Chapter Eleven: The Fire
Zack rolled over in bed, London was sleeping soundly next to him, he tried to get back to sleep, but there was something keeping him up. A noise. He sat up, trying to determine if the sound was actually there, or just in his head. He held his breath, hoping to hear the noise better.
There it was. A crackling. He jumped up, going to the window. Was it footsteps? People, rescue, animals, was it a threat? No. That crackling was familiar. Far too familiar.
Then, he could see it. The orange glow through the trees. Fire!
"London!" he called, she stirred slightly "London" he repeated, walking over to her as she opened her eyes, sitting up, wide awake as she saw the panic in Zack's face
"What's up?" she asked
"Fire" he stated, walking towards the door. She was up in a heartbeat, getting dressed as she heard Zack charge down the corridor
"FIRE! FIRE!" he shouted. There was a collective scramble to get clothes on and quickly everyone emerged from their rooms
"Where is it?" Moseby asked, first one out
"In the woods. We need to stop it before it gets to the house" Zack explained as he ran outside, they followed him, running towards the orange glow. The heat was intense and the smoke was strong. As they approached, they saw that was on fire.
The beach hut!
"We need buckets! Make a chain from the sea to the hut!" Zack instructed. They sound buckets, bottles, any receptacle they could find. they made two lines, with Zack and Moseby closest to the fire, the rest making a chain to pass them the water to put on the fire.
They carried this on for at least ten minutes, but the water steamed off before it even touched the burning building.
"It's not working" Zack shouted, taking a few steps back away from the smoke. "Everyone back!" he called out. They all took a few steps back and reconvened by the water
"What do we do?" Bailey asked, sweat dripping off her face.
"The hut is gone, we can't stop the fire, we need to put in a fire break so it doesn't spread around the island" Zack instructed
"Are you sure?" Moseby asked "Do you really think that's best?" Zack looked at him
"Yes" he replied bluntly. Woody opened his mouth to ask Zack what they needed to do, but Moseby cut him off
"It's a waste of resources. We need a better water supply" Moseby insisted
"We don't have one. We need to work with what we have. We've already lost the beach hut. We need to knock it down and rebuild anyway so might as well save the rest" Zack replied sharply
"Zack, I think you're being hasty" Moseby said calmly, but no one was agreeing.
"Rule one. Zack is in charge" London shouted
"Thank you, London. Right, Woody, Bailey, Cody, Me and Moseby. Axes we're making a fire break. London, Emma and Seren, get buckets and pour it around the hut. We're containing this fire" Zack insisted. Everyone did as he instructed. Moseby did too, begrudgingly.
After an hour of hot, hard, work, the trees closest to the hut were chopped down, and the ground surrounding the hut was drenched. They had taken a step back to catch their breath.
"Well done guys. Thank you, I know this was hard on all of us. The fire is dying down, it will keep burning but I don't think it's going to spread far. I think we could now take it in shifts. Two of us at a time, hour long or so, watch it. If it starts to get worse, one runs back to get help, the other can do what we need to try and save it. Our priority is saving the house" Zack said
"I don't think the fire is going to spread far, there's not much left to burn" Bailey said
"I agree" Zack stated. "I'll take the first shift" he offered
"I'll stay with you" London offered. Zack smiled at her
"You guys go back. Shower, get a drink, have some rest. You've earned it" he replied softly. They all smiled, and without complaint they headed back towars the house. Zack and London sat down on the sand, watching the blaze burn down in front of them
"That was scary" London said, putting her head on his shoulder, he wrapped his arm around her
"I know" he replied, honestly.
"What if it was the house?" she asked, the sleep deprivation, adrenaline withdrawal and emotion of the night getting to her
"It wasn't" Zack reminded her, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek
"But it could have been" she reminded him. Zack pushed her so she was looking directly at him
"Look how close the fire pit is to the beach hut. I think it's been getting closer and closer over time" he explained "The only fire in the house is the oven, and that's contained" Zack promised her
"What do we do about it?" she asked. Zack took a deep breth and put her back against his shoulder.
"Tomorrow, we try and make a plan to rebuild the but. Maybe improve it a bit. And we move the fire pit away" Zack explained
"Far away" London requested
"Exactly" Zack replied
"What about the house?" London asked
"What about it?" Zack asked
"If it caught again, or caught the woods we could have lost the house" London explained
"We have sand around the house, that's a good break. The only risk if if the woodland goes up the roof catches. We could make a bigger fire break I suppose" Zack thought out loud.
"Sprinklers" London said
"What?" Zack asked
"We need sprinklers in the house, it might save it if does catch fire again" she said
"We could. We would need to ask Cody and Bailey on the practicality of that" he explained.
By the time Moseby and Emma came to take watch, the fire was down to smoldering embers. There was no risk of it spreading yet they agreed to keep watch for a little longer in case the wind picked up and blew embers into some unburned woodland.
