The Island

[Cordae]

Julie Malone

Julie edged closer to the fire, watching the flames dance off the tinder. She cradled her dead arm with her good one and let the fire warm her face.

"Well, this sucks!" She announced to nobody in particular. "What are we supposed to do now?" It would have been nice if there was someone able to answer the question, but Julie expected no reply.

She fought tears back for the umpteenth time that day, and turned her face to the individual sitting across the flames from her.

"So why were you taking this wonderful trip to Hawaii?" She didn't bother to disguise the sarcasm in her voice.

 

[Steiner]

Robert squared his jaw at Reggie's words and nodded.

"You're right, you're right... Well, then - from now on we assume nobody's coming and we're stuck here for awhile. Let's start gathering food and shelter and water in here."

Inside his brain was turning lazy somersaults - this was not something that was even considered possible unless you were flying a tiny two-seater over the sahara - but it was the situation they had to deal with. And Reggie was right - he was responsible.

Squaring the peaked cap on his head, he went to move back into the cave, and almost collided with Ms Bishop, who was moving out towards the two of them. He essayed a smile at her, trying to reassure and gestured back into the cave.

"All of us need to have a little chat about what we do next, Miss. Would you mind... ?" And he headed back towards the fire.

 

[papillon24]

Angie hurried as fast as she could back out to the Altima. Scarmbling aboard she raised anchor and headed farther towards the beach. Soon she found an area deep enough to dock the boat only about 20 feet off the shore. It was farther than she had hoped it would be from the camp but it would have to do. Half a mile would not be that bad of a distance to hike anyways. She let the anchor fall and loaded the flashlight, beef jerky and a deep crockpost and asmall shallow pan into the rowboat. It was all that was left int he top cupboard and she had hoped it would be enough.

She made it back to the shore and began her hike along the beach towards the smoke. As she approached she could see the people begin to crowd around the fire.

"Hey Cap' I brought a few more things. It's all thats left. When I left the harbor I was only expecting myself. I hope this helps." She set the things by the fire before sitting down herself

 

[Butch]

Kwame Uhuru

He felt extremely uncomfortable among all these unknown people. Sure, the plane crash had been horrible and he felt terrible for those who didn't make it. But being forced together with a bunch of half-panicky strangers was, to him, almost worse. He had gone to med-school and was well aware of how bad their odds were.

He sat down on his own, quite a distance from the fire. He was truly undecided on what to do. Apart from the captain, the woman with the boat and maybe the man who helped piloting on the way down, Kwame was the only one who stood a chance to make it on his own. A really slim chance though. But the others would only slow them down, they couldn't possibly have any training for this situation. Why should he help them at the risk of his own survival? What had they ever done for him? He simply couldn't be so selfless as to just take care of a bunch of strangers. Where he'd grown up a man had to be able to fend for himself. He'd gotten to where he was today on his own two feet, noone had been there to help him.
Now he had choose between helping some snot nosed middle class mama's boys try to survive on a deserted island or go off on his own, probably with a much larger chance of surviving.
So why did he have such a hard time deciding?

He was still undecided, but decided to give these people a chance to proove they deserved his help.
"Hey people, don't just stand there, if we wanna survive the night we've gotta get some fire wood. Come on."

 

[Drinking Cap]

Kawaihae

Chief Kawaihae walked through the impressive village of Kapa'a-he'o. He tried to think back to not five years ago when he'd first been made Ali'i. The village had been a smaller, coastal settlement who were routinely raided by their neighbours. In the years since, Kawaihae had led the people of the village to great success. Some said it was his great size and strength as a warrior that had led to the Village's new success, others said it was the way he'd elevated the status of the women of the village. Still others said it was the magic he'd shown them, building them stronger fishing boats and better farming tools.

There were more who believed that Kawaihae had been touched by the gods themselves. He seemed to know the best times to plant crops and raise animals. He was gifted as a healer as well. The one thing the entire village could agree on is how Kawaihae had improved the quality of life for them all. Kapa'a-he'o was now the largest village on the island of Oahu, stretching deep inland that contained much of the island's fertile farmland and hunting grounds. They'd absorbed many of the smaller villages, those who wanted their lives improved, and those who attacked them had been quickly conquered and assimilated.

Kawaihae strolled through his village and looked sternly at the storm. He could barely remember seeing a storm this imposing. The villagers would no doubt think it a sign from the gods. They'd think the upcoming feast in Lono's honor would be jeopardized.

He turned to make his way back towards the Hale Ali'i when he was stopped by a young boy of the village.

"Ali'i!" The boy cried out.

"What is it, Eli?" Kawaihae kneeled down to the boy.

