Lucas woke slowly. Where was he? He opened his eyes, squinting against the bright sun, becoming aware that he was lying on his back partway in water and that his arms and legs were stinging. He could hear Darwin somewhere nearby, chattering urgently.
Lucas tried to sit up and groaned as he fell back. His chest hurt, his head was pounding, and he felt like he was going to throw up.
Taking it a little slower, he managed to roll onto his side and struggle into a sitting position. As his head began to clear, he remembered what had happened with the Captain, and he remembered Darwin pulling him to safety. Darwin had taken him as close to shore as he could, and Lucas had managed, with the help of the surf, to make it to the beach. His arms and legs bore the scratches and scrapes that were testimony to his efforts to drag himself out of the water until he was able to collapse onto the beach.
"I'm okay, Darwin!" he called hoarsely, causing himself to cough. He waved at the dolphin, who swam back and forth beyond the breaking surf.
Lucas looked around, trying to figure out exactly where he was. During his time on the island with Captain Bridger, he had explored it all. He thought he was about a mile from the house, around the curve of the beach.
Lucas struggled to his feet, swaying a little but managing to find his balance. He needed to get back to the house and check on the Captain. What if Darwin had hurt him and he hadn't been able to get out of the water? He could need help now.
Squinting at the location of the sun, Lucas figured it to be around 4:00, meaning the altercation in the lagoon had happened a couple of hours ago. He refused to let his mind go to other possible outcomes of the recent events. The Captain would be all right. He had to be.
Lucas began walking, slowly at first but gaining strength and mobility as he continued. His head and chest still hurt, but the nausea was receding as he moved. He rubbed a hand over his shoulders, feeling bruises where the Captain had held him down. He shuddered, almost unable to believe that the events of the day could be true.
Darwin continued to follow Lucas, out beyond the surf. Lucas could see his dorsal fin as the dolphin swam parallel to his path.
In the last stand of trees along this section of the beach, he paused to survey the house and the lagoon that were several hundred feet in front of him. He couldn't see any movement. On the dock, he saw Captain Bridger's shirt hanging on a piling. He distinctly remembered that the Captain had been wearing a shirt when they were in the water, so that must mean he had been able to get out of the lagoon. Thank God for that! The possibility that the Captain had drowned while Lucas had been passed out on the beach had been lurking in the back of his mind ever since he had awakened. He was glad to be able to let that possibility go.
Lucas stepped out of the cover of the trees cautiously and began slowly making his way toward the dock. He needed to look at the radio more carefully and see if there was anything he could salvage. He kept a careful watch on the house, but all was silent and still.
Reaching the dock, Lucas saw not only the Captain's shirt, but also his toolbox sitting on the ground nearby. Lucas prayed that the Captain hadn't taken a hammer or anything else to do even more damage to the radio.
Lucas walked out on the dock toward the boat. Still no sign of the Captain. But just before he reached the end of the dock, there was an ominous cracking sound, and the entire dock began to collapse under his feet. He jumped for the edge, but the collapse was so swift that there was no time. He went down with the dock, and hit the water amidst a shower of broken lumber. One piece struck a glancing blow to the side of his head, stunning him, but he managed to swim away from the area of collapse toward the open water of the lagoon.
The sound of the door of the house opening and running footsteps stirred him to motion. He quickly swam toward the shore, finding a place under the remains of the dock where he couldn't be seen. Huddling there quietly, he heard Captain Bridger approach and then stand still just a few feet away from his hiding place.
"Where are you, boy?" he heard the Captain mutter. "It had to be you that triggered my little surprise. After all, no one here but you and me. So where are you?"
Lucas heard the Captain walking up and down the shore, but Lucas was too far under the remains of the dock to be seen.
"He's a lucky SOB, that's all. He managed to get away. But that's okay. I'll get him next time."
Lucas shivered as he heard the footsteps and the muttering receding into the distance as the Captain strode away.
Lucas stood once again in the last stand of trees nearest the house. The setting sun was blazing a trail across the rippling ocean.
Darwin had, once again, come to the rescue and brought Lucas back to this area of the beach after the calamity at the dock. To his catalog of scrapes, scratches, and bruises, Lucas could now add a large knot on his head.
He had spent the rest of the afternoon resting and trying to regain his strength, while continuing to worry about what he could do to get help for the Captain. The only thing his mind kept coming up with was trying to find undamaged components from the two smashed radios, the one in the house and the one on the boat, and rigging something up that could transmit. But how was he to get them? He would never have believed that he could be afraid of the Captain, but he was. The Captain was actually trying to kill him, although he was having a difficult time wrapping his mind around that thought.
