NationStates Jolt Archive

"I dunno. Just seems to me like we'd be putting all of our eggs in one basket. It might not hurt to leave a skeleton crew back here on the beach, if only to manage the bonfire down here."

"Good idea, and we can rotate those on Beach Watch."

"However, that means the fire can only be seen from one direction. with the storm and such, how can anyone be sure as to where the shipping lanes are in relation to the island?"

"I would assume that the boat was in or near a shipping lane when it went down. And it went down out that way."

I pointed in the direction that i thought that the boat had sunk.

"Its not a great chance, but its still something."

Karyn watched as Ricky started off back up the mountain, taking some of the others with him.
She wondered what he, the doc and John were talking so earnestly about.

Some kind of code, holes in the ground and snakes in the grass and eggs in baskets.

She sighed heavily.

Bad enough being stuck here, without being treated like some kind of simpering Victorian miss!

She wandered back over to the little rock pool and started to tease the hermit crab, trying to get it to stick its head out once more.

"I would assume that the boat was in or near a shipping lane when it went down. And it went down out that way."

I pointed in the direction that i thought that the boat had sunk.

"Its not a great chance, but its still something."

Yeah... it's something...

isn't there some kind of moss that makes thick smoke? or was that dried seaweed...

*Looks at John* I think we need to start some experimentations.

The little band of volunteers, each with a pole and a small basket made by the children containing some fruit and a fish set off behind Ricky with anticipation.
He led them at a steady pace, wanting to reach their destination by mid afternoon.
As they walked they kept a sharp look out for snakes and other, equally deadly beings, but luckily the encountered none.
They skirted round the hole, leaving one of the poles embedded in the ground fixed with a sleeve hurriedly torn from someones shirt to show where the danger lay.

On arrival at the cave, Ricky sent Luca and Iain to gather as much wood as they could.
The two women, he assigned to look for dry leaves and mosses.
He himself climbed to the top of the headland with Cormac, where as he thought, he could look far out to sea but in a different direction from the shore-camp.

"I think if we build a fire up here and keep it burning with damp wood and leaves it should send smoke high into the air. If any ships come from this direction it should be easily spotted."

"I'll see what i can scrounge up. Probably won't do any good to start 'till tomarrow. Not alot of light left today."

With that i wandered off away from Doc and started looking for mosses.

*Taking a deep breath to relax, Austin began searching the base of the Coconut trees for any telltale burrows.*

no...


no...


uh-uh...


possible... but doesn't look like it.



ahhh... one...




nope...




this one....



promising... but not sure...


*Going back to the largest burrow he found, Austin again looks into the hole.*

now... to pursuade you to come out... I shall name you... Dinner.


*Grabbing one of the coconut half shells, he begins putting some fresh coconut meat inside and places the shell several feet away from the burrow, placing several peices between the shell and the tree, he then tosses some bits down the hole. Then he sits back and waits. couple of minutes later a large crab shuffles out and makes it's way towards the coconut filled shell... stopping to eat at the bits of coconut meat before reaching the half filled shell. With a couple of steps, austin steps down on it's back and stabs at the joints with the tip of his diving knife. soon he picks up the body, and the legs and claws that fell off and made his way towards the fire. placing the body and the limbs on the hot coals to be cooked.*

http://www.coconutcrab.co.uk/Pictures%20Used/crab%20on%20tree.jpg

Cormac and himself gathered armfuls of brushwood and found a long dead tree that had fallen, which they easily snapped branches from. It was damp from the earlier rain so would burn slowly with a lot of smoke, if they could even manage to get it alight.

Using Cormac's spectacles directing the rapidly sinking sun's rays onto some of the brushwood, Ricky managed to get a tiny fire started.

"Stay here Cormac and slowly add more brushwood, then some of the drier leaves and lastly one of the damp branches...it will hopefully stay alight now and I need to go and see how the others are getting along."

He stood for a moment looking out to sea. It was obviously facing West here, as the sun was heading down towards the ocean.
Sliding downwards on some loose shingle, he had a little difficulty in stopping at the cave and almost collided with the two women who were just coming out of the cave.

"It's too dark to see anything much in there, even with the burning torch Iain gave to us."

"I'm afraid that you will have to get used to the dark my dear...there is no chance of electricity here.
Come, let me help you."

