It was a strange name for a boat.It had been the name of her favorite stallion when she was a child in another life before all was lost.Wildfyre would be waiting for her by the gate when she came home from school everyday. She would ride him bareback around the ranch before she even went in to change.He was a strawberry roan with a white blaze between his eyes shaped like a rising flame.Grandfather would watch from his wheelchair on the porch,living vicariously through his fiery grandchild.
Still,the boat was just as exhilarating ,flashing across the waves toward the thunder clouds building on the horizon.The wind tearing through her hair and burning her cheeks made her feel alive.
She threw the engine in reverse and glided up on the leeward side of Little Knock 'em Down Key just before sunset.She wanted to sketch the preliminaries for a new painting . Dropping anchor,she waded ashore ,sketchbook in hand . She never got over the beauty and variety of sunsets here.Spotting an old fallen tree,she headed for it when she noticed something lying just where the tide rose and fell. It was halfway hidden by overhanging bushes but on getting closer she gasped to see a man's torso up out of the water.
"Sherry,is that you," he mumbled through parched lips.Touching his forehead gently she said,"I'm Megan,don't worry.I'm going to help you,".She went to the boat once more for the bottle of water she had been drinking from earlier. She carefully poured a little into his mouth ,fearful of causing him to choke.He tried to sit up saying,"I've got to help Sherry.He took her,".
He laughed and said,"No,I can't walk.I haven't walked in over a year.Not since the accident.'
For a moment her mind went blank . Now what? she asked herself.She had flares but what if the man who did this was still nearby? "What time were you attacked?" she asked him,"Do you think they could still be close?"
Megan saw that she was not going to be able to keep the man awake all night and he was beginning to tremble. She figured the culprits had to be long gone by now so she went to the boat and set off a flare . Nothing happened so fifteen minutes later she set off another one.Going back to check on Scott,she was about to give up and add to the fire when she heard the sound of an outboard motor.
The man was dead weight being lifted by a small woman and a drunken old man.It was a daunting task. Scott moaned and groaned as they wrestled him across the oyster shells down to where the boats bobbed in the water. With a Herculean effort ,they managed to pull his torso up over the edge of Megan's boat and then throw his useless legs in after him.
A bullet zinged past her head and another thudded into the bow.Grandpa Jake sped up to pass her on the starboard side and opened fire with a sawed off shotgun shattering their windshield.Somebody cried out in pain and the attacker swerved back to the south and took off at full speed.Megan was shaking so hard she could hardly steer.She slowed to a stop to talk to Jake.
