"The only thing we're going to get out of this is heat stroke and a bad sunburn."
Greg had to squint against the glare of the sun off of the water, but he could still see Nick smiling slightly at his comment. They were about fifteen feet apart from each other in the water, sharpened sticks acting as spears in hand. They were waist deep in the water, but every wave that came past them almost went up to their shoulders. They were holding their makeshift fishing tools in both hands of the the water, watching through the clear liquid for any signs of fish. They had been standing in the water for ten minutes, watching, not saying anything, until Greg had sighed heavily.
"Go put your shirt on then," Nick replied. He kept his eyes trained on the water, noting that more and more fish were starting to get closer and closer to him.
"I bet you'll end up stabbing yourself before a fish," Greg said, ignoring that Nick had even spoken. "How did you even talk me into this?" he asked.
Nick shrugged. "I asked if you were hungry. Eating only fruit won't keep us alive for that long. We need more, we need protein. There's an ocean full of fish for us to eat. Stop complaining and try and catch a few, would ya?"
Greg scoffed at Nick, but was ignored. He looked back out at the water and hated to admit it, but he was actually enjoying himself. He was in warm, crystal clear water with the warmth of the sun on his exposed skin, a gentle breeze blowing every so often. It wasn't a common occurrence for Greg to be able to enjoy the sun; most of the time when he was in it, he was at a crime scene and had to focus his attention elsewhere. Now, he could revel in the beautiful weather all around him, and notice how good Nick looked as well. The other man was concentrating on trying to catch them some fish to eat. The muscles in his back and arms were flexed as he held the spear, poised and ready. His tanned skin was wet from the splashing of the waves, and the water droplets glistened in the sun. Greg had to tear his eyes away and back to the water before Nick noticed he had been staring at him and threw the spear at him instead of the fish.
After about ten more minutes of silence, Greg was jolted from his concentration as Nick suddenly plunged his spear into the water before retracting it quickly, revealing the flopping fish on its sharpened end. Nick held the fish up in the air out of the water and stared at it for a few moments before looking over at Greg, who was totally shocked.
"Okay," Greg said, "so we're going to get heat stroke, a bad sunburn, and dinner out of this."
He couldn't suppress his smile as he slowly waded through the water over to Nick, who pulled the still struggling fish from the spear and held it out to Greg. "Go cook it, I'll try and catch some more."
The realization sudden dawned on Greg, and his smile faded. "We have to cook him?" he asked, sounding like a child.
Nick couldn't help but laugh. "Unless you'd prefer sushi."
Greg groaned. "I'd prefer not having to kill a poor innocent fish."
Nick frowned at the younger man. "Since when do you care about eating animals? You're not a vegetarian. Is Sara finally wearing off on you?"
"No," Greg replied, shaking his head. "I've just never caught, killed, and cooked my own food before. It's so, personal."
"It's a fish," Nick corrected. "You can just eat the fruit if you'd rather."
Greg shook his head and took the fish from Nick. "Fine, I'll cook it." He turned and started making his way towards the shore. "Sorry, Nemo," he mumbled under his breath, but Nick heard him.
"Don't name him when you're about to go throw him on the fire," he called over his shoulder, but didn't turn around, so he missed Greg flipping him off.
Greg reluctantly began cooking the fish on the fire, which he was unsure if he was doing correctly or not seeing as he had never really cooked anything before. He was paying more attention to Nick in the water than the fish on the fire, though. He had moved a little closer to the shore, and after only a half hour or so he had caught four more fish, throwing each one up onto the beach for Greg to cook. The sun was starting to lower itself in the sky, little by little, and it wouldn't be too long before it set behind the trees on the west side of the island. Greg had just finished cooking the last fish Nick had caught and was making his way back to the water when he saw it. It didn't register in his brain at first, because it couldn't be possible. Except it was all too possible, and after the initial shock took over, making his heart race and his breath catch in his throat, Greg's mind was able to concentrate on what he had seen, and realized what was going to happen if he didn't do something. Fast.
The fin was cutting through the water quickly, headed straight for Nick. It had come out of nowhere, appearing in Greg's view as it swam past the rocks. Nick didn't see it. He was looking in the other direction, following the fish. He was slowly turning his back to the approaching shark that seemed to be picking up speed as it neared the man in the water. Greg took off in a spring, running as fast as he could towards the water.
