Island Jumper 2

by M H Ryan

  “Don’t stop, Jack. I’m going to…”

  She groaned loudly, grabbing my head tightly. She wasn’t going to last a moment longer, and as I pushed and moved, her thighs went tight against my head, gripping me so hard it almost hurt. She wailed and gyrated against my face in her completion.

  After a few beats, I rose up and she sat up with me, hugging me and kissing me on the corner of my mouth.

  “Oh my God,” Benji said. “Thank you.”

  I laughed and said, “You’re welcome.”

  After, we washed our bodies off in the steaming water, laughing and splashing each other on an after-sex high. While we didn’t have intercourse, I was just going to call what we did sex. It left me wanting more, and I suppose that was a good thing. Playing in the water with her, I wanted her again. I didn’t think I’d ever tire of Benji.

  I wasn’t sure how long we’d been gone, but when we got back to camp, the girls went silent, looking between Benji and me with faces full of pent-up laughter.

  “What?” Benji said.

  “Don’t stop, Jack!” Aubrey said, screaming and breathing hard. “I’m going to…”

  “Oh, screw you,” Benji said. “You try being quiet with his face between your legs. He’s like a freaking…magician down there.”

  Eliza sat next to Aubrey, a shocked look on her face, and she leaned over, whispering something to Aubrey. Aubrey smiled and nodded. Eliza just stared at me, mouth open, and I felt naked even though I had my clothes on.

  “So, Kara,” I said, trying to steer the conversation away from my sexual talents. “We found some clay down by the stream. There isn’t a bunch of it, but I bet we can make some stuff.”

  Kara stared at me as well but didn’t say anything. She looked me over as if I was a steak.

  Sherri burst out laughing. “Did you hear him, Kara? He’s found clay.”

  Kara blinked. “Yeah, I heard, sorry. Just lost in thought.”

  “Oh my, Jack. I think you are in for a long night,” Aubrey said.

  I looked at the sky. We still had plenty of daylight left in the day.

  “We should get to work, ladies,” I said. “I’d like to concentrate on the shelter first. If we can get the new platform built today, I think we can erect a few walls tomorrow.”

  The girls laughed, except Eliza, who glanced around in confusion.

  “What are you bitches laughing at?” Cass said, sitting up from the platform, holding her hand over her head.

  Chapter 31

  Cass sat on the edge of the platform, looking as if she was suffering from the world’s worst hangover.

  “I need a shot,” Cass said. “My head’s splitting.”

  “Cass, oh my God,” Sherri said, rushing to her side.

  “What the hell did we do last night?” Cass said, blinking and looking around to us, the forest, the beach and ocean.

  “You don’t remember anything?” Sherri asked.

  “Please, don’t tell me I made a fool of myself,” Cass said, keeping her eyes closed and rubbing her head. “If you bitches posted pics, I’m kicking asses.”

  “Cass,” Aubrey said, moving to the other side of Cass. “We’re on an island.”

  “Yeah, no shit. We’re supposed to be on an island.”

  “Not that island. We ran into a bad storm, and we ended up…on this one,” Aubrey said.

  Cass opened her eyes, looking around at everything again as if for the first time. “What are you talking about?”

  I stepped back and let the familiar faces of Kara, Sherri, Aubrey, and Benji talk with their friend. Cass and I had a few pleasant words on the deck of the boat, but I doubted she knew who I was. I didn’t want to confuse her any further.

  It was endearing as they coaxed her to the realization that this wasn’t a joke. There was love in their tenderness as guided their friend to a harsh reality. There wasn’t some five-star resort just beyond the trees with a swim-up bar and poolside service. We were indeed stranded, and we had been on these islands for a week.

  She seemed to take the idea of being stranded better than the fact we rescued her from snakes. That part sent her face sheet white. She got off the platform and rushed to throw up in the water. The girls stood by her, holding her hair and patting her back.

  I kept an eye on the waters.

  “You think she’s going to be okay?” Eliza asked, standing next to me.

  “She doesn’t really have a choice,” I said.

  We watched the girls as they held Cass. She looked pale, and I didn’t like seeing her get sick. She needed to keep fluids down if she wanted to survive out here. Sherri offered up a bag of water, which Cass drank down.

