Flotsam and Jetsam

The ladies' colorful summer dresses were surprisingly still mostly intact, but a few earth tones were now added. Most men had reverted to just underpants, which made them look weak and a bit silly, at least compared to Liam's daredevil look.

The group kept itself busy by doing mind-numbingly boring things, like playing tic tac toe in the sand, and I still envied them. Human contact was the one thing I was missing most.

They had fallen into some kind of mutual inert depression, which was regularly interrupted by sudden and surprisingly harsh arguments over what seemed insignificant shit.

Harold was still hanging around Liz all the time, seeking physical contact as much as possible. She and Helene seemed to have given up driving him away, much like you stop brushing away a fly once it wears you down.

It was sad to see that Richard's wife Emily seemed to have switched sides permanently. While he sat with the non-Liamists, he helplessly watched his wife following Liam all day long. It was disgusting to watch, she was practically clinging to him and following around like a puppy. While I made myself comfortable in my hiding place in the jungle, I wondered whether she had switched sides just to survive and was one hell of an actress, or because she had really fallen in love with the huge stoker.

As usual, I had brought snacks with me. I had the choice of bananas or bananas and had decided on the bananas because I had the other option just yesterday. In short, I was prepared for a lazy, but possibly entertaining day of watching the antics of King Liam the First, undisputed ruler of shithole island. Unlike the totally static group, I had made a few explorational trips and found no trace of human activity anywhere. I also discovered that this really was an island.

I was just biting into my first banana when I saw something that turned my stomach. Liam seemed to have come to a decision. At least he stopped his endless walk, looked towards Richard and just pulled Emily towards him by her waist. Next to the giant, she looked almost childlike. She cooperated enthusiastically, but even if she hadn't, it would have made no difference.

Still looking towards Richard, he started to kiss her deeply. Her happy squeal was hard to bear even for me and for Richard it must have been much worse. He finally had enough, jumped up and marched towards them.

"Emily," he exclaimed, trying to sound assertive while standing next to an intimidating human mountain. "Stop this now. You're a married woman."

I couldn't understand her response, but she didn't seem to share his point of view, at least if her renewed clinging to Liam's waist was any indicator.

"Emily..." Richard just started another tirade when Liam pushed him roughly back onto his ass. Of course, Alfie and Edward laughed upon seeing his humiliation. They were complete morons, so nothing less was to be expected. It was interesting to see everyone else, apart from Liz and Helene, joining in. It seemed that Liam's hold onto the group was stronger than I had hoped.

Having to watch that scene was hurtful even for me. Richard had just been publicly humiliated and was still sitting on the sand, seething. That was a demonstration of power and Liam wasn't finished yet. He and Emily calmly went towards the jungle, hand in hand, like this was some cheesy romance novel on a tropical beach. Everyone watched their bold behavior in silent awe, only Pattinson and Holloway reacted at all by giving thumbs-up.

Liz finally stood up, walked to Richard, helped him up and tried to console him a bit. I don't think he even noticed, he still seemed to be in shock. I made a mental note that I had a potential ally in Richard, and possibly in Liz and Helene as well.

As the happy couple returned with relaxed faces, hand in hand, I decided that it was time to return to my abode. By now it was very easy for me to find my way in the jungle during the day, but I'd had some very disconcerting experiences in the twilight. Suddenly, everything seemed to look the same and I almost got lost twice. I had decided to never do that again.

I visited their camp daily, now, as I didn't want to miss the developments in the camp and quite frankly, I didn't have anything else to do anyway. I was on duty, in my hiding place right after sunrise the next morning.

Technically, I was banned and totally isolated from the group. Still, I could follow their antics closely, like the spectator in a movie theater. The difference was that the picture was sharper, in color and the sound was much better. There was no entrance fee, as well, apart from my life if I was found.

Liam and Emily were still sound asleep, her head resting on his enormous barrel chest as if they had been lovers for years. The only one awake was Richard, who stared at them, looking like shit. His eyes were red, either from crying or because he hadn't slept at all. Probably both.

