Chapter Three: The First Night
London couldn't sleep. She was lying next to Zack. Rolling over she could see the fire reflect flickers in his open eyes. She got up, silently and lay down next to him.
"I'm so glad to be off that boat" she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath, but enough for Zack to hear her.
"Me too" he confessed
"Be honest, did you think we would find land?" she asked sadly
"I was hopeful" Zack replied honestly "But I had moments when I didn't think we would make it"
"I did too" she said
"It's a horrible thought" Zack agreed. "But we made it, we found land. We're safe now" he assured her
"Do you think we'll get found?" she asked. Zack took a moment to think
"We have more of a chance now, than we did on the boat" he replied
"More of a chance of being found? Or of surviving?" she asked
"Both" Zack admitted. "The latter more so"
"How is anyone going to find us here?" she asked.
"I don't know" Zack admitted
"We need to make the best of it" she replied
"We do" Zack agreed
"How do we do that?" she asked
"Well. Tomorrow, we get food. That will put everyone in a good mood. Then, we find or build shelter. That gives us everything we need. We get sustainability. Regular food source, we have a plentiful water source. We need time, work out the weather a bit. See if it has monsoons and heavy rain seasons, or if it's mostly dry. Then we can start enjoying ourselves" he explained
"Enjoying ourselves?" she asked in disbelief
"Yeah. It's not like we can go anywhere. We can explore the island a bit. No school, no laws. If we get some routines set in. Every morning, someone gets water, someone gets food, someone gets fire wood, someone climbs the mountain to check for phone signal. Then we have all day to relax" he said
"Like a resort?" she asked
"Not far off. We have nothing but time. Find some flat land we could build a tennis court. If we get really fed up we can use the boat to go for a sail. There's nothing else round here but we can go for a sail round the island, see what else there is, saves us walking" he explained
"You make it sound so luxurious" she replied
"It will be what we make it. If we're all miserable, then this will be horrible, but if we find positives and enjoy ourselves, it will be fun" he explained
"Like we could get rescued and not want to leave?" she asked with a smile. Zack always had an ability to calm her down and make her smile. Laugh.
"Perhaps" he laughed lightly
"You need to be the leader, Zack. We're in international waters, we need rules. We need someone to lay down the law or you know what will happen. One person will end up doing all the chores. A fight is inevitable. We need something in place to stop that separating the group" she explained
"You're right" Zack said "But it would need to be universally agreed"
"Of course," she agreed
"Let's find some food tomorrow, and then, with full stomachs, we'll discuss it then.
'Sounds like a plan" she agreed. Pausing for a second, checking that their conversation had not woken anyone up. "What do we do about us?" she asked
"What do you want to do?" he asked
"I want you" she replied honestly
"You have me" he assured her
"I don't want to hide our relationship" she replied
"Do you want to build it up over a few weeks? Or just tell them now" he asked
"I don't want to cause arguments" she thought out loud
"Can you keep it secret for a few weeks more?" he asked her
"I've kept it secret for a year" she replied
"It will be worth it" he assured her
"So how do we bring it in slowly?" she asked
"I'll start bringing you on missions with me, we have some inside jokes. Make a point of spending more time together. Wait and see if the others ask us one on one if there's something going on, giggle a bit, maybe have a conversation with Bailey to say you like me" Zack begun
"That might stop her hitting on you" London scoffed
"She's not hitting on me" Zack replied "I'll do the same with Cody and Woody" Zack added
"Think they'll set us up?" London asked
"Then it would be their idea. They can't be mad at us if we do get together" Zack explained
"You're devious" she replied
"I love you too" he laughed
"I want you" she stated. The longing in her voice telling Zack exactly what she wanted. He felt a twitch in his cock at her words.
"I want you too, but it's too close. They would hear us" he replied sadly
"I hate this" she replied
"I know you do. I do too. We'll try and slip away tomorrow" he assured her
"It won't be for much longer, right?" London asked
"I hope not" Zack admitted.
They all woke up as the sun broke. They had no idea on the time. It could have been four o'clock, it may have been ten. But whilst hydrated, they were so hungry that they once more woke up exhausted.
"Morning" they all greeted as one by one they woke. Of course, Zack was first up, followed quickly by Cody, then London, then Woody. Bailey was last to stir and was almost upset that she was last, having been on a farm for so long.
