Shipwreck Island

by S.A. Bodeen

  Ahab suddenly stopped barking and yelped in pain, the sound of his cries fading as he ran off down the beach.

  His heart racing, Marco grabbed Nacho and yanked him to his feet. “Go!” They ran to the closest trunk and Marco boosted Nacho to the lowest branch, and Nacho began to climb. Marco reached for his mom, but she pushed Sarah toward him. Nacho blocked the way up that tree, so Marco grabbed Sarah under the arms and boosted her up into the next closest tree, waited until she’d gotten up a ways, then he scrambled up after Nacho.

  “Faster!” Marco yelled. He pushed on Nacho’s butt, and his brother was able to reach a higher branch where he plopped down and told Marco, “I can’t go any farther.”

  Marco glanced down. They were a good ten, twelve feet off the ground. Sarah was about as high in the tree next to them, and Marco saw his mom and John in the tree on the other side of them. John shined his flashlight on the ground.

  Marco realized he could no longer hear Ahab. The dog must have abandoned them. But what had made him yelp like that? He glanced down at the ground, where the flashlight beam illuminated, and nearly lost his grip on the tree.

  Sarah screamed.

  Below them were half a dozen brilliant orange crabs, the largest Marco had ever seen. Their legs were about three feet long, deadly looking claws snapping. One sidled its way to the pile of coconuts, selected one, then snapped it in two.

  Marco’s stomach churned.

  “What are those things?” he asked.

  John said, “I think they’re giant coconut crabs.”

  For some reason, Marco felt relieved. As scary as they were, at least they were known creatures that had an actual name, unlike the red bird. Then he gulped. “Can they climb trees?”

  John didn’t answer the question. Instead, he said, “Find something you can use as a club.”

  Marco looked overhead and saw a solid branch about the size of his arm. He braced himself and managed to snap it off. He hefted it in his hand, then smacked the trunk of the tree.

  Crack!

  Not the best of weapons, but he could annoy one of those things if he had to, at least keep it from climbing up.

  “Daddy?”

  Sarah’s voice wavered and Marco looked over at her. Her face was a pale oval, just visible in the branches. She was alone in the tree, and farthest from the fire. “What do I do?”

  John called out, “Sweetie, you’ll be fine. Can you find a branch?”

  “Why?”

  John was quiet for a moment, then finally said, “These things might want to climb one of our trees.”

  “What?” Sarah screeched. “Why?”

  “It’s okay,” said Marco. “Find a stick like this one. See?” He held up the branch. “If they start to climb, you can just poke at them and they’ll go back down.” He had no idea if his theory was accurate, but it sounded pretty good.

  Apparently, it was convincing enough for Sarah, who was whirling her head about, trying to find a weapon of her own. She reached up and grabbed a branch and pulled, but it resisted.

  “Try again,” urged Marco. “You can get it.”

  Sarah yanked again, but the thing didn’t budge. Her shoulders slumped. “I can’t!”

  John’s voice raised: “Marco!”

  Marco swiveled around in his position and watched one of the crabs, what seemed like the biggest, head for the base of Sarah’s tree. Marco realized his tree blocked Sarah’s view, and that she wouldn’t be able to see the crab until it was at the bottom of her trunk. He quickly said, “Let’s try another one.” He pointed behind her. “See that branch? Try that one.”

  Sarah sighed and shifted until she saw the branch he was pointing to. She grabbed the branch and pulled. Marco saw it give a little, so he said, “That’s it!” He glanced down and saw the crab had reached Sarah’s tree.

  The creature paused, one of its giant claws poised, snapping at the trunk.

  Marco encouraged Sarah to try again. “Just one more good yank and you’ll have it.”

  The crab put one leg up on the tree, then another, and began to climb up sideways.

  Sarah pulled the branch free. With a bit of a smile on her face, she told Marco, “Got it.”

  John called out, “I can’t see! What’s going on over there?”

  Marco said, “Sarah, get a good grip on that thing.”

  She froze. “Why?”

