Encala

by T. M. Nielsen

  “Hopefully, we don’t really have a choice,” Kyle said, and headed up the stairs.

  “Take it off,” Allen yelled, pulling at his life jacket.

  “I said, no. Keep it on,” Emily told him, before finishing her sandwich and starting on the dishes.

  Emily jumped slightly when the thunder cracked. She glanced out the port window and saw the black clouds moving in quickly. Lightning lit up the sky and she turned back to Allen nervously.

  “Want to watch a movie?” she asked, cleaning off his face.

  “Pooh!” he yelled and ran for the bean bag.

  “Pooh… sure… only 5 times this week,” she replied, pressing ‘play’ on the DVD. She went over and sat on the bean bag by Allen and mussed his black hair playfully. The rain began to pelt the boat and Emily had to turn up the volume to drown out the sound. With every rock of the boat, she cringed and held Allen a little tighter.

  A violent crash sounded as Emily and Allen were thrown against the side of the living area. She could feel blood dripping down her forehead, but looked Allen over and he was unhurt. They were lying against the side of the boat, which meant the boat was listing dangerously. Cold water began to flood down the stairs and into the living area.

  Four guards appeared and swam to them. One pulled Allen away from Emily’s grasp, and the others took Emily’s arms and hauled her through the cold water. They had to use extreme strength to fight against the current as the water surged into the boat. Kyle was watching them from inside a life raft and pulled Allen on board, and then turned to Emily. He helped her hoist into the life raft as it shook with the large waves.

  Mark was in a second life raft full of guards. He threw a rope to Kyle, and they tethered the rafts together so they wouldn’t get separated. Emily laid down on the bottom of the raft and held Allen with one hand, while she clung to the raft with the other. The wind pounded the small rafts and water sloshed over the sides. Kyle and the guards frantically dipped buckets full of water out of the raft to keep it afloat.

  Hours passed as the storm raged. Emily and Allen were both soaked and shivering in the cold. The wind and rain assaulted the small rafts and several times almost capsized them. As the storm subsided, Emily curled up with Allen and both fell asleep, exhausted from the night’s storm.

  The sun finally broke through the clouds and Emily sat up, looking around them. There was nothing but ocean as far as she could see. Allen was still asleep in his life vest. Shivering, Emily crawled onto one of the hard bench seats.

  “Let me see your head,” Kyle said, pulling her hair back. She had smacked her head against a windowsill as the boat was thrown onto its side.

  “Ouch,” she cried out when he touched the cut.

  “Sorry, it’s not too deep.” He pulled off his shirt and handed it to Emily. She slipped it on and looked over at the guards in the other boat. One of the guards took his shirt off, too, and tossed it to Emily, so she laid it on top of Allen.

  “What happened?” she asked, finally.

  “Squall, we didn’t have time to turn into it,” he said, looking out over the ocean.

  “Are there any supplies on the rafts?”

  Kyle shook his head, “If I remember correctly though, there was a small island just north of where we sank. The waves have been taking us slowly toward it.”

  “Was anyone hurt?” She looked over the guards.

  “Just you,” he said with a half-smile.

  As afternoon approached, the sun began to beat down on them. Emily set up a cover for Allen using shirts from the guards to shade him from the sun. She could feel her skin burning but preferred to have Allen covered.

  “Mommy, when’s lunch?” Allen asked.

  “We don’t have anything to eat right now, Baby,” she said, taking his hand.

  “I’m hungry.”

  “I know. As soon as we’re rescued, we’ll get to eat.” She smiled down at him.

  “Water?” he asked, pointing out to the ocean.

  “We can’t drink that water, it’s yucky.” She was trying to sound upbeat, but she was worried. She was already getting thirsty, and knew dehydration would set in quickly in the afternoon heat.

  Emily dipped her hand into the cool water and rubbed it on her skin to calm the burning. She was getting a headache from the head wound and the sun glaring off of the water was making it worse.