  “Hey, at least I’m not the new girl anymore,” Eliza said with a smile.

  “Yeah,” I said. “I hope she comes around quickly. We really need to get started on the shelter today.”

  “Hey, if they’re busy getting Cass all set up here, we could go get some water at the pond. You know, fill up the stocks.”

  “The bags are full,” I said, motioning to the bags near the platform. “I assumed you guys filled up while we were at Food Island.”

  “Yeah, we did,” Eliza said with a sigh, lowering her head.

  Cass pushed Sherri back and then shoved Aubrey. She screamed and held her hands over her head.

  “This isn’t real. Stop messing with me!” Cass snarled.

  I rushed toward them but Benji had a hand on me.

  “Let them deal with her. She’s about there,” Benji whispered.

  I took a step back. “If she attacks any of you, I will deal with her.”

  “It won’t come to that,” Benji said.

  Suddenly I felt as if something was staring at me. It gave me chills on the back of my neck, and I whipped around to face the ocean. In the shallows was what looked like grey fish, floating on the surface. It was watching us. It was alone, and it didn’t like us—it might have even hated us—but there was always that curiosity, as if the watcher was waiting to see what happened.

  I stared at the thing and a wave washed over it, lowering the water level, and I saw the things face. It had to be a face. I looked into its dark eyes and saw its nose and mouth. It wasn’t a human face because it had grey skin, with stringy, black hair and a pointy face.

  It glared at me, and I glared back. I was sick of these coastal observers, spying on us and probably causing many of the problems we faced. Ignoring the girls still discussing the situation with an angry Cass, I moved toward the ocean, keeping my eyes on this face in the waters. It had smooth, wet skin over its face, giving it a more aquatic appearance, but I felt the complex emotions coming from it. I think it wanted to fight me, or perhaps it wanted to punish me, as if I had done something terrible.

  A wave washed over the sand and around my feet. We weren’t more than thirty feet apart now. Anger built up in me, and I closed my eyes, reaching out for the thing. I didn’t know how far or how strong my ability would work, but it seemed to be getting more powerful each day. I connected with it in some way and I screamed in my head at it: Leave us alone!

  Fear and shock filled the watcher. It dipped under the water, and I knew from how fast it faded away that it moved as quickly as a shark. Its fear of me hung in the air like the smell of sour milk.

  Hopefully, the watchers would leave us alone now. I had enough to think about without some fish-head-person thing watching us from the shores. If it returned, I wouldn’t be so kind as to send it away unscathed. I had a feeling I could hurt it by just thinking about it.

  A hand touched mine, and I jerked back from it.

  “Oh, sorry,” Eliza said, looking embarrassed. “You were just looking into the ocean, and I kept saying your name.”

  “Did you see it?” I asked.

  “See what?”

  She hadn’t, but that was okay. On some level, I knew the watchers were there for me.

  “Sorry,” I said, shaking my head and giving Eliza my attention. “What’s up?”

/>   “I think the girls are about to fight,” Eliza said, nodding toward the girls around Cass.

  Cass had her hands out like a Greco-Roman wrestler. She was taller than all of them, with broad shoulders and large arms and legs. She was fit, but not as toned as Sherri and Aubrey. She staggered as she took steps back from the advancing girls.

  I rushed in, getting past Kara and Benji.

  “Who are you, and please tell me these bitches are lying?” Cass asked.

  “Everyone, back up,” I said, facing the girls.

  Their faces were red, and Aubrey looked as if she might stab Cass. I wasn’t sure what had been shared in the exchange I missed, but it hadn’t been pleasant. I took a step forward, with hands out to my side, in my best crowd-control stance. The girls backed up from Cass, giving her space.

  I turned and focused on Cass. Her brown hair had matted to her face from the sweat.

  “Cass, my name is Jack Sawyer. I was on the boat with you, and I know this is confusing, but we are here with you. We are in this together, and you have no idea how much these ladies did to get you to where you are right now.” I laughed. “We have so many stories to tell you.”

  “Benji said it was Weekend At Cass’s. That you were dragging my body all around these islands. That is crazy.”

