Island Castaways

That night after we had eaten, there was a lot of talk about rescue, death, injuries, and so on. Not at all a positive discussion. It seemed to drive everyone into a deeper emotional hole.

The next morning we woke, ate more of our meager supplies, and sat around discussing what we were going to do. Brad, Arnold, Tony, Elaine, Amy, and Monica were adamant that we need do nothing except tend the signal fire and wait for rescue. Connie, Terry, and I felt that we should start preparing for an indefinite stay, as we had no idea how long we would be there. Everyone else was on the fence and didn't know what to do.

I decided that I was going to move down the beach closer to the bamboo groove and build myself a shelter. I wanted to have a roof over my head. "Anyone who would like to join me is welcome to come along and help," I offered to the group.

"You can't do that," Brad admonished.

"No, you have to stay with the group," Arnold added.

"What do you mean, I can't go off on my own? If I want to go down the beach and build a hut for shelter, I'll do it," I retorted.

"We won't allow it, I won't allow it," Brad shot back.

"And who is going to prevent me from doing it? Not you, Brad, not with your broken limbs. Who else here is going to do your bidding? I don't remember anyone here putting you in charge," I stated.

"Someone must be in charge, and I'm the most capable. You will do as I say!" Brad shot back. It was easy to tell that he didn't like being challenged.

Everyone was very quiet; they were just listening and watching what was going down. I decided that the best thing to do was just keep my mouth shut. I walked off toward the plane wreckage in silence. I was going to look for something that I could use as a tool. I kicked around the burnt wreckage and found a piece of steel about 20' long, 2" wide and 1/8' thick. "This will do nicely," I mused to myself.

The group was still talking when I returned. I walked through and kept on going down the beach. Fuck these people; if they weren't going to help themselves, I was going to help myself. I am still pretty fit for 62 years old, and I know how to build things, and that was just what I was going to do. I walked clear to the stream and then back into the jungle a ways. I found what I was looking for, a rocky area where I could use the rocks to sharpen an edge on the piece of steel that I had found. I sat my ass down on a likely candidate and began stroking the blade. This was going to take a while to put an edge on the piece of steel so that I could cut the bamboo with it. I sharpened on that blade all day, and it was barely beginning to take shape. I left the blade on the rock and walked back to the group.

I went to my suitcase with my stuff in it and gathered up a couple of blankets and two of the water bottles. I also got a couple of forks, knives, and spoons. I also took one of the small cooking pots. I gathered up my things and started back down the beach, both Brad and Arnold's voices ringing in my ears telling me that I couldn't take things that belonged to the group. I just kept walking and didn't look back.

I spent the next three days gathering food and sharpening my machete. I decided to build my shelter just inside the vegetation on the other side of the stream. I spent a full day cutting and hauling bamboo to my campsite. My machete was crude, but had a good sharp edge on it and cut well. I found vines to tie the bamboo together and soon had a decent hut 10' x 12', with four walls, a door, two windows with shutters and a thatched roof to keep out the rain. It had a 6'wide porch across the front to sit on, that the roof also covered. It took me four days to build it, and I was quite proud of it.

While I was building it, various members of the group came by to check on my progress. Connie told me that Brad and Arnold were going on and on about how I couldn't desert them and they weren't going to stand for it. They hadn't mentioned what they were going to do about it, but they were not happy with my taking off on my own.

I fashioned a few small bamboo shoots into spears and thought I would try my hand at spear fishing. For my vacation I had purchased a very nice facemask with built-in snorkel that I was going to try out. This purchase proved to be a godsend. I swam out about 50 yards and then dove under. It was beautiful. All kinds of fish inhabited the not too deep water. I got two the first time out.

I went back to the plane wreckage and chopped out four pieces of aluminum that I could fashion into cooking utensils. With my aluminum griddle and two fish and some passion fruit, I was set for a fine meal. No one spoke to me as I returned to the group. I asked Connie if she would like to come down to my hut in about an hour.

