Annika's Islands Ch. 02

Darian cautiously made his way over, prodding the shiny thing with his now ever-present stick. "Good call!" He smiled widely, hefting the object up. It was a pitcher, a large insulated metal one that was found aboard most VIP planes, typically used to serve hot drinks.

Honestly, I didn't know why he seemed so happy with it. We had bottles to carry water. He'd even told me we could carry water in one of the rafts, if necessary.

He was carefully examining it as he walked back to me, "This was an awesome stroke of luck, 'Nik. We could be eating crab stew tonight!"

I mentally face-palmed myself. Of course he could use it as a pot. I'm an idiot some times.

Whistling now, he held my hand as we walked down the... really it was quite a breathtaking beach. The bleach-white sand curved in a crescent around the ocean in a sort of natural harbor. The water was absolutely clear, blue, beautiful. I'd spotted several species of fish, though we'd have to test anything unfamiliar the same way we would be testing the mushrooms.

It was so different from Tokyo, Kyoto, Chicago, or even our old hometown. The air was fresh, clean. It was as if we were the only people in the world – Adam and Eve.

"What's that?" He pointed in the distance. We both jogged over to investigate the odd blemish in an otherwise perfect beach.

"Looks like a campsite or something," I guessed. There were a few sun-bleached stumps sticking out of the sand, as well as a circle of rocks that could barely be made out in the center.

He voiced his agreement, pulling up an old bottle, "Anheiser Beer, Circa 1946." He checked the bottle out a bit, "We might be able to clean this out, looks to be mostly filled with sand. Worst case scenario I can use the glass as spear or arrowheads."

My heart was pounding in my chest. I was surprised I'd been so worried about the campsite. I was rather ashamed to realize I didn't want our little "Vacation" to end just yet. Maybe... just maybe...

He pulled out a rusted hunk of metal that looked vaguely like a pot. "Don't think we'll be able to clean this out though. Still, "He dusted off most of the sand and put it into his backpack.

I helped him pick out a few more empty bottles, and we decided that was enough for the day. Scavenging useful bits of junk wouldn't put food in our bellies, or water in our veins.

Just as that thought entered my head, I caught a glint from the shore. This time I knew exactly what the slightly shiny object was.

"Dibs!" I yelled, dashing for the shoreline like a mad-woman.

"HEY!" He called out after me.

I giggled as he chased me, laughter erupting from me for the first time in days. I kicked up water as I hit the ocean and snatched up my prize, holding it above my head like a trophy.

"I-got-the-Thing!" I crowed, proudly.

Darian stopped dead in his tracks, staring at me with an absolutely stunned expression... and promptly burst into a delirious fit of laughter.

I grinned, giggling madly too. It was so very odd, the two of us laughing ourselves silly on an abandoned beach.

"You...and... dun nuh nuh, Nuh!" He managed, falling to his knees. It took us a while to regain our senses. Finally, wiping his tears, he sat down beside me in the sand. "Really, 'Nik. A Zelda joke?"

I smirked, "It just came to me."

He rolled his eyes, grabbing the bag of chips I'd found, and eyeballed it breifly. "Well at least it's not a bag of hot Cheetos."

I made a face, we both disdained those. "I don't mind Doritos, though. Especially ranch."

He nodded in agreement and helped me up. Abruptly, he slipped his arm under my knees and picked me up off the ground. "Eep!" I squeaked, rather girlishly. Why did he make me act like a dumb teenager all the time?

"Dare-ee-AN!" I yelped as he tossed me in the water, ass-first. I splashed and sputtered, "What the hell was that for?"

He stood over me with this large, strong arms crossed over his broad chest, and that coupled with his blond hair made him a very good representation of some towering Greek god. "Needed to get the sand off of you somehow," He explained casually, but was betrayed by the slightest upturn to one corner of his lips. Something only I would notice.

I splashed him, "Oh, and I'm just getting the sand off of you!"

He quickly dived under the water, streaking past me like a missile. I dove after him – we were both quite competent swimmers. We'd gone snorkeling four times in Kyoto, and loved it.

I emerged right next to him, "Dare?"

He flipped some water from his head, still smiling, "Hmm?"

