Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
We find six packs of vacuum-sealed protein bars and emergency tin food rations, water purification tablets, electrolyte packets, a large water container, another first aid kit, a bag full of medications, flashlights, batteries, rope, a signal mirror, an emergency whistle, matches, fire starters, a multitool, a filleting knife, hooks and lines, a thermal blanket, rain ponchos, a waterproof jacket and pants, a tarp and a map.
“Oh my god!” Aggie screams, clapping her hands together. “This stuff will change so much for us.”
“With all the cooking gear, we can actually start making decent food,” Tatiana says, her eyes wide.
“Plus the extra medicine and first aid kit,” I breathe. “This is so fucking good. We have to show the others.”
I reach for the whistle. I want to try it, just to see if it works. I hold it close to my lips and, with one sharp blow, nearly deafen myself with how piercing it is. Aggie actually staggers, hands over her ears, but in the distance, I hear answering shouts and heavy footfalls. Moments later, Ace, Kellen, and Zeke bust in, all muscle, like someone called them to clean up a murder and not an inventory party. Adrian casually strolls in behind them, stares at us, and then leaves.
I grin, and for the first time since I’ve been on this miserable island, I can’t wait to tell everyone what we found. Ace peers around and then crouches by my side, looking at everything we have laid out. “Holy fuck, where did you find this?”
“It was stuffed under the bench,” I say, holding up the protein bars for him to see. “Look—food, water, tools, medicine. There is so much here!”
Zeke lets out a low whistle. “Is that a map?”
Tatiana snatches it before I can even answer, spreading the wrinkled sheet on the ruined table. The marks are faded, but she traces the shape of the nearest landmass like she’s some kind of explorer. “If we get this boat working, we have a shot at navigation using this.”
“We might be able to figure out where we are,” Ace nods. “That would make a fuckin’ big difference.”
Aggie dumps her haul at our feet. “Blankets and pillows. They’re gross, but we can clean them. It will help if it gets cold.”
“Did you get anything?” I ask them.
Ace nods. “Nets, tools, we even found an old satellite phone. It is broken, but we are going to try and get it to work. Oh, and there was one more thing...”
We all stare at him.
Kellen grins. “Alcohol. A fuckin’ good amount of it, too.”
“Oh my gosh!” Aggie whoops, jumping up and down.
“Oh, we’re getting drunk tonight,” I clap. “Yay!”
The mood is electric, all of us zipping with the high of possibility. For a few minutes the wreckage fades away, the sand and stench fade too, and it’s only us and this haul and a future that might not totally suck.
Aggie wraps a woolly blanket around her shoulders and does a little dance. Tatiana is staring at the map, her fingers gliding over the page. Ace just watches, a small smile pulling at his mouth, then glances at me.
He doesn’t say it, but it’s there.
We did good.
I want to kiss him, just out of sheer joy, but instead I say, “We can probably start fixing up the boat now, right? Even if it doesn’t float, we can use it as a base, or shelter, or—”
“It’ll float,” Zeke interrupts. “It’s got rot, but we can patch it. Use the wood from the lifeboat. We will find a way.”
Aggie’s eyes go wide. “Wait, you know how to do that?”
Kellen puffs out his chest. “Baby, I will make this boat float if it is the last thing I do.”
Aggie flushes and I look at her, brows raised. Baby? Oh, is there something I am missing here?
Zeke snorts. “He’s not wrong. Plus, the fishing equipment is going to make a difference, too.”
For a beat, all I can do is soak it in. The hope. The possibility. The idea that if we work together, we might actually pull this off.
“Tell me we can eat one of those now,” Aggie says, staring at the protein bars.
Kellen nods, in agreement.
Zeke picks up the bag, busting it open. “One, then we need to make sure we ration out what we can. We eat fresh fruit and fish, save these for emergencies.”
He’s right, but when he hands me a bar, I don’t hesitate. I unwrap it and shove the chocolatey goodness into my mouth. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” I say around a mouthful. “God, I have missed chocolate.”
Aggie laughs, stealing one and biting in. “I actually don’t even like chocolate, but this is damn good...”
“Who doesn’t like chocolate?” Tatiana says, between mouthfuls.
Once we’re done, Ace claps his hands together. “Alright, team. First, we get this stuff inventoried and safe. Second, we clean up the blankets and whatever else we can wash. Third, we go and get fuckin’ smashed on whatever alcohol we can find.”