Page 5 of Stranded

He jumps down onto my shoulder, wrapping his tail around my neck as he nuzzles me.

“Thanks, buddy. I knew you’d understand,” I whisper, turning back to watch the raft. It’s close enough that I can make out the blurry dark forms of two people rowing.

“Two, okay, that’s better than three at least.”

I decide I’m too visible, so I climb up the tree behind me until I’m high enough to be hidden by the foliage. I manage to find the perfect spot as it gives me a sliver of sight down the beach and into the ocean where the raft approaches, but there are enough leaves around me to make me feel well covered.

I lay on my stomach, so my head can be as close as possible to the ocean and Mo-Mo doesn’t hesitate to sit on my back. I feel him rummaging through my bag, so I quickly try to bat him away. “Hey! Mo-Mo, stop that! That jerky is all I have. I need it to tide me over until I can hunt and cook again.” I feel his grubby little hands trying to smack mine away, making me growl.

The noise instantly makes him back away, jumping to another branch. I hate to growl at him, but I need that jerky to last. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with these new people on the island, and I needed easy access to food while I figure them out.

As the raft finally makes its way to the shallows of the beach, I get my first proper look at them. The first man jumps out, grabbing the rope of the raft to pull it behind him. My eyes widen at the sight of him. He’s wearing jeans and a green golf shirt with a watch shining brightly on his wrist when the sun catches it. He has a sharp jawline and messy brown hair that’s about six-inches long. The state of him speaks to the bad day he’s having, although he still looks like some sort of Abercrombie model.

The other person jumps out of the raft, capturing my attention. It’s another man. “Sweet baby crab cakes!” I whisper to myself when I get a good look at him. He is just as mesmerizing as the first guy, although they look nothing alike. His hair is a slightly darker shade of brown but his is much longer, tied up in a messy bun on top of his head. His chin is covered in a short, close-cropped beard that gives him a rugged appearance. He’s wearing a dark gray henley and blue jeans. He’s wider than the first guy, but they both look strong.

Crap shells!This complicates things. They look much stronger than… well,me. I might be well toned from swinging on vines, climbing treesand 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!”

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