by M H Ryan
Island Jumper
An Archipelago Series
M. H. Ryan
Copyright © 2019 by M. H. Ryan
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
About the Author
Chapter 1
The world moved, time continued. Things would change, even if I wanted to slow or stop in a moment.
This was our fifth day on a chain of islands we named Pela—a shortened version of archipelago.
I had awakened on a tiny island, alone and confused. Then Benji appeared, dressed in her yellow Sponge Bob bikini, filled with enthusiasm and good humor. She was my breathless wonder, both beautiful and sweet. She was also a master with the bow and arrow, mangos, and movie quotes.
Neither of us knew how we arrived on the island. The last thing we remembered was the Veronica and Captain Rebecca Brown sailing us into a storm wall. A lightning bolt hit the deck of the boat and then I woke with white sands, sunshine, and an angry sea pig.
Benji and I found Aubrey the next day on an island we dubbed Food Island. Aubrey played tough, and she was. She also had a strong desire to be rescued. She was loyal and one of the sexiest people I’d ever seen, with an all-around track star body. She wore frayed, booty jean shorts with a red bikini top, and when she smiled, it lit up my world. She understood more about plants than the rest of us, and was well versed in spears and sarcasm.
On the same day, the three of us rescued Sherri from a water boar attack. Sherri filled out her patriotic red, white, and blue bikini with incredible assets. She, like Aubrey, was a track star. A jumper, as she called herself. Her big, blonde hair still seemed perfect, even now. She had become Pela’s first patriot, as she loved every moment of it out there. She was a true adventurer at heart, and I wondered if this was her calling. She knew about the ocean and tried to enlighten us on the bizarre animals that seemed to want to kill us at every turn.
A day after we found Sherri, we rescued Kara. I hadn’t spent much time with her yet, and the fact that she didn’t talk a lot didn’t help me get to know her. When we found her on Yin Island, she seemed broken but a couple of days on Yang Island have helped her. She had moments of almost happiness brightening that cute face. Her pale skin had many tattoos that I spent some time looking at, and knew what many were. The tattoos let me knew we shared a passion, but they seemed deeply personal, so I didn’t bring them up with her. I planned on working on a connection with her, though. We got caught staring at each other more than once since she arrived. Each time, I drowned in the ocean of her grayish-blue eyes. She had this intensity in her, as if something wanted to get loose but was being held back.
The four women were incredible in their own ways, and we even had a cat we rescued from the tar pits on Tar Island. Or was it Goo island? We hadn’t voted on that one yet. Well, she was close to a cat. Much like the sharks were close to sharks but with more teeth and aquatic adaptations. Moshe had big feet that allowed her to swim down and attack whales. She was small and brave, and she had saved my life.
Now we were all on our home island, called Yang Island. As in Yin and Yang. Now, every Yang had to have a Yin, and that is where we found Kara. Kara’s island was a nightmare of a burned forest. I wanted to give up everything in the small time we spent there. Kara said she spent one night there and the island talked to her, sort of. That’s why we named this Yang Island. This island made us feel good, as opposed to Yin Island, that made us hopeless and angry.
The idea that these islands could influence the way I felt seemed crazy, but many things seemed crazy since we arrived. Did I mention I could feel the emotions of animals?
I glanced at the ocean as Sherri spoke about another idea on the modifications on the raft. Ever since I woke up to take the morning shift, I felt something different out there and couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched.
“What do you think, Jack?” Sherri asked.
I looked at the sand and what Sherri had drawn. It had a larger raft in the middle, supported by three large logs underneath it, with outriggers on each side.
“Looks good but heavy,” I said and used a stick to draw in the center of the raft. “With this design, we can install a center mast and attach a sail. I think if we double up on the emergency blankets, we might capture a good amount of wind power.”
“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea,” Sherri said.
“That’s a great idea!” Benji added.
“But it’s still going to be too heavy. We have to be able to carry this thing up on to the sand,” I said. “Any material ideas, Aubrey?”
Aubrey looked up from the design in the sand. “Yes, I think we have a perfect tree for this. Let me show it to you just down the beach.”
We followed Aubrey down the beach on the dry side of the island. Moshe, the sea cat we rescued, ran between my legs and then ran into the forest, playing in the foliage and pouncing on the ferns. Its large paws, wide mouth, and slick fur distinguished it from a house cat of similar size. We had a theory it was still a kitten though. I wondered how big it would get, and if it had friends out there. The last thing I wanted to fight would be sea cats the size of mountain lions.
She stopped in front of a stand of dead trees. They were tall, maybe forty feet up and straight, with leafless branches starting way up high.
Aubrey went up to the tree, feeling around the trunk and knocking on it like a door.
