Beached

by Brenda Beem

  “I’m making breakfast. How does snake sound?” Takumi said.

  “Snake?” Makala’s eyes lit up.

  Takumi sighed with relief. “That’s right. We still have lots of snake to cook and no refrigeration. I’ve been thinking. Maybe we could find a way to smoke the fish and meat we find. If we catch a turkey, we won’t be able to eat the whole thing right away. It’s a shame to let it spoil. Smoked meat can last a long time.”

  We spent most of the morning discussing different ways we could smoke the snake and any other meat we might find. Nick and Takumi talked about bringing some of the bricks we’d found back to camp and building a smoker. The fog slowly lifted. I made endless trips to the edge of the cliff to check the bay, but Whistler didn’t appear.

  When we were finishing our breakfast of cold rice and warm snake, a small group of islanders came to visit, including Jeremy, Sophia’s father. There were also four men I didn’t know and an older woman with long gray hair.

  Jeremy handed me a tree limb in the shape of a ‘Y’. “My wife hurt her leg when we got here and I made this for her. Thought you might need it.”

  I smiled. The makeshift crutch was a little long for me, but if I angled it away from my leg, it took some of the pressure off my ankle.

  A woman gave Angelina a covered woven basket. “I made the basket,” she said.

  Angelina opened it and gasped. Inside were tiny purple grapes.

  Makala jumped up and down. “Grapes!”

  The woman grinned. “A wine maker planted grape vines on the island years ago. Some of the vines survived.”

  Takumi offered them hot water and grilled snake. They didn’t seem surprised at all by the snake and accepted the cups of water. They moved to the fire and opened up the camp-stools they’d brought with them. I envied them their camp-stools and air mattresses.

  When they were settled around the fire Jeremy cleared his throat. “We had a meeting last night.”

  “Who’s we?” I asked.

  “Everyone from the island.” He glanced around at the group he’d brought with him.

  “Everyone but us,” Nick responded.

  Jeremy nodded. “You’re right. We didn’t include you. You’re just kids.”

  “Just kids? Really?” I glared at him. “We ‘just kids’ saved you from the cons.”

  “You acted irresponsibly. Makala could have been hurt.” Jeremy stood. “You proved that you are not old enough to make adult decisions. I get that you don’t want to be told what to do. But here’s the deal. We voted that there are to be no guns on the island. We are here to confiscate your guns. It’s not safe with all the children around. And Makala needs an adult to make decisions on her behalf.”

  Angelina’s face turned red. “You think you know what’s best for my sister?”

  “Honey,” the old lady addressed Angelina. “I know you think you are all grown up, but when you get to be my age, you’ll look back and realize how young and foolish you really were. We can’t stand by and watch you make a mistake that might harm your little sister. How old are you anyway? Fourteen, fifteen?”

  Angelina pursed her lips and glared at the woman.

  I gritted my teeth. “Did you survive a tsunami, sail the Pacific coast, fight off navy sailors, a motorcycle gang, and convicts, when you were young?”

  The old lady stood and turned to the islanders. “I told you. Teenagers never listen. They think they know it all.”

  Jeremy motioned for her to sit back down. “We understand what you’ve gone through. It has been a difficult time for all of us. You are a remarkable group of kids. But you are not adults, and we are not leaving here without the guns.”

  “You will not touch my pistol,” Angelina said in an angry voice. “Our daddy was a police officer. He taught Makala and me to respect guns. The gun I brought was his and I’m almost as good a shot as he was.”

  “Is that so!” the old lady said. “Where is your daddy now?”

  Angelina clinched her fists. Her father had been killed in the line of duty. She threw the basket of grapes on the ground and stepped toward the woman. I’d never seen her so angry.

  I blocked her path, and crossed my fingers that Makala wouldn’t give my lie away. “All the guns are on Whistler … and Whistler isn’t back yet. When it does return, I promise we will keep the guns onboard the boat.”

  Angelina squeezed Makala’s shoulder. Makala seemed puzzled, but for once kept quiet.

  “That’s not good enough,” one of the men said.