"Kaohe and the others returned from hunting. They said they saw a firey bird fall from the sky and crash into the ocean!" The boy said. Kawaihae looked strangely at the boy. What he was saying made no sense. Could this strange sighting, and the storm, be signs from the gods?

"Tell him to take five more men and begin searching the coast for this bird. I'm sure they must have been drinking too much of the special feast beverages I'd brewed but we must be safe." Kawaihae said. The boy ran off towards the Hale Mua. And Kawaihae began walking towards his hut again. Perhaps he would venture to the women's hut, he thought with a smile on his face, find a pretty maiden to wait out the storm with.

The thought brought a grin to the large Chief as he strolled through the village. His village.

 

[Maid of Marvels]

Leilani

Leilani pounded the taro, grinding it into a fine paste for poi. She was glad of the busy work, the news of Makani's death had saddened her though she knew it was the way of things. In truth, she could not imagine no longer hearing her musical laughter and her taunting banter. It would be a lonely time until she was reborn into their tribe.

Lost in thought, it took a moment to realize that someone was standing in the opening to the hut and that the others had begun to twitter nervously behind their hands. Glancing up, her dark eyes shining with unbidden tears, she saw it was the Ali'i, Kawaihae.

"Aloha 'auinala... good afternoon" she said boldly, though she remained on her knees, not daring to cross him with her shadow. It was an old kapu, and one of many Kawaihae strove to reform, but old habits died hard among her people, herself included... though she did like the newfound freedom he afforded the women now -- at least those ones who took advantage of the new ideas he offered.

He was a good man, a fair leader -- and very easy on the eyes, Leilani thought with a smile. Taller than most, he was a giant of a man in comparison... in more ways than one. The thought brought a flush to her face as she quickly looked away.

 

[Drinking Cap]

Kawaihae

Kawaihae had smiled at seeing Leilani in the hut. She was one of his favourite women of the village, for reasons that stretched far beyond the fact that she truly was one of the most beautiful young women in the village and had been yet unbetrothed.

She was one of the women who had responded most enthusiastically to the reforms he'd attempted to bring to the village. She was strong of mind and spirit. With a fesity independance that reminded Kawaihae very much of the women from his own village.

When she had glanced up and taken note of him, Kawaihae had noticed that her eyes were obviously filled with sadness. His thoughts went back to having heard the news of the death of Makani. Kawaihae had not known the girl well himself but he knew that Leilani and Makani had been close. His heart felt heavy for Leilani and his previous, baser thoughts were replaced with ones of compassion. As Ali'i his job involved leading the people in all matters, not merely those of war and resource building.

"Aloha 'auinala... good afternoon"

Kawaihae rolled his eyes slightly as he saw Leilani be careful not to let her shadow fall on him. It was, he thought a silly tradition. Yet, he surmised, it would take some time for all of his ideas to be accepted by all. Kawaihae beamed his warm, gregarious smile at the girl and returned her greeting.

"Aloha 'auinala Leliani." His voice was deep and powerful "I came by to see how you and the other women were doing in light of the sad news of Makani."

At the mention of the girls name, he saw more tears well up in Leilani's eyes. The smile he gave her was one of warmth and understanding.

"It was a most tragic event, I know." he said sadly "But you know that Makani was always at peace with her aumakua and will not be condemned to wander Milu's domain. "

"I know Kane will keep her well and will shortly return her spirit to us. She was too full of life and love for him to keep her from us long."

Kawaihae took a step closer to her and did something he knew would be considered most scandalous. He reached a hand out to her and put it gently on her shoulder.

"At the upcoming feast we will celebrate her life as much as we will offer thanks to Lono for our abundant crops. I am sure she would have wanted us to celebrate the wonderful ways in which she touched our lives at such a joyous time rather than weep for her."

 

[Lady_Kit]

Kit Duvall

"My name is Jacques Laforge, I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to see those blue eyes again."

Kit offered her hand in response to Jacques introduction, and a tired smile to his charm. The hand she grasped was warm, his touch was firm and assured. If they held to one another a moment longer than normal who could blame them, a lot had happened since that first moment in the terminal.

I’d guess that would be about as glad as I am to learn your name…Jacques Laforge.

His name rested on her tongue for a moment before sliding from her lips; she liked the feel of it in her mouth, liked the sound. She wrapped her fingers around his hand, and squeezed before pulling away.

I’m glad you’re awake, it looks like the Captain has decided to move. Can you walk?

Another time the sight of a handsome man stretching and flexing would have sent Kits blood pressure up a notch. That she barely noticed the finely toned body was a sign of how much the situation affected her.

He nodded, began to rise as Kit stood and together they moved away from the burning wreck. As did most of the walking wounded, they tried to assist those with more serious injuries. Kit was dismayed to see that the number of people on their feet was far fewer than those not.

