Island Rush (47 page)

“Do you plan on telling me why I am doing this for you?  I’m not doing this every time we catch a fish.”

“It’s just this one time we need the bones if what I plan works out.  As for what it is, you’ll see tomorrow.”

“We are doing something different tomorrow other than fishing?”

He sighed. “No, but we’ll be trying something new.”

“I better not be doing this for some reason involving a bed,” I warned.

He laughed and bent down to kiss my check.  “Sorry to disappoint you, but it has nothing to do with a bed.”

My hands were full of slime, my fingers digging into the fish with the knife’s assistance.  After I was able to get a few bones out, I set them on the other side of the leaf, the tiny and sharp white pieces glowing in the firelight.

Out of the silence that settled comfortably between us came a noise from Casey. It was his stomach growling. I looked up to him, and he met my eyes.  I must have looked worried. “After going without food for so long, eating the amount we did won’t be satisfying.  Plus, that fish wasn’t that big to begin with,” he said.

“Yeah, but we have been here for how long, and we are still struggling to adjust.  And, we will be here for much longer.”

He nodded, “When we do adjust, though, our stomachs will get used to this.”

I pursed my lips and returned to working on removing the many bones in the fish.  It was actually getting annoying.  How many bones can one little fish contain?

After a minute of silence again, I pondered over what he said.  I wasn’t sure if I should say this, but he had to be wondering the same thing as me. “Do you ever wonder if we are going to die if we don’t get off this island?” I didn’t meet his eyes, needing them to continue working on the little bit that was left.  Only a few more bones to go.

After a second in thought, he answered, “Yes, I do.”

“Do you wonder when that will happen?  Like how much longer we can take living like this.”

“Yeah.  I wonder about that and sometimes worry.”

“Do you think we will ever be found?” I asked and with the final bone set aside, I moved the leaf out of the way for now.  I looked up at him now that I was finished.

His eyes were lost in the fire, his face blank, all except his eyebrows that remained dipped in thought. “No.  I don’t think we will be found.  But... that’s okay,” he said looking to me.

“What do you mean that’s okay?” I wondered.

It tainted some of my small subconscious hope. Being on this island at first was awesome because it meant I wasn’t at home and didn’t need to deal with my issues.  Even now, I would stay here if I had a choice but I couldn’t be selfish.  I knew that I needed to go home if given the opportunity.  My brother and father couldn’t go free, and that was something I had to make happen if I ever went home. 

“I’m fine with staying here.  I miss my family like crazy but I’m with you here,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“You said though that you worry and wonder about dying.”

“Yes, it’s hell trying to live with barely any, food and it’s only been over a month.  But, how can we die?  It would take a few weeks to actually starve, and we could always get food by then.  The main reason is that you’re here with me.  You are here with me, and that means, even if I do die, it will be with you and my real self.”

“Your real self?” I asked with a small smile.

He nodded. “You saw how much of an ass I was.  But what if it wasn’t just Jill that made me that way?  I am positive that she is the reason I became that way, but what if other things contributed to it?  The world is sick and cruel.  It beats you down just because you try to live your life.  Sure, if we got the opportunity to leave, I would take it, but I don’t mind being here because I don’t want to lose you.  I don’t want to lose myself again either.”

I smiled and felt my heart jump at nearly every word.  It made sense not to want to leave.  It made sense to leave anyway if given the chance.  I never did consider that he may be afraid of becoming like he was before, but I can understand that. 

I lifted myself to a kneeling position, not using my disgusting hands in the process, and I pressed my lips to his.  He gripped both my arms to keep me steady as he kissed me back.

When we broke apart, I could only stare, “You are so beautiful, Casey, too beautiful and strong of a person. You don’t need to worry about becoming that man again.  You never were that man.  You were just lost for a while.”

