3 Hour Tour (Dee Sanders Book 1), page 8
“Well, since we don’t have a monkey or a picker, we’re going to have to if we want fresh, young coconuts.” Jamal and Mike looked skeptical.
“Okay,” I said. “Look for a shorter tree that’s growing at an angle.”
We searched the area and examined several trees. I finally found one that looked climbable.
"I haven't done this since I was a kid," I said as I studied the tree and prepared to make my climb. "Try to catch me if I fall." They both shrugged. "Okay, I'll just try to hit the sand." I started up the tree.
Move your hands, move your feet, try to use the angle of the tree. Edge your way up and hold on. Climbing is not that difficult. It’s not that far up, and the bark is scaly enough to hold on. The angle helps with not having to use so much body strength to maintain a position. I had done this before, but still, I was slow. I was halfway when Jamal and Mike started clapping. I looked down at them and considered giving the middle finger universal sign of support, but decided it might be wiser to hold on. Angelic and Keno had wandered over and were watching too.
“I’m going to sell tickets next time,” I called out.
“Well worth it, if you fall,” replied Jamal. Angelic punched him in the shoulder.
Keno stepped closer, waved at me, and called, "You can drop them to me when you're ready."
“You got a lot of faith in him,” Mike said to her.
“He knows what he’s doing,” replied Keno. Mike stepped closer to help her.
I was near the top. My hands were a little scuffed, but I was holding on tight. I eased into position and thought to myself, I should have brought the diving knife. I hadn't wanted to take it out in front of anyone. I did have a small pocket knife, and I hoped that I'd be able to initiate a cut and then work some of the riper fruit off the tree. It might take a while.
That's what happened. I held on with one hand, worked out the knife, initiated a couple of cuts, and waggled the fruit back and forth until it gave way. I dropped a cluster to Keno and Mike. There were five of them.
I worked my way down the tree. It’s actually harder than climbing up. When I was ten feet from the ground, I jumped, and rolled in the sand when I landed. I brushed myself off as Keno and Mike handed out the fruit for each of us to carry.
We walked back to the beach. Out in the sea, the young guys were laughing, splashing, and slinging water on each other. I didn’t see how they could catch any fish.
Antoine and the other group were on the beach in the shade of a line of palms. We started toward them carrying the fruit.
Keno was watching the tree line for sharp rocks, or a boulder, or wedge that we might use to split the fruit. So far, she hadn't seen anything.
As we approached the group, I noticed there was a tide line several feet further back in the trees. Antoine was closer to the beach on a relatively flat area that did look good for shelter, as long as the tide didn’t come in that far.
I suspected what I saw was a storm line, and the daily tide, in and out, was down the beach where you could see the debris. Still, I didn't think I'd set up a shelter in that spot.
Antoine was talking when we approached with the fruit. He smiled when he saw us. His three assistants took the fruit and piled it under the trees.
"This seems like an excellent spot to build. We have a good vantage point, we can see and be seen. The ground’s flat, materials are readily available nearby, and close to the source for food and water."
I really couldn't argue with him other than the storm line. I raised a hand, and he nodded.
“What about the tide line back there?” I pointed to the trees inland of us.
“That’s a random occurrence,” he said with a quick glance then turned back to the crowd.
“Like the rogue wave that washed us away.”
He frowned at me and continued, “We’ll break into pairs and start salvaging material to produce a little shelter.”
“What about searching the island?” I asked.
“We want to get food, water, and shelter first. There’s obviously no one nearby,” he replied, looking over to his assistants and then at me. I felt them, rather than saw them, look at me.
A couple of his assistants pulled four or five-inch blade knives from their pockets. The kind of knife that has a clip, and you can hook it to your pants. I saw one thumb push the blade, while I heard several others click out, and into position. They started to work on the coconuts.
Antoine pointed from one group to another as he said, “You look for long sticks or small saplings, you look for vines, and you look for palm fronds, as many as you can find.”
