Stranded on Deserted Island

[stepherz345]

Ocean waves crashed onto the sandy shore. A body washed up on shore wearing an orange life vest, the sand rubbed against his skin, mostly smooth. Another round of waves finally woke the man up. He opened his eyes, his vision was blurry at first. After a minute his vision cleared and he looked around. Sand, waves, bushes, and trees. This was definitely not the plane.


Joe worked on standing up, he groaned. Whatever happened, it hit him hard. He closed his eyes, trying to think of what happened. Flashes of the crash appeared. The plane had made a loud sound, the wing was on fire, he got his life vest on in the nick of time. Everything was chaotic. People were screaming and running towards the exit doors. Did he jump? Probably since his muscles ached.


Joe looked out into the ocean and saw nothing. No plane, no people, no wreckage, nothing. His clothes; navy blue shirt, khakis, and white tennis shoes were soaked. The sun's rays were high in the sky, he would dry off before he knew it, hell he'd probably get burned if he stayed out too long. There were at least twenty people on that plane, someone else had to survive it. "Hello! Is there anyone out there?" Joe called. He waited anxiously, praying that he would hear a response.


@Jodie

 

[Jodie]

Annalyse resurfaced from under the water, taking a huge gasp of cool air. The salt filled her mouth with a repulsive taste. Her memory was blurry at first, but then it came to her.


She was on her way to visit her parents. Chaos. A thick smell coming from the plane overwhelmed Annalyse's senses. Screams filled her head. Get a life vest, Annalyse thought. There was no time. Just do it. Jump, or you will die. Annalyse's life was flashing in a movie before her eyes. Mom. Dad. School. Leaving. College. Medical School. All of the sweet and heart-wrenching memories of her life filled her mind. She fastened her parachute before taking a leap into what looked like death at the time.


Annalyse looked around the blank sea in every direction, until she spotted an island close enough to swim to. She began stroking her arms, pushing the sea to propel her to dry land. It was a tiring act, as she was still in a panic-mode and could still feel the salt water drying her throat. Finally, she made it to the island. Annalyse threw herself onto the burning sand that felt like heaven to her after being choked by the sea. She coughed, trying to spit out the salty taste out of her eyes. But, wait. She swore she just heard someone. "Hello?" Annalyse shouted. Am I here alone? Please, no. There has to be someone here. Although Annalyse was usually quite an optimistic person, it was hard to be this moment of fear and pain.

 

[stepherz345]

Joe was ecstatic when he heard someone shout back. He quickly walked over to the general direction, searching for a person. "Maybe I'm just going crazy. No I swore I heard someone." Joe thought to himself. He saw a figure in the distance, standing there. He ran over to it, as he got closer he saw it was a woman.


"Thank God someone else is alive." Joe said a small smile on his face. It was hard to be happy in their current situation, but at least he wasn't alone. He took a couple minutes to catch his breath before continuing."I'm Joe." he introduced. "Are you okay? Any injuries?" Joe asked. She didn't look injured, a feeling of relief swept over him. He didn't know what to do if she had been injured.

 

[Jodie]

Annalyse stood up, looking around the island for someone, anyone. Finally, she caught a glimpse of a figure running towards her. She squinted to make sure she was really seeing it. A wave a relief swept over Annalyse. When the figure got close enough, she saw that he was a young man, probably around the same age she was. "See, I knew I heard another voice," Annalyse said, a relieved smile plastered across her face. "I'm Annalyse," she introduced. "I'm okay, I think. Even better now that you're here." Yeah, she was fine. We can make it out of this, I know it. We're not going to die. We can't, not like this. "Are you okay?" Annalyse asked.

 

[stepherz345]

Joe chuckled "Yeah I feel the same way. I'm okay, just a couple scratched and bruises but I'll live." Joe replied. "Come on we should probably get out of the sun before we burn." Joe said, he felt the suns ray piercing his skin. "Were you with anyone? If you want we can go look for them." Joe said. He then remembered, he was with his basketball team. He doubted they all survived the crash. Many of those guys he had known since his freshmen year of college. He held the tears back, refusing to cry in front of Annalyse. "Otherwise we should look for water or shelter." Joe said, trying to focus on surviving.

 

[Jodie]

"No, just me. I was on my way to visit my parents," Annalyse explained. She rain a hand through her drenched brunette hair. Annalyse noticed a saddened look in his eyes after asking the question. "Are you alright?" she asked, looking concerned. The two of them made their way away from shore, looking for a water source. "I say we find water first, and we'll build our shelter near there," Annalyse suggested. Annalyse thought of her parents. How long would it take for them to realize she was gone? She hoped they wouldn't worry about her. She hoped she would make it off of this island alive. All she wanted to do right now was see her parents.

