Three very bedraggled thieves hauled themselves onto the narrow beach, sputtering and utterly drenched. Not twenty minutes ago they had been enjoying themselves on the boat Hardison had rented, and then it had all dropped into chaos- the boat had only appeared seaworthy to their unpracticed eyes and a repair seam burst apart to allow seawater to flood inside. Sooner than they thought possible, the small boat had sunk beneath their feet and left them with the only option of swimming towards the island they'd briefly seen in the distance. Hardison seemed to be the only one in his element as he easily stroked along through the water while Eliot and Parker simply wanted it over.
"So… what now?" Parker asked the biggest question. They were stranded, Nate had no clue where they were, and their submersion in the water was guaranteed to have killed their earbuds. They had to help themselves.
Eliot scooped the clinging hair out of his face and tied the mess back with the hair band which had miraculously stayed on his wrist. "Best way to survive is to find water and shelter, and I think I saw a little waterfall around there," he pointed off to where the small beach turned out of sight to make a bit of a cove. "Don't think we'd want to stay this low, though, as it looks like all this will be under water when the tide rises."
The other two followed his thoughtful gaze and saw that the lower parts of the cliff face did look rather worn away and pocked where the tidewater had dissolved softer rock. "Well then, let's go find this waterfall you thought you saw and then we can worry about something to sleep in. I'm starting to dry off and I don't like the crust of salt and sand on my skin," Parker complained as she brushed at the thin layer of grit. They trooped off to follow the beach around and stopped to stare at the waterfall. It wasn't big, just a narrow stream which fell from what looked like fifty feet up, but the way it broke apart into a refractive mist was beautiful, even their saltwater-sore eyes could appreciate the sight. The biggest problem with it was that it didn't provide them with a stream of water to drink from or wash in, but Parker eagerly stepped into the mist and let it wash off what it could. Eliot and Hardison soon followed her example, knowing that salt left on the skin would chafe and could cause cracked skin. Broken skin out here was the quickest way to invite an infection.
"I don't see a way up this cliff," Hardison commented as he stared up at the sheer face.
Parker joined him in looking. "Pfft, I can climb that!" she scoffed. It wasn't like a glass-clad skyscraper and even had little niches in the rock for her to wedge her hands and feet into as she climbed.
"No, Parker. Neither Hardison nor I can make it up there, and we're not splitting up. Let's just follow the cove on around and see if there's a better way up which all three of us can use," Eliot commanded. He was the one with the most survival training and the other two consciously deferred to his judgment to keep them safe, though Parker did cast a longing look behind her at the cliff as they walked away.
Ten minutes spent walking around the cove and along another piece of beach finally yielded an area which looked to have been part of a rockslide long ago. It had rather sharply-sloping sides, but had grown over with the island's vegetation enough to provide traction and steadying handholds as the three stumbled and groped their way to the top of the cliff. An entire vista opened up before them. Trees shrouded much of what they saw, but they weren't the tropical palm trees always shown on pirate movies. These looked to be hardwoods and pines, with a few stunted bushes growing towards the seaward edge. "Let's head back around and see if we can find the stream that's feeding the waterfall and have a proper wash," Eliot suggested as he again led them on. They pushed their way through the brush and found the stream, sending a pair of wild pigs squealing and grunting in the opposite direction. Eliot perked up at that discovery- if the island had a pig population, then he could hunt and make sure that they had enough meat to survive on until rescued. All three washed their skin and rinsed out their clothes as best they could to get rid of the sea's salt. They had to take care of the only clothes they had.
Hardison stepped back after washing to thoughtfully eye the trees. "You know, if we get enough limbs together I can make a decent shelter," he announced. His words drew the other two over to join him.
"Gotta build it up off the ground to keep out surprises," Eliot commented, "And it needs to face south out of the wind." He wasn't going to argue with Hardison over his claim, they all knew that the man was a genius and if he said that he could make a shelter, none of them would argue.
Parker jumped up to grab a branch and walked hand over hand towards the end, making it droop with her weight. She bounced a few times and it split from the tree with a sharp crack, leaving her holding a fairly long branch in her hands. "Think we can pull down enough of these to make your shelter?" she asked Hardison. He examined the branch's diameter and nodded.
"Yeah, get enough of those and I can start wedging them in. These trees are growing kinda close together and I can use that too, though I wish we had some vines or something," he stated even as he began casting about for a good spot to build on.
