1 #2
The plan is simple. Kellen and Zeke will go and gather as much timber as they can, putting it in the sun to dry. Aggie, Tatiana, Rachel and I will climb up to the cliffs foraging for food, and see if there is anything else we can gather that is useful to our camp.
With that, we head off.
We cross the sand and start making our way up the familiar goat path, Aggie in the lead, me behind her, Tati and Rachel at the rear. With every step, it gets warmer, pockets of heat rising up from the rocks. None of us speak, because we’re all just enjoying the blissful sun that is shining over us.
By the time we reach the top of the cliffs, my legs are on fire and my shirt is glued to my back. The wind up here is different—faster, with a salt sting that wakes me up. It feels nice to exercise, a rush of adrenaline that keeps us going.
Aggie and Tatiana get to work scouring for nests and Rachel and I begin searching for berries, fruit or anything we can possibly eat. Hell, at this point, I’d take a fucking bird if it meant we survive. Maybe that’s an option? I wonder if seagulls taste good?
I’m busy searching when I realise Rachel has stopped, and has a hand up near her forehead, squinting out at the horizon.
“Hey,” I say, nudging her. “You good?”
She doesn’t answer for a minute. Then she says, “I thought I saw something.”
I follow her gaze, squinting against the glare.
For a moment, all I see is blue, and then—there, a weird little flicker on the edge of vision, like a toothpick balancing on the seam where sky meets water.
Could be a shadow, or a trick of the light, but it looks enough like a boat that my pulse does this weird little double-step.
Before I can say anything, Tatiana yells, “Eggs!” and holds up a handful of seabird eggs, beaming like a champion. Aggie crows with delight. “Score! We haven’t had protein in days!”
Rachel’s still looking at the sea. “Do you see it?”
I nod, slow, watching the spot. It is so far away that it really could be a trick of the eyes. “Yeah,” I say, voice small. “Do you think it could just be a trick?”
She shakes her head. “I spend my days staring out there, I have never seen something as clear as that, even if it is far away. I think it’s a boat.”
If it is, we can’t risk wasting time.
Aggie and Tatiana haven’t noticed. They are busy placing the eggs in something so they don’t break. I walk over, crouch beside them. “I think there is a boat,” I murmur, low enough that the wind almost takes it.
Aggie blinks at me, frown creasing her forehead. “Where?”
“Out on the horizon. Could be nothing.”
Tatiana leaps up, eggs forgotten, and sprints to the edge of the cliff, hair streaming behind her like a flag. Aggie and I follow, then we all stand there, staring, our eyes squinted. Deep inside, every single one of us is hoping it is a boat, but we’re all too scared to hope.
Aggie grabs my hand, squeezes it until my fingers hurt.
“If it’s really a boat,” she says, “we need to signal.”
“You’re right,” I say. “Come on. We need to get down, and fast.”
We run—me in front, Tati and Aggie behind, Rachel last. We climb carefully only when needed, the rest of the time we are dashing like our lives depend on it. We slip, tumble, bash our knees, but we make it. I can barely breathe, adrenaline making my skin buzz and my hands shake.
We reach camp, shouting for someone.
Ace and Adrian appear.
“What’s wrong?” Ace asks, his eyes on us, narrowed because we absolutely look terrible.
“I think there’s a boat, out there on the horizon,” I shout.
He glances at me, sees my face, and doesn’t waste time asking questions. “Zeke!” he roars, and within seconds, Zeke and Kellen have appeared from the woods, covered in sweat, eyes narrowed in the same confusion Ace just showed.
“Yo?”
“There’s a fuckin’ boat out there,” Ace tells him.
“What?” Zeke practically screams. “What the fuck? Let’s get this fire started. Let’s go! Throw everything you can, fucking everything on what’s there and light it up. Leaves, sticks, it don’t matter.”
We start rushing around, taking what we can into our hands and running towards the coals still burning from the night before. While we’re doing that, Kellen has the scope we found on the wreck, and has it stretched out, looking at the ship.
Then, in a cold, broken voice he bellows, “Fucking stop. Stop now.”
The sudden way Kellen’s voice cuts into the chaos zaps all the energy from the air. Everyone has their arms full—sticks, driftwood, palm fronds, Tatiana balancing a log on her shoulder—but when Kellen says stop, I stop, and then everyone else does too.
