“Fuck!” I shouted with the voice of a lesser man.
I was nearly on my feet when something exploded from the dense bushes and stormed past me. A cry for help lodged in my chest and I literally choked on my own words. Coughing, I swallowed my embarrassment and shook my head.
Trevor burst into laughter behind me. I heaved forward and tried to catch my breath then suppressed a laugh of my own.
“Fucking pigs,” I croaked as I found my voice.
“Well at least there’s food here,” Trevor added.
I stood up and brushed off my pants. Grinning, I stared at the family of small pigs that rushed out from the jungle and ran toward the beach. It was a storm of dog-sized snorts cloaked in all sorts of colors. It was a little hard to look at them as food, they looked like pets to me.
“I definitely need water now,” I huffed.
“The pigs came from back there. Gotta be some water, right?”
“Let’s find out.”
We headed back down the trail, deeper and deeper into the jungle. More grunts and snorts sounded in the distance as the pigs continued to hurry through the trees. There had to be dozens of them on the island and Trevor had rattled off every pork dish he could think of.
I felt like we were walking in circles. All the trees looked the same, every cluster of bushes was identical. It was a leafy maze with no end.
“I can’t do this much longer,” I called out.
We’d been walking for nearly two hours and I was ready to give up. Who were we kidding? We didn’t know the first thing about navigation or tracking animals or any of the things that would’ve been useful. We were two kids from the suburbs that were helpless without an iPhone. Hell, Trevor routinely got lost in the mall.
“This is stupid,” I griped.
Pushing through a wall of leaves, I stumbled into a hidden clearing. Wincing, I straightened up then moved forward as Trevor barged in behind me.
“Holy shit,” I gasped.
Long blades of dry grass circled a medium-sized pond like a lion’s mane. The water was clear and I could see through to the bottom. It was maybe five feet deep with fish scattered all around.
Trevor made a yelping noise and rushed toward the pond like he’d never seen water before. I hurried behind him, partly out of my own thirst, partly to stop him from doing something.
“You can’t just drink it you psycho!” I shouted.
“Why the hell not?”
“Well, for starters, we don’t even know if it’s fresh water.”
He grinned and dipped his finger in the pond then stuck it in his mouth. “Oh yeah, it’s fresh.”
“Could be parasites or bacteria. You have to boil it first.”
“Daniel what the hell are you talking about? How are we gonna boil the damn water? We don’t even have anything to put it in. Don’t tell me that we came all the way up here to look at the water and not drink it.”
I closed my dry mouth and swallowed. Before I could protest anymore, Trevor stuck his head into the water and started gulping up the puddle like a St. Bernard.
“It’s probably full of pig piss,” I said.
He lifted his head and made a long, satisfying sigh. “Best piss I’ve ever had.”
With a stupid grin, he dipped back under the water, sending a string of bubbles to the surface. Every few seconds he’d come up for air then bury his head in the pond again. Just watching him made me thirsty and eventually my common sense lost the battle.
“Okay move over,” I said and pushed him to the side.
Cupping my hands together, I brought a scoop of the water to my mouth. I took a shallow sip and nearly lost my mind as the cool liquid hit my lips. I scooped more water up until I felt like I was going to burst.
“I think I’m gonna puke,” Trevor groaned.
“Me too. Now I don’t feel like walking back.” I stretched out in the dry grass and laid down. “Might as well stay here. We’ve got water, we’ve got food.”
Trevor chuckled and fell beside me. “You don’t have Sherry.”
“Damn, dude do you ever think about anything else?”
“What else is there to think about?”
“Um, being stuck on this island for one thing. How the hell are we gonna get home? Our family.”
“Dad, mom and Chloe made it off alright. I’m sure they did, you said so yourself,” Trevor replied in an odd voice. “Everything else, who cares. I mean come on man. We’re on an island with a bunch of hot chicks. What else do you need?”
With a grunt, I rolled over and pushed myself up. “We should get back,” I said with little conviction. “There’s no telling what those idiots are up to.”
Trevor shrugged, and I held out my hand and pulled him to his feet. He splashed some water from the pond onto his face then we started the hike back to the beach.
We moved like slugs as we made our way back. The sun was starting its slow descent and with a belly full of water we weren’t in any real rush. Time didn’t matter anymore.
“I’d kill for a cheeseburger,” I said as we waded through the lagoon towards the row of slippery boulders.
“And fries,” Trevor added. “And a milkshake…strawberry with whip cream.”
I moaned as my stomach growled in agreement. Visions of every bit of junk food I’d ever eaten kept flooding my mind. I could smell them, taste them and my mouth watered at the thought.
We rounded the edge of the beach and I could see Chase and the rest of the guys standing near the shore. The girls were standing around them like they were listening to a story or about to play a game of ring around the roses.
“I guess sasquatch made it back alive,” Trevor huffed. “I should’ve known, he was probably born here.”
“Why do you hate that guy so much? You don’t even know him”
“Since when did that become a prerequisite? You’ve never met somebody that you just couldn’t stand their face?”
“You?”
Trevor laughed. “I’m serious. His face makes me want to punch him.”