I unconsciously bit my lip, "Uhm." Comon, girl. Out with it. "This is a... ah, really beautiful place. I mean of all the places to be stuck on." Chicken. Buck buck buckaa!

He allowed himself to float up onto his back, closing his eyes. I was never able to do that. "It really is."

I treaded water next to him, "I've... I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you, I was acting stupid." There, that's a good girl, I told myself.

He took a breath, sinking back down to swim next to me, "No need to apologize, really. I'm always talking about logic and common sense, about not pushing opinions on other people." He placed both hands on my sides; apparently he was tall enough to reach the bottom. "And I go and tell you what to think and how to feel. I'm sorry 'Nik. You've every right to be pissed at me. I was wrong."

Hope fluttered in my chest as I hugged him tightly. Was this really happening? Had he finally stopped denying he had feelings for me? That nothing else mattered, not our family, not what our friends would think or how society thought we should act? I knew, deep down in my soul that he was right for me, that no other man could ever satisfy me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically the way that he could... would.

Tears erupted and I gripped him tighter, letting go of my frustration.

"I should have explained to you how I, personally couldn't... how I can't take that step. I tried to explain it away, but the real reason is I can't..." He trailed off.

My heart sank like a thousand pounds of stone. Damn it.

I just cried harder.

It was better back at our makeshift shelter. We'd driftwood for seats, a nice small fire Darian created with the reading glasses he'd found in the small bag. The fire crackled gently, and the brown and white mushrooms he'd found were roasting steadily, speared on a stick along with most of a small crab we'd caught on the way back.

I'd helped him deflate one of the boats, and it made for good shade, as well as the semi-deflated floatation vests that doubled nicely as cushions.

I kept myself busy; there was plenty to do. Gathering and folding clothes, cleaning out the bottles and containers we'd collected. When I returned from the water, he let me take over the cooking as he assembled some sort of device out of pieces of raft, sticks, and the metal pitcher.

I was trying very hard not to think about us. Or the fact he was so clearly in denial about us. I wasn't stupid, and I prided myself on being really good at reading people.

Darian would look at me... I doubted he realized how he did it. And his body would respond to my presence, always seeming to turn towards me. He'd find reasons to touch me, lean against me, brush loose strands of hair behind my ears.

I was sure he'd chalk it up to being "brotherly" but I knew better. I'd known for a long time. And yet... for the first time since he came back, I felt defeated. I'd been fighting so hard the past week... trying to get him to come to grip with his feelings.

Seducing him, more like, I admonished myself. I just felt... cheated. Like he'd hit me at my weakest, and what was worse, it hadn't even been intentional on his part.

For the first time in a long time, that fire that had driven me to pursue a relationship with him was burnt out. It left me feeling hollow, cold on the inside. There was no anger left in me, no spite, no frustration. Only that same deep longing and familiar but unwelcome sadness.

He snapped his laptop at the hinges, handing me the screen portion upside-down. Its chrome finish facing up, "This will do for a plate."

He watched me carefully as I simply took it and nodded, "Food's done." His lips parted for a moment, while he looked at me. They abruptly closed and he turned away.

He filled the metal pitcher up with seawater, and positioned it carefully over the fire, near its edge. "I hope this works. The steam will condense on this strip of plastic, run down and drip into the water bottle. This is just backup, really, if we don't find water anywhere else."

I cast an appraising glance at the rigged-together device, "We can scrape it out when it's empty for the salt."

"I was thinking that. If we're stuck here for a long time we could even make jerky, and salt would make that easier and far more palatable."

I blinked, having no idea how jerky was made – or what meat he'd use for it. Snake jerky, maybe? I suppressed a shudder.

Our meal was eaten mostly in silence. What few words that were said were necessary – how he'd have a small sliver of the white mushroom, I'd have an equal portion of the brown one. It tasted surprisingly good, but the crab was delicious to my empty stomach. What bits of it I avoided, he forced himself to eat, and we saved the crossest bits to use as fish-bait.

"Does your watch still work?" He asked me, looking down at his own.

"Yep," I responded without much enthusiasm.

"Same here. The sun is pretty much overhead now – local noon. We should set them to 12:00, that way we'll be able to keep track if we're in the woods or if it's overcast."

