Page 4

Crap shells! This complicates things. They look much stronger than… well, me . I might be well toned from swinging on vines, climbing trees and hunting boar, but I had no idea how to fight someone. Last time I had just got lucky, if you could call what happened ‘luck’.

The two men drag the raft onto the beach, but surprise me when they don’t instantly drop it, instead they head towards me, pulling it behind them.

I freeze, wondering what they’re doing, but as soon as they reach the part of the beach that’s shaded from the jungle, they drop the raft and sink to their butts in the sand.

Hmm, they’re smart. I didn’t expect that. I’m going to need to be extra careful.

“Where do you think we are?” guy number two asks.

“I don’t know, Bower. But at least we’re on land now,” the other guy responds. By their voices and appearance, they are both clearly American, like me.

“Yeah, I’m glad to be off the water at least. That sun was brutal. I’d kill for something to drink,” Bower says, his head swiveling back and forth as he assesses the beach.

“Yeah, that’s going to be our first priority. Especially after all that time rowing and being in the sun. If there’s no fresh water source here, we might die.”

My hand instinctively moves to my waterskin as my brows furrow. Why was my gut reaction to give them my spare ones? I internally shake my head. I need to focus, I can’t help these guys. They wouldn’t help me if the situation was reversed.

“Okay, King, let’s just catch our breath for a few minutes, then we can take a look. Should we go into the interior or try circling the island first?” Bower asks his friend.

The other man, King, glances down at his watch before he answers .

“We should have lots of time before the sun starts to set, let's circle it first. If there is any civilization here, they would probably build on the beach, or at the very least have beach access and a dock,” King tells him. He has a good point, but I knew what they’d find.

And it would take them hours to circle the island.

Not all of it was surrounded by beaches, and they would have to cut through some sketchier parts of the jungle.

Maybe I’d get lucky and they’ll get bitten by a venomous snake. There was a particularly nasty one, Fang, that lives on the north coast. I stay far away from there at all costs. I’m not positive he’s poisonous, but he is big. If he got himself wrapped around me, I’d be snake chow for sure.

“Fuck, I’m starving. You think there is anything to eat here?” Bower asks, laying back in the sand. I duck my head and freeze as he’s now looking right up into the tree I’m hiding in.

“Probably. At the very least we know there are coconuts, “ King says, pointing up at a nearby palm tree.

They sit in silence for another half an hour before finally getting to their feet. I release the breath I felt like I was holding the whole time, afraid Bower would see me.

“Alright, I guess we go this way,” King says, pointing to the north. They head down the beach, and when they are far enough away not to hear me, I quietly jump down to the jungle floor. I peek out of the tree line and see them down the beach still, so I pull back and wait.

“Eep!” Mo-Mo trills, jumping down to my shoulder.

I give his neck a little scratch as I whisper to him. “What do ya think?”

“Eep!”

“Yeah, I’m not sure what to make of them yet, either. Let's just wait until they’re out of sight, then see if there is anything in the raft we can use. ”

The beach is long, so it takes a while before I can’t see them anymore and I feel brave enough to move out of my hiding place in the trees. I inch towards their raft and I can’t help the quiet shout of joy I let out when I see the two backpacks inside.

“Sweet baby treasure!”

Jumping in the raft, I immediately unzip the first bag.

I’m a little disappointed that it’s mostly clothes, but I find a toiletry bag and stare at the toothbrush with a huge amount of trepidation.

I really want to take it, I’ve been brushing and flossing with leaves and twigs for fifteen years.

I was super anal about it, never missing a day, terrified of getting a cavity or something worse and having to deal with never ending tooth pain or having to rip out my own tooth.

I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to do that, not mentally, anyway.

If I take this, he’s gonna know it’s missing, right?

I see a few other treasures in his bag, including two disposable razors and deodorant.

I clean myself every day, but having deodorant for a treat would be amazing.

However, I know it would attract bugs, so it was better to leave that one.

The razor, however… I lift my arm and stare at the ungodly hair there, then glance down at my hairy legs.

He was a guy, how much would he really miss it?

Besides, he had two of them. I take one and shove into my own bag and keep searching.

I find headphones, a tablet, and a couple of granola bars.

“Hmm, what’s the betting he forgot these granola bars are here?

” I ask Mo-Mo. I could take them, he’s clearly forgotten since he mentioned being hungry.

But something stops me. Instead, I pack his bag back up and place them at the very top, so he’ll see them as soon as he opens it.

I move to the second bag to find similar items. I pull out one of his t-shirts and my breath catches in my throat.

It’s black with ACDC on the front. Sadness overwhelms me as memories from my life before the island start to push in.

I loved their music, I’d spend hours listening to it with my best friend.

Unable to help myself, I decide to steal it, shoving it into my pouch. It looks long enough to sleep in, and since I was sleeping outside in my hammock now, I really didn’t want to sleep naked anymore.

I zip his bag back up and stare at it. Maybe I should take more clothes?

Would they notice? What if I threw things all over the place, I could make it look like the lemurs pilfered their stuff.

I stare down the beach in the direction they went.

Something about them feels… different. I thought I’d be eager to make their lives difficult here, but the thought of doing it makes me feel…

guilty. They haven’t actually done anything to me… yet.

“Ugh, crap shells! Mo-Mo, why do I feel guilty? I don’t owe them anything.

If anything, I deserve their stuff. I’ve been here for fifteen years without any of it!

Let them learn what it’s like to have nothing!

” I don't realize I’m crying until Mo-Mo gently climbs into my lap and snuggles against me, forcing me to hug him as I start sniffling.

“Stupid emotions,” I grumble. I was good at always keeping the tears to myself, only letting them out at night in my hut.

I rarely ever let Mo-Mo see me like this.

I wanted him to think I was strong and fun.

If he knew how dark my thoughts really were, he wouldn’t want to hang around me anymore, and I’m not sure I’d survive losing his friendship. Out here, it’s all I have.