Chapter 11
THE DAYS ROLL ON, ALMOST in slow motion, as if we’re repeating the same one over and over again.
We’re all affected; with every passing day, our determination dwindles.
Some days, we don’t really even speak to each other.
We just sit, waiting, as if everything will just suddenly change.
It’s sombre, and if we don’t change it soon, we may very well die out here.
Yet it seems we are unable to drag ourselves out of it.
Rachel has set up camp right near Iris’ grave.
She spent days creating her own shelter, and I have to admit, it’s actually pretty good.
Sure, it probably wouldn’t hold up in severe weather, but overall, it’s quite solid.
She has used a large rock formation by the water to be the structure of her shelter, and built off it.
There she spends most of her time. Maybe it’s a distraction, or maybe she just can’t stand being near us.
Either way, it’s keeping her hands and mind busy.
“See the clouds out there.”
We’re sitting around the fire, I don’t even know what time it is, maybe early afternoon.
Zeke’s eyes are on the looming clouds in the distance, a subtle threat.
None of us have actually considered what we would do if another storm rolled in, but looking at those gray clouds has us all considering our next steps.
My eyes meet Aggie’s, and she looks anxious.
Tatiana is sleeping, curled on her side.
I don’t think she is handling everything right now.
Maybe it’s the sudden lack of medication.
I feel for her.
“I’m seein’ them,” Ace mutters, a stick in hand, fire on the end because he has been poking it in the flames for the last twenty minutes.
“If that comes closer, we need to have a plan,” Zeke goes on.
Kellen, who is laying on his back, hands behind his head, nods in agreement.
“And what, dare I ask, is that plan?” Aggie questions, bringing her knees up to her chest.
“Well, we certainly can’t go anywhere,” Adrian points out, filleting a fish that is far too small to eat, but he caught it so he insisted we eat it.
“No shit,” Zeke mumbles.
“So, your only options are those cliffs,” Adrian jabs a thumb in the direction of the large cliffs to the east. “Take rock for cover.”
Ace jams his stick harder into the fire, pulsing embers into the air. “He makes a point.”
“The cliffs are probably the best option. We can’t be here if it gets worse,” I say.
My bones still remember the terror of the last storm, the way the world had bucked and screamed around us, the waves heavy and terrifying, wind lashing us blind, rain cold as needles. We’d survived it, but only just.
Kellen sits up, shaking sand from his hair. “There is a heap of overhanging rocks, near the base of the cliffs. We might be able to find one big enough to at least get us out of the weather. The water will likely rise, too, so we need to be up off the main ground.”
Ace stands, poking the fire out so quick the stick hisses when he shoves it into the sand. “I think we go and find somewhere now, in case that fuckin’ thing comes our way.”
I agree, and with a nod, I push to my feet. So does everyone else.
Tatiana stirs, rubbing her eyes. She frowns, looking at us. “Where are you all going?” Her voice is raw, like she’s spent the last hour screaming underwater.
“There is a storm out there, and we’re concerned it might turn this way,” I tell her. “We’re figuring out where to take shelter if it does.”
She turns, staring at the horizon, then she nods. “I’ll pack up what I can here, in case we have to move quickly.”
“Good idea,” Kellen murmurs. “Anything we can carry, comes with us.”
“Let’s go warn Rachel, too,” Aggie suggests. “That shelter is not safe for her.”
“We’ll do it on the way,” Ace nods, and then we’re off.
By the time we make it to Rachel’s shelter, the wind has changed, giving that eerie feeling that tells me this storm isn’t going anywhere.
Rachel doesn’t notice us right away. She’s sorting rocks, lining them up in a neat row.
She doesn’t look up, just says, “You don’t need to check on me every five minutes.
I’m not going to throw myself off the cliff. ”
“We’re not,” Ace says, “there’s a storm coming.”
Rachel looks up now, glancing at him and only him. “Okay, and?”
“And, that shelter is terribly constructed and you will absolutely be blown away,” Adrian cuts in before Ace can say anything.
“Thank you, Adrian,” she mumbles.
“You’re welcome.”
“So,” Ace says, “that means you need to come and help us find somewhere safe.”
She shrugs, looking down. “I’m fine here, thanks.”
“Are you fuckin’ crazy?” Kellen snaps, arms crossed.
She glares at him. “No, you dick, I’m not crazy.”
“It isn’t uncommon for someone to go crazy after a traumatic event,” Adrian calls, picking a berry off a random bush and bringing it to his nose to sniff.
