by Marien Dore
Chapter 9
It was as if this morning didn’t happen. My throat stung, and I was starting to get dizzy again. What was worse than yesterday, however, was my need to drink. I have never been so thirsty! I knew complaining about it would do nothing but waste my energy.
We walked and walked; it was the same as yesterday — mostly. Something different did happen. It was getting late, and neither of us was up for talking. We had one goal, and our hope was decreasing with every step. Sweat kept coming and to keep myself distracted from the pain in my throat and my hunger, fantasized about how it would be to bathe.
My greasy and gross hair was in knots, and that was only one issue. Think about it. For the past few days we have been here, none of us actually got a proper bath. No toothbrush, hairbrush… nothing to clean ourselves, I felt disgusting. The sweat burning in my eyes and the bugs becoming more bothersome made it worse. What I wouldn’t give for a bath! To rest my legs and clean off any evidence of this island!
It made me feel conscious of myself too. I knew that Mr. Rush was in the same spot as me. He felt probably just as gross. The thing was, half my issue was that I was attracted to this man. Instinct made me at least want to look okay around him, and I knew that was not the case. I felt gross, looked it, and the hair on my legs and under my armpits did not help make me less self-conscious.
I knew there was no use dwelling over this. Our survival was more important obviously. Even if I were given a shower this second, I would have ended up drinking all the water in the flipping tub anyway!
I scowled at the realization that there was no stopping the thoughts and desire of water from coming.
“What’s wrong? Is your back hurting?” Mr. Rush asked, noticing my slight scowl.
“Well, that’s better than ‘are you okay?’” I said, laughing and trying to dodge his observation.
He smiled. “So your back is fine?”
“I wouldn’t say fine. I can still feel it, but it does feel better.”
Mr. Rush smiled softly. “Huh. Well, I uh… guess I can always go into being a doctor now,” he said in a proud voice. It made me raise an eyebrow at his light tone.
“Hey now, you’re a teacher, don’t forget,” I chuckled. It was so new and nice to see this side of him more.
“I think I am amazing enough to do just about both,” he joked. He was probably right too. “Being a—” Mr. Rush cut himself off and stopped walking. I turned around to face him and caught his eyes. They widened, and I noticed his posture was now stiff.
“What is it?”
A slow smile spread across his lips, and he tilted his head to the side. “Do you hear that?”
I stayed silent with him and listened. Listened to the birds chirp, the leaves swaying in the slight breeze, and… there was something else.
I gasped as I realized what it was. That same second, he was off, and continuing ahead with purpose at a faster pace. I followed just as eager. The smell of beach hit me, relief from the stench of our bodies. We ended up running ahead until the sound was louder, closer. The trees started to become less crowded, and the long grass soon became sand before me. The sight was amazing after so long in the forest. The sound of waves crashing was a relief.
I most likely would have jumped up and down if I wasn’t so exhausted. I did manage a smile and saw it mirrored on his face as we looked ahead. He turned to me and said, “Well, we’re closer now. We just need to walk along the beach until we find the stream.”
“Well, didn’t you say there was maybe a way we could drink this,” I said, gesturing out before us to the wide span of open ocean. “I know its salt water but can’t we boil it or something?”
He took a deep breath and pursed his lips, thinking it over. It wasn’t long before he ended up shaking his head. “You can boil it, but when you do that, the water evaporates and leaves the salt. We would need something to catch the condensation. Not only would that be a ton of work since we have nothing to do all this with, but in the end, we would still have very little water. I mean, we consumed more dew this morning than we would by doing that with the salt water. I think our best bet would be just to keep waking up as early as we did and drink the dew. It’s not much, but it is better than a long process and one that wouldn’t give us much.”
I nodded. I never thought about that, but it made perfect sense. “You’re right. And I’m assuming it wouldn’t be worth it for how much work it would take. We would need a strong enough fire, and we haven’t even gotten there yet,” I sighed.
“Exactly,” he muttered, and in his voice, I could hear the slight embarrassment in that. He wasn’t pleased with himself that he couldn’t get a fire going yet. We were still new to the island, and it would take time before we could get used to it.
So with that settled, and our want for fresh water rising, we decided to walk out into the water first and cool off. I ended up cupping water in my hands, bringing it up and splashing it on my face. Mr. Rush did the same thing. It was a great feeling, having the cold liquid wash away the sweat. Too bad we couldn’t swallow it.
As we were about to head back up towards shore to walk along the ocean to wherever the creek was, something crossed my mind. I had one issue I wanted to be addressed.
“Which way should we head?” I asked from where he stood beside me in the water.
“I think that way,” he pointed to our right and down the beach. I wasn’t sure how or why he thought so, but I trusted him. I followed him back up to the edge of the trees where we turned to our right and walked parallel to the ocean.
We started walking in the long grass and dirt under the palms that offered us shade. The nice ocean breeze and the shade offered relief from what we were used to. I didn’t have the urge to take off my shirt again.
The day dragged on the same like that. The moment came I gazed out over the now orange waves and saw the sun sinking lower. It was a beautiful sight. A sunset over the ocean.
He must have noticed where my eyes landed because he sighed and said, “We should keep going after dark.”