After a while, Liam began to stir and the first thing he saw was Richard staring at him. He was obviously startled for a second, seeing the hate of a man directed at him. Even the arrogant Liam had to come to the conclusion that the much smaller man posed a threat. Richard had been the only one awake during the night and could have done anything to him. There were certainly plenty of tools available for the job, including a machete. I wondered why he hadn't done it.

I even briefly wondered why I hadn't done it myself, but I knew that thought was futile. I know many guys who'd agree wholeheartedly that I was an asshole. They might be right, but I wasn't the kind of asshole who killed others just because I could, sleeping or not.

Liam stood up, shoving Emily onto the floor carelessly like a discarded toy. I felt no pity for her, she had chosen the big, reckless man over her much gentler husband. She just weakly moaned in protest. Liam walked to the food storage box, which must have been almost depleted by then.

"Damn," he exclaimed loudly, but not really convincingly. His acting skills left much to be desired.

"What's up," Pattinson asked, right on cue.

"Someone has stolen food."

"Noo." Pattinson's reaction was comically exaggerated, like in some cheap drama play. Still, he was so excruciatingly dumb that it was possible that he hadn't seen through Liam's ploy and actually meant it.

"Richard!" Liam shouted for no apparent reason. It made no sense, but there was no need for that. Whatever Liam had in mind was obviously staged anyway.

"What?" Richard answered, annoyed. He had obviously not followed the little play.

"You have stolen food!"

"Cut that out. Even you don't believe that. You have taken my woman and you want to get rid of me. You're probably afraid that I'll kill you in your sleep. Don't worry, I'm a Christian. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it last night and you couldn't have stopped me."

"I'm talking about food, you idiot. You're going to pay for this."

"Emily," Liz suddenly spoke up. "You were with Richard yesterday while he distributed the food. You know that Richard didn't steal any."

Emily just stood there, obviously trying to make up her mind. Finally, she went to Liam's side without saying a word.

"Emily," Liz continued and I had to admire her bravery. "You are about to kill your husband."

Emily still stood there mutely.

"Emily," she continued more forcefully, "Richard saved your life after the shipwreck. You would have drowned without him."

Liam calmly walked to the storage area and picked up the remaining machete before returning to Richard.

"Emily, you know damn well that he's innocent. Say something!" Liz was almost shouting.

Liam lifted the machete, grinning cruelly.

"Emily, for God's sake. Remember your wedding day. This is the man you love..."

She was cut off by the almost imperceptible, but sickening sound of Richard's head falling on the sand. I thought that it sounded just like the coconuts falling down, just a bit quieter. I felt like I had to puke, but if I had, I would have joined Richard immediately and permanently.

Liz was puking, actually, while Helene seemed surprisingly calm. Most of the others had turned away before it happened.

"You," Liam said while pointing at Otto, Andreas, and Frederick, "bury him somewhere, but not near the camp. Emily, come here."

Emily seemed a bit pale but didn't object. Together, holding hands again, they walked towards the jungle again. One detail burned itself indelibly into my mind. He was taking the machete with her husband's blood on it to the nooner with the man's wife.

While I usually sought the closeness of the group, I felt the strong urge to flee and return to the safety of my cave. What I had seen had shocked me to the core. All pretense of upholding humanness in a difficult situation had been lost. This was the pure law of the strongest. The weaker men were left behind in the dust, quite literally, while the stronger took the spoils. The solitude of my cave, which had bothered me so often, was now a welcome luxury.

It took me a few days until I could stomach watching the group again. I chose a lurking post a bit farther away than before as I had no more doubts about my fate if Liam found me. I had the machete and had started to manufacture a few spears, but the results were pitiful so far. I didn't expect to stand a chance against them.

The general appearance of the group had quickly deteriorated together with its ethics; most group members looked like bums in ragged clothes by now. Liam sometimes didn't bother to dress at all. The almost naked Emily was constantly riding his nonexistent coattails, while he already seemed to have tired of her. She had tied a few rags around her torso, trying to create some kind of sexy Robinson Crusoe look. It didn't seem to help her keep his interest.