He smiled, and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before I got to my feet.  In the darkness, my eyes scanned over the grass.  Bending over, I took the pile I made of bones and set them on a new leaf, and then I picked up the old, slimy one and walked to the creek.  I tossed it in and watched it swim towards the ocean before I thoroughly washed my hands off with the cold current.

After that, I walked back to where the fire glowed and where Casey was sitting.  I sat back down next to him and rested my head on his shoulder.  His words were quite accurate now that I thought about it.  Though it may seem cowardly, I couldn’t help but agree with him.  We may be here forever and die, but despite that, we wouldn’t have the world trying to taint our lives.  

Chapter 49

I woke from a movement over my lips and something pressing against me.  I moaned and wanted more sleep, but the movement wouldn’t stop.  It was soft and nice, warm and smooth.  Behind my eyelids came fuzzy red light, and it warmed my skin as the soft texture moved over my mouth.  I didn’t want to open my eyes but rather fall back to sleep. I tried, but soon there was another movement.  With something moving softly over my mouth, something brushed my hair softly as well.

As it continued to move, the more conscious I became.  I knew the red light was the sun against my eyelids.  With the movement on my lips and hair, a picture snapped into my mind immediately of what it might be. 

When it stopped, I finally opened my eyes to see Casey’s brown eyes there leaning over me, his beautiful face an inch from mine.  I guessed right.  I was lying on my back with him laying lightly over me.  I smiled as he reached back down to kiss my lips softly again, his hand stroking back my hair as his other brushed against my cheek.

When he slowly took his mouth back, his eyes opening left their clear mark on me, my heart jumping in my chest.  He smiled softly before he rested his head on my chest, lying on me as his finger made circles and designs along my side.

I took a deep breath as I slipped a hand to his head, making my own repeating pattern as I stroked his hair.  We continued to lie there silently for a minute more, enjoying each other’s presence before I finally spoke. “That had to be the sweetest wake-up call I ever received.”

He looked up and stopped his hand, concentrating on my face.  “You deserve it, my love.  Do you know why you had a wake-up call?”

“Why?”

“I knew you would rather see my face than sleep anymore.”

I laughed and shook my head.  “You are so sweet, then your ego steps in.  What am I going to do with you?”

“You are going to have to deal with it.”

I scoffed. “I guess so.”

I took his hand in mine as we continued to lay there, the slight breeze present among the terrible heat.  “How did you sleep?” he asked me a second later.

“Okay, I guess.  Are you still obsessing over a bed?” I chuckled.

“Yes. That’s why I’m up now.”

“What do you mean?”

He smiled. “I’ll show you.”

“Are you not hungry or something?  All we should be doing is focusing on food.”

He kissed me softly again before sitting up, “I know.  And I think our problem is fixed.”

I sat up too and looked at him, confused, “What?”

He chuckled. “Just let me show you.”

I groaned as I sat up and stretched, getting to my feet.  He took my hand and pulled me along, towards the bank of the creek.  Then he turned and guided me along the creek, towards the ocean.

“You know, I just woke up and don’t know what you want me to see.  You should carry me. I’m still very tired.”

“Keep dreaming, sweetheart.  I might be your Superman, but I don’t have his wicked cool powers.”

“What powers does he have?  Oh, the power to charm a woman…”

“Or to carry people half way around the world in a second,” he chuckled.  “And I do have his power to charm women, thank you very much.”

I laughed.  “You keep thinking that.”

I honestly didn’t have a clue or really understand what we were doing.  His brown eyes glowed in the sunlight as he watched me with amusement. 

“I don’t need to convince myself of it if it’s already a fact,” he said.

“You charming women?  Ever think that maybe I settled for you?”

“Nope.  You think I’m perfect, and you want me bad for yourself.  I charm you all the time.”

“You’re not too charming right now,” I smiled, happy to hear him in such a good and playful mood this morning.  It brightened my day as it was just beginning.

“You’ll think I’m amazing in a minute when you see what I did,” he said, a smirk on his face as we continued towards the beach.  His eyes were glowing with excitement.  I knew he was right, and he must have done something amazing. 

