Page 12 of Stranded

When Sam drops back down in front of them, Bower hands him a guava and my jaw drops open.He’s giving it to him?Bower and King silently hand the fruit to the lemurs, one piece at a time, not even trying to hide any away for themselves, which I would totally understand. I have to do that all the time, hiding food from Mo-Mo.

I was hoping this would show some sort of anger or volatility. I didn’t want the lemurs to get hurt, but they were fast, and I knew the men didn’t have any weapons. But now I’m just confused.Why are they being so nice?

“Well, I guess we’ll have to find our own dinner, huh?” Bower says when Mo-Mo takes the last piece of fruit. “I’m fucking starving, too.”

“Looks like it. I wonder where it all grows. We’ll have to search for it.”

“I vote we take a nap first. It’s bloody hot and I’m tired.”

King frowns at him before nodding. “Yeah, I could actually go for one right now. After that we check the beach, then look for food.”

“Deal, I call the hammock!” Bower says, running for the ladder.

“Dickhead!” King calls after him, shaking his head. I see the small smile on his lips, though. He doesn’t seem to mind Bower’s antics.

Mo-Mo grunts at me and I offer the basket to the three of them. They dive in and start happily eating the fruit. Figuring I need something to pass the time anyway, I grab a mango and take a big bite.

When the lemurs are done eating, they take off and I quietly make my way back to the main hut. The guys left the door wide open and I can hear their snoring from out here. I roll my eyes and climb down to the ground. Deciding now is the perfect time to bathe, I head to the waterfall. Now I have my new razor, I couldn’t wait to use it.

Forty minutes later, I find my hands continually rubbing up and down my smooth legs. “So soft,” I murmur. “Wait until Steve sees them! He won’t even recognize me! Hmm… Where is that stupid rock, anyway?” I glance around the clearing in front of the pond. “Crap shells. Where did I leave him this time?”

I quickly make my way to the beach, keeping my eyes and ears open for signs of the guys. Movement ahead has me jumping into the nearest tree. And my heart beats widely when I hear a man’s voice, one I haven’t heard before. “I’m gonna kill those fucking idiots.”

Crab sucker!There’s someone else on the island and apparently, he wants to kill Bower and King? What am I supposed to do? He storms past my hiding spot and my eyes widen as the sheer size of him.

He’s bigger than Bower, both in width and height, and he’s wearing a tight-fitting green t-shirt and black cargo pants. His short messy blond hair is a shade darker than mine and he has a little bit of stubble on hisjaw. He has a tight-set jaw that he clenches, looking angry as hell as he stomps through the jungle in his black military boots.

For a split second, I think about dropping down on his back to stop him. But what good would that do? I don’t know how to incapacitate him.

Climbing higher, I cut through the trees towards home. Somehow, this guy seems to know where he’s going. Although it’s more likely that he’s just following the path.

I make it there just in time to see him climbing the rope ladder. Quickly, I try to think of a way to stop him, but fear of what he’ll do to me has me frozen in place. So instead, I helplessly watch as he steps through the open doorway and speaks. “I’m gonna kill you dipshits!”

Chapter seven

Weston

“West! Thank god you’re alive!” Bower says, surprising me as he jumps up from a swinging hammock and throws his arms around me in a huge hug.

“We were so worried,” King adds, throwing his own arms around us.

I stand there, unmoving, not sure what to make of this. I didn’t expect such a warm greeting, but I didn’t really know what to expect. Definitely not them being alive after they threw the only parachute on me and shoved me from my crashing plane.

I didn’t know why they chose to save me, but I was angry. It was a pilot's job to go down with his plane, and they had robbed me of that by going down with it instead. At least that was what I thought until I saw their yellow raft on the beach.

The second I saw it, my anger doubled, and I was ready to give them a piece of my mind. I didn’t expect them to… hug me.

I have to admit, I’m fucking happy to see they survived. I don't know them well, but I liked them. They came from money but were solid, down-to-earth men who didn’t seem to treat people differently based on their income or occupation. I slowly lift my arms and hug them back.

“I’m glad you guys made it. But I’m furious at you fucking assholes. I can’t believe you pushed me out of my own god-damned plane.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” King says, finally releasing me and stepping back.

“Why did you do it?” I ask, unable to hold back the question that’s been plaguing me for the past day.

“You didn’t deserve to die. Whoever set that bomb was after us, not you.” My eyes widen in surprise. So, they also knew it wasn’t an accident?

I finally take a moment to look around inside the treehouse. “Figures, you two end up washed up on a beach and still find suitable accommodations. Who built this?”

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