by David Allen
“You pig.” He spat. The doors swung closed behind the islanders with a slow metallic click. “You insulted my little sister.” Tai walked slowly across the hard floor. His cloth sandals slapped the ground as he walked. He clenched and unclenched his fist slowly. The semi-circle of men advanced behind him, eliminating Tony’s chance of escape. “And you killed Janet,” Tai accused.
“I did no such thing!” Tony roared. He balanced on his tiptoes, facing Tai. He waved his muscular arm. “The woman drowned because she couldn’t swim.”
Tai wasn’t fazed. “You let her drown, because you are a selfish pig.” He paused for effect. “That’s right, a selfish pig,” he repeated slowly.
“Look, you idiot!” Tony yelled, lifting his mop handle threateningly. “ I’ll knock your lights out if you don’t get out of my face!” His neck showed red around the collar. He clearly was not trying to be diplomatic.
A soft chuckle rose from one of the men.
“What did you say?” Tai cocked his head questioningly. He took another step. “You really think you can knock all our lights out?”
Tony swayed as he glanced rapidly from face to face. “Yeah, yeah I will,” he sputtered, face red.
A row of wooden chairs stood to the side behind Tony. Scott saw them as his brain searched frantically for an escape. An idea jumped into his mind. He stepped to the right and grabbed the closest chair by its wooden legs with a swift movement. He quickly raised it above his head and smashed it on the concrete floor with a splintering thud. Pieces of wood skittered across the floor. Everyone stood frozen in place, staring at Scott, mouths agape. Tony turned and stared at Scott incredulously. Scott stood up, holding one of the thick chair legs. Tai stepped back, uncertain, and Tony stepped after him with new confidence.
“That’s right, you stupid drunk! Scott here will crack your thick coconut head with his —”
Crack! Scott swung the leg of the chair with a smooth motion. It came flying from the side and hit Tony in the head with a hollow thump. Tony dropped his mop and fell sagging onto the floor, blood oozing from the side of his head. Scott stepped firmly on his back.
“Yeah!” Tai said, seizing the opportunity. He liked the sudden turning of events. He stepped forward clenching his fist.
“Tai, Stop!” Scott barked.
Tai stepped back, confused by the change. “Why?” he challenged.
The group of men stood facing Scott, dumbfounded. Hadn’t he just knocked Tony down?
“I’ve already knocked him out! Do you want to be responsible for murdering an American?”
Tai shook his head and glared back. “We won’t kill him, just rough him up a bit,” Tai said. “He insulted my sister!”
Tony raised his head from the floor. “You’re stupid —” he began to sputter.
Scott pushed the heel of his foot into Tony’s head, pushing his face into the dirty mop.
“Be quiet!” Scott commanded.
“See? I should cut his tongue out!” Tai yelled. Scott realized that he was the only thing standing between Tony and this angry man. “No, you shouldn’t.” He looked calmly at Tai and spoke evenly. “If you touch him, you’ll go to prison, and if anything happens to him, I’m certain this mission school will be shut down.” He looked from Tai to the island men. “Do you want to be responsible for the loss of your island’s education?” Scott ground Tony’s face deeper into the mop. Tony didn’t resist this time.
“You’re right, Teacher,” Tai said grudgingly. “We don’t want the mission to close down.”
The rest of the men shook their heads. “No, Teacher, we have children in school. We don’t want that.”
Tai let go of his machete. “I guess you have already sat down the chair on his arrogant mouth.” He turned to his cohorts, and they grunted their approval. “I hope that dirty mop reminds his mouth to never insult my sister again.”
Scott kept his foot pressed on Tony’s head. “You all go, before someone gets in trouble.” He spoke in a controlled tone, realizing that his reason was the only way he could protect Tony. The adrenaline was still pumping.
“Okay, Teacher, but only because you did the right thing by hitting him.” Tai didn’t want to lose face, but he was already backing toward the gym door. A chorus of approval rose from the men. “You did right, Teacher.” With that, the men turned and walked out of the gym laughing.
Scott kept his foot on Tony’s head until they all left. As the gym door clicked shut, he lifted his foot off Tony and reached out his hand, “Are you okay, Tony? Let me help you up.”
Tony rolled away angrily. “I’ll be fine.” He shoved Scott’s hand away. “Leave me alone! I don’t want your help.” He staggered to his feet, wiping blood and dirt from his face. He ran, stumbling, out the gym’s back door.
Scott didn’t follow. He slumped to the floor, feeling exhausted as the realization of what he’d just done sank in. In a strange twist, he had just saved Tony’s life.
*****
Scott sat on the beach, watching the distant waves break over the reef. He appeared to be deep in thought, and did not notice the man jogging toward him through the coconut palms.