The space between the crash site and the cave where she now sat was a blur of wet greenery and grey sky. Her mind felt muddled and her head had begun to ache with a pounding intensity. To distract herself from the pain in her head Kit looked around at her fellow survivors. Some looked like they’d be lucky to make it through the night without serious medical attention. Surely help must arrive soon; unless they were widely off course. The walk from the plane clarified itself in her mind, dark jungle-like, quiet, very quiet except for the sound of rain, surf and the stumbling feet of the passengers of flight 19. There were unpopulated areas still in the Hawaiian islands, Kit knew that, but this…

She sat on the floor of the cave, her brain looking for a thread of logic with which to link the events of the day. Nothing she could imagine could bring any sense to anything. Ok, planes crash. Fact of modern life. But when planes crash people show up, if not to help, at least to gawk. Ok, so, the area was isolated, very isolated if no one was near enough to see the smoke and investigate. Surely the pilot had radioed for help? And what about the “black box?” If they could find those under the waves they ought to be able to find one on land. What about cell phones? Did anyone think to call for help?

"Hey people, don't just stand there, if we wanna survive the night we've gotta get some fire wood. Come on."

A young man stood at the edge of the firelight. He was right, they’d have to help themselves. Kit patted the pockets of her jacket and found her phone. The screen still showed a three bar charge but it only served to power the depressing “No Signal Found” message that flashed brightly back at her when she keyed the phone.

Shit, I knew I should have gotten a better plan.

She turned off the useless piece of technology and dropped it back into her pocket. Probably like that for all the phones if they were that far off the beaten path. Firewood was a much more practical idea.

He’s right, we need to start helping ourselves.

Before they could do that, the Captain and the Britt approached the fire. Their grim demeanor drew Kits attention and she guessed that they were not coming to say that help had arrived. She looked sideways at Jacques and wondered if he had come to the same conclusion.

 

[Starsailor2804]

What the rest of the group didn't know was that they had left one man behind, Paul. In his delusion and anger about the situation Paul had laid himself upon the beach with the waves crashing furiously and but never reaching much further than his legs. With his hands on his knees he looked upon the destructive waves as the fury of the rain beat down on his youthful body that had seen far too much in his young age. "Do you not wish to take me you bastard!?"

Looking down he cried, but anger drove him much more than his sadness. Standing up upon his weary legs he walked towards the water only to collapse on his knees as he beat his hands into the sand. "Damn it all!" Suddenly, a large wave that had formed far out at sea rose before the young man causing him to look up upon it. He did not move, he did not run, but watched, watched as it pummeled him into unconsciousness.

But, he did not die, not yet at least. His body sprawled high up on the beach he laid in a deep unconsciousness, one where he would not wake for who knows how long. Minutes, hours, or days it was very uncertain.

 

[Snow-Guy]

Sean

There had been noone on the boat, and Sean wasn't quite sure if breaking and entering would be understood. Walking back along the beach, he saw what looked vaguely like a body.

Sean jogged over to the body, anyone lying just beyond the tide like that had probably been royally worked over. He'd been there himself a few times. You fight your way out of the washing machine, and collapse as soon as you get a mouthful or two of fresh air. You were pretty much relying on your mates to get you to real safety, you were done.

He knelt down next to the body and noticed that the dude was totally out of it. Sean knew what to do - a couple decades of surfing and being a lifesaver meant that this situation was as familiar to him as driving a car.

Sean stuck his fingers into the body's mouth and had a quick feel around "Airway. Yep. You're not choking on your own puke there mate, so that's a good start. Shit, you're even breathing, things aren't that bad are they."

The victim might not be able to hear him, but talking kept Sean focused. He took his fingers out of the victims mouth and felt his pulse.
"Mate, you've got a stronger pulse than I do. You really shouldn't be lying there."

Sean started patting the body down "Right mate, let's see if you're broken or bleeding." As far as he could tell, the guy was fine. There was still a possibility of a spinal cord injury, and he wouldn't know for sure unless the guy woke up.

Sean pinched the guy's earlobe, digging his nails in as hard as he could.

"Wake up you fucker." It wasn't exactly the textbook way of addressing a victim, but he wasn't getting marked on this rescue.

A big wave came in and slammed Sean off his feet and dragged the guy back down the beach a couple of feet. Sean picked himself and stumbled down to his victim.

"Right. You're fucked if you stay here, so I'm going to drag your ass up the beach whether you like it or not."

He grabbed the guy under the armpits and started slowly dragging him up the beach. Hopefully he wasn't worsening anything, but they had to get somewhere warm and dry.

