Chapter Seven: The Additions
Zack looked at the Island which Moseby and Miss Tutweiler were living on. Even being nice, it was shite. No shelter. No food. Not even a tree to protect them from the sun. No tent, no tarps, just a few bits of driftwood propped up against a larger tree, still not even six foot tall, which he could only assume was their make-shift bedroom.
They looked around a little bit, and saw that there was one carrier bag, held up on sticks over a bottle. Zack assumed it was sea water which was being evaporated for drinking water.
"Come on" Zack said, bringing the attention of everyone to himself. "If we leave now, we'll be back on the Island before it gets dark" he explained
"No" Moseby replied shortly. Zack, Bailey and Woody turned to look at him. Dumbfounded. Then Miss Tutweiler chimed in.
"You're here now, you're safe. We'll keep you safe here" she explained
"Listen to us" Zack begun. "We have a much nicer island there. Food, water, beds, shelter, trees..." he listed "Come back with us, you'll be much better off"
"I am not getting back on that water again" Miss Tutweiler stated
"You need to trust us" Bailey replied
"What happened to Cody and London" Moseby asked, looking between the three of them
"They're on our island. Waiting for us" Woody replied
"They're alive?" Moseby asked, surprised
"Of course. We have some lunch leftover, come on, we'll give you a good meal" Zack offered
"Lunch?" Moseby asked
"Of course lunch. Dinner is cooking too. And we have loads to drink" Woody replied
"You're kidding" Miss Tutweiler replied, not believing what she was hearing
"We're not"
"Look at the Marion" Miss Tutweiler said, looking at the three "Clearly they're faring better than us" she said, conceding
"So you'll come with us?" Zack asked
"I'm not going back out onto the water" she insisted
"You have to" Bailey replied
"How did you get here?" Woody asked them
"Long story. Our lifeboat broke" Moseby replied
"Why are you not on the Tipton?" Bailey asked, it just dawning on her
"It's a long story" Miss Tutweiler replied
"Come on. In no time, we'll be back on dry land, on the island. Food and drink, then we can hear catch everyone up to speed. London and Cody will be worried if we're much longer" Zack explained
"I really think we should wait here for rescue" Miss Tutweiler stated
"How long have you been here?" Zack asked
"I don't know" Moseby replied
"Has anyone come to help you or rescue you since? Or are we the first?" Bailey asked, starting to get a little frustrated
"No" they both admitted
"Then trust us" Zack replied.
It ended up with Zack, Woody and Moseby manhandling Miss Tutweiler to get into the boat, but eventually she conceded and got on with the rest.
Moseby and Zack pushed the boat off the docks, into the water, and they watched as the Island faded further and further into the distance.
It was quiet on board. No one really believing what was happening. Moseby not believing how the kids had survived, and were faring better than he was. He was intrigued as to what their Island looked like, reluctant to believe that it was in better condition than his was.
The kids were dumbfounded that of all people they would run into on an Island, deserted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, were Moseby and Tutweiler.
Miss Tutweiler on the other hand, was not thinking about anything, other than the searing anxiety she felt looking out at the dot which was her Island. She turned to see where they were going, but the kids Island looked just as far out.
Faint dots representing dry land, with a vast expanse of the deep, dangerous waters surrounding then. She focussed on trying to control her breathing. The talk on the boat distant noise. Barely able to make out the conversations they were having.
"How did you find us?" Moseby asked them
"We were in the pool, and we saw smoke coming from the water" Zack explained
"At the time we didn't know it was an Island, we thought it might have been a boat fire" Woody added
"You … You have a Pool?" Moseby asked, wanting to make sure his ears were not deceiving him. It sounded far too good to be true. He wondered if the kids had spent so long in the sun, starved and dehydrated that this was one shared mirage, a hallucination they were experiencing.
"Yeah" Bailey replied
"What else do you have?" Moseby asked, wanting to get a gauge of the kids mental states
"We built a house" Zack replied
"A house" Moseby confirmed
"Yep. With bathrooms, a living room, kitchen" Bailey listed
"Bedrooms" Zack added
"With beds!" Woody replied
"Air con" Zack added
"And running water" Bailey listed
"Is this an Island or a hotel?" Moseby asked, laughing at the audacity of it
"It feels like paradise most of the time" Bailey replied honestly
"How have you manged to eat?" he asked
"We have a farm" Woody explained
"A farm" Moseby asked, in disbelief
"That's right. All the food we can eat" Bailey replied
"What about scorpions?" Moseby asked, curious
"None" Zack confirmed
"Snakes?" he asked
"Nope" Bailey replied
"Spiders?" Moseby asked
"Haven't seen any" Woody replied
"Anything?" Moseby asked, certainly not buying the kids story anymore.
