Me and Them

by S G Read

  'There is water here and there is no shortage of wood for a fire, so we make a shelter here for tonight but we will have to have sentries who will have to stay awake!' I warned.

  Anyone who ventured along the beach to collect firewood or wood to build a camp with had two spear girls and the bow girl with them for protection, in case the boar showed its face again. They built a big fire to roast the pig on and I had the unenvious job of preparing it but it was soon cooking with two girls taking turns to move it round to cook it properly. With a make shift camp, consisting off wooden poles sunk into the sand to deter visitors and thorn bushes as an added defence. More thorns served as a door for the night and the girls had a feast. They ate until they felt ill. I posted sentries and made sure I stayed awake just in case, just laying there and listening to the girls moaning about their stomachs. I lay there thinking the same but not saying anything, just listening.

  Day 19 the island.

  The sun crept up lazily, bathing the beach in its early light. There was no heat yet but there soon would be. I opened my eyes and looked about, I had slept. The two sentries were there, the same ones who had started as sentries the night before and they were fast asleep. I could hear the sea louder now than before I went to sleep and rose up on one elbow. The sea had nearly reached the camp. I looked at the fire and saw where the sea lapped, not quite reaching it. I smiled, I picked this spot as the tide line seemed to stop before the campsite and I was right. I could see no reason to wake anybody so I settled back down but I was awake now. In the end I stood up and stretched making the normal noises, the sentries stirred.

  'I should get some proper sleep.' I said quietly. 'I’ll take over.'

  One of the sentries thrust a spear into my hands and they crawled into their blankets for what would be a short nap. I looked at the fire and remembered the rest of the pig, wrapped in leaves and mud balls to keep warm in the ashes. That way the flies were kept off the meat and it was still edible. After the morning meal we would have to discard what was left and that was a shame.

  I walked on the beach, spear in hand and watched a turtle make her way ashore. I had seen this on nature programmes but this was the first time I watched it for real. I watched her slow progress, then her digging a hole to deposit her eggs in, then covering the hole before making her way back to the sea and swimming away.

  'I’ve never seen that before.' George said from behind me.

  'Me neither.' I answered. 'Well not in real life.'

  'We weren’t allowed to watch television in case we picked up bad words or Ideas.' George said in complaint.

  'Whose idea was that?'

  'Our mothers’!'

  I detected some animosity directed at her mother.

  'Didn’t like being a princess?'

  'Didn’t mind the princess bit but we couldn’t do anything unprincess like! It was so boring! I speak four languages but what does that count for on here! I can’t throw a spear for a toffee so I’ll never go out hunting again!'

  I looked up at her pretty face, now she no longer pouted she was a pretty girl.

  'I give you my word I will make it possible for you to go out hunting again.'

  'How?'

  'I have no idea at the moment but believe me it will happen!'

  'Thanks.'

  'For what, I haven’t done anything yet!'

  'For caring and for saving me when I was clinging to that suitcase in the sea.'

  'Any time George, shall we wake the others? I want to explore some more.'

  George nodded and we walked back to where the others were sleeping. They took a lot of waking but we were not about to be ignored! The thought of more pork for breakfast made most of them feel sick. I felt the ashes.

  'The pork will keep until we get back.' I said, not wanting any myself and after a quick swim in the sea we started on the next journey. This was to the turn off we had walked past, marked by the empty fruit bag.

  We walked warily across the beach, expecting the boar to appear any moment but there was no sign of it, although we did spot some droppings. We did not hurry and it was approximately three quarters of an hour before we came to the turn off. I called a halt and quietened the girls to listen but there was nothing apart from the normal island noises.

  'Keep your eyes open and your mouths shut from now on!' I ordered, looking directly at the main offenders.

  We walked on. Ten minutes later a tree with a broken branch caught my eye. I rapped on the broken branch.

  'Do you know what this is?' I asked.