“Scott!” the man panted. “I finally found you.” Scott turned, startled, looking up into the runner’s sweating face. “I’ve looked all over this island for you.” He plopped down on the sand, his chest heaving.
“Jerry. I thought no one could find me here.” Scott appeared irritated for a second, but then he couldn’t hide that he was glad to see his friend.
Jerry looked at him with concern. “You’ve needed a lot of time since the Santa Maria sank.” There was silence between the two friends for a second, then Jerry continued. “Abra agreed to take me out shark fishing tonight. I’d really like to have you go with me. I’ve never failed to catch sharks with you; you have a knack. Plus, it would probably be good for you to get off this island after what just happened.”
Scott spoke as if he hadn’t heard the invitation. “I’m sorry I’ve been this way, I just took the accident very hard. I don’t want to be around Tony, either.”
Jerry was quiet for a second. “We all took it hard, Scott.”
Anyone looking in over the sparkling reef could see the pair sitting in the white sand. Scott with his red afro and troubled blue eyes, sitting next to some cracked coconut shells, his freckled skin a victim of the intense Marshall Island sun. He was 20 and in his prime. He hadn’t completely filled out yet, but he looked tough. Jerry was tall with long brown hair, which was stuck to his forehead. He wiped it away with a movement of his arm.
“We’ll need to get some blood and guts, then,” Scott said. “The tide will be going out soon, and we need to draw the sharks in. We should go to the bottleneck in Bigei lagoon.” He jumped up. His thoughts were now focused, energized.
Jerry followed him through the palms. “Wait up, Scott! I just ran all the way out here. You’ve been resting on the beach!”
*****
The bucket of guts from the cannery sloshed as Scott waved away the flies. “Perfect. Nice and strong. If flies like the smell, the sharks will too.” He handed the second bucket to Jerry. “Let’s go find Abra.”
The pair made their way down the coral sand street, past concrete brick homes with thatched roofs. Chickens pecked in the street underneath the palm trees.
“Let’s go this way,” Scott turned down a path toward the beach.
Jerry raised an eyebrow. “That way’s longer, you’re just trying to avoid Tony,” he observed.
“And so what if I’m trying to avoid him?” Scott gripped his pole. “I want to concentrate on fishing.”
The two arrived at the dock, just in time to meet Abra.
“It’s very kind of you to take us out.” Scott reached out and shook the older native man’s hand.
Abra had spear fished these waters for many years and possessed a priceless knowledge of the reef.
“I’ll take you to the head of Bigei lagoon, where all the deep water flows
when the tide returns. I see you have your chum, so is there anything else you need before we go?” Abra asked.
“We have everything we need here.” Jerry pointed to a stack of snorkels, and duffle bags.
“Okay, Van Damme, let’s get you off this island before any more chairs get broke.” Abra gave Scott a meaningful wink.
Scott coughed and Jerry punched him in the shoulder playfully. Scott swung his fins into the boat. “I just don’t want to be hanging around him if he starts thinking about it too much.” The three men chuckled. It was the start of a good fishing trip.
The ride to the next island lasted about 45 minutes. Scott sat in the front of the boat and pointed out dolphins racing like streamlined torpedoes through the crystal water. This was the dolphins’ hunting grounds, and today the playful dolphins took a break to chase the speeding boat. The dolphins turned away as the boat approached the beach.
They pulled up along the side of a concrete pier left behind from the second World War. Scott and Jerry unloaded the camping equipment onto the beach while Abra followed close behind with the buckets of fish guts.
“Okay, this is it. I’ll see you boys tomorrow evening about this time. Things should be calmed down with Tony by then.” Abra waved as Scott and Jerry pushed the boat free of the pier. “Happy fishing,” Abra yelled.
Scott found a place on the beach high enough that the big waves wouldn’t reach their gear. He lugged his duffel bag to the chosen spot. Jerry gathered coconut husks for a fire that night.
“The tide won’t be going out for another 90 minutes or so,” Jerry said, dumping an armload of fibrous husks. “Why don’t we go out snorkeling first? I have something I want to show you. It’s just before the drop off, you’ll be amazed.”
Scott looked up at Jerry, curious. The guy was always full of surprises. “Sounds good to me. I’ll take my spear gun along, too. Maybe we’ll see some jack tuna for dinner tonight.” Scott reached into the duffel bag and pulled out his gun and fins.
The two friends waded out through the foaming surf together. Scott sloshed ahead and dove into a small green wave with a whoop, and then rolled over to adjust his mask and snorkel. Scott then sunk into the water and kicked out toward the drop-off.