"Well, we might have a dead body" Bailey replied nonchalantly
"A what?" Moseby asked, outraged "Whose?"
"The shipmate" Woody replied
"Sh... Shipmate?" Moseby asked
"It's a long story. Tell you what. Once we're back, we'll share stories. London and Cody are sorting dinner and getting us drinks for when we come back" Zack explained. Bailey looked over to their zoned-out teacher
"Miss Ttuweiler?" she asked. She did not reply. Bailey placed a hand on her arm, shaking her "Miss Tutweiler" she repeated, louder.
"Emma" she replied
"What?" Bailey asked
"If this is forever, call me Emma" she replied
"Alright" Bailey replied cautiously, looking between Zack and Woody. "Emma. We need to get you out of the sun" she said slowly. She reached down and picked up an umbrella from the bottom of the boat, opening it and passing it to her.
"What's this?" Emma asked, softly
"An umbrella" Woody replied
"You found this?" Moseby asked
"London made this" Zack replied,
"What else did you make?" Emma asked, as the umbrella shaded the sun from her burning shoulders. She felt herself feel a little better already, as the Island came into view. Closer, in swimming distance now, she felt more relaxed. And she had to admit, the kids Island looked much better than theirs. Bigger, and much more covered by tress.
"We'll show you" Zack promised.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Moseby asked, looking at the Island
"You're safe here" Bailey promised them
They reached the Island and Zack and Woody jumped off to pull the boat onto shore. Bailey and Moseby helped Emma to get off, and once on the boat, they looked up to see London and Cody walking towards them, tray in hand, with glasses of clearly water on them.
Moseby ran up to London, embracing her in a hug
"Moseby?" London asked, confused as he hugged her
"London, we thought you were dead!" he cried
"Are you here to save us?" she asked, hopefully, placing her tray down. Moseby pulled away from her, and looked at her hopeful face sadly.
"No. Actually, You saved us" he explained
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"We'll exchange stories after dinner" Zack promised. "First, these two need some water and shade" he added
"Two?" Cody asked
"Moseby and Miss Tutweiler" Zack replied
"EMMA!" she called
"Sorry. Moseby and Emma" Zack added.
"There's water, juices and iced tea in the beach hut" Cody explained. Moseby and Emma looked up at the Island, able to take it all in now they were docked and on land. They could see the Beach hut from the sand. It was obviously built, but they were both amazed that the kids had been able to build it.
The kids started to walk up, Moseby and Emma hanging to the back, walking up together, following them. Inside the hut, were chairs. Enough for one each. Five looked as though they had been manufactured elsewhere, made of metal with specific fabric seats. The other two looked fashioned from bamboo and vines, but a welcome change to siting on the floor all the same. There was a table in the middle of the room, which, as promised, was full of drinks.
The kids helped themselves to a drink, and when Moseby and Emma hung by the back, Zack picked up a glass of water each and handed it to them
"Everything here is for everyone. You do not need to ask, or wait for invitation. Please, make yourselves at home" he explained.
They both drank their water, draining the glass, and reached for a second one. It was the sweetest, freshest water they had tasted, they could not remember after so long what water tasted like, if it hadn't been condensed. Even that still tastes salty and fishy. They would quite happily never taste it again.
"How did you get glasses?" Moseby asked
"The shipwreck" Zack replied. Inviting no follow up questions.
"You got lucky" Emma replied, much more relaxed now she was back on solid ground.
"We got so much from there. Honestly, we may not have survived without it" Bailey replied
"Is this the house?" Emma asked, looking around the shaded hut. She was met by a chorus of laughter from the kids. Emma and Moseby shared a look
"No. This is the beach hut" Cody replied
"It was out house for a month or so whilst we built the house" Woody added
"We'll show you the house" London said standing, as she looked around to see everyone's drinks nearly empty. "Dinner is almost ready anyway" she added
"We'll show you the house, give you the tour, sort some bedrooms and have dinner. Then tonight we'll share stories. It's late, we're all tired. Tomorrow, we'll give you the tour of the Island" Zack offered. Moseby and Emma nodded appreciatively
"Thank you" Moseby replied, standing, offering to take the tray of empty glasses off London, but she refused.
