Island Girls 2

by LaBraun, Rodzil

  CHAPTER SEVEN:

  There were no vicious attackers outside of our tropical bungalow. No boats were approaching, and it wasn't just the wind blowing through the trees loudly. The source of the roar was once again coming from the sky.

  Another shuttle perhaps. It appeared mostly as a ball of light at this distance. Maybe that was how our shuttle looked from the ground before we landed. As it got closer, I saw red and orange like flames. The unidentified flying object was not headed directly for us, either. It was going to miss us by a good distance to the north.

  When we were able to view the descending craft from a side angle, it became clearer. It was indeed a shuttle craft, only considerably larger than the one that we arrived on. And, it did look to be on fire. Combined with the uncontrolled velocity, I deduced that it was going to crash.

  Forward thrusters finally fired to slow the descent, but it wasn't enough. The sound of its collision with the northerly land mass reached us a few seconds later. We stood there for a while entranced by what we just saw. Not only by the sight of a vessel crashing nearby, but mostly by what it meant for us.

  Now we had a whole new set of questions. Did anyone survive that crash landing? If so, were they human? Would it be advisable to make contact if they were? Or, would they be hostile? Could that ship carry supplies that we could use? Better yet, could it lead to a means of escape?

  With no current activity on the smaller islands near us, the only threats that we faced were the fish men and anything that might descend from the sky. Those were not an adequate deterrent from searching for this fallen vessel.

  "I think we need to check it out," I told the girls.

  "You think?" Nancy replied. I couldn't immediately tell if the little attitude that she added to the statement meant that my statement was a no-brainer, or that it was obvious that I would want to go.

  "I agree," Lin said, more seriously. "But how? Low tide? Or build a raft?"

  "I don't think we can make it that far on foot during low tide," Shira said. "Can we, Joah?"

  "It has to be at least three times as far as the island that we visited. Maybe as much as five times." Gauging distance was something that I had trained for in the military. Not only did it help me determine travel times, it could also determine whether an enemy’s weapon was within range. Or if the target with within range of our weapons.

  "Five clicks, then?" Nancy asked with a smile. Her happy demeanor in most situations made her easy to be around. The idea of having her as my wife was feeling better every day, as long as it didn't cock block me with Lin, or even Shira eventually. I found myself wanting to pull Nancy close to me often. She was becoming my own little snuggly blanket.

  "Yes," I returned the smile. "Five klicks."

  "So, we need to build a raft then," said Lin. "The next question might be a little tougher to answer. Will this be a one-way trip?"

  "What?" Nancy asked in shock. It had to at least be partially in jest. But considering her desire to just live here peaceably, maybe not. "And leave our paradise island for good? No, no. Shira, you're with me on this one, right?"

  Shira nodded. "I don't see any evidence at this point that we'll not want to return here."

  "Remember the tiny door in the women's dressing room back on our simulated island?" I asked. "We didn't know how far that rabbit hole would take us. We made that entire journey to here without any supplies. We even left friends behind. We did that because what we found made us not want to go back. That could happen again."

  "Zach was not a friend," Lin mumbled. I kept wondering if there was more to that story.

  "My point is that we should be prepared to not return. Just in case. We should take all weapons and as many tools and supplies as we can get on the raft. It could make a huge difference even if we are only over there for a day or two."

  "How do we build this raft then?" asked Nancy, totally serious this time.

  I had been working on that project in my mind already. I dropped down to my knees and began by drawing a rectangle in the sand. Then I added lines to represent the logs that would be become our floor. I explained the idea of leaving gaps for the inflatable bladders, then securing them in place with crossing logs. Those would also firm up the entire assembly.

  We could also use the big plastic bins that were our survival kits to keep our stuff dry. They were large enough that I had considered using them as the boat instead. I just felt that it would be more difficult to keep them tied together. Each unit had a base and a lid, almost identical. The side walls on the lids were about eight inches high. The bases were twelve. Using all four and no logs, it would make a boat more than ten feet square.

  "How long will this take to build?" Nancy whined. Both the journey and the time required to build the raft had foiled her plan of relaxing in our tropical paradise.

  "A couple days, probably."

  "How do we make the rope?" asked Shira. "Surely we're not going to hold the whole thing together with fishing line."

  "We'll need to form rope out of vines and tree bark, or whatever else that can be used. I've never had to make primitive rope before. Does anyone know how?"

  "Google it," Nancy suggested as she walked away. I could see that the idea of slaving over the construction of a raft for the next two days was not her idea of a good time.

  I took one of the shovels that doubled as an axe and began chopping at a medium size tree. The trunk was maybe eight inches thick. I didn't throw my weight into the first couple strikes for fear that it turned out to be a metal pole underneath after all. I knew that it wasn't likely, but with what I had seen so far, it wouldn't be a huge surprise. That would surely spoil the raft idea, though.

