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)
I jump up and down again.
Kellen grins. “Fuck yes.”
Aggie is digging through the medicine bag. “Looks like this is mostly antibiotics, painkillers, and antihistamines,” she says, excitement making her voice squeak. “If we get sick, this could actually really help.”
“I’ll start sharpening the spears we found on rocks,” Zeke says, crossing his arms. “We can hopefully catch more than just fish then.”
My heart feels like it might just explode.
We aren’t just surviving. We’re planning.
Ace gathers the bag, careful and methodical. He stops, then looks at me, his face serious. “You did good, sweetpea.”
I blink, and suddenly it’s hard to swallow. “I just found a bag.”
He shrugs, like it’s obvious. “Yeah, but this bag could change everything.”
I bite my lip, smiling at him.
He winks.
Oh boy, this is about to get interesting.
I just know it.
THE WIND FALLS THAT night, the jungle’s breath pressed into a hush. We party, or the closest we can get with shipwrecked supplies and hearts that still remember how to beat. Ace and Kellen carry the haul of cheap rum and dusty vodka from the boat, arms slung around it like it’s treasure. I watch the others dig a pit on the sand, their hands working in sync. Aggie is barefoot, caked with salt and glee, as she arranges old branches for the fire. Zeke strikes the matches—he won’t let anyone else do it, he can’t risk wasting a single one.
With precision only he can create, he lights it first go and the fire roars to life.
Adrian has actually made some makeshift lamps, on large branches with debris tied to the end that he lights and shoves into the ground. It actually feels like we’re on a tropical vacation for just a minute, and oh, that minute is life changing. It gives us something we haven’t had since that yacht sunk...joy.
We sit around it, bellies full for the first time in weeks. The nets caught mobs of fish, and we found some fresh bananas on this side of the island. Plus, Zeke, who protects the rations, let us bust open a can of beans. Kellen pops the first bottle of alcohol and passes it, and everyone takes a swig, grimacing but determined. I take a sip and gasp. It tastes like we are drinking straight hand sanitiser, but I’m not complaining.
Already, the warmth creeps up my spine, humming at the base of my skull.
It gets silly fast.
Aggie wants to play truth or dare, but the guys refuse. Tatiana is dancing along to nothing, but every now and then, she rips out a tune. She’s not half bad at singing. Rachel sits on the furthest log at first, just watching us. But, two shots later, she’s the center of the circle, telling the world’s worst jokes and letting Aggie braid her hair into tiny, crooked plaits.
There is a wild side to Rachel, one that she keeps locked in deep.
Ace is sitting, tying a knot in the rope, looking fucking spectacular against the firelight.
“How do you know so many knots?” Aggie asks, her voice high-pitched and sing-song like.
Ace leans back, putting the rope down. “Used to work on my uncle’s fishing boat every summer. I learned to tie knots, because I hated fuckin’ swimming.”
I raise my brows. “You hate swimming?”
“Fuckin’ hate it.”
Aggie giggles. “Well, what a situation you found yourself in.”
“I didn’t learn to swim until I was ten,” I admit. “My parents wanted me to dance and that was all that mattered. So, I learned in Aggie’s pool with her dad.”
Aggie smiles.
Rachel snorts. “I almost drowned at a school swimming tournament once. It was so embarrassing.”
We laugh.
“My mother made the decision not to teach me to swim, and therefore I am of no help during this difficult time because I am unable to catch any fish,” Adrian pipes up, his eyes staring off into the distance.
I giggle, and Tatiana shoves my shoulder with hers.
“Oh,” Kellen says. “You’re keepin’ us alive, brother. Don’t doubt it.”
Adrian looks up, his eyes narrowing. “Well, I did catch a fish on my spear.”
“And what a fish it was,” Kellen says, grinning.
The fucking fish wasn’t enough to feed a toddler, but I love that he is hyping him up all the same.
“It was a good fish,” Adrian says, puffing his chest out. “Mother was wrong, I am capable.”
Oh dear.
“Yeah, buddy,” Ace grins. “You are.”
We all take another drink.
“Tell us about the fighting,” Tatiana asks, stretching her legs out, her voice slightly slurred.
This is the most life I have seen from her in days.
“Mostly underground,” Ace answers. “Sometimes legal, others not. I manage a club back home.”
Aggie’s eyes go huge. “Like a fight club?”
“Something like that,” he replies, and his smile is slow, dangerous. “We fight, people bet. It’s only illegal if someone gets caught, or someone gets killed. Otherwise, it’s Friday night entertainment.”
“Do you ever fight professionally?” Tatiana asks.