They sat around the fire, which Zack had restoked and was once more roaring. The breaking sun had its heat, but there was still a morning chill in the air
"Right. Today we have two priorities" Zack explained. They all knew them of course
"Food and shelter" Cody stated
"Exactly. We also need more fire wood, and water" Zack explained
"I think the best thing to do would be to split into two teams. Cody, Woody and Bailey. You three, your whole task today is to build some shelter. Something in case it rains, and to keep the chill out during the night. See if you can find some moss for a bit of a comfier bed" Zack instructed. There was no objection. They all nodded
"London, you and I will go and get water, fire-wood and food" Zack explained. The prospect of food was tempting. The glint which was usually resident in Woody's eye had reappeared at the thought of something to eat.
There was no objection, and they decided to get to work sooner, so then the afternoon heat came over, they could keep out the sun. Zack passed the axe to Woody, having put together a few more with the stones and sticks last night. Keeping a smaller one for himself to catch some food with, he gave the larger one to the shelter team.
They bid goodbye and parted ways
Once Zack and London were out of sight, Cody, Bailey and Woody looked to the Axe, all deep in thought as the silence filled the room.
"How are we going to do this?" Woody asked
"I'm not sure" Bailey replied honestly
"I think" Cody begun "Zack says we need to prepare for the worst. So, if we're here long term, which there's a good chance we would be. We've been missing over 48 hours, the chances of being seen or found here are minimal. We need to prepare to spend years here" He begun
"Way to bring us down, man" Woody complained sadly
"I think we could build a house here. Initially wood, using the branches, Zack said there was plenty of bamboo for strength and support. There's bound to be clay, we might be able to fashion a kiln using the heat of the sand and the fire to make bricks and a make-shift mortar" Cody said
"That shouldn't be too difficult. If we made a mould then it could be much quicker" Bailey agreed
"I suggest single storey, until we work out the severity of the weather we don't want to be building upwards" Cody explained
"Agreed" Bailey replied
"And it depends on where we want to build too. The beach seems to be where we've made camp but it's quite exposed. The clearing in the woods would be much better. Still warm from the sun but enough shade to protect us. More protection from the wind and rain by the trees, would be warmer" Cody listed
"There would be less sand to get in the way" Bailey added
"So we should build the house there" Cody explained
"House?" Woody asked, daunted. Both Cody and Bailey ignored him. Cody took the Axe out of Woody's hands and used the handle to draw a plan in the sand.
"We would have a bedroom each" Cody explained
"And two bathrooms, one for girls, one for guys" Bailey added, after taking an awkward walk into the woods that morning to relieve herself.
"We could use the bamboo as piping. If we used the force from the waterfall, the mountain isn't far from the clearing, we might be able to get running water" Cody explained, drawing a mountain in the sand outside the floorplan of the building.
"You're a genius. I bet if we used the sun, and maybe the fire, we could even get hot water" Bailey added
"You've lost me now" Woody replied, sitting down on the sand whilst the other two planned
"So, bedroom each, two bathrooms, kitchen would have to go here, for the water, next to the bathrooms" Cody drew on a square for the kitchen
"And this space can be the living room" Bailey added
"We might be able to build a second shelter here, on the beach Just like a living room, with a decking. Then we can spend time on the beach and still have shelter" Cody explained
"What do we do for windows?" Bailey asked "We need lighting, but we couldn't leave open gaps, it would get too cold at night, and risk damp if it rains" Bailey thought. Cody thought for a minute
"There is so much plastic on this beach. If we moulded hole in the sand, we might be able to melt the plastic and make a plastic window. It wouldn't be completely clear but it would offer protection and light" Cody offered
"Perfect!" Bailey replied. Woody then stood up
"That's great guys, really it is. But let's be practical. This will take ages to build. We need something to protect us tonight!" he complained
"You make a good point" Bailey said
"What if we build the beach hut today, then we could sleep in that whilst we build the house. We have shelter and it can be a bit of a practice" Cody offered
"Perfect" Bailey replied
"Thank you!" Woody commented
"We need a base. Build it up off the floor" Bailey stated
"And steps to get in. That might stop the sand getting in too" Cody explained. The other two nodded in agreement
"Let's go and see what we can find to build with" Woody suggested.