"You're a big fat lazy bastard." Sean grunted at the body as he backed slowly up the beach. "You're probably a fucking lawyer or something."

Once he was out of reach of the waves, Sean had a look around. There wasn't much in the way of shelter, but there did seem to be a recently used path of sorts.

Sighing, Sean slowly levered the guy up and onto his shoulders. He groaned as he realised just how heavy a human being is and then set off slowly up the path.

It was dark and wet, so Sean only made it a few steps into the bush before slipping. He caught himself and got his balance back.

He yelled "Stupid arsehole mud." It made him feel better, and gave him a nice chestful of fresh air.

A few more steps, and he walked into a branch that stabbed him on the upper thigh. "Bastard molester tree. I'm going to come back, chop you down with a blunt axe and make you into ass-paper."

Sean's slow journey through the bush (he doesn't know where he is going, but it turns out that he is follwing the other survivors' path towards the cave) was punctuated by loud, and often quite inventive, profanities every few steps.

 

[Messalina]

Messalina Bishop

Messalina acquiesced, remaining in the cave at the pilot's request. He had obviously decided to share some of what she'd overheard with the rest of them. Moving back toward the fire, she idly poked at it with a stick, hoping that the Brit wouldn't be far behind. He wasn't.

Hunkering down beside her, Trowbridge smiled and squeezed her arm, though she could see the concern in his eyes. Leaning against him lightly, Messa took sustenance from the Brit's inner strength, realizing for the first time that he was the only one among all the passengers that she'd actually gotten to meet, or at least trade names with. Well, she thought, if things are as bad as she thought they might be, that was going to have to change right quick, though it seemed the pilot was like-minded.

"Excuse me," he began awkwardly. "I'd like to have a word, if I may." Snatches of conversation stopped as all faces turned immediately toward him. Like it or not, he was the pilot and as such, had become their unofficial leader.

"For those of you whom I haven't met properly, my name is Robert Garrett. I am... was... the pilot of Hana Hou Airlines Flight 19." People nodded their acknowledgement, some even smiled, albeit weakly.

"Messalina Bishop," she blurted without thinking, others following suit.

"Reginald Trowbridge. At your service."

"Julie Malone."

"Kit Duvall."

"Jacques La Forge."

"Angie Kindes," offered a woman who had just entered the cave carrying supplies.

"That's Marge Jensen," said someone, pointing to a woman laying prostrate under a blanket that Angie had so thoughtfully provided.

"He's Bill Stover," another offered with a gesture toward an injured man.

"Kwame Uhuru," came the deep voice of the man who had been urging them to gather more wood a few moments before.

The roll call went on and on, with Robert Garrett nodding his head and smiling toward each and every one in turn, but finally they were all quiet and he turned back to where he had begun.

"I can't offer explanations for the technical failures of the plane. I won't even try," he said, sadly. "That's not what I wanted to talk about at any rate. There's something else you should all be aware of... "

His voice droned on as they all listened intently. "Something has gone very, very badly wrong. We must have come down in an atmospheric bubble of some kind, or the wrong side of a mountain range or something equally improbable. Even then, that doesn't explain why the GPRS on the plane failed."

"Ms. Kindes... Angie," he said, nodding toward her, "Has a radio on board her boat. There was nothing on that radio and it was fully functional before we crashed as she had contacted the local Coast Guard. The ASR people should have been here by now. They aren't."

He paused before continuing. "We seem to be dealing with some sort unprecedented anomally here. For the moment at least... we are on our own, and frankly, I don't think anyone is coming soon."

The sound of alarmed voiced began to jabber and Garrett raised his hand to still them. "This means... for what it's worth... that we need to start gathering wood and water. Angie has brought the few supplies she had offshore to help us out."

Messalina was stunned. Not even in her wildest dreams... Stuff like this just didn't happen!

 

[im_invisible69]

Cho

As this totally emotional day closes, I search out the perfect piece of wood from the pile I have collected. I take out my tools and move to my favorite corner of the village and start carving. I have decided to carve an icon of Makani's favorite goddess in memory of her passing and then give it to her family to display as they choose. This one will be fairly large and very detailed to reflect Makani's beauty and her place in the community.

 

[Cordae]

Julie Malone

Julie stared up at the captain.

"What? What are you talking about? Are you saying there is NO rescue coming? Are you saying we're stuck on this island? Is this an island? Is it Hawaii? Where are we? When do I get to go home?" Struggling to her feet, Julie walked towards the captain, giving him a small shove with her one good arm. "What the hell do we do now? I can't stay here! My friends are DEAD! My mother expects a phone call when I get to my hotel! I have a job starting in 3 weeks. I didn't take 4 years of college to wind up here!" She shoved the captain again, not noticing the shocked look on his face. Tears rolled down Julie's face, making trails in her dust encrusted cheeks.