When we reached the beach and open sand, Casey didn’t pause. Our feet were satisfied to be away from the hot sand that scorched our feet after we walked down and closer to the water. Now, standing among the scattered stones and some massive rocks in the shallow water, the chilly liquid washed past our ankles and up the shore.  The shallow water was clear as crystal as usual.  All except for a small white piece floating that Casey had to point out to me.

When he pointed out the extremely tiny white piece a few feet away in the water, I stared at it, wondering what it was.  Then I wondered why it wasn’t being pushed further up the shore.  I bent forward and squinted to see if I could identify what it was.  I saw something thin and long, barely visible in the water.  It was connected to the white thing.  The strange white object was floating on the end of what I realized was a long thin line.  My eyes followed the line up and out of the water.  I saw that the line was straining from where it was being held by the rocks, which weighed down the stick that the line was tied to.  Realizing what this obviously was, my eyes widened.

I turned and looked up to Casey.  I raised an eyebrow towards him and in return, I received a smug smile. It was because he knew he was right.  He was pretty awesome.  Who else could have thought of this? 

“Isn’t this great?” he asked and smiled, sharing my growing happiness at what this might mean.

“Oh yeah!” I said, still wondering how he pulled off making a fishing line. 

“This doesn’t mean we stop learning how to aim,” he said. “This might not even work.”

“I know but it might!  How did you do this?”

“Simple,” he said.  “I took one of the fish bones that was small and bent into the shape of a hook.  Then, I ripped the hem of a tee-shirt from one of the suitcases, took a loose thread, and pulled it.  The string started to unravel, and I kept that up until I had a long string.”  He nodded towards the string in the water as he continued. “It’s strong enough string.  I folded it over a couple times.”

I smiled and shook my head.  He was so amazing and creative.  The belt he made for me, the shells for water, finding the flint, the two spears he made, the slingshot… Now, he basically made us a makeshift fishing pole!

“Then you wrapped it around a thick stick to keep the extra line wrapped up.  And the rocks are holding down the stick with the string,” I observed like before. It was such a fantastic idea. 

He smiled. “Yep.  I even have a little piece of a worm on the end,” he laughed. “It felt like that was the easiest part, just digging for a worm.”

I was impressed.  He came up with this idea, made it by the time I woke up, and it was already in use.  I think he was able to see how blown away I was since I couldn’t say anything.  So he continued, speaking with a proud voice, “So is Superman, the only man that can charm women?”

I snickered. “Fine. You are amazing and charming and all that other crap.”  He chuckled, but I went on, wanting to know one thing.  “But how did you think of this?”

He smiled and took my hand, guiding me closer to the rocks that held the stick and string.  Now I could see how he did it.  The stick was being held down by the rocks, and the string left over was wrapped around it.  The line itself consisted of multiple strings twisted together.

Glancing back over to him, he smiled and took my hand before answering. “The initial idea just came to me when I started cutting into the fish.  Then, when you were tearing the dead fish open last night, I saw how small and sharp some of those bones were.  I thought anything that was sharp could be useful in some way.  Then this snapped into my mind.”

I smiled. “So, this is what we are doing today then?”

“Well, I thought that maybe you could continue trying to spear a fish since we both know you have the best chance of doing so.  You do that down the beach a ways.  If you miss and scare the fish, then they would swim this way.  That way there is still another chance for us to snag them.”

I thought it over and nodded. “That’s a good idea.  But if I miss, why would they get scared and move this way?  They could go in any direction.”

“Where has most of the fish we have seen been swimming?  In what direction?”

I realized he was right.  I never noticed that before.  Being out here when we tried to spear a fish, I put all my focus on catching one.  I never bothered to care where it was heading.  Apparently, Casey noticed, though.

I nodded. “The current.  They swim with the current.”

