To give credit where credit is due, the Gillette line is not mine, but was written by my sister, who is a brilliant writer to whom I owe many thanks. Could not resist stealing her line, as it was just the perfect "Jackson-ish" thing to say.
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Jackson woke up to sunlight streaming into the shelter, and felt oddly refreshed after the night's sleep. Lisa was still sleeping soundly next to him, and he decided to go out and start the day before she woke up. Easier to get things done when she's not second-guessing me and trying to start mutinies. Is it called a mutiny on an island? Might just be an uprising. Either way, she's not starting one. He left the hut and found some of the others already making breakfast, which looked a hell of a lot like yesterday's breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. He was planning how to get more food when the doctor, who had been a constant thorn in everyone's sides, stormed angrily over to him.
"I would very much like to know how I have a… a… Persian rug hanging from my face, and you look like you just walked out of a Gillette commercial!" He was gesturing wildly at his now-scraggly facial hair.
"Good breeding, I guess." Jackson replied as coolly as he possibly could, flashed the man a grin, then headed off, leaving the doctor dumbstruck. He climbed onto the rock that had become his podium and whistled for the group's attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are tired of eating nothing but peanuts, pretzels, and those berries that you all kept eating even when they made you sick. I propose that we end this food shortage now by organizing a hunt. We can make ourselves spears, and the fittest among us will go into those woods until we either find something to feed the group or scour the whole island and are completely sure that there is nothing in those woods."
"What if we get tired? Or bored?" The man in the cowboy hat had spoken up, and Jackson sighed, trying not to roll his eyes.
"If any man gets tired or bored and decided to leave the hunt, he will be left behind." He paused for dramatic effect, and the man in the hat spoke up again.
"But how are we going to get back to the camp? It'll be a long walk."
"I don't expect you to get back to the camp." A few people giggled, and Jackson shot a glare in their general direction. He had not been joking at all, and laughter would undermine his authority. "Any man who leaves the group will be exiled from our tribe and left to fend for himself. If he is killed, it'll be his own fault." There was no laughter now, just nervous glances back and forth among the crowd. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Go make spears!" They scurried off to follow the order.
Checking their progress, Jackson noticed that two men had already made significant progress in the stick-sharpening endeavor, and went to see how they'd worked so fast. The minute he heard their answer, he went into a rage.
"Limbo sticks? We are trapped on a godforsaken island in the middle of nowhere and you were making poles to hold up limbo sticks?" He grabbed one of the poles and rapped the man sharply across the knuckles with it, then went to go make sure people were actually preparing for a hunt and not a five-year-old's birthday party.
By the time the group was ready to go, they had five people and seven sticks, all of which had been sharpened until Jackson had deemed them finished. Before heading off he found the old lady, whose name, he'd learned, was Angie.
"I need you to do me a favor. While I'm on the hunt, look after Lisa for me. She's asleep in our tent, and I want you to make sure she's not too worried when she hears where we've gone. She's a fragile girl, and the last thing we need is her having a breakdown on us." He tried to make this woman think of Lisa as one of those women who spent all day staring out the window waiting for her husband to come home, although Lisa probably would have stabbed him with one of the spears if she got the chance. Still, he could get this lady to keep her from turning the others against him if he made her sound hysterical. Satisfied that she would follow his instructions, he led the group into the woods.
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Lisa had been upset to hear that a group had headed into the woods again, but was relieved to be rid of Jackson for at least a few hours. She took the opportunity to have a decent bath now that she was convinced he wouldn't be watching, and found a change of clothes for herself. He'd tried to get her clothes even before the cocktail dress, but they'd all been far too revealing for her comfort, so she'd stayed in her skirt and top from the flight. She took her time in the water, letting herself relax and temporarily forget the situation. The beach was actually quite nice, and the water was refreshingly cool. If someone found this place, the first thing to go up would be a hotel. People would flock here. When she felt herself starting to get sunburned she headed back to the camp, and was shocked by what she found there.
Jackson was kneeling in the sand, covered in blood from the pig he was butchering. She had no idea where he'd gotten a knife, or even how he knew how to do this, but was grateful for the fact that no one else had gotten lost and they had something new to eat. She watched silently, disgusted but unable to look away. When he finished, he ordered one of his hunters to dispose of the inedible parts of the pig while another hauled the meat to the pit where they lit fires at night. Then he stood and approached her.
"So, Leese, what do you think? We'll eat well tonight." She remained silent, not sure how to respond. "Leese? This is the part where you swoon into my arms with a 'my hero!' or at least offer a 'well done, Jack, we won't all starve.'"
"Go clean yourself off." She saw a look of surprise cross his face, and he didn't move. "Go on. You're covered in blood- it's disgusting."
"Come with me, Leese." She guessed that her horror showed on her face, as he quickly clarified. "I don't mean that in a perverted way. I mean that I want you to see the injuries I got today trying to feed you ungrateful people." She didn't budge. If he thought she was going to be alone with him out in the middle of nowhere while he took his clothes off, he was clearly insane. He reached for her arm, and she fled back to the beach.
He returned a while later, clean and in new clothes, and directed the people in charge of food as they made a spit to cook the meat on. He had not told anyone that the rotisserie was actually the limbo setup from earlier, but Lisa recognized it. She was sitting off to the side with the young girl who'd been flying by herself. Rebecca was still young, and in all his assigning tasks, Jackson had failed to tell anyone to care for the child. Lisa had taken the task upon herself, and was trying to convince her that they would be rescued soon. She noticed that Rebecca tensed whenever Jackson came near them, and asked her about it.
"He's always saying how he's going to leave people in the woods and let us starve and how he has the right to punish people, and I don't want him to leave me here." Her eyes were brimming with tears, and Lisa hugged the girl, trying to comfort her. Suddenly Lisa heard an unmistakable voice above her.
"Good going, Leese. Ignore the cooking and the guard duty and just get in touch with your maternal side. It's not like there's anything else you should be doing." Lisa fought the urge to slam a rock onto his foot, and instead gave him the sweetest, most innocent look she could muster.
"Well, sweetie, I'm just practicing for when I need to take care of the heir to the island. Or did you change your mind on that?" She tried not to laugh as she looked up at him. I just completely blew his mind. He did look shocked, and his brain was clearly still trying to process what she'd just said. Finally, he gave her a lewd wink.
"I'll hold you to it, Leese. Just need to finish providing for the extended family here. Why don't you and the littleun come have some dinner?"