"And suss out how good that clearing would be" Cody added.
The three walked down the path to the clearing, which seemed much closer today now they knew where they were going. They had to admit, the clearing would be a perfect location for the house. It was certainly big enough!
"There's the bamboo" Woody said, pointing to the plants. They walked over, and cut down as much as they could. Carrying back what they were able to
"Let's start on the base. How high up should it be?" Cody asked. They debated for a moment, and agreed that one metre, or hip-height would be sufficient. The slope down to the water meant that even if the tide came all the way up, they were still three or four metres above the water line, and twenty metres back, on the tree line.
Cody and Bailey were deep in discussion about counter balancing and cantilevers. Woody was very lost.
"Shall I go and get some more bamboo?" he offered, feeling as though he wasn't being overly helpful. They agreed, and Woody walked back to the pile.
After five trips, all they had cut down was now moved to the beach. Bringing the axe with him, he cut down more. On his next trip, he took his shirt on, as he had already sweat through it.
Woody was exhausted. He had never worked so physically hard in his life. The sun was high in the sky now, and the air was hot. He was happy to be going back and forth through the woods, it gave him enough shade to cool him back down. He did not envy Cody and Bailey on the beach, not able to hide from the sun.
On his next return with armfuls of Bamboo, Cody asked him to come back with vines, which they could use to tie the bamboo together. Pleased to be being of use, and to have a task which did not involve breaking and chopping more of the impossibly strong bamboo, Woody strolled back through the woods, finding a large bush of vines. Cutting them down, and stripping off the leaves, picking off a few caterpillars.
For a brief moment he considered eating the caterpillars, he was so hungry. But he knew they would be much better cooked. And the more he watched them wriggle, the more he lost his appetite. He picked the caterpillars off and put them back onto the plant. Deciding that if London and Zack came back empty handed, he would get the caterpillars then and eat them. There were loads on these plants anyway. He took the vines back to a grateful Cody and Bailey
Cody drank the last of his water, hoping that Zack would be back soon. Th sun was hot. Woody had taken his shirt off, but Cody knew that he was far too exposed to copy, although he was getting increasingly frustrated by his shirt sticking to him.
Bailey, who was much better suited to the sun, had taken her top off, and was walking around in her bra, and a pair of shorts which she had taken off London's collection on the lifeboat. London had said it was alright earlier, which surprised everyone. Cody tried to keep himself busy on the task at hand, not to get distracted by a half-naked Bailey working next to him.
By the time Woody had come over asking what he could do, they had most of the floor down. They had found two trees which had fallen over. It had taken some hard work, but they used the axe to chop them to size, and rolled them into place. Using shorter bamboo pieces to level it, they then put longer ones down, and made a floor.
They asked Woody to bring them some vines as they erected the uprights. They had made the base big enough for three rooms. All of which would be covered, but one would remain as a decking. With a roof, but no walls. They had lots of uprights to put in. But the vines Woody brought were very forgiving.
It was as though the Island was working in their favour. Everything just seemed to fit together. It gave them a bout of confidence, thinking that the Island wanted them to survive.
Woody came back over for some water of his own. Finishing his bottle, wanting more and hoping that Zack and London would be back soon. He admired the base, the floor of which was not complete. The roof was also done. All that was left to do, were the walls
"What the fuck!" Woody called looking over at the shelter
"What?" Cody asked, taken aback
"How have you put that up so quickly? I swear that wasn't build the last time I was here" He exclaimed
Woody had to admit, it had been an hour since he had last been there. He spent a while in the cooler shade removing leaves from the vines, and having his caterpillar debate. He had dropped the vines and then got sent back for some smaller bamboo pieces a foot or two long. He had not had a through look then, but it was only midmorning. He had to admit that Cody and Bailey had worked really well together. Honestly, he was expecting a fight.
Cody and Bailey too were surprised at how well they were working. But appreciated Woody's comments all the same.
There was a rustle behind them, and Woody ran over to Cody and Bailey. Axes in hand, they raised them, cautiously. Lowering them once they saw Zack and London approach.
London and Zack walked off into the woodland. Following the path which led along the beach, instead of the one which went into the woods. They decided to go and find food first, then cut back to the mountain to check for signal, get water and firewood on their way back to camp.