  The inch and a half gouge that my first two strikes left in the tree convinced me that it was completely natural. Unfortunately, the deeper that I got into the tree, the harder it was to make progress. I was tired of swinging before I made it halfway through. It taxed a group of muscles that were not getting a lot of use lately.

  I decided to take a break before chopping at the other side. Shira showed me the vines that she had gathered so far. They were too easily snapped apart when pulled on. We would need another method for making the rope. After I get that damn tree down, we could try peeling off thick layers of bark to test. I kept remembering movie scenes where the raft fell apart once it was out in the middle of the ocean. I definitely wanted to avoid that scenario. This trip was more about curiosity than survival. There was no reason to take those kinds of chances.

  Lin and Nancy were trying to find other alternatives for rope as they searched the island. My wife had a cup in her hand, and I was fairly confident that the contents were more than water. I felt a pang of disappointment, but it quickly faded when I remembered our recent conversation. She had done well to wait until I gave the all clear to consume the liquid. It was her first one of the day, too. No need for concern, yet.

  The two sexy ladies were walking along the edge of the beach, periodically bending over to inspect something. When Lin squatted her gorgeous ass down to the ground I continued to watch as she pulled something out of the dirt that resembled a large potato. It was purplish brown and dangled from a short weed in Lin's hand. There were hundreds of those weeds all over the island. Lin smiled really big as she held it up for me to see. Nancy was laughing and pointing at it. Perhaps she was a little tipsy already.

  Before Lin could traverse the grassy area, another sound from the sky drew my attention. As the whistle grew so did the object heading directly for us. I screamed for everyone to dive for cover away from the grass. The last time I heard that sound, a metal ball struck the ground and robotic spiders came out to shoot at us.

  Lin dropped the potato and pushed Nancy toward the beach. They dove beyond a tiny sand dune, their feet still visible as I ran toward the corner of the building. Shira had beaten me there, so everyone was clear when I felt the sand pelt me in the back. The thump as it struck our island sounded closer than I was hoping.

  Wh
en the dust settled, we were greeted once again by a metal ball of the same exact size and build. This one landed twenty feet from the entrance of our home, less than half the distance of the previous one.

  Since this was not my first rodeo, I readied my laser pistol. I had no idea when this one would run out of ammo, so I wanted to make every shot count. For an unbearable amount of time, I waited for the door to open. Staying behind the corner of the building, I shouted instructions for Lin and Nancy to circle around behind me using the beach. If this ball held four more spiders, they would likely go in different directions again. I needed all three of my women on my six.

  My women, I continued to think of them. One I could claim already, Nancy. Lin and I had sex twice and I hoped to have more. She didn't care for the title of wife, but she was determined to stay by my side. So, she should count, too. Shira, though, was different. Since I was determined to protect her, that put her under the same umbrella in my mind. My women, under my protection.

  Eventually, the camera shutter style door opened. It was not on top this time. Perhaps that was the reason for the delay. Almost half of it was buried in sand. The newly formed hole faced my side of the island, the west side, but more toward the south. I had no trouble identifying what came out of the opening.

  The metal leg looked longer this time, but the construction was the same style as the previous attacking robots. I decided to change my tactic. If they were all going to be coming out of the same aperture, I could pick them off one at a time before they could get anywhere near my girls.

  I hustled to find cover behind a large tree, less than ten feet from the shiny gray ball. The fruit producing growth was over two feet thick at the base. I only hoped none of those bowling balls would drop on my head while I was there. I imagined them hanging loosely after the impact, waiting for the slightest breeze to send them descending toward me. That would certainly make for entertaining television. I resisted all temptation to look up. Stay focused, I told myself. Get this done quickly.

  When I popped my head out the first spider was pulling its last leg out of the ball. The body was at least three times the size of the previous ones. I wondered if that meant that their weapons would be more powerful. I was determined not to find out.

  The mouth of the mechanical beast rotated to face me as it became aware of my presence. I fired one shot into that mouth. Its motion stopped, but it lingered there in suspension of its long legs for a few seconds before falling face first into the sand. One down, and with only one shot fired. Three more to go? I wasn't sure of that. These things were so much bigger than the last ones. Could four fit in there?

  The next robotic spider then appeared at the opening, creeping out at the same speed as its predecessor. Fearless. Designed to attack without any regard for its own safety. Or was attack even their real purpose? The previous spiders held fishing gear inside their bodies. What treasure could we find in these?

  I shook my leg out into the open to catch the thing's attention before it was completely clear of the spherical craft. It worked. The front rotated toward me, opening its mouth to receive my laser blast. I had a memory flash of my pulse rifle giving out at the wrong time. Did my pistol still have charge left to it?