Not really understanding, or perhaps caring, I just nodded and reset my watch. I was thirsty, but decided against drinking from one of the water bottles. I just sat under the yellow shade, with my head perched on my fists, watching the fire crackle, the beads of water slowly dripping into our one empty plastic bottle. The old beer bottles still looked gross, but they were as clean as I could get them via rinsing.

I was... numb. This situation was hardly even a factor in my mind. We'd be rescued soon, go back to our individual lives. I'd either rarely see him like the past year, or he'd make an effort to visit me. Either option was equally horrible; him being there but never being mine, or not having him in my life at all.

The fire crackled on. Steam condensed. Water dripped. And I felt completely alone.

Darian

She's been like that for two hours, now Darian. Why the hell haven't you done anything about it? This thought elicited mainly from Guilt, a rather distraught representation of my psyche.

She's just dealing with this whole thing. Sometimes it takes a while to sink in. I'm giving her time to adapt. Besides, I'm right here if she needs me.

Bullshit.

She's not acting like this because of... the other thing. I frowned.

It's sad you can't even admit it to yourself. Can't even think the words "She's upset you finally destroyed any hope of being with you." Wake up! You saw the look on her face. The change in her after you told her "I can't."

I clearly could visualize Love when he 'spoke,' And you know very well you can. I always saw him as a version of myself with wings, armor, and a sword. I affectionately dubbed him "The Arch-Angel Darian Love."

But at this particular moment, I hated him. She's. My. Fucking. Sister! She's five years younger than I. She's immature when it comes to relationships. It's just a fucking crush! She'll get over me.

Love laughed, You Love her.

Need her, Emo chimed in. Emo was just that, your typical a-typical emo-kid. Black hair cut sideways in the low hanging bangs that covered one eye and half his face.

So what if I do? For just a moment, consider what a full-fledged relationship with her would mean? Even if it was more than a crush, and we're soulmates that complete each other in every way – So what? We'll live together, get married, have kids? In what country? On what planet? We'd be locked up, separated, shunned. Our kids would be born with fucking webbed feet, or worse!

Adoption or artificial insemination. As for the rest, fuck it. Love is not bound by idiotic human law, Love's wings ruffled.

Pussy's pussy, Lust snorted.

You'd happily give anything for her life, Darian. Guilt commented. Won't you do the same for her happiness?

And your own? Emo added.

Enough! Denial shouted mentally.

Funny. Denial looked exactly like me, not a bit different.

* * *

"The creek looks great if you don't mind bird shit and some kind of nasty green goo."

It was a few hours later, and we'd set out in search of fresh water. The steam condensing method would net us maybe a bottle of water a day; I didn't want to rely on it.

I picked at the ground in front of me with my crude spear to flush out any snakes. "Well the water here looks pretty stagnant. This must be rainwater or something. Let's just keep making our way towards the mountain."

My sister didn't respond, just carefully made her way back towards me.

God this is torture. I took a deep breath. I think I'd prefer it if she were still acting like a bitch.

"How's your leggings?" I asked, pointing at the strips of leather covering her lower legs. I'd ripped up my old beaten-up leather jacket for use as armor. I doubted a few layers of cloth covered with faded leather would do much, but it was the most protection I could make for us.

"Sweaty and itchy," She answered, monotone. She didn't act as if they were bothering her as she stood in front of me. She hadn't looked me in the eye since earlier that morning. She just stared at the ground, poking at it with the butt of her spear.

My heart tore a little more.

It was about 4pm local when we stopped for a break, finding a slight clearing around a fallen log. There were no mosquitoes, no gnats, and no ants. Insects were mostly chitaneous, hard shelled and fairly large. They were also probably edible, but I hoped it would never come to that.

We ate another couple of slices from our mushrooms, mostly because we were experiencing no ill side effects, and also because we were famished, and sat for a breather.

I tilted my head to the side. What was that noise?

"Darian?" Her tone was lighter, almost a watered-down version of excited.

I immediately got up, "Yes?"

"This bush has some red things on it," she gestured.

I took a quick look at it, noting the abundant red, berry-like spheres ranging in size from tiny greenish hued pebbles to large balls twice the size of a large grape.