Liz, Helene, and Harold seemed to have formed a group of their own with Liz constantly fighting off his unwanted attention. Helene wasn't much help this time, as she had developed her own problem. Liam seemed to suddenly have set her sights on her and she had her hands full fighting him off without offending him. Both men were constantly hanging around their targets, touching them, talking nonsense and looking like idiots.

After a while, the women seemed to have enough, shed their grasps and fled into the jungle. Emily tried to attract Liam's attention again, but lost her remaining bit of dignity by failing. It seemed that she had been a too easy conquest and had lost all appeal to him.

After the two women left, not much happened in the camp. Harold and Liam seemed to await the return of their prey, while everyone else just dozed in the shade apathetically. It was getting hotter; I was getting drowsy from the humidity and the lack of sleep because of the rainstorm the night before. I felt very secure in my hiding spot and might even have dozed off a bit until felt someone tapping on my shoulder.

Surprised, I jerked upwards and spun around, assuming a defensive stance. I looked at Liz and Helene, both trying to hide their smiles. Liz nodded towards the jungle, indicating that we should retreat to a safer place. I nodded and followed her. She knew her way around much better than I had expected.

"Calm down, it's just us," Liz said after we had reached a nice hiding place at some distance from the camp.

"How..." I stuttered, still a bit upset about my carelessness.

"We knew that you'd be watching us," Helene explained. "It's quite obvious that you'd want to keep an eye on us."

"Helene was the one who actually spotted you. We wanted to talk to you earlier, but then that idiot killed Richard and we haven't seen you since."

"Yeah, sorry. I felt no need to return. That was disgusting."

"That's true," Liz said and Helene nodded sadly.

"Why do you stay with him then?"

"Jacob, he was glad that you left. You were the only one who might challenge his leadership," Liz explained. "He doesn't care what happens to you. He regards the rest of the group, especially us women, as his property, though. He has made it clear that anyone else leaving the group will be hunted down and killed."

"So far, the situation is bad but bearable," Helene added.

"I see. I have a very good hiding place. You'd both be more than welcome there."

"We might have to, at some point, Jacob," Helene continued. "But not now. We would endanger all three of us for no reason. He's glad to be rid of you, but he'd definitely come looking for us if we joined you. He would take that personally."

"I see," I said although I hated the idea of them returning to Liam. It was their decision, though. We heard some noises from the camp. "You better go back before he misses you. Good luck."

"Good luck."

I didn't return to the camp on that day.

Of course, I still returned regularly. Curiosity, worrying about Liz and Helene, loneliness and plain boredom were the reasons. Watching them became my main pastime. My spear manufacturing was beginning to improve, increasing my chances of survival in a fight from 'impossible' to 'highly unlikely'.

It was getting dark and I realized that it was already way past my safe time to return to my cave. Although my abode was much more luxurious than the group's caricature of a camp, it became harder and harder for me to leave. It had been a while since I had last spoken a word and I already dreaded the solitude the night would bring.

I was glumly marching through the damn forest when I noticed that I had no idea where I was. The fading light didn't help much, but it was clear that I didn't recognize this place. Damn, I had gotten lost. I hurried on, trying to find places and trees I knew, but the twilight turned the dense jungle into a featureless labyrinth. I ended up in a place I'd never been to before. I thought that it seemed darker and somehow more threatening than any place I'd seen before when I felt a quick, sharp pain in my leg.

Shit, shit, shit. Something had bitten me. This could be really bad, I thought, maybe even deadly. Trying not to panic, I bent my leg to see the wound but it was too damn dark. I thought that I could see two dark spots, but it might just as well have been my imagination.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel too bad. There was a slight pain in my lower leg, but it was bearable. As I stumbled on, I suddenly recognized a weird root that I had always used as a landmark. I had never seen it from this side, but I knew how to get home now.

I was relieved when I reached my cave. I still didn't know what to think about that snake bite. My leg hurt quite a bit now and breathing became a bit harder, but otherwise, I seemed to be okay. I drank a bit from my spring and decided that some sleep would be the right thing now.

A few minutes later, sleep was the last thing on my mind. I knew for sure now that the bite had been poisonous. My leg hurt like it was on fire and breathing was becoming almost impossible. Even my face seemed to be affected. My jaw seemed slack and keeping my eyes open was becoming tedious.

