11
IT’S AMAZING HOW THE smallest glimmer of hope can change everything.
We go from being scared, lonely, on edge and broken to excited, determined and hopeful.
Like a switch has been flipped.
We spend the next morning making sure everything is in order.
The guys go and deal with the bodies of the pirates, and see what carnage was left over.
I choose not to ask questions, I don’t want to know where they are putting them, what they will do if one is still alive, or anything else to do with it.
So the five of us girls and Adrian stay on the ship, and do the best we can to prepare it for our attempt to get home.
Aggie and Rachel clean, Tatiana and Kaylee organise and restock the kitchen with as much as they can, and Adrian helps me wash every single sheet and blanket on the ship, because none of us will be sleeping another night on this thing without a clean bed.
There is no washing machine, but there is washing soap so we bundle everything up and take it to the watering hole on the island and begin scrubbing and cleaning.
It takes hours, but it is a bright sunny day and so when we are done, we string everything up between trees to let the sun and wind dry it, before moving on to anything else that needs to be washed.
It’s strange, really, because I never thought I would enjoy washing, but being able to do it and knowing we have actual soap feels like some kind of miracle.
“I have raided every single fruit tree I can find,” Tatiana says, appearing out of the trees with an armful of papayas. Kaylee is following behind with some green bananas and coconuts. “It’s not much, but at least we have something extra.”
“Did you take stock of the ship and work out how much food is on there?” I ask, tying a blanket by the corner so I can hang it up.
“There is actually quite a supply,” she nods.
“Kaylee said they just restocked. If we are careful, and ensure we aren’t eating it all quickly, we should have four to six weeks’ worth of dry supplies and tinned food.
There is a freezer full of meat, frozen vegetables and bread.
Some fresh fruit and vegetables in the fridge, plus condiments, milk, cheese, things like that.
Hell, it’s more food than we have survived on out here so far. ”
My stomach rumbles and Kaylee smiles, tiny, but a smile. “Stella, the woman who was on the ship, was only good for one thing and that was making sure we had enough supplies for a few months on the ocean.”
I’m glad to know that, because it is apparent she was good for absolutely nothing else.
“There is also a shit tonne of weed and alcohol,” Tati points out and my eyes widen.
“No shit,” I grin. “At least we can enjoy ourselves a little.”
“I hope so,” she nods, then turns to Kaylee. “Come on, let’s put all of this on the ship and see if we can catch some fish for the freezer.”
“I am returning to the ship to prepare lunch now,” Adrian says, but there is an empty tone to his voice that is worrying. “Once you’re done, come and have some.”
Tati nods, smiling at him before disappearing back into the trees towards the shoreline.
“You good?” I say, turning to Adrian. “You don’t seem that happy for someone who could be going home?”
He pauses, scrunching a heap of water out of some towels. “Home. I don’t even know what that is. Being out here, it made me realise I have nothing, no family, few friends...”
That actually hurts my heart, mostly because I have never sat and actually asked Adrian about his life. None of us have. He has always just been so odd, such a loner, but we have done him a disservice not finding out who he is as a person.
“You have no family?” I go on, casually, trying to push the conversation further.
“My parents died a few years ago. Both of them, cancer.”
“Shit, I’m sorry,” I say. “That’s a lot.”
“They were horrible,” he shrugs. “After I burned the house down when I was eight, they really didn’t like me much.”
Oh boy.
“Well, you were just a kid.”
“A smart kid,” he goes on. “Either way, I don’t have much at home.”
“You’re a super good tech guy, right? Isn’t that why you are here?”
He adjusts his glasses on his nose and stares at me. “That is hardly enough reason to look forward to going home, Grace.”
He has a point.
“Well, there has to be something there... a girl, maybe?”
“I’m not much into girls.”
“Oh,” I say, nodding. “A guy, then?”
“Not into them, either.”
Awkward.
“Ummm, so you don’t, ah, like anyone?”
He shrugs. “Nope.”
Right.
This isn’t going as well as I would have hoped.
“So, you don’t want to go home?”
He stares at me, for an uncomfortably long amount of time. “I don’t know. I kind of like it here, it feels like I can be whoever I want.”
“Well, you know, when you get home you will have all of us. That is something, right?”
He snorts. “We both know, Grace, that none of you will continue talking to me once we’re home. I might be odd, but I’m not stupid.”