As Woody and Seren were the only two to not take a night shift, they had awoken early to make a big breakfast.
Cody and Bailey took Emma and Moseby off duty around half five in the morning. The rest gathered to the smell of Woody's pancake breakfast and at just before seven am, armed with trays of food, coffee, juices and bacon.
They met Cody and Bailey who were idly chatting. The beach hut was charred remains now. Embers had died down and occasional orange glow faded as quickly as it arose.
They sat in a tired silence, minus compliments to the chef and soux chef, as they devoured all of the food and drinks brought.
"What are we going to do" Emma asked after a while, bringing up the elephant in the room.
"We need to move the fire away from the beach hut" Zack begun
"Why do we even have a fire out here?" Moseby asked
"When we first came here, before we built the house we were living in the beach hut. The fire was there for warmth and cooking food. Once we moved into the house we kept it so if any boats or planes came past it might call for help" Cody explained
"I think there's a slight breeze to the west. You can see it's shifted almost six foot since we first lit it" Zack explained, showing the faint marks of charred wood in the sand.
"We wait until the fire burns out, then we could sweep up the embers and use those as fertiliser" Bailey suggested
"Good plan. And the trees we cut down last night to stop the fire spreading we could use to rebuild the beach hut" Zack suggested
"We could build it better this time" Cody offered
"How?" Moseby asked
"Plumbing. Water, a bathroom or a shower. Some rerefrigerator rator to keep drinks cool" Cody listed
"Is that possible?" Emma asked. Cody and Bailey exchanged a look
"It's a little too far from the house to link into that plumbing, and if there is a chance of this catching fire again, then we don't want any links to the house" Bailey explained
"If we're happy for only washing and we keep a refrigerator for drinks we could use sea water, through a filteration system for a toilet, shower and sink" Cody replied
"That could work" Bailey added.
"Let's have a think about this. We need to move the fire. We need to rebuild the beach hut" Zack listed
"We need to go back to the shipwreck to see what supplies they have which we could use in the beach hut … I know we'll need a toilet and a shower" Bailey added
"Oh no! The books" London said sadly as she remembered the books which had been lost in the fire
"I never thought I'd see you upset over books" Moseby said softly to her.
"We'll also need to consider some fire-proofing to the house" Cody explained
"All very good points. So what caused this fire?" Zack asked
"It's been dry for a while, It doesn't rain here" Bailey suggested
"We could set a sprinkler system up on the roof of the house and around the external walls. If we give it a dampen on a regular basis it would make it harder for it to catch alight if there was to be a fire, and then if there was another fire, we can turn it on to protect the house" Bailey suggested
"Perfect. I think this one started because an ember flew from the beach fire" Zack suggested
"What do you need us to do?" Seren asked
"Cody and Bailey. Go and start planning the beach hut. I think we could start building tomorrow. Write a list of what we need, and we'll take another trip to the wreck. Emma and Moseby, can you find a point far out where we can relight the fire, in case there are any passing boats or planes, then build and start the fire. London and I will deal with this. I think we can use buckets to put out the fire now. Woody and Seren, thank you for breakfast, can you clear up?" Zack instructed. There was a chorus of "Yes Sir" and they went their separate ways.
Moseby and Emma used the embers to catch alight to one of the nearby sticks, walking with a torch-like device, they followed the coast round to where the rocks came out a bit
"There would be ideal" Emma said pointing.
"It will be a nightmare to load it though" Moseby reminded her
"Oh. Yeah, I suppose" she said, deflated. They looked a bit further and found a more accessible bit. They built the fire and lit it, watching the flames engulf the mound of logs they had just placed.
"I'm sure it would just be a one off though" Moseby assured her
"Do you think?" Emma asked, a little hopeful, but also concerned
"I do. I mean, look at what they were able to accomplish already. We couldn't even get a shelter in the time they had running water in their house. Cody and Bailey will be able to create something, fireproof. Or, actually knowing them they are more likely to have a new plan which doesn't even need fire" He suggested
"That would be ideal" Emma agreed.
In the kitchen, Woody and Seren had finished washing up. They were putting the last of the crockery away in a comfortable silence as they got lost in their own thoughts.
"That was scary" Seren commented as she turned to Woody, he too was quieter than normal, an indication that he was concerned himself.
"Do you feel bad that we didn't help with the night-watches of the fire?" Woody asked. Seren realised then that he was not particular scared about the potential threat the fire posed. But instead he was guilty about not being able to help.
"We did" Seren assured him "We all did our part last night, helping with the fire breaks and doing what we could. They didn't need us overnight" she assured him
"I suppose" Woody replied, begrudgingly agreeing
"Besides. I think they agreed that they would rather breakfast than to keep us up" she added with a laugh. Woody was able to crack a smile on this one. She relaxed a little as he became more like himself. The quiet contemplating Woody was one she was not used to. It unnerved her.