  The sun set over the horizon and they were thrown into darkness. Emily lay down with Allen, and looked up at the stars. They were so bright out on the ocean. There was a brisk breeze blowing across the rafts and both of them were soon asleep.

  Darkness fell on the rafts for the second night. This time, Allen wouldn’t sleep. He was crying tearlessly and his lips were dry and cracked. Emily held him and rocked. Her arms were blistering with the sunburn, and her thirst was almost unbearable. The guards watched helplessly, frustrated to be surrounded by water that they couldn’t drink.

  Late into the night, Allen finally cried himself to sleep and Emily handed him over to Kyle to hold. She curled up on the hard bench seat and watched the moon shine off of the water.

  “How are you holding up?” one of the guards asked her from the other raft.

  “Ok,” she said, though her voice cracked.

  “Is there nothing we can do?” he asked Kyle.

  “Nothing,” Kyle said, irritated.

  Emily didn’t say it, but she knew that Allen only had a day or so left before dehydration would kill him. She watched him sleep in Kyle’s arms and felt utterly helpless. She wasn’t a religious woman, but she prayed that the island would appear soon or that they would be rescued. Surely Chevalier heard her calling for him and had sent help.

  Another day approached and as the sun came up, Emily saw something that made her heart jump. The dark silhouette of an island had appeared off in the distance. The guards had already pulled the oars out of the rafts and were rowing toward it. Emily was worried that Allen hadn’t woken up yet. His skin was pale and dry and his lips were bleeding. She held him in her arms as the island drew closer.

  “Is the island inhabited?” she asked Kyle.

  “No”

  Just before the rafts reached the beach, two of the guards jumped out and pulled the rafts onto the sand. Emily stumbled out of the raft with Allen and dropped down to her knees. It felt amazing to be on solid ground again.

  “You two, walk the perimeter of the island. We’re looking for fresh water and something to eat,” Kyle ordered two recruits. “Mark, you take another guard and head inland to see what you can find.”

  Emily watched as the guards set off. Allen opened his eyes slowly and looked around, then went back to sleep. Kyle took him from Emily and she followed them into the cover of the trees to get out of the sun.

  She curled up against Allen and drifted in and out of sleep. The shade felt good, but her dry throat was painful.

  Mark was the first of the guards to get back, “I found a cave with a fresh spring inside.”

  Kyle picked Emily up and cradled her as Mark took Allen, and they headed into the dense trees. About a mile inland, they came to the mouth of the cave. Kyle sat Emily down by the stream and she cupped her hand and brought it up for Allen. He opened his eyes and drank quickly.

  “Not too much, it’ll make you sick,” Kyle said as she leaned down and began to drink.

  Emily sat up and looked around the cave. The water was pouring out of a crack in the wall. The cave was just a single room, but the cool air felt good against her burned skin. Allen was now on the ground, splashing in the water.

  The guards checking the island’s perimeter came into the cave.

  “Nothing much to report. We didn’t see any signs of life other than birds, and so far, no food,” he said, sitting down against the cave wall.

  Kyle sighed, “Maybe the others will find something.”

  With her thirst quenched, Emily was able to lean back against a rock and shut her eyes. The sound of the wind through the trees was soothi
ng, and she soon fell asleep.

  “Emily?” Kyle said, touching her hand gently.

  Emily opened her eyes and saw the banana in his hand. She quickly peeled it and went to hand it to Allen, but he was already eating. She ate it and picked up another.

  “These are so good,” she said, starting in on the second one.

  “There are plenty, some coconuts too,” he told her. “Now, what to do about those burns.”

  She looked over her arms and legs and saw the bright red burns and blisters. She could only imagine what her face must look like, “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about it.”

  “Well at least stay out of the sun.”

  She nodded.

  “Have you… tried to contact Chevalier?” Kyle asked.

  “Yes,” she said, leaning back against the cave wall.

  “The storm blew us off course. We weren’t where we said we would be,” he told the guards. Everyone was gathered in the small cave.

