The Fifth Season (59 page)

‘Shh!'
Lily interrupted,
‘what is that?'
Lily heard the strange, mixture of sounds coming towards them through the darkness, first. All three women were bundled together for warmth, with Hani placed safely in the middle. They were immersed in mist. The wind had died and the sea, an eerie calm since night fell, provided the opportunity for Mary Jo and Lily to talk in whispers whilst Hani slept.

Mary Jo listened, the distant, mechanical hum immediately raising her hopes.

‘It's another ship!'
she shrieked, awakening Hani.
‘Quick, get up!'

‘What's happening?'
she asked, still groggy from her deep sleep. She sat up, assisted by the others, confused in the dark.
‘Where am I?'
And then,

‘
I'm thirsty.'

‘You're safe. We'll get you some water in a moment.'

‘Do you remember anything, Hani?'
Lily asked, wishing they had some light.

‘Lily?'
Suddenly, it all came flooding back. She reached out to touch the shape which was Mary Jo.
‘Mary Jo?'
she asked, finding her hand, fearing the tales of the sea goddess might be true.

‘Yes, Hani, it's me. I need you to be fully awake, okay?'

‘What's that noise?'
Hani cocked her head in the dark, the engine sounding more prominent now as the frigate approached.

‘It's a ship,'
Lily answered, still straining to see if she could determine how close it might be. They all listened, the chugging sounds growing louder as the three thousand ton warship's massive propellers chopped their way through the night.

‘It's definitely coming this way,'
Lily said, her concern that they would not be seen now overshadowed by another and far more perilous threat.

‘My god,'
she cried, suddenly afraid,
‘what if they hit us?'
The thought had already crossed Mary Jo's mind. All three sat listening, trying to discern from which direction the danger might come.

‘It's getting very close,'
Mary Jo had to raise her voice, Hani's hand finding hers in the darkness. Suddenly, the fear of collision became very real as they were engulfed by an incredible noise and they strained, searching the darkness for lights, for the shape of the ship, anything which might tell them what was happening.

Without warning, the frigate was upon them, steaming dangerously close to the shipwrecked trio as it passed to within fifty meters. Rocked unexpectedly by the warship's bow wave, the women panicked, fearing they would be swamped by the sea.

‘Help me!'
Hani cried, terrified in the dark, the wave easily washing over the half-submerged boat. Mary Jo grabbed her arm and, in doing so, lost her own footing.

‘I've got you!'
she heard Lily shout, wondering if they would now go under. They waited and for a moment it seemed they would be safe.

‘Hold on!'
Mary Jo yelled, when the boat rocked violently, tossing them around in the passing warship's wake. It seemed that the nightmare would never end, the deck now listing at an alarming angle.

‘We're sinking!'
Lily shouted, scrambling higher up the inclined deck,  gripping a bollard with one hand, while hanging onto Hani with the other.

‘Climb up here!'
Mary Jo's arm touched someone's feet and, using these as her guide, she pulled herself up to the others.

‘Just hold on!'
she insisted, spitting water between breaths. Caught off guard, she had almost lost contact with the boat in the darkness. Now, holding the nylon rope once again, her confidence returned as she managed to pull herself out of the water.

‘We'll be okay,'
Mary Jo spluttered, pain shooting through her shoulder.

‘Just don't let go!'
Her feet found the raised, wooden lip running around the hold and she used this to support her weight. The ship groaned underneath, Mary Jo certain that it would slip under, she willed the broken hull to remain afloat.

When dawn arrived, the women's confidence was given a boost when they discovered a number of other fishing boats in their area. They watched these drift ever so slowly towards their own vessel, bewildered when it became apparent that these ships had been abandoned as at this distance with the bodies of those slaughtered by the Indonesian Navy hidden below the bulwarks, they could see no signs of life.

‘Do you think they have already been rescued?'
Lily asked, her heart sinking with this thought. There were now at least a dozen ships within view, all floating aimlessly, occasionally slapping into each other, the sound of groaning timbers adding to the weird spectacle.

‘It's possible,'
Mary Jo agreed. There was no point in giving the other two false hope. They continued to watch, praying that one would come to within striking distance of their water-logged vessel and, several hours later, they were given this chance.

‘We can make it,'
Lily assured them both.
‘We could use the empty jerry-cans to keep you and Hani afloat.'
Mary Jo now understood why their own boat had not already sunk. These containers had provided some semblance of buoyancy inside the hull, although she doubted that they would keep the ship from sinking too much longer. The weight of water in the hold must eventually drag the structure under. It made sense that they should attempt to swim to the more sea-worthy fishing-boat, drifting listlessly not more than a hundred meters across the calm sea.

‘Do we have to?'
Hani pleaded, fear building inside.

‘If we remain here, this ship will sink under us. If we wait too long, we
might miss the opportunity.'

‘Can we just wait a little longer, please Mary Jo. Perhaps that boat will
move closer,'
Hani's grip was hurting and Mary Jo moved to reassure her.

‘We can wait a while longer.'
At that moment, she felt the boat move under her, catching Lily's signal that they should move immediately. She watched Lily tugging at the plastic containers, dragging these from inside the hold.

‘I can only get one,'
she said, after a short time, the others firmly stuck, pressed into place by rising water. Lily raised the jerry can and unscrewed the lid.
‘Here, drink,'
she instructed Hani, tilting the cumbersome container carefully, while balancing with her back against the bulwark. Mary Jo watched, concerned with how little water remained.

‘You first,'
she said, when Lily offered her the tepid water.

‘It's okay,' Lily tried to smile but her lips were sorely cracked.
‘You can
go next,'
with which, she tilted the container again, allowing Mary Jo to drink.

