Marooned (Closed)

[Opensesame54321]

She ran without thinking. Greenery and vines slapped at her. If the beach was growing dark, the woods were even darker.

At first, the only sound was her breath coming out in pant as she ran. She knew not where she ran. In fact, for all she knew, it could have been circles. But run she did. A stick scratched her leg and she glanced down, seeing the trickle of blood.

Finally, she stopped. Panting, she looked around, trying to figure out where she was. No matter where she looked, everything was dark. She tried to lookup and see the moon, or maybe a patch of stars but all overhead was dark tree leaves.

Behind her was a rustle in the foliage. She whipped around and only found darkness. The tears started again. She should have run along the beach. The sound was there again! Were those things after her. Velociraptors! Or whatever.

Memories came flooding back. She was a kid again and it was punishment. The scratching outside the door, trying to get her.

The leaves behind her swayed and she took off running again. She knew not where but she ran.

It was bound to eventually happen. She never saw the tree root as her toe caught on it. Down she went, face first, her hands thrown out ahead of her to catch her fall. Her big toe felt like it was busted and she felt her knees and palms get scratched on the ground as she hit.

Her whole body hit hard, temporarily knocking the breath out of her. For an instance she lay on the ground, pain shooting through her extremities. It was quiet save for her labored breathing.

And then there was a noise just ahead of her. She quickly opened her eyes and waited for her eyesight to adjust. As things came into view, her heart almost stopped. She was surrounded by a pack of those creatures that Joe killed. A pack!

Her scream was loud and filled with terror!

 

[ArcticAvenue]

It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, it could have been forever; but when it happened it happened in a flash.

Joe crashed through the underbrush. In one hand the sharp shell used to chisel the wood with date marks. The other the club he brandished before by the fire. In the dimming light, he could see little of what endangered Lily, but small creatures broke brush and vegetation startled by the sudden appearance of the human. He swung about at whatever was there, once or twice landing blows. In one swoop, a shrill screech belched out from one of the beasts as the life left it’s body. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, but the danger was defeated. The forest wasn’t exactly strewn with the carnage of the fallen evil, but the bloody terror that was left proved that they fell by Joe’s hand.

Lily was still a mess, something that will not change standing here. By instinct alone, Joe swooped her off her feet and into his arms, carrying her in a run out of the woods and onto the beach some distance away from the own camp. But there in the setting sun, the adrenaline crashing from the relief of the attack, he fell to his knees with her in his arms, and started to catch his breath.

He hugged Lily tight to him, letting the panic of the situation die. The danger was minor at best. The heroism overplayed. The aggression he showed unwarranted. Yet internally he reacted. Not just doing that good deed any man should in such a situation. But acting to save someone he cared about. No matter how thick the walls she put up or how steadfast he was to leave them unbreached, the fear of losing the one person on this island with him was instantaneous and pushed him to brutally react to the threat. There may come a time of clearer thought of how ridiculous this all was, but in the moment his fear was nearly as strong as hers. Kneeling on the beach, he didn’t dare let her go, dare let her loom to a place that could cause her to be lost again.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Lily lay there, petrified as the creatures closed in on her. They would probably claw her and bite her and eat her alive. She closed her eyes and waited to be attacked. She couldn't fight the gang of them.

Something large crashed through the plants, the whooshing sounds above her sounding repeatedly. There was a thud followed by the squealing sounds of a creature in pain. She hunkered down and kept her eyes closed, praying it was Joe.

Suddenly, Joe scooped her up in his arms and ran, the leaves slapping at them both. She held on tight, afraid to let go. Her eyes closed against what she might see.

Eventually the sounds of the woods faded away and she realized that she was crying. Joe finally stopped and yet she couldn't let go of him. All she could do is cry as she clutched at him and he held her just as tight.

Maybe it was 22 days of surviving, of hanging on with both hand and trying to not let go. Of trying to turn an uncivilized place into civilization.

Suddenly, she was 6 years old and the rats were back, rustling on the other side of the door.

"Th-th-the r-r-rats!" She could barely get the words out, her face buried where his neck met his shoulder and her tears soaking him.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

The hystaria that poured out of the woman infected him, and he tried to hold her through the madness. She shook and cried calling out at some unseen enemy, now fearful of something that was not even there. This was trauma in its truest form and all he could do was try to sooth her.

“They’re not here, they’re gone, they won’t hurt you,” he whispered into the ear as she burried her head into his shoulder. He said these words with the fullest of confidence. There was literally nothing left to hurt her here, but wave of terror that consumed her would likely not see that, and he needed to say it too just to hear it himself. “There are no more lizards. There are no rats. There’s nothing left to attack. No one here to hurt you.”

