Crusoe Fanfic,

A Bad Day

Chapter 1

Robinson Crusoe was dreaming. Not a daydream this time, and he had plenty of those in the past, but a real one. It was a strange occurrence, as he seemed to be conscious of the fact it was a dream. He didn't mind, as long as it lasted for a long time. This one could last forever as far as he was concerned.

Beautiful Susannah was holding him, her body cradled over his. They were lying in bed in the old warehouse that was their home. The solid bed Robin had build with his own hands, with fancy lace curtains all around, and soft pillows. Susannah had been very happy. It wasn't much, but they had each other. He could feel her naked warm skin against his. Her perfume and her long soft hair smelled like roses. He could gaze into those brown eyes and drown in them forever.

Then the dream turned into him feeling uncomfortable. Her eyes were fading, her body was moving away from his. He wanted to move, to follow her, but he couldn't. When he tried to touch Susannah, his hands were stuck. But stuck in what? He wanted to tell her to stay, aware that his voice wouldn't come. Everything seemed to vanish in front of him.

Letting out a moan of frustration, he opened his eyes and she was gone. He shouldn't have opened his eyes. The dream might have returned. She might have returned to him. With a deep sigh he tried to move, realising he was truly stuck. His wrists bound in a painful way above his head, tied to the bamboo bed, and his legs had endured the same treatment.

Because it was still night in the jungle, Robin couldn't see much, the lanterns in the tree house long extinguished. He could feel the movement of air though, next to his bed. Maybe it was Friday's idea of a joke? They both got bored at times, and a practical joke was never far away.

"It's not funny." He spit out at the moving figure.

"Oh, I think it is." A female voice answered in his ear, her face inches from his own.

Judy. It was Judy's voice. He recognised it straight away. She had come to the island a while back, with her own band of merry pirates on a treasure hunt. In the end, she'd been brought to a Spanish prison by Captain Santana. She must have escaped somehow? With her charm and cunning it was very much possible. But how did she get here and why?

"Judy..." Robin couldn't hold the surprise from his voice, or was it fear? He didn't like her one bit. She was dangerous and unpredictable. He pulled on the ropes above his head, testing them. "What is the meaning of this, cut me loose."

"Oh no, dear Robin," she again whispered in his ear. Her warm sweet breath against his cheek giving him goose bumps all over. "Not yet."

Robin never wore a shirt while sleeping, and as her warm hand landed on his bare chest, he let out a strained gasp, pulling on the ropes in response. What the hell was she doing? Or was this still some dream, and should he just play along? The image of Susannah appeared in his mind's eye once more and he bit his lip. Whatever happened, he wouldn't give Judy the satisfaction of a warm welcome. He didn't care for her, not one bit.

"Am I making you feel uncomfortable, Mr. Crusoe?" She purred, as her hand roamed down his chest to his belly where it stopped for a moment.

"Just..." Robin started to feel angry, not wanting to be part of where this was going. Not now, not ever. "Just, leave me alone!"

Instead her hand went deeper, reaching the hem of his breeches, and he held his breath. His head started to race to come up with a plan to get out of this embarrassing and painful situation. He disliked feeling vulnerable.

"Crusoe?" Friday's voice was nearby, "... Crusoe!"

With a start he woke up and gazed around, disorientated and sweaty. He woke up for real this time it seemed because Friday was sitting on the side of the bed, his hand on Robin's shoulder and a worried look in his eyes. Dawn was upon them, and of course there was no sign of Judy. Thank God.

"You were dreaming," Friday said, and it sounded like an apology. "I had to wake you up, you were yelling and almost rolling off the bed. Which is not handy in a tree house."

Robinson let out a deep sigh. "That's fine, Friday." His body trembled, and he even felt a bit embarrassed. "Now that was a nightmare."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Friday offered while Robin stood up, stretching.

"Maybe some other time."

"Ah." Friday nod at him and smiled, as if he'd guessed what it had been all about. This was impossible, but it made Robin blush when the man turned away from him. "I will prepare breakfast then."

"Something special?"

"Fruit, and fruit and yes, we even have fruit." Friday laughed, and made his way to the long high wooden bench which they used as a working table. "Very nutritious."