They followed the track for a while, further this way than to the mountain. She knew that Zack was busy analysing. Studying the beach to their left, and the woodland to their right. They were getting into the thicker bit of woodland now. The beach had remained rather similar. Some bits were rockier than others, some had water lines coming up a bit higher, which Zack explained was because the sand was leveller and not as much of a slope as the beach they were on.
"Did you pick me because you wanted to spend time with me, or because it makes the point to the others that we get along and want to spend time together?" London asked Zack curiously
"Both?' Zack asked. London laughed.
"So, what food are we looking for?" she asked
"We want to see what the Island offers, first" Zack replied, London raised an eyebrow
"That's a very spiritual response" she replied. Now it was Zack's turn to laugh
"No. I meant; how much is there. What is a sustainable amount" he said
"That make sense" London replied
"Like this" Zack stopped. "These plants here, potatoes" he explained
"Really?"
"Yeah. I can't guarantee they'll be exactly like what we're used to, but there's loads here. Enough to deed us" Zack assured her. "And here, carrots, I think these are peppers, and there, tomatoes, even that one, spinach" Zack said, as they looked into the woods, there were more and more things to eat
"Apples!" London said, pointing up. Zack followed her finger and she was right. Apples, oranges, kiwis, lemons, fruit galore"
"And strawberries" he added, pointing down to the floor. He picked two and passed her one. Biting into the fruit, they both moaned. Not just at the fact it was the first bit of food they had eaten in a few days, but this sun-kissed strawberry was the juiciest, sweetest, tastiest thing they had ever eaten!
"Let's keep looking. We want an animal ideally. Then we'll come back and get some fruit and veg, quick trip for water and wood, then back. Think how happy everyone would be if we brought lunch" Zack smiled. London agreed
They had seen lots of tracks, and followed them down the path a little further.
"Is that an egg?" London asked. Zack looked down, and saw in fact, quite a few eggs! He looked up.
"Shh" Zack said, London stopped and followed Zack, who crept into the woods a little deeper. There was another clearing this time with barley, wheat and rice planted. Ignoring the food, there was hundreds of chickens, pigs and goats running around. Looking further into the clearing, cows and horses stood the other side.
"Chicken, or pork for dinner?" Zack asked her. London loved chicken, but she knew how hungry everyone was.
"There's more meat on a pig, and we need food" she said.
"Go and pick some fruits and veg" he instructed. Not wanting her to see him catch ad kill. She appreciated that. She smiled, picking up some carrier bags and walking back to the abundance of fruit and veg.
She picked a load of potatoes, carrots, a few onions, tomatoes, peppers, spinach. Knowing that would be enough for dinner, she then went to the fruits. Apples, oranges, Kiwis, a pineapple or two, mangos, lemons, which secretly she was hoping she could slice and put into her water, and gently placing some big strawberries in a separate bag, so they did not get crushed she picked up the now heavy bags. And walked back to the path, a few moments later, Zack walked back out. A pig over his shoulders. She was amazed, there was not a spec of blood on Zack.
"Didn't even put up a fight" he commented. They walked back along the path, Zack behind so London did not have to look at the dead pig.
They got to the bottom of the mountain, and Zack put the pig down, in a shaded part.
They climbed up the mountain, not taking as long as they did yesterday, and filling up the bottles. Two carrier bags full of bottles of water, London's shoulders were aching. She had left the fruits and vegetables by the pig, but the water was heavy.
Back at the base, Zack tied the bags of water around the feet of the pig, and pulled it onto his shoulders once more. London, whilst slightly disgusted by the sight, admired his strength. Zack asked London to pick him up some sticks, and carried the fire wood back with them.
It felt as though it took ages, although in reality it was probably only a few minutes when they got back to the camp.
The three others had axes raised, which they lowered swiftly upon seeing London and Zack return. Jaws dropped as they saw the pig, the water and the bags of fruit
"We come with a feast!" Zack said gleefully. The three dropped their axes, and walked over. Zack put the pig down once more, untying the carrier bags of water, and passing them round, everyone taking a bottle and drinking.
"Pork for dinner" Woody said practically salivating.
"And loads of fruit and vegetables to go with it, and lunch" London said
"But first, you all have to try these strawberries!" Zack said, passing the bag around. London had picked loads, and the five sat on the base of the shelter Cody and Bailey built, sat in silence eating the strawberries. All moaning as the deliciousness teased their taste buds.