When she arrived, I had dinner ready. She was amazed. She devoured the fish instantly without ceremony. As an after-dinner drink we had coconut milk and sat by the fire talking. I learned she was Australian, from Sydney, married, no children, and her marriage was failing. She was pretty sure that her husband was cheating on her while she was flying, but had not caught him.

"I'm probably going to divorce him when I get back. There is no reason to stay in a loveless marriage," she told me.

"I can understand that, having been there a couple of times myself. How are things with the group?" I asked.

" The injured seem to be healing ok. They ran out of the food we took off the plane. The coconut and fruit are not quite enough to satisfy them all. Nobody wants to do anything to make things better. Some of them are very bitter about your leaving and setting up your own camp. I would like to join you, if you will allow it," she told me.

That last statement shocked me. I didn't expect that to happen.

"I would like that. Let me build you a hut, and then you can join me. I wouldn't want to start any improprieties. You can help me."

"Thank you, I would like that. I'll bring my things tomorrow, and we can start," she replied. Connie then left to return to the group.

The next morning I rose early and went to the bamboo grove and began cutting more bamboo. It went faster this time, as I knew what I would need. Connie found me in the bamboo grove and began carrying what I had cut back to the campsite. Except for feeling a little hungry at times, I was enjoying myself.

When I returned to the campsite with the last load of bamboo, it was mid-afternoon. The sun was hot, and I could tell that Connie had removed her bra and just wore a cotton blouse that she had torn the sleeves off of and tied under her breasts, along with a short skirt. She was a nice-looking young gal, and I appreciated the occasional glimpse of her pert breasts through her partially unbuttoned blouse.

I took my spear and headed for the water. All I had been wearing were some cut-off cotton pants and no shirt. I waded out into the water and swam out about 30 yards before diving under. My luck was better this time, as I got four fish in a matter of minutes. I never was much of a fisherman, but somehow it seemed pretty easy when you were under water with them. It was almost like going to the fish market and selecting what you wanted. The water was calm near the beach with very little surf. Although there was no lagoon, just the beach, there was a coral reef a couple of hundred yards offshore that ran most of the length of the beach that calmed the surf.

"Look at what you caught, how wonderful!" exclaimed Connie. "We will eat well tonight."

We cooked dinner and eat heartily. It was nice having someone to share things with, and Connie was good company. After we ate, I asked Connie if she wanted to go to the falls and shower. We set off well before dusk. By this time, the path to the pool and falls was getting pretty well worn and was easily walked. At the pool I dove in and swam to the falls and climbed out to the ledge under the falls. The water felt refreshing, and I was basking in it when Connie joined me. To my surprise, she was naked! I tried not to stare, but without much success. She washed as though I were not there and then dove back into the pool and swam back to her clothes. She lay on the soft grass that surrounded the pool to dry. All I could do was stand there and stare. She was pretty with those pert breasts and eraser-tipped nipples. I swam back to where she was and asked if she was ready to go back. She dressed, and we walked back to the hut. By this time the sun had gone down, and the fire was a mere ember.

"You take the hut, Connie, I'll sleep on the porch," I said.

"If that's what you want, I'm not going to argue with you. Good night, Jerry. I'll see you in the morning," and with that, she turned and went into the hut.

I slept well that night and rose early with the sun. Connie soon followed. After a breakfast of fruit and coconut, we started on her hut. We built it about 15 feet further down the beach, and I decided to make it a little larger than mine. With Connie's help, the construction went faster, and we were able to finish hers in less than three days. We were also to construct a fire pit between the two huts that was a better place to cook with the rocks we gathered up the stream. The fishing was good and easy. We had plenty of fish and fruit to eat and were feeling very good about our situation. I did notice that Connie seemed very at ease and comfortable around me, and sometimes when the sun was high and hot, she would go topless. I told her that I really liked it when she did that, and she replied with a girlish smile that she was glad.

It had been two weeks since the plane crash, and we had seen no one in the air or on the water. In fact, I had not even seen the vapor trail of a highflying airliner. I guessed that we were somehow off the traveled routes, and if that were the case, it might be a while before we were found.

