Thread: Sealed Away (Camp and Quet314

As he opened his eyes, then pain in his head was a dull throb. In the distance, he could hear the crashing of breakers. Breakers meant shore and land and right now that was a good thing. Arching his neck, Roland looked up at the night sky. A few of the more notable stars were poking their icy gaze through the haze. Dimly, he reviewed the events of the last week. Signing on with that tramp wood hauler out of Singapore. Realizing after getting underway just how decrepit it really was and how much rot was in the hull. Arguing with the captain and getting put in the brig. The heavy storm that seemed to rise from the very water itself, not that he could see from down in the hold. The shiver and slam as waves like mountains delivered blows like powder magazine explosions to the unready boat. His cell door had been sprung by one such and then he'd had to fight water pouring down into the hold. When he'd gotten topside, he found the entire crew had taken the longboat, leaving him to die. When the mast came down, he had an idea and quickly cut the lines locking it to the boat, then riding it away to watch the belaboured vessel soon crumple. He had no idea when the sun set, the sky was so black, and now, judging the stars, he guessed that he'd been on that mast for 10 hours. At least it kept him from the sharks that poked by. Now the breakers were getting louder and he could see an outline in the distance through the dim light. It seemed to be a distant mountain. Then the mast grounded roughly, shaking him loose into the water. He struck out, staying clear of it and managed to ride a wave over the reef without too much damage, then crawled up onto a sandy spit of land to rest. In the predawn light, he saw coconuts. YES! Grabbing his sheath knife, he stripped the husk and penetrated one of the eyes to get a fresh drink. Then began tosurvey his surroundings more as his head began to clear. The 5'10 man stood and stretched, tight muscles from hard work rippling through his torn shirt. Doggedly, he strode across the sand to the other side of the small island that hosted a few coconut palms. To either side similar small coral based islands stretched out in a chain. He knew he was on an atoll and that the ring of islands could be miles long. But ahead was what interested him. Rising from the water was a mountain, perhaps 600 ft tall or so. It looked lush and he could hear the sound of seabirds. Birds meant eggs and on that he could survive indefinitely. The lagoon was only 50 yards or so across here, but he knew better than to dive or step into dark water, so he sat, waited and watched. No shark fins cut the water, nor did he see any large welling of it as the sun slowly rose and the reef feeding began. Stepping in where he could see, he avoided sharp items and swam in to the mount. Here there was a sandy beach 50ft deep and about 150 wide, bracketed by cliffs at each end. a perfectly sheltered cove. He pried mussels from the rocks and feasted on them, but he needed water badly. So he moved up to the cliff and he began to climb. Around 20 ft up, there was a cave that was deep. Inside he found what he yearned for - a long deep pool of clean water. After drinking, he curled up in the caves shade and slept in pure exhaustion, alone and far from anyone...or so he assumed.