He nodded as well.  “That way, if you miss, the fish will come towards me.  But you’re going to have to do this on the other side of the beach, further away from this spot so you don’t do it too close.  By the time the fish head towards me, they at least need to have calmed down enough to swim normally and see the hook.  First, though, we need to go back and get the spear.”

I shook my head and smiled.  How was he able to think of these things, come up with these ideas?  It was brilliant.  He was brilliant, and he did this all the time too. 

“What?” he asked when he saw me smile widely.

“You!” I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms up around his neck, holding him close as I smirked.  “You are so awesome at this stuff.  I can’t believe you ever thought you couldn’t make it on the island.  You were so freaked out and wanted me to stay with you because you were scared when we first got here.  You could have done it, though.  You know how to use the island and resources to our advantage.  Every small thing, there is a use for it, and you find what that is.  I could have never been so open minded and creative to come up with ideas to help us.  The shells, the spear, the belt…”

His smile only grew as his eyes searched mine.  “Remember, though,” he said. “What about being alone?  I couldn’t have survived that and neither could you.  We would have gone insane.  I felt I was going insane on my own when you took off for that night when we were fighting about the phone.  I don’t want to imagine what it would be like here without you.”

I felt my heart swarm in my chest again, my breath increasing.  In the shallow water where we stood, I pushed my mouth up to his.  I made tiny nips and kisses against his lips, smiling.  I knew he felt it because he began to chuckle against my lips.  Without breaking, the small chuckle still there as I kissed him, his hand on my side slid down to my thighs, and he swung me up.

I squealed in surprise and laughed with him as he held me bridal style in his arms, his mouth cutting mine off as he kissed me again, holding me close to him.  My arms still wrapped around his neck, I let go and cupped his cheeks as his laugh vibrated against my mouth.  He broke away as he began to walk back up the beach with me, laughing out loud.

“What are you doing?” I asked as we reached the creek.  He walked up to the grassy banks along it, continuing up the stream.

“Isn’t this what all the charmers do?” he said.  Before he could give me an answer, his strong stride with purpose became a struggling one that ended with me landing on my ass and Casey on his stomach. 

It happened so fast, we never expected it.  We should have, though.  It wasn’t like the forest wasn’t covered with uneven grounds and roots.  And when we just stared at each other, too shocked to say anything at first, he slowly shifted and looked behind him at what made him fall and drop me.  In this case, it was a root that took us down. 

When he turned back to look at me, his cheeks flooded with embarrassment, and he quickly got to his feet again, brushing himself off, not saying a word.  All I could do was bite my lip to hold in my laughter.  That was hopeless because soon, Casey was looking down at me as I shook in fits of laughter.  He raised his eyebrows and waited, not seeing how this was funny.  So, I gave him the answer to the question that he asked before he fell.

“No, it’s just what Casey does.  Other charmers have good balance and reflexes,” I said laughing.

His expression cracked, and he shook his head, looking away and laughing too.  When he looked back down to me, he closed his eyes and smiled before opening them again, connecting to my gaze. “You’re something else you know that?  I guess I can only be a charmer when I don’t move.”

“Good thing you’re not all of a woman’s man then.  If you were a dancer, though….  God, that would be embarrassing,” I said and chuckled as I saw his face take in my words. 

“That… was crossing the line!” he yelled in mock outrage, holding his laughter back.  “That tells me just how appreciated I am!”  He started to stalk on without me, his back to mine.  I couldn’t stop laughing, not only at what happened but how now, it was one of those games again.

“Casey!” I yelled after him.  “Superman wouldn’t leave me here on the ground!”

He stopped but dropped his head dramatically, calling back to me but not turning around. “Then call him to help!  I’ve lost.  He wins this war… I’m not a ladies’ man!  There is no title to reclaim.”

He started to slowly walk on now, dramatically dragging his feet.  I chuckled, never knowing what to expect.  I got to my feet and jogged to catch up to him as I played along.