  Jeremy shook his head. “If you won’t give us the guns, Makala will no longer be welcome in our camp and none of the children will be allowed to visit her here.”

  Makala’s eyes got big and filled with tears.

  “How can you be so mean to a four-year-old?” Nick stood. “Leave!”

  “Not before we search your tents for the guns,” Jeremy said.

  Takumi walked over to his tent and came back with his spear gun. “Is this the way you thank us for getting rid of the convicts?” Takumi aimed the tip in the air. “The world has changed. We’re changed. Adapt or suffer.”

  “Is that a threat?” a man I didn’t know asked.

  Takumi shook his head. “We’ve never been a threat to anyone. We only protect ourselves. But we will do whatever we need to defend our own.”

  “I knew it!” The old lady snatched the basket up off the ground. “They had no intention of working with us. They planned all along to keep their boat full of food and supplies for themselves.”

  Angelina handed Makala to Nick. “We came here looking for friends. All we’ve found are convicts and arrogant, arrogant…”

  I placed my hand on Angelina’s shoulder. “When Whistler returns, we’ll leave. We’ll find another bay, far from here, to make our camp in. You can stay and tell yourselves how superior you are, at least until someone shows up with a weapon and wipes you out.”

  “I want to play with Sophia,” Makala cried.

  “I hope you’re proud of yourselves.” I pointed toward their camp. “Go!”

  They finally left. I kept the crutch.

  Chapter Eleven

  Makala cried and clung to Angelina.

  “Look, Makala!” Nick found the grapes the Islander woman had dropped in the dirt and showed them to her.

  “Can I eat them?” Makala wiped her eyes.

  Angelina carried her over to an upside-down cooking pot and sat her down. “Not yet. The grapes need to be rinsed off. They were in the dirt.” Angelina filled a bowl with fresh water, picked out one tiny grape, dropped it in the water, brought it out, and inspected it.

  Makala sniffed. “Can I eat it now?”

  ”It’s not clean enough yet.” Angelina dropped the grape back into the bowl.

  Makala kept watching. After the second rinse she was allowed to eat the grape.

  Her face lit up. “It’s sweet.”

  “Good. You can wash the rest of the grapes and pass them out to everyone.”

  Makala become totally focused on dunking the grapes, one at a time. Angelina examined them before Makala could eat or pass one out to us. She often made Makala go back and rinse it again. They were sweet.

  I used my new crutch to walk to the edge of the cliff. Once there, I leaned on it while I studied the horizon. The fog was lifting in wispy waves, but there was no sign of the boat.

  “Jerks!” I picked up a rock and threw it as hard as I could over the cliff. Without missing a beat, I hurled another. We’d tried to help those people. I gripped a third rock tight, and with all my might, threw it as far as I could.

  “I can’t believe they’d hurt Makala like that.” Takumi joined me at the bluff’s edge.

  “They are so full of themselves.” I aimed the fourth rock at a single tree barely hanging on to the side of the cliff. The rock thumped off the tree’s trunk and I felt even worse. The tree had survived the tsunami. Just like us. It didn’t deserve to have rocks thrown at it.

  “Feel better?” Taku
mi asked.

  “No,” I sighed.

  He rolled a stump over for me to sit on. “The doctor said to rest.”

  I dropped the crutch on the ground. “The crutch doesn’t help much either.”

  “It’s really pretty cool. I wonder how many trees Jeremy tested before he found a branch that formed the exact ‘y’ he needed.”

  “It hurts my under arm, though. I have to choose between arm pain and my ankle aching.”

  Takumi grinned. “I have an idea.” He hurried to his tent and came back with a thick grey sock.

  “Your dirty sock?” I wrinkled my nose. “Thanks.”

  “It’s your father’s dirty sock. It’s wool and will make great padding.”

  I reached into my pockets and pulled out the turkey feathers I’d picked up the day before. “I knew I’d find a use for these.”

  Takumi stuffed the sock with feathers and wrapped it around the V of the crutch.

  “Much better,” I said as I hobbled back and forth, leaning heavily on the crutch. “Thanks, Takumi.”

