by Nic Lomax
‘Listen bro we’re here, we have made it this far. I have to at least attempt one wave.’
Stu grudgingly agreed and vowed to follow him into the line-up. They both nervously stretched their static muscles and entered the water.
Chapter 16
Taking the plunge
The currents that surged around the barrier reef were fierce, and they both struggled to try and remain in the best position to take a set wave. Combine this with the lengthy time between swells, even an Olympic athlete would soon run out of energy. It was difficult to communicate as crashing waves surged with such explosiveness it would temporarily render Kai shell shocked. He spent his time constantly scanning the horizon for the right wave whilst taking fleeting glimpses of the shoreline, desperately hoping that they would catch a wave and escape without detection. Kai smelt the smoke carried on the steady offshore wind way before he saw it. It was coming from the jungle behind the beach, and he paddled over to Stu to come up with a plan. Stu was visibly nervous with a look Kai hadn’t witnessed before. He was almost pale with fright and Kai knew he had to reassure his friend if he were to get a shot at pushing the limits. He didn’t have time to open his mouth before Stu had shouted.
‘Kai, outside set! It’s fucking huge!’
Kai paddled into the path of the oncoming set with complete disregard for his safety. He wanted this more than anything and was almost delirious with the intent on completing the mission.
‘Kai move back you fuckin’ goon, you’re gonna eat reef if you don’t get back.’
Stu bellowed over the surf as it jacked up and broke over the coral. Kai had responded just in time and paddled furiously climbing the face of the monster just before it broke, once over the lip he saw the next leviathan as it jacked up, and he knew this was the moment. This was what he had been moving towards his whole life. He pushed Amber far out of his mind as he dug deep and paddled hard.
The spray stung his eyes as he picked up speed and begun to drop down the face of the wave, it was almost a vertical take-off and as he dropped to the bottom of the beast he dug in a rail, and the board sang as is began to plane. The wave walled up as it broke behind him, the huge thick lip spewing out over his head as it engulfed him like a whale would a shoal of fry. Time seemed to slow down although he was shooting down the line of the barrel desperate to make his escape from the teeth of the hungry beast. The sound was deafening and he watched helplessly as the light escaped him. The wave had taken him down.
Twisting and pulling each limb over and over as it rolled him on to the reef, and he tried to remember to stay calm. He could feel his pulse inside his head beating like the drums of the head hunters’ tribe. The third wave of the set then took him further down, he had made contact twice with the reef which had pierced his helpless body, its razor sharp barracuda like teeth raggedly tearing his flesh. Amber drifted in to his mind like a fog, her wry smile gazed at him filling him with guilt, he couldn’t leave her like this and he wouldn’t.
The power of the surfs hold-down recessed but things were getting darker and this was a tell-tale sign that Kai’s body was beginning to shut down. He needed air and he needed it now. He blew a bubble to gain a bearing of the surface, his weary body ragged with fatigue was slow and heavy, and each stroke burned as he swam for his life. He broke the surface filling his lungs with the warm salty air, it was then that the pain of his lacerations began to kick in. Adrenaline is a powerful drug and it was beginning to wear off as he searched for his board, which he could see was on the inside of the lagoon with a gash on the deck.
It took Kai a while to register that Stu was screaming at him. Maybe it was the concussion from the massive wipe out or the copious amounts of ocean that had seeped into his head. But the words eventually cut through him like a knife.
‘Kai…dude…the boat…it’s GONE…’
‘Fuck...Fuck…’ words began to elude Kai. He was consumed with panic but managed to stop his voice shaking enough to converse with Stu. ‘We have to get to shore, we need a vantage point. Maybe the boat has slipped anchor and drifted further round the island. With the tide on the ebb she will be drifting west.’
Stu shot Kai a look that confirmed his worst fear.