  'It’s lignum vitae.' Charley said without thinking. 'It’s a very hard wood.'

  'It is and I can find a good use for it if I can find a way to cut it!' I replied.

  'Don’t hold your breath.' Natasha declared.

  'That will take a miracle.' Sarah added.

  'So,' I replied, 'keep your eyes open for miracles!'

  The girls laughed and we walked on. The path remained small, although we were making it bigger as we walked, until we came to the bottom of the monolith. Here the ground was flat and barren of plants as it was mainly rock. To our left was a fall of rock from the part of the monolith which caught the weather. We could also hear running water. The girls were thirsty and sought out the water. It was a fast funning stream which I deduced, ended pouring into the sea where we had slept last night. I drank then we sat on the rocky surface to discuss our next move, with the exception of George who was throwing the spear again. After one throw she came running back without the spear.

  'I can see a boat.' She gasped, slightly out of breath. 'Did you hear? I can see a boat.'

  The second time she said it galvanised us into action. She led and we followed, at speed. She stopped overlooking the rocks we had never ventured onto and there was the boat, stranded on the rocks with a large hole in the side of it but apart from that it looked good.

  'What do we do about it?' Charley asked.

  'We will wait two hours to see what the tide does before we try to get onto it.' I answered.

  'Will the water go down far?' Natasha asked.

  'I have no idea Tasha but I hope it will get low enough for us to get on board, it might also empty out of water.' I answered.

  'Is it any good?' George asked.

  'Oh yes George, well done!' I ruffled her hair. 'If there is a saw on board, I will call it our miracle!'

  For the girls it was a long two hours, for me I was making plans. We had rocks close by and water. If we mixed up clay and straw we could use it like cement and build ourselves a boar proof shelter. Bigger rocks at the bottom and smaller ones at the top. A roof of bamboo poles covered in leaves and turfs and we would be there. I stopped thinking about the shelter and looked about at the girls, I should really be thinking about getting a signal off to someone, somehow!

  'Two hours must be up by now!' Natasha chided and woke me from my deep thoughts.

  I stood up and walked to the rocks, followed by the girls. The tide had dropped slightly and the boat was starting to empty.

  'Another hour should do it.' I declared and walked back to the flat area.

  'What!' Natasha complained. 'I could get on there now!'

  'So could I but I don’t intend to try it yet and neither are you!' I called back. 'Understand?'

  'I understand.' She replied sullenly.

  'That means all of you!' I added making sure they all heard.

  'We understand,' Charley replied, 'but it’s so boring waiting!'

  'Go hunting then.' I answered.

  'I can’t; remember?' She answered and stood next to me.

  What she expected I do not know but I did not answer her, she was halfway through her sentence and it would be pointless to start it again.

  Tabitha, Sarah and Andrea set off to find some food while the rest gathered firewood ready for the next meal. I stayed put, with a spear close by, just in case. Not that it was any use against the tough hide of the boar. I walked over to the pile of fallen rocks, they looked useful for buil
ding our main house but we had to get them from there to where we wanted to build it and lift some over head height. I pictured a series of platforms and the stone lifted from one to the other, then stuck in place with clay and straw! It was an exciting prospect a proper house with stone walls.

  I walked back to the group.

  'George and Alex come with me.' I ordered, rather than wait about. 'The rest sort out the camp and do not go anywhere near that boat!'

  'Where are we going?' George asked when she caught me up.

  'Up there.' I pointed up the slope which led to the top of the monolith.

  'Why?' She asked.

  'To explore.' I answered. 'I want to see if there is a way of sending a signal or even if we can see another island.'

  She walked faster, at first, then slowed.

  'Why are you dragging your feet?' I asked.

  She looked at her feet.

  'No I mean, why did you slow up.' I explained.

  'I like it here. When I get back my mother will want her sissy daughter back.' George replied grumpily.

  'Don’t let her have her,' Alex argued, 'be yourself!'