While Robin washed himself at the water pomp he'd made, the sun was rising and he was glad they still had fresh water to wash away the sweat, or to cool off on a warm day. And it was key to their survival on this tropical island. Not that they needed the pomp itself, but it was handy to have it build inside the tree house. His first year on the island he'd always walked for miles to get to a fresh water creek without dangerous animals lurking about.

When he grabbed himself a shirt, Robin considered how much he liked to work with his hands and create things that made their life here a bit easier. Time on the island was slow paced, and besides gathering food, watching the birds, playing cards and reading, they had nothing else to do. Robin didn't know he was able to survive like this, but now he felt pretty clever. He would give up everything in no time to be in London and by Susannah's site again though.

"Any plans for today?" He asked Friday, while he took a seat across from him at the table grabbing an orange and a knife, slicing it into small pieces. He loved oranges. They were fortunate the island provided lots of fruit.

"I was thinking of checking our traps, maybe a pig has fallen into one."

"Good idea. We could do with some fresh meat, and so could Dundee." Robin grabbed a banana, while he waved at their ships dog who was still asleep nearby. Hearing his name the dog raised his head. "Look, he's full of expectation."

"A dog cannot be full of expectation."

"If you say so." Robin said, "want me to come along?"

"If you have nothing else to do."

"Oh yes, I'm terribly busy," Robin laughed and started eating.

Friday also laughed at that and they ate in silence, gazing over the jungle in the early morning sun while all sorts of beautiful bird songs reached their ears.


They had checked most of their animal traps by mid day, and retreated to the beach, looking out over the waves, a breeze ruffling their hair. Robin felt a little disappointed they had only caught one large rat, even though Friday had told him he knew a good recipe for rats. Robinson wasn't convinced.

The waves always had a soothing effect on him. The ocean kept him trapped on the island, and he'd hated it for a long time. After six years it had grown on him, sort of, and he could sit on the beach for hours. Friday was more a man of action, but sometimes his friend would sit with him for a while. Robin had felt alone and afraid on this island, but since he'd freed Friday, their friendship had become a valuable part of his life. He would give his life for him, and he knew Friday would always return the favour.

"So, Crusoe, you do not want me to cook that rat?" Friday asked in a very serious manner.

Just the idea made Robin choke. "Oh no, I don't think so."

"Are you certain?"

Before Robin could answer, he saw a grin appear on Friday's face, and he knew he'd been played, again. Friday had a wicked sense of humour. It made him wonder at times where the man came from. How life had been within his tribe.

"There they are!" A male voice shouted from the edge of the jungle behind them all of a sudden. One second Robin wondered where all these people came from, if this was supposed to be a deserted island? If it weren't pirates or mutineers, there had been cannibals, or tribes from other islands wandering around. It had made him realize early on they were vulnerable, and building a tree house was their best option of staying out of sight to the wrong sort of people. He hoped the right sort of people would arrive one day, so he could return to England. They've had no such luck, yet. These were white men though, speaking English. About eight of them carrying guns, knives and what seemed to be large nets.

"Move Crusoe." Friday pulled him up, and they moved backwards towards the edge of the foaming water, the men gaining in on them on the empty beach. "We need to make our way into the jungle and lose them."

"Who the hell are they?" Robin looked around for an escape route, alongside the group of men. This was getting ridiculous, people chasing after them. And for what? Should he stop and ask? He wasn't sure.

"I have no idea, but they are no friendly souls," Friday pushed him to the left. "Let us make a run for it."

"Grab them." One of the rough looking men yelled, when they started running along the waterline as fast as they could. The sand made it difficult not to stumble, and it prevented them from running at high speed. In the jungle they would be able to shake this group, no doubt about it. Robin had set traps near the tree house for such occasions. But the beach was open, empty and dangerous.

One moment it seemed they were going to make it, but the next Robinson felt a net fall over him and he tripped, falling flat on his face in the sand. Damn, that hurt. "Go!" He yelled at Friday to move, but this one seemed to hesitate for just one second when another net fell over his friend. They were trapped, and he couldn't reach his knife to cut them loose. Friday

brought his machete though. What if...