He had shifted to make the way they sat on the beach more comfortable. Turning his legs until they extended in front of him he was sitting now on the sand. She on his lap with her legs still around him as they were when he carried her from the woods. His arms around her back with just the thin sun dress between his hands on her skin. Holding her tight to him, he could feel her breasts pressed into his, the heavy breathing of fear with each lift and lower of her chest.

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, Lily, I promise,” he breathed, “not now, not never.”

The closeness of the woman to him started to etch into his subconscious. The more she settled against him, the more he couldn’t deny a beautiful creature wearing just a hint of clothing was wrapped around him. Slowly his hands slid across her back, first in a comforting manner, then with longer bigger strokes. He slid his head against hers, instinctfully nuzzling her to get the girl to calm. His hips raised up, allowing the outside of his thighs to rub against the inside of hers. Soon enough, one of those hands moved downward and no longer the flatness of her back, but the gentle curve of her bottom.

“I’ll be here, I’ll always be here,” his stated, his voice sounding more husky, “I promise I will protect you now Lily.”

 

[Opensesame54321]

He carried her to safety and gradually she was aware that they were no longer moving. But her fear refused to allow her to let go of him. He was something safe. He had rescued her from those creatures. Her heart still beat 900 mph but gradually his voice cut through her fear, at first just the tone of his voice, calming and soothing. Eventually his words began to be understood and she felt her pulse slowing to a more normal rate.

They’re not here, they’re gone, they won’t hurt you. There are no more lizards. There are no rats. There’s nothing left to attack. No one here to hurt you.

She still held on, in a most unladylike way, her legs straddling him the way he would carry a child. Their bodies so close that she felt his heat through the suddenly paper-thin clothes. He held her close and though she kept her face buried against his neck, his words began to calm her.

I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, Lily, I promise, not now, not never.

He had saved her and would keep her safe. No more rats. No more lizards? His hand gently rubbed her back, calming her, consoling her. She felt herself relax, his hands now making wider slow circles on her back as his face seemed to nuzzle against the side of her face. His hips moved and she became aware of her bare skin pressed against his. The heat from his thigh drawing heat from her bare thighs. His hands now stroking the curve of her bottom. Her dress felt nonexistent, as if his hands touched her bare skin. She felt herself melting into him, for once since this whole adventure, since her adult life perhaps, feeling dependent upon someone who would protect her.

I’ll be here, I’ll always be here. I promise I will protect you now Lily.

At first her words were muffled as her face was still pressed against that special place where his shoulder met his neck and her lips moved against his skin, soft words from soft lips almost like a kiss. She moved her head side to side, nuzzling him back until her words could be understood.

"Thank you, Joe." Her voice was small and quiet, but sincere.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

As soft and caring this moment became, Joe couldn’t ignore the physicality of it as well. She wrecked herself in terror, needed to be pulled from her fears, and embraced him as he carried her like a child. She now encircled him with her legs, her dress wrapped around waist, and now her uncovered womanhood lay upon his hips. As she started nuzzling into his neck, the blood in his veins heated and the unmistakable feel of growth began in his shorts.

His first thought was to deny that, stiffing up his arms and trying to not offend the poor woman. He breathed quietly into her ear. “What you said before, it’s not true. People like you, I am sure of it. How can they not like you.”

Joe’s attempts to keep his focus from more carnal needs broke, and a haze came over his thoughts. His hands moved down to her hips, and slid to their hem. It was like the garment was an offending barrier now, the last thing keeping him from his own happiness.

His mouth move along her neck, until her cheek. Doing not but making soft brushes against skin, he tempted doing more than those brushes, tempted tasting the sea air on her skin, tempted something more than just naive comfort.

There was no denying that he grew to full mast under her, his shorts the only thing separating it from from breaching her sex. It pressed uncomfortably against the stitching, but he no longer felt the need to hide it.

“Here, it is just us,” he whispered. “All we have is each other. That’s all we will need as long as we are here.”

 

[Opensesame54321]

His voice was quiet and soft in her ear, and she felt comforted by him. Yet she felt arousal too and that surprised her.

What you said before, it’s not true. People like you, I am sure of it. How can they not like you.

Suddenly, Joe's hands were on her bare hips as the sea breeze caressed her butt cheeks, the hem of her dress lifting to her waist. Were she back in Georgia, she probably would have slapped his face and made some biting remark. But here where creatures roamed the jungle and the dark held secrets, she found that she no longer cared. All she wanted was to feel safe. To feel wanted. Per chance to feel loved?