Chase looked up as we got closer and Amber shot me a glance. I wasn’t sure if it was a good glance or a bad glance, but I was excited to find out.
“We found water!” I shouted as we came within earshot.
“What did the hunters manage to wrangle up?” Trevor asked with a sarcastic chuckle.
Chase glared at him then held up his empty hands. The other three guys just stared out into the water.
“So, where is it? McKinsey asked.
“Huh?”
“The water, where is it?”
“Oh, well it’s about two miles that way,” I said and pointed back over my shoulder.
She gasped and flung her head back.
“Did you want us to build an irrigation system and make a little faucet for you to drink out of?” Trevor snapped.
“Guys!” a voice called from the other side of the beach.
It was Reggie and Conner. They were dragging something behind them. It was hard to make out, but it was bulky and cumbersome.
“Guys check it out!” Reggie yelled and waved his arms in the air.
We all rushed toward them with wild eyes. Whatever they were carrying had to be better than a pond, half an hour away and Chase’s empty hands. It hadn’t taken long for my standards or expectations to nose dive.
After sprinting the fifty yards, I stopped and knelt over to catch my breath. They had a silver and black metallic box about the size of small table. Reggie was sitting on top of it, breathing heavily. His face was covered in sweat and his clothes were soaked.
“What is it?” I asked. “And what the hell happened to you?”
“On the other side near the rocks, there’s stuff from the ship washing up,” Conner explained. He bent down and opened the metal case and a cold mist spread into the warm, humid air. “It’s a mini fridge,” he announced with a smile from ear to ear. “Who’s thirsty?”
He tossed a bottle of water and Sherry lunged forwa
rd and caught it. More bottles spilled out as he dug his hand further inside. There was at least a case and a half.
“What else is in there? Any food?” Trevor asked and leaned forward.
“Anyone want steak?” Conner boomed in a resounding tone.
He took out a plate with a maroon cover, wrapped in plastic. It had a white label on the top that read “Steak and Mash.”
Chase snatched it from him and tore it open. He plopped down into the dirt and tore into the cold chunk of meat and scooped up the mash potatoes with his fingers.
“We found silverware too,” Reggie laughed.
The little refrigerated cart was stuffed with drinks and pre-cooked dinners. I didn’t know how it’d found its way to us, but I couldn’t’ have been happier. If we rationed, we had enough food and water for a week, but that wasn’t on anyone’s mind.
“This is the best day of my life,” Trevor moaned as he stuffed more food into his face.
“You’re gonna choke,” I warned. “And nobody here is gonna revive you.”
He laughed. “Well, it’ll be worth it.”
We all sat circled around the cart, eating and drinking without a care in the world. I’d never felt so hungry before. I had a cold drumstick in one hand and a partially frozen Coke in the other. For that few minutes, I was in paradise.
“There’s more where this came from,” Reggie mumbled with a mouth of food. “We should go over there now and bring it all back. It’s only like three miles away.”
Everyone groaned then laughed. We were gorging ourselves and a three-mile trek around the island wasn’t in the cards.
“Tomorrow,” Chase grumbled. “We can get it all tomorrow. It’s getting dark.”
“Fine…fine, but there’s something else,” Conner added. “Follow me...it’s not far.”
He got up and started walking off. At first no one followed and just shot awkward gazes at one another. We were stuffed and there wasn’t much incentive to follow him anymore.
“Come on…it’s right over there.”
“This can’t wait?” Chase asked.
“It’s worth it, I promise.”
Slowly, one by one we forced ourselves to our feet and trudged along behind him. I could feel the water and food sloshing around in my stomach with every step. We rounded the edge of the island and he stopped near a rocky shore and stared into the water.
The sun was vanishing from the skyline, casting brilliant, deep orange rays into the clouds. A light breeze pushed the ocean gently up against the rocks, showering us in a thin mist of salty water.
“What is it?” I asked.
Conner didn’t reply. He had a pensive look on his face as he lifted his arm and pointed far out into the sea.
I followed his finger, using my hands like visors. And then I saw it. Beaming in the distance was the bow of the cruise ship.
Only a quarter of it was still above the water line. It looked like a small mountain jutting up from the sea. But there it was, the tragedy that had brought us all here. The last place I’d seen my family alive.
CHAPTER 6
NO HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS
“I told you we shouldn’t drink that water,” I groaned then turned to the side and dry heaved.
“I didn’t force you to drink it!” Trevor replied as he jumped up and vanished behind a thicket of bushes.
We’d been puking and crapping the last hour. It was horrible, and I felt like I was going to die, but what made it worse was there was nowhere to hide. No bathroom to shut myself in, no closet or room. It was the beach or the nearest bush and what little pride I had left, was dying right there on the shore.
“You want some water or something?” Amber asked and offered me her bottle.
I was lying in the sand, gasping for air in between convulsions. I’d already emptied everything in my stomach and now I was determined to puke up my soul.
With a deep breath, I looked at Amber and shook my head from side to side. It was bad enough they were all there watching me die. I didn’t need her taking care of me too.
“You think anyone’s still alive on it?” Chase asked.