He had decided to wait for the cover of darkness and try again. He had seen Bridger on the boat earlier, although he wasn't able to see what he was doing. The Captain had then gone into the jungle for a while, then returned to the house. Since he went inside an hour ago, Lucas hadn't seen him.
Lucas waited for darkness, wracking his brain for anything he knew about head injuries, but unfortunately, it wasn't much. Medicine just hadn't held that much interest for him. He remembered reading some studies linking violent behavior to traumatic brain injury, but he couldn't remember the specifics. If that was what was going on, would the effects wear off? If so, how long might it take?
Lucas shook his head in frustration. He just didn't know. The only option was getting medical attention for the Captain, and getting it fast.
As the sun set and darkness began to descend over the island, Lucas saw lights come on in the house. After another hour or so, the lights began to go off, the last one being the one in Bridger's bedroom.
Lucas waited another hour to be sure, but all stayed dark and still. Finally he decided it was now or never. He returned to the ocean and swam out to meet Darwin. "Okay, buddy, let's go," he murmured, making the signal for "boat" and holding onto Darwin's dorsal fin. Darwin immediately began swimming toward the boat.
Luckily, the ladder on the starboard side of the boat was facing the ocean, so Lucas should be able to climb aboard without being seen. Reaching the boat, he let go of Darwin and swam to the ladder, carefully climbing it. At the top, he slowly raised his head above the side of the boat, looking nervously toward the house, but all was still quiet.
Stepping into the boat, Lucas headed for the radio. There was a full moon, so he had enough light to be able to see where he was going and would hopefully be able to see the radio components.
Unfortunately, the damage was just as bad as he remembered it. He began to rummage through the broken pieces, which appeared to be wet as well as smashed, looking for anything he could use, but without success. Suddenly, his hands began to burn. Snatching them away from the radio pieces, he squinted at them in the moonlight, trying to see what was wrong. Raising one hand to his face, he sniffed. He smelled an acrid scent and the burning was growing worse. Battery acid! It must have been poured on the smashed radio.
Lucas quickly climbed back down the ladder and into the ocean, with his hands burning all the way. When he plunged them into the salt water, he couldn't contain an indrawn hiss of breath at the pain of the salt on the burns.
There could be no doubt that the Captain had booby-trapped the radio. That must have been what he was doing on the boat earlier.
So his only other option was getting into the house and checking the radio there. But did he dare? He had to admit it, he was scared, but he couldn't see anything else he could do.
Swimming to shore, Lucas crawled up on the beach, trying to protect his burned hands as well as he could. He carefully crept across the beach to the house. Creeping around the perimeter, he found the radio room and checked the window. It was open. Trying to be as quiet as he could, he climbed inside.
Lucas began searching through the radio components, trying to make no sound. He kept glancing nervously over his shoulder at the closed door, but the house remained quiet and the door closed.
After several minutes of rummaging, Lucas had to concede that it was useless. The Captain had been too thorough in his destruction. There was nothing here that Lucas could use.
Dejectedly, Lucas climbed back through the window and started toward the beach. But before he reached it, a sudden explosion in front of him blew sand into the air and knocked Lucas off his feet. Looking around wildly, Lucas clambered to his feet. From behind a large rock further down the beach, he saw the Captain stand up, a small box in his hand. The Captain's other hand moved to the box, and another explosion occurred, a little closer to Lucas.
Lucas was effectively cut off from the beach. He turned and ran toward the jungle, hearing the sound of pursuit behind him. Reaching the trees, he dived off the path and hid.
He heard the sound of Bridger's footsteps on the path approaching, then slowing, then stopping.
"Always was a stupid boy," he heard the Captain mutter. "Thinks I can't see this is where he left the path? What does he think we learn in the military? We learn to find the enemy. And we learn to neutralize the enemy."
Lucas began trying to crawl quietly deeper into the jungle. He couldn't hear the Captain any more. Maybe he had gone in another direction? But even as he had the thought, a hand clasped his shoulder from behind and began pulling him backward.
"Got you!" the Captain growled.
Panic gave Lucas a ferocity he didn't even know was in him. He twisted like a cat, sinking his teeth into Bridger's hand. Bridger roared in pain and loosened his grip, and Lucas tore himself free and began to run.
Behind him, he heard Bridger laughing. "Run, boy!" he called after the fleeing Lucas. "But just remember there's nowhere you can hide that I can't find you! And when I do, then we'll really have some fun!"