 

[stepherz345]

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Joe assured her. No need to make her pity him he thought to himself. He could mourn later, for now surviving was important. He led them through the forest trying his best to not let the branches hit them. "Let me know if I'm going too fast. I don't want to lose you." Joe said. Off in the distance he saw a rock wall that spread across the island. He squinted, he thought he saw waterfall. "I think I see something. Follow me." Joe said. He turned left, and headed towards the rockwall.


After awhile the trees started to thin out, and he stepped out into the opening. There was water running through into the forest. Joe ran to the water and immediately began to drink the water without second thought. The water felt like heaven, cooling his body. He splashed some on his face. "The water taste great." Joe said, motioning for Annalyse to come. He could hear the waterfall roaring from the distance.

 

[Jodie]

Annalyse hopped over a couple of logs before catching up to Joe. When the trees began to thin out, she took in the full view of the water. The view was quite beautiful, but maybe it was just because she was thirsty. Water crashed against the rocks, making the rocks glisten. "Joe, I wouldn't drink anymore," Annalyse advised. "You don't know what kind of diseases could be running through this water. I say we boil it first, though I don't know how we're going to be able to." Annalyse cupped her hands in the water and splashed it on her already hot chest. The sun beamed on her skin, quickly drying up the droplets of the ocean that lie on her skin.

 

[stepherz345]

"Oh, I never thought of that." Joe said and stepped away from the water. "Well we have to start a fire, I've seen on TV people either rub two sticks together or run a stick on a leaf. We could try that." Joe suggested. It wasn't hard to find sticks and leaves since they were right near the forest. He quickly grabbed them and started to build and a little fire place. "Do you think this looks good?" Joe asked. It wasn't a complete mess at least in his opinion. Hopefully this would be good enough to start a fire.

 

[Jodie]

"One problem," Annalyse said, "I heard that extremely hard to do. But, hey, it's worth a try. You work on that, I'll start working on a shelter." Annalyse looked at her surroundings, taking in all of the resources she could use for the shelter. "It's pretty humid out here," Annalyse said, beads of sweat forming on her chest, "I'm sure there will be mosquitoes tonight." She grabbed the biggest sticks she could find and rolled a log over to a small area in between two trees. She struggled to lift a long, lean broken branch to place in between the two trees. "How's the fire coming, Joe?"

 

[stepherz345]

"It's not coming. At least not yet." he said and glanced up, noticing Annalyse struggling with the branch. "Do you want help?" Joe asked. He could already hear the mosquitoes buzzing around them. "We'll have to find a way to keep them away." Joe said swatting them away. If rubbing the two sticks wouldn't work, how were they going to make fire? Matches or a lighter would've been useful in this case, but he doubted there would be any nearby. Same went for bug spray. Maybe he would walk along the coast later and see if any supplies washed up.

 

[Jodie]

"Sure," Annalyse said, accepting the help. "How about I try to start the fire, and you can lift the branches?" Annalyse suggested. "You look strong enough to do it, stronger than me," she said with a playful smirk. Annalyse made her way over to the area where Joe was making his failed attempts at starting a fire. She thought back to all the things she'd seen on T.V. or read in books. She couldn't recall much. So, she went with Joe's way. She blew on the small pie of leaves as she tried to start a friction fire with just two small sticks. Nothing but a little warmth at the the end of the stick. Annalyse tried over, and over, and over again. But nothing. "I don't know how we're going to get this fire started, Joe," Annalyse said in defeat. "But we're going to have to make it happen."

 

[stepherz345]

Joe chuckled at Annalyse's remark. He appreciated the complimented. "I don't mean to brag, but a lifetime of sports and training does lead to some muscle." Joe explained as he lifted the branch placed it in-between the trees like Annalyse had attempted to do. "You know I was thinking maybe we should go back to the shore. See if any luggage washed up. Someone might've had a lighter or matches. Maybe another survivor." Joe replied as Annalyse grew frustrated with trying to start a fire. His stomach started to grumble. "Maybe look for some fruit too." he added. "Whatever you want to do, I'm with you." Joe assured.

 

[Jodie]

"Sounds like a plan. Something, anything, has to have washed up. I don't think the plane crashed far from the island, so I'm sure belongings got scattered at sea," Annalyse agreed. "We should finish the shelter by sundown; we need somewhere to sleep. Hopefully we can start up a fire by tonight," she continued.