That was almost forgotten as the pain in my leg had become unbearable, but even that almost faded as my breathing difficulty got worse and worse. The prospect of immediate death by suffocation kind of pushed everything else into the background, even the worst of pains.

I found an awkward position lying on my side, where I was still barely able to breathe. Rationally, I knew that panic would make things worse, that the poison was paralyzing my muscles, including my diaphragm and that there was nothing I could do but try to stay calm.

The problem was that if this got just a tiny bit worse, I'd have had it. I needed to try and stay calm in that situation. My panic was soon becoming my worst enemy.

After what felt like ten years, the pain subsided a bit and I was able to breathe a bit easier. That was the point when I expected the hallucinations to start, but they didn't. A nice, colorful hallucination would have been just the thing for my boring, aimless existence, but no, I had to experience the whole miserable thing with a clear mind.

I felt a bit better a few hours later, but in no way able to leave my cave. Luckily, I had enough supplies for a while, so I could wait it out.

I felt strong enough to visit the camp about a week after the unfair altercation with that asshole snake.

Liam's interest in Emily continued to wane as she continued to throw herself at him. She seemed desperate, maybe attempting to make the death of her husband not totally meaningless, while he was plainly ignoring her most of the time. He didn't even take her into the jungle anymore for their typical quick romps.

She was powerless and unbelieving as he continued to shift his attention to the rather unremarkable Helene. She actually stood right next to them with her mouth open as he approached Helene and started to fondle her crudely.

"Hey, I'm right here," she weakly protested, pushing her naked breast out, but he didn't even favor her with a glance as he mumbled things I couldn't hear into Helene's ear.

"Liam, no offense, but I'm not interested. Sorry," Helene said in a calm and friendly way. "I'm sure that Emily will be happy to take care of you."

"You!" he suddenly shouted. "It's you I want! Forget about her. I have her, anyway."

He pulled her into his arms and tried to kiss her, while she tried to keep her mouth away from his. I couldn't blame her. While some group members had managed to keep up some basic personal hygiene, the previous weeks had turned Liam into some kind of caveman.

Without much hurry, but with a lot of force, he continued to kiss her while methodically ripping away what was left of her clothes. Liz was banging his back with her little fists ineffectively until Holloway pulled her away. Everybody else just sat there and watched. Any pretense of civilization or compassion seemed to have vanished completely. I was sure not impressed by those first-class passengers.

I was running into the camp to help her when things escalated. Helene surprised me, everybody else and Liam in particular when she hit and kicked him with considerable force and accuracy. She had managed to get a step away from him when he punched her viciously right in the face.

I could hear a sickening cracking sound and Helene dropped backward like a ragdoll. Somehow, I knew that she was dead before she even hit the ground.

I stood there in the open, but no one seemed to notice me. Liam raised his hands, palms out, and dumbly said "You saw it. She attacked me. It was an accident."

No one disagreed openly but Liz.

"You damn murderer," she screamed while she bent down to check on her friend. "Helene," she softly said while caressing her face. "Don't leave, stay with us."

As inconspicuously as I could, I retreated to my hiding place. Weirdly, no one had noticed me. Only Liz, just before she looked at Liam again with pure hatred in her eyes, saw me as I stood behind him from her point of view. I made a quick hand gesture, telling her to join me, but she didn't react.

Liam just lifted his hands again and muttered "Those bitches can't decide what they want. Fuck them all."

No one challenged him, but no one followed him as he walked away towards the sea. No one but Emily. She had a bit of a spring in her step as she followed him like a sick puppy.

I kept looking for Liz, as she was now the only person in this group I cared about. The others could go to hell, as far as I was concerned. She knelt near Helene, holding her friend's head while tears ran down her face.

Suddenly, Liam was next to her again, his dumb expression replaced by rage.

"You seen what happened? You seen that, you bitch?"

His face was red with hate, he had somehow shifted the blame for Helene's death on Liz. What kind of psychopath were we dealing with? Liz was slowly backing away from him.