Chapter 13
“OH MY GOSH, LOOK AT this,” I say, hauling a bag from the boat out onto the deck.
The guys managed to use some rope they found inside the boat to tie to a tree and haul it back into the correct position.
Then, we left it for two days for the smell to leave.
Even now, it lingers, a stark reminder of what happened here.
We moved it as far away from the site we found it as possible, but the boat is big and we’re not able to pull it far.
Still, at least now we can look through it.
“What is it?” Aggie asks, scooping up wet, moldy blankets that she very much plans to wash and use.
“It’s like a safety bag, what do you call those?”
I hold up a large waterproof bag that is full and sealed.
A lot of boat owners have them, in case they become shipwrecked.
It has essentials they can take onto their life raft if they end up going down.
I don’t know what’s inside this one, but it reads clearly what it is.
The red bag is heavy, and I’m excited to see what’s inside.
“Like a shipwreck bag?” Aggie raises her brows.
Tatiana, who is going through a cupboard that has sprung open and sent contents everywhere, looks up. “Oh, that could have some good stuff in it.”
She’s right, it could.
I sit on the moldy, wet floor of the boat and open it.
What I find is definitely going to help us moving forward and I can’t help the little whoop of joy that leaves my throat as I look through.
The bag contains so many essentials that we don't have, or forgot to pack when we were putting our ‘shipwreck’ items in the lifeboats.
My hands shake with excitement as I pull out item after item.
Aggie and Tatiana have joined me, their excitement too great.
We find six packs of vacuum-sealed protein bars and emergency tin food rations, water purification tablets, electrolyte packets, a large water container, another first aid kit, a bag full of medications, flashlights, batteries, rope, a signal mirror, an emergency whistle, matches, fire starters, a multitool, a filleting knife, hooks and lines, a thermal blanket, rain ponchos, a waterproof jacket and pants, a tarp and a map.
“Oh my god!” Aggie screams, clapping her hands together. “This stuff will change so much for us.”
“With all the cooking gear, we can actually start making decent food,” Tatiana says, her eyes wide.
“Plus the extra medicine and first aid kit,” I breathe. “This is so fucking good. We have to show the others.”
I reach for the whistle. I want to try it, just to see if it works.
I hold it close to my lips and, with one sharp blow, nearly deafen myself with how piercing it is.
Aggie actually staggers, hands over her ears, but in the distance, I hear answering shouts and heavy footfalls.
Moments later, Ace, Kellen, and Zeke bust in, all muscle, like someone called them to clean up a murder and not an inventory party.
Adrian casually strolls in behind them, stares at us, and then leaves.
I grin, and for the first time since I’ve been on this miserable island, I can’t wait to tell everyone what we found. Ace peers around and then crouches by my side, looking at everything we have laid out. “Holy fuck, where did you find this?”
“It was stuffed under the bench,” I say, holding up the protein bars for him to see. “Look—food, water, tools, medicine. There is so much here!”
Zeke lets out a low whistle. “Is that a map?”
Tatiana snatches it before I can even answer, spreading the wrinkled sheet on the ruined table. The marks are faded, but she traces the shape of the nearest landmass like she’s some kind of explorer. “If we get this boat working, we have a shot at navigation using this.”
“We might be able to figure out where we are,” Ace nods. “That would make a fuckin’ big difference.”
Aggie dumps her haul at our feet. “Blankets and pillows. They’re gross, but we can clean them. It will help if it gets cold.”
“Did you get anything?” I ask them.
Ace nods. “Nets, tools, we even found an old satellite phone. It is broken, but we are going to try and get it to work. Oh, and there was one more thing...”
We all stare at him.
Kellen grins. “Alcohol. A fuckin’ good amount of it, too.”
“Oh my gosh!” Aggie whoops, jumping up and down.
“Oh, we’re getting drunk tonight,” I clap. “Yay!”
The mood is electric, all of us zipping with the high of possibility. For a few minutes the wreckage fades away, the sand and stench fade too, and it’s only us and this haul and a future that might not totally suck.
Aggie wraps a woolly blanket around her shoulders and does a little dance. Tatiana is staring at the map, her fingers gliding over the page. Ace just watches, a small smile pulling at his mouth, then glances at me.
He doesn’t say it, but it’s there.
We did good.
I want to kiss him, just out of sheer joy, but instead I say, “We can probably start fixing up the boat now, right? Even if it doesn’t float, we can use it as a base, or shelter, or—”
“It’ll float,” Zeke interrupts. “It’s got rot, but we can patch it. Use the wood from the lifeboat. We will find a way.”