  'And I don’t imagine any signal will work immediately.' I added.

  She caught up again and we started up the steep slope. It was hard work but we kept going until the ground levelled out. This was not the top, just a flat area which seemed to go right round the main lump which seemed very high. We stopped and looked up at the main lump.

  'We only have to do it once,' George said thoughtfully, 'besides I can’t see anything from this height.'

  We started to climb, aiming for another flat area or what looked like another flat area. Bees buzzed by, going about their usual routine, while we sweated and climbed.

  I rolled onto the next flat area gratefully, resigned that I was not going up any higher, well not today! I helped the girls up, then we explored. Up here there were trees, not many but there were trees. Enough to stop us seeing where we wanted to look. We walked to our left, past the trees and away from the lump on our right. It was a large flattish area and when we finally came to somewhere where we could see out to sea, all we could see was sea. There was no land to be seen in that direction and the sea on the opposite side was hidden by the lump which filled the flat area on that side.

  'Hey look there’s an easier way down.' Alex cried pointing to a slope which led down.

  'Well we’ve seen what I wanted to see so let’s use it.' I replied and we started back down, walking!

  'But we didn’t see anything!' George argued.

  'Disappointing I know but at least we know about that way now.' I replied.

  The slope was in the middle of the flat area at the end nearest where we had been looking. It looked to be worn away by rain water, it turned right and sloped down before turning in a big 'U' to go back on it’s self and took us to the first flat area. At the base of the slope was an opening under the higher flat area.

  'Is that a cave?' Alex asked.

  'Looks like it.' I declared and turned my spear in front of me.

  'You aren’t thinking of going in there!' George exclaimed.

  'I am.' I replied.

  'What if daddy pig is in there?' She asked.

  I paused at the opening to look at the ground in front of the cave.

  'I can’t see any trotter prints or droppings.' I answered pointing to the soft ground before it turned to rock.

  The cave was an opening into a large rock. I walked inside, the girls, not wanting to be left on their own, followed.

  'It’s very cold in here!' Alex exclaimed. 'I can see my breath, look.' She breathed out to make a swirling misty cloud.

  The cave turned a corner and I stopped. It was too dark to see inside. The girls walked into me.

  'Why have you stopped?' George asked.

  'Because it is dark and I can’t see where I am going.' I replied. 'There might be a big hole in front of me and I do not want to drop into big hole, if it is there; we’ll come back with a torch, or something.'

  'That will be clever as we don’t have one.' Alex declared.

  'I meant something burning!' I explained. 'The boat should be out of the water by now!'

  'The boat!' George cried and both girls ran for the slope down to the rocky campsite.

  I followed and watched as they slid down on their bottoms for speed. I did the same. The hunting party was back when I reached the camp and the left over pork was warming in the embers.

  'It’s out of the water.' Charley declared.

  'Let us go and see what we can salvage.' I replied and watched as they ran for the boats rocky resting place.

  I followed.

  The boat was now fully visible but there was still water trickling out of the hole in its hull. We crossed the rocks carefully, the girls had been busy. There was a rope tied to the front of the boat and there were things to walk on where it was slippery.

  'We didn’t go on the boat!' Charley said from the gaping hole.

  'Well you can now!' I replied and she disappeared through the hole only to scream and bolt out again. She was sick over the rocks but she made sure it was where we did not have to walk.

  No one else made a move to go aboard. I walked down and into the hole. There in the lower cabin was a dead man; the hole in his head from a bullet, seemed an obvious cause of death. There was water there and he was still floating so I dragged him to the hole. I climbed out and dragged him outside, across the rocks out of the way and left him.

  'We will bury him later.' I said. 'Now can we get on? Time is pressing.'

  Charley gave me a glare and pushed past me into the hole. I followed as did most of the girls. On the deck at the rear was a metal chest fixed in place and locked shut. We took anything we could and searched the boat but there was no sign of the keys.

