into
