Chapter Twelve: The Tortoise
The Beach Hut was rebuilt within three weeks. With the additions of the kitchen, bathrooms, plumbing, and sprinkler system. The next month was spent adding a sprinkler system to the house. That was over a year ago now.
They had built their leisure centre, the grass field now had football goals, tennis court markings. They had made a ping pong table, and had regular competitions. They had added a bar to the house decking, and even built an outdoor barbeque.
Seren and Woody had become official soon after the Beach Hut rebuild. Of course, they were supported by everyone. And whilst Moseby and Emma had never officially announced their relationship, it was heavily implied.
"So, I had a look at the calendar today" Cody mentioned. He had not had any luck with the morse code transmitter. It was no longer sending any signals. Despite a thorough look of the island, they never did find a radio from the wreck.
"Oh?" London asked. They used to have a weekly update, but for the last nine months or so, everyone had come to an unspoken, mutual agreement that they were here for good, and not to dwell on the time anymore.
"Only in passing. But it was five hundred days since we found Moseby and Emma" he explained
"Has it really been that long?" Moseby asked
"It doesn't feel like it... Does it" Bailey stated
"So we've been here, almost two years" London said, calculating in her head
"We have" Zack replied
"I can't believe we're all still alive" Woody stated
"Me neither … I thought for sure one of us would have done something stupid. Got hurt or an argument would have split us up" Cody laughed
"What injuries have we even had?" Emma asked
"I got attacked by a jellyfish" Woody stated
"I cut my hand on the rebuild" Bailey said, remembering when they rebuilt the beach hut and she sliced her hand open on a sharp stick. A few bandages and a week later she was fine.
"I sprained my ankle on the rocks" Moseby reminded them, remembering when he and Emma went to feed the fish and he slipped on some wet algae. He limped back with Emma and was on bed rest for a week. Whilst he found it frustrating, he did manage to go through some books. And he recovered well. Only occasionally did it cause him issues now, usually after he'd been sat still for a while, or overexerted himself
"I think that's it" Zack thought out loud
"We've done well" London complimented
"We really do have our own piece of paradise here" Cody added
A few weeks later, Cody and Bailey were scheduled to find food for Woody and Seren to make a meal out of. This had become a tradition. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, each week a little more experimental. Everyone enjoyed it, and Woody had come up with some incredible creations from it.
The couple were out in the farm, when they noticed that the animals were acting a little skittish.
"Somethings not right" Bailey commented. Cody, who was standing outside, after two years he still didn't have the stomach for watching the murder of his dinner.
"Probably because they know what you're about to do" he called from outside
"No. Something's wrong. Come in here" Bailey called. Cody poked his head round the corner, and once seeing that she was not mid-kill, he walked inside. The chickens, who were so friendly they could walk up, stroke them and feed them out of their hands, were squawking, flapping their wings and restless
"What do you think it is? Did something spook them?" Cody asked. Bailey looked around them all
"I don't know. Let's go check on the rest" she explained. They walked outside, the cows were restless, sheep and goats were hiding and the pigs refused to leave their pens.
"They can't all have been spooked by something, could they?" Cody asked. Bailey shook her head. They looked out to the sea. There were some bigger waves on the horizon, bigger than normal
"We have a storm coming" Bailey stated mystically
"What do we need to do?" Cody asked
"We need to go back and tell the others" she explained. With a haste, they made their way back to the beach.
London and Emma were sunbathing. Woody and Seren were playing volleyball. Zack and Moseby were playing cards, from a set which they found on a boredom-fuelled trip back to the wreck a few months prior.
Zack and Moseby looked up as Cody and Bailey returned, standing up as they saw their serious looks
"What's wrong?" Zack asked, London and Emma sat up, Woody and Seren stopped playing as they looked over to the couple
"The animals are skittish. I think we have a storm coming" Bailey explained. They all looked out over the water, the sky was blue, the sea was gentle. There were no signs of a storm
"Look, on the horizon, look how big the waves are" Bailey explained. They looked and once pointed out, they had to agree that the larger waves looked ominous
"How long until it hits us?" Zack asked
"A few hours" Cody replied
"What do we do?" Woody asked
"We reinforced the structural beams of the house, didn't we?" Zack asked. They nodded
"Then the house should be safe from wind and rain. We'll be safe in there, as long as the waves don't come up onto the Island. We need to empty the kitchen on the Beach hut, and I'd suggest the one in the house too.