  Marco pointed about four feet below her at the trunk, where the crab was making its way up.

  Her eyes widened. “What do I do?”

  “Wait till it gets close enough and then just…”

  The crab was within three feet of Sarah when she reached down with her stick. The crab grabbed it with one pincer and Sarah pulled, heaving the crab off the trunk so that it was just hanging by the stick. Which it began to climb up.

  Sarah screamed.

  “Drop it!” Marco yelled. “Just drop it!”

  Sarah let go and the crab plummeted to the ground, where it scurried back to the pile of coconuts. Then she wrapped her arms around herself.

  “Sarah, you okay?” called her dad.

  “No, I’m not okay!” she yelled. Her chin wobbled and her lips curled down. She began to cry.

  Marco said, “That was scary.”

  She glared at him through her tears.

  He added, “I don’t know if I could have done what you did. That was brave.”

  She wiped her eyes and sniffled. “I didn’t have time to think.”

  “Well, you did good,” said Marco. He switched around so he could see his mom and stepfather. “What do we do now?”

  John aimed the flashlight beam at the crabs, who seemed content with the pile of coconuts, snapping them open one after the other. He said, “I think we’d better get comfortable. Looks like we’re going to spend the night in the trees.”

  19

  The fire died out in the dim, wee hours of the morning, leaving Sarah in nearly complete blackness. The only light came from the moon that slipped slowly toward the horizon. Stiff from crouching in the branches for so long, she shifted her body, trying to find a more comfortable position. Her left leg had fallen asleep and began to tingle as it woke up. She patted and shook it until it felt normal, then she moved down a foot or so, to a wider branch, and lay down, her back to the massive trunk. The only good thing about the discomfort was that she’d finally stopped being terrified.

  “You okay?” Marco was only a few feet away, but she couldn’t see him.

  She said, “As okay as you can be when you’re stuck in a tree all night.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it.”

  Just then, there was a snore.

  “Is that your brother?” asked Sarah.

  Marco laughed a little. “Yeah. He can sleep through anything.”

  Sarah said, “I expected him to be more annoying. But he’s pretty smart.”

  “Yeah, he is.” He paused a moment. “But he can still be seriously annoying.”

  Sarah heard a rustle below her and sucked in a breath. “Are they back?”

  There was a snuffle below, but she couldn’t see what it was. Her imagination began to run, and her hands began to tremble as visions of Marco’s weird bird and her kangaroo popped into her head. Along with those long-legged, scary crabs that looked like giant spiders—

  A whine.

  “Ahab?”

  Marco said, “I see him!”

  “Do you think it’s safe to go down?” Sarah asked.

  Her dad called from the other side of Marco’s tree, “Is the dog back?”

  “Yeah!” said Sarah. “Can we get down?”

  Her dad didn’t answer, but then a light shone up in Sarah’s face. “I think we can get down. I’ll build up the fire again.” As Sarah started to edge down the tree, her dad held up an arm and helped her jump down. She stepped into him for a hug. “That was too scary.”

  Marco appeared beside them. “I’m gonna let him sleep.” He pointed up.

  John pointed the beam
into the tree where Nacho had his head back against the tree trunk, snoring away. He laughed. “Let’s get that fire going.”

  Yvonna called from her perch in the tree. “Is it okay to get down?”

  Marco went over to her as Sarah put her arms around Ahab. “He knows, Dad.”

  “Knows what?” Her dad squatted by the fire pit, digging into the embers with a stick and trying to coax the fire back to life.

  “He knows when there’s danger.” Sarah stood up and rubbed Ahab’s giant head. “Don’t you?” She took the flashlight and checked the dog all over for injuries, but found none. “You must have just gotten pinched, huh?”

  Yvonna and Marco joined them, and sat down on some of the bedding that remained where they’d left it, still circling the fire. She said, “We should all try to get some sleep.”

  “Tonight was rough,” said John. “If we’re here for another night, I think that it would be wise to stay in that house Marco and I found.”

  Marco spoke up. “But I thought we needed to stay by the beach.” His words were rushed. “I mean, we wouldn’t want to miss a boat coming to rescue us.”