Now, his hands on her skin were warm and wonderful. They were making her stomach flutter. And his lips! As if in mimic of hers, his lips nibbled her neck, slowly drawing closer each time to her lips though not quite making it. As he kissed her cheek, she leaned into it as he spoke against her skin, his voice barely a whisper.

Here, it is just us. All we have is each other. That’s all we will need as long as we are here.

Without thinking, she turned her head and her lips brushed his. Electricity shot through her, almost lighting up the night. Her lips spoke hushed against his.

"Yessssssss!" And she was kissing him again.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

Her lips found his, and together they kissed. At first gentle, but the kiss grew in passion, in need. Shared as well. Not just the aching one man trying to light a girl’s fire, but hers as strong, and combined. As if they kissed as one. As if they were together. The flush of the kiss gave a singleness to the moment.

Joe became intoxicated by the moment. There was no rescue. There were no girlfriend back home. No more dangers. No more troubles. Only the need to be with this girl. Only the need to touch her. Only to make her feel good.

His hands, high on her hips, acted to drive as much from her fire as he could. One circled around to cup her firm bottom, marveling it’s soft skin against his fingertips. It held her, it lifted her, it kept her well positioned on his hips to control where she rolled. Yet it’s true purpose was to help life the skirt that kept her covered higher on her body.

His other hand circled over his thigh, slid to the inside, and made it’s intent known by pressing between his own body and hers. Almost abruptly, his hand turned to slide against her lower stomach and finding the growth of hair whether intentionally or unintentionally grown on the isle, marking that his hand was moving towards the alabaster beauty of her mons. The spot he spied, he dreamed about, that was now within touch. His fingers felt the gentle curve and knew he was on the brink. Yet he stopped at that moment, almost aware of what new taboo he would break. As if he reached one of the last gates in his inhibitions before advancing.

 

[Opensesame54321]

His arms held her against him, but not without her aid as she pressed herself against him, needing him and the passion he could give her. Her body pressed tight to him craved more, and the kiss deepened drawing her into him.

Warmth teased her bottom as his fingers caressed and she found herself wishing for more, wishing for everything, the moon and stars.

Fingertips soft and seeking, questing ever towards her center. Her breath caught in her throat as he smoothly ran his hand along her stomach and she wanted him, more than she had ever wanted anyone.

Then suddenly he stopped and she wanted to cry out from frustration. She should say nothing but could no longer keep her pride. Her voice was low as if to keep anyone from overhearing.

"Please, Joe! Don't stop!"

Her own fingers had a mind of their own. Grabbing the back of her dress, she pulled it up over her head until she sat in his arms, bare and open to him. The moon, large and white, rose behind him, creeping up from the jungle, it's white light reflecting down on her body.

She so wanted him. And if he turned her down... She didn't want the think of it.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

Were they doing this? Were they really doing this?

The realization grew in his head, this wasn’t some fantasy or some accident. He wasn’t coming across the scared woman in the forest, spotting her in the shelter, or spying on her in the waterfall. She now encricled him, grinded into him, and he was taking full advantage of this situation.

Was he really doing this? That was the better question. Forgotten about his girlfriend back home?

In the instants those questions rattled his head, they were challenged by a vision far more direct. In the growing moonlight, she went from a passionate woman to a passionate naked woman. The sundress that remained the only thing she wore disappeared with a flash, and her beauty appeared in full in his lap. Joe took one look down at her body, and rushed after the thing he desired from her the most over the last few days.

Joe put his hands onto her shoulders, and pushed her back into the sand. As she rolled downward, he realigned himself down her body and where she settled with her legs open, the alabaster of her mons presented itself like a dish served warm. He dove face first into her sex, his mouth opening up and surrounding her lips. His tongue diving forth towards her folds. The need to taste her flushed away any of those thoughts that ran through his head. His act was sudden and swift, like attacking those lizards not so long ago, but now his mission was to taste that what was forbidden, and to bring the troubled woman to her own pleasure as quickly and abruptly as possible.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Sand still warm from the sun caressed her back. Was it the moon that had possessed her, making her wild and free for she found herself opening herself to him, no secrets for now. And with an eagerness that almost took her breath away, his mouth found her core, feasting like a man starved. His tongue probed her innermost areas and she couldn't help the moans that she utter. No neighbors to shock. Just her and him. And the moon.

Her hips thrusted against his face, as if offer all to him and more. It was all primal and as old as time. She was surprised at the speed everything was happening, for it felt as if time stopped.

Her fingers threaded through his hair a bit longer than when they landed on this island. She gripped it - her fists full of the strands - and pulled his head into her. She didn't want this feeding to stop. The spring was being wound and she knew that soon she would fly apart.