Following Zack, Moseby and Emma right behind him, the other kids taking up the rear, folding chairs and making the hut tidy, but not wanting to miss out on the adults' reaction to seeing the house.
The kids caught up quickly as Moseby turned to Zack, walking up to the house
"When you say dinner..." he asked cautiously, a little unsure as to what they would get, and how much.
"Chicken curry tonight, with rice and homemade fries" Woody replied
"What?" Emma called
"Seriously. What is there?" Moseby asked. Woody looked at them confused
"No really that's dinner" he confirmed
"How?" Moseby asked
"We had chicken last night so there was leftover meat. Curry was made with tomatoes, coconut milk, some spices we found on the island and some veg. The rice we picked from the rice plants and Bailey made edible, and we picked some potatoes and sliced them up for fries. They're cooking in the oven now" he explained
"Oven?" Moseby asked, raising an eyebrow
"Like an aga. Powered by the fire" Cody replied
"How did you manage all this?" Emma asked
"Cody and Bailey are ridiculously smart" Zack explained
"And Zack has brilliant intuition" London complimented
"And Zack and Woody are so strong building was a breeze" Bailey replied
"I've lost so much weight" Woody stated happily, showing off his lean physique
"You look amazing" Emma complimented
"And London made us all a new wardrobe of clothes" Zack explained
"Island fashion is my thing now. I'll make you both some more clothes tomorrow" London said, looking at the torn, tattered and dirty clothes Moseby and Emma were wearing
"This is incredible" Emma replied. They rounded the corner and the house came into view. Moseby and Emma stopped dead. Dumbfounded
"No way" Moseby replied
"Yes" Zack said, nudging them so they kept walking
"You built this?" Emma asked
"We did" Bailey confirmed
"How?" Moseby asked
"A lot of creative thinking, brute strength, and some tools we found on the shipwreck" Cody explained as they approached the house.
"So, this is the external decking. Steps here go into the living room" he explained
"Beach view of course" London said, pointing to the beach front
"Up here is the front door" Woody guided. "After you" he said letting the adults walk in front. As soon as the door opened, the smell of dinner came over them. The kids mouths begin to water, they could only imagine how it was for the adults, who had not had a decent meal since they were on the Tipton.
"The main door opens into the kitchen. Sinks there, taps work, hot and cold water. Oven is there, and as you can tell, functional" Cody explained
"Dinner smells incredible" Emma complimented
"Woody is an incredible chef. He's been cooking this since lunch" London complimented "Cody and I did the fries and rice whilst the others went to find you" she added
"Here, bit of open plan but a little divide, we have the dining room" Bailey said, pointing to the large oak table and chairs which they had got from the wreck
"I know you didn't build that" Emma commented. Zack laughed
"No that was one of our lucky wins from the wreck" he replied. "Anyway, down the corridor here, we have bathrooms. Male on the left, female on the right. Check them out" Zack offered, and they both opened the respective doors
"We couldn't work in a bath, but they both have showers, toilets and sinks, with plumbing and hot water" Cody explained
"Where's the pool?" Moseby asked
"On the mountain, we'll show you tomorrow" Zack assured him
"Then through here, we have the bedrooms, the two this end are free so you can have one each" London stated
"But there's only six rooms" Moseby counted
"Yes" Zack replied
"And seven of us" Emma added, clocking on to the problem Moseby had found. Zack and London also clicked and exchanged a look, which was seen by both adults
"You two?" Moseby asked in a high-pitched tone, his finger flicking between the two kids. They both nodded. Zack wrapped his arm around London's shoulder and smiled at her
"Yes" he confirmed
"Never would have guessed" Moseby said bewildered
"The Island changes you" London shrugged
"Anyway, through here into the living room, and back to the decking" Bailey said, trying to draw attention away from the couple.
"Is that a couch?" Moseby asked
"Yep. And the comfy chairs" Woody said, sitting down in his favourite spot, before getting up again quickly "I'd better go and check dinner before I get so comfy, I don't get up again" he stated, walking off to the kitchen.
"One of many" Zack replied. "Did you look inside the bedrooms?" he asked
"No" Moseby replied
"Come look" London replied, opening the door to one of the spare rooms. Moseby and Emma walked in to see the large bed, linens, chest of drawers, bedside table and other furniture
"Beds, mattresses which are really comfy, blankets..." Bailey listed
"I'm home" Emma said softly, smiling
"From the shipwreck?" Moseby asked
"Exactly" Zack confirmed
"Dinners ready" Woody called.
