Castaway Ch. 04

The rest of the day was spent hunting for berries, and found one additional bush of them near the clearing I had found previously. I tried to pull another fish from the pond, with no luck. The berries were good, and I ended up eating them all, still feeling hungry afterwards.

That night, I drank a half bottle of water, and sat on the beach again. I must have fallen asleep on the beach, because I woke up feeling the cold air on my face. The warm glow of the sunrise, started to peak out from behind the mountain on my island. I only had a half bottle of water left, and now was out of peanuts and berries.

The waves gave me an idea. I looked on the beach but didn't see what I was looking for. I walked down the coast at least a mile, rounding a bend and BAM, found exactly what I wanted to find. A tide pool. There, at the apex of the mini-inlet was a tide pool that looked to be at least a foot or two deep at the center. I just hoped that something got caught in it, as I was now facing literally starving.

I stood in the water, about waist deep at the center, and hoped that I could catch a fish. I stood for what seemed like forever, but saw nothing moving worth grabbing. I got out, and walked towards the ocean water, wondering if there might be anything out there that I could catch. I floated out to chest depth, and could still see the bottom clearly. I saw fish swimming about, but they were moving pretty quickly. I wasn't too sure of my plan at this point, but stayed with it a bit longer. Eventually, I saw a fish that was maybe about two feet long, and swimming slowly near my legs. Without moving my legs much, I rotated and reached down to try to quickly grab it.

I got a good hold of it, and thought I might actually make it. Problem was that this particular fish had two predators hunting it today. Before I knew what happened, a blur of dark grey swam in my face and bit into the fish, right between my hands. An inch either direction and I could have lost one of my arms. The fish was snatched, by this shark that was, maybe, four to five feet long, fin sticking up proudly out of the water.

Immediately I froze, let it have my catch, and slowly backed away until I felt I was shallow enough that it wouldn't come after me. HOLY SHIT!! I had never seen a shark in person, only on those Discovery Channel shows. Up close and personal, I now knew that I NEVER wanted to fuck with sharks again. I got back to completely dry land, and flopped down on my ass. I was still reeling, but now realized I had another problem. That fucker took my dinner, so now I was going to go hungry again. FUCK!!

With little options, I walked back to my crash site. I was tired as hell. My mouth was dry as a desert now, and my stomach wouldn't stop grumbling. I was in some real shit now, and had no idea what to do. My movie training was running out. I sat, and waited. I really didn't know what I was waiting for anymore, but apparently that's all I could do. Maybe I was just waiting to die. And that fucking parrot still sat, mocking me. It even made some noise this time, a loud squawk, and tilted its head to the side. I didn't care anymore.

My eyelids got very heavy, so I climbed back up into the plane, and fell fast asleep. I awoke with the sunrise, and realized it was going to be another perfect day. It was just too bad that now, without water and food, my day would be miserable. I got down, and just sat on the beach.

At the lowest point in my life, I wondered if I could kill myself with a flare gun? Not likely. Perhaps I could swim out and let the sharks have me? No, that would probably hurt like hell, before actually dying. It's a funny thing, to consider how you are going to die. Most people just think they will die of old age, falling asleep, and never waking up. That was how I had always figured I would go.

I sat contemplating my death, when I heard it. The faint buzzing noise of an approaching airplane. It wasn't very close yet, but I could tell it was heading in my direction. I jumped up, and without much thought, shot the flare gun into my signal fire pile. The flare was mostly just light and smoke, but was actually a source of flame too, so it lit the pile. I stood like a moron, and tried to fan the fire with my arms, to make it grow quickly.

Pretty soon, it was ablaze. I stood back from the heat, and just prayed that the approaching plane saw the smoke. In a last minute thought, I took a stick and wrote out the word HELP in the sand. After an eternity passed, I finally saw it. What a beautiful sight! The plane was coming over the mountains, heading down towards where I was. It flew over, and circled around for another pass. It slowed and I jumped up and down!

Obviously, the plane couldn't land to pick me up, but they did toss a box out at me as it passed over. It had some water in it, along with a blanket. I sat down, drank some of the water, and waited to be properly picked up. Several hours later, a boat finally picked me up, and I was never happier to see anyone in my life. Thank god for the Coast Guard.