Annalyse leaded them to shore, stepping over logs and hearing twigs snap under her bare feet. She most likely had lost her shoes when she jumped from the plane into the ocean. Finally, they arrived at the shore. They walked along the shoreline together looking for anything that may have washed up from the crash. "I hope there's something out here," Annalyse said.

 

[stepherz345]

When the two arrived at shore Joe didn't see anything. "Do you want to split up? We can cover more land if we do." Joe said. He worried about leaving Annalyse alone, but the faster they covered the shore the faster they could go back and finish the shelter. He saw a suitcase floating towards the island. "Wait I see something." Joe said. He walked into the ocean and swam to the suitcase. He grabbed the handle held it as he swam back. He paced himself, not wanting to push himself too hard. He needed energy for the trek back to their spot.


He opened the suitcase which revealed women's clothing, a mirror, a red make-up bag, a red hair dyer, and one red lighter. "Thank God!" Joe said, as he grabbed the lighter and put it in his pocket. "Do you want these clothes?" Joe asked and grabbed a red mini skirt. "Um well maybe not that, but whoever this was, she really liked red. As he saw some red jeans and red red tops. "I mean there is a red sweater, in case you get cold at night." Joe said and grabbed the sweater.

 

[Jodie]

"Sure, we can split up," Annalyse said, beginning the opposite direction. She ran back quickly when she heard Joe say that he had seen something. "Really? Where?" she said, her eyes scattering the island before seeing a small, red suitcase at sea. She watched Joe eagerly swim out to the suitcase. Please be a lighter, please be a lighter, please be a lighter, Annalyse begged in her head. Finally, Joe came back to the land, raising Annalyse's excitement and nervousness to open the suitcase and reveal what it contained.


Annalyse watched as Joe opened the suitcase. She helped him shuffle through what was obviously a woman's belongings. Most things were fairly wet from being in the ocean, but the suitcase seemed to stop things from getting completely soaked. "Yeah, don't think I'll be needing this," she said with a lighthearted chuckle as she carefully tossed a red lingerie piece. "That should be useful," Annalyse said as Joe held up the red sweater. She picked up a soaked pack of cigarettes. "Well, I guess that explains the lighter." She pulled out a small, wet blanket. "We can use this at night. Sure, it's small, but we'll just have to share it."

 

[stepherz345]

"Perfect." Joe said when she pulled out the blanket. "We are making great time. We'll go back, finish making the shelter, start a fire, hopefully find some food and then we'll go to bed." Joe said. "Unless you want to keep looking around." Joe added. "Sorry I didn't want to seem bossy. I just get ahead of myself sometimes." Joe explained. He had been co-captain for basket ball and football team so on occasion he would give come up with plans and give orders. "If you have something you want to do just say the word." Joe said.

 

[Jodie]

"Don't worry, you're not bossy," Annalyse assured him. "I think it's best to go back anyways," she began. "We should try to go to bed as soon as we get everything done. The more daylight, the better. We should go back." Annalyse guided him back to the water source, where they had set up their camp. "I'll try again with the fire. You should continue making the shelter; you're much stronger than I am," she suggested as they walked back. Finally, they arrived back at their "home," if you want to call it that.


Annalyse sat down, grabbing the two driest sticks she could find. She continued to try the friction-fire method. It took her about 15 minutes before a small cloud of smoke arose from the dead, crunched-up leaves she was using to feed the fire. "Joe! Joe!" Annalyse said out of pure excitement. "I think I got something!" Annalyse began gently blowing on it. Eventually, a small flame arose, quickly burning the small amount of dry leaves. "Get me more leaves!"

 

[stepherz345]

Joe felt better thanks to Annalyse's reassurance. He followed her to back to their spot. He continued working on the shelter as she instructed. It was almost done before Annalyse cried out to get more leaves. Quickly Joe ripped off leaves and twigs from the nearest tree. He handed, practically threw them at her.


"You're doing great!" Joe said with excitement. The two seemed to work well together. "Great job Annalyse." Joe praised and patted her on the shoulder. "I'm almost done with the shelter. We still need food though. Do you want me to get some?" Joe asked. Three days was the most the average person could go without food, or so that's what he had seen on TV. If they didn't eat today they could wait until tomorrow.

 

[Jodie]

Annalyse made sure to keep the fire burning by covering it gently with her small hands. She looked up at the shelter he was building. "The shelter looks great so far, Joe," she complimented. Annalyse hoped this fire would last through the night, as it would probably get quite cold tonight. Plus, it would help to keep the mosquitoes away.


