Chapter 29

" It's about damn time!"

Day 82: Afternoon

The seven had been having the most important conversation of their entire exile while the sailboat of Kane took them to the last island.

Jackson had led the talk as they decided on what they had to admit had happened and what they wouldn't admit.

" Guys, I hate it as bad as anyone else, but we have to admit we were drugged and raped. We don't have a choice. We all , except for Taylor, have to be checked for STDs. Even Lex, since he had a transfusion from me after I had been raped the first go around. God knows what any of those pirates had been a hold of. And don't even get me started on the suicidal tendencies of this group!" He rubbed absently at the scars on his arms as he said that last.

Nathan had responded with a lack of grace, but seemed to finally accept the inevitable, " Yeah, Dad's gonna be so proud of his son, the Perverted pervert."

Daley had wisely used humor, rather than logic, to help: " You're my pervert. My favorite one, at that." She had kissed his protests into submission. And thereby unexpectedly gotten Eric started.

"Dammit, I was just getting used to being able to slobber all over Chief and Mel around you guys and now, I have to pretend everything is nice and normal between us?! That sucks donkey dicks!" He was about to go on another McGorrill mouth off when it happened.

He had been silenced by a surprise from Jackson. The big guy had grabbed him and unceremoniously gave him the longest, deepest, most passionate kiss he could summon, his big hands gripping Eric's small buttocks and actually lifting him into the air as he did so. And that wasn't the only surprise for the second he released the smaller teen, Mel had grabbed Eric and did a repeat performance on him!

Eric blushed furiously as the others began clapping and applauding, even Nathan perked up enough to unleash an ear splitting whistle.

" You'll be getting plenty more of that at home, just not in the middle of the Quad at Hartwell. That's all. No more hiding. I love you both and I am not lying to anyone who asks me, " Mel declared firmly. " My parents and I will work something out."

Jackson concurred:" I say fuck the rest, I 'm with the two of you. End of story."

Eric had to ruin the loving mood. " Fuck the rest, I fuck the best!"

Nathan guffawed, " I always pictured you saying that to an inflatable woman , or your left hand."

" Leave Roxanne outta this!" Eric shot back gamely, " I haven't even introduced her to Mel and Cody yet!"

" Land!" Lex shouted from here he as propped in Taylor's lap, " I see land!"

And there it was, the fog evaporating as the sailboat as to shore. The final island. They touched bottom by the time they got Lex ready to be carried to shore. And after they went to shore, they turned at a gurgling noise.

The sailboat of Kane shrank and disappeared beneath the arm Pacific waters.

Mel , standing between her to lovers, spoke, " Goodbye little boat. Do you think we'll ever make a Rosebud 2?" she asked the group.

" Yes." came Lex's certain reply.

" Can't do without one, " Daley agreed as Taylor added, " Can we put a restroom on it if we do? I hate poopy pails!"

The seven went to the final nest of Robert and Richard Russell.*****************************************************

" I knew better than to name this broken don piece of crap " Broken for Eternity" after my damn third divorce,' snarled Kyle Monroe as his aged Grumman Goose fling boat bobbed up and don. " Piece of crap engines, supposed to get three miles to the gallon at cruise and I barely get half that!. Last time I buy a plane from Stan Rogow, I swear!" He slammed a fit into the seventy year old console even as his radio unexpectedly came to life.

A fairly deep baritone voice filled the air with static as Cody Jackson called out: " Mayday, mayday, this is Cody Jackson. I am one of seven survivors of a plane crash from 82 days ago. Our call numbers are Two Niner Delta November William. I repeat, we are the survivors of a plane crash from eighty two days ago."

He repeated it three more times before the surge of electricity in Kyle's veins settled. For he had heard of that plane! Just before the world had gone crazy, a billionaire from LA, Rex Hagen had offered a million dollar reward for news about either of the two missing planes and now, finally, he was about to hit the jackpot. Forcing calm into his voice, the skinny twenty seven year old man responded. " Attention survivors of 29DN, this is Kyle Monroe and I am reading you plain. Can you give me a fix on our location, over."

He could barely hear the reply for the cheering in the back ground that had erupted at his response.

" Yes, hell yes, " Cody Jackson said, hugging Mel as Eric kissed the tops of both of their heads in the cramped cockpit of the broke down plane in Russell's last hiding spot. He gave the coordinates Lex had mapped out as Daley, Taylor and Nathan carried the boy on a victory dance outside of the plane.

" I 'm rich! I'm fucking rich!" Kyle screamed as he whipped the plane around towards the coordinates, " C'mon you piece of crap, hold on for a few more hours and I'll buy you all the gas you can guzzle! Yee HAA!" The plane dove like a frightened angel towards the island fifty miles away.

Two hours later, as the sunset over the island, and elderly blue and white flying boat took off in a cloud of smoke, heading for Guam. She had seven passengers on board.

On an uncharted island a score of miles away, an old woman lit seven candles, one for each youth and each color of the rainbow, in prayer and thanked eight gods in a whispered prayer.