"We had better make them a good lunch then" he replied with a smirk. Seren smiled and passed him his favourite recipe book
"What do you suggest, Chef?" she asked
"I want something nice. Something they would appreciate. Home comforts" he said
"Hot or cold?" she asked, helping his mind think and make a decision
"Hot… Or something that can be eaten both" he replied
"What do we have in the refrigerator ?" She asked. Walking over and opening the door so Woody could see inside.
"Is that pork?" he asked
"Yeah we had some leftover from the night before last" she agreed. Woody hummed lightly to himself, as he thought deeply "What are you thinking?" she asked.
"What do we have in the pantry?" he asked
"As in, flours, sugars and spice?" she asked. Woody nodded. She opened the cupboard.
"Loads of flour. Some sugar… I don't think Pork would taste good in cake though" she laughed
"A cake no. But pastry…" he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows
"Sausage rolls?" she asked
"Sausage rolls!" he agreed
"Amazing" she replied, already her mouth was watering in anticipation of the delicious meat and pastry mix Woody would be able to concoct for them.
Zack and London sat watching the charred remains of the beach hut. Both were tired, their eyes heavy as they looked upon the amount of work they had to do. They gave each other a reassuring smile and picked up the shovels. Scraping the ash into a pile and storing it to the side.
They agreed that once they had sorted the salvageable ash from the fire, they would set it aside to spread on the farm, but anything which had melted or partially burned materials, they would bury in the ground, to use as foundations for the rebuild.
"Thank you for sticking up for me last night" Zack said, breaking the work-heavy silence
"It was the last I could do" London replied,
"Well it meant a lot. Moseby did have a good point, but with the resources we had, personnel available, extent of the fire, we just could not keep trying to put it out. By that point it was a salvage operation, not a firefighting one" Zack explained
"You knew best, and we could have argued that for hours and risked the fire growing, spreading. We could have lost everything. tHe farm, the animals, the house. Where would we be without it" London said, working herself up.
Zack noticed her panic and walked over to her. Making her look at him,
"It didn't. And if it did, we would make it work. First night here we had no shelter, no food and no water. Look how far we came from nothing. And there's more of us now. Spread the work-load better. We would be fine" He assured her. She smiled softly at him.
"Thank you" she whispered
"You're welcome. And I'm glad you were all able to see my perspective last night" he added
"We were never going to be able to save this" London admitted, looking at the ruins
"I know" Zack replied with a soft smiled
"It's sad" London said
"It is" Zack agreed "But we can rebuild it better. We can make it everything we need. We rushed it last time because we needed it for shelter. This time we don't need to. We have the house, this is a luxury now. There's no rush. No reason we can't build this bigger and better than before" he promised her
"Of course. Me and Cody were only talking the other day about putting a shower and a small kitchen in the beach house" London agreed
"It makes perfect sense. I mean, if we're in the sea it would be perfect just to go back to the beach hut to shower before going to the house. We also could do with a bathroom and yeah, a kitchen, not for meals but drinks more so" Zack agreed
"Cody and Bailey will work it in" London stated
"They'll do a good job. They always do" Zack assured her
"Do you think it was intentional?" London asked
"The fire?" Zack asked, she nodded "No. I don't know why anyone would want to burn it down. I think it was just a rogue ember from the fire, we did have some breeze last night" Zack explained
"That's reassuring" London sighed. They continued.
Later that afternoon, over hot sausage rolls, iced tea and a side salad which was long forgotten as soon as the rolls came out, the Islanders were sat around the table in the kitchen, looking at the plans which Cody and Bailey had produced
"How did you draw plans?" Moseby asked, looking at the blueprints before them
"Well, we found a leaves which turned to a pulp when we washed them in some water, set them out in a square then left them to dry in the sun" Cody explained
"There's a stack of papers on the desk in the living room" Bailey added
"How did you make the ink?" Emma asked
"Every time we have squid, we add ink to a pot" Bailey explained
"And we just use feathers with a slit cut in them for pens" Cody added
"Remarkable" Moseby muttered
"So, the plans?" Zack asked, drawing the attention back to the table contents
"Right. We came up with a bit of a plan, but we want you all to let us know what you think. Once we all agree, we can then start building" Cody explained
"The new Beach hut would be about two maybe three times the size of the first. We start with a long deck. One which we can sit outside on with enough room for us all" Bailey explained
"Two entrances, like the house, larger French doors which open to an indoor living room. The other entrance, round the side, enters straight into the kitchen" Cody demonstrated on the plans
"For convenience, we have two showers. One you enter externally, so if we're sandy we can rinse off before going inside, and a second one inside, next to the bathroom" Bailey added
"There's a toilet in each shower room, we figured two toilets would be sufficient" Cody expressed
"The corridor here leads to the living room, the small room off the kitchen is a bit of a store, we figured that the kitchen would have running drinking water, a bit of a preparation station, washing up facilities, and space for the mixers and juices. The other room we could use as a refrigerator. Keep alcohols, wines, juices, everything cool. As that's what we keep going to the house for when we need it" Bailey finished
"That sounds perfect" Woody voiced
"That's exactly what we need" Seren agreed
"Well thought through, guys" Emma complimented
"Yes, well done" Moseby added
"It looks so good!" London gushed
"My only question would be; have we got any fire prevention in this one?" Zack asked
"Well, funny you should say that. We were discussing that today, and we worked out a way of feeding sprinklers into the roof of this house, so if a fire broke out here, or this was at risk, we could turn on the tap and soak the roof and walls to protect it, or at least give it half a chance" Cody explained
"We're in the house a lot more than we are in the beach hut. We considered putting a sprinkler system in the beach hut too, but it's a lot of piping, and if the fire starts during the night again, we wouldn't be there to turn it on" Bailey added
"As hard as it is to swallow, we decided that practically, it's better just to build a bigger fire break, and keep the fire moved far away" Cody clarified.