They got to work. Woody and Seren making a delicious meal from the leftover food in the kitchens. They were done by lunch time, and sat on the decking of the house, eating. Watching as the clouds had started to form. They could see the lightning crack over the sky, as the day got darker. Lightning now illuminating the storm over the sea. The rain came down hard over the house. They went inside and shut the doors, listening to the hammering rain on the roof
"I'm scared" London muttered to Zack, who pressed a soft kiss to her temple.
The house held up well, a few drips where the roof was compromised but it remained dry. Once the rain stopped, the wind picked up, and a small earthquake hit the Island.
By six o'clock that evening, it had passed, and the sun was again beating down on the now sodden ground. The sea was calm, and the tranquillity returned.
"The house held up well" Woody commented
"It did. We'll fix those leaks in the roof tomorrow" Zack replied
"Shall we go check on the animals?" Bailey asked
"Good call. Bails and Cody can you go and check the animals and the plants?" Zack asked
"Will do" Cody replied
"Moseby and Emma, can you go take a walk on the beach, see if anything useful washed up, see if there's any damage" Zack instructed
"Of course" Emma replied
"Woody, Seren, do you want to find something for dinner? Make sure the kitchens are alright?" Zack asked.
"No problem" Woody replied
"London, you and I will go and relight the fire on the end of the beach" he stated. London smiled.
They all went their separate ways. The animals were calmer. Woody and Seren decided on a simple meal which they had most of the ingredients for. The beach had some more nets, rope, bottles and buckets was up, along with a lot of litter which Moseby and Emma picked up and put in the pile they were growing to the side.
The fire had, as they expected, been extinguished by the storm. Zack and London had brought a torch out with them, and finding some dry kindling, they relit the fire, watching it grow again, looking out over to the water
"Don't you ever think this is a bit of a pointless task?" London asked
"What do you mean?" Zack replied
"The fire. We're never getting off this Island. No one's even come close to finding us since we've been here" she said
"It gives hope. And even if the reality is that we don't, if anyone is still holding onto hope, this helps" he said
"I suppose" she replied
"And if nothing more, it gives me an opportunity to be alone with you" he said kissing her softly.
"I love you" she whispered to him
"I love you too" he replied
"I could stay here forever" she muttered, looking out at the peace of the Island.
Zack opened his mouth to reply, when they heard a noise. They both turned to see a large Tortoise walking out towards them
"Oh my God! Zack, look" London exclaimed,
"Two years we've been here, we've never seen a tortoise before" Zack said with a raised eyebrow
"Do you think he came here in the storm?" she asked
"He must have" Zack replied
"He must be hungry" she said, picking a leaf and holding it out to him. The tortoise curiously nibbled the end of the leaf, before taking the whole thing and munching on it.
"Can we keep him? Like a pet?" London asked, Zack laughed.
"Of course" he replied. Coaxing the tortoise back with them.
Everyone was back by the time they returned, but the Tortoise was the star.
"What should we call him?" Bailey asked, feeding him carrot sticks which Woody had brought out as a snack
"Shelly?" London suggested
"Sheldon" Cody replied
"Guys come on. He's clearly a Michaelangelo" Zack replied
"Terry" Emma suggested
"Then we can go Terence when he's naughty" Bailey replied. They all nodded
"Are we in agreement?" Zack asked
"I think so" Woody replied
"Welcome to the Island, Terry" Seren greeted
The evening was spent by feeding Terry various foods, trying to find his favourite. They concluded that lettuce, cabbage and carrots were the favourite, he liked apple, but had no time for grapes.
They all went to bed earlier that night. By eleven o'clock, they were all in their rooms. Tired after the stress of the day.
The next morning, they spent the day with Terry. Aside from their duties, they tried seeing if he could play games, or do any tricks, aside from laying down, he didn't do much, but he liked having his shell stroked.
They were chilling on the beach, all sunbathing, aside from Seren who was stroking Terry, feeding him cucumber sticks.
"What's that?" she asked, everyone opened their eyes as they saw something on the horizon. It was small and black
"A wave?" Bailey asked
"Maybe a shadow of a cloud?" Moseby suggested. They all sat up, as the black blob got closer
"The KRAKEN!" Woody cried
"I think it's a boat" Emma said. Her words sparked an urgency in the Islanders. They ran to the shore, shouting, waving their arms, The fire was stoked up. It was a boat, but not just one, it was three, and it was heading straight for the Island
"Is this our rescue?" Bailey asked, then a noise from behind them, they looked up as a helicopter flew overhead, hovering, a rope ladder dropped down and three people got off, as the speedboats came up onto the sand.