He entered the cave, the illumination had been placed in the sand on the ground.
He examined the walls and found a deep recess at just above head height, so he placed the burning branch into the hole and the light spread further into the cave, making it seem much brighter.

"How did Iain make that?"

"I think he just wrapped some cloth around a wet branch..."

The ladies had spread bracken and moss in piles towards the back of the cave and covered that in dried leaves.

"We thought that one of them would be a bed for the men, another for the women, and the children on the one in the middle."

"You have done very well, and if we cover the children's one with the jackets, I'm sure they will be quite comfortable."

"Won't we get cold in the night?"

"No. I have travelled to many places where people live in caves and they remain at a constant temperature. Not too cold nor too hot...as long as the cave is not too deep, and dry as this one is. We might make a small fire in the entrance in case of predatory animals though.
Now, where are those men, we need a latrine making."

*After several moments, Austin digs out the legs and body of the crab and cracks it open. with the diving knife, he digs out the meat and piles it into some of the coconut shells for others to eat from.*

"Mmmm... to bad there's no butter..."

What luck... the men had moved off and one of the women he'd been tracking earlier had returned. She busied herself with some small sea creature not far away from his hiding place. Finn glanced about, but saw no one in sight. Perfect. He crept up on her silently, until he was behind her at an angle. She had a hermit crab sitting on her hand, apparantly trying to see the creature inside the shell. When he spoke, his voice was low and controlled.

"He won' cahm out tha' way. You mus' leeve him in th' wadder.. wait on-til he ees comfortable."

But he never looked at her.. only at the small crab. His knife was hidden from sight, but in the slightest instant it would be at her throat if necessary. It was only when he was finished talking that he favored her with a hard look and a beckoning gesture, alowing the tiniest glimpse of steel in his hand.

"Shhh.. I don' want to hurt you. But I weel if you make a soun'."

She froze as she heard the voice just behind her.
It held an element of menace in it, and she knew she had heard it before some where.

It's one of those men from the ship. How convenient he has arrived at this moment.

She slowly turned around to see one of the faces she knew she would never forget.

"What do you want with me?
I have nothing at all left now...none of us have.
You and your friends have made sure of that."

She let the crab slip slowly into the pool. It landed with a loud 'plop' which for some reason startled her.

"I 'ave unfinished beez-nas. Now. If you don't want I keel you.. how many men from th' crew are here?"

His gaze was hard and unsympathetic, just waiting for any chance she might be lying. But it was also tinged with something else. Something dark. A sort of malicious glee, almost.

"Men from the crew?
Let me see now.
There's Ricky the steward...that's one...
There's John the....I think he's a keep fit instructor or swimmer or something...that's two...
The doc of course...three...the two waiters...five...."

As she counted she held up a finger for each of the men she named, trying to play for time...hoping someone would notice them standing here.

"I'm not certain if that big guy with the glasses and red hair is a crew member or not...I think he could be..he seems to know Ricky quite well...so maybe he is...that's a possible six..."

*putting some of the crab meat and fish in a coconut shell, Austin noticed Karyn talking to... someone at the shoreline. Grabbing another shell of food, he began walkint towards the two.*

Now who is that? another survivor perhaps?

*as he approached, he noticed Karyn's tense posture. As he got closer, he reconized the stranger... a face he only saw once... very briefly. Putting a grin on, he calmly continued to approach the two, holding a bowl in each hand, calling out as he got near.*

"Hey you two, got some cooked fish and crab meat."

Realising that this was probably the 'snake in the grass' that the menfolk had been talking about earlier, she began to feel a little guilty for being so churlish about being left out. They had not wanted to cause a scare through the little group, and rightly too.

This man was cold and calculating and his steely gaze and the flash of metal in his hand was beginning to make her squirm inwardly, when the doctor came smiling towards them, holding out some kind of food.

"Thank you doctor, very kind of you. I don't know if you've met...ummm...this man yet..."

She turned her back halfway on the weapon toting person and tried rolling her eyes in a warning way at the doctor, hoping he would keep his distance.

"Thank you doctor, very kind of you. I don't know if you've met...ummm...this man yet..."

*Austin continued his walk towards them.*

"probably, there were hundreds on the ship, not even counting crew. we probably ran into each other in a hallway or something."

*pausing, he looks at the food in the bowls. then back at the former Hijacker.*

"it's not much, but until rescue comes, we gotta work together if we want the best chance for survival, going off on one's own really reduces your chances of being rescued."

