Page 89 of Totally Wrecked
Keyara’s hair is washed, and the fish is sizzling in melted coconut. The smell is driving us all crazy, but we try to be patient and wait for dinner.
While we wait, Rex tells us about the airplane they found.
“It’s probably an hour south of here—we marked the trail as best we could.”
“That’s incredible,” I say. “What else could be here that you haven’t even found yet?”
“A working radio would be good, but unlikely,” grins Leander.
“It would,” Killian says, “but at least with all these new supplies, we can make ourselves way more comfortable here, right Rex?”
“One hundred percent. And now we are finally all together we can set up teams to fish, teams to forage, and teams to build an adequate shelter. That rain storm was no joke, and we all know that those squalls can happen out of the blue, hard and fast.”
“So are we gonna give up on rescue and put down roots on this fucking island?” asks Harvey. “What about building a raft? If we get into a shipping lane we’ll soon be picked up.”
“Polynesian Triangle,” mutters Killian.
“What?” demands Harvey.
“We are a speck in the middle of millions of miles of ocean,” Rex tells him. “This area of the ocean is called the Polynesian Triangle. Millions of miles, thousands of deserted islands, only a few shipping routes. But we are a democracy. Anyone else want to build a raft and try to get to a shipping lane?”
“Fuck no,” Leander says. “We can survive here. There’s food, water, good company. Why would we try something with a tiny chance of success when we can live here perfectly well.”
“Perfectly well?” snorts Harvey. “Your standards are obviously a little different to mine.”
I have no doubt about that.
“Killian?” Rex asks.
“Stay,” he says.
Gray nods and so do I.
“There it is then, the majority vote to stay.”
“For how fucking long, ‘Captain’,” Harvey air-quotes at Rex. “Months? Years? When is the point where we decide to try our luck at sea? We should go now while we are at our strongest.”
“Statistically, we have a higher chance of survival staying here, and we are just as likely to be discovered on this island as we are on a ten foot raft in the middle of the ocean,” Rex tells him.
“Can we just eat?” Leander sighs. “You’re all hurting my head.”
“Let’s revisit this in a week or two,” suggests Killian. “Whatever the outcome, Leander should do nothing strenuous yet, so we’d have to wait for a couple of weeks at the very least.”
Killian has a diplomatic brain. This seems like a very good thing, I can’t imagine that this will be the only time tempers fray. As we spend our fifth night on the sand, the reality of being stranded on this island is beginning to hit home for all of us.
LEANDER
There are a lot of things I want quite badly. Daisy and food being top of the list, but the thing I need first is to get clean.
“Hey, buddy, can you help me to the waterhole? I badly need to freshen up,” I say to Gray. I can’t believe how weak I feel.
“Sure.”
At the pool, I strip off and get in straight away—the water feels amazing. Gray gets in as well. He’s even quieter than usual.
“You OK?” I ask him.
“Yeah.”