"Oh god, oh god!" Her voice whispered it like a mantra, praying that he would not stop. So close! So close!

His mouth so hot and hungry edged her on and on and she knew what was coming.

Suddenly, time stopped and fractured and broke into a million pieces. The sound she made was new to her. A growling scream from deep within issued from her lips as she came, flooding his tongue with cream. She lay quivering. Drained. Her brain wrapped in cotton and unable to think.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

Make no mistake, Joe knew as much about the female anatomy as most average men. To say he was an expert ‘down there’ would be to say a vegetarian knew how to be a butcher. Yet, he never lost his boyhood curiosity of why lie between a woman’s legs, and it was a thrill to become intimate with their intimates. Josie would let him explore on her more drunk days, but the way she wanted to usually ‘get right to it’ suggested that she wasn’t always fond of his desire for foreplay. Which is fine, since he was never really a fan of her going down on him either - not that she was bad at it, but getting a woman off is far more erotic than just getting himself off.

That was exactly why Lily on the beach became the most erotic moment of his life. Kneeling between her legs, she lay out completely nude accepting his attention. Face first into her sex, singularly focused on bringing out her pleasure. In complete contrast, he remained fully clothed, shirt, shorts, and shoes. Like the dream he had the night before, she was presented to him to enjoy as much as he wanted, and he wanted nothing more to reward her for just that.

His tongue dived deep inside her wetness. His mouth sucked on the nubbin. He breathed, he fed, he twisted. His fingers assisted, sometimes diving in and stroking those points where she reacted to the most, sometimes soothing up her torso, sometimes teasing at an opening. Solely focused on her pleasure, he remained acutely aware of what made her twist, made her jump, made her pulse. His efforts rewarded when he felt her crush through her orgasim. She tasted sweet, as she shivered through her climax, and he welcomed whatever she gave him.

Slowly as she calmed down from her high, he remembered where he was at. As rock stiff as he was, he remembered that she was this fearful creature, not much long ago shaken by things in the darkness. And he had someone waiting for him at home. Likely in her daze, he could have razed up, slid himself into her, and plasted her full of pent up need of his own, but there was just enough guilt in him to do that. Now as she lay exhausted in the sand.

Instead, he found her dress and lay it across her body. He slid his hands underneath her, lifted her, and carried her back to the shelter. She looked tired enough to sleep, even if he may not have been. It would be hard for him to sleep tonight, in part because it is hard. It didn’t help he could still taste Lily on his lips, smell her on his shirt. Maybe in the morn he will go to the waterfall and wash her off. Maybe he will sleep and he will dream something that will make it alright.

But for now, it was time to let his fellow castaway rest. Because tonight, it was all about Lily.

 

[Opensesame54321]

The thundering of her heartbeat in her ears drowned out even the waves washed against the beach. To someone who had spent her life hiding her feelings, Lily was somewhat overwhelmed. Joe. Janitor Joe had saved her. From those things. Velociraptors ran through her head though she knew that wasn't what they were. He had rushed in and fought a gang of them off. And then...

He had done what he had done. Her sex still tingled with the memory of it. She may not have been with a man in a while, and though the contact may have been brief by today's standards, she was sure that she had never had what she had just experienced before. Clark had never done anything remotely like it.

I’ll be here, I’ll always be here. I promise I will protect you now Lily.

Her body was slowly returning to earth. The sand still cradled her body. The ocean breezes brushed against her nude body before he covered her with the discarded dress. Gently, as if picking up a child, he cradled her in his arms. Her front was hidden. But she felt his arms against her backside. Arms that were warm and surprisingly strong.

She realized that she didn't want him to put her down. She wanted to stay in his arms. She wanted to stay where she was. Wanted this to go on and on. Wanted him to protect her from all these horrible things. She nuzzled in his arms. She was not one to use feminine wiles but at this moment she wished that she did.

He was walking towards the shelter, towards that little patch of civilization that he had made here on the island. She was tired, drained by the day's events. And though she may have been a bit confused by things, she knew one thing. She did not want to sleep alone tonight. She wanted to be in his arms tonight.

As they reached the hut, she whispered against him.

"Please Joe, I don't want to sleep alone. Not tonight."

 

[ArcticAvenue]

"Please Joe, I don't want to sleep alone. Not tonight."

There was something in her voice that slowly allowed Joe to detach from his senses. A plea for a need, but one that spoke of something more. The consciousness of his thoughts remained real, grounded, but they only stood to justify actions, and to ignore what he had so much held himself to be even up to the time they neared the shelter.

She only had the dress draped over her, it covered nothing. As he lowered her to the shelter floor, he placed her on her side of the space. But then put a hand on her shoulder, encouraging her, expecting her to lie flat on her stomach.