I picked one, sniffed it. Fruity, pleasant. I cut into it with my pocket knife, finding it abundantly juicy. Shrugging, I flicked out the small pit and popped half of the berry into my mouth.

"Wait!" She yelped, staring at me, dumbfounded. Perhaps that's why I'd done it.

"Oh wow! You gotta try this!" I was dripping juice from my lips. It felt like biting into a huge grape, yet tasted closer to a strawberry. I held the other half of the fruit to her lips.

She took it, rolling it around her mouth for a minute. She looked at me, her face finally holding an emotion.

I smiled, "Five each, and we'll pick a few dozen extra. If we feel all right in a couple hours, we'll have enough saved up for a nice dessert tonight."

"Gremtible," she tried to say around three of the largest berries she could fit in her mouth.

My smile grew wider. Maybe she was starting to feel better. Somehow, I doubted it.

I frowned as we picked berries, taking a moment to listen. "Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"Sounds like..." I trailed off, hefting my mostly empty backpack. I grabbed my spear and made my way towards the noise. It took nearly a half hour at the snail's pace we were forced to travel.

The trees ended suddenly, giving way to the cause of the noise: a three story high waterfall, surrounded by foliage-covered cliffs with a gradual incline. The fall ended in a vast lake that was crystal clear and around the size of a football field.

"Well, guess we found some water." Annika noted dryly.

"I think I see a couple caves," I pointed towards the top of the fall. The lake was surrounded by smooth, black pebbles and rocks. Oddly enough, the waterfall didn't seem to run anywhere – I could see no river or stream leading out. Just the waterfall, and the large lake.

I found the water mirror-like when we reached its edge – able to clearly see all the way to the bottom. The rocks beneath sparkled like black diamond glinting in the sunlight.

Throwing caution to the wind (their wasn't even any algae) I brought a handful of water to my lips, finding it tasted clean, cool but not cold, and thoroughly refreshing after rationing water all day.

I splashed my face, defusing some of the heat that builds up after walking all day in when it's 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade.

"We should boil any water to make it safe. But I'm fucking thirsty," 'Nik noted, stripping off her leather leggings, blouse, and shoes, "And hot."

She dove into the water, streaking visibly under the surface. When she emerged, she was under the fall, clearly reveling in the sensation of fresh, clean water pelting her face and shoulders.

Not to be outdone, I joined her, quickly stripping down to my boxers. For those few glorious moments I just enjoyed the cool water, the gentle ripples that echoed along the surface from the fall, the feeling of weightlessness as I floated on my back. After a moment I dived beneath the surface, touching the bottom.

"-ve back here," I caught, just as I emerged from the water.

"What's that?" I slicked my hair back, wiping water out of my eyes.

"There's a cave behind the fall."

I swam over quickly, penetrating the shroud of misty water. Indeed there was an opening in the rock, a foot above the water. How it got there, I couldn't even begin to guess, but the thought running through my head was of only one thing. It'd be awfully hard for any snakes or bugs to get in here.

Even more strange was how well lit the inside was. The moist wall was smooth, and seemed to reflect light down a short tunnel and then veered around a corner.

"Should we check it out?" she asked, peering over the edge.

"Can't think of any reason not to. I doubt any bears live here." Not that I believed any bears to be on the island at all.

I did go back to our supplies to fetch my spear, knife, and a dozen berries or so in a little portion of plastic from our deflated raft. If I can't kill anything dangerous in there, maybe I'd be able to distract it with food.

Hauling myself into the cave, I looked back at my sister, "Stay a good five steps behind me, ok?"

She shook her head, "No."

I sighed, "Stay behind me, at least." I didn't wait for her reply, but she didn't pass me as I approached the corner... slowly.

The tunnel opened up into a large, well lit area. The ceiling must have been as high as the waterfall outside, and was smooth save for the occasional small stalagmite.

Didn't expect this, I thought, shocked.

To the left was a burbling, bubbling hot spring, spewing a fair amount of steam into the air, along with the faintest whiff of something like sulphur. Far to the right I saw where the fall led – an interior series of streams. At some points, rock overlapped the stream, making natural short bridges to the far section of the ave. High overhead there must have been an opening of some sort because a beam of sunlight shone direction on the smooth floor on the other side of the stream.