"Hey, how are we going to boil water?" Annalyse asked. "I'm already starting to feel a little dehydrated from sweating so much. We have nothing to boil the water in," she said. Annalyse began to think of natural things that could hold water. They could look back at shore tomorrow, but luggage is no guarantee. They just happened to get lucky this morning.


(It's 3 weeks, ahaha)

 

[stepherz345]

(3 weeks? Is it really that long? Wow that's crazy. But I think i's 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food now that you mention it.)


"Thanks." Joe said with a smile. "I'm not sure how we will boil water. For now I guess you'll just have to drink it naturally until we come up with something." Joe suggested. "I'll head out to get some fruit. If I see anything I'll pick it up. Keep the fire going and I'll be back soon." Joe said. He followed the river, there was bound to be fruit trees somewhere near the water.


After ten minutes of walking he saw a monkey up in a tree, eating a banana. The banana screamed and jumped away when he saw Joe. Joe saw a bundle of bananas. "Perfect, now just to get them down." Joe thought. He shook the tree causing some smaller bananas to fall. He found a rock and threw it. The bundle fell down, causing a couple to explode.


He saw Annalyse sitting next to the fire. "I brought dinner. Didn't see anything to use for boiling water." Joe said and offered her a banana.

 

[Jodie]

The sun was setting, creating an artwork of colors in the sky. It was beginning to get my cooler, and she was no longer sweating from the beaming sun. She could see the mosquitoes begin to become active around her. Soon, fire flies would light up the open air. Her stomach growled a bit, and the thought of eating felt like heaven to her. Annalyse looked up at the shelter Joe had created for them. It wasn't too shabby. It wasn't quite yet finished, but it would be good for tonight.


Soon, Joe came back with a couple of bananas. "Thank you," she said. Annalyse accepted one from him, eagerly peeling it to take a bite. "I'm so hungry," she said before taking a bite of her banana. "This is great for now, but this won't be enough for long. If we're going to survive out here, we're going to have to find meat or fish, just something with more protein than fruit," she explained. Annalyse was right. If they were going to keep their energy up through each day, they need enough calories for it.


"Let's search the shore tomorrow. There may not be much because we got lucky today, but it's worth a shot. We need to find something to keep water in. It's very likely that this water could make us sick by drinking it straight from the stream."

 

[stepherz345]

"I'm sure there are ton of fish around. We can make a spear or a net to hunt. I'm sure they will be easy to make. Just need something like a rope or a vine." Joe said. He grabbed a couple of bananas and began to eat. "Hopefully we find something on the shore tomorrow. Anything would be great. I'll let you know if I start feeling sick from the water, so far I feel fine." Joe said. He loved the warmth of the fire but hated the smoke.


Joe started to yawn. The duo had quite the long day today. "I think I'm going to call it a night. We had a long day today, and will probably have another long day tomorrow." Joe said. "Feel free to join me whenever you are ready." Joe added and walked inside their shelter. He grabbed the blanket which was mostly dry and slowly drifted to sleep.

 

[Jodie]

Annalyse didn't stay by the fire for much longer. Soon after gaining warmth from the open flame, Annalyse walked into the shelter. As Joe had offered, she joined him. She covered herself with half of the blanket, leaving the other half for him to use. It was a little damp, but it would do for the night. Annalyse felt slightly uncomfortable about sleeping this close near a guy she barely knew, but it would have to happen. If they were going to be living on the island together for who knows how long, they were going to have to go more than just a little out of their comfort zone. Annalyse slowly fell off in a deep sleep. Despite the uncomfortable ground that would make anyone have trouble sleeping, she was tired after a long first day on the island. She hoped, she needed, to not be stuck here on this island forever. Annalyse had no contact with anyone whatsoever, but she kept the hope in her that they would come looking for her. They would find her.

 

[stepherz345]

Joe woke up to see Annalyse was still sleeping. The closeness didn't bother him, at least it was a pretty girl and a man. Plus the body heat kept them both warm at night. He covered her up with the blanket and crawled out. The sun was rising, orange and pink ran across the sky. Some light lit up the island and Joe saw some bananas and banana peels. He grabbed a banana and ate it.


When Joe finished he took a small sip of water. He could already hear Annalyse telling him not to drink the water. He figured a little natural water wouldn't hurt. He splashed some of the water on his face. Shivers went down his body as the air hit his face. Now he was awake. Joe decided to wait for Annalyse to wake up before going anywhere.