‘Let her sleep’ his mind said as he stood and looked over her prone form. The perfect shape of her bottom, accented by the curve of her back to her femininely strong shoulders.

‘It is going to be a hot night,’ his mind said. The usual sea breezes still and the sand cooked by the sun made the heat of his shirt stiffling. He unbuttoned it briskly, enjoying the more direct air to cool him. As his shorts dropped to the floor thoughtlessly, he stood over top of her thinking only of the comfort of his own nakedness.

‘She will be cold later’, he justified. Kneeling between her legs he shifted up to lay over her. His body heat to surely keep her warm throughout the night. He would be the blanket to keep her safe. His knees pressing her thighs further apart, his hands holding just enough weight off of her but still allowing the whold of his torso against hers.

The position left their parts in an unmistakable place. His refound stiffness pressed against her still wet mound. His hips pressing into the round of her bottom. His breath rolling across her neck. Finally his mind spoke to his needs with two direct words ‘Take her.’

He pushed with his hips, plunged inside, and took her.

 

[Opensesame54321]

For once, Lily wanted company. Back home, She did not make friends easy. She valued her privacy. Yet here where privacy could so easily be obtained, she now feared it. To be all alone...

He laid her down on her side, her dress beneath her, and rolled her on her stomach. Bare skin was presented to him, her back and butt naked and calling out to him. She heard the sound of clothes and her heart beat faster as she felt bare skin against her bare skin. His knees spread her legs as heat slid slowly into her slit. She was wet and ready for him.

It had been a while since she had been with a man, and certainly not in this position, but she felt that time and space was suddenly upended upside down. She gave a sigh as he filled her. His skin warmed her and he seemed to pause a moment but she couldn't wait for him to began sliding in and out.

Without thinking, her hips moved to meet his, her back arching to push back in to him. Tonight he was meeting a need she had. Perhaps she was meeting a need for him. Here alone on this island, all they really had was each other. What she had back home was nothing. Here was nothing too. Except him. On this island, he was her knight in shining armor, saving her from vicious animals. Saving her from herself.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

He felt like he was surrounding her with his body, in all ways but one. His chest lay at her back, his torso along the curve of her spine, arms wrapped around shoulders, hot breath into her neck. His size made her feel small under him. Made her feel like he covered her like a blanket.

Made her feel like he kept her from escaping.

Made her feel like she was nothing but something he could take.

In all ways but one, he felt like he completely surrounded her. In that one way, it was she who surrounded him. Her sex wrapped around his like silky fingers gripping onto a handle. His girth filled her, stretched her. The attention he gave her on the beach left her soaked, smooth, and hot like a furnace. Everytime he pushed forward, he could feel more of her wetness press out and wet his scrotum. Each thrust striking that excited clit that seemed to reach for that touch.

His mind started on this effort blank. His actions driven by a need. His thoughts clouded, uninhibited by proper deeds. At first she was nothing but a physical tool. Something to allow him to relieve the frustrations of all these days left on the beach. As his senses returned something else grew. The memories of that woman whom he was stranded with. How she seemed to look down on him. How her attitude waxed and waned based on her needs. How his best efforts to befriend her seemed rejected. Now in her greatest time of need, he held the advantage.

She needed a knight in shining armor. He needed a damsel’s reward. She needed to feel safe. He needed to feel his cock in her hole, in Lily the Bitch’s hole As he felt the build of tension in his balls with the nearing approach of his climax, he gritted his teeth and pounded harder and harder into her. He was taking her, and now he was going to fill her up.

 

[Opensesame54321]

At some point this whole thing ceased to be Joe and Lily and became he and she. She knew he had a girlfriend back home. If she were any kind of moral person, she would have said no, would have not begged him to stay, would have not kissed him. But she wasn't. She was just like her stepmother had said, "a dirty girl with dirty habits."

And yet, when he had finally slid into her, it had felt right. Her need had been stronger than she had thought possible.

No words were spoken and it was quiet in the lean-to save the sound of heavy breathing and their bodies slapping together. The squelching sound of sex. In the distance she could hear the surf crashing against the shore.

His need must have been strong as he began picking up speed, thrusting into her faster and harder. That's when it hit her. This was as if this was his prize for saving her from the creatures. Unapproachable. She was merely something to fuck, to take out his frustrations on. She had done it again. The only person on the whole fucking island and she had made a possible friend into someone who would just use her.