“But you’ll be fine, Rachel. It’s usually not enough to be committed.
I wonder how we would commit you out here, I guess we could tie you down... ”
“Adrian!” Ace and I shout at the same time.
“Nobody is tying anyone down,” Ace goes on. “Adrian, appreciate your input, but it ain’t helping.”
Adrian shrugs. “I speak only fact. Speaking of fact, my grandmother was committed when she was fifty and she is still kicking along in there. It isn’t all bad. Mind you, she does keep calling me Dave and there is nobody in the family called Dave, so she could be losing it and—”
“Adrian!” Ace and I shout again.
“God, I am not in the mood for this,” Rachel hisses. “Go without me. I’m not coming.”
Ace mutters a curse under his breath. “We don’t fuckin’ have time for this. We’ll be back for you.”
He doesn’t let her answer, he just turns and starts walking in the direction of the cliffs.
We all turn and follow him. The wind is worse the closer we get, funnelling through gaps in the rocks, and my skin prickles with the chill it brings.
We split up when we are at the base, so we can work quicker.
I go with Aggie, and we start searching for something, anything we can protect ourselves in.
“These rocks all look incredibly unstable,” Aggie murmurs, tipping her head back. “I’m not sure I want to sit below them.”
“You’d be surprised just how strong they are,” I tell her. “Safer than being exposed.”
She purses her lips. “None of them are quite deep enough to get us out of the weather.”
No, they’re not.
We keep looking anyway, until Ace bellows out that he found something.
Slowly, we all follow the sound of his voice, climbing over rocks and logs, until we eventually locate him.
He is standing beneath a massive overhanging rock.
It’s not quite a cave, but it has enough shelter to protect us and the rocks below it are creating enough structure that it looks safe.
“This could work,” Ace announces, holding his arms out.
I look around. “This is... we should have looked for this earlier.”
“I thought the same,” Ace agrees, “but it isn’t that easy to get to, so would be difficult for us to get water.”
He makes a point. Still, it looks far more secure than our little boat set up. Maybe once the storm passes, we should be searching further onto the island for a better shelter. For now, though, we just need to get all our things here.
“Let’s go get everything we need,” Kellen claps his hands together.
We make our way back to camp, nobody saying a word.
The wind shifts again while we’re packing up.
It’s not howling, not yet, but there’s a whining to it, a careful warning that it is coming closer.
The fire is burning sideways, and eventually, it will go out, hopefully without burning anything else while it does.
I load my arms with the things Tatiana has packed up.
For me, it’s blankets and all our jackets. The guys carry anything heavy.
“We gonna get Rachel?” Kellen asks.
I nod. “I’ll go past on my way.”
We get moving, the dark clouds rolling in. I make my way to Rachel’s camp, and see her sitting outside of it, knees to her chest, face expressionless. She knows I’m here, I can see it in the way her body shifts, but she doesn’t say anything.
“The storm is coming,” I inform her.
She doesn’t look up. “Let it come.”
I am not in the mood for her bullshit right now. “Listen, Rachel, I don’t feel like arguing with you. A storm like that will crush that shelter. It isn’t safe.”
She finally looks up. “I will be there soon.”
I can’t hold these things much longer, so I take her word for it and turn, making my way to the shelter.
By the time I get there, everyone is already setting up.
They have put everything as far back as they can, but if the wind does come directly in, we may end up with a very cold, very wet night.
I can only hope it’s going in a different direction.
“How’d it go?” Ace asks.
“She said she’d come.”
He nods and we finish setting up. An hour passes and the low rumble of thunder can be heard in the distance as the storm inches closer.
“Rachel isn’t here,” Adrian suddenly pipes up. “Do you think she has run right into the storm? What a way to go out. That’s how I would want to go.”
We all just stare at him.
But he’s right, she isn’t here.
Fuck.
I look to Ace, and his jaw tics. “She is goin’ to be the fuckin’ death of me.”
“Should we go and get her?” Aggie asks.
“I will,” Kellen mutters, pushing to his feet. “She won’t be gettin’ a fucking choice.”
Less than ten minutes later, Kellen returns, fireman-carrying Rachel who is, at first, thrashing and cussing so inventively that even Ace has to bark a laugh. “Put me down! I can walk! I swear to Christ, you Neanderthal—”
“Not takin’ any chances. Unless you want to go in the ground too, then you’re stayin’ here,” Kellen growls, ignoring her thrashing.
He tosses her down and she glares up at him with such fury it’s mildly terrifying.
“Who do you think you are?” she hisses.