"Thank god you guys showed up. Thank you so much," I told them.

They waved it off, as just doing their jobs. Still, I thanked them anyhow. I was checked out by the medic on the boat, and when they returned to their station, ushered me into the base clinic. I was told to rest, and drink lots of water, but otherwise wasn't too worse for the wear. I waited there, and they told me that one of my friends was on the way to pick me up.

I must have fallen asleep while I waited, because the sun was setting when I woke up, to see Shawn standing next to my bed. He smiled, seeing me waking up.

"Shawn, man, am I glad to see you."

"James, I'm just glad you're ok. We were worried sick, after you didn't return. Then word got to us that you had radioed for help, after crashing. Some fishing boat got your message, and relayed it to the Coast Guard."

"Thank god for that. Let's go home," I said.

We left, and he got me back to Moloka'i. As we were walking down the dock, towards my boat, I saw a woman standing next to it. Caitlin. What the fuck is she doing here? I said as much.

"Shawn, what the fuck is she doing here?"

"She showed up, after getting a call from Maddy. I don't know why she's here, but it might do you some good to get closure."

I really didn't want to see her ever again, but he was right. I did need to at least get some answers from the cheating bitch. I wasn't going to make it easy, plus I just got back from being stranded on an island for nearly a week. I didn't have a lot of patience to go around.

"Caitlin, why are you here?"

"James, please. I know I am probably the last person you wanted to see, but I had to come. Maddy called me, and I got on the first plane out."

"Why did you HAVE to come? Wanted to rub my nose in you fucking Cyrus some more?" I replied with venom. The anger that I had pushed aside, was boiling back up quickly.

She had tears in her eyes now, but I wasn't going to let up.

"Caitlin, I came here to try to forget you. It won't work, but I've been trying. I did NOTHING... NOTHING, to deserve what you did to me. I spent my life loving only you..."

"I KNOW!" she wailed. "Please, if you ever cared for me, just hear me out." She sniffled, but got her tears under control.

"Fine." Perhaps I could get some closure, and then be rid of her, for good this time. "I will listen to what you have to say, but then I want you to leave."

She nodded, and I led her back up the dock to a gazebo there, where we could sit. I sat across from her, waiting to hear what she had to say. The anger had simmered down some, but I was still unhappy with this turn of events. I had really just wanted to come back and rest.

"First of all, I truly am sorry for what I did. I know it doesn't mean much now, but I do still love you."

I snorted, then responded, "But not enough, huh?"

"I know I screwed up, and will always regret it. I am just going to tell you everything, and hope that you can forgive me someday."

I waved my hand for her to continue.

"Cyrus started coming on to me several months ago, right around the time you took that contract, to fly supplies for those poor tornado victims in Oklahoma. At first it was just flirting, which I was used to from him. He would come over, every time you flew out and stayed gone overnight. I am not sure, but I think that was when he started planting seeds of doubt about you. He would say things like 'Has James called you yet? I wonder if he hits the bars when he is gone.' Stuff like that."

"And you fell for that bullshit? Did I EVER give you reason to believe I was fucking around on you?"

"Honestly, no, but the way he kept at it, made me think that you might be. I used to kid with you about hitting on younger girls when you were away, and your responses always sounded like a joke. After everything Cyrus was telling me, I started to wonder. I know, I should have just asked you."

"Ok, so that still doesn't answer why you started FUCKING him!"

She winced, shook her head, but kept on. "I know. One of the nights you were away, he came over. After we had a glass of wine, he asked if I had heard from you yet. I told him no, and called you. Do you remember the night I called you, and I think you were at a bar or something?"

"Yeah, I went to a Hooters restaurant, and was eating a late dinner. It was pretty noisy in there. What, did you think I was out at a bar, hunting for someone to fuck?"

"Not at first, but I heard some women in the background, and then you said you had to go. When we hung up, Cyrus said that you liked to sit and drink with some younger women, when you were away. He said he did with you a few times. I was livid, thinking more about it. That added to my anger of your job always taking you away from me."

"OK, fast forward to the part where you slipped, and fell on his dick." I was getting pissed again. This woman could always drive me nuts.