Kellen is frozen, eye pressed to the battered brass of the scope. Ace walks over and tries to pull it from him, but Kellen doesn’t let go. His knuckles go white, and it’s only when Zeke says his name in a low, warning tone, that he lowers it.
“What is it?” Ace growls.
Zeke puts his hand on the scope, silent permission. Kellen surrenders it, his jaw so tight it’s scary. Zeke stares for a long minute, then gives it to Ace. When he’s done, he drops the scope to his side and turns to stare at us, his face twisted with something unreadable.
“Pirates,” he growls, his voice low. “I think it’s fucking pirates.”
Aggie gasps beside me. Rachel is so still I think she might pass out. Tatiana swears under her breath, so softly I can’t make out the words.
“How do you even know? It could be nothing,” Adrian asks. “How can you tell it’s pirates from that far out? Are you sure you’re not being dramatic?”
Ace shoots him a look that has him shrinking back a little. “Because they are flying what looks like a fucking black flag. We ain’t takin’ that risk.”
“What do we do?” Aggie asks.
“We fuckin’ make ourselves vanish, that’s what we fuckin’ do,” Zeke orders. “Put the fire out, right fucking now. Get every bit of washing that is hanging, take everything down. If they go past with a scope, we need to make sure they can’t see a fucking thing.”
I stare in horror. Our camp is set up, it has been for a while, to take it all down is a huge job.
“Get it all,” Ace grits out, “every fucking bit of it.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
It’s Rachel who speaks, her voice tiny.
We all pause, turning to stare at her.
“What are you talkin’ about?” Kellen asks.
“What if you’re wrong, and it isn’t pirates, and we miss our one chance at getting out of here?”
My eyes dart to Aggie, who gives me a concerned look.
We all understand where she’s coming from, of course we do, but it is a huge risk to take if we’re wrong. Either way it goes.
“I’m tellin’ you,” Kellen bites out, his face firm. “That ships out here, with flags like that, are very unlikely to be good people.”
“I hear what you’re saying,” Rachel throws back at him. “But if you’re wrong, we lose every chance we have.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Ace mutters. “It ain’t worth riskin’ our lives to assume it’s someone here to rescue us.”
“You expect us to trust any of you?” Rachel fires, her face getting redder by the second. “You’re the fucking reason we’re here. For all we know, you could have this all planned out.”
“Don’t fuckin’ start,” Kellen warns her, his voice low. “Now ain’t the time.”
“Enough,” Zeke snaps, throwing his hands up.
“You two can sit out here and fucking argue if you like, but I’m not riskin’ my life for anyone.
Let’s pack up, and assume the worst. We can have a lookout as the ship gets closer if it makes you feel better, and if it isn’t pirates, we will flag them down. ”
“Good plan,” Tati nods. “Can we get moving?”
“I have always wondered what it would be like to meet an actual pirate,” Adrian ponders.
“Adrian,” I mutter. “Not now.”
He shrugs. “It could be fun.”
“Fuck me,” Ace grunts. “Let’s just get this done.”
Nobody argues after that. We all get to work, making the space look like we were never here, as quickly as we can.
We find a place by the cliffs to stash our things, we cover the fire pit with sand and fronds, we take down anything we have hung, and we take anything away from the shipwreck that makes it look like we’re fixing a boat.
We can’t do much about it laying there, and we all know it will likely draw them in closer, to see if anyone is here, but what do we do?
Pray and hope they assume it is just a wreck.
“We’re goin’ to miss something,” Kellen growls. “I just fuckin’ know it.”
I almost bite back at Kellen, but he’s probably right.
There’s always something left: a loop of cord, a shard of glass, a footprint in the dirt.
But the best we can do is try, so we spread out and sweep the sand, shoulder to shoulder.
Aggie takes the lead, scouring for anything we might have missed, wrappers from the ration packs, the plastic bits off water bottles, hell, just a stray hair clip or shoelace is enough to set it all in motion.
The guys keep their focus on the shipwreck and making it look untouched.
Footprints in the wet sand are the worst. I use a leafy branch to sweep them away as best as I can, back and forth, until my arms are burning.
Every time I look up, my heart stutters—because there, on the horizon, the thin black mast is creeping closer, the shape growing more distinct with every heartbeat.
Then, we all make our way into the trees, praying we haven’t left anything behind.
Because if we have, being stranded on this island will be the least of our problems.