She guessed that she deserved wherever he gave her. After all, that was what she had heard her whole life. She waited for him to cum. So they could get some rest.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

Joe finished, finished hard. The gush of seed that poured from him seemed to froth and press until he could feel their joined fluid coating their groins. The flush of the final moments seeming to rush by him and leave him with nothing but the blank feeling of release. Slowly as his breath caught, he calmed and nuzzled slightly into her neck.

The instinct to not lay continuously on top of the woman soon took over, and he slowly rolled to the side. He took her with him in the move. His flaccid member falling out of her, but he still kept her body next to his. Wrapping an arm around her, he let rest come as they were spooned together. Whether she wanted to sleep like that or not, it didn’t matter to him. He lay on his side embracing the warm flesh and rested satisfied.

Unlike the night before, his mind rested as well. No strange dreams. No suggestions of Josie or anything from back home. No pornographic images of Lily. Just sleep.

But when he awoke, Joe became immediately aware of his actions of the night before. Not just what they had done, but what he had done … and how he had done it … and how he thought about it. Something in him took over, and it wasn’t the way a man like Joe should act. That’s when the shame grew, the fear of what this means. The sun was only barely up, and he needed to get somewhere to clear his head, think of what really happened. He chose the only place that made sense for such clarity.

Even this early in the morning, the waterfall was warm and inviting. Sitting under the water, he allowed the wash to clean away the dirt, sweat, and other things sticking to his skin. To try to wash away the rest of the night. To let everything to start to make sense.

 

[Opensesame54321]

With a grunt and hard thrust, he came inside her. He lay there on top of her, filling her with his seed. Tears filled her eyes. Instead of the possibility of something gentle and loving, she was his whore for the night. She knew that he had a girlfriend back home. This was all her fault. She was a fuck up. Even on a deserted island, she couldn't get it right.

Once he finished, he rolled off of her and pulled her to him, spooning, apparently now tired. Soon he was asleep and she felt his breath puff against the back of her neck. Her brain screamed at her. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING! Her dress was bunched up underneath them and her tears fell, quietly soaking her dress and the sand underneath it in that spot. All night she lay there in his arms, his body warming her backside. His arms wrapped around her. Holding her tight. If only it meant something.

Early the next morning, he stirred. The sun was barely coming up and she had not slept a wink all night. It felt as if she had sand coating her eyeballs. They were gritty and felt swollen. Once she felt him stir, she feigned sleep, though he seemed to be trying to sneak out without waking her. She lay there, waiting for the sounds of him to fade away.

She finally got up, feeling sticky between her legs. Disgusted with him. Disgusted with herself. She dressed herself, noting the stain from last night. Outside the hut, she grabbed her prized white bucket. Outside was a small pile of coconuts and she figured that surely he would not begrudge her a coconut. She dropped the coconut and her sandals in the bucket and put on the lid before walking towards the surf feeling as if she were in a bad Steve Martin movie. The Jerk ran through her head. "I don't need anything. I don't need anything but this bucket. I don't need anything but this bucket and this coconut."

She stepped into it, the water pulling at the hem of her dresses she turned and started walking in the surf, sand and water swirling around her legs. She was hungry -yesterday had been a bad enough but the fact that she had not eaten had been overlooked until now. But, nevertheless, she pushed on. If there was fresh water in two places, there had to be fresh water in other places. After walking for about 40 minutes, she could no longer see the hut. The last glimpse of what little civilization that existed on this island.

She walked up and placed the bucket safely on the sand before walking back into the water and completely immersing herself in the sea. She held her breath as long as possible before popping up, her dress molded to her skin. She stumbled a bit, trying to regain her footing before heading back to shore.

She picked the bucket back up and once again continued down the shore leaving the camp behind.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

She took a bucket, but that was about it. It wasn’t so surprising that she wasn’t at the shelter when he returned, but he thought she might take a little more - maybe the makeshift fishing pole, or a water gourd. It only said to him that she would be back soon. But as day was turning to night, Joe grew more and more uncomfortable with the state of things.

He took a look bath in the waterfall. Needed a long bath at the waterfall. He could smell the mixture of her and him on everything. He could feel the dried sweat (and other fluids) left on his skin that needed to come off. More than anything, he needed time to process it.

He had officially cheated on Josie. He officially let his weaker self take over and sleep with someone other than his longterm girlfriend. Not only that, he did so without very little agreement from Lily. He didn’t ask her if it was what she wanted. He didn’t give her a chance to push him away. He just placed her on the shelter floor and fucked her - no romance, no sensuality, just raw rutting and release.

And … he liked it. He … Liked it.

Even sated from the physical rollercoaster, just thinking about the tanned body of his fellow castaway pressed up against him caused him to rise in remembrance. But just when he could start to picture her face, the regret sucked him down, made him feel lost, and worried what this might mean to their thin kinship or their fundamental goal to survive.