The depth increased to about ten feet as they paddled out. Small aquatic grasses grew between the large coral heads as they neared the deeper water. A skate scurried to the cover of the reef as the two men swam over. Large schools of jack tuna, grouper and angelfish swam lazily through the water, looking with mild curiosity at the two strange creatures paddling through their world. Jerry waved Scott out into deeper water and pointed to a strange structure in the smooth sand. Scott peered into the blue. What was that? Surely not a reef. He swam forward and then saw a line of metal ribs. It wasn’t coral... no, it was a plane. The outline of an old aircraft lay on the bottom. Small fish swam through its struts, and fan coral waved smoothly from its fuselage. It had been there a while. Jerry tapped him on the shoulder, pulling him to the surface.
“It’s an old Japanese Zero. I found it last year, snorkeling with Abra, Probably sat there at least 50 years.” Jerry treaded water.
Scott looked down at the strange plane below. A couple of ragged holes showed on one collapsed wing. He rolled over, and dove down to take a better look, his muscular legs propelling him deeper into the blue. He could feel the pressure increasing as he descended; he let a stream of bubbles race to the sun above. A black fish darted from the cockpit as he neared. Scott peered in. Only the metal remained, covered with sand and algae. It was dim. Smashed, unidentifiable instruments were mixed with rust and gunk.
I wonder if the pilot died? The thought wandered through Scott’s mind dreamily. Had the pilot been captured, or had he bailed out over the water? Did the aviator drift at sea? Did the navy search for him? Did…did he have a sweetheart? Scott instinctively closed his eyes at the thought. He could see tangled brunette hair holding Janet’s lifeless body under the surface … Scott opened his eyes, there was nothing there except for the silent plane in front of him. It was just a flashback. He jerked away, kicking up toward the sparkling surface, out of the depths. He felt the pressure releasing. His head shot up and he gasped for air.
“You look green. Did you swallow sea water?” Jerry looked at him amused.
Scott breathed hard. “Am I pale? It just…it just reminded me of Janet, that’s all.”
“Everything reminds you of Janet!”
Scott flipped his mask off with a twist of his wrist, and rolled onto his back, resting. “Let’s go to shore, I don’t want to snorkel anymore,” he muttered.
“Okay.” Jerry shrugged, turning in the water.
*****
The concrete pier Scott sat on was from the same time period as the Zero on the reef. It was solid and had been built on that location because it was the only deep place to anchor in the lagoon. When the war had ended, the pier had been abandoned. The natives had discovered that it was an excellent place to catch sharks and large fish as it was deep, and large volumes of tidal water would pass through the gap in the coral. Put a little chum in the outgoing tide and wait. You would often see the dark shadows of sharks swimming in to investigate.
Scott was baiting his hook with a bloody piece of flesh when Jerry trotted onto the pier with four coconuts. He glanced up. “Why’d you get sprouted coconuts?” He twisted the meat on his hook.
“Watch and learn my friend.” Jerry smiled. “When was the last time you had an apple?” He peeled the husk from a coconut.
“It’s been a while. Probably Christmas.” Scott looked up, one eyebrow raised.
Jerry split the coconut open with a quick swipe of his machete. He reached through the split husk and pulled out the white core. “You eat it just like an apple, it’s a little crunchy, too.” Jerry handed the round core to Scott. Scott set the pole down, and leaned over the dock to rinse his hands.
Scott bit into the sweet core, delicious and white. “It tastes like a pear-apple.”
“It’s good isn’t it?” Jerry tossed the husk into the blue water. He picked up his pole and made a clean cast. The bait splashed as it hit the water. “We should pour more chum in, the tide’s going out.” Jerry pointed to the rippling water. Scott slopped half a gallon of the grizzle into the current. “How did the fight happen?” Jerry stood next to Scott. “All I heard was rumors and what Abra told me.” He turned expectantly. “I heard there was an uproar at the mission and that you knocked Tony out.”
Scott looked away. “I can see why people could say that.”
Jerry cleared his throat. “Scott, was it because of Janet?”
Scott flinched. “No it wasn’t… well, yes it was.” He turned toward Jerry. “You know, I loved Janet.” The wind was the only sound for a second, then he continued. “She was the only girl I ever trusted, and… now she’s…” His voice broke. “Gone.”
Scott’s chest moved with silent sobs. He leaned forward, unable to hide his pain.
Jerry stood quietly. Sometimes silence was the best way to understand. Scott sat hunched over, only his red hair moving with the breeze. Jerry was pensive.
“Did you, I mean, is that why you hit Tony?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
Scott sat up and looked Jerry in the eye. “Yes, I’m sure.” Anger flashed in his eyes. “Do you think I would fight out of vengeance? That would only make it worse, and Janet wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“No, No… it just looks that way.” Jerry spread his hands. “What would you say? You hit Tony with the leg of a chair!”
“I know.” His voice was shaky. “But that’s not the reason. I saved Tony’s life, Jerry. That’s why I hit him, to save him from Tai.”