  “It seems crazy; believe me, we’ve all had to struggle with the realization that this is real, but we’ve been here for a week.”

  She lowered her hands and grabbed her head. “Worst day ever to have a hangover,” Cass said. “I don’t believe a word any of you are saying. You’re just fucking with me, and I want it to end!”

  “Cass?” Eliza said softly as she stood next to me.

  “Who’s this?” Cass asked with a pained expression as Eliza stepped closer to her.

  “Eliza,” I said with a warning tone, but she didn’t listen and walked up to Cass.

  “Here, this helped me, and I think it helped you. You dropped it, but I picked it up, thinking you might need it again.”

  Eliza extended her hand and opened it, showing her the round rock sitting in her palm. Cass stared at the rock, confused.

  “Take it,” Eliza said.

  It was like watching a giant and a dwarf with Eliza and Cass. She had to be a foot taller and half again wider, but Eliza seemed to have a spell over Cass. She stared at the stone sitting on Eliza’s palm.

  “Mrs. Granite,” Cass said and took the rock in her hand.

  She clasped the stone and closed her eyes.

  “She’s helped us, Cass.”

  Cass opened her eyes, hands shaking and tears filling her eyes.

  “It wasn’t a dream, was it?”

  “No,” Eliza said.

  “I felt her with me, and I heard you,” Cass said. “I think I heard all of you. You carried me when I couldn’t move, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” Eliza said.

  Cass broke down in a sob and lowered down to hug Eliza, while keeping the stone in her hand.

  Benji, Sherri, Aubrey, and Kara went to Cass and hugged her as well. Cass welcomed them. Benji started crying with Cass. In their group, they shared whispers that I couldn’t hear. I waited for the group to break up, and after a minute, it did.

  Cass pressed the stone against her head and the pained look returned.

  “Can we give her more willow bark?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we have some here,” Sherri said, grabbing the bag Aubrey had made earlier.

  She handed the bag to Cass.

  Cass drank it and made a face at the taste.

  “It’s medicine, Cass. It will help with the headache,” Sherri said.

  “Thanks,” Cass said. “You guys have really been here for a week?”

  “About,” Benji said.

  “This camp is shit,” Cass said, laughed a little and took another swig.

  “We’ve been busy rescuing you and others,” Benji said.

  “And fighting crocs, hogs, sharks, whales, a freaking squid octopus thing and a psycho from a boat,” Aubrey said.

  “Plus earthquakes,” Benji added. “The geyser destroyed that platform. Threw a rock right on it.”

  “What the…,” Cass said.

  “But it’s not all bad,” Benji said, looking to me and turning a light shade of red.

  Cass frowned and looked to me and then back to Benji.

  “Yeah, there are some fringe benefits to being out here,” Aubrey said slyly.

  “I love it out here,” Sherri said, taking in a deep breath. “I’ve never felt so alive, and this place is an adventure a minute. Even thinking about rebuilding the camp is getting me excited. Oh my God, I love this shit, and as Aubrey said, there’s certain benefits as well.” Sherri looked to me and winked.

  “I wasn’t a happy person back home,” Kara said. “I’ve never really been happy, actually. Most of these tattoos are just symbols of me fighting that crushing feeling that I’m nothing. That I’m not worth it and have no real future. When I got here, an island tried to crush me to dust, and if it weren’t for these people around me, I wouldn’t be here right now. But they found me, and in turn, I found myself. For the first time in my existence, I feel like my life has meaning. I can feel these islands, and this island is the best place in the world. I know it to my core, and I don’t care if a rescue ever comes, as long as I have my girls and I have Jack—at least once a week.” Kara gave me a sideways smile.

  “Wait, are you all fucking him?” Cass said.

  “No,” Eliza answered.

  Aubrey rolled her eyes, and Cass looked confused.

  “Let’s not overwhelm her,” I said. “Benji, can you think of a nice mango dish you can make for this situation?”

  Benji lit up with a big smile and hopped up and down. “Yes, it’s not the perfect dish for this but…just wait, let me make it real quick.”

  “I hate mangos,” Cass said.

  “Get out of our camp,” Benji said, pointing to the forest.