  With the fog gone, the air grew warmer. I used the now-padded crutch for support while I stared out at the horizon, hoping any minute Whistler would appear. Takumi paced back and forth between the fire and me. Nick and the girls decided to hike to the ruined camp and bring back some bricks. Mostly, they wanted to do something to take Makala’s mind off her friend.

  Makala raced over to me and showed me a handful of leftover cooked rice.

  “Rice? Are you taking food for a picnic?” I asked.

  Makala tried to roll her eyes, but only managed to look up and then down. “No, silly. This is turkey food. When we find a turkey, I’ll feed it, and it will follow me back here.”

  “Of course.” I felt around in my pockets and found a couple of tiny feathers. “Here! You can also give him back his feathers too.”

  Makala hurried to her sister gripping the feathers in one hand and the rice in the other.

  Nick called out to Takumi, “Coming with us?”

  Takumi wrapped his arm around me and shook his head.

  “You should go and show them the way,” I suggested.

  Takumi looked across at Nick. “The trail is easy. You won’t have any problem finding the camp.”

  As soon as they left we let the campfire die. The day grew warmer and we took off our coats. Takumi found the deck of cards and we played crazy eights. I stared at the bay and had trouble keeping my mind on the game.

  I was in the middle of dealing out the cards when Kat showed up.

  “What happened?” she cried. “You pulled a weapon on Jeremy?” She stared at Takumi.

  I bolted upright. “They were threatening us! He only showed them the spear gun. And he didn’t aim it at anyone.”

  Takumi looked more shocked at my outburst than Kat did.

  “What?” I put my hands on my hips. “She just accused you of threatening her people.”

  “I don’t need you to defend me, Toni,” Takumi said.

  Kat stepped closer to him. “I was worried. I know you. You would never have brought out the spear gun unless you felt threatened.”

  I turned my back on them and moved closer to the ridgeline. She knows him? What does that mean?

  Takumi filled Kat in on what the islanders had said. I heard her gasp when he told her about how upset Makala had been. They moved to the fire, rebuilt it, and spoke softly. I couldn’t make out their words.

  After a long time, Takumi wandered over to me. “What was that all about?”

  “She accused you of threatening her people,” I said again.

  “Her father is the only people she has on the island. She was concerned for us.”

  “Really?” I said. “Then why didn’t she warn us about the convicts?”

  “Toni, this isn’t like you. What’s wrong?”

  I studied my shoes. “I don’t trust her.”

  “Why? Kat fought the cons and took great care of Angelina. Before we came, she was the only teen on the island. She just wants to be friends with us.”

  My face burned. Not us. You.

  “I thought I’d take the kayaks and search the coastline for a place to anchor Whistler and build a new camp. Kat offered to go with me.”

  “Of course she did,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

  Takumi frowned. “You have to rest your ankle. Would you prefer I go by myself?”

  “No, you need to have someone with you.” My shoulders slumped.

  “Okay, then. Kat and I are going to go kayaking. I’ll bring you back a lobster.” He brought my lips to his, kissed me, then left with Kat.

  From my perch at the cliff’s edge I watched Takumi and Kat kayak out of the bay. She paddled almost as well as Takumi. Their laughter floated up off the water and chipped away at my heart.

  I’d waited all morning for the fog to lift and Whistler to appear. The fog had been gone for a long while, but the boat, and my brother, didn’t show up. Takumi and Kat soon disappeared from view too. On the boat, I had missed being alone, but not anymore. Now, I wanted everyone I cared about close by. There was too much danger in the world.

  Boots yipped. I quickly wiped my eyes, grabbed my new crutch, and moved to the head of the trail.

  The little dog ran and jumped all around, and on me. I was always amazed at how high he could leap on his short little legs. Nick, Angelina, and Makala were close behind. Nick pulled a chunk of canvas loaded with bricks behind him. It had to be heavy.

  Makala showed me a handful of flowers she’d picked. They were beautiful in a small, delicate way. “We didn’t find any turkeys,” she said sadly. “I think they’re scared of Boots.”