Aggie’s eyes go wide. “Wait, you know how to do that?”
Kellen puffs out his chest. “Baby, I will make this boat float if it is the last thing I do.”
Aggie flushes and I look at her, brows raised. Baby? Oh, is there something I am missing here?
Zeke snorts. “He’s not wrong. Plus, the fishing equipment is going to make a difference, too.”
For a beat, all I can do is soak it in. The hope. The possibility. The idea that if we work together, we might actually pull this off.
“Tell me we can eat one of those now,” Aggie says, staring at the protein bars.
Kellen nods, in agreement.
Zeke picks up the bag, busting it open. “One, then we need to make sure we ration out what we can. We eat fresh fruit and fish, save these for emergencies.”
He’s right, but when he hands me a bar, I don’t hesitate. I unwrap it and shove the chocolatey goodness into my mouth. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” I say around a mouthful. “God, I have missed chocolate.”
Aggie laughs, stealing one and biting in. “I actually don’t even like chocolate, but this is damn good...”
“Who doesn’t like chocolate?” Tatiana says, between mouthfuls.
Once we’re done, Ace claps his hands together. “Alright, team. First, we get this stuff inventoried and safe. Second, we clean up the blankets and whatever else we can wash. Third, we go and get fuckin’ smashed on whatever alcohol we can find.”
I jump up and down again.
Kellen grins. “Fuck yes.”
Aggie is digging through the medicine bag. “Looks like this is mostly antibiotics, painkillers, and antihistamines,” she says, excitement making her voice squeak. “If we get sick, this could actually really help.”
“I’ll start sharpening the spears we found on rocks,” Zeke says, crossing his arms. “We can hopefully catch more than just fish then.”
My heart feels like it might just explode.
We aren’t just surviving. We’re planning.
Ace gathers the bag, careful and methodical. He stops, then looks at me, his face serious. “You did good, sweetpea.”
I blink, and suddenly it’s hard to swallow. “I just found a bag.”
He shrugs, like it’s obvious. “Yeah, but this bag could change everything.”
I bite my lip, smiling at him.
He winks.
Oh boy, this is about to get interesting.
I just know it.
THE WIND FALLS THAT night, the jungle’s breath pressed into a hush.
We party, or the closest we can get with shipwrecked supplies and hearts that still remember how to beat.
Ace and Kellen carry the haul of cheap rum and dusty vodka from the boat, arms slung around it like it’s treasure.
I watch the others dig a pit on the sand, their hands working in sync.
Aggie is barefoot, caked with salt and glee, as she arranges old branches for the fire.
Zeke strikes the matches—he won’t let anyone else do it, he can’t risk wasting a single one.
With precision only he can create, he lights it first go and the fire roars to life.
Adrian has actually made some makeshift lamps, on large branches with debris tied to the end that he lights and shoves into the ground.
It actually feels like we’re on a tropical vacation for just a minute, and oh, that minute is life changing.
It gives us something we haven’t had since that yacht sunk... joy.
We sit around it, bellies full for the first time in weeks.
The nets caught mobs of fish, and we found some fresh bananas on this side of the island.
Plus, Zeke, who protects the rations, let us bust open a can of beans.
Kellen pops the first bottle of alcohol and passes it, and everyone takes a swig, grimacing but determined.
I take a sip and gasp. It tastes like we are drinking straight hand sanitiser, but I’m not complaining.
Already, the warmth creeps up my spine, humming at the base of my skull.
It gets silly fast.
Aggie wants to play truth or dare, but the guys refuse.
Tatiana is dancing along to nothing, but every now and then, she rips out a tune.
She’s not half bad at singing. Rachel sits on the furthest log at first, just watching us.
But, two shots later, she’s the center of the circle, telling the world’s worst jokes and letting Aggie braid her hair into tiny, crooked plaits.
There is a wild side to Rachel, one that she keeps locked in deep.
Ace is sitting, tying a knot in the rope, looking fucking spectacular against the firelight.
“How do you know so many knots?” Aggie asks, her voice high-pitched and sing-song like.
Ace leans back, putting the rope down. “Used to work on my uncle’s fishing boat every summer. I learned to tie knots, because I hated fuckin’ swimming.”
I raise my brows. “You hate swimming?”
“Fuckin’ hate it.”
Aggie giggles. “Well, what a situation you found yourself in.”
“I didn’t learn to swim until I was ten,” I admit. “My parents wanted me to dance and that was all that mattered. So, I learned in Aggie’s pool with her dad.”