"Are we all in agreement?" Zack asked. They all nodded "Wonderful. What do we need?" he added
"Well, we will need building materials, most of which we have here anyway. But some things we do need so might have to take another trip to the shipwreck" Cody suggested
"What do you need? We'll write a list and go tomorrow, it's too late now" Zack asked
"Well, two toilets and two sets of shower fittings. Some more chairs if there are anymore. Could do with a table too, and raid the kitchen for anything we haven't taken yet" Cody laughed
"Will do" Zack agreed.
"Can I come? I haven't been to the wreck yet" Seren asked
"Of course. Can take 2 more, who else wants to come?" Zack asked
"I'll go" Woody offered, Seren smiled at him. No one was quite sure what was going on between the two of them, but they seemed very happy in each other's company. Everyone seemed happy to leave them to it. No teasing, no pushing. Just let it happen. A similar thing was happening with Emma and Moseby, although there was still a debate if it was just friends or if something more was developing.
Moseby agreed to come with them, Emma refused as it creeped her out.
"We'll leave after breakfast tomorrow, hopefully we'll be back early afternoon then" Zack suggested
"I'll clean up after breakfast and sort lunch for you" London offered Woody and Seren, who thanked her for her offer.
They spend the afternoon going through plans, going out to the beach hut and mapping it out in the sand ready to start building the foundations the next day, and Seren promised London she would look around for more books, papers and anything they could find. Woody also mentioned he wanted to look for another recipe book.
The next day, Woody and Seren had got up early to make pancakes for them. It was a favourite of the Islanders, Woody made and the pancakes, Seren prepared the fruit, cream, syrup and they cooked some bacon to go with it. Along with the usual tea, coffee, and juices.
Everyone emerged at the smell of breakfast, thanking the pair and digging in. Plates empty and stomachs full, Zack kissed London Goodbye and Moseby muttered a 'see you later' to Emma, they all went out to the beach to help push the barge out, deciding that would be more beneficial than the lifeboat.
Waving them off into the distance, the four sailed around the Island.
"Why are we taking a boat?" Seren asked
"Well, firstly it's a lot quicker than walking" Zack begun
"And when we get things, we only have to carry it onto the barge and then off the barge into the beach" Moseby added
"And it shows the Island from a different perspective. It's kinda creepy like this" Woody finished
"Sounds awesome" Seresn beamed
"Yeah, you think that now. Look back where we came from. See how enticing and happy our beach looks?" he asked. Seren looked behind them, agreeing that the sun seemed to shine brightly on the beach they had left. It was in the distance now but had a golden glow.
"It does" she agreed
"Now look over to where were heading. Thicker forest, less sun, darker" he explained
"It's ominous" she replied
"Spooky" Woody agreed. "And we're not even at the worst of it yet. Only gonna get worse"
Woody continued his guided tour, Moseby and Zack exchanging a knowing look as Seren replied far too enthusiastically for his story. And yet, Zack still felt bad when he had to interrupt them, to let them know that they were approaching the ship.
With as much elegance as they could, which was miniscule at the best of times and resulted in three people with wet legs, and one Woody drenched from head to toe, from when he misjudged the depth of the 'Very shallow' water.
They all clambered up onto the rocks, tying the barge off so it wouldn't float away.
"Is this the wreck?" Seren asked, pointing to the remains of the ship.
'That's it. But it was a lot more intact when we found it" Woody explained
"We did strip it very well" Zack replied, laughing
"Can we go inside?" she asked as they approached
"Most of it. We had to take some structural beams out from the back for the house" Zack explained "Woody, why don't you show Seren around, Moseby and I will get what we need" he added
"Sounds like a plan" Woody agreed.