  The fire began to flame, and John added some wood to it, then sat down on the sand beside it. He looked at Marco. “It’s just safer to be inside a structure.”

  Sarah said, “Yeah, way better than spending another night in a tree.”

  Yvonna said, “John, would you help me get Nacho down? He can’t sleep the whole night up there.” They left the fire to Marco, Sarah, and Ahab. Sarah looked over at Marco. “Why don’t you want to stay in the house?”

  Marco shrugged. “I just think we should stay here, in case a boat comes. Plus it’s way too far to haul all our stuff.”

  Sarah glanced over at the pile of supplies. He had a point. “But we can’t stay here.” She shivered. “What if those crabs come back?”

  Marco glanced over at the trees they’d just come down from. “I think we could build a platform in those trees. We’d be off the beach that way, but still close enough in case a boat comes.”

  Sarah frowned. “How can we build something?”

  Her dad came back carrying Nacho in his arms. He carefully laid the boy on the bedding and drew a blanket over him. “What are we building?”

  Marco told him his idea and John began nodding. “I like it. We could salvage what wood we can from the boat, haul the berth mattresses and stuff up there…” He smiled. “Great idea.”

  Marco grinned and, to Sarah, he suddenly seemed far more at ease.

  Nacho seemed to snore again immediately.

  Yvonna said, “The rest of you need to get some sleep too.”

  John said, “I’ll stay up and watch the fire, probably catch a nap sometime tomorrow.”

  Sarah snuggled down in her bed, being sure to keep one hand on Ahab, who had sprawled out next to her. As long as he was with them, she felt that at least she—that all of them—would have some kind of warning before whatever other danger lurking out there headed their way.

  20

  The sun was a glowing tangerine, low in the eastern sky, when Marco woke up. He was sweating under the blankets and threw them off, knowing the day was going to be a scorcher. Sarah and Nacho were still asleep, Ahab nestled between them, and his mom squatted by the fire, holding a small pan over it with one hand as she held a wooden spoon in the other, stirring.

  Yvonna carried the pan back over to the makeshift kitchen, and busied herself putting something together. Marco went over to her and she handed him a bowl. “Breakfast?”

  He peered inside. Sprinkled granola lay on top of a scoop of something pale and creamy with streaks of pink. “What is it?”

  Yvonna smiled. “Well, I cooked up the guava into a sauce and strained it to get the seeds out, then put in some vanilla pudding snacks and topped it with granola. Just give it a try.” She handed him a spoon.

  He scooped up a small amount and tasted it. Crunchy, creamy, sweet, and just a tad tart. “I like it. Thanks.”

  She smiled. Then she put a hand over her mouth.

  “Mom?”

  “Oh. I think my stomach is still—” She turned and ran a little ways away, then dropped to her knees just out of sight behind a tree.

  Marco wondered if she was throwing up again. He called out, “Mom? You okay?”

  “Just a little queasy still,” she called. “I’ll be fine.”

  John came walking from down the beach. “Where’s your mom?” he asked.

  Marco wasn’t sure his mom would want John to know she was sick, so he held up his bowl. “She made us breakfast and said she was going for a walk.”

  John picked up a bowl and took a spoonful. “This is tasty.” He took a few more bites. “We’re gonna need our strength.”

  Marco asked, “Are we going to the boat?”

  John finished a mouthful. “I figured we could go into the hold from the hole in the side.”

  “That sounds dangerous,” said Yvonna, who came walking up to them, looking much better than she had moments before.

  “Mom,” Marco said. “We’re already shipwrecked on an island. I’m not sure how much more dangerous anything can get.”

  She smiled a little. “Point taken. But I’m still going to worry.” She put her arm around his shoulders and squeezed. “I can’t help it, so just deal with it.”

  “I’m pretty sure that thing is solid,” John said. “But we’ll be careful.”

  They finished eating. Marco helped John drag the dinghy down to the water and they rowed out to Moonflight. John said, “The water is so calm this morning. I should be able to get pretty close.” He stowed the small oars and let the dinghy drift nearer to the ruined vessel.