"I am so sorry, for everything." She paused, seeming to weigh her next words. "That night, he slid next to me, and was very comforting. I told myself that I needed the attention, and that if you could get it elsewhere, so could I. That first night, I thought about you, actually. While he was, well... on me, I was thinking about you. It was good, but nowhere close to the loving you and I had. Anyhow, after that night, he came over anytime you were gone. I'm not sure why I kept going back, but we also met at his place a few times, when you were home."

I shook my head. How could I be so blind to all of this? She had been cheating on me for a while. I had suspicions, after finding out he went back after I left town, but the brutal truth hurt, more than I cared to admit.

"That night that you were out with those government guys, Cyrus came over and showed me those pictures. Until that point, I was mad at you for what I thought you had been doing, but those pictures made me so mad, that I felt it was time to really punish you. God I was so stupid. If I had looked at them closer..."

"Wouldn't have made a difference, would it? You had already crossed the line by that point. I can't believe I never saw it coming. You were a really good actress."

"It was never my intention to hurt you, until that night. When he told me you were out with that guy, and his two sleazy assistants, I lost it. I told him that I wanted you to pay. I wanted to show you exactly how it felt, to have your heart trampled on. I'm not saying it was right, just that's how I was thinking at the time."

"Yeah? Well, mission accomplished. You nearly killed me that night, and you also pretty much destroyed the love I had for you as well. I still remember all the good times we've had, but will never be able to go back."

"James, I thought you were cheating on me!"

"I DON'T CARE! You should have confronted me about it! You should have at least shown me the decency, before getting into bed with that snake, and trying your hardest to fuck me over. Did you know he was going to try to kill me? And WHY THE FUCK didn't you call the cops? I would have, but when I went back to the house, it was all cleaned up!"

She had tears again. Good. She should know how badly she hurt me.

"James..." she was sniffling in between words. "I know... I threw away... a great man... for a snake... OH MY GOD!" She put her head down onto the table, on her arms, and just bawled.

This was her show, so I just waited for her to calm down. While sitting, I heard clapping. I turned to my left, and there stood Cyrus. WHAT THE FUCK? Talk about a twilight zone kind of day. I immediately jumped up to confront him. I was going to stride over to him, and do the best Mike Tyson impersonation I could. I got two steps and he pulled a gun on me. Seriously, again?

"Damn, Cyrus, what the FUCK did I ever do to you? I had thought we were friends, but obviously I was VERY wrong about that. This is the second time you have pulled a fucking gun on me."

He leveled the gun at me. It looked much bigger than the last one he had. I had no illusions about being lucky enough to have the bullet stop before entering my body this time.

"James, James, James. You poor bastard. You really have no clue, do you?"

I was simply staring at him, no idea what he was talking about yet. I made my confusion clear. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

He snickered, smiled, and looked pleased with himself. Thankfully, I have a few good friends, and Shawn appeared at his side. He had a gun pointed at Cyrus' head, and told him to lower his gun.

"Sorry I'm late. I saw this asshole creeping up on you guys, and figured something like this would happen."

Cyrus growled, but did as he was told. He turned to me again, and with a complete look of contempt, floored me with his next words.

"My mother was having an affair, and my dad found out. Wanna guess who the lucky guy was? Timothy Holmes."

If my face reflected even a tenth of the shock I felt, it would have been enough.

"Yeah, your dear old dad was banging my mom. You always wanted to know why they divorced, right? Well, now you know. I didn't find out right away, but when I did, I planned my revenge on you all!"

"WAIT A MINUTE! You're trying to tell me, that because my dad was an asshole, and fucked your mom, that I deserved ANY of the SHIT you dealt me? I thought you were my FRIEND, you ASSHOLE!"

He just glared at me, with obvious hate in his eyes. "I couldn't stand to see you so happy. Your parents were still together, AND you had your GOODY TWOSHOES family. Meanwhile, I was miserable. My parents never talk to each other, and when they do, they fight. I will NEVER forgive your family. I got my revenge on your parents, and now I have gotten my revenge on you."

What he said, gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach. Did he just admit to having something to do with my parents' accident?

"What did you just say?" I growled.