"Nick!" he yelled. Nick immediately turned around and looked at him, but he still was unaware of the impending doom. "Get out of the water, there's a shark!"
Greg could see Nick immediately roll his eyes and smile slightly, thinking that Greg was just messing with him He was too far away to see the fear in Greg's eyes or his hands shaking. He was still fifteen feet from the beach, and the shark was only five feet from Nick. The older man didn't even have time to reply to Nick before he felt a heavy bump against his right leg, followed by a sharp scraping. He was hit so hard that he dropped the spear and lost his balance, falling forward in the water, his feet completely off the sandy ocean floor. He turned in the water quickly and saw the shark swim past him slightly before turning around and heading back towards him. Nick was able to maneuver himself out of the path of the animal and pushed it away from him forcefully. He regained his footing on the sand and started moving backwards toward the beach, moving frantically because he could no longer see the shark or where it had went.
Nick was stumbling against the water and kept slipping on the wet sand. He barely noticed when Greg seized his arms from behind and pulled him back hard, practically dragging him up onto the shore. When Nick felt the hot, dry sand under his feet, he turned around quickly to face Greg. They were both breathing hard with their eyes locked on one another.
"Are you okay?" Greg asked breathlessly.
"I think so," Nick said, unable to look away from Greg's eyes.
"Did it bite you?"
Nick shook his head. "I don't know," he replied, and finally tore his eyes from Greg's and looked down at his right side. His knee and upper thigh were abraded and bleeding only slightly, but nothing serious or even close to life threatening. "I think it just bumped into me, and scratched me with its skin or tail or something."
Greg nodded slowly, still gripping Nick's arms tightly. "Okay," he replied when he realized Nick was fine.
"Fuck, that was scary," Nick said with a small laugh when he got his breathing under control. "It must have been attracted because of the blood from the fish," he commented.
Greg finally released Nick's arms, dropping his hands to his side. "Next time, stand on a rock or something. I've seen Jaws, sharks are no joke."
Nick laughed and nodded in agreement. The pair then sat on the beach and happily ate their fish as the sun continued to go down, dropping the temperature ever so slightly as the minutes wore on. They finished eating and continued to just sit there in silence, watching the sun start to fade away and disappear behind the trees.
"You know those dumb games people play sometimes?" Greg asked suddenly. "Like, question games? The ones where they say 'if you were stranded on an island, what three books would you bring with you?' That kind of thing?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah."
"I used to think those were so stupid, until right now. I'd do anything to have a book right now. Any book."
"I didn't know I was that awful to be around," Nick said jokingly.
Greg scoffed. "It has nothing to do with you Stokes, relax," he said. "I bet everyone is really worried about us back home," he said, shifting the subject suddenly. He said it more thoughtfully than sadly, though Nick still could detect the hint of loneliness in the younger man's words.
"I can't imagine," Nick replied. "They probably think we're dead," he said flatly.
Greg wanted to argue, but he couldn't. It had been three days since the crash. Three days is a long time to go without hearing any news of survival and still hold out hope that they would still be alive. Maybe they hadn't given up hope yet, but how long could everyone that knew them convince themselves that they would survive?
"Your girlfriend is probably a wreck," Greg mused.
Nick laughed humorless. "I don't have a girlfriend G."
Greg raised an eyebrow, but Nick was still watching the sunset. "I thought you were dating that nurse, Laura? Lauren?"
"Lauren," Nick replied. "We broke up a while ago."
"Oh," Greg said lamely. "Sorry," he muttered.
Nick shrugged. "Not your fault."
"I take it that it wasn't your fault either," Greg said, noting the tone in Nick's voice. It was like he was trying to pass it off as no big deal, but at the same time Greg got the inclination that it had been for some reason.
"She cheated on me," Nick said simply, his voice lacking any emotion. "A few times, I guess. I don't know, I didn't really ask for many details. She just told me, then broke up with me."
Greg sighed. "That sucks man, I'm sorry I brought it up."
Nick shrugged again. "It wasn't going to last anyway. I don't even really blame her. I only saw her like once a week. She usually works day shifts, and I obviously work nights. She was nice and everything, but I don't know. She didn't understand how I could do this job every day. I know it sounds horrible, but I was only really dating her because..." he trailed off, not wanting to sound like a jackass.
"Because it's better than being alone," Greg finished for him.
Nick looked over at Greg and smiled somewhat sadly. "Yeah, exactly."