  Yes. Another direct shot. The thing collapsed with its buddy, almost in a butt humping position. The things a perverted mind thinks of in the weirdest, most inappropriate moments.

  I was once again proud of my accuracy, but it wasn't much of a challenge from this distance. The space in front of the ball's exit was now crowded, but not quite blocked. I needed to be patient and allow the next one to get past the demobilized bodies of his friends before I shoot. Leaving one trapped inside the ball would not be a good thing. We’d either have to go in after it, or chance that it didn’t make its way out when we weren’t expecting it.

  I waited and waited. At least five minutes. No more spiders came out. I slowly approached with my pistol ready. Still nothing. It was dark inside. If it had been facing upward, the sunlight would illuminate the interior. Standing directly in front of the hatch still yielded no response, so I picked up one of the spiders. It was heavy, at least fifty pounds. I decided to drag it instead, back to the house.

  I hollered the all clear to my ladies and they came walking up to inspect the new and improved robot. Tactically, there was no improvement in my opinion. They were just larger. We cracked open the cranial lid to reveal the contents inside. Guess what we found.

  Rope. Well, it was more like a thin black cord, but crazy strong. There had to be hundreds of feet of it. The second spider held the same cargo. It took some effort, but I was eventually able to rotate the ball that they arrived in enough to see clearly inside and reach the sealed compartments. There I found adhesive tape, nails, and two hammers.

  We had been provided the missing items to make raft building much easier and produce a better end product. That was good news, and bad news. Sure, we can have a more reliable boat ready to visit the north island much faster. But it wasn't because we wanted it. We were being guided in that direction once again. Herded even. It was belittling.

  Nothing had changed. Simulated island. Starship. Shuttlecraft. Real island. It didn't matter. We were being sent through a linear story line that our captors determined would be the most entertaining for their viewers. Hammer in one hand, a roll of tape in the other, I looked out to the sea on the nearest side to see a drone camera less than fifty feet away. I wondered if they would use this scene of my mixed emotions as the end of an episode.

  CHAPTER EIGHT:

  "They obviously want us to build the raft and go to that island where the spaceship crashed," Nancy reiterated. She had been lobbying for us to not waste our time on the project all along. I understood where she was coming from, as far as not wanting our decisions to be made for us. But I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. Neither could Lin.

  "It's a big planet," Lin tried to reason with her. "Once we have something seaworthy, we can travel wherever we want. True, the island to the north is the logical place to start. Especially if we want answers. Even if they are directing us there. After that, though, we can go anywhere. The view from that island could reveal more land. Or, that could be a peninsula of a large land mass, like Florida."

  "You think it is like Florida over there?" Nancy asked, being comically antagonistic.

  "I'm with Lin on this," I told my ladies. "Even though they are guiding us to that island, it is still the logical choice. What we do with the information that we gain by going there is up to us."

  In the end, we all accepted that conclusion. With the new supplies I modified my plan for the boat. We would use all four plastic compartments from the survival kits. They would then be held together by two crossing beams of logs. Four more logs would square up the outside edges and be connected in the corners. The inflatable bladders get tied under the crossing logs near the outside edges. We could then sit on the perimeter or stand in the plastic basins and use poles to propel ourselves. We would fashion oars for deeper water. Rope, nails and tape would keep everything tightly together. We had yet to see any waves that could mount near enough force to damage the planned craft.

  Nancy poured everyone a glass of vine liquor after a few hours of work. It was not a distilled beverage, so liquor was not the appropriate name, despite the effect. Lin informed us from her past life experience that the proper term was euphoric. A natural plant leaf or root that provided a soothing, anti-anxiety effect when consumed.

  The feeling was certainly mellow. I finished Shira's drink for her, as she had only taken a few sips. None of us got too much of a buzz to go back to work on our project, but our pace unquestionably slowed. Unless there were injured human survivors of that crash, and they were friendly to us, there was no rush to get over there. Only the desire to get answers before facing another attack motivated us to work quickly.

  Before nightfall we had the boat completed. We even tested it briefly for seaworthiness with just one person in it. The flo
atation ability was more than adequate. The vessel rode high above the water at all points of the construction. The four of us then pulled the craft way up onto the shore to make absolutely certain that we didn't lose it during the night.

  Lin took the first shift at guard duty and Shira headed straight to bed after dinner. The physical work combined with the recovery of her injury had taxed out her energy. That left me and Nancy to rest on one of the swings. We each poured ourselves another euphoric as well. The addition of the intoxicating beverage made it easier for me to chill out with the rest of them. When not facing intruders our situation and location were not bad at all.

  Nancy was quite mellow by the time that she finished hers, but I still had my mental focus. Even though it was not my turn to guard the island, I kept glancing around for potential attackers. It wasn't until Nancy laid down across my lap that she gained my full attention.