He looked out to the beach where the young men were clowning around in the water. He motioned to one of the assistants who went over to him. I could not hear what he whispered in the assistant’s ear, whom then turned and strode down to the beach.
Antoine looked at us and pointed to the cache of fruit under the tree. “That was good,” he noted while smiling rather unenthusiastically. “Can you gather about that many more?” he said as he turned away.
We took a couple of steps inland and stopped to watch the scene on the beach.
The assistant had gathered the young men around him and appeared to be quizzing them. One of the group stepped forward and followed behind as the assistant turned back toward the beach and Antoine. The young man did not look happy. The others were standing in the water, watching their leader walk away. They were still and silent, all signs of a good time gone.
The two men walked up the beach toward Antoine, who waited patiently in the shade of the trees.
“Just what are you gentlemen doing?” he asked, in a rather icy tone.
"We were fishing," said the young man, looking directly at Antoine. There was a moment of silence as they looked at one another, eye to eye. Even from several yards away, I could see Antoine's gaze bore in on the young man, "the executive look." I'd seen it before in business. Antoine bored into the young man who finally looked down at the sand.
“And how were you doing?” purred Antoine.
"Not very well." The young man did not look up. "We have no rods, no line, no nets. The fish are very fast."
“And you were making lots of noise,” noted Antoine, “scaring them.”
“We don’t even have a knife on us. “
“How did you propose to catch the fish?”
“We don’t really have a plan.”
“I suggest you get one,” replied Antoine. “Perhaps you could fabricate some netting.”
The young man gave him a blank stare.
"Weave a net and cast it upon the waters, you know, like a fisherman."
“Okay.”
“Your time would be better spent developing a methodology for catching food rather than playing in the water, like small children,” hissed Antoine.
The young man looked crestfallen but with an underlying tone of annoyance.
Antoine must have left the HR functions to one of his other managers.
I motioned to my group, and we started to move. The young man walked back to his friends. Antoine's gaze drifted around the area, as if he were surveying the work and progress of his minions.
We found another group of trees not far from the shelter site and began to gather fruit. We watched the young men walk from the beach, inland, then stop and pull vines from the ground and surrounding underbrush. We heard a clamor, and the stick and frond group was approaching Antoine, who was sitting in the shade, surveying his domain. His assistants stood idly nearby. The group dropped what they had gathered and were sent back for more. The assistants sorted the items in a pile as they were brought in. We brought the second load of fruit and placed it under the trees and were again sent back for more. On this trip, we passed the young men sitting in the sand and attempting to string together some of the vines. They did not appear to know how to braid or weave. We spent the rest of the afternoon gathering fruit. By the time we stopped, there was a significant pile of food and materials.
Antoine gathered everyone together and suggested that we take a break and get some water at the pool Jamal and I located. His assistants cut up some of the coconut and passed it out.
We sat by the pool and watched the ocean through the trees. Angelic and Keno looked tired. Mike stared at the sky. Jamal seemed subdued. I looked around.
Antoine stared at me, gaze fixed on the gym bag slung over my shoulder. I’d barely thought about its presence until then. He motioned to one of his assistants with a gesture at my bag.
I got up to get some water and another piece of coconut. One of the assistants, who handed out the fruit, gave me a hard look. I ignored him and stooped to get some water. When I stood, Antoine was beside me with another of the assistants at his shoulder.
“What’s in the bag?” Antoine pointed to my shoulder.
I looked at him, and the assistant, who was standing arms crossed, to one side.
“Dirty gym clothes,” I replied and grinned at him. “Want to take a look?” I put a hand on the strap.
Antoine turned in disgust. Jamal wandered up beside me and stared at Antoine while he spoke.
“No, I don’t want to see that.”
I stepped away with Jamal, as Antoine turned to his assistant and whispered something.
I knew Antoine would want to see what was in the bag and would take it away from me. We’d seen a pile of cell phones that he or his assistants must have confiscated from the others. He had not yet asked us for our phones. I suspected I’d better do something if I wanted to keep the bag and not have it forcibly taken from me.