  'I’ll have to break the lock.' I said when we gathered round the chest. 'Stand back.'

  A rattle of keys made me looked round. George stood there with a set of keys.

  'Where were they?' I asked.

  She pointed to the dashboard of the boat. 'In that lock.'

  I smiled. No one had thought to look in the ignition. I let her unlock the chest and we looked inside. It was dry inside and there were tools, sharp tools! They were taken ashore bit by bit, making sure none were lost. I retained some to remove the chest from it’s' moorings so that we could take it ashore as well. I started taking the radio out but the tide had turned and the boat started to fill with water. In the end I had to give it best and go ashore where the girls were looking over the things we had gained.

  'What about him?' Charley asked.

  I looked at the dead man.

  'We need him ashore to make sure there is nothing in his pockets and I might need his clothes.' Charley looked at me with a horrified expression on her face. 'I prefer being dressed in a dead man’s clothes rather than walk about naked!' I said in reply to her horrified look.

  'So do we!' Natasha replied. 'Come on let us get him ashore!'

  The dead man was hauled ashore in a very undignified manner.

  'What do we do with him Walter?' Natasha asked.

  'I suppose we bury him, especially as he supplied the shovel.' I answered.

  'How did he die?' Sarah asked.

  I looked at the dead man.

  'Well he has a bullet hole in the side of his head but he must have stayed alive long enough to escape with the boat.'

  'Escape! Who from?' She asked.

  'Pirates I expect.' I answered.

  'But there aren’t any such thing nowadays.' She replied.

  'Oh there are.' I argued. 'So don’t go running up to anyone landing on the island, thinking you are saved.'

  'Why, what would they do?' She asked.

  I stopped and looked round at the eight faces all waiting for an answer. I knew they had to know just in case the worst happened.

  'Well they would find you a very valuable commodity. First they would make sure you knew what you had to do by sh
owing you.'

  'Showing us what?' George asked.

  'Well you know what men and women do together to make babies-' I looked more in hope than expectation. Blank faces stared back! 'Alright let’s say something you do know. A man has taters, yes.' Most nodded. 'Next to his taters he has something else.' That caused a lot of sniggering. 'When the man gets excited his other thing, let’s call it a banana, gets bigger and stiffer. He then pushes it into the private place between your legs and moves it to and fro for his pleasure until he has had enough.'

  'Oh that,' Andrea replied, 'we did that in biology but they didn't mention taters and Bananas, it was penis and Regina.'

  'What do we get out of it?' Natasha asked.

  'A sore private place and then you will be locked in a room so that other men can come in and do it to you as well.' I answered quietly feeling a little foolish.

  'So we get locked in and made to do it even if we don’t want to!' Charley declared.

  'Yes and they earn lots of money for letting the other men do it. You get only what they squirt into you, food and maybe pregnant.' I added.

  'Pregnant!' George declared. 'Isn’t that like having a baby?'

  'It is having a baby and at your age you aren’t ready for that.' I answered.

  'So what happens then?' Natasha asked.

  'Either they kill your baby or they kill you!'

  'I don’t think I want to meet them.' George exclaimed.

  'What would happen to you Walter?' Andrea asked.

  I merely pointed to the dead man. The man with the bullet hole in him.

  We undressed the dead man and we emptied his pockets, then we carried him away from the sea to where the ground was softer and buried him. With darkness falling we walked back to eat and to look at what we had gained from the boat. There were tools, plates, bottles, cups, saucers, saucepans; in fact the list went on. I also wanted to remove the radio, the battery and the cooker, with its gas bottle.

  That night we slept with two sentries armed with spears and sharp knives. I toyed with the idea of tying longer knives on to the spears but we did not bring any of the roots I wanted to do it with and I did not want them to fall off at a crucial moment, if the boar paid us a visit. If that happened they would lose all the confidence the knives had given them. It was a shame there were no guns on board but beggars cannot be choosers, we took what there was and I planned to go back for more.