She let out a scream. Long and loud and straight from her aching heart and spirit. As she did, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her from the captain.

 

[Steiner]

Robert took a half step back, appalled by the vitriol in the girls voice. The heat from the fire beat at him, and the faces ringing the fire seemed accusing. They swam, becoming pale ovals that swam in the flickering light.

Her final shove tagged him high in the left shoulder and, although he was much larger than her, and she was shoving weakly, it drove him back another step. Almost to the cave mouth. He stumbled back the last couple of steps to the black of the night outside the cave, turned and made it about 10 steps before the hastily eaten meal of a couple hours ago fought its way back to the surface.

Doubled up, collapsing to his knees, he slumped back against a tree, feeling truly wretched.

 

[papillon24]

Angie made her way over to where the captian was hunched over grabbing a water jug as she went. she bent down to check on him.

"You ok captian?" she held out the jug to him "You need to drinks something. the humidity can do funny things to your mind if you don't drink a bit of water now and then"

she patted him on the back making sure he was fine before heading back into the cave. She noticed the worry on peoples faces as the realization of no rescue came to their minds.

she made her way to the edge of the cave and out to the night. she stood watching the sky and the storm begin to pass. It smelled like the Hawaii she had grown up on, but much cleaner, more peaceful. she felt a bit of a rumble in the pit of her stomach. It made sense. In the rush to help the people she had not eaten. No one had anything to eat. Worry and no nourishment meant chaos in most situations.

She hurried over to the trees hurried up and pulled down a few coconuts in a swift movement. sliding down the scaley tree trunk Angie scooped up the 4 coconuts and hurried them inside the cave. She check the camping bag she brought from the boat and found a metal bowl inside with a large handel crossing the diameter of it for hanging, perfect for a quick camp. It would only hold about 4 cups of rice cooked but it would have to do for now.It wasn't much but it was large enough to use as a small cooking pot.

Quickly she emptied a bit of the rice into the bowl and poured a good amount of the water over it. Quickly she fashioned something to hang it upon and hung it above the fire to boil till done.

She sat back on the ground for a moment as people turned and looked at her actions. she smiled at them and turned her attention to the pot

 

[penprick]

The storm was subsiding, but not without casualty. Mako'a sensed that something was wrong when the villagers' stunned faces turned their attention to the fishing party, yet kept their distance. The reason for the shock became clear as Cho bore the body of Makani. This was a problem. A lecture was due to the young fisherman, but he had to allow for greif and so permitted him tell her story. When finished, the high priest gave his instructions.

"You should know better than to trek an unclean corpse through the village, son," he started calmly but sternly. "Take Makani's body to the Heiau where I shall wrap her in the cloth.. Then we shall burn all the clothes and belongings on our persons. All material about you that has come in contact with death, including today's catch. Then go to the river and bathe yourself. When you are done, return again to smoke the pipe. In this way you shall be purified."

Together they carried Makani's lifeless body to the Heiau and set it on the stone for preparation.

"Now throw all your belongings on the fire here," he instructed, "and go to the river and cleanse yourself. I shall do the same. Then I shall prepare the pipe for you to smoke upon your return. Do not eat anything until the smoke has purified you."

Mako'a stripped down and tossed his cloth and necklace onto the fire. Cho did likewise, burning the catch as well. Then the shaman bade him leave and appointed one of the lesser priests to begin anointing the body. After the pipe ceremony, he would return to wrap it in the kapa cloth personally. The burial would be in two days. Naked, Mako'a left the Heiau for the river to bathe.

 

[im_invisible69]

Cho

I was totally abashed by Mako'a's chastisement. This was the first person that had died outside of the village in my lifetime. We have had injury of course and each time the injured had been alive, and a few had died in their bed. Of course, Mako'a and the other priests would immediately take over.

I walked with my head hanging to the river and jumped right in. I scrubbed myself, keeping away from the others to ensure I didn't contaminate any others. And because I was embarassed.

After the cleansing I made my way back to Mako'a and sat as directed to cleanse my spirit. This ritual did make me feel better after all was done.

I got up and made my way to get dressed and get my carving tools, chose some wood and then went to my favorite place to carve the idol (as mentioned earlier). I was truly inspired, from the cleansing, and from my friendship with Makani, and found this idol was the most magnificent I've ever made, and when finished would be one of the most beautiful in the village.

 

[Messalina]

Messalina Bishop

She didn't have long to consider further the intimations of Garrett's announcement. In the blink of an eye, the young girl who had introduced herself as Julie was on her feet attacking him and screeching. To her further surprise, or maybe not, Trowbridge, knight in shining armor, was pulling her away while the pilot fled the cave followed by the chick from the boat.