Jamal sat next to Angelic and started talking. Mike and Keno were also huddled close together. I looked over at Gina, the dark-haired girl. I hadn't seen her during the day as she had been working with the material-gathering group. She was in profile and looking out to sea.
I slipped around the back of the pool and stood for a moment, watching everyone relax. Antoine was preoccupied talking to his assistants. Everyone else was resting, talking, or dozing. Maybe I could scout the island, try to find some useful information, I thought to myself. Perhaps there was somebody on the other side, and we could get out of there. I didn't like the way this was going. I needed to buy some time. I looked back at the group and saw Gina looking at me. I smiled at her, and her features brightened. I nodded. My decision made, I slipped back into the undergrowth and started inland on the island.
I climbed the slope of the cliff for a few minutes and saw a ledge that ran out and around the island. Taking that path I paralleled the water, thirty feet above the beach. It was late afternoon, and I was tired. There wasn't a trail, but by staying close to the bluff line, I managed to avoid much of the underbrush. Still in sight of the ocean and the beach, I reached the tip of the island in less than an hour. Pulling out the scope, and looking back up the beach, I could see Antoine and the others down by the water. Antoine was talking to a couple of his assistants and pointing in my direction.
Putting the scope away and walking to the edge of the bluff line, I saw around the tip of the island. Below me, the tide came in and pounded on the rocks. I looked for a way down to the beach. The far side of the island looked like bluff line as far as I could see. It was forty feet to the beach below. A few yards around the point of the island, I saw a stream that led to a waterfall. It tumbled over the rock cliff and pooled on a split of ground about fifteen feet below me and twenty-five feet above the beach. The breeze kicked spray in my face, and I realized this was the windward side of the island. That made sense as we landed on what would be the leeward side, in the harbor. There's not likely to be anything on this side, with the bluff line, and the wind.
It was going to be dark soon, the tide was coming in, and I knew it wasn’t a good time to try to traverse the island. There was water and coconuts within reach. I could sleep on the bluff and keep an eye out for Antoine or his men. Scouting the island would come in the morning.
20
Home Away from Home
As it grew darker, I surveyed the bluff and found a sandy spot where I could sleep. Scooping some of the sand I shaped the space so that my head and shoulders were higher than my back and legs. I faced the harbor, so there was a view of the sunlight as it faded across the water and melted into the sky. Lying down on the customized sand bed I listened to the sound of the surf and watched the moon and stars come out. It was peaceful and comfortable enough. The sound of the surf grew louder, as I was about to nod off, and I realized what was happening. Crawling out of my makeshift bed I walked to the edge of the bluff that rounded to the windward side. The tide was in and not more than twenty feet below me. When I first arrived at the spot and looked, it was forty feet to the beach below. That was low tide. Now it's high tide. If the windward side was all bluff line, I'd have to be careful about picking my times to go down to the beach. Or, I'd have to stay on the bluff line and fight the vegetation.
Awake now, with something to think about, I crawled back into the sand bed and got comfortable. I picked up my shoulder bag, and under the bright night sky, went through its contents.
It was my gym bag, and yes, I did have dirty clothes in it. I had just come from the gym when we were boarded on the motor launch. But, there were a number of other things.
Pulling out the telescope I took one last look around. The sea was still flowing, the stars twinkling, a light breeze blowing, but the roar of the surf was subsiding.
I laid the scope down and pulled out the gym shorts, tee-shirt, socks, and shoes I wore when I worked out. It would be nice to have a second set of clothes if we were here for a few days. I laid them aside. I pulled out the three caps from the helicopter ride. I'd need to give Jamal his as he'd lost his Panama during the storm. I'd give Angelic hers too. I dug deeper.