"This shelter is amazing!" Zack said
"This is only the beginning. They have a much bigger plan" Woody explained
"Oh?" London asked
"So we decided that this will eventually become the beach hut. This will have two indoor rooms which for the time being will be the girl's bedroom, and the boys. Then the clearing we found on the way to the mountain, that's where we would build the house" Cody explained
"House?" London asked
"Makes sense. Shelter, sun protection and close to the water" Zack commented
"That will have a bedroom each, two bathrooms, one girls one guys, kitchen and living room" Bailey explained
"Amazing" Zack commented
"They've already discussed plumbing and everything" Woody said, rolling his eyes to London.
"Seriously?" Zack asked
"It won't be immediate, but it's possible" Bailey replied
"How about you guys, what food did you find?" Woody asked
"Enough to last us years" Zack replied
"More fruit and veg than I can name" London explained
"And we found eggs, chickens, pigs, goats, cows" Zack listed
"We should pen them, tame them, and feed them. Then we have a farm" Bailey replied
"I was about to ask you if you wanted to take lead on that. And the ground looks really fertile. If we focus on making some beds, harvest the fruits and veg and plant them. I think we have a way of making this work, and be sustainable" Zack explained
"I would love to" Bailey said. They had finished the strawberries and were now getting into the fruit. Agreeing to save the vegetables for dinner.
"Let's build the beach shelter, then we can work on building the farm, and then we can build the house after" Cody explained
"We could probably split into two, whilst Bailey and someone tame and farm the animals, the rest can start building the house" Zack explained. They all agreed it was a good plan.
"That could work" Bailey replied
"But Cody, I have a special task for you" Zack offered
"What's that?" he asked
"We have a lot of meat, but we cannot eat it all in one go. Can you work on some cold storage, keep food fresh for a bit?" Zack asked. Cody nodded
"I don't think that's much of a challenge" Cody agreed
"Perfect!" Zack replied
"No signal on the mountain?" Bailey asked, bringing back a sombre tone
"I'm afraid not. But we have food, water, shelter, and fire. We'll be ok" Zack assured them.
That afternoon, London and Zack pitched in to help them, and as the sun began to get low in the sky, the outside shelter was built. The reassurance of food and water on demand working wonders for morale.
Mid-afternoon, Zack stoked up the fire, and set up some sticks and impaled the pig, cooking it over the fire. A few hours later, he added potatoes, carrots and some onions raised up, cooking in the smoke layer, softening.
They had finished the shelter. Before the sun set, London and Bailey offered to go and get some moss and something comfortable to lie on whilst the guys stayed behind to put the last touches on the roof. Cody and Bailey had planned for the roof to be slanted, so if there was rain, it would pour off, and not risk pooling or weighing through the roof.
London and Bailey walked off, away from Zack sat on Woody's shoulders. As Cody directed them where to place the roofing bamboo sticks. The girls decided that they did not want to watch whatever accident was undoubtedly impending. They walked off and very quickly found loads of moss, in the clearing that they had decided to build the house in.
Bailey was talking to London about how the house would be laid out as they walked over to it, and seeing it in front of her, London could visualise it. She had to admit it sounded like a good idea!
"If we take the moss out here, get under the roots, we can cut it in bed sized strips. We'll need to strip it anyway for when we build the house" Bailey said
"Do you really think it's plausible, building a house?" London asked
"Of course. Look what we were able to build in just a day! If we keep this morale up, I think in a month we could have the house built" Bailey explained
"I suppose if we keep busy, keep having projects things to build, things to think about, then it keeps our minds off everything else going on" London explained. Bailey stopped pulling up the moss to look at her
"You know, London you're quite smart aren't you" she commented
"Don't really have a choice now, do we" London replied. They rolled up the moss they had collected, and carried it back, just as the three boys finished with the roof.
There was a separating wall between the two indoor rooms, each had a hole for a window, and the walls only covered three quarters of the space, leaving a gap for a door. It allowed for some privacy, but there were no doors. They decided they needed a bit more time to think about hinges.
