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Double knotted

Haley

“ W e could go over the top of the mountain, down to the village instead of the cave.”

“That’s a long way. I don’t want to get stuck out in the open.” I don’t want to get stuck anywhere. “Penny and I can stay in the cave, and you can go back and help them.”

“No, I’m staying with you,” Calvin grunts.

“But the others need help,” I say.

“Going over to the village would be better. They’d never suspect that we could go that far.”

“Exactly, because we can’t. Not in a day. Adrenaline was the only thing that got me over and back when we were searching for you.” I’m scrambling up the rocks, pulling myself. Calvin puts Penny next to me and gives my dangling foot a boost.

“You’ve got adrenaline now. And there was a while that I was going over every day and back before anyone noticed I was missing. You can do this, Chiefie. You’re fast.”

Arguing with Calvin on a good day doesn’t go well. “Leave me in the cave and go back for them. Please.” It’s a dirty thing to do. I know how he feels about me saying please. All the guys—it’s their Achilles’ heel.

“We have to get up to the caves first.”

My heart races. I look back over my shoulder. Penny copies me.

“Stop, Haley. Just focus. Climb up. Let me hand Penny to you.”

I pull myself up onto a large boulder and turn around.

Penny has her front paws on the edge near my toes.

Calvin boosts her up. This section of the mountain is the steepest, but then Calvin just steps up like it’s a normal staircase.

I suppose it wasn’t that hard for him to go back and forth, but back then we didn’t even have a shovel.

It goes on like that for a good twenty minutes before Calvin says, “Let’s take a break. There’s a larger ledge over there, so we can press ourselves into the mountain and maybe they won’t be able to see us.”

“Yes,” I respond.

He pulls a water bottle out of the pack, opens it, and hands it to me.

“You first,” I say.

He shakes his head, and we both stare at the bottle hovering between us.

“Fine. Thank you.” I take a quick sip and hand it back to him. He takes a sip and then pours a little into his hand and offers it to the dog.

She laps it up, licking his skin and looking up at him with devoted eyes.

I know the feeling. Despite everything that’s happened, I trust him. So why am I questioning what he thinks is for the best? I’m not sure. Just something about it feels wrong. It feels like we should be closer—that if he could go down and help the guys, things might turn out differently.

“Let’s get going. We’re almost to the caves.” I yank myself up and gingerly scramble and slide through the rubble of the mountain over to the caves. From here, you can see down into the ocean, and shit—there’s the pirate boat. It’s right there.

I can see it. If I can see it, it can see me. I look at Calvin, speechless for a moment, but then it rushes to me. “They can see us. We have to move. We can’t stay here.”

“What?” Calvin says. He’s busy holding on to Penny. For such a fierce friend, she can be rather timid, especially on trails like this. That’s why Sam usually carries her up the mountain.

“Look, there, in our bay,” I say, pointing over the edge of the far bluff. The pirate ship is just hanging there.

“Fuck,” Calvin’s deep voice echoes, startling a bird from the side of the mountain. Penny barks twice.

“Penny,” I say, shushing her. “Quiet, girl.” I know the ship can’t hear us, but that doesn’t mean any pirates who’ve come ashore can’t. “I think... you might be right. Maybe we should go over the mountain,” I suggest.

Calvin shakes his head. “No, no, we need to keep going.”

“Wait, see that glint on the far edge? That’s gotta be somebody looking at us.

If they have binoculars like the good ones we have, they’re counting the hairs on the top of Penny’s head right now.

” I flatten myself against the mountain, but there’s not really anywhere to hide.

“They’re going to see us going into the cave. ”

“Yeah, I think it is. I mean, it’s a little hard to see with the naked eye, but...” Calvin trails off, his eyes narrowing as he scans the area.

“We need to switch this around,” I say, urgency in my voice. “They’re going to know we’re on the mountain. They’re going to come this way. The cave isn’t safe. The other side of the mountain isn’t safe either.”

“You’re right. There are more places to hide on this side and it’s bigger.

We pivot,” Calvin says, his voice firm. “The safest place would be over in the thicket where Easton is hunkered down. We can get there by going around the backside of the waterfall. I’ve done it once before.

It’s not comfortable, it’s really overgrown, but we’re here—we might as well try. ”

I nod in agreement.

We’re moving with more efficiency now, but going down takes just as long as it did getting up with Penny.

I sort of slide from one boulder to the next on my belly.

Easton’s sister’s high school T-shirt is taking the brunt of my sliding.

The thin fabric now sports a hole on the side.

I’m not going to die wearing Emily’s T-shirt. That would be too much for Easton.