There was a small flashlight with the scope. I hadn’t thought about it until I saw the light clipped to the inner liner of the main pocket of the bag. Wrapped up in plastic at the bottom of the pocket was the scuba knife I’d just bought. It could be a lifesaver. The only other item in the main pocket was the toilet kit. I pulled that out and opened it. There was a small pair of scissors, a penknife, fingernail clippers, razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, shampoo, mouthwash, sunscreen, a comb, and a small brush. All of it was travel size, but it was all new, purchased for the cruise. All that could be handy.
The bag had two smaller outer pockets, and I thought to check them. Unzipping the first one, it was empty. I flipped the bag over and unzipped the second. Sticking my hand inside, I felt something and peered into the bag pocket.
I'd gone to an outdoor cookout on Radnor Lake the month before and forgotten to unload a couple of things. I pulled out a short-bladed ceramic paring knife in a sheath, a one-strike firelighter, and an empty water bottle. Just call me Batman. None of them weighed much, and I hadn't realized they were still in the bag.
Looking at the items, it wasn't that I minded sharing with the group. It was being told by someone to do it. All they had to do was ask, not take. Most people are charitable when you get right down to it. In a group, though, they can get greedy. I'd have to see how long we were stranded here, and what I could do to help out.
With those thoughts in mind, I lay back and looked up at the stars. The breeze was still light, bringing with it the smell of the ocean. Palm leaves swayed overhead and I heard the sea as the night deepened. It wasn't bad. Like the guy on the motor launch said, think of it as an adventure.
I woke to the early morning light and the sound of the new tide. I recalled it was twelve and a half hours between high tides, and they moved about an hour each day, so they revolved across time.
I was thirsty and walked to the stream and got water. There were coconuts, and I grabbed a couple for breakfast. Crawling back in the sand pit I slept for a few more hours.
When I woke again, the ocean was only a faint murmur. Low tide would be about six and a quarter hours from the high tide. I got up and looked over the bluff. What a surprise. The tide was forty yards or more out on the beach. There was plenty of room to walk. It would be a good time to skirt the island quickly.
I filled the water bottle and cut one of the coconuts with the dive knife. It was handy for a knife its size. The paring knife or my pocket knife would have been difficult to use. I ate quickly and looked for a way down to the shore.
If I doubled back slightly on the leeward side, I could make my way from the bluff line to the beach. I slipped the bag over my shoulder and took a quick look with the scope up the beach and toward the boat. I didn't see anything in either direction. With a general sense of caution, I walked down to the beach and quickly around to the windward side.
21
Nice Day for a Stroll
Once I got windward, I relaxed. There was a stiff breeze, and the sand was rockier and debris-filled. But the sand was firm enough to walk on, and I made good time. Checking my watch I set out. I soon saw water on the horizon, so the island wasn't going to go on forever. I knew I'd feel better when the far end of the island was in sight.
Looking up to the point, to the overlook, where I had slept the night before, I saw the waterfall below it. That'd make a great shower. I was going to have to figure out how to get down there.
There were shells, crustaceans, sea life, sea weed, all of it marine as far as I could tell. Had there been driftwood or trash, perhaps there was life on this island aside from us, but there was none. I walked on trying to keep a steady pace as I surveyed the beauty of the island.
The breeze brought the strong smell of water and salt from the ocean. It whipped my hair and fluttered my shirt. I stopped to unbutton it as my pace, and the climbing sun, warmed me.
The air was full of light, in so many different tones, that when they all came together, it glowed in a warm golden aura. The color was rich and thick around me. There were intense light blues of the sky, deep blues of the sea beyond, greens of the water around me, of the undergrowth and the bluff line, and the mountains beyond. That's all you could call them, was mountains. It wasn't so obvious from the leeward side. They sat back and away, crowding the windward side. But they were tall, at least from down on the beach. There were brilliant reds and yellows scattered among the foliage on the sides of the mountains. Everything was clean and bright like it was brand new, and we were the only people in the world. On the bluff that morning, the ground had been dry. It felt firm under my feet. After the grey of the storm and the slash of the wind, it felt good to be alive.
