Escape from the Atomic Fallout

Author Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley 175 K7 Lane Newport, N.C. 28570 Edited By Big Jim Kelley Terry Kelley 252-241-7641 Escape From The Atomic Fallout By Capt. Gardner Martin Kelley Synopsis This synopsis is named Lubec. The locals are mostly from there. It is the nearest seaport to the author’s (almost bomb proof) hunting camp in Dennysville, Maine. The author along with his wife and two young grandsons are stranded here after a severe snow storm blocks the roads. No snow plows are passing the camp. Unknown to the fact that there has been a disaster and all are dead, the Captain travels by snowshoes to investigate. He suspects what has happened. Three days later with the fuel supply dropping to a new low, he decides that a move from the frigid cold winter of Maine must be made. The warmer weather of his winter home near Fort Macon, North Carolina seems very enticing. The roads are useless until a spring thaw. He must get to Lubec and borrow a good sea worthy boat to get to the south and livable weather or freeze. Rather than join the neighbors in death he must get himself, his wife and the two boys on a long and dangerous (in winter) cruise. This is the story of the preparation and the successful winter cruise. The End List of Chapters Chapter 1- Escape from the Atomic Fallout Chapter 2- Deer Hurting Chapter 3- The Camp Chapter 4- Preparing For The Snow Chapter 5- Winter Storm Chapter 6- Investigating the Town for Life Chapter 7- Atomic Fallout Chapter 8- “DOWNEASTER” Chapter 9- Afloat Chapter 10- Christmas Day Chapter 11- Our Sea Voyage Begins Chapter 12- “LIZZIE MAE” Chapter 13- Underwood’s Wharf Chapter 14- The Beach Out Chapter 15- Tenants Harbor Chapter 16- Boon Island Chapter 17- The Storm Chapter 18- Portsmouth, New Hampshire Chapter 19- Point Judith Chapter 20- Admiral Badguyski’s Invasion Chapter 21- Connecticut River Chapter 22- New Moon Tonight Chapter 23- Adventure Goes On Chapter 24- The “SPRAY” Chapter 25- Cape Hatteras Prologue The spindrift spray slashed across the windows of the pilot house. Ice had almost formed. Would it soon be ice to break the glass? The rugged boat built for such weather dove into the waves and up she rose higher and higher, then down and down to stop with a crash and shudder. The top of each huge wave was knocked off by the freezing cold wind. It froze on the mast and rigging before it could run off. That resulted in making the boat top heavy. Captain G.M. Kelley at the wheel watched the compass heading like a hawk, keeping the little vessel headed into the waves was a must. If the boat rolled off course to port or starboard and got hit on the side by a wave it could be the end. The heavy ice coating aloft in the rigging would not allow a quick rise. His tired eyes peered again at the compass reading then looked ahead into the darkness and the lighter tops of the breaking waves. How anxiously he awaited daylight and the sun to melt off the ice from the rigging. What was he doing out here on the ocean in the winter storm? The answer to that question of course is the following interesting sea story: The Escape from the Atomic Fallout In the beginning, the rugged sea Captain with his wife and two young grandsons went on a visit to his Maine hunting camp in late November and are stranded by an atomic bomb fallout. They must get from the frigid cold weather to the warmer climate further down south. The preparations must be made for a boat trip from Lubec, Maine to North Carolina. Escape from the Atomic Fallout Chapter 1 Captain G.M. kicked off his ten inch hiking shoes to settle comfortably into his favorite chair. He went about reading the Sunday newspaper. He spoke to his wife as she went about getting their supper on the table. “Listen to this. A professor says that if an atomic bomb hit New York City that all of the people would be killed as far as the Connecticut border and a lot of people would be maimed and blinded for many more surrounding miles. If the bomb missed New York City and exploded close enough that the city had to be evacuated it could be done in four hours. Four hours be damned”, said G.M. “They couldn’t evacuate the people of New York City in four days. Every highway would be so blocked up in the panic to get out that even wreckers could not get around. The only possible way to get the millions of people out of the city would be by ships and boats. Even then it would take much longer than that.” After the call, “Come to the table to eat” Captain G.M. was sitting looking at his two grandsons, Danny and his younger brother Jimmy. He was proud of these two youngsters. So much so that he had taken them from primary school to give them the adventure of a long ride from North Carolina to his hunting camp in Maine. His mind was occupied with thoughts of his wife, the boys and food that he forgot for the time being about the article and visions of such a disaster. While his wife cleared the table and washed the dishes G.M. or Gramp, as the boys called him, sat in his big chair. He had a boy on each knee. Gramp entertained them with stories until they were both sleeping. His wife Vera carried first one and then the other to their bunk beds. G.M. was almost asleep as he planned out his route for getting a deer for camp meat the next morning. Of course the wind direction would show which way to travel. He would head into the wind in his search of the woods for the secretive creature. G.M. was not worried of not finding a deer. He taught himself to be a good hunter and he had become a licensed guide. After several years he had retired again and moved south to enjoy a warmer climate. Now after a summer of sailing, he was enjoying his hunting camp in Maine. The building had been so tight that it was snug and warm with just the heat of the cooking stove. He opened the steel front door to look outside. It was snowing. He would have fresh snow for tracking deer in the morning. Vera had retired for the night and G.M. turned down the lamp wick to its lowest point and joined her. Chapter 2 Deer Hunting Crack! Before the sound of the rifle shot reached his ears G.M. saw the big buck drop into the foot of new snow. When he trudged through the knee deep snow to the dead animal, the whiteness of its belly fur was already stained with the blood from the wound in the neck. The eight millimeter bullet from the bolt action rifle had done its job. He looked down at the swollen neck, which indicated the rutting season. The fur a month ago or so had a pretty rusty color and had turned to a darker shade. Well he had his camp meat and now for the work to field dress the carcass. He had told the boys, Danny eight years old and Jimmy only six that he hoped to get one close to the camp before the deer go deep into the woods to “Yard up” for the deep snow of the winter.