“I’m pretty sure this is a balsa tree,” Aubrey said. “And it’s been dead long enough that I bet the top half is dried out. These trees are light and buoyant.”
“Sure, I know balsa wood. I used to make model airplanes out of it,” I said.
“Right, and it’s the lightest option we have,” Aubrey said.
“Awesome,” Benji said.
“I think we can cut into the bottom of the tree with your knife and then use fire,” Sherri said. “We can burn the base until it falls.”
“Sure, but let's make sure we don’t burn the forest down,” I said, half joking. “How long do you think it will take?”
“I don’t know,” Sherri said.
“It will depend on how dry the tree is,” Aubrey said. “Could go quick or take forever.”
“You two want to work on this?” I motioned to Aubrey and Sherri.
“Sure,” Aubrey said. “We’ll grab embers from the fire back at camp and start burning the base of the tree.”
“Good, we might need two or three of them for the new shelter as well.”
“We’ll see how it goes,” Aubrey said, not sounding very confident.
“Just keep an eye on the ocean and the sky,” I said. “If you need help, just scream. I should be able to hear you from most of the island.”
/> “I definitely heard some screaming yesterday,” Kara said.
“Kara!” Benji said, appearing shocked.
“I can get rather loud when things get intense,” Aubrey said, eyeing me.
“I like intense,” Kara said, staring at me with raised brows.
“Yes, well…” I said, clearing my throat.
“I can make an ax,” Benji said. “If I can find the right type of rocks. There’s a pile of rocks down the beach, not far from here.”
“Yeah, if you get an ax made, bring it over,” Sherri said, looking up at the tall tree. “We’ll start working on this in the meantime.”
I didn’t like leaving them alone, but I had confidence they would be able to take care of themselves. Plus, I wouldn’t be too far away. The benefits of a small island.
Benji and Kara followed me down the beach. The gentle waves rolled in about halfway up the white, sandy bank, leading to a pile of smooth rocks. I stared out into the water, feeling the many creatures dwelling in it. Together they formed a noise that I referred to as the static of the ocean. On the horizon, I could see Yin Island. A small trail of smoke led up from it, and if any rescue ship was within a hundred miles, they should spot it. Planes too, but we had yet to see a single plane in the sky, not even a jet trail.
“Do you know what to look for?” I asked, turning my attention to the pile of rounded rocks.
Benji walked over the rocks, and they clattered like a bag of marbles. She touched one and moved on, picking up a few more before setting them back down. Most of them looked the same to me, with varying colors of gray and black. Then she picked up a black rock, studied it, and grabbed a second rock from the pile. She hammered one against the other, making a loud clacking sound. A chunk broke off from one, and she smiled, picking up the small piece that had broken off.
“I can make arrowheads and spear tips with this kind of rock,” Benji said. “My arrows will be twice as deadly, and I bet our spears will go right into a croc as well.”
“You can make all that from a broken rock?” Kara asked.
“See, look at this,” Benji said, holding up the small piece of rock.
I took it and turned it over in my hand. It had a razor-sharp edge on one side. We could use these for knives and just about a million other things.
“Benji, how did you know this rock would break like this?” I asked.
A bit of color hit her cheeks. She did that a lot and it was adorable. It made me want to hug her and tell her she had nothing to ever be embarrassed about. She was amazing in so many ways.
“It just stood out from among the rest for me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just felt it. There are others in this pile. A lot of them.”
“Can we make an ax out of that?”
She sighed. “No, not really. It will break or dull too quickly,” she said and picked up a flat rock. “But this rock is really dense and is already kind of shaped like one.”
She held the flat, dark gray rock in her hand, rotating it and looking at the narrow edge on one side then the thicker edge on the other.
“Do you break that one down?”
“No,” she said. “This was an endurance kind of thing in summer camp. This type of stone, we’ll have to grind down by hand on another rock.”
“Grind down a stone? By hand?” I asked.
She handed Kara the rock and then started pulling at other rocks.
“Jack, help me grab this,” Benji said.
I pulled off a few more rocks and then helped Benji lift a larger rock out from under the other rocks. The large rock was about fifteen inches around and flat, like the ax rock.
“We can use this stone to grind down the ax head.”
“I got it,” I said, taking the full weight of the rock that weighed about fifty pounds.
“Thanks,” Benji said, and gathered up a few more rocks in her hands. “We should take it to the stream. Water and sand help the process go faster.”
Kara and I followed Benji to the stream leading out from the geyser pond. It carved through the forest, leaving a trail of white sand on either side of it and eventually out to the ocean. The waterfall gave a continuous but pleasant noise.
“Put the stone on the shore here,” Benji said, pointing to the big rock I carried.