  After a sleepless night in the cave, Emily headed out into the trees to explore the island. She didn’t even care that four members of the Cavalry followed her. She watched the birds fly away from her and marveled at the huge green trees. The island was beautiful with the lush, green, mossy ground and thick palm trees. It was also quiet and peaceful after the hustle and bustle of the palace. Multi-colored birds flew above them as they walked, and the guards pushed large flowers to the side to clear a path.

  Emily pulled apart some palm leaves, stepped out into a clearing, and smiled at the small pond. A fresh water stream emptied into it, and she stepped in after she slipped off the guard shirt, leaving only the bikini. The guards watched her carefully. The cool water felt good against her burns.

  “Come on in,” she said, smiling at the guards.

  They looked at one another and one answered, “Not sure we’re allowed.”

  “To swim?”

  “With you,” he said, laughing.

  “I say you are… come on in, it feels great,” she said, ducking down under the water. When she emerged, she saw the heku guards in the water fully dressed. They were walking toward her and splashing one another playfully.

  “See, feels good!” she said, swimming toward them a little.

  Emily pushed one guard under the water and laughed. He came up and they heard a throat clear beside the pond. The guards looked over at Kyle, who was watching them with his arms crossed.

  “Sorry, Sir,” they each mumbled, and swam toward the land.

  “I asked them to come in,” Emily told him, following them.

  “We have work to do. I want a signal fire and a message etched into the beach. Then we’re going to need more food,” he said as they stepped out.

  Emily pulled on the shirt Kyle had given her on the raft, and followed him back to the cave as the guards headed off to get some things done. He reached over and put his hand against the small of her back. Before they reached the cave, he pulled her close to him and looked into her eyes.

  “How are you holding up?” he asked, touching her cheek lightly.

  “I’m ok, really. We have food and water, that’s all we need.” She pulled away from him, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

  “He’ll come for us.”

  “I know,” she said, smiling.

  Before she could protest, Kyle’s lips pressed against hers. She tried to pull away, but he held her close to him. She put her hands against his shoulders and he finally let her go.

  Kyle smiled at her, “Sorry about that.”

  “No you aren’t. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” she said, moving a step back.

  “I know that.”

  “I also don’t want you to get caught overstepping. You know the guards would tell him,” she said, watching him.

  “I know that, too, but maybe it’s worth it,” he told her, and took a step toward her.

  “Kyle, don’t.” She stood her ground and watched him.

  He nodded, “Come on, let’s go back to the cave.”

  She followed a few steps behind him. She could hear Allen laughing as they approached the cave. One of the guards had collected some twigs, and they were building houses with them on the floor of the cave. Allen had a banana in his hand as he watched his guard build a miniature town.

  Emily sat down and grabbed half of a coconut and a sharp rock. She scooped the pulp out and ate it while watching Allen play.

  ***

  “Sir, we’re at the location the coast guard said they found debris,” the Captain of the boat said to Chevalier. He was standing on the bow of the ship looking out over the water.

  Something out on the water caught his eye and he watched it closely as the boat moved slowly towards it. He reached the hook into the water and pulled up a chaise cushion. He knew the debris was from Emily’s yacht, he had these cushions made especially for her in her favorite color. He knew she was alive and safe, he could feel that. He couldn’t, however, figure out where she was, and that infuriated him.

  “Are there any islands around here?” Chevalier asked the Captain.

  The Captain pulled out a map and started calculating their location, “Nothing close by. Maybe they are out on a raft?”

  Chevalier couldn’t explain to him that they weren’t on a raft. He knew that Emily was too content to be hungry or thirsty, which she would be if they were still out on the water.

  “Head for the closest island. I want to check all of them in this area,” he said to the Captain. The captain was getting paid well enough, that he just nodded and headed east toward the closest island.

  “We should be there tomorrow afternoon.”

  Chevalier nodded.

  ***

  “It’s worth a shot, it can’t hurt, right?” Kyle asked, gathering the coconut milk into the empty husk.

  “Yeah I guess,” Emily said, and slipped her shirt off. The burns were painful and she was getting a fever and a body ache.