Messalina sighed, watching the enigmatic Brit soothe Julie's tears and begin to speak to her quietly. He was quite a mystery man, that one. As to the others, including herself, they were a motley crew at best, though she had faith that they would band together once they began coming to terms with their further exacerbated states of shock.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the cloying, thick smoke from the fire and sounds of various outbursts and conversations between the other survivors, Messa decided that outside might be a better place.

The rain had let up a bit and the sun was trying to peek out from behind the clouds that had darkened the sky during the storm -- or whatever it was. Maybe none of them would ever know, but whatever it was, Angie evidently had gotten sucked up into it, too, and she wasn't even on the plane.

"Bastard molester tree. I'm going to come back, chop you down with a blunt axe and make you into ass-paper."

Messalina blinked, straining to better hear the voice of the person approaching along the path. "Someone's coming!" she whispered over her shoulder to Kwame who was standing by the cave's entrance.

He nodded, taking a step closer as a man stepped into the small clearing with another slung over his shoulder. He'd been on the plane, too, Messa remembered. "Let's get him inside," she said. "We've just had a bit of news that maybe you should hear, too."

 

[slowandeasy]

The fire created a surrealistic scene of shadowy figures huddled around it Nameless faces peering into it’s depths as if they were looking for answers to the puzzle that beleaguered them all, “Where were they? Why did it seem that they had just dropped out of the sky into a world that they didn’t recognize, that somehow they didn’t belong in. All nameless faces except for Kit

He was glad again that he had shared his identity with Kit Duval and had felt a bond when she took his hand as they rose to follow the nameless group of survivors away from the beach and the burning plane. Together they held a thin link to their separate pasts, shared a common present and searched for an unknown future. His feelings were reinforced when she had said his name slowly and purposely as if she wanted not to forget it for a long time, and her hand lingered in his, silently warming and reassuring him.

As they sat soaking up the heat from the fire, he was still feeling this warmth, this physical transfer of energy from her body to his It was more than physical attraction and he didn’t fool himself about the arousal he felt , the sexual attraction that simple touch had triggered. He pushed it aside much the same way he would push aside the sexual tension created when he painted the female human figure, held it at bay as he would when his brush-held fingers recreated the round soft curvature of a woman’s breast and when he drew the moist pink opening to her sex between her creamy thighs, Or any part of her anatomy that would cause him to want her more than continue the pleasure of bringing her body to life on canvas. To lose his control, his concentration, would have meant forgoing that pleasure in the one instance and the realization that there was more in this simple contact of two hands than a feeling of sexual need he felt for this woman who shared with him the warmth of the fire..

His concentration was broken by the drone of voices as the sea of unknown faces began to one by one identify themselves, He and Kit added their names to the list and he studied each face to store their respective names in his memory. When silence again prevailed he looked toward one of the men. He had something to say that needed saying now that he could attach a name to the man who he vaguely remembered had rescued him from the burning wreckage of the plane.

Robert he said Thank you for saving my life. And… he added slowly just as meaningfully, Thank you for seeing that this came with me. He pointed at his carryon bag, he now had clutched tightly in one hand, the one that held his drawing and painting tools.

As the group curiously looked where he was pointing He shrugged his shoulders and responded by saying It’s nothing really What really matters is that we’re all alive thanks to the quick response of the captain and… he pointed towards the British man. “This man, Reggie is it? Who, rumor has it, played a part in our rather unexpected arrival.”

Deciding he had said enough much more than he usually did to any group of more than four or five people he turned towards the fire The collar of his wet shirt chafed his neck and reaching to loosen the buttons he noticed just how wet it really was. Getting to his feet he found a long branch of wood someone had brought in to feed the fire and he wedged it between two outcroppings of rock at one end of the cave and stripping his shirt off hung it up to dry. Sensing the others watching him he turned and shrugged. “Might as well get comfortable. It’s going to be a long night.”

He saw Kit smile a curious look on her face and start to unbutton her jacket. As the fire chased the shadows away from two firm, softly curved breasts hidden only by tight thin wet cloth he suddenly realized this was the first time he had seen her directly from the front. His breath caught in his throat For a moment he just unabashedly stared, caught between two desires. One to take her in his arms and let the arousal he was feeling rise and engulf him. The other, to let his mind and hands fulfill a need to put on canvas the beauty of what he imagined lay beneath her clothing.

 

[Snow-Guy]

Sean

Sean staggered into a small clearing. His upper body was burning - a full size human being is a lot of awkwardly shaped deadweight, and Arsehole (as Sean had not-so-affectionately dubbed the guy he found on the beach) was definately deadweight. He wasn't dead though because he'd definately been peacefully breathing in Sean's ear most of the way. Sean did not like people breathing in his ear, especially not unconscious Arseholes.