"Come on, we can chat after, what do you want to drink?" Zack asked
"Anything" Moseby replied
"Same, whatever's going" Emma added
"We have a choice. Water, juice, iced tea, tea, coffee, wine, Cidre, Beer, or Bailey can make you a cocktail" Zack listed
"How did you get alcohol?" Moseby asked, disapprovingly
"We made it" Zack replied
"You made it?!" Emma said, almost angrily
"We're in international waters, presumed dead, on our own Island. Yes, we made it" Zack replied, shutting the adults up effectively
"Point well made" Moseby conceded
"What would you like to drink?" Zack asked again
"Water and a beer please" Moseby requested sheepishly
"Water and a wine please" Emma replied
"Red or white?" Zack asked
"Red please" she replied
"Come and have a seat. I'll get your drinks for you" he said, leading them back to the kitchen. The table was set with plates, knives, forks, spoons, jugs of cool water, glasses. Zack brought out a beer and a wine, and placed them next to the adults, inviting them to take a seat, as Woody brought the dinner in serving bowls over to the table.
They served and ate, it was delicious, Woody had outdone himself and everyone made efforts to compliment him, and to let him know how much it was appreciated. Having only expected to cook for five, and ended up feeding seven, there was no food left after the meal, though no one complained about being hungry.
Drink refills anyone?" Zack asked. He got another beer, for himself, Moseby, Cody and Woody, whilst London brought the open wine bottles for her, Bailey and Emma.
"Shall we go sit on the decking for a bit, I'm sure we have a lot of catching up to do" Zack offered. They all agreed and followed him.
Sitting on the chairs on the decking, looking out at the beach, seeing the distant waves, they all got their drinks and relaxed, stomachs full and hearts happy. Moseby and Emma sat down, looking at the kids, alive, thriving, they could not believe it. Not 24 hours ago, they were curled up on the sand, taking it in turns to sleep in shifts as there was only one bed, the other on guard for snakes, spiders and keeping an eye for rescue. They had gone from Hell to paradise in the blink of an eye, and they were so thankful.
"I think we should start with why you two aren't on the Tipton" Zack stated, takign a sip of his drink
"Well, it started as soon as we found out you five were missing" Moseby begun, "We were searching all over the boat, and Kirby noticed that one of the lifeboats were missing. So I went up there to have a look at the supplies you had in there, trying to work out how long you would be able to survive" he admitted
"I found Moseby stress eating the spinach jerky" Emma joined in
"And someone accidently pressed the release button" Moseby added
"They do need protective covers" Emma added
"And we ended up in the water, the boat didn't stop. I tried to call the captain but once I was off the boat, I lost any signal I had" Moseby explained
"We floated for I think, three days. Barely managing to save the water, no food left" Emma added
"Then we were caught in a storm. The boat capsized, and hit some rocks. It broke" Moseby explained as Emma shuddered, the thought alone bringing back stress and upset for her. Moseby reassuringly placed a hand on her knee as he continued
"We clung onto what we could, convinced that it was the end. But I could see the tiniest island in the distance. It was far away; we were exhausted but we swam to it. The tide helped" he added
"Was that the Island we found you on?" Zack asked
"No. No the first Island we landed on was bigger than that one. A lot of plastic has washed up onto it. There wasn't much on the island itself. Some sand, some rocks but not many plants" Emma added
"All our food was dictated by what we could fish, but that was only about once a week if that for a decent catch" Moseby said
"We lasted about a month there" Emma said "We kept track of how long by the moon cycle" she explained
"It worked a little. After a whole cycle, we had enough plastic to build a raft" Moseby said "Knowing we couldn't survive on that island we took a gamble and went out to sea" he explained
"After maybe a day of sailing, we found the island you found us on" Emma said
"We used the washed-up driftwood to make a shelter, there were more fish so we lit a fire and hoped it would draw some attention for rescue. But we soon realised there wasn't enough wood to keep it burning all the time. So, we decided to only use it for cooking" Moseby explained.