My head whipped around to see him looking worried and thoughtful. My feet automatically started aching at his words. “Um, what? You better not be suggesting we spend the whole night walking.” I glared at him. “Do you not recall how exhausted we were after a day of walking?”
“Water is far more important right now. Now, we don’t have to worry about getting lost or going in the wrong direction because all we need to do is walk the beach.”
I didn’t say anything for a long second. I tried to hold back my words because though I was upset, I did know he was right. I couldn’t hold back myself from a comment, though. “I swear, once we find the fresh water, I’m not walking another step for the remainder of my life.” I kept my complaints to myself as much as I could, though. Yet I just couldn’t keep my thoughts from bashing him. Doesn’t he understand that we can’t stay on our feet without rest?
He sighed and eventually spoke. “I want to rest as much as you do, but we can’t. We can rest for however long we want once we find water.”
“You haven’t faltered all day. You’re too damn fit,” I muttered.
“That’s the exhaustion in you speaking. You’re strong, you can handle this.”
I didn’t say anything to that because I knew he was right. I was strong, and I knew I could suck it up. I didn’t say any more on the subject, and we moved on into the night, the cool air stopped more sweat from coming. The waves also brought on a soothing feeling through the cold air. It was much colder than last night.
I shivered and tucked my hands to my chest after heating them with my breath. When the sound of my quivering breath came, Mr. Rush took my hand and pulled me ahead. I was surprised and forced to follow as he jogged at a steady pace. His hand warmed mine, and I didn’t protest when he didn’t pull away. That could have been because he was dragging me.
My toes sunk into the sand at a faster pace that matched his after the shock of his sudden action pas
sed. “What are we doing?”
“We are both too cold to ignore it. If we work up a sweat, that will help. It will keep us more awake too.”
“Are you indestructible or something? You want me to run now?”
“You said you didn’t want to drag me down. Resting right now would slow our progress down so I think you can handle it if you were serious,” he said a little sharply. It caused a small pain in my gut, but I wouldn’t let it bother me for the fact that I deserved that. He was right, and this was life and death. I felt weak and a little foolish that I couldn’t seem to take a night without sleep. Yet, he was the one that sighed and continued. “I feel the same way. I want to rest, and I want to sleep. I am ready to give in, but we need this.”
I swallowed any automatic words that threatened to escape my mouth. Instead, I took advantage of the dark so he wouldn’t see my face. I didn’t want him to see how those words affected me.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” I said simply, and his lack of a response told me I caught him off guard. I never did or said anything like that to him and actually meant it.
I picked up my pace and went at his evenly. He let go of my hand, seeing I would willingly do this, and we jogged side by side in silence. He was right. After a couple of minutes, I was no longer as cold as before, and it was keeping us awake and not cold. My feet also became adjusted enough and were no longer sore. At that point, we didn’t want to stop even though I felt the effects this would bring later. I was aching for water more now that we were running, and it helped to know that was what we were running for.
“I’ll admit, that was a good idea. Though I can’t say it was the best considering that was a workout and the last thing we want is to lose weight,” I said in a half joking manner.
It is ironic I said that because a moment later, Mr. Rush put a hand out, stopping me with him. I couldn’t see his face well but could tell under the moonlight that he was facing the trees. He pulled me forward and headed up the beach until we stood under a palm tree. It was more than that. The trunk was skinny and tall, with huge leaves at the top that branched out. However, I did see circles in a cluster just below the leaves. Coconuts.
I glanced back to him in excitement. “Will we be able to get them down?”
“Guess we’ll have to see,” Mr. Rush said as he moved up and faced the tree. Without warning, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around the tree, hugging it to his bare chest and craned his neck. A moment after he took a deep breath, he jumped up, wrapping his legs around the tree as well.
He first thrust his legs up and pulled himself with his arms, pulling his body and inching up the tree. After a few more times of thrusting and moving himself up, I noticed it looked as if he were humping the tree. That’s not the only thing my perverted mind went to. It wasn’t long before I heard him let out a groan from the pain. His chest, stomach, and legs were bare against that rough texture. It made me cringe for him. To hear that grunt and watch his movements, though… I was once again ashamed at myself that I was envious of another piece of nature!
He was doing well thus far, but that progress only lasted for a little longer. My heart jumped with what happened next. Under the moonlight, his hand slipped. I couldn’t see much of what happened, but he was struggling to get his grip back on the tree. Instead of it working, he ended up tilting back, and his legs unwrapped from around the tree. Within the next second, he hit the ground hard on his back before I let out a gasp and ran to his side. I knelt beside him and took him in.
His chest and inner legs were scratched, and some of those marks were bleeding. His face was red, mouth parted yet no breath coming in or out. The man had the wind knocked out of him!
A second later he sucked in a giant breath and started to breathe, even though it was rigid. He closed his eyes and groaned in pain. My hands fluttered in the air above him, not wanting to touch him but not knowing what to do. I was happy it wasn’t worse. Thank God, he wasn’t higher when he fell.
“A-are you okay?” I stammered out.