I sat the stone down next to the water. Benji knelt next to the water and set her rocks down. She motioned for the stone from Kara.
“Okay, this is the sucky part,” Benji said as she wet the large stone and then rubbed sand over it. “We have to take this stone and sharpen this end.” She pointed to the narrow part. “It may seem like it’s never going to happen, but it does and will.”
With both hands on the stone, Benji slid it against the wet rock, moving it back and forth. The muscles in her back and arms flexed.
“Just add water and sand as needed,” Benji said and got up handing the stone to Kara.
“Okay,” Kara said. “I’ve been pushing stones for most of my life so this should be easy.” She smiled, kneeling down.
“Yeah, those curling arms,” Benji said, flexing.
The amount I knew about curling was about equal to stone ax making. I watched Kara for a minute, wanting to take over or expecting her to quit but she smiled and appeared to enjoy the task. She might have been tougher than I thought.
“How thin do I make the edge?” Kara said.
“The thinner the better. And really push into it. It takes a lot of force to grind it down,” Benji said. “I’m going to start breaking down these other rocks and see if I can make some knives and arrowheads.”
“You two are amazing,” I said. “That looks grueling, Kara. You doing okay?”
“I’m pretty good at grinding hard,” Kara said, looking back at me, pushing the stone done hard. Was she trying to look sexy? Then she jerked back her hand and cried out in pain.
I knelt next to her, taking her hand in mine. The tip of her ring finger looked red and sore.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, blowing on it to dry the water off.
She smiled as I held her hand, hoping she hadn’t broken anything. “You just gave me the chills,” Kara said, staring at me.
I got lost in those eyes. It reminded me of a storm in the ocean, and each time she blessed me with eye contact, my heart raced, and I had trouble breaking off my gaze from her. Something else had fired up in her eyes this time, a heat that pulsed from her. It made my stomach feel warm, and I watched as her mouth parted. Those red lips were striking against her pale skin. I rubbed the back of her hand and moved up to her soft arm, feeling the goosebumps she mentioned. She had a few tattoos on her arm that looked like tree branches with small flowering buds.
“Do you want me to get the first aid kit?” Benji asked.
Kara took her hand back from me and looked at the stone. “No, I’m fine.”
“I’m happy to have you here, Kara,” I said.
“No one is happier to be here than me,” Kara said.
“I know, and I’m sorry we didn’t get to you sooner. I don’t know how you handled being on that island for so long.”
She looked solemn, feeling her wrist. “I wasn’t in a happy place, even back home, and that island showed me how horrible things could get. Now, for the first time in a long time, I feel something other than emptiness. Maybe it’s happiness, but it’s been a stranger for so long I’m not sure what it feels like.”
“Whoa, that’s deep,” I said.
She smiled, looking up at the trees above us. “I doubt anyone could feel bad living here. Plus, we have each other.”
“I’m so happy to hear that. I was afraid Yin Island broke you.”
“No, and have I thanked you for saving me from that terrible place?” Kara asked.
“Yes, several times.”
“It will never be enough,” Kara said.
I touched her shoulder, and she put her hand over mine. “I’m thrilled you’re here with us, and I hope happiness becomes a friend you know well.”
/>
“Thanks,” Kara said, giving me one more look that made me suck in a breath before she went back to grinding the stone down.
Benji had picked up the rocks she gathered and sat down on a fallen tree. She took one rock in her hand and hit it with another rock, breaking pieces off of it. She inspected the broken pieces and set them on the tree and then broke off another piece.
“Okay, you two going to be all right here?” I asked.
“Yeah, this is going to take hours,” Benji said.
Kara seemed lost in her task.
“Keep an eye on her,” I said, motioning to Kara. “And you’re close to the geyser. Not sure if it will burn you from here, but if you hear it bubbling like a witch’s cauldron, you two come hauling ass back to camp, okay?”
“No problem,” Benji said.
With the ladies set up and doing awesome, I headed back to camp. There were many things that I needed to do in preparation for the expansion of the camp. If we were going to lose the emergency blankets to the boat, we’d need another way to waterproof the shelter.
Since the bird attack on our camp, we hadn’t had time to rebuild a proper shelter. Now with another member in our camp, I wanted to make it even larger, with room for expansion to accommodate future members, which was our ultimate goal. There were more of them out there, I just knew it, and as soon as we could, we’d be back on the sea, searching for them.
Our current shelter sat on the ground, a haphazard build late in the night. It had served us for a couple of nights, but it was risky. A half-dozen boars had been on this island, and a greater number of crocs. In fact, this island was a hatchery for crocodiles. Their eggs were stuffed into the sand. They were probably drawn by the warm water deluge from the geyser. That was part of the reason the birds were on this island, digging up and eating those baby crocs like snack cakes.
