From Bunkers to Palaces

Part 17 - Unsent Love Letter

The journey in the jet boat seemed to go on forever for Kate. She couldn't sleep; the noise of the engine and the feel of the power in the motion of this small craft raised trepidation and dread with forgotten origins inside her. She felt so drained, so tired, so weary. Her heart seemed to be pounding out of her chest. The boots felt heavy and hot. If only she could pull them off.

The vessel slowed and Bruce moved it into a lower gear. Kate shivered, apprehensive about what was coming... Mist swirled all around as if it were devouring the small vessel.

Steering the jet boat to swerve sideways, Bruce halted it, placing it into reverse before he cut the motor to make it drift backwards before stopping it and moving it to continue backwards at a crawl...

Kate gasped. It seemed they were being swallowed by a gigantic vessel of some kind. The back of the vessel yawned with open, its upper lip high in the misty air. With a chugging sound, "Putt, putt, putt"... the motor died.

She watched the top lip lowering slowly, soundlessly making no sound when it clamped shut, before a surging sound, like a gargle was joined by water siphoning out. The jet boat rose on some kind of platform beneath them.

With the boat level with a landing, Kate allowed herself to be helped out of the vessel and through a door into what she discerned to be the corridor of a sea-going vessel of some kind.

"We'll get you food and make comfortable, Kate," Bruce pointed upward, saying, "We go up here." Taking her arm they stepped into a cubical with more than enough room for the trio.

Feeling spent, Kate gripped Bruce's arm, saying, "I'm really, really thirsty." 

The tiny chamber felt horribly familiar, such a small space, at sea, aboard a ship. Memories of the fishing trawler flashed through her mind followed much older memories. She'd been on a boat, or ship similar to this, but details were hazy. She could only recall it was agony, there was nothing familiar in sight and she had told herself, back then, that she would never let anything like that happen to her, ever again.

It had been the main reason that she hated to travel away from Brookfield, and only agreed to do so for the short trips to Amma's mansion because she had felt safe there. Of course, she had felt safe with her father, now matter where he had taken her on his helicopter... but that was much different from this, now...

Struggling to free herself from Bruce, his grip grew tighter. Richard asked, "What is it Kate?"

Twisting around in his grip she fought to gain her self-control...

'Don't let you anger control you', her father's voice seemed to be loud, in her head. How many times had she lashed out in anger? He had disciplined her for it...

"I don't want to be here!" she yelled, pulling herself from Bruce's grasp. Richard took her by both arms and pulled her into his chest before encircling her with his arms, holding her in a tight hug.

"No, no, NO! She yelled, wanting to hold to her independence from him. Tears sprang to her eyes as despair replaced her anger. Breathing out, she went limp,  in Richard's arms. Feeling she didn't have the strength to inhale, her head rolled back and her eyes closed.

"We're there," Bruce said as the door slid back.

"Kate," Richard's voice came to her, "Kate."

*****

It had been an uninvited nightmare; the place she was in had been bombed and she was on fire... this merged with the underwater experience she'd had not so long ago. Tumbling around in the midst of wood, metal, oil and flames, she was sure she would drown. She must swim like never before but found herself pinned down...

Was that music she heard? Was there hope for her, that everything would work out for good... her nightmares disippated in the wonder of the music that played, soothing her mind and soul...

Unaware that several hours passed before she became fully conscious, Kate opened her eyes to see a strange woman wearing a mask standing over her.

"Kate! You're awake, Kate; what a nice surprise. I'm Doctor Jess." She pulled the mask down. 

Taking in her surroundings, Kate saw tubes and monitors. It was like a rerun of when she'd woken from her bunker experience. Struggling to sit, she found Richard right there, leaning over her on the other side, saying, "You had us worried but the doctor says it was just a faint. Likely due to a lack of fluids and..." he looked up at the doctor.

"You were dehydrated, Kate, but not anymore, and you were and still are suffering from both exhaustion and exposure, but, you will soon be up and about."

"How... soon?"

"If you rest for twenty-four hours Kate, you can get up.If not, it will take you longer."

Kate frowned, feeling she was being spoken to as one would to an uncooperative child. Looking up at Richard, she asked, "Was I that bad?"

Smiling a half-a-mouth kind of smile, he raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head.

Standing, he kissed her forehead, saying, "I've been going through the stuff, you called it, in your backpack..." Digesting the look of disbelief on Kate's face, he said, "But I haven't got far, I've mostly been in the letters I wrote..."

"You know what they say already, Richard, you wrote them."

"Some start four years ago. It's nice to revisit our conversations. But there's one there that you wrote; you didn't send it. You wrote it three months ago...

"Have you read it?" she asked.

"It was addressed to me," defensively said.

"It wasn't sent to you. Did you open it?"

"Even though it was unsent, it didn't deserve to be unread, did it?"

Drawing a long breath, Kate blew it out through her lips and said, "I wasn't sure I was going to send it."

"I haven't read it, Kate so you can give it to me when you're ready."

"I should read it again myself and see if I still feel how I did when I wrote it." She smiled, asking, "Did I, did that, make sense?"

"Kate needs to rest," the doctor interrupted, taking a syringe and emptying the liquid into Kate's intravenous drip. 

Knowing her time with Richard was over for now, Kate said quickly, "Read it, Richard. You might find many things you agree with. It... it can't... stay... unsent... un...read..."