Things were not going well with the rest of the group. Their food supply was not to their liking, but no one was doing anything about it. Arnold and Brad were becoming tyrannical. Tony was taking care of Tony and wasn't concerned about anyone else, and that included the lovely Sophie that he had brought with him.

One morning I suggested to Connie that I needed to explore some more of the island to find out what was there and see if there was anything that could be of use to us. I would be leaving on my trek the next morning. I explained that I was going to attempt to circumnavigate the island first and then explore the interior. The next morning Connie helped me pack a blanket, some fruit, and a water jug, and gave me a big hug and a kiss before I set off down the beach.

About a half mile south of the camp, I came across a banana grove. This would make a good addition to our food supply. I was hopeful as to what else I would find along the way.

The beach ended about three miles south of where our huts were. The island shoreline then got rocky and curved around to the west. We had crash-landed on the east side of the island. This rocky shoreline curved around for about three miles and then headed north again.

As I walked along the bluff, I noticed at the edge of the rocky bluff and the inland vegetation that there were some large lizards. The adults looked to be about two feet in length. I seemed to remember hearing sometime in the past that lizards were edible and tasted like chicken. What doesn't taste like chicken? I would need to come back here to get some of these reptiles for our table.

I could not see any other islands in the distance. As the rocky shoreline swung around the south end of the island, it also rose to a height of about a hundred feet above the water. As the shoreline straightened out heading north, it dropped sharply onto another short beach for about four miles. As I walked along this beach, I noticed at about its mid-point there was a small lagoon, well, almost a lagoon. The deeper water came in closer to the shore where there was an indentation in the shoreline. I also noticed that there seemed to be a slight opening in the vegetation and decided to investigate. As I walked into the growth, I could see where larger trees had apparently been cleared away. As I walked further back, I came to a large cleared area where there appeared to be the remnants of five or six small structures and two or three rusted-out hulks of vehicles. There were two trucks and a badly damaged jeep.

I suspected that this was a very small island outpost that had been manned during WWII. In the back of the jeep I found a shovel. Wow, what a find! After searching the ruins for an hour -- and there really wasn't much left of the buildings, only squared areas where they once stood -- I had found, in addition to the shovel, a real machete, although very rusted, and a rusted bayonet. I also found a very rusted hatchet head. I put these with my gear and headed on north along the beach. I had hoped to find more when I stumbled on this old WWII outpost, but was thankful for what I did find.

At the end of the beach, the shoreline rose again and turned to rock, much like the southern end of the island, only much more rugged and higher. It was getting late, so I decided to spend the night. I ate and slept well. The following morning, I started off again. The shoreline seemed to swing west again slightly. It continued to be rocky and high above the ocean. After almost another five miles, the shoreline abruptly swung east and remained a high bluff above the water. I followed this ledge for another 6 miles before it started to arc south and descend. I could see off in the distance three or four small islands. It was difficult to judge the distance to them, but they were almost to the horizon. As I started south, the bluff descended to the sandy beach again. I estimated that I was about two to three miles north of where the plane crashed. I walked south along the beach until I could see the wrecked, burnt plane. I cut inland and circled around the crashed plane site and then back to the beach when I reached the bamboo grove.

As I approached the huts, Connie came running out. "Jerry, Jerry, I'm so glad you're back, I missed you."

The sight running toward me was a topless Connie in a miniskirt, her tanned skin aglow and a huge smile on her face. Yes, I was glad to see her, too. She ran to me, threw her arms around me, and kissed me hard on the mouth as she knocked me down on the sandy beach. Wow, what a welcome home.

"I was so worried that something might happen to you, I'm so glad you are back," she yelled. We held each other on the beach and kissed for a few minutes. I never thought a woman's lips could taste so sweet and feel so good. When she finally turned me loose, we got up and proceeded to my hut. I showed her my treasure finds, and she saw immediately the value of the tools I had found.