‘Kai, I don’t think we slipped anchor…..’ Kai followed his line of sight to a pair of dugout canoes that were making their way to shore. Stu seemed to suddenly become enraged with the situation, flailing wildly in the water and muttering an in audible barrage of abuse directed at Kai.
‘So we’re proper screwed now and all because you wanted the ride of your life! Well I hope you got it Kai! Somehow I don’t think we’re going to paddle out of this!’
Kai was numb to the torrent of abuse tumbling from his friend’s lips. Survival mode had been engaged in his brain, and he was trying to construct a plausible plan of how not to die, when he felt a sharp tapping on his wound. There were suddenly a number of small reef fish taking small chunks of flesh from his leg. In an instant Kai began to take charge of the desperate situation his lust for danger had placed them in.
‘Stu, shut the fuck up’ he hissed. ‘It’s no time for panicking. Personally I don’t wanna end up butchered to death. But if you keep up that racket, I guarantee that your own personal hunting party will be out here like a shot. We clearly haven’t been seen yet as they would have killed us already. We need to get out of the water. I need to dress my wound with something and then find some cover? Got that?’
Stu didn’t need any convincing as he dove off the dry reef and into the lagoon, feverishly scanning the peripheral as if he was a fox trying to evade the pack of hungry hounds. Kai followed suit. Each stroke toward shore stung his ragged body, and he realised that the wave had taken more than his breath and confidence, it had almost ripped him limb from limb.
They were soon on the coral white sands and straight up into the shelter of the jungle. The contrast of sounds from the ocean to plant canopy was deafening. Kai addressed the primary problem of blood loss by ripping a section of his thermal neoprene top and applying it to the wound. He tied it off with a section of leash and was satisfied that he had stifled the flow. They were both doubled up under thick bush when they heard the spine tingling sounds of tribe members heading their way. Kai shot out to the beach, sweeping the sand with a palm throng to remove any trace of their foot prints. He quickly dived back into the bush with only seconds to spare before a group of three or so young armed men appeared on the foreshore. The language was of an ancient tongue and sounded primal in its own right. They seemed to be arguing and shouting when a large millipede crossed over Stu’s leg making him wince. Kai grabbed at his shorts and mouthed at him to be still.
The group moved away with cat like stealth. Kai realised he had been holding his breath for the best part of two minutes. He gulped for air and knew they needed a plan.
‘Stu we need to get to higher ground and see if we can locate the boat’, Stu agreed and also offered the desperate need to find some fluids. The thickness of the jungle canopy restricted light, and it took a while for their eyes to adjust. Kai’s eyes stung from the salt water and the occasional shards of light which pierced through the canopy blinded him further. The undergrowth was dense and progress was slow. Each breath was laboured in the humid and sticky jungle canopy. They found what is best described as a game trail, and followed it to higher elevation. Kai was conscious of the amount of noise the clumsy pair were making when he stopped dead in his tracks. He held up his palm signalling to Stu to cease movement. Up ahead strung from a tree were human remains. Kai’s breath quickened as did his heartbeat, which by now was almost jumping out of his chest. His first instinct was to bolt in the opposite direction. The air stank of death and the more he studied the surrounding clearing, it became apparent they had entered a burial ground or some kind of sacrifice temple.
Stu had gone quiet and visibly shook at what he was witnessing before him. Kai grabbed his arm making him jump.
‘Dude we have to move to higher
ground, we have to keep moving!’
Stu responded in a hushed but desperate tone, ‘Kai, we’re fucking dead men, these are forbidden lands with actual head hunters!’
Kai shook him and squared up to the thick set American. ‘Go ahead Stu give up! But I tell you one thing I’m not going to die on this island’, he turned on his heel and made his way up to what appeared to be the base of a hill. Stu sheepishly followed. After trekking through the rough terrain where every plant had its own method of inflicting pain, they finally made it to a view point. The view would have been one they admired, a scene of picturesque beauty had it not been for the fact that their salvation and only means of escape, was drifting far offshore.