Eliot stopped him. "Not here by the stream," he cautioned. When the other two turned curious looks on him, he explained, "You want to build here because you want water, right? Well, the water will also draw animals to it, and any predators this island has will come to where the animals gather."
"Oh," Parker said in a small voice and then she quickly turned to scan the trees as if she expected something to leap out at her. "So where should we put it?"
Eliot led them back from the water until they could still hear it but couldn't see it anymore. That should be enough distance to keep them safe, if they were careful. "Right here should be good," he said.
"Then let's get to work. Parker, you want to pull down some more branches? Eliot, you want to help build?" Hardison asked as found three trees which would work for his purposes.
Hardison looked back as Eliot didn't move. "I thought that while you two worked on setting that up, I could scout out around us- make sure there isn't anything hidden to surprise us, see if I can find any people, and look for food while I'm at it," he explained. The other two thought for a moment and then nodded. "Okay then, come here and let me show you something," Eliot encouraged them to follow him over to a tree. He pulled out the boot knife which he was thankful hadn't been lost, and marked an inverted V into the tree. "I'm going to periodically mark the trees like that as I go, the top point will point in the direction I'm heading. If I don't come back by nightfall, I want you both to secure yourselves as best you can and then follow the markings in the morning. I don't plan to be gone for more than a few hours, but if I get hurt or something happens, you're going to need to find me."
Parker and Hardison swallowed hard as the reality of their situation slapped them in the face. Before, it had seemed like an impromptu camping trip, but the possibility of Eliot getting hurt or disappearing altogether brought home the fact that this wasn't safe at all. They both nodded and examined the mark in greater detail; neither wanted to forget it, just in case. Eliot nodded back and disappeared into the trees.
Three hours later, as the sun was only beginning to kiss the horizon, Eliot tromped back into a changed camp. He dropped his spear and piglet onto the ground where he planned to make a fire and stared. For not having vines to use as lashing and only three hours to have worked in, Hardison had done wonders with the little hut. "How did you get all this done?" he asked in wonder.
Hardison slapped him on the back and grinned. "Parker found a downed tree not far from here and used those branches, then we dragged a couple of big sections of tree over to act as the base for the flooring. Rocks keep them from moving out of alignment," he pointed to where two large logs were situated so that the branches making up the floor could lie on top and sit up off the ground. "It wasn't easy burying the corner posts for the walls, but we managed, and then it was just finding the right branches to make up the walls and the roof" he finished.
"No, man, you did more than manage," Eliot stopped him, "I don't know of many guys who could have pulled this off with just tree limbs and some brush and rocks, so you deserve to be proud of it." The hut didn't look like any proper cabin or house, but given what they had to work with, it could have been far, far worse. This at least looked fairly sturdy, like a strong wind wouldn't blow it over onto them as they slept, and he couldn't find any obvious fault. Hardison had even kept it low, to where they'd have to crouch when inside, which would help with heat conservation if the nights turned cold.
Hardison finally noticed the piglet on the ground and visibly struggled to keep from gagging. It had been dressed already, so there was surprisingly little blood, but the sight still set him off. "Hey, you found dinner," he commented, trying to keep the atmosphere light while trying to avoid looking at the thing.
"Ooh, piglet! I bet it'll be tender and juicy," Parker enthused as she crouched down to poke at the little body. She completely missed the look exchanged behind her back.
Eliot moved to shoo her away and directed her to start dragging short lengths of wood over while he prepared the area for a fire. "Biggest question is how we're going to start a fire," he commented as he worked.
"Nah, I got this, seen it on TV- we can rub sticks together until the friction causes them to burn," Hardison proudly stated, only to be deflated by Eliot's words.
"You got any idea how long that would take? You'd be at it for hours!" Eliot sniped, and the two were soon bickering. Parker finished dragging over all the wood she thought they'd need and watched them for a minute before rolling her eyes.
She went and picked up something shiny off a rock where she'd had it drying out and threw it at Eliot's head. "How about just using this?"
The bickering immediately stopped as they got a good look at the object, and both turned stunned looks at her. "Woman, where did you get a lighter out here?" Hardison demanded, trying to take it from Eliot's hands and failing miserably.
"I always carry a lighter," she stated as if it was obvious. "You never know when you'll need to start a fire to cause a distraction or destroy evidence. Its fuel has a watertight seal and I just had to wait for the flint to dry; you gotta flip the little lever, though, or it won't feed any fuel through," Parker instructed Eliot as he fumbled with the small lighter. "Oh, Hardison, you better tell him too," she remembered.