  I wasn’t sure if she was serious or not, and I waited to see. Benji raised her eyebrows, feigning anger for a moment longer until a smile crossed her face.

  “I’m just kidding, Benji,” Cass said. “I’m starving. I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week.”

  “I know, give me five minutes,” Benji said and went to the bag of food and the cutting rock she used.

  “Holy shit, I just realized we’re all stuck here in bikinis,” Cass said, looking down at what she was wearing.

  She wore a blue top that wasn’t a bikini top but closer to a sports bra. It hugged her breasts tight against her body. Her bottoms were an orange color that had a small gator embroidered on the side. The bottoms were small—smaller than Sherri’s red, white, and blue attire, and far smaller than the yellow bottoms Benji wore. Her muscular stomach had a V-line running down into the bikini, and if she didn’t shave soon, I thought she might have a poof of hair showing above the orange. She had a pretty face, tan from the sun, as was the rest of her body. I suspected if she took that top off, she would have deep tan lines.

  It didn’t seem fair to have these many gorgeous women around me, but it was also a responsibility. I was the only man in the group of now six women. Four of these women, I had relations with, a fact that didn’t escape notice from Cass. I could hardly believe it myself, but when I closed my eyes, I saw them in our moments.

  I’d have to watch Cass, though. If she created trouble in the group, I’d have to be the one to deal with her. For now, though, she seemed confused but content, sipping on her bag of water. She didn’t seem to even remember punching me in the face.

  Benji outdid herself, mixing up some of the nuts we gathered from Eliza’s island and creating an orange glaze over it all. It had a sour and sweet taste that you couldn’t help but enjoy. It seemed to lift everyone’s spirits up, and soon the encounter with Cass had smoothed out and we were laughing and joking as we ate. Once we were done, I started laying out tasks for the girls to do while we still had daylight.

  Benj
i and Kara were back to making another ax and rock knife. Sherri, Aubrey, and Kara went to find long branches and cut some down that looked good enough to use. While I had been giving Benji swimming lessons, the girls had taken down much of the platform, but there was still the section that Cass had been laying on.

  Eliza and I went took on the task of taking the rest of it down.

  Eliza didn’t speak much but was a hard worker and smart as anyone I’d met. She had great ideas about how to build the next shelter. There wasn’t a perfect set of trees to hold the platform, but Eliza suggested we dig a post hole and create the fourth post. I loved the idea, and Cass, who had been watching most of the time. I had told her to take it easy and she heeded the advice.

  Eliza and I started digging the hole.

  I wondered if Benji could make a hole with just her mind. She had moved rocks in the geyser and rescued me from the birds in the cave. If we could start utilizing these skills we had, things could go much faster. Sherri might be able to pull the water out from our wood or even move ocean water to catch fish. It seemed ludicrous as I thought it, but there was something at work here, and I didn’t think the girls wanted to talk about it. These extra skills were something they hadn’t brought up to Cass yet. Tonight, around the fire, I planned on bringing it up. If we had these abilities, we needed to use them. And I think the more we used them, the stronger they got.

  Cass had an ability as well, but she hadn’t shared anything yet that would hint at what that would be. Of course, she could be the odd person out and not have an ability, but I doubted it. Nature would sometimes grant special abilities to a species in order for it to adapt and survive in a changing environment. These abilities were going to help us survive. Seeing what Sherri and Benji could do with theirs inspired me to work hard on developing mine.

  Each woman we found would most likely have something in them special and I knew it would be imperative that we find them all.

  As much as I wanted to go right then and search for another island, I was going to bring up the idea of staying on the island for a few days until we had a camp built. Aubrey was right; it was only a matter of time until we got hurt or killed by the environment surrounding us. It wouldn’t make sense for us all to go on the raft each time, now that our group had grown to seven, plus one kitty. At least not with our current raft design. If I did leave someone behind on the island, I wasn’t going to leave the girls without a solid cabin to protect them from birds, hogs, or crocs. Heck, I wanted to build it strong enough that those sea cats we saw on Food Island couldn’t get in. Man, I hoped that croc took care of those cats. I didn’t want to face them in the water or land.