A sinking desperate feeling of helplessness struck Kai deep in his guts, and he collapsed to the floor in a heap of despair. Stu would have joined him but was gazing further down the beach.
‘Kai they’re on the beach!’ He pointed at the tribes’ makeshift canoe that lay on the sand.
Kai found a little spark of hope that flickered and grew in his mind. ‘If we could get out beyond the reef and head east, we would have a chance at hitting the island traffic coming from Port Blair. It’s our only chance bro.’
Stu smiled sheepishly for the first time since they had landed on the cursed island.
Kai led the pair back down through the jungle. They even managed to find a fresh water source, and they spent a couple of minutes guzzling down the cool nectar. Kai stood up quickly as he heard an unnatural sound that seemed to put rest to the jungle chorus. He saw movement in the distance heading back from where they had come from. He dropped to the floor and beckoned Stu to follow suit. On all fours, they scrambled for cover and managed to conceal themselves before the group arrived. It was three young bare chested boys who appeared to be gathering water for camp. Kai cursed himself for not realising that they had probably stumbled on the only water source on the island. The pair remained silent as the boys went about filling containers made from animal stomachs. And after a little horseplay they begun to move off. Stu shifted a little too early as a cramp took hold of his leg. Although the boys were some distance away, the noise of potential prey instantly caught their attention. Realising the game was up, Kai climbed to his feet and faced the potential threat slowly moving backwards and putting a finger to his lips as if to tell them to keep quiet. The boys stood in awe at the strange beings before them. First silence, but in an instant they began to scream piercing tones that awoke the whole jungle.
‘Stu! Run!’ Kai yelled.
As they made their retreat it was as if the jungle itself wanted to imprison them. Stu whimpered as the spikey vines ripped at his flesh.
Kai beckoned him onwards, glancing backwards screaming ‘run! We can make it!’
Ahead the brightness of the coral white sands became visible through the tangled abyss of jungle that seemed to despise them as much as the native tribe. Kai broke through the last of the brush like a stampeding animal evading capture. In timely coincidence a fierce drumming erupted from behind, followed by chants and whistles. This made them pick up pace as they sprinted down the beach which was blisteringly hot underfoot, even though the sun was beginning to return to the horizon. The salvation of the dugout boat was now only two hundred yards away when a new sound filled the air. A high pitch whine that grew louder, it was a sound that would haunt his dreams.
Crude arrows struck the earth around them in a torrent from above. One graced Kai’s cheek, slicing a three inch gash. Kai strode on oblivious, jumping over the canoe. Using the hull as a shield, Stu manoeuvred behind and they began to slide the vessel down the beach and on to their potential watery salvation. All the time arrows and missiles of rock and dead coral filled the skies above, narrowly missing their human targets but hitting the canoe with a clatter. Two groups of warriors spewed on to the beach from the north side of the island, and from the south Stu pointed and shouted that a sea born party had joined the attack, as two canoes were cutting through the waters toward them.
Kai knew they only had one shot, as he barked the orders to Stu.
‘Get in the fucking boat and give it all you have!’
On their knees they both dug deep and drove the paddles into the clear waters with a force fuelled by adrenaline, only known to someone fighting for their life. They had one thing in their favour, the wind was aiding the pair whilst hindering the boats coming from the south. For a brief moment Stu let a familiar smile return to his face as they neared the reef pass. That was before the first arrow struck Stu’s calf. He swore, momentarily stopping his rhythmic paddling. He then was struck again, and again, screaming now and Kai could only watch in vain as Stu acted as his shield covering the barrage coming from shore. Kai realised their pace was beginning to slow as the swells started to reach the dugout.
‘Stu’ he bellowed, ‘just a little further bro!’
‘I don’t think I have a little further in me Kai’ he coughed and wheezed and Kai turned to see blood pouring from his mouth.