It was something they would have to talk about. Lily never was much of a talker, but this … this had to be dealt with.

So, when Joe found the camp empty, he sat down and waited for her to come back. They would just talk about it then.

Now night was falling. The sun dipping to the edge of the sea. Already too late to go look for her, he just lit the fire, tried to make sure it was the beacon, and hoped that soon she would find her way back.

 

[Opensesame54321]

Exhaustion finally forced her to stop. She had never been this far down the beach, and since she had walked part way in the surf, she stood a 50/50 chance of him picking the wrong direction first. If he went looking for her. Which she doubted. She wasn't anything to him anyway. Except a hole to fuck. Well, fine, let him use his hand.

She tried to remember how he had built the shelter. Right before dark, she finally picked some huge leaves and fashioned some kind of shade. She could see rain brewing and after opening the coconut and drinking its milk, she felt a bit better. She ate it's sweet meat and saved the shell. The wind rose up and blew apart her shelter.

As the rain started to fall a bit after dark, she buried the bottom 1/3 of the bucket in the sand so it wouldn't fall over in a wind. With the lid off, the bucket slowly began to gather rainwater. Drinkable rainwater. She didn't dare go in the jungle at night, now that she knew that those things were there. She sat in the rain by the bucket, her mind drifting back to her horrible childhood. When she was a child, she had always thought that once she was grownup, life would be better. She would have friends, maybe a family. Instead, she worked at a job she hated to make money to buy the things that she had never had as a kid. And she had no friends. She had co-workers that didn't know her any better than to get something like this for a gift. She had already been replaced at work. Of that she was certain. A return home would mean unemployment. No one waited in the legal profession. Her belongings, such as they were, probably already sold by the landlord.

She tipped her head back and drank the rain that fell in her open mouth. She saw no velociraptor but she still remained vigil throughout the night, ignoring the rain save when she drank. Oh, she knew that those things weren't velociraptors, but as she didn't know their real name, that name was as good as any. She drifted off to sleep around dawn and dreamed that the rats from her childhood were nibbling her toes. She awoke with a start to find a crab nibbling at her. The rain had stopped and she found enough water in the bucket to drink. It was slightly cool and she drank all but the sandy bottom. Leaving the bucket still imbedded in the sand, she finally drifted off to sleep curled around the thing, as if to protect it.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

The rain fell in buckets for hours, wind battering the tree tops, and lighting cracked along the coast. The shelter, for all it’s makeshift strapping and engineering, held fast and did it’s job. The berm built to keep water away from the sleeping area did it’s job too, ensuring nothing inside got flooded and ensuring the structure wouldn’t start sinking into the sand. When it was over, the skies were still black and would be for hours. Cool air mixed with the rain that could have meant that when the storm passed the sleeping weather would be perfect.

Joe wouldn’t sleep.

She was out there. Maybe she left for some reason to get away from him, but she was still out there. As much as they were two independent people, he couldn’t see any reason why she would venture off and not return to the shelter in this kind of storm. Unless she got caught out in it at least, and if she did she likely was in trouble.

Unless she is trying to avoid him.

Well, she was trying to avoid him. For good reason, she was trying to avoid him. The gut of guilt growing in his stomach became torture in it’s own way. How awful he must have been to her, how terrible, to make a girl put her life at risk just because he had to take advantage of her at her most vulnerable. Now she was out there, likely in danger, likely scared.

He had to find her. This time, when he found her, he would protect her. Not just from the island but from himself too. She would be safe.

Still dark night, he headed out up the beach with nothing to carry. The footprints he saw yesterday before the storm headed in one direction. Likely it would be too dark to follow them, if the storm hadn’t washed it all away anyway. He would walk until he couldn’t anymore, follow the beach until he couldn’t anymore, then if that found nothing, he would do something.

And he wouldn’t stop … not until she was safe.

 

[Opensesame54321]

The second wave of rain was much harder. A stinging rain, it made her skin hurt. She knew enough to know to stay away from the trees in all this lightening. Unless she wanted to die. Which she did not! Her hair and dress were plastered to her body and she had no shelter. Open to the elements, the wind whipped her dress around her, snarled her hair. Maybe she could somehow made a comb from a coconut shell. Heaven knew she needed one.

The rainwater washed away the stiffness that the seawater had left in her dress. Eventually the storm passed and she found cooler air brushing against her skin. The bucket had stayed upright in the storm, what with it being half buried, and it now stood well filled with rainwater. She knew in the day it would evaporate quick, but at least for now, she would not die of thirst.