Strong hands hauled him up, net and all, and he looked into the face of a tall but skinny man. The man had scars all over his cheeks and his teeth looked black. He smelled like rotten eggs and Robin couldn't help but try and avoid the man's breath.

"This fight is over, Mr. Crusoe."

Robin didn't know what surprised him more. The fact they were on the island, or the fact that they knew his name. Before he could ask anything, the face of a woman came into view. She was standing behind the man with the scars and grinned up at him. It was Judy.

"Hello, Robin."

"You." His nightmare came back to him with a vengeance, and he swallowed. He didn't even want to know how she got here. It wasn't important. She was here, and it wasn't hard to guess why she'd led these men to the island.

"Shut up." The ugly man in front of him said, and a fist landed in his ribs with force, making him gasp and fall to his knees. Another fist grabbed his hair and bend his head backwards, the net tight around his face. "We are slave traders, Mr. Crusoe. And we were told you have a slave on this island, and see here." He pointed at Friday who was struggling next to him in the net, held down by three men.

"He is not a slave." Robin bit back at him, "he's a free man."

"I will be the judge of that." The man snarled and a fist landed in his ribs again, making him clench his teeth in pain. "We will take him off your hands. You, as governor and savage lover of the island wouldn't mind, right? He will come with us, and will bring in a very good price."

"No." Robin found enough strength to jump up and rush forward, net and all. He almost grabbed the man's throat, missing by an inch as the two men next to him grabbed his arms and bend them behind his back. The startled leader once again made a fist...

"Tennant," It was Judy's urgent but calm voice, interrupting. "I promised you a slave. You have him, now let's go."


The men had removed the nets and had bound their hands in front of them, pushing them into the jungle. Robin wondered where they'd landed their ship. With the tides it was only possible to do so at Susannah's bay. Maybe they could get their hands on a dinghy and a ship later on? If they could escape these mad men. Slave traders. Crusoe had owned a plantation himself for a while. It had been normal to own slaves, but since he knew Friday he'd learned much. People shouldn't be kept as slaves. Not even black people. They were intelligent human beings and should be free.

"This is far enough." Tennant lifted his hand and they all stopped. Then he turned around and looked straight at Robin. "Crusoe can stay here. We don't sell white slaves." Pointing at a tall tree he grabbed a long piece of rope from his belt. "Let's hang him."

"What?" Robinson couldn't believe his ears, and he could hear Friday mutter a curse next to him. Hang him? This was turning out to be a bad day. A very bad day.

"By the wrists." Tennant snorted, and his men laughed. Of course they thought it was a marvellous joke. Idiots. Judy was the only one not laughing. She just stood there, with an unreadable look on her face. No doubt they had promised her something to make her return to the island. Her freedom? Money? Treasure?

"That was not funny." He could hear Friday say, while two men pulled a thick rope around the one already binding Robin's wrists. Tennant had turned his attention to Friday. "Slaves do not talk." This time his fist ended up hitting Friday in the face.

"Damn you, Tennant." Robin cursed.

"And up you go." Tennant snapped his fingers, and the men threw the rope bound around Robin's wrists over a high tree trunk and pulled. He could feel his arms stretch in a painful way and his feet left the ground. His ribs nearly killed him as he gasped for air. Lights danced in front of his eyes for a moment while he tried to concentrate on staying calm.

"Crusoe!" He could hear Friday scream out his name, just once. Then his friend was silenced by a hit to the head, and there was nothing Robin could do to help him. These men were going to be so dead if he could get his hands on them. That was a big if...

"Hang there and rot for all I care," Tennant had an ugly wide grin on his face. "We have our slave to sell." Gesturing at his men to pick up the unconscious Friday, he gave Robin one last wink. "Goodbye, Mr. Crusoe."

"No!" Robinson felt a terrible fury reaching his very soul, "Friday!" It took him all of his energy to shout his friend's name one last time before the men, Friday and that damned Judy were out of sight and he was all alone. Alone and helpless. Not capable of helping his best friend, and it made him scream out in rage.

tbc