It was raining so hard. All I can do is choke on sand and ocean water, but I can't move a single limb in my body. I can almost hear the missing persons report being filed right now:
Name: Christi Carlyle
Location: Unknown
Survival: Unlikely
It was an agonizing three days after the cruise ship had wrecked and sunk. I had spent those days floating alone in the ocean, just waiting for a shark to smell live meat or a wave to drag me under and not ever be able to resurface. It was then that I found the island.
I knew I had to get up. I knew that I would die if I stayed here washed up on the shore like a breached whale. I start to crawl very slowly. I look up to see palm trees swaying wildly in the wind. I see the rain pounding on the ocean, making a very loud drumming noise. Suddenly I feel a stabbing pain between my elbow and shoulder. The sand is blood- red. Before I can do or think anymore, I feel an overwhelming heaviness come over me, and I lay there, waiting for the sea to claim my body.
It was early morning. The rain had stopped sometime in the night, but I was still wet and cold. I didn't feel quite as bad anymore; the gash in my arm was not so much painful as it was numb now and, even though my legs were still extremely sore, I felt that I may be able to stand. My knees were buckling more than a toddler taking his first steps. It was then that I started thinking rationally for the first time; I needed food, water, and shelter. That sounded simple enough. I've watched survival TV shows all my life where people would live off of bugs and coconuts; things that should be crawling all over this island, literally.
I had been hiking around the island for what felt like miles and hours. All of a sudden, when my feet are just about to give up, I see a strange formation rising in front of me and I can't help but scream out loud. "A CAVE"! I squeal with delight. As I start to head into the cave I hear a strange rumbling sound followed by a furious growl. All I saw next were the eyes.
(What happened in the following events still to this day amazes me beyond anything else.) My heart is racing so fast that I can practically hear it beating out of my chest. The tiger walks slowly towards me at first. I can hear a loud bird-like screech mere feet behind me, which remind me of how buzzards swoop overhead when something has died, or is about to. I look back toward the tiger because I can now feel the ground pounding below me; the tiger is charging at full speed now. I try to find my happy place; maybe the beach or even the school cafeteria, laughing with my friends. I think that maybe I won't feel as much pain this way. Maybe it would be a quicker death. But I can't help it; I look up again to see the tiger just yards away now. I grind my teeth as he runs right up to me, doesn't slow down, and then runs past me! I instantly look behind me to see, under a tree, a small piece of tattered cloth with something under it; a deer, a fox maybe? I do a double take with my eyes and come to the startling conclusion to what it really was, a boy! Without anything but an impulse and my own adrenaline, I beat the tiger to the boy, scoop him up in my arms, and run for both of our lives.
We sat there on the beach for what felt like an eternity before either of us said one word. "My name is Xavier and I am so sorry." He said finally in a small voice. "I was just trying to lure the tiger away from you by doing my bird calls, but then I fell out of the tree and…give me a break I'm only six ok!" There were so many things I wanted to say to him, so many questions to ask, but all I could do was stare into his crystal blue eyes. I knew then that we had to get off of this island; not just for my sake, but for his as well.