There was sand in his mouth. Florian rolled onto his side, coughing and spitting. His eyes felt caked with sand and salt, and he rubbed at them, grimacing when he only managed to make them worse.
He was soaked through and sticky and felt as if he'd been badly beaten – every part of his body ached.
The world was sideways – or maybe that was just him. His thoughts felt as battered as his body and for a long time he just stayed where he was, not thinking.
Dimly, he wondered where Ray was.
Ray!
Florian sat up too quickly and nearly overbalanced as his hand sank into soft, wet sand. He looked around, taking in the debris-strewn beach. Where was Ray? And Solomon?
He struggled to his feet, his head pounding, and lurched forward a few steps before his mind caught up to him. He remembered the sudden storm and the shock of being swept away into the ocean. He remembered swimming endlessly, until he was too exhausted to even think about what he was doing – moving his arms and legs and hoping that he was headed towards land.
There had been no time to pause and look for the others – and no way to call for them over the sounds of the storm and the waves.
Grimly, he looked out at the choppy water, seeing nothing that resembled either a yacht or human bodies.
It just means they reached ground elsewhere, he told himself as he started moving along the shore. He'd find them; it was just a matter of time.
XXXXX
"Hold still!" Solomon snapped. He bit his lower lip in concentration as he wrapped another strip of cloth from his shirt around Ray's head. It was too wet to be of much use, but it was better than nothing, and it might help slow the blood flow.
"Stop fussing and find Florian," Ray snapped back. "I don't need a nursemaid." He was dizzy and nauseous and in pain, but that didn't mean he was going to let Solomon mother him. Especially not when Florian was nowhere to be seen.
"I didn't haul your unconscious self all the way up the beach only to have you keel over from blood loss. Now hold still while I do this, and then I'll go find your troublesome friend."
Ray snorted in amusement at that; it was the first time Solomon had ever called Florian 'troublesome' – a term that Ray used frequently.
"We can't really blame him for this one," Solomon said after a moment of consideration. "Just bad luck that we got caught napping. Literally." He made a face as he splinted Ray's arm with two sticks for support. The head wound and the possibly broken arm seemed to be the worst of the damage. There was a nasty bruise on his back too, and probably more on his legs. Solomon had been luckier – he was battered, but didn't seem to be bleeding and nothing was broken.
"Go find him," Ray said, making it a request this time. He was paler than Solomon had ever seen him. That was cause for enough concern that Solomon hesitated until Ray added, "Please."
"Five hundred paces along the beach in each direction. If I don't find him that way, we'll come up with another strategy." Setting off at a brisk pace, Solomon silently counted steps, his eyes sweeping the beach and the water alternately as he went. There was some debris on the beach and more in the water. Just ahead, a short distance out, there was something that looked like white cloth. Without hesitation, Solomon headed towards it, walking slowly through the water.
It was hard holding himself back, but he knew he was too tired to swim the distance – he'd have to be patient and walk as much as he was able. It had taken almost everything he had to reach Ray and keep holding on until they both reached the shore.
Ray had been unconscious for most of the journey – a small mercy as far as Solomon was concerned. He'd remained that way even after they reached land. Solomon had had to drag him out of the water and up the beach until he was in the shade of a huge tree.
Solomon had collapsed beside him, just breathing and trying to ease the burn in his muscles. He wasn't exactly out of shape, but he was exhausted after such an effort. As much as he was worried about Florian, he just didn't have enough energy left to care for Ray and search for his missing companion.
But now that he'd rested a little, and Ray had regained consciousness and had stopped vomiting, Solomon couldn't delay any longer.
He knew before he reached it that the cloth was just a shirt – no one inside it. He reached out and caught the end of it, tugging it free from what appeared to be the remains of a wooden deck chair. Solomon took that too, as well as a few other pieces of wood that floated nearby. He carried them all to the shore and up onto the sand far enough back to be safe from the tide. He wasn't sure why he did it, but the familiar items, even soggy and broken, made him feel a bit better.