Damn that’s a weird thought. I push it out. My brain is always there for me, coming up with the worst of the worst-case scenarios.

My foot skids on loose pebbles.

Calvin grabs my forearm, stopping me from sliding any farther. “You good?” His blue eyes stare at me, his hand gripping the top part of my forearm, holding me steady.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it, thanks.”

Even Penny’s looking at me like I might fall.

I cock my head at her. “You’re the one who has to be carried.” I scratch her between her ears. “Let’s go.”

Up took a while. Down doesn’t take as long. There was urgency before, but it’s doubled now. Those on the boat know where we are, which means if they have radios—which most boats do—those on the island know where we are too.

“This way,” Calvin says.

“I thought we were going to the thicket.”

“Another change of plans.”

“Change of plans? Where to, then?”

“I don’t know about you, but if I were a pirate, I wouldn’t be looking behind a waterfall.”

“What do we do with Penny?”

“Oh, good point,” Calvin grunts. Our four-legged friend hates water, tolerates it on a good day, but most days, she’ll do anything to not get anywhere near it. “All right, back to the original plan. Let’s go to the thicket, but we’ll take the route above it.”

“Great.” I stare at the waterfall on the side of the mountain.

A few months back, Easton jumped from the top of the waterfall into the pool.

I asked him to never do it again. It scared the living daylights out of me.

He said it was fine, but when even the littlest of injuries, as we’ve learned, can be life-threatening here, it isn’t worth it.

He took me up there a few days later to see the top. While the stream widens out before it goes over the waterfall, there is a section where you can almost step over it.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

We make our way laterally across the mountain. Penny really is insightful. She’s not complaining at all. It’s like she understands something is amiss.

When we get to the top, Calvin takes my hand. “This way—we’ll be able to cross up here. It’s not far.” The stream narrows here, and Calvin examines it. “It’s pretty deep, but I think we can get Penny to jump it, and then I’ll reach out and help you over.”

“I can do it myself,” I say.

“No time for heroism, Haley. Just let me help you.”

Calvin takes a big leap. The rock on the other side wobbles a little, but then steadies.

“Toss me the pack,” he says.

I do, and he catches it, putting it on dry ground.

“Okay, now toss me the leash.”

I toss it to him, and he catches it with his fingertips. Penny looks back at me like, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“There’s no way she can make this jump, Calvin—it’s too far.” The last thing I want is for her to tumble over the top of the waterfall.

“Right, okay,” he says. Then he calls her. “Penny, come.”

Somehow, she jumps in the air—straight, vertical—and it’s almost like she levitates over the water. Her front paws catch the rock and her back paws dip into the water, but Calvin’s able to grab her and yank her to land. She takes a few steps and goes into the jungle, shaking herself off.

“Holy shit,” Calvin says. “That was close. Okay, your turn.” He holds his hands out for me.

I hesitate. There are definitely times when I wish I was more physical, but the last year on the island has changed my body quite a bit.

My legs are more toned, and while I’ve always liked running, I’ve gotten a lot better.

I can do this. I take a few steps back to get a running start.

I launch myself into the air, my right leg forward, my left back.

Calvin snatches my shoulders and pulls me into him. We stumble back a few steps but stay upright.

“I did it,” I say, slightly breathless. “Good. Let’s keep going.” I head into the dense undergrowth.

I’ve never been to this side of the island. The farthest I’ve ever gone is the Birds of Paradise cluster. Beyond that, it’s a thicket of jungle from here to there.

“Do you know where we’re going?” I ask Calvin.

He nods. “This way. There’s no real path. I don’t think the boars are over here as much as the other side, but we’re going to have to fight our way through. It’s not going to be easy without a machete. But then, it won’t be easy for the pirates either.”

“We’ll manage. We have to.” I’ve got the pack on.

We head down around the backside of the waterfall. I can still hear the water running inside the island and the ocean from the southern side, but Calvin’s right—it’s hard going. The ferns are densely grouped, and the jungle thickens and thins along the way.

We have to squeeze between trees, and we’ve given up on Penny’s leash altogether. It’s pointless. You would think a year living in the jungle would teach her how to not get twisted around a tree. But no. And at this point, we just need to keep moving.

It’s amazing how fast we’re going and how silent we’re actually being. Penny trails between the two of us.

“Keep to the right,” Calvin says quietly. “There’s a bluff toward the water.”

As he says it, I step on my right shoelace and pull it out. I motion for him to keep going and crouch to tie my shoe.

He nods that he’s going to check out what’s around the large banyan tree up ahead. Penny trots after him.

With my shoe double-knotted, I stand to round the large banyan tree.

“Go home, Penny,” Calvin yells loud enough for the mainland to hear.