It’s midday. Almost afternoon. And I’m thinking I might have to leave Easton here and trudge back to camp. Get Zane and some medical supplies. And have Zane help me pull Easton back over the mountain.
The hole in his arm isn’t looking good. It’s red around the edges, and getting him to wake up is one thing, but getting him to stay awake is something completely different.
I kneel down next to him. “Here, drink some water.” I didn’t want to, but I’ve brought him into the corner of the best of the three mud huts. This one has a little more roof left. It also only had one corpse in it. Whereas the others? I spent the morning digging a grave for this one. I’ve been doing one or two graves each time I come. And I’ve snuck over here many mornings.
Easton eyes the cup.
“I’ve washed it.” He was furious when I told him. But then I showed him the second mud house. Not because I wanted to but because he wouldn’t shut up about it.
He rolls over on the mat of palm fronds I’ve made him. He touches the wall, his finger inside one of the holes. “Bullet hole,” he says.
I don’t know if it’s a question or a statement. Doesn’t matter, I suppose. “Yes. Now drink some water and eat some more of this. Whatever it is.” The last time I was here, I dug three graves and brought back as many pomelos as I could. But there are a lot more graves to dig for the other huts down the beach.
It’s taken everything in me to keep the others from coming here. It didn’t change anything about this island for me. I’ve never imagined us getting off it. Not from the moment we landed. But the others? The others, they’ve had hope, and seeing the bones of three families long gone? That isn’t going to make the others have hope. There’s nothing here we need. The fabric from their clothes is rotten. A few cups? We had coconut bowls. We had a pot from the derelict. Better to leave this as their graveyard and keep Haley’s hope alive.
“Drink, Rockwell.”
He lifts his head and takes a sip. “What’s that?”
“I don’t hear anything.”
“I hear a dog barking.” Easton lifts his neck.
I put my hand on his forehead. “I’m going to get you some water for your forehead.”
“We need to talk.” His blue eyes hold mine before he lets his head sink.
“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”
I grab one of the non-rotten sleeves of a shirt I found in the last house and make my way over to where the stream rolls to the ocean. That’s when I hear it too. It’s a dog barking. Pepper’s brothers and sisters take off for the far cottage, the one they spend most of their time in.
Penny comes racing down the beach and jumps at me.
I drop the cloth and catch her. “Hey girl. You’re not alone, are you?” For a second, my mind races to how she could have gotten here. And then I see them coming out of the orchard.
Zane first, Sam, and then Haley, who races for me. “Calvin.” Penny’s jumping around my feet, but I manage to grab Haley and bring her into my arms. “I love you. You’re alive. I love you.” She kisses me and then pulls her head back and whispers, “Easton?”
“He’s over in that mud hut.” I call it what it is. It’s a little hard to deny it now. “He’s injured. It’s not good. He’s not good...”
She cocks her head. “Injured?” She runs to the second hut, and a brown cat follows her. They’ve gotten used to me bringing them fish jerky. “There’s a cat...” She turns back for a second but then races to Easton.
I’ve got three angry-looking men staring at me. “What do you want to know first?”
“Easton,” Sam says. “Pirates, then this shit.”
Zane crosses his arms over his chest. “Agreed.”
Penny nuzzles up against my leg. At least I still have one ally.
I run my fingers through the hair on the top of her head. “Easton and the pirates are the same conversation. We saw and heard the pirates coming from far enough away that we had time to move. It was late, but we were still up... fuck... I’ll get to that part later. We were up and we hid in between the crew mess and the toy hauler while they were running around the top of the Rock Candy, getting into the liquor. Before anyone came down to the engine room, we were able to slide into the water and swim for the cave. It took them all night, but they managed to get the yacht pulled out. It was almost high tide when they left. We thought the coast was clear. I tied the knots so you would know?—”
“Yes, that was a good idea,” Sam says.
“High tide, we needed to get out of the cave. And it sounded like they were completely gone. We took the WaveRunner to Chicken Beach.”
“Away from camp, smart.” Dante shows up with his arms full of the fruit I’ve been feeding Easton.
“But they weren’t gone. They chased us, and Easton got hit. Tell me you have a first aid kit in one of those bags.”