He sounded like he was talking to himself, or at least the body over his shoulders.

"Hey asshole. You dead yet? Good. Anyway, this is why they don't build surf livingsaving huts in the middle of the bloody bush. Punters like you are way too bloody heavy to lug up a hill."

There were people in the clearing, but it's difficult to see with rain, sweat, and blood dribbling into your eyes. A female person spoke to Sean

"Let's get him inside," she said. "We've just had a bit of news that maybe you should hear, too."

"Bloody oath let's get him inside. I didn't drag Arsehole all the way up from the beach to leave him out in the rain, did I? I could have left him in the rain down there." He didn't sound angry, more like he was explaining something to a slightly slow child.

Sean plodded on towards the cave, pretty much ignoring state-the-obvious lady. She was one of those people whose idea of helping was saying things that any bloody fool could work out for himself.

"You hear that Arsehole?" he asked his companion "they've got some news that we should hear. Maybe we crashed into the Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot. I heard they were coming to Hawaii this year."

With that rather optimistic joke, Sean and his unamed unconscious involuntary companion stepped into the cave.

"All right, where do you want me to put sleeping beauty?"

 

[Lady_Kit]

Kit Duvall

“…and frankly, I don't think anyone is coming soon."

Kit was shaken by the Captains’ words, but she kept her head, even though some part of her wanted to lash out the way that the obviously distressed young woman, Julie, did. Poor kid, to have lost her friends in such a violent way and then be told that even though she lived the ordeal was not yet over…no wonder she broke down. Kit felt a surge of pity for the sobbing girl.

Pity the Captain too, Kit thought. She’d watched him dragging passengers from the wreckage, some alive and others who lived only long enough to expire on the wet sand of the crash site. He’d lost friends too, or at least co-workers. She realized that he seemed to be the only member of his crew to have made it. The Captain would be carrying the memory of this day for a long time, and his face as he fled the cave told her that nothing any of them could say would make him feel any worse that he did right now.

Jacques seemed to have recovered from his knock on the head and made a point of thanking the man that pulled him from the wreck; though he seemed more pleased about the survival of his carryon than he was about his skin. She decided the skin was definitely worth saving and allowed herself a good look as he removed his shirt and hung it on a branch to dry. If he felt any discomfort he covered it well and reminded the others that, after all, they were going to be here for a while. Jacques was being practical, and no one should read more into it than that…but for a moment, Kit felt like a middle-aged housewife at a Chippendales show, and smiled at her foolishness. “Get a grip,” she admonished herself. This was neither the time nor the place for those kinds of thoughts. She started to follow his lead and remove her wet jacket, but realized that the white t-shirt she wore beneath it was quite damp, and left little to the imagination. The look on Jacques’ face suggested that his imagination was very good, and she felt her body tighten in response. She didn’t know if this was from the initial attraction she’d felt, or the after effects of a sharing a near-death experience. Either way it was the wrong time. She redid the buttons on her jacket, deciding that it was better to be wet than exposed. After a moment Jacques eyes met hers and he gave her a look that said he felt the same tension between them. She made a silent promise to herself that they would revisit this moment, if the fates gave them the chance. The arrival of two more survivors brought her thoughts back to the situation at hand.

"All right, where do you want me to put sleeping beauty?"

Kit rose to clear a spot near the fire.

Bring him over here. How badly is he hurt?

“Don’t know how hurt he is, but he’s bloody heavy and still breathing.”

As the newcomer dropped his burden to the floor Kit knelt to check any obvious injuries. Basic first aid was the limit of her medical knowledge, but she knew enough to look for blood and protruding bones. Finding neither, and seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest she decided that he was probably one of the lucky ones and would revive near the warmth of the fire. Her own lack of healing skills made her worry about the seriously wounded among them.

Not to be flip, ladies and gentlemen, but is there a doctor in the house? Some of these folks are going to be in serious trouble soon if they don’t get some help.

She looked around at the wounded, even without medical training, it was easy to see that by morning their numbers were going to be reduced. Kit hoped someone would step forward to help those that had a chance. It was possible that the best hospitals couldn’t help some of the nearly lifeless figures that lay in the glow of the fire, but if someone could help those with a chance…if they could at least be sustained until help arrived, then they, the survivors, should do what they could.

 

[Steiner]

Robert sat in the lee of an outcrop and looked up at the sky, which had no right to look as peaceful as it did.

"Asshole. It's all your fault..." he wasn't sure whether he was talking to the sky or himself. Both of them carried equal blame. Dreadful to have lost control of the plane, shameful to have harmed his passengers, but unforgivable to have survived himself.