Reggie shrugged. “I don’t know. So much for Pastor Davis being the chosen one.”
Conner started to laugh. “Mr. Pray the gay away. I bet he was the first one off the ship. Probably left the entire youth group behind and saved his own ass.”
“How far do you think that is?” Chase continued.
“A mile maybe. Why you gonna swim out there?”
“Just thinking…what if nobody comes?”
“Someone is coming for us,” Amber barked.
“Okay, but we don’t know when. What if it takes them weeks or months? There’s maybe a day’s worth of food in that frig and you see what happens when you drink the pond water.”
“Fuck you!” Trevor groaned before bending over and puking again.
“He’s right though,” I croaked. “Sooner or later we have to figure things out.”
“Well not tonight we don’t,” one of Chase’s buddies chimed in.
“Who are you guys anyway?” Trevor asked. “I mean, I thought you went to rescue the pastor, but instead you showed up with the three stooges.”
Chase laughed. “Yeah, he was missing in action. Anyway, this is Hanson and over there that’s Antonio and Keyon.”
Hanson was a thin, blonde-haired guy with stubble covering his tanned face and a weasel-looking mustache. Him and Chase seemed pretty close and were always whispering together and looking over their shoulders.
Antonio was near the shoreline with the rest of the girls. He would’ve passed as a teacher at my school, but he had to be our age. He was a dark-skinned black guy with a bald head and thick eyebrows.
Keyon was sitting next to him. He was a tall, skinny, Dominican guy with long, twisted hair and braces. He didn’t talk much, but when he did his baritone voice droned on in a slow staccato.
“Well, now that we’re all best friends, what are we gonna do about getting back to the ship?” Chase asked.
“I’m going to sleep,” Hanson replied.
It was probably nine at night although it didn’t seem that late. The moon was still full and the light bounced off the water illuminating the sea for miles. It felt like we were sitting under a spotlight. We were all alone underneath a blanket of stars, lost and scared.
The taste of vomit lingered in my mouth and my stomach muscles trembled from overuse. I’d been put through the ringer, but I was alive and at least I had Trevor with me.
It took a few hours for me to finally stop throwing up. I laid in the fetal position in the sand, listening to the water as it massaged the shoreline away. Everyone had stopped talking and it was so quiet, I could almost hear their minds at work.
Everyone was laced with their own insecurities. We wore our fears like medals that had been wrapped and put away in a cupboard, masked from prying eyes. We covered our mental scars, but there was no hiding the damage that had been done.
We were strangers, brought together by chance and left on a deserted island. The talks about rescues and the coast guard were comforting, but deep down I knew, no one was coming for us. A voice in the back of my head told me that if we ever left the island, we’d have to do it ourselves.
“Hey Trevor?” I whispered. “Trevor, you still awake?”
“Maybe. What do you want?”
“I don’t know why you’re pissed at me. I told you not to drink that water.”
“But you still let me drink it.”
“You’re such a dumbass Trevor.”
“Whatever. What the hell did you want?”
“Never mind, idiot.”
Yawning, I turned over and closed my eyes. My mind was still spinning, but I was dead tired.
Lying there I wondered if there was any chance my family had stayed on the ship, if anyone had stayed on the ship. Maybe they were huddled together in some upper cabin, waiting for the same rescue that we were. Or maybe they were on one of th
e boats that sped through the water that night and left us for dead.
I envisioned my dad hijacking a life boat and searching the seas for us. Maybe he was out there now, refusing to go home until he found his boys. That idea made me smile and I held onto that as I fell asleep.
The next morning, I woke up early. Everyone was still sleeping so I stripped down to nothing and waded out into the water to bathe. It wasn’t a warm shower, but it would do.
The waves broke against the shore and I dipped my head under. There was something refreshing about the ebb and flow of it, the sound of the water as it swept in and out.
For the few moments I was out there, I found myself not hating the water so much. I tried to forget where I was or why I was there. But I couldn’t help but think about the cruise ship that sat partially submerged right off the shore. It was a constant reminder of the night that changed my life.
Waves broke against the capsized vessel before softly rolling toward the beach. I watched the violent water, stirring madly and frowned at the irony. How could something be so close, but be so difficult to get to. So many people died, so close to safety.
I pulled my clothes back on and headed up the beach. Amber was making her way down to the water. She’d already taken off her bikini top and was unbuttoning her shorts as she stumbled toward me.
“Um, I’m sorry,” I said and covered my face as I passed her.
She laughed. “Next time, how about you wake me up on your way down.”
“Yeah…I’ll do that,” I said with a grin.
I watched for a moment as she slipped into the waves. Maybe I was going island crazy, but she looked like a damn swimsuit model. I was infatuated with every inch of her and I had a hard time pulling my eyes away.
Staring at her almost made things seem normal. But the reality of what had occurred wasn’t lost. I was still stranded on an island with no idea what happened to the rest of my family.
I made my way back to the beach and sat down. A few of the guys were milling around, but no one was really doing much. Trevor had just sat up and looked like he didn’t know where he was and Chase was still snoring.
Deconstruction- The Complete series Box Set Page 55