Shipwrecked
I awoke, there was a crash on the upper deck. I heard a thunderous crackling
from my head above. I ran up the stairs and what I saw devastated me. The small
wooden boat was completely coated in billowy flames.
"Help, help, somebody please!"
I slowly moved towards the sound being careful to dodge flames as much as
possible. The smoke was choking me. I could see a faint outline of a face across
the deck. It was Tom, my lifelong friend and companion. He was completely
surrounded by the bright flames.
"Tom are you OK!!"
"Yeah, but the fire has me surrounded!"
"Tom jump overboard, hurry!"
"But....but...."
"Do it quick, hurry!"
I hit the surprisingly cold water with a crash. I swam through the sea
illuminated by the flames to find Tom.
"You okay buddy?"
"Yeah the flames were everywhere and I wasn't sure what to do."
"Well you did the right thing Tom."
Finally he was beside me riding over the waves. We found a large board that
supported our weight and we began to circle the destroyed vessel. I began to
feel weary from inhaling so much smoke. Everything was going dark and before
long I couldn't hold on.
I don't know when I woke up. All I could feel was rugged sand all over my body
and in my mouth. Land, we had washed ashore! Then I remembered fully what had
happened last night. I began to look for Tom.
"Tom, Tom, Where are you!!"
There was no sign of him anywhere. Then I saw the footprints in the sand. I knew
they were his because I had never seen a bigger pair of feet in my life. They
were going towards the lofty trees ahead of me that lined the boundary of the
seaside. I followed them to see him lying against an aged tree trunk. I went
around to confront him and discovered he was passed out. Blood ran across his
face and down his sandy chest.
"He must have hit a rock when the waves crashed him against the
shore?"
I began to panic, I hurried to find something to cover his wound. I took a
portion of his torn pants and wrapped his forehead up in it. He awoke with a
scream of pain and looked around frantically trying to figure out what was going
on.
"Tom are you OK?"
"Umm ya!"
"We were washed ashore and you probably hit your head on a rock."
"Well it sure does hurt but......but, I guess I'm all right."
We finally calmed down and we began to explore and figure out where we were.
This wasn't exactly how I planned on spending my vacation in the Caribbean. I
thought we would be taking it easy cruising across the rolling waves for two
weeks. We had no idea where we were, and we had no idea how long we were going
to be here. There seemed to be no signs of life so we ventured inward following
a small stream of fresh water. The few palm trees began to form an amazing rain
forest as we traveled deeper and deeper in to this mysterious place. We came to
a small clear pond, it was a spring.
"Here Tom, this water is just what you need for your cut"
"Great, I can wash out my cut, it really hurts!"
"Here" I said as I splashed his forehead with the cold fresh water.
I knelt down and began to drink the cool clear water. It soothed my salty and
sore throat.
We decided we needed something like a shelter to stay in. We carried sticks and
leaves to a group of trees near the pond and before long we had a semi-efficient
lean-to. I was cold after leaving the sun into the cool rain forest so I tried
building a fire. After patiently striking a piece of flint against my pocket
knife a flame shot up from the pile of brush. Before long I was as warm as
sweating dog on a hot summer day.
The next morning we began to venture inward. We were cautious not to get lost.
By scratching trees and drawing in the ground we made sure we could find our way
back again. It was amazing, there was birds singing, monkeys swinging in trees
and wildlife everywhere. The rain forest was so much cooler then on the beach.
The sun couldn't shine down with the ferocity it would anywhere else.
"Did it just get hot, or is it just me?"
"Well it's not you it just got hotter Tom!"
"Why is that?"
"Really, to tell you the truth I don't know."
We walked for two hours, we were hot, tired and stiff. I rested to get a drink.
"Ouch!!!!"
The pain was astounding. The water was boiling hot!! I looked down at my hand
and saw blisters and bloody skin.
"What happened to your hands!!"
"I....I don't know, I just placed my hand in the water and......."
Tom took a closer look and yelled "Phew, this water stinks like rotten
cheese!"
He looked at me then at the stream. With a puzzled look on his face he took a
tree branch and stuck it in the pool of water. Before our eyes we watched as it
bubbled and the stick disintegrated before our astonished eyes. The water was
acid, but why? Ah! Yes! it all made sense, the heat, the acid, we were on a
volcanic island. We stood alarmed for quite a while until I heard a sound that
made my turn pale.