‘No!’ Kai screamed, as the first wave of the set reared up and the canoe began to lift before finally piercing the great mass of water. Stu was slumped forward now and breathing in a heavy and hagged manner. The deck of the boat was covered in blood, but it was no time to survey the scene, they still had one more obstacle to overcome. The second wave was easily passible but the third wave was a monster. A sheer wall of water careered toward them while behind he could see the soulless eyes of his attackers manoeuvring in for the kill. He shouted again at Stu to paddle and miraculously, he regained consciousness and gargantuan strength fuelled by pure desperation and adrenaline. They both strained hard at the oars and positioned the bow toward the mountain of water that was now on top of them. As the vessel rocketed up the face, it began to lose traction and get pulled back towards their ultimate doom. In the last second, the weight of the great hulk of wood broke the swell like a spear cutting down a mammoth and Kai rejoiced and spun round to congratulate his accomplice. Stu however was nowhere to be seen. In the white wash behind, blood boiled up from an eddy and Kai felt numb as he saw the hunters claim their prize, pulling Stu’s almost lifeless body onto their boat.
Kai was torn, if he turned back to help his stricken friend, it was to turn towards his certain death. If he carried on moving out to sea, the odds were that he would either sink and drown, or slowly die from dehydration and be burned alive in the tropical sun.
‘Just cut and run Kai, I’m a goner…Go!’ Stu shouted from the enemies’ boat and Kai paddled on.
Chapter 17
Tranquil seas, restless mind
Kai was in a state of shock, and he became robotic in his movement. Each stroke of the paddle took him into deeper water and soon the island disappeared from view in the failing light. He didn’t know how long he was asleep for, or whether it was unconsciousness from fatigue. After surveying the situation he began to break down. The hopelessness of his position and the feeling of guilt from the loss of his friend came at him like the barrage of tribal arrows he had just escaped from. He screamed at the empty ocean that lay before him, tears strewn down his sunburnt cheeks and his fists beat down on the bloodied wooden hull that would soon become his tomb. It took him a while to calm down, to see if he had any options. He spoke out loud as if to assure himself further.
‘Right Kai, It seems I’ve been at sea for over 14 hours already as it now appears to be mid-morning. I last hydrated over 12 hours ago. I reckon I have around three days at a push unless it rains this evening, fuck it, I’m going to die’.
He was suddenly aware of a shadow cast over him and out of nowhere a frigate bird landed on the bow of his canoe. A wash of emotion came over him as his mood instantly lifted. Was this a sign that land was near? Or had Stu sent it to reassure him that he was ok? He dismissed both and enjoyed its company. He stared at the bird and the bird stared back, finally it took to wing and Kai desperately tried to grab it as it flew by. ‘Wait…comeback’ he followed the bird’s path as
it flew into the sun and off to freedom. His mood then darkened, and he lay in a heap in the bowels of the boat trying to escape the heat of the day. It was futile and he wished that death would come quickly, as the sun and salt made his skin begin to crack.
Kai was unclear if the dreams were real or not. Sometimes he would have a full blown conversation with Amber until he couldn’t speak anymore, as his tongue began to swell. Sometimes it was Stu he saw, and occasionally Salty came to visit. The days took an eternity to end, a magical noise suddenly began to rumble in the distance. Kai pulled himself up the side of the splintered canoe, and sure enough in the distance storm clouds had begun to bubble up, darkening the sky. Kai felt empowered by the sight and began to paddle towards the storm. It didn’t disappoint, and soon the heavens opened. Kai lay on the deck with his mouth skyward absorbing every millilitre that heavy clouds offered him. Not only was it hydrating it soothed the sunburn and sores he had accumulated from being static in the hot sun for too long. Instantly invigorated Kai went about trying to store the life giving fluid before the rain stopped. Within the canoe he’d found a coconut husk and a spear. He filled the coconut and found a secure place to jam it in the hull. The spear, if no use for the hunting of prey, could provide an exit from the hideous thought of starving to death.