  Marco reached out with both arms and pushed against it. “Can you tie us off?”

  John nodded, already reaching out with a rope. He looped it inside the hole in the hull, then pulled it tight. “I really don’t think the boat is going anywhere. But I want you to stay out here, and if it moves at all, untie and row away, okay?”

  Marco nodded.

  John reached up and started pulling wood out, making the hole bigger. He tossed the remnants aside and groaned. “This is going to be harder than I thought. This is nowhere near big enough for me to get in.”

  “I can fit,” said Marco.

  John shook his head. “No way. Your mother would never speak to me again.”

  Marco didn’t exactly see a problem with that, but he said, “She can’t see us from here.”

  John didn’t say anything, but Marco could tell from the expression on his face that he was considering it. So he added, “Really, I’ll be fine. Plus I weigh less than you. I mean, if the boat was gonna move, it would be less likely to happen with me.”

  “Fine.” John blew out a breath. “But you’d better be careful.”

  Marco nodded. “I will.” He crawled over to the side of the dinghy nearest the hull and grabbed the side of the hole. He stuck one foot inside, making sure the footing was solid, then pulled himself the rest of the way inside. John handed him a flashlight.

  Marco flitted the beam around the cabin. The space looked about the same as when they’d left it, only with about six inches of water everywhere; he slowly made his way to the captain’s room. They had already collected the blanket off the bed, but he yanked on the thin mattress, which slid right off, and was easy enough to drag to the hole. But when he tried to fold it enough to fit through, the mattress filled the space, darkening the hold.

  “Can you grab it?” he called to John. There was no answer, but the mattress left his hands and a few seconds later, the sun shined through again.

  “Got it!”

  Marco stuck his head out. The mattress nearly filled the dinghy. “Do you need to make a trip to shore?”

  John shook his head. “I’m not leaving you out here.”

  “Lemme see what else I can find.” Marco went back in. They had gotten most of the food supplies, but he found a canvas bag in the cupboard and filled it wi
th whatever kitchen things they had left. In the next room, he noticed a book left on the shelf and stuffed it into the bag without looking at the cover. Then he went back into the captain’s room. The trunk was there, and again he tried opening it. The lock didn’t budge.

  He curled his fingers around the leather handle on one end and yanked, expecting the trunk to be too heavy to move. But he was surprised at the lightness, and how easily he could move it in the water. He dragged the trunk to the hole, and then stepped into the sunlight. He handed the canvas bag to John. “Do you want more mattresses? There’s no way they’ll fit in the dinghy.”

  John rubbed his chin. “Yeah.” He looked west, where clouds were building. “If we get another storm, this sailboat could sink. We better take all we can and then start pulling the wood.”

  Marco stepped back through the hole and dragged the trunk out.

  John tilted his head as he looked at the trunk. “What is that?”

  Suddenly, Marco felt embarrassed. Given their circumstances, it seemed insensitive—greedy almost—to be hauling out a possession of their captain’s. “I think it was Captain Norm’s.” He shrugged.

  His stepfather said, “Might as well bring it ashore. Maybe we can even get it back to Norm’s family one day.” He stepped forward and pulled on one handle as Marco pushed from behind. Once the trunk was settled, Marco scrambled aboard and helped John row back to shore. They unloaded and headed out to make another trip.

  By the third trip, they’d retrieved everything of use from the vessel, so they headed back out to try and strip some wood. John lashed the dinghy’s rope to the boat, then began yanking at the wood on the side of the hole. The storm had loosened everything, and after a battle with the first few, they were able to yank several more off and pile them in the dinghy.

  John sat down and picked up the oars. “Let’s take this load to shore. That’s enough for today. We can rest up and come back for more tomorrow.”

  Marco asked, “We’re giving up?”

  John said, “No. But we had a long night and can’t really build the platform today anyway.”

  If they couldn’t get the rest of the wood, they couldn’t build a platform in time for that night, so when those crabs came back …