"In the case of a small aircraft forced landing, the required angle of attack places the flight crew at grave risk. At grave risk, dammit, I should be dead."

I want to be dead...


Robert sat in the dark, ignoring the hububb of organisation from the cave. Let someone else do it.

 

[Snow-Guy]

"Bring him over here. How badly is he hurt?"

“Don’t know how hurt he is, but he’s bloody heavy and still breathing.”

After Sean gently placed his burden to the floor, the bossy middle aged lady gave Arsehole another pat down.

"Thanks for the double check darlin." Sean wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, let alone how it would be recieved. He didn't really care, he was tired. He slumped against the wall, glad to be off his feet.

"Not to be flip, ladies and gentlemen, but is there a doctor in the house? Some of these folks are going to be in serious trouble soon if they don’t get some help."

Sean raised his head and opened his eyes.

"If there is a doctor around, the guy I just brought in was found unconscious, unresponsive to voice or pain but breathing, with a steady, slightly lowered, pulse rate. No sign of internal bleeding, or serious external bleeding. No sign of broken bones, at least not the important ones. Basically he's a lazy fucker who decided to have a nap on the beach so I could bring him up here. At a guess, he's suffering from mild hypothermia but that should clear itself up if we keep him in here."

Sean paused, waiting to see if any of that had sunk in.

"No. I'm not a doctor, and I don't even play one on TV. I'm a trained surf livesaver, so dealing with drowners and a bit of trauma is all I can do. I really want a fucking nap though, so if any of you do have any sort of first aid skills, you better speak up."

 

[papillon24]

Angie moved around the cave making room for the two men who entered the cave. One was out cold and the other seemed exaughsted from the journey. Quickly she stirred the rice and got up taking a jug of water with her over to him.

"Hi, I'm angie. I brought over some water. you look exaughsted. You should rest" She handed him the jug and watched as he took a drink. "I hope that helps. I'm making a bit to eat to help calm everyone down. It should be done soon."

She smiled and turned. "I'll talk to you later.k?"

She proceeded outside and fashioned a large piece of wood into a spike with her knife and secured it into the ground. There she went about husking each coconut on the wooden spike till the dark seed was exposed. Angie found a jagged rock a few feet away and broke open the hard seed to expose the white flesh inside. For herself she too a drink of the sweet liquid inside before bringing them back up to the cave, some with a bit of the liquid left for the injured.

She set the ones without the liquid near the fire and went about taking the liquid to the ones injured the worst. This would help them get back a bit of strengh without making them sick.

Angie knew a little about the nature of the island and the natural medicines that grew but not much about the concerns of conventional medicine. It really never concerend her. All she needed in life was her boat and the earth. Nothing else had ever seemed relevant.

Now she wished she knew more about the conventional medicines. She watched as the people gathered around wondering what to dowith the unconscience man.

"You could try a bit of eucalypus to try and wake him up in order to acess his injury. Just let him smell it and it should brring him to. If not that it worse than we think. Anyone have minty chapstick with mint oil in it? It should work the same as the real stuff." she looked quizically to the others

 

[penprick]

The weather being as it was, there weren't many villagers at the river. That made it easy to stay downstream from them as he washed the death from his skin. He would have to do it all again after wrapping Makani's body, but he couldn't reinfect Cho and so would need to repeat the process. Death was a contagious essence that was not to be tested. After coming into contact with it, it was paramount that one be cleansed of all traces, as not to fall ill of it and spread it further.

On the return to the Heiau, he stopped at his hut for a new cloth and necklace. Mako'a wore a string of pig's teeth about his neck. The pig was a common sacrifice to the gods and only hunters and priests were allowed to wear the teeth. Sharks teeth were reserved for fishermen and chiefs.

He met up with Cho at the Heiau and the two sat cross-legged on the sand. Mako'a held up the pipe, a good foot-and-a-half length of bamboo with a small charred countersunk bowl carved on the top in the middle, and a plain hole beneath. The shaman placed the dried 'medicinal' herb into the bowl and lit the end of a twig on the fire. Then he lit the herb with the emberous end of the twig and took one end of the bamboo into his mouth. Cho took the other. Mako'a plugged the lower hole with his thumb and blew the smoke into the fisherman's lungs. When Cho had had enough, he took the pipe from his mouth and exhaled through. Then it was Mako'a's turn to inhale. He was an old master and took a long drag before staisfyingly releasing the smoke through flared nostrils. They each took a couple more turns.

"Death be carried away on the wind,
death be washed away with the tide,
death be burned away by the smoke."

Mako'a smiled and bade Cho free to leave, his purification complete.

Now he had to wrap the young girl's corpse for burial.