The Unknown Island
Chapter Six

         "Bailey, can you pass me a few more leaves?" Lucas asked, patching up a hole on the cabin roof. He examined his work. "Think that will help?"
         "Yeah, it's fine," I said. Lucas slid off the roof, and landed easily on his feet next to me. He leaned in to hug me, but I pushed him away once I smelled him.
          "You smell terrible. Go rinse off or something," I said playfully. He sniffed himself, and pretended to gag. Then he walked to the edge of the river trailing from the waterfall, took off his shirt, and lowered himself in. He dunked under the water. I waited for him to come up, but he didn't. After about half a minute, a trotted over to where he went under, and peered in the water.
           I screamed as a hand darted out, and pulled me in by my ankle. Realizing it was Lucas, I laughed and put my arms around his neck, grinning. We flopped around the water for a while, then we decided to get food.
           "Let's have a feast," Lucas declared. I looked at him questioningly. "We can collect lots of fruit, start a fire, and see what else we can find," he said, clearly excited.
           "All right. But I'm not eating any squirrels," I said seriously. He laughed.
           My job was to gather the fruit. I found some familiar berries, and picked tropical fruits off the trees. I impressed Lucas by pulling myself up a palm tree to grab a coconut. Lucas, a former Boy Scout I assumed, attempted to start a fire. I watched in amazement as the dry wood began to spark, then turn into a flame.
            I looked around, then spotted what I wanted. A roasting stick. I picked it up, then came back to the campfire, holding a banana speared on a stick.  Lucas took two of the stumps from the cabin, and put them around the fire. I moved mine closer to him.
           The warmth of the fire comforted me as the sun set. This was our...fourth, maybe fifth night on the island. And I was still terrifed of the woods, flinching at every stick cracking. I roasted the banana over the fire, waiting for it to look nice and toasty. When it caught on fire, I offered it to Lucas, and he blew it out. He peeled it, then we each took half. It was the best think I had tasted for a while.
          "So what now?" I asked. "Are we trapped forever?" He shrugged.
          "I'm not sure. It depends on what's on the other side of the island. For all we know, it could be inhabited," Lucas said. "But I'd say our chances are pretty low."
          "I wonder why Edwin Vernes never came back," I said thoughtfully. "Maybe he got rescued."     
           Lucas didn't respond. After a few more toasted bananas and some coconut water, we went back to the cabin. Lucas had already extinguished the fire.
           I got as comfortable as I could on the cabin floor, using a pile of leaves as a pillow. Lucas took giant palm tree leaves and covered the entrance with them, and they acted sort of as a barrier from the night. I closed my eyes and tried to rest.
           I felt Lucas lie down beside me, and wrap an arm around me. I felt his lips by my ear.
          "We're safe, Bailey. We have a home, and food. This is our life now," Lucas whispered.
          I smiled slightly, then drifted into a peaceful sleep.



 

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! If you weren't notified for this chapter, it means I couldn't find the notify list---sorry again!
Thanks for reading :)