A growl, a flesh hungry growl from behind my back. An animal ready to tear me
limb from limb. I turned in an instant and backed up to Tom's side. It was a
panther, as black as death itself.
I whispered "Tom, What should we do."
"I don't know but he sure looks hungry"
"Okay, when I say go lets run as fast as we possibly can.
Ready..........GO!!!"
We hurried but, it was the kind of death run where you know you were doomed. The
panther was right behind us, it's claws tearing up our footprints. One wrong
move and he would be ripping us up.
He ran us on to a cliff, we turned to face him while he slowly walked up to us.
I looked into his eyes and I could see victory. He knew he had won and he wanted
us to know. He shifted his legs getting ready for the pounce. Suddenly there was
a great blast, it shook with tremendous force! I grabbed a small tree beside me
and Tom grabbed my leg I looked up ready to see the pale evil eyes of the
panther but I saw nothing. Where was he? The shaking has slowed and I looked
over the edge. He had fallen, his corpse lay motionless on the rocky ground
below. Tom quickly averted my attention to the sky, smoke rose above the trees
nearby and a thick smell of acid was in the air. The ground breaking open and
now lava spewed from the islands insides. It was burning with remarkable speed,
worst of all it was headed straight for us!!
"Run, Tom run!"
I ran as fast as I possibly could towards the beaches. Tom was just ahead of me.
I ran as fast as I could but the pain was intense, my hand was nothing more than
a bloody limb. I was slowing as Tom ran faster. Suddenly I found myself on the
ground. A sharp pain ran across my side and down my leg. I tried to move it but
I couldn't. I began to choke, I felt blood run down my face and on to the hot
shaking ground.
"Tom, Tom, help me...help!!!"
"Don't worry I will get you outta of here!"
He ran up and grabbed me, threw me over his shoulder and carried me towards
shore. I almost passed out as the agonizing pain engulfed me. I forced myself to
stay alert and alive. He trudged on as the wind blew the scorching heat across
our bodies. It was getting hotter and the smoke of burning rain forest began to
cover the mysterious island.
Finally we reached the beach and he placed me under a palm tree while he began
to make a raft. He gathered driftwood, vines and branches together. The heat was
getting worse and the lava was getting closer. The faint crackling of fire could
be heard, the same evil, laughing crackling of flames that destroyed our boat
and caused this disaster only a little while ago. He finished using all the
supplies from around us and the raft he had made had to do. He carried it to the
water and then carried me to it. He balanced it against the thundering waves as
I dragged myself on it. I got on and then he waited until the next wave passed
before he jumped on. Without warning I was under water. Salt filled my throat as
pain ripped through my body as I was tossed by the waves like a rag doll. I felt
a tug on my neck as Tom hauled me toward the surface. I coughed and spit trying
to clear my throat of salt and sand. Tom placed me on the raft and again tried
to get on. Once again I was thrown into the water as soon as the waves hit. I
had no way to hold on, or to swim. With one arm and one leg I was at the mercy
of mother nature. We returned to shore and I knew we were running out of time.
"This is not gonna work, what can we do?"
"I don't know Tom!"
I saw the panic in Tom's eyes and I knew what I had to do. With tear filled eyes
I said, "Tom, leave without me!"
"I can't leave you, theres no way that will happen."
"Go!!!!!!!"
There was no way I would be able to stay on the raft and even if I did I knew I
was dying. I asked him to put me under a palm tree facing the rain forest
because I knew I couldn't bear to watch him leave.
"Bye...bye Tom."
"Bye, buddy."
I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he slowly walked away sobbing. I
couldn't take it and I began to cry, tears streamed down my face. I knew it was
the right thing to do but it was so hard. Eventually the waves overpowered his
sobbing screams. I was left, alone, to die a slow death. I would wait until the
lava emerged from the dark rain forest and take my life. There was nothing I
could do.
Then I died. I will always remember this endless love of two devoted friends and
the fight for each other. I hope Tom is living a happy life and some day has a
family of his own. His time will come to join me but I hope it won't for a long
time. He got a great gift, life and I hope nobody ever takes that away from him.
In some ways I am living through him, his dreams, his thoughts and in his
memories. That life will never die and it can never be taken away today or
tomorrow.