From my trek around the island, I had surmised the island was somewhat teardrop shaped and in size to be about 4 to 5 miles wide at the southern end and approximately 6 to 7 miles wide at the northern end and almost 15 miles north to south. There was sufficient landmass to sustain our group for quite a long time. I still had no inkling as to how long we were going to be stranded on this island.

"I would like to explore the interior of the island next," I told Connie. "We need to know what is here and if there is anything else that will be useful to us."

"Good idea, only this time I want to go with you," came her reply. "I want to see the rest of the island and I want to go with you."

"OK, when shall we head out?" I asked.

"I think that you need to rest for a day or two and then we can go. Does that sound all right?" she inquired.

Having decided that, I got my spear and facemask to get some fish for dinner. As I have said before, spear fishing was almost too easy. I could almost, but not quite, reach out and catch them with my hands. They were so plentiful and almost tame. Getting them by stabbing them with the sharpened bamboo spear was relatively easy. After I had speared four fish, I took them back to our camp kitchen area, and Connie prepared them for dinner.

Connie was still topless, and her pert little breasts were driving me crazy. I am sure that she caught me staring at them several times. When she would catch me, she would just smile and continue doing whatever she was occupied with.

After our meal we decided to head up to the falls to clean up. Once at the pool, we stopped at the edge. Connie dropped her skirt, removed her shoes and peeled off her underpants. She then quickly dove into the pool. When she came up, she was facing me.

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to strip and join me?" she asked, giggling.

Without saying anything, I stripped and dove in to join her. We swam to the ledge below the falls and climbed out to stand under the cascading water. The falling water felt good, and Connie looked wonderful. Over the last weeks, due to our sparse diet and exercise, she had lost a few pounds and tightened up her muscle tone. Her tanned skin glowed in the fading light. She had a fantastic body. Nothing overly developed, just nice, pert, and inviting. Her sparse brunette bush rose from between her thighs, and the slit of her vagina lips were very visible. She was a very tempting picture. I couldn't act on my impulses for several reasons. First, there was the age difference, and what would she want with an old man like me. There was thirty years' difference between us. Second, I didn't want to take advantage of her being in a vulnerable situation. Third, she was married. And fourth, I was scared shitless. That pretty well covered it. As much as I wanted to reach out and touch her, hold her, and make love to her, I couldn't do it.

We swam back to our clothes and dressed. It was dark by the time we got back to our huts. She hugged and kissed me lightly good night and retired to her own hut. I was left with an empty feeling in my chest and a raging hard on. I slept fitfully that night and rose early. I went fishing and came back with six good-sized fish. We ate two and saved four for our exploration trip.

Connie was back to her sleeveless shirt tied under her breasts and a short skirt. She presented a very pretty picture. We gathered fruit and coconuts for our trip and decided to start the next morning. I went fishing again and got four more fish. Later that day, we got a surprise visit from Terry and Sophie. They said they were on their way to the falls and decided to stop by to say hi and see how we were doing. They were both very impressed with the huts that we had built and our cooking area. We asked them to stay and have dinner. They were surprised when Connie got out the fish and began to cook them. I thought they were going to grab them and eat them raw. They devoured them quickly. It was the first real protein they had had since we had crashed. I noticed that they had both lost some weight, and their tanned bodies looked good.

"Things are not so good with the rest of the group. No one wants to do anything to improve our situation. Elaine spends all her time looking after Brad. Brad is becoming a demanding tyrant. Arnold is just as bad, ordering everyone around and virtually making a slave out of Amy. She cries most of the time. Arnold has taken to hitting her to make her stop and do what he tells her. She doesn't have the strength to stop him. Becky's wounds are healing well, but she is still very despondent over the death of her husband. Sam's doing ok; Sam's arm is healing well. He and Joann look after each other. Tony has turned into a real ass-hole. He is only concerned about himself and does nothing to help anyone. Monica has turned into a real bitch. All she does is complain about everything." Terry reported to us.

"So you are with some unhappy campers?" I asked. "I wish you guys were doing better."