*he holds up one of the 'bowls' of food, offering it to both of them.*

He didn't understand her signal...probably thought she had some kind of mental problem.
He just walked steadily towards them, smiling and holding out some food.

Think...think....what to do for the best....

"Yes, working together is always the best option."

She held out her hand for the bowl..

Should I? should I?
Yes...

Suddenly making up her mind, she grabbed the bowl of food, snatched it from the doc's hand and threw it into the eyes of the armed man.
She dived behind the doc, hoping it was a knife she had seen glinting in the mans hand and not a gun, taking advantage of his temporary blindness.

Suddenly making up her mind, she grabbed the bowl of food, snatched it from the doc's hand and threw it into the eyes of the armed man.
She dived behind the doc.

Not the opening I was waiting for... but good enough.

Dropping the other bowl and quickly side-stepping as Karyn dived behind him, Austin reached over and grabbed the nerve cluster on the former pirate's shoulder pressing down, causing Pain to shoot through his arm and neck. the diving knife pressed up and under the pirate's jaw.

"Don't take this the wrong way my new found friend. Your old compatriots abandoned you, left you to die on that ship. now your fate is litterally in my hands."

Pressing down on the nerve cluster, to make sure he doesn't try anything, Austen motioned to Karyn.

"I assume he showed you a gun or a knife? Can you please relieve him of those items?"

"and you... I already have an excuse to take more than just your weapons... " He stared at the man with cold eyes. "Give me an excuse to give you your life."

Karyn, feeling a mixture of disgust and fear towards this person who had helped to kill hundreds and had put an end to what should have been a wonderful new start in life for herself, and just a little pride in the fact that she had helped to instigate the position that man found himself in now, edged towards him.

She grasped the hand that she had seen the flash of metal in, sure enough there was a knife half hidden in his sleeve.
She carefully prised it from his hand and tucked it in the belt of her housecoat.

"Do you think he has another weapon any where?"

The thought of searching this despicable human being filled her with something she had never experienced before...pure hatred.

Little moss here, few fern leafs there. Here's hoping this stuff works.

I cut a short path through the jungle and picked up anything that looked dry enough to burn. The sun glew an angry red as it just kissed the horizon. There wasn't much daylight left, so I descided to head back to beach.

To one side of the cave behind a small thicket the latrine was dug out using the pointed poles and their hands.

The first few inches down the earth was soft and easy to dig out, but the deeper it got, the harder it became.
Ricky was a hard taskmaster, and insisted they dug to about eighteen inches.

When it was the right depth, they collected some long, flexible sticks which Ricky wove together to make a cover, which was placed over the hole.
Shirt sleeves and pyjama legs were used as markers to indicate the way to the cave, and finally he was satisfied with their handiwork.

He re entered the cave and was pleased with that result too.
The woman had finished making beds and it looked pretty comfortable considering.
The burning branch was almost burnt out, leaving a large piece of charcoal in its place.

He climbed back to the top.
The fire was still going well here, thick black smoke curling up high into the air.

Looking out to the ocean, he decided that it was too late to bring the others up here tonight.
The sun was almost down over the horizon, and the reflection in the sea made a picture that almost took his breath away.

Although she felt repulsion at the thought of touching the pirate, she quickly made herself search his clothes for any other weapons.
She turned to the doc.

"He seems not to have any more."

The return glance he gave her was cold, almost as hostile as the pirate she had just searched.
She turned away again, feeling suddenly more alone than she had felt before.

"He seems not to have any more."
*Austin nodded in aknowledgement.*

*He looked back at his captive. a small grin graced his face as the man tried not to show the pain he was in. infact, Anger was more on the forefront.*

"so... what shall we do with you."

*He motioned Karyn to step away from the both of em.*

"the Missionary in me would rather string you up for the crows... or in this case, the crabs, but the doctor in me says otherwise."

*with a shove, Austin pushes the man down and steps back.*

"so I'll let you decide. you can be on your own, in which case, I even think you hurt anyone, I will hunt you down. or you can join us, in which case, everyone will keep an eye on you, but at least your chances of being rescued will increase..."

He studies the man before him.

"or you can take your chances with me, right now, maybe you'll win... maybe not."

*Austin throws the knife into the sand several paces away from the two of them and waits.*