Half an hour later, Woody and Seren had finished their tour, and Moseby and Zack had collected everything on their list. Two toilets, two sinks, two shower units. They found some tables and shelves, some chairs, a third bookcase full of books for London, two recipe books for Woody, a handful of cups, glasses, plates and some kitchen utensils, including some jugs.
Both lined with a thin layer of sweat, they stopped for a break
"We should have brought some water" Moseby panted
"Would have been a good shout" Zack agreed.
"Have we ever looked for a radio? How old is this ship?" he asked
"We think the 1940's" Zack replied
"Eighty years" Moseby mused "They should have some means of communication. Do we even know what the ship was for? Leisure? Exploration? War?" he asked. Zack shook his head
"We never found a radio, or anything about what they were doing on the ship" Zack explained
"Did anyone survive?" Moseby asked
"We don't know. If they did, I really doubt they would still be alive now. But we think someone may have made it to the caves" Zack explained
"Let's go have a look. You're right, there was no radio left on the ship, but if someone made it off the ship, they could have brought the radio with them" he thought out loud
Woody and Seren returned at that point, and Moseby explained their plan to them
"Nuh-uh. Those caves are creepy as!" Woody refused
"Come on, I haven't seen the caves yet" Seren pouted
"I'll stay with the barge" Woody replied. Seren sighed, and took his hand
"Come on Woody, we'll all go" Zack said
"Nope" Woody stated
"Please. I need a big strong man to protect me" she said softly.
"Ok then" Woody sighed, stepping forwards. Seren looked over her shoulder and winked at Zack and Moseby, who then smiled at one another again, the foursome made their way towards the caves.
"Oh, this is awesome!" Seren exclaimed as they approached the caves. Woody felt himself starting to hand back the closer they got, but Seren also noticed, grabbed his hand and pulled him to the front with her.
"Has anyone checked inside?" Moseby asked
"We crawled in a little, but it was later on in the day, we never really explored what's inside. We only went in as far as the wine bottles" Zack explained
"It's quite wide, and curves round to the left. I think it gets smaller in there" Woody explained.
"Let's go then" Moseby said, pointing to the cave. Reluctantly, Woody was dragged in with them, as they rounded the corner, it got dark. With the visibility so poor they found a wall, following it in a line to not get disorientated. Zack was leading, Moseby behind, then Seren and Woody at the rear.
When Zack kicked the wine bottles, he turned to Moseby behind him
"This is as far as we got" he explained
"I can see why" he replied
"Maybe … We should come back with torches" Woody suggested
"Oh shush. We're here now" Seren said.
"We all stay on this wall, and we stay in pairs. Understood?" Zack instructed.
"Yes Sir" Woody replied
"Of course" Moseby replied
"Sounds a plan" Seren replied
They continued into the cave, a little deeper and having to drop to their knees. At this point, Moseby and Woody both refused to go any further. Swapping places, the two stayed out where they could still just about stand up, whilst Zack and Seren got on hands and knees to climb in a bit further
"Is this safe?" Seren asked
"I'm sure it is" Zack replied
"Do you think any shipmates would have gone in this far? There hasn't been any sign of life since the wine bottles" she stated
"Depends on his situation, if he was delerious, then probably. If it was storms outside then possibly. We don't know, but it's worth checking" Zack explained
"Are you sure?" she asked. Zack turned towards her, she couldn't see him, but she knew he had one eyebrow raised
"Are you scared?" he teased
"No!" she insisted. He paused "Ok a little" she confessed
"Come on, you're safe with me. We just follow this wall back out" he explained
"Ok" she said after a moment of composing herself. "We've got this"
They continued down the increasingly tight path, until it opened up into a larger cavern. Able to stand up, they stood by the wall, looking around the cavern. So dark they could not see anything.
"Keep walking?" Zack asked
"If you want" she replied. After taking a few steps, the ground felt different beneath them. Zack crouched down, and rubbed his hand in it, bringing it to his nose.
"Ash" he confirmed. "Someone was here, I think this is the remains of a fire" he explained
"So, this was probably where they made camp... there could be a body in here" she said
"Possibly. Though if they set a fire in here, could have been carbon monoxide that killed them" Zack explained she asked, feeling by her feet. Zack was back down on his hands and knees, feeling around the floor until he found her foot. Next to which felt like a box, a wire, and some papers.
He collected up what he could, gathering it in his arms, and keeping his foot against the wall to not lose where he was
"Is that everything?" she asked.
"I think so" he replied, "I couldn't feel anything else"
"Shall we head back now?" she asked
"Scared still?" Zack teased, she laughed
"I would love a torch, see what this place looks like. See what else is in here. And I'm anxious that we've left Moseby and Woody, I think we've been a while" she admitted. Zack had to agree. They turned, carrying everything, crawling back to Moseby and Woody, before the four made it back to the wreck.