  Kyle slowly poured the coconut milk over the back of her neck, arms, and legs. He wanted so badly to reach out and hold her as she gasped in pain. He noticed her color was off and he knew she was running a fever. He felt extremely helpless as he watched her slowly getting sicker.

  “That does feel good,” she said, shutting her eyes.

  “Get more,” Kyle ordered one of the guards, who began refilling the husk.

  After Kyle poured more milk on the blistered burns, Emily could finally lay down without so much intense pain. The guards had piled palm leaves in the corner of the room and then layered their shirts on it for a bed. She fell fast asleep, aided by the fever. Kyle sat by her and watched her sleep, no longer caring what the guards told Chevalier about their time on the island.

  Allen tried to wake her a few times, but the guards stopped him and eventually took him out to the fresh water pond for a swim. Kyle was now alone in the small cave with Emily. He gently pulled a shirt over her, and then sat back again.

  “Stop,” she whispered in her sleep, jerking slightly.

  Kyle put his hand against her shoulder to try to calm down the nightmare.

  “Don’t please,” she mumbled.

  “Shhhhh,” he whispered, and kissed her forehead lightly. He was worried about how hot her skin felt against his lips.

  Kyle got up and soaked a shirt in the cold water, and then put it against her forehead. When the guards returned with Allen, they kept him busy while Kyle took care of Emily. She stopped stirring and fell into a fever induced sleep. He kept a cool rag on her forehead and held her hand through the night. Allen fell asleep curled up with Kralen, one of the guards he had become attached to. The night air turned cold as it began to rain. The cave kept them dry, but the wind was coming in from the opening. Emily shivered slightly and Kyle pulled another shirt over her.

  The rain stopped just as morning came and the cave began to warm up. Kyle changed out Emily’s cold rag and began to get more concerned when she didn’t wake up. Even when Allen started to cry after f
alling and scraping his knee, she didn’t move.

  “Is this because of the burn?” one of the guards asked.

  “I don’t know enough about burns to know, but I’m assuming it is,” Kyle said, watching her breathe.

  “Want more coconut milk?”

  “Yes, let’s try that again.”

  The guard returned a few minutes later with a husk full of coconut milk. Kyle dipped the shirt into it and gently ran it across the burns on her legs, then moved to her arms. She groaned softly when he touched her neck, and he pulled his hand back quickly.

  “Can mortals survive off of bananas and coconut?” he asked Kyle.

  Kyle shrugged, “I don’t know that either.”

  “I could try to catch a fish.”

  “That’s a good idea. Take a shirt to use as a net,” Kyle suggested.

  “Mommy?” Allen asked, walking over to Emily. Kyle pulled him into his lap to keep him from touching her.

  “Mommy’s sleeping,” he whispered into Allen’s ear.

  “Wake up Mommy!” Allen yelled, before Kyle could cover his mouth. Kyle frowned when she didn’t respond.

  “Is Mommy sick?” Allen asked Kyle.

  Kyle nodded and sat him back on the ground

  “Do you think it would help if we took her into the pond?” Mark asked.

  Kyle thought for a moment, and then shrugged, “I guess we can try it. So far, nothing’s working to get the fever down.”

  Kyle picked Emily up gently, but she still moaned in pain. He carried her limp body to the pond and then stepped in, fully dressed. He walked in until she was submerged and only her face was out of the water. He could feel the heat from her body even under the cool water. As her body began to cool, she blinked a few times and opened her eyes.

  “Hi,” he said, smiling down at her.

  She looked around confused, “Where are we?”

  “In the pond. I’m trying to get your fever down.”

  “I hurt everywhere.”

  “I know, does the water help?”

  She nodded and then shut her eyes again. He brushed his lips lightly against hers and held her close to his body. It wasn’t until darkness set in that he took her back to the cave and laid her down on the palm leaf bed. Allen was already asleep on a makeshift bed in the opposite corner. The guards listened to the rain fall all night and watched over their charges.