Cyrus had an evil look on his face, almost as if he enjoyed telling us all his dirty secrets, his dark plans.

"You heard me. I messed with their car that night. The storm wasn't planned, but it didn't really matter in the end anyway."

"I can't believe I let this happen," Caitlin mumbled, shaking her head. She had tears rolling down her rosy cheeks, and looked on the verge of losing her last meal.

"I'm done with this shit. I'm calling the police, and you are going to ROT in jail, Cyrus!" I yelled at him.

I reached into my pocket for my phone, and Cyrus raised his gun again, and then there was a loud BANG! My ears were ringing like I had just returned from a Rock concert, but when I looked in front of me, Cyrus was lying on the ground, blood pouring out of a hole in the side of his head. I looked up to Shawn, and nodded my thanks. There must have been a ton of adrenaline coursing through my veins, because I was amped. I kicked his corpse in the groin, as about my only outlet for all the anger I felt.

When my rage slowly dissipated, I plopped down onto the bench next to Caitlin. "It's finally over," I let out. "I think now would be a good time to call the police, don't you?"

Both nodded their agreement, so I did. I explained the situation, and they had a few units on site in short order. It isn't every day that there is a shooting on this island. They took our statements, and processed the scene. Caitlin and I didn't have to wait around after they questioned us, so we went back down the dock to my boat. The police said not to go anywhere too far away, until they concluded their investigation.

I had no doubt about what they would find, about Cyrus. My main worry was whether Shawn would get charged with something or not. We got below deck, and I offered my ex-wife a drink.

"So where does this leave us?" asked Caitlin.

"Be the best parents we can for our daughter. Beyond that, there really isn't an 'US' anymore, Cait. I'm sorry, but there is just too much water under that bridge now."

She nodded slightly, with moist eyes. "You're right, of course. I could have prevented all of this, but will have to live with my decisions. I still regret everything, and wish we could rewind and have a do-over."

"I know, but that's never gonna happen. Cait, for what it's worth, I do forgive you."

"Thanks, I guess that's more than I probably deserve."

There really wasn't much else to say to each other. I told her she could bunk in one of the spare berths for the night, and wished her a good life when she left in the morning. I was just glad to be home, and also very relieved that Cyrus would no longer haunt me. Having the discussion I did with Caitlin, while it had been brutally painful, also helped to fill in some of the blanks. I didn't feel better because of it, but it did seem to put the issues between us to rest.

After she rode off in a taxi, I got a call from my daughter. She was obviously concerned with my health, and was asking me questions at a mile a minute.

"What happened? Are you OK? Mom called, is she ok, too? She said she was going to you, is she there? Is she OK?"

"Slow down, slow down, honey. Everything is OK now. I got rescued, after my plane crashed. Your mother is heading back to Virginia, and I am fine." I could hear a light sob on the other end, "Honey, are you ok?"

"Yeah dad, just really glad that you're safe. I got a call from your friend Shawn, saying you went missing. I was stressing out big time, and mom asked why. I had to tell her, sorry dad."

"It's ok, Maddy. I'm glad she came out, actually. We finally had an extremely overdue conversation about things."

"Yeah? How'd that go?" she asked, sounding a bit too hopeful.

I tried to let her down gently, "Honey, we were able to talk about things, but it doesn't change what has happened. We will both be around for you, no matter what, and that was about the best outcome. We should be fine to be around each other, when you need us to be, OK?"

"OK. I guess I just hoped that things could have turned out differently, that's all."

"I know." I took a deep breath, and sighed. "Maddy, I want you to understand something. I loved your mom more than anything in the world, with you being a VERY close second. She loved me too, but that wasn't enough for her. I can't change that. Don't make the same mistakes that we made. Make sure to keep a very open line of communication with whoever you love, even if it's something painful. The only other thing I can say, is that no matter what, always stick to your promises. I do my best to always follow-through with my promises, because that's what I expect others to do. You know, it's really just the old 'Golden Rule'."

"I know..."

I could hear her sniffles again, so decided to change course. "Ok, well enough about me. How's school going? How's Sarah doing?"

She laughed for a good solid minute. "That's my dad! Just got back from being stranded after crashing, and he wants to know about my school and love life. Priceless!"