"On our second day there, we had our first scorpion encounter. Luckily, neither of us got stung at any point" Emma explained
"That was lucky" Bailey commented
"It was. Then the snakes and the spiders came. Though they weren't overly bothered with us. They liked the rats and vermin though, pest control for us really" Emma replied
"We managed to get water by using some plastic bags and bottles which washed up, using evaporation and condensation we could make it drinkable" Moseby explained
"Never got rid of the salty taste though, which just made us thirstier" Emma replied
"It sounds like you've had it really rough" Zack said, sympathetically
"By comparison. Yes. Do you want to tell us how you managed all this?" Moseby asked
"From when we were in the water. Yes" Zack replied "That night we came off the boar, Cody and Bailey couldn't decide which direction to go" Zack begun
"Then Zack remembered a mark on the map in Geography class. He ended up taking charge and we landed on this Island" London explained
"You remembered something from class?" Emma asked, surprised
"I remembered something from every time I had detention and had to clean the board … So, before you get ahead of yourself, lessons did not save our lives. Detention did" Zack laughed
"We didn't have food or water first night, but we were still on the beach. We made fire, and we were off the water so we were in the best position we could be in" Woody explained
"Did we have little shelters?" Bailey asked
"Not the first night. But we did that first day when we were sorting water" Cody explained
"There you go. Day zero we made fire. Day one we made shelter and found water. Day two we found food and then started to build the Beach hut. Two rooms, bedroom for boys, one for girls" Bailey explained
"We explored the Island a bit and we found the animals" Bailey said
"Loads of them" London added
"Once we had the beach hut built, we decided to build a farm. Fence the animals, give them shelter. Sorted some feed for them so we have a constant supply of food" Bailey explained
"And sop many fruits and vegetables. We took a walk, found everything we needed and liked, took cuttings and planted them. Most are producing now, but there are some we still have to go out and pick" London added
"After a while, once the food source was established, we decided to build the house. Then Woody reminded us that we had not explored the rest of the island" Cody explained
"We climbed to the very top of the mountain and saw some caves and the shipwreck" Woody continued
"We decided to take the boat around the Island, then we could get an appreciation for the rest of it, not just walking through the jungle" Zack explained
"The wreck was an amazing find, everything we needed was there. I think it was from the mid nineteen hundreds from England, but we brought back what we could use straight away. Glasses, mugs, crockery, cutlery, utensils, some pots and pans" Bailey listed
"Then we made a note of everything else we could use but weren't ready for. Like the oven, beds, couches, and other bits of furniture" Zack added
"It took us a while; we were working on the plumbing for longer than we thought. But we finally had running water and flushing toilets. Then we built the rest of the house" Cody described
"Did you say you had aircon?" Emma asked
"Of course" Cody replied
"We took the engine from the shipwreck, put in a cooling loop through the water supply, which meant that we had a perpetual loop of cool air being blown around the house" Bailey explained
"I did wonder why it was so cool compared to outside" Moseby mused
"We also brought a bookcase back. Over two hundred books" London said, pointing to the large bookshelf in the corner
"Should last us a while" Emma commented
"This is incredible" Moseby replied
"It feels like home" Cody admitted
"I can see why"
"Thank you" Emma said to the kids. "I don't know how much longer we would have survived on out Island. But here, we can live. We can survive"
"We owe you" Moseby replied genuinely
"It's our pleasure" Zack replied, letting the silence flow over them as drinks refilled. All a few drinks in by now, Moseby and Emma having a very low tolerance to alcohol after not having drank for so long, a melancholy feeling ran between them all.
"Do you think the Tipton still remembers us?" Woody asked. Silence met his question
"It's been almost seven months" Cody replied factually
"Has it been that long?" Moseby asked
"I made a calendar" Cody said
"And a clock" Bailey added, pointing to the clock on the wall
"It's almost midnight?" Moseby asked, surprised
"The sun sets late and rises early here" London explained
"What do you have to do to keep you occupied?" Moseby asked
"We usually have projects. The beach hut, the farm, the house, the sports centre" Zack explained
"Sports centre?" Moseby asked
"Not yet. It's a field we're planning what to do with it" Zack replied
"We finished the house not so long ago. So, we're giving ourselves a week off. A holiday to enjoy the Island. We've agreed Monday we go back to it. So, we're planning what we want to do next" Woody explained
"That makes sense" Moseby replied as silence fell once more
"We have a big day tomorrow if we're giving a tour of the island. We need some rest, and I'm getting tired" London said. Everyone followed her lead, wishing them all a goodnight, as they went into their bedrooms, closing doors softly.
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