‘Enough for one more drink,'
Lily said, savoring the few drops she had taken. She screwed the lid back on and passed the near empty jerry can to Mary Jo.
‘If you keep hold of this with your good arm, I'll take Hani.'
Mary Jo nodded, not entirely happy with the arrangement but pragmatic enough to agree.

‘Are we ready?'
Lily asked, taking the reluctant Hani by the arm.

‘No, wait!'
she begged, pulling away from the other's grasp.

‘We have to go,'
Mary Jo encouraged, holding the plastic container firmly in front.

‘Yes, come on. Let's do it now,'
Lily added, taking her by the arm again.

‘No, wait!' Hani shouted, pointing across the water.
‘I can see a ship! No,
two ships!'
she cried, and the others turned, skeptical of her ruse, their eyes following the direction of her outstretched arm.

‘My God, she's right!'
Mary Jo exclaimed in surprise. In the distance, she could clearly see the outline of a large ship and further out another, and perhaps a third. Something else caught her eye, and she continued to watch for a few moments fearing what she saw to be a seagull or some other bird. Then she was sure.

‘There's a plane!'
she yelled,
‘over there!'
The others searched the sky, Hani spotting the Orion before Lily.

‘It's coming this way!'
she shouted excitedly, and all three watched as the aircraft continued in their direction, flying low across the ocean as it approached. Mary Jo waved the empty container through the air, while Hani and Lily both waved their arms to attract the crew's attention.

‘Down here!'
Lily screamed, waving furiously. The pilot banked sharply, circled the abandoned fishing boats several times, then turned away.

‘Any survivors?' the Broome Coastwatch centre wanted to know. The civilian contractors had been requested to deploy additional aircraft to the area, the fleet now supported by four Britten-Norman Islanders and two de Havilland Dash-8's for electronic surveillance. Darwin station monitored the exchange, recording the information for Canberra.

‘Negative,' the pilot answered, ignoring the half-submerged wreck off to port. His two observers continued to check the sea below through the large, bubble windows. Both men indicated that they could not see any survivors. ‘The pattern is the same as the others,' the pilot reported, referring to similar scenes detected earlier from the air. ‘Just a few bodies scattered around the decks.'

The Darwin Coastwatch then interrupted, seeking further information. He listened, then confirmed again what he had seen.

‘Negative, can't identify any movement down there.' The pilot listened as further orders were given and then acknowledged. ‘Roger that, Darwin,' he responded, turning the aircraft to the east, pleased to be heading home.

For a moment there was a stunned silence, the women astonished that they had not been seen.

‘Do you think they saw us?'
Hani asked, still staring after the aircraft as it winged its way back to the coast.

‘Of course he saw us,'
Mary Jo promised.
‘How could he have missed?'

They watched the Orion disappear across the horizon and Lily leaned across and touched Mary Jo's hand.

‘They were only interested in the other ships,'
she said, looking across the water.
‘Even if they did see us, there's not much they can do. We should still try
and get over to that other ship.'

‘No!'
Hani could not believe her ears.
‘I'm staying here until they come to
rescue us,'
she shouted, defiantly. Mary Jo looked at her sadly, shaking her head.

‘Nothing's changed, Hani. This boat is still sinking.'

‘I'm not leaving!'
she spat, clinging to the ship now with both hands.

‘Then we'll leave you here,'
Lily snapped back angrily.
‘Mary Jo? Are you
coming?'
she asked, turning as if ready to jump into the sea. When the American did not respond, she looked back and was startled to see how ashen the woman's face had become.

‘I think we'll have to stay with Hani,'
she said, her voice filled with uncertainty. Lily frowned, then followed Mary Jo's gaze across the calm sea. At first, she did not understand. Then, when she saw the distorted shadow move under the surface, she gasped.

‘Sharks?'
she whispered hoarsely, knowing this to be true.

‘What's that?'
Hani wanted to know, peering over the side. When she saw the shape, she instinctively pulled back, overwhelmed with what she saw.

‘What will we do now?'
This, from Lily, now trembling as she recalled how close she had been to diving into the ocean.

‘We stay here until it goes away or the ship sinks.'
Mary Jo was more terrified than the others. She had photographed sharks and their victims and had suffered many sleepless nights as a result.

They fell into silence, not speaking for fear that this might somehow contribute to their vessel sinking even faster than it already was. The minutes trickled by slowly, the women conjuring up in their minds the terrifying possibility of being eaten alive by sharks.

‘It's on CNN now,' the Coastwatch officer informed Hamish. He immediately dropped the phone, cursing when he could not locate the remote control. Seconds later, he sat transfixed, watching the satellite broadcast live from the United States.

“…and confirmation has now been received that the Indonesian warship is aground in an area known as Scott Reef, some one hundred miles north of the Western Australian coastal city of Broome. The Australian Government has requested United Nations intervention, charging the Indonesian Navy with acts of piracy and intrusion into Australian waters by a foreign warship. Earlier reports that fire was exchanged between the Indonesian frigate and Australian ships has now been corroborated by authorities in Canberra. No casualties have been reported but the Australian Government claims that the Indonesian Navy is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of refugees will, no doubt, increase tensions in an already hostile environment. State Department officials have denied claims that the United States Seventh Fleet is steaming into the area, while humanitarian groups worldwide have called for war crimes tribunals to be established to try those responsible for what is now being declared as one of the worst acts of genocide since the Second World War. And now we cross to …”

Hamish watched the end of the bulletin then flicked across the other channels to see if there was more. Then, remembering that the refugee centre over in Port Hedland had reported an influx of more than six thousand new arrivals over the past twenty-four hours, he went back to the hotel operator to see if they could hurry his call.