The tide had come out by the time they made it back, and the barge which before caused wet six legs and one Woody, was now sat on dry land.
"Are we ready?" Zack asked. They all nodded, Woody holding his new recipe books as though his life depended on them. Zack and Moseby pushed them out to sea, and then jumped back on the barge, steering and rowing back around the Island. Seren watching the views and Woody reading his new books. Gasping at every turn of the page, and saying random recipes out loud.
"Ohhh … Meat and Potato pie"
"Yum! Cheese scones"
"Mmmm … Treacle Tart"
"Oh, Summer Pudding"
"Ha! Spotted Dick"
"I can't even pronounce this one. Coronation …. Qu-itch?"
"Qu-itch?" Zack replied, confused
"I think so. Maybe Quee-chee?" he asked
"What are you on about?" Seren asked, looking over at the book as Woody pointed to the word
"Quiche?" she replied
"It does not look like that's how you say it" Woody replied
"It's British. It's full of weird pronunciations" Moseby replied
"It does look really nice though" Seren said looking at the recipe
"What is it?" Zack asked
"Like a pie, tart thing" Woody replied
"Would make a nice lunch" Moseby replied
"That it would" Seren agreed, Woody carried on turning the pages
"Ohh I've seen pictures of this. Battenburg cake!" he announced
"Tablet?" he asked, turning to the next page
"What?" Zack asked
"I think this is another weird British thing. Like how they call biscuits, rolls. And what they call biscuits is actually cookies. Looking at the recipes I think this is fudge" he replied
"I like fudge" Zack stated
"Ahhh … Tweed kettle"
"What's that?" Mosbey asked
"Like a salon soup" Woody answered
"Sounds interesting … Maybe not with the tablet" Seren laughed
"Oh my God! Knickerbocker Glory!" Woody exclaimed looking to the next page
"Knicker what now?" Seren asked
"Like a giant ice cream sundae, with ice cream, meringues, fruits and whipped cream"
"That actually sounds really good" Zack replied
"Can we try making ice cream?" Seren asked. Woody nodded
"Sounds like the recipe books were a good find" Mosey commented
"I'll let you be the judge of that" Woody laughed. "What did you guys find in the cave?" he asked. They had put everything they found in a wooden box they found on the wreck, to protect it from the splashing of the water
"We haven't looked properly yet. Thought we would wait until we're back on the beach and we can go through it all together" Zack explained
"That sounds fair" Mosbey replied
"Do you think they made us lunch?" Seren asked
"We did a big breakfast so we wouldn't be hungry" Woody replied
"I'm starting to get a bit peckish" Moseby confessed
"I'm sure they did. London was talking this morning about her and Bailey making something. Not sure what though. I think she mentioned chicken" Zack replied, as their beach came into view
"We'll find out soon anyway" Woody said, seeing Cody and Bailey on the beach, waving. Emma and London coming out to meet them. Zack could already see the tray of drinks in London's arms
"Good girl" he muttered to himself, complimenting her forward thinking.
They docked, and London, Bailey and Emma ran out to help pull the barge in. Once it was docked on land and the barge was secure, they all got off, hugging their respective partners, and accepting the drinks which had been left on the side. Cool iced lemonade.
"How was it?" London asked
"Amazing!" Seren replied
"We got everything you asked for, and some more" Zack said
"What did you get?" Bailey asked
"How about we unload the barge, go inside, to the shade, and show you over some food and another drink" Zack suggested
"Or ten" Woody replied, sweating more now than he had been all morning. They laughed at him before agreeing.
Cody, Bailey, London and Emma unloaded the barge whilst the boat crew got another drink. They all helped in getting the barge and lifeboat back on the sand. They made their way back inside the house.
"We didn't want to go too extreme, we just made soup and fresh bread for lunch" Bailey explained. They sat down and dished out lunch, got some more drinks and discussed their mornings as they ate.
"How did you guys do with the beach hut?" Zack asked
"We've set the layout and know where the foundations need to be placed. We started to get some beams cut down" Bailey explained
"Well done" Moseby complimented
"Thanks" Emma replied "Now tell us about your morning" she added
"Well Woody gave Seren the full tour, we got what we needed from the wreck, then we decided to see if we could find a radio or anything, so we went back to the cave and followed it in as deep as we could" Zack explained
"Wasn't it dark?" Cody asked
"Pitch black, couldn't see a thing" Seren confirmed
"Anyway, we followed it but then it got smaller. Woody and I decided not to go further but these two idiots did" Mosbey said
"You did what?" London asked, concerned
"It was fine" he assured her "It soon opened up into a larger room"
"It was dark, we couldn't see anything, but we found the remains of a fire" Seren said excitedly
"Really?" Cody and Bailey asked, excited
"Yeah!" Zack replied
"Do you think that's where the shipmates made camp?" Bailey asked
"Almost certainly" Zack replied, nodding at Seren who got up, and brought the wooden box to the table
"We found all this inside the room. We thought we would wait until we were all together to see what it was" Seren replied, as she took things out of the wooden crate.