One man ran up onto the beach
"MITTENS!" He shouted, running over to Terry. They recognised that voice... He was wearing black overalls, and sunglasses, and he had a haircut but Zack would recognise that man anywhere
"Arwin?" he asked, Arwin spun around... and finally took his attention off the Tortoise to the Islanders
"Zack? Cody? Moseby? London?" he asked, he screamed and fainted on the spot
"Yep, that's Arwin" Zack rolled his eyes
"Mittens?" Bailey asked
"That's the tortoise" Another man said, stepping forwards
"Why are you here?" Emma asked
"We've been tracking endangered species for years. Mittens was on our boat a few miles out, but during the storm yesterday he fell overboard. He's GPS tracked so we traced him here" the man explained "You guys look kind of familiar" he added, looking between them all
"We were cast away off the SS Tipton a few years ago" Moseby explained. The man brought his palm to his forehead
"Of course!. Come on, let's get you all home" he said
They were allowed some time to pack up their things, the few items they had on the Island. Bailey and Cody went to the farm, and with a heavy heart and a few tears, they set the animals free, knowing they woudn't survive in the farm without them.
The man in charge of the boats assured them that once they got them back on land, they could being another boat and collect up the animals to bring them back.
Arwin had woken up, and helped them all board the boat. It was painful, watching the Island they had made home disappear from view, but they all couldn't deny the relief they felt inside them. Their friends, families, loved ones. They wondered what world they would be going back to.
"So Arwin, how did you get into a nature reserve?" Mosbey asked Arwin
"Well, I always refused to believe that you all died at sea" he begun proudly "So I worked day and night and day and night and day and night until I created a tracker. I realised after that it wouldn't do much to help find you, but the Nature Reserve asked if I could join their team. So I did, and here I am" He explained
"Well, your tracker was what found us so …. I think really, it worked" Cody laughed. Arwin's eyes widened as the realisation hit him
"It did! Cody you're a genius!" he exclaimed. They took the speedboats back to the larger boat, and a few hours later, they docked in Japan.
Epilogue
Once they were in Japan, they were treated as heroes. They were given access to phones to contact their families, and authorities were organised to fly their family out to Japan to meet them.
That evening, whilst sat in silence, out by the restaurant of the hotel they were staying at, the doors opened and the families all came rushing in. Carey and Kurt rushed over to the twins, enveloping them in a four-way hug. London's father came, and his security even stood back so he could hug his daughter. Woody's mom and Steve came, and Woody was so happy to see them, he even hugged Steve. Bailey greeted her mom, dad and a few of her siblings. Emma's mom and dad, and Mosbey's mom came, as did one of Seren's friends.
It took them all a while to adapt back to life off the Island. London, Cody, Zack, Emma and Moseby stayed in Boston, Bailey went back to Kansas but kept her relationship with Cody, And Woody and Seren went back to Cleveland with his parents.
As promised, a boat was sent to collect the animals from the Island, but a few weeks after they returned, London's father bought the Island. He made the necessary changes, added some phone signal and kept it as a holiday home, which the Islanders had access to whenever they desired.
They experienced countless interviews and requests... But one they couldn't turn down, was a movie made about their experience. They all contributed to the making of the movie, telling their stories, sharing experiences. And everyone was pleased with the outcome.
However, a year after they got off the Island, they all felt something was missing. After two months, Bailey moved to Boston with Cody, and soon they got engaged, followed by Zack and London. Moseby and Emma were dating as were Woody and Seren.
They were all bored. Zack had an idea, and after a few conversations, they all agreed.
"Are we ready?" Zack asked. The eight nodded, as they looked up at the SS Tipton. London's father had made the Island a stop on the route for his cruise ship, and the eight had just signed up for a year-long cruise.
"Let's do it" they all agreed, boarding the boat once again. This time, as guests. Not as staff and students.
And that's it... If you stuck with it, thank you. Please let me know what you think. Let me know if you'd like a M rated version. For all 4 couples, maybe a bit of mix and match... Or if you want a sequel, maybe their lives going back on the boat. Revisiting. Weddings... the friendships... the list goes on. Please let me know.
Thank you again!