He stabbed several pieces of wood into the sand and spread the shirt out over them to dry, hesitating when he felt a weight in the breast pocket. He peered in at the little book, recognizing it instantly as the one Ray always carried – Florian's account book.
Without knowing why, Solomon carried the shirt along as he resumed his search for Florian. He continued his count as he paced up the beach, allowing himself an extra fifty paces for good measure. He slowly scanned every direction before turning back.
He retraced his steps as briskly as his aching body would permit. Ray was awake and watching him as Solomon approached with the soggy shirt.
"I found this just off shore. It's yours."
Ray accepted the garment, his face oddly blank as he patted the pocket and confirmed that the account book was inside. He turned to the left, awkwardly spreading the shirt out on a rock to dry. Solomon left him too it while he resumed his search for Florian.
The shoreline curved in and then extended out again creating a tiny cove. There was a lot of debris there and Solomon increased his pace, forgetting to count.
Some items had been washed up onto shore – boxes, an intact deck chair, and even some cushions and other small things he recognized from the yacht. There were larger items too – floating within easy reach - barrels and planks of wood, and even a steamer trunk.
Solomon forgot all about his fatigue as he dragged the most promising finds up the beach to beyond the waterline. He could try to salvage more, once Florian had been found.
With one last look at the floating debris, Solomon continued for another three hundred paces, stubbornly determined not to return to Ray empty-handed. But eventually he gave in and started the long walk back.
He stopped at the little cove again, taking another survey of the items and rescuing the remains of the picnic basket and part of Florian's fishing rod.
He presented these to Ray, pretending not to see the disappointment and worry on the man's face.
"I'll go out again soon. First we'll need to find some water and shelter for tonight. If we're lucky, we'll have a few more hours of daylight."
"We need a fire," Ray added. He was holding his head unnaturally still and Solomon wondered if his condition was more severe than he was admitting.
"Water. Shelter. Fire." Solomon repeated dutifully. "I'll see what I can find. You stay here - and try to stay awake." He tried to make it a joke, but he didn't quite pull it off, and Ray's look let him know that.
Solomon hurried off towards the tree line as quickly as he could go.
XXXXX
"Safe water, shelter, food, fire." Florian made it a marching rhyme. He had walked along the shore for a while, checking for footprints or any sign of his companions. He'd found nothing but leaves and debris from the storm.
A length of salvaged wood proved sturdy enough for a walking stick, and he used it to keep himself moving and to poke at bushes and clumps of grass to ferret out wild animals. So far, he'd only managed to irritate a small furry something with a long tail and a bad attitude.
His thoughts seemed to be scattered, and he had to keep bringing his attention back to the task at hand. A few minutes later, they'd stray again, conjuring up memories of adventure stories set on exotic islands overrun with pirates and/or savage natives.
With a self-mocking smile, he continued on, sternly reminding himself that his friends were missing and needed to be found as soon as possible.
He took up the rhyme again, stopping only when he heard a distant shuffle that might be an animal. He moved ahead cautiously and caught sight of a small creature that resembled a miniature deer. He followed it carefully from a distance, watching as it approached a stream and drank.
"Safe water," he told himself, looking around and making a mental note of the location and how he'd arrived there.
The deer moved away from the water, stopping to nibble on long, thin grass and then nuzzling at a thick bush to expose dark reddish-purple berries.
"Food," Florian said softly. He followed the deer for another minute, so busy concentrating on his surroundings that he forgot to watch his feet. He stepped on a stick and it gave way under his foot, causing him to stumble and startle the deer.
Alone, but feeling a bit better, Florian took a small handful of berries and tried one cautiously. It was tart, but edible, so he ate the rest before kneeling beside the stream and drinking deeply.
On his feet again, he set off towards a large grouping of rocks, hoping for a cave, or at least a space with some shelter. What he found wasn't ideal - it was too open for his taste, but it was protected on three sides, and it would have to do.
Now all he needed was to find a way to make a fire, and most importantly, find Ray and Solomon.