There was a diary, a map, a newspaper with some scribbles on, some loose papers, and the box they found was a morse code transmitter.
"Let's look at those newspapers first" Bailey requested. Zack passed them over. It was the same week as the 1943's newspaper they found on the wreck, this one just had dates scribbled down the sides. 9 of them.
"Nothing obvious. What about the map?" Cody asked, that was passed around. It showed a map of the globe. There was a dotted line from Southampton, England, to Puerto Rico. There was a hand scribbled line which went under Argentine, and a big cross, in the vast expanse of waters.
"Well, looks like they knew they made a wrong turn, but didn't know where they were" Moseby explained
"Looks like it" Cody agreed.
"Did you say that was a diary?" Cody said pointing to the book. Zack nodded and passed it over.
"It's almost full" he said flicking through the pages.
"We can go through it this afternoon if you'd like" Cody offered, bringing Bailey into it too, who nodded eagerly looking at the transmitter.
"We've all had a busy morning, it's hot now. How about we all have a chilled afternoon, you two can look through these if you want, and then we reconvene later on for dinner?" Zack suggested
"Oh! I didn't even tell you the best find on the wreck!" Woody announced, the attention of the room turning to him "Two more recipe books" he declared, showing them off. They decided to go their separate ways. London, Seren and Emma going to the pool. Moseby, Woody and Zack staying in the house, taking a walk down to see what they did to the beach hut, Cody and Bailey going through the diary and transmitter.
By dinnertime, the girls were more relaxed, the guys were happy, and Cody and Bailey had some news.
Woody and Seren had prepared the quiche from the recipe book, with some mashed potatoes and vegetables to go with it. It went down very well. Once finished, over drinks, a little more alcoholic than the ones earlier, on the decking, Cody and Bailey brought out the diary.
"So from what we've gathered, there were ten men on that boat. As the war was starting to dwindle and the seas became less dangerous, they were sent on a peace mission to Peutro Rico. They faced a big storm which blew them off course and ruined their navigation" Bailey explained
"They were bringing plants and animals to them, to help them regrow their agriculture, but ended up having to use them for their own food. We think this was the Captains journal, but halfway through the writing changes, when the Captain died, he died first, we think from scurvy" Cody added
"Over about two weeks, all but one died, the writing changes again so we think they were documenting their last days. Each body was thrown overboard and given a sailors funeral. The last few entries are about another storm which made the wreck crash into this Island. We think there was only one left by this point" she explained
"The one who landed on the Island made camp in the caves. He says how he planted everything he could, and let the animals go in the hope that if he were to survive, he would have a food source. It does say in here that the radio on board stopped working after the storm which blew them off course initially, and got lost when it crashed into the island" Cody added
"The transmitter is morse code, and has sent off messages, last ones read, Location sent and received. Location sent and received. Location sent. Location sent. May day. May day. Nothing..." Bailey added
"Wow. If it wasn't for this shipmate, we wouldn't have been able to survive on this Island" Moseby replied solemnly.
"Does that mean, that the shipmate is still on the Island?" Seren asked. There was a pause before a collective nod.
"I think we should find and bury him" Emma said quietly. "He gave every one of his shipmates a funeral, and Moseby is right, we wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. We should at least try" she suggested.
Whilst Woody was a little reluctant, the thought of a dead body scaring him, Cody reminded him that at the moment, he could be anywhere, and it's better they found him whilst looking for him, and buried him, rather than come across him when they weren't expecting it.
"So where do we think he is?" Seren asked, once Woody had agreed
"He must be the other side of the Island. My guess would be in the caves, or near" Zack replied. They agreed "Tomorrow morning then, we go. All of us, we'll bring torches and light, and we find him"
"Did you find out what the scribbles on the newspapers meant?" Moseby asked
"We think it's the dates that all the shipmates died. All except the last one" Cody replied.
"Do we know his name?" Moseby asked
"There were initials next to the dates, and whilst it's not listed, by narrowing it down we think his name was James Knightly" Bailey explained
"He's certainly proven his surname" Moseby replied they all smiled.
"Where should we bury him?" Seren asked
"On the beach by the wreck. Or maybe by the cave, wherever we can find the nicest bit" Zack replied
"Maybe with a bit of a view?" Bailey asked
"That's a lovely idea" Cody replied
The next day, they all took the barge and the boat to the other side of the island. Once docked, they split into teams. After a bit of debate, Woody refused to go in search of the body. Instead he offered to stay behind and dig a grave. Emma, who had kept quiet on the matter offered to stay with him, as did Seren.