"Tell me what?" Eliot grunted as he finally got the little lighter to cooperate and coaxed a small flame to life. He worked on feeding it bits he broke off of a branch; too much wood too fast would only smother it, these things had to be done slowly.
Hardison dithered for a bit, unsure how best to explain. "Well, you know that I always wear my earbud even when we're not working," he paused for Eliot's nod to indicate that he was still following. "I was testing a new prototype, version eleven, which is supposed to be waterproof. I even left it in a glass of water overnight and it worked just fine after, but apparently being submerged in saltwater killed the voice transmission. I can't use that to call for help, but the GPS locator in it is self-contained and still has a light. If Nate can find my instruction manual, he can find us and get us out of here," Hardison finished in a rush.
Eliot sat and absorbed the information. "And just where is this instruction manual that he's supposed to find? You better not have hidden it somewhere!"
"Not at all," Hardison defended himself. "I left it on his bookshelf, out in plain sight, and even labeled it 'How to Use Hardison's Equipment' just in case y'all ever needed it."
Parker chimed in, "Yeah, but you're expecting Nate to notice that we're missing, and also notice that the manual is there. If we're depending on him to do all of that, we could be here for weeks!"
"But if he finds it, we could be rescued in just days," Hardison rebutted even though his heart wasn't in it. None of them really believed that Nate would remember that they would be due back tomorrow or that he'd find the manual- plain sight was the best place to hide something as so few people ever paid attention to what they saw every day.
By this time the fire had built up enough to nibble at the larger logs, and so Eliot showed Parker how to skewer the piglet while he set up the forked branches to hold the skewer. Hardison went to find decently flat rocks to use for plates while the two worked on dinner. He came back with three small eggs tucked in his pocket as well as the rocks held in his arms.
"Hey, look what I found," he crowed as he dropped the rocks by the fire and gently pulled out the eggs. "Don't know what laid them, but they have a hard shell and should be good eating."
Parker grabbed an egg and held it up to the fire, using its light to better examine the egg's shell in the fading sunlight. "Looks like a bird's egg, not a turtle's or snake's," she proclaimed and caught Eliot's smirk as she looked back up. "What? It's just common sense," Parker challenged.
Eliot held up his hands, "Not meaning anything, just surprised that you'd think of a turtle as most don't."
Parker squinted at him before she allowed his explanation to stand. She knew things, too, even if it wasn't how to build a hut or kill a pig. She grabbed the other two eggs and tucked them into the small amount of ash the fire had managed to make so far, keeping them away from the flames yet close enough that they'd cook through. They should be done by the time the piglet was, and they all could use the extra protein; they had all passed hungry hours ago and needed a good meal.
Soon the smell of pork filled the air and although unseasoned at all it caused their mouths to water in anticipation. The piglet's skin crackled and split in the heat, and fatty juices ran down to sizzle in the flames as Eliot carefully rotated the skewer to keep from burning it. Finally it was done. Eliot pulled the piglet off the skewer and handed Hardison the soiled skewer to wash in the stream while he divided the meat and Parker dug out the cooked eggs. By the time he returned, they had a small feast on each of the rocks and each settled in to eat every morsel. The pork wasn't as good as they were used to, and the eggs had a strong flavor from whatever bird had laid them, but their bodies needed the fuel and no one complained.
They sat in silence, listening to the frogs in their hidden places chirrup as the night birds twittered. The sun had gone down a while ago, but there was still a glow on the horizon, like a fire just out of sight. Hardison eventually stood to drag more wood over to the fire so that Eliot could bank it for the night. The area he'd cleaned out would keep the fire contained, as it was stripped to the bare dirt, and if banked right it would keep alive all night long and save on the lighter's fuel. Parker headed in to the little hut ahead of the boys and made sure that the long grasses she'd gathered from the thin strip between trees and cliff edge were evenly spread. Even though she and Hardison had spread leaves and smaller branches in between the floor's poles, the grasses would help provide a measure of cushioning between their bodies and the wood, and they brought a sweet smell to the hut. Eliot and Hardison soon joined her and they huddled together, for once leaving aside their dislike of contact in the very human need for comfort, both physical and psychological. Today had been an ordeal and even though they lived through it, their systems were still processing the shock.