Page 45 of Totally Shipped
“I need to stop,” I gasp, and a second later I’m on my knees and vomiting. It’s mostly water and stomach acid. Finally it eases up and I sit back up and wipe my mouth. Harvey passes me a water bottle.
“Take small sips, your stomach might reject it.”
The sympathy and care in his voice makes tears spring to my eyes. It’s like, now we are on this island, all his aggression has gone. It’s a relief, but also somehow worse than his anger.
“I won’t light a fire, but don’t worry. Before long, you're going to be warm and happy.”
I’m so tired that I’m actually enthusiastic about that.
“How much further?”
“Thirty minutes, tops. You're going to love our place.”
“Have you anything to eat? It helps with the nausea.”
Harvey puts out a hand in his pocket. “Coconut?” His smile is wide, and unsettling.
“Thanks.” He passes me a large chunk, and fumble between the water and the food.
“Let me cut you a smaller piece.” All of a sudden, the box-cutter is out and he brings it down on the coconut chunk which is resting on my thigh.
“Argh, Harvey stop!”
Oh, God. He’s cut through the coconut and into my leg. Blood pours from the long wound. Why would he do that?
“Oh, oh, that’s no good.” He wipes the blood away with his filthy hand.
“Just leave it,” I tell him. He relents, but seems pissed again.
Harvey puts out a hand and hauls me to my feet.
I sway, and grasp hold of a branch to stop my fall. The branch snaps in my hand.
I’m an idiot! I haven’t been doing anything to mark the trail we are on.
While Harvey is fiddling with his homemade shoes, I try to snap off twigs and flatten grass.
“Time to walk.”
It's so hard to keep going. My thigh is throbbing. I’m definitely getting much weaker. Is something actually wrong or am I just exhausted? I think of the baby, and tears spring to my eyes. Please let my baby get through this.
We climb up a small rocky incline, and then walk along a gravelly ridge. From there, we are maybe a couple hundred feet above water-level. It’s late afternoon, and I really hope we get to where we are going before it gets dark.
“Careful around the corner,” Harvey tells me, and when I’ve moved past an awkward boulder, I think I see where we are aiming for.
A cave mouth is set into the side of the cliff-face, a few hundred feet away. There is an expanse of rocky shale that we need to climb to get there.
Around the cave I can see signs of occupation. Piles of wood, woven things, rotting fruit, plastic flotsam.
“Home sweet home,” Harvey tells me proudly. He scrambles up to the cave with ease, but it takes me a lot longer. I’m so hot; dust is coating my eyeballs, and the small of my back feels as though a gremlin is tormenting it. And, of course, I need to pee. Finally making it to the ledge, I flop down and close my eyes. Hello new home on the rocky ledge, I’m never going to leave again.
“Come on, Brooke, just a little further.”
Nope.
I don’t think I can move, but Harvey tugs on my hand like a little kid at a candy store. Reluctantly, I get to my feet and get pulled into the cave.
Stumbling into the dark cavern, I look around. Harvey has a very weird smile. The cave stinks, and there is an odd light in this place; it’s freaking me out.