Whilst she emphasised that she was staying to keep Woody company, Zack did have to wonder if she was anxious of going back into the cave. She hid it well, but he thought she got a little scared the day before. Knowing she had to go in again, find a body and bring the body back out might have been a little too much for her. He did not fight her on it.
They were prepared this time. They had brought a lot of water, a backpack which had washed up on the beach, which was used to carry the water, along with some rope, so they could set a trail into the cave, as to not get lost. A blanket, to wrap the body in if they found him, to help carry him out, and the torches.
They had carried a lit torch from the beach fire, very carefully, as they rowed to the other side of the island. Setting a small fire once on the other side, they would be able to light torches to bring into the caves, and being small they could put it out with no risk of setting the Island on fire.
"We ready?" Zack asked
"I think so" Bailey replied
"I am" Moseby announced
"I've got the bag" London declared pointing to the rucksack on her back
"I've got the shovels" Emma said, holding up the shovels
"Here take some water" London said to Emma, taking the bag off and passing her a few bottles of water
"Thank you" Emma replied
"We'll need it" Seren said, already sweating a little in the hot morning sun
"Where are you going ot put the grave?" Zack asked
"We were thinking over there, soft sand and soil, right on the cross into the woodland, looking out at the ocean, and still in sight of his ship" Woody explained
"Perfect" Bailey replied
"It's beautiful" Cody added
"If we have enough time, we'll look at making a headstone too" Emma said
"Amazing" Moseby smiled
"Cave crew, are you ready?" Zack asked
"Cave crew. I like it" Bailey said, smiling. Excited about their mission. Or perhaps, excited to have a mission.
"As ready as I'll ever be" Cody said, his nerves beginning to show in his voice. Bailey took his hand reassuringly
"We have torches, right?" Mosbey asked
"Oh, we should light one now" London said, as she zipped up her bag
"On it" Cody stated as he dropped Baileys hand, lighting three of the torches and passing them around
"Happy?" Zack asked
"Yeah!" Bailey replied
"How deep into the cave are we going?" Cody asked
"As deep as Seren and I went yesterday" Zack replied
"How long did it take you?" Emma asked
"Not long. Ten or fifteen minutes? It will be quicker if we have light, and a rope to follow" Zack answered
"We're ready now" London said, throwing the rucksack up onto her back.
"Awesome. Right, see you guys later on" Zack said
"Be safe" Seren called. They waved as they disappeared out of sight.
The cave crew made quick progress. They were all brave enough to venture deep into the cave. Despite Cody's initial reluctance, he was rather keen to explore the caves once inside.
Following the rope which they had tied outside, and Zack was holding, leading at the front, they delved deeper into the cave. Zack had to admit, that it felt longer today than yesterdya, but he was attributing that to the fact that today there was more of them, more pressure, and for some reason or another, now they had the illumination of the torches, they could see how tight it really was.
None the less, he powered through. London behind him, then Moseby, then Cody, then Bailey at the back. It soon opened up into the large cavern. Holding their torches up to look around the room was no bigger than their living room back at the house.
Bailey squealed and pointed down. They all looked to where she was pointing, expecting to see the body of the shipmate, but instead they were met with a pile of pens.
"Sorry" she said apologetically as she picked up the pens and London helped her place them in her rucksack.
"Don't apologise" Cody said reassuringly to her
"Zack, I can't see the shipmate in here" London said softly, as they looked around the cavern
"There was never a guarantee he was in here; he could have taken himself off" Zack replied
"Should we go back?" Bailey asked
"Not just yet" Zack replied. He walked around the edge of the cavern and found that it curved a little to the right. Inside he found a small tunnel, with a blanket in. A few craws in, and he found the body of the shipmate. Using the blanket with him, and the one they had brought in the rucksack, they wrapped him up, all silent in respect. They worked together to carry him out of the caves.
They were able to bring him over to the grave which had been beautifully dug by Emma, Woody and Seren. As promised, they had even made a small gravestone. A cross with two pieces of wood, tied together with a vine.
They buried him, and all took turns shovelling the sandy dirt back over the body. Once covered, they all stood over his grave. A few lone tears and heavy hearts as they said goodbye to a friend.
"I think that I speak for everyone when I thank you Sir. For your sacrifice, for what you did, for what you gave this Island. You are the reason we are still alive, here today. And for that we are eternally grateful. We hope you have found peace" Moseby said, breaking the silence. One by one, they all said their peace, although most were only able to choke out a 'thank you'.
Bailey turned and picked a flower from the nearby woodland. Placing it on the top of the grave. With a final, collective 'thank you', they all made their way back to the boat, travelling back to their beach in silence.
They mostly kept to themselves for the afternoon. No one overly interested in lunch, but Woody and Seren worked together to make a delicious dinner. The conversation soon started to flow again, and Zack led the group by raising his glass.
"To James" Zack toasted. They all joined in.
After dinner, they got another drink and went to the decking. Discussing the plans for the Beach hut.
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