  I picked Boots up. His doggy kisses made me smile. “You’re probably right. Dogs weren’t allowed on the island before… before…”

  “Before the giant wave tried to kill everyone?” Makala said.

  I put Boots down. “How’d you get so smart?”

  Makala grinned and hurried over to help Nick with the bricks.

  Angelina and Nick discussed ways to make a smoker. Angelina complained her shoulder hurt and leaned back on a log. Nick moved bricks around to demonstrate his ideas. Makala had fun building with them.

  I elevated my foot on a rock and tried to rest, but my mind wouldn’t quiet down. What had happened to Dylan? How long would Takumi and Kat be gone? I hated just sitting and waiting.

  I finally hopped up. “I’m going for a short hike,” I told Angelina.

  She stared at my foot, started to argue, but saw something in my face that made her stop. I adjusted the padded crutch and headed for a trail. Before I had gone more than a few steps, I heard a woman’s voice behind me.

  “Where’s my husband?” the voice said. “He left on your boat. He promised me he’d be back yesterday. It’s a new day, and he still isn’t back.”

  I turned and faced a young woman with stringy hair that fell past her waist. She held her hands up in the air. “I don’t have any weapons.”

  I glanced at Angelina, who was trying not to laugh.

  “That’s good, because I don’t either,” I replied.

  The woman lowered her arms and crossed them tight across her chest. “Where is he?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m worried, too.”

  “What do you mean, you don’t know?” she snarled at me.

  “I have no way of contacting the boat. Is your cell working?” I asked.

  The woman huffed. “If he doesn’t come back by this time tomorrow, you and your group are going to be arrested.”

  “Arrested for what?” I crossed my arms too.

  “For kidnapping our men.” The woman turned to leave. “You have one more day.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Dylan asked for volunteers. Everyone heard him. If my brother isn’t back with the boat, it means something is wrong. We should be working together to find them. I love my brother as much as you love your husband.”

  “This time tomorrow!” the w
oman screeched, then left.

  Angelina and Nick moved to stand beside me.

  “This is insane,” I whispered. “Can they do that? Arrest us?”

  Nick scowled. “They can do whatever they want. Somehow we’ve been painted as the bad guys.”

  “More like disrespectful teens,” I shook my head. “But that isn’t something they can punish us for.”

  Angelina stared at Makala. “We should pack up and leave. They’re looking for a reason to take Makala away from me.”

  My jaw dropped. Was this all about the guns, and Makala being here without an adult? “But if we leave, how will Dylan and Jervis find us?” I asked.

  Nick turned on his cell. “It’s two o’clock. If the boat isn’t back by morning, Angelina, Makala, and I will pack up and head across to the other side of the island. You and Takumi can hide somewhere and wait. If Whistler still doesn’t come back, you can follow after us.”

  Angelina put her hand on my arm. “But the boat will be back before then. I know it.”

  “I’m going to see if I can find Takumi.” I took off walking along the edge of the island and away from the bay.

  ** * *

  There was a trail of sorts that I followed, although it was washed out in most places. I had to crawl over a number of large boulders. Some were barely hanging on and I crossed my fingers they wouldn’t tumble down with me on top of them.

  Most of the trees and shrubs were gone. The mud had dried to a flaky, dry sort of dirt that started blowing around me. But I didn’t mind. Wind meant that Whistler could sail.

  My ankle throbbed and I had to rest often. I perched on a rock that had split, leaving an almost flat surface, and tried to figure out how far I’d gone. Below me, at least a hundred feet down, giant rocks made up the shoreline. Huge ocean waves crashed on them. A knot formed in my throat. The waves were too rough for the plastic kayaks to handle.

  There was no sign of Takumi or Kat. I turned on my cell again and checked the time. It was after four. A short way ahead, the edge of the cliff jutted out into the ocean. I stood up and decided I would walk as far as the bluff. If I didn’t find them, I’d head back.

  It took me longer than I’d expected, and twice I almost turned back. Finally, I’d made it. The bluff was wider than it had seemed from a distance, and it took me fifteen minutes to cross it and get to the edge. I found a large tree and leaned on it as I inspected the calm bay that was over forty feet below me.