Well fuck. That actually hurts that he feels that way.
Before I can answer, Ace appears, covered in dirt, sweat and I don’t even want to know what else. “We’re done. You guys need help?”
Adrian continues what he was doing, as if our conversation never happened. I turn to Ace, and offer a weak smile. “We’re nearly done here, and while it dries, we will have some lunch.”
He glances over at Adrian, then back to me. “You good?”
I nod, stepping closer. “I’m kind of worried about Adrian. He isn’t doing well. He doesn’t really want to go home, he said he has nothing to go home to. It’s sad, and I feel horrible that we haven’t given him the chance to get to know us properly.”
Ace stares over at Adrian, then looks back to me. “Let me have a chat to him, yeah?”
I nod.
He curls his hand around the back of my neck and presses a long kiss to my lips.
“Go back to the ship, start on lunch. We’ll be there soon.”
I offer a more genuine smile this time and then turn and walk away.
The walk to the ship is slow, mostly because I am too distracted thinking about what Adrian said.
I wish I had a manual for fixing people.
Zeke is already on deck when I get there, shirtless and stretching, his tats look even meaner in the light and the bruises on his face are a stark reminder of what we somehow managed to escape alive.
I salute him and he grins.
He’ll make some girl very happy one day.
When I reach the kitchen, I am shocked by how clean it is.
Aggie and Rachel didn’t waste any time getting this ship in order.
It smells like bleach, and other chemicals, but it is as clean as it possibly can be and that’s something.
Stepping in further, I start going through everything to see what I can prepare.
There are options, ones we certainly didn’t think we would see again.
There is bread. There are condiments. Not just one yellow mustard bottle half empty, but mayonnaise, and a jar of pickles that I open just to smell.
I find some ham in the fridge, and my mouth waters.
It takes every ounce of willpower for me not to shove slice after slice in my mouth.
I don’t, because I know we need all of this food to last. So, I take only the smallest amount out, but not before carefully doing a sniff test to make sure it’s safe.
Then, I add cheese and lettuce, plus a bunch of pickles and mustard.
My stomach is rumbling.
I find half a piece of watermelon, some apples and an orange in the fridge, so I cut it all up then place everything on a rusted but clean steel tray on the counter.
I arrange it as nicely as I can, then dig through a large fridge in the corner filled with beer, spirits and soda.
The pirates might be the scum of this ocean, but they sure as hell make sure they eat and drink well.
I don’t even dare think about how they get all this food.
By the time I’m done, I can hear voices on the ship and figure everyone has returned. Tatiana appears at the open door and drops a bag of fish onto the bench and grins. “Productive morning?”
“Somewhat,” I say, smiling. “Help me drag all this out to the deck, would you?”
Within ten minutes we’re all balanced on the deck, stuffing sandwiches into our mouths, and for the first time since this island became our home there isn’t one single person whose eyes aren’t lit up with pure joy.
I never thought a sandwich would make me feel so damn content, but eating it, and tasting all the flavours mixing together on my tongue, feels like I have just won the damn lottery.
Adrian is the only one who isn’t sitting with us. Instead, he takes his sandwich and hobbles towards the front of the ship, before finding a crate to carefully lower himself down on.
“Is he good?” I ask Ace.
“He’ll be fine,” Ace mumbles, between mouthfuls.
I hope he’s right.
The food is gone in a matter of minutes, and we are relaxed for maybe the first time since we set foot on this island. Nobody brings up anything heavy. Zeke, who I think might be allergic to sitting still, starts talking about our plan moving forward.
“Here’s the plan,” he tells us. “Once everything has dried, we will set sail. I would guess first light tomorrow. We have enough food and water on board, and Kellen has done a full sweep of the ship to fix anything that could become a problem.”
“Do you know where we are?” Tatiana asks. “What if we end up going further away from help?”
“No, for right now, I have no idea where we are, but we have gathered any maps from the other wreck, and whatever we could find here. If we can get to a landmark, of any type, we will be able to figure it out and then map our way home. This ship has no radio or communication devices. My guess, they like to be able to go full blackout, considering they are fucking criminals.”
Valid.
“What about other pirates?” Kaylee says, her voice soft and careful. “We have had bad encounters out there...”
Zeke stares at her, and the air kind of goes still for a moment, like they’re sharing some weird connection.
Wait, are they?
I bite my lip.