As the sun set, London had sliced a lemon for everyone's water, which they had to admit was nice touch. The water was fresh, but had a mild aftertaste as it had been warmed by the sun all day. Cody assured them when he had made the cool box, they could have ice cold water when they wanted. This seemed to please them all.
Eating their dinner, of a potato, carrots, spinach, and as much pork as they could eat, slow cooked over the fire so one slice of a sharp stone and the meat fell off. It was arguably, the nicest meal any of them had ever had.
"It's been brought to my attention, that we are outside of any laws here. So, we need to make our own" Zack explained
"Zack's leader" Cody called
"What?" Zack asked, surprised
"You obviously know what you're doing, you've kept us all calm, and you've found us food, water and shelter. We would be dead without you" Cody explained honestly.
"Seconded" Bailey added
"I agree" Woody replied
"Me too" London added
"Thank you, guys" Zack replied "So we need to think of some rules. Firstly, no murder" Zack said. There was a nod of agreement. "Secondly, any disputes will be treated to a jury. Those on each side will present information to the impartial side. There's five of us so we will allow time to rationally explain, and take a vote. Any objections?" he asked. No one spoke up
"Perfect. And finally, does anyone else have any suggestions?" he asked
"There will be daily tasks. I think we should have assigned ones, which we have to do, daily" Cody offered. London wondered briefly if that was aimed at her, for not to everyone. She chose to ignore it.
"What are these routines?" Woody asked
"Someone needs to get water. Someone needs to get firewood. Someone needs to check for a phone signal, When the farm is set up, we need to check the animals, water the plants, and if we get a fishery set up, feed the fish and someone needs to get food. Veg, fruits and meat, or fish" Zack explained.
"I'm happy to do the farming" Bailey offered
"I can do firewood" Woody said
"Water sounds good to me" Cody suggested
"I'm happy to sort food" Zack offered, a relief to the others as no one else liked the thought of killing.
"I'll check the signal then" London finished
"Perfect" Zack concluded
After the discussion, they all decided it was bed time. They were full, exhausted from the day, and had decided that tomorrow they would work on the foundations for the house, steps to get into the shelter and Cody was determined to work on the cooler. They had managed most of the pig between them, all eating far too much. The little bits left over, Zack had kept over the fire, in the hope it would still be edible and not burned in the morning.
Cody, Woody and London all went off to bed soon after food. Zack called Bailey before she could follow to bed.
"Bails" he called. She turned on her heel and looked at Zack. He stood and made a 'come here' signal with his finger. "I have an idea" he said as they walked out of the camp.
It was dark, and they had no lighting. But the moonlight was allowing them enough to see
"Where are we going Zack?" she asked
"When London and I were searching for food, as found so much" he began as they arrived in the clearing with all the fruits and vegetables.
"Oh wow. This almost looks planted" Bailey commented,
"But I thought the two of us could create a bit of a surprise for the rest. Maybe something to make it a little more tolerable" Zack said
"What are you thinking?" she asked
"This" Zack said, showing the quantity of barley, wheat and rice. Bailey looked back over to him, one eyebrow raised.
"No. You're going to have to explain this one to me" she said
"If we can get yeast from this, we can make beer, wines, ciders, alcohol" he listed
"Ohhh. But we're underage" Bailey said. Zack looked around
"We have no laws here" he reminded her
"Oh yeah. Um. Yeah, sure it's doable. Might take a few months but yeah" she said
"Amazing. Let's keep this between us for now. Do you think you could make a farm here?" he asked
"I mean, the animals are already settled here, we could build some houses for them, bit of shelter. Get the cows a bit tamer and we could milk them" Bailey thought out loud
"It's possible then?" he asked
"Of course" she replied
On their way back, Bailey took a shot in the dark and turned to Zack
"You and London seem to be close" she said
"London and I have always been close" Zack replied "From back in the Hotel, Cody was always the smart one. London made me feel human" he added once Baileys silence suggested he did
"You seem very close though, I wondered if there was anything going on between you" she asked, Zack was sure that she didn't suspect anything, and her questioning was good natured. Zack decided to put his and London's plan into action.
"She would never go for a guy like me" he replied
"She might surprise you. She likes you, she likes spending time with you. And I think you have a good shot whilst we're stuck on this island" Bailey said
"Do you think?" he asked. She nodded knowingly.
They went back to camp in silence, and bid goodnight.