She drank hard, her stomach hungry from lack of food. The coconut had not had a lot of nutrition and she knew that she needed food soon. But right now, she was tired. She put the lid on the bucket and left it half buried. She saw no clouds in the sky and hoped that the storms were over.

There was a small patch of what looked like grass against the edge of where the wild jungle started. A portion of it ran under a palm tree and she thought that she might be safe under it as long as there were no more electrical storms.

She walked over and sat down, leaning her back against the palm tree. She thought back over her life. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be happy. It was a word that had very little meaning to her. Just what was happy? She saw people smiling and laughing. But to her, the concept was as foreign as a walk on Jupiter.

She looked out to sea, listening to the ever present waves rushing against the shore. She guessed that Joe gave her just what she gave him. After all, he had a girl back home. For a moment her name escaped her. Shit! She ought to remember it - he mentioned the woman with every other breath. Josie? Lily was suddenly jealous of a woman she had never met. Lily tried to swallow the hard knot of envy down but it stuck in her throat. Why couldn't she have had someone like Joe in her life? Hell, why couldn't she have had Joe? Cause deep down, Joe was a good guy. And she didn't really deserve someone like him.

She cried again. Cried for herself. Cause no one else was gonna cry for her.

 

[ArcticAvenue]

That day was the first day on the island he actually felt in trouble. By late morning, the heat parched him, and he cursed his brashness of heading out without something to collect water. The grumbling in his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten since the pulling bits of the lizard off the fire the night before. With the storm over the island and the storm of his thoughts, he ran on little sleep. Slowly dehydrating and feeling the energy wain from a lack food, he started to realize that turning back would take as much of him that heading this far out already had. So he trudged on. Yet as the last bits of sanity started to leave him, the more realized, this is how people die. Not in a great accident, but little by little until they have passed a point where they can’t return. Not with a bang, but a whimper.

There became a monotony to the march, placing one foot in front of the other in the hard sand, moving onward. The more tired he got, the less he focused as much on search as he did moving forward. He reached a point where he almost forgot why he was going; only knowing he had to keep going.

In a daze, his foot caught something and he tumbled to the beach. It took him some moments to figure out what happened, checking himself out and ensuring nothing was broken, cut, or bruised. Then he looked back and saw what he tripped over. A plastic bucket, half buried in the sand; freshly buried. Her bucket. He hadn’t even noticed it was missing, but it was there now.

His mind clearing, Joe looked frantically around, and there she was.

Lily had propped herself up against a palm tree, and seemed asleep. Or he hoped she was asleep. He tried to lift up and go to her, but he was too exhausted. Instead he crawled. The closer he got, the more he knew she was okay, just resting, just sleeping. There were no thoughts of what caused her to leave or the trauma he might have caused her. All he felt was tired … tired and relieved. She was alright. If he could get a little rest, he can make sure she stays alright.

Joe crawled over to the tree and leaned himself against it by her side, closed his eyes, and rested.

 

[Opensesame54321]

She didn't know when he found her. She fell asleep against the tree and when she woke up, he was sleeping beside her. It surprised her. For a while, she sat there unsure of exactly what she should do. Talk to him? Run away again? Ignore him?

Taking a deep breath, she reached out to touch him, to wake him. It surprised her when he didn't rouse. Was he sick? She didn't feel great either but she knew that hers was due to lack of food. She looked around him but saw no food - great! Joe the maker, make me a meal. Steak and baked potato please - nor even water. Well, at least she could take care of that.

She went over to where the bucket sat half buried in the sand. Thank goodness she had put the lid back on it otherwise all her water would be spilt. It was tilted at a crazy angle and she righted it up before opening it up. Safe and secure. She dipped her hand in a drank several handfuls. Damn! That sure tasted good.

There was a small lip on the outside of the bucket lid. She dribbled a bit of the water on it and used it to wash off the lid before putting more water in it. It was hard to carry it over to where Joe was, her unsteady steps spilling about half of that little bit.

The lid was never made to be used that way. Nevertheless, she held the lid to his lips and tipped it. The water seemed to dribbled down his chin and neck. "Aw, Joe. Come on! Give me a break!"

Back to the bucket she went, filling it with more water and then she remembered the bit of coconut shell leftover from earlier. She blamed it on the weather, exhaustion, hunger, anything but the fact that it just didn't occur to her. Grabbing the naturally occurring cup shape, she filled it full of water and took it back to Joe. Walking up to him, she muttered under her breath, "You had better not die. I don't have the strength to bury you so I'll just leave your body out to the elements, the sun to bleach your bones."

"Okay, you big lunkhead, drink dammit!" She held the water to his lips, tipping it slowly.