He opened his eyes. The pain still shined in his features, but I heard a note of amusement when he groaned out some words. “So, I see I’m not the only one repeating the same line.” He groaned louder a second later, and his hand traveled down to his groin where he lightly cupped it. I realized that the tree scraped more than what I could see now that I noticed his hand and him wincing. It made me feel terrible at the pain he was in. I didn’t hesitate with what I said. “I’ll do it. I can climb it.”
“No, I’m fine,” he gasped. He tried to sit up, but I pushed him back.
“Are you saying I’m weak?” I accused, even though I knew he didn’t mean that at all. I just knew I couldn’t let him be the one to try that again now that he was hurt.
“No, but—”
“Then I’m doing this,” I said sternly as I stood up. I walked up to the tree before he could say anything else. I glanced up the tall trunk but didn’t hesitate. Instead of his way, I did something different. I jumped up, wrapping my arms around the tree before I could fall back to the ground and swiftly wrapped my legs around the trunk.
I felt my head pound harder and the cut in my back sting. I took a deep breath and recalled how he did it. I tightened my knees and thrust them up, pulling my body up too. It brushed against the roughness and though I was wearing a shirt, I could feel it dig into my chest.
For now, I shoved the pain aside and kept my mind focused on the task at hand. I thrust and pulled myself up with the help of my arms and legs until I was about half way up. I kept doing it and pushed, no matter how thirsty, tired and hurt I was.
I made sure not to look down either and tried staying focused as I kept moving. I won’t lie, though, I struggled more as I got closer to the top. Until… I was there.
The green ball shaped objects hung just above my head when I looked up. Then, I forced my eyes to look down. I realized just how careful I needed to be. It would hurt to fall, that’s for sure. Mr. Rush was now standing, staring up at me. He appeared much smaller, which did not help.
I tightened my legs around the tree with my left hand gripping the tree harder. I gingerly began raising my right hand since I had the support to stay up. I took a hold of the green coconut and pulled but wouldn’t snap away from the tree. It didn’t budge, and when I tried a few more times, I knew this would not work.
I returned my hand and caught myself before I could slip. I stared up at the goal above me. Beyond the small cluster of coconuts, I saw the branches there. They didn’t only support human-sized leaves, but the branches acted as an umbrella, spreading out and dipping down. They looked strong too.
When I climbed higher, all I heard from under me was his voice. “Don’t Janice!” I ignored him. This was more than just proving I wasn’t weak. I was hungry, and I wanted some food and water. This could save us.
I once again tightened my grip around the tree while freeing one hand, reaching up and grabbing one of the branches that was close. I closed my eyes and only let a single picture filter through my head. That was my mom. She always was strong and kept me strong.
I was scared how much it would hurt if I fell, but I had to do it. I let my grip around the tree go and threw my hand up to join my other wrapped around the small branch. It was quite a gamble because, at that moment, the branch dipped down and felt like it would snap. Before it could, I quickly swung my right leg up and boosted myself up. It was still dipping down so I quickly inched back towards the center of the tree. The rough texture became thicker, and the branch stopped bending down.
I breathed a sigh of relief and carefully extended myself along the branch, my bare stomach pressing against the hard branch. That made it clear enough that my shirt had ripped.
My hands gripped the branch I was lying on as I allowed my gaze to reach the ground. I noticed Mr. Rush started pacing back and forth, obviously worried.
I put my focus on the coconuts, which I noticed, were inches away from my face. Only this time, I was
above the coconuts, and I wasn’t about to lose my grip when I pulled. The branch under me would hold.
I grabbed one of the five coconuts and pulled as hard as I could. It finally gave and the force I used came back at me when I swayed, but I held tight with my other hand and stayed balanced. I looked down at the small man and let him know what to do. “Be ready to catch these when I drop them!” That was something we didn’t want, for them to break open. It was valid fear with how soft they felt. Probably because they weren’t ripe enough.
“Okay, go ahead,” Mr. Rush exclaimed back, coming closer to the base of the tree and craning his neck, his hands ready.
It seemed hard at first to snap the coconut from the tree, but finding the trick by twisting and pulling, everything went smoothly after that.
Mr. Rush caught each one, setting them to the side in the grass. The second I dropped the last one, I made my proud announcement. “That’s it!”
“Look around while you are up there! Can you see anything? The creek?”
I took his suggestion and did the best I could with trying to remain stable. I looked out over the treetops, but all I could really take in was how crowded all the trees were under the moonlight. I wasn’t high enough to tell much, but I could see farther down the shoreline. It was a more depressing observation. This island looked even bigger.
“Not really,” I said down to him, disappointed. Looking down reminded me of my next job, which would be much harder. The man voiced my own question.
“Can you get down?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t too confident, but I had to try. I tried to slowly ease my body to dangle from the branch as I had before. It didn’t work out as well as I planned. As I gripped the branch to do so, my body went before I was ready. My hands broke from the branch, and I started to fall, front first!
It happened so fast. I was falling towards the ground. My mind, heart, stomach did flip, and I couldn’t think! The second Mr. Rush noticed from the other side of the tree, he sprinted in the direction to where I was falling. As the ground came fast, I was shocked to find I didn’t hit it. Mr. Rush made it below me just in time to break my fall.