Jack took a deep breath and threw his shirt back on. “Ready?”
My legs shuddered beneath me, but I wouldn’t admit to fear. Mike and Jack expected me to be strong, like one of the guys. I wiped my forehead and then nodded; ready to do whatever it took to save our lives.
* * *
Beads of sweat trickled down my face. Being chased by spiders and swinging across some canyon on a vine that could snap at any given second took “nerve wracking” to a completely new level. It would be a leap of faith…literally.
Jack gripped a vine tightly, till his knuckles turned white. He gave it a hard yank and then turned to face me. “It’ll hold your weight,” he assured me. When my lips pressed together in a grim line, he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “You can do this.”
“Of course I can,” I whispered. I nodded and glanced over my shoulder one last time. Only feet away now, a myriad of eyes glared at me, and in an instant, the spiders sprang. In one fluid movement, I clutched the vine, pushed off, and swung through the air, cool gusts of wind rushing against my face and whooshing in my ears. The rubbing of the vine and the creaking of the branch from the stress of my weight made me groan. If this thing breaks...
Mike’s shouts echoed in the air. Extreme sports was always his thing, not mine. Relief flooded through me as I landed on solid ground on the other side. I hadn’t been liquefied into spider food, and I hadn’t splattered like a watermelon at the bottom of the canyon. Letting go of the vine, I fell on the soft grass, thanking God I was okay. My gaze drifted over to the spiders on the other side of the canyon edge. “Yeah, I’d like to see you try to jump that one!”
Jack smiled and held out a hand to help me up. Triumph flickered in his blue eyes as his dark, wild hair was tousled by the wind.
Standing a little too close to the edge, Mike shouted, “I don’t know what you are, but I’ll be sure to Google you when I get back. So long, suckers.” His strong arm hooked around my waist, making my heart flutter. “Isn’t gloating fun?”
I smirked, squeezing him back. “C’mon. Let’s go.” I focused all my energy on walking straight ahead and refused to look at whatever else might be in the trees. The thought of anything squirming made me shudder. I scanned my surroundings again: just lush, green jungle. There was no sign of spiders, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be somewhere there, hidden in the thickets. I shuddered at the thought and grabbed Jack’s arm.
He gave me a pat on the back. “Let’s try this way. We can’t let spiders keep us from finding water.”
Mike nudged her shoulder. “Hey, Casey. How’s your throat?”
My throat? “Huh?”
“Well, you were screamin’ pretty loud back there.” Mike put on his concerned look, but I could see the amused glint in his eyes. “If you want, I can take you back to the fires.”
I could have slapped myself for acting so wimpy. What would Mike think? Okay, from now on I’d put myself in Lara Croft mode and show off every single tomb raiding skill I knew. After all, I had a blond-headed Indiana Jones to impress.
I put on a brave front and slugged him. Mike liked his girls cute, but he also liked them to have guts—the kind of guts I used to have when I was pure tomboy and had no problem dangling creepy-crawlies in their faces. “No way! I’m game if you are.” I pushed past Jack and stomped down on some enormous green and purple leaves. “Tell ya what. I’ll even lead the way.”
“Tough, strong, and fearless. Now that’s the Casey I remember,” said Mike.
Yep. Lara Croft all the way. I hiked through ten foot tall ferns and clusters of giant oval-shaped leaves and finally found a way to cross back over, without negotiating a huge gap in the canyon. While trekking through the jungle, I breathed in the salty air.
“Smell that? We’re back by the ocean.” I smiled when the sound of rushing water echoed from our right. I craned my neck, trying to see over giant blooming plants. I parted the large fronds and peered through. My heart jumped. Winding deep into the tropical rainforest was a magnificent river. Crystal clear water trickled over moss-covered rocks. Tiny red and blue fish—normal-sized, thank God—darted about. “Check it out!”
Jack gave me a high-five.
Mike grinned, picking me up and swinging me around. I felt dizzy when he put me down—and not just from being spun in circles. Wasting no time, Mike knelt down and cupped water with his hands, taking a long drink.
Jack held up a hand. “Wait! Shouldn’t we boil it first? Maybe we could use coconut shells or something.”
Small, smeared animal tracks lined the riverbank. I pointed down. “Look. There’s footprints everywhere. If these animals are drinking it, then it must be safe.”
“I don’t recognize these tracks,” said Jack, studying the imprints in the mud.
“Because they’re smeared.” I scooped up handfuls of water and let the refreshing liquid slip down my parched throat. Then I splashed my face.
“Just to be on the safe side, maybe we should still boil it,” said Jack.
I shot him an exasperated glance. “Okay, but I highly doubt the size of those spiders has anything to do with this river. This is an awesome find.”
He nodded. “Yeah, it is. You can go up to three weeks without food, but only three days without water. And another thing…this could be our Plan B. You’ve just got to have a Plan B.”
“Plan B?” asked Mike, washing his muddy sandals in the water.
“Yeah. We can follow the river if help doesn’t come. It might lead us to civilization, like a village or something.” Jack knelt down and swirled his hands in the water. He had probably come to the conclusion this was the closest thing we were going to get to a sink…a tub…or even a shower.
“Works for me,” said Mike.
I dipped my hands into the cool river and rinsed off my arms and face, and then splashed water on all the dirty spots on my shirt. The gross green spider goo came right off, and it was a good thing, because the thought of spider guts being smeared on me made me gag, Lara Croft or not.
Jack’s gaze swung to me. “Whatcha think of my plan?”
“Sounds like Plan B to me, as long as we don’t run into any more of those spiders.” I bit my lip as a thought occurred to me. Following that river wouldn’t help us one bit if this island was uninhabited, but I was sure that didn’t matter. We’d be rescued soon anyway. My parents would be relentless, hot on the Coast Guard’s tail. Unless…Wait! Does the Coast Guard even come out this far? Maybe it’ll be the Fiji Navy. My mom and dad would be hounding someone until their daughter was found.
As I bent to tie my shoe, a hard object jammed into my hip. I reached into my pocket to retrieve my cell phone. My heartbeat sped up; I’d forgotten I even had it. If it worked, then there’d be no need for boiled water, coconuts or a Plan B or anything! I flipped it open and stared at the black screen. Even pressing the ON button didn’t work. I felt like crying and screaming and tossing the useless cell on the ground, all at the same time—maybe even stomping it to pieces. “It’s dead…completely waterlogged,” I said aloud.
Mike’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. “Guess texting for a pizza is out of the question.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of an exterminator myself.” I smirked as I removed the battery and dried off the phone with my damp shirt. “All kidding aside, there’s still a chance the phone might dry out. It’s a waiting game now.”
Leaning against a tree, Mike blew out a breath. “What does it matter? No way we’ll get a signal out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“We can still use it to flag down a rescue plane,” said Jack.
Mike gave him a puzzled look. “If it’s fried, how’s that going to happen?”
Jack reached for the phone and ran his fingers over it. “The outside is silver. The suns will reflect off of it, and we might be able to signal a plane. A flash of light can be seen from fifty miles away.”
“Really? That far?” I asked.
“Yeah, and you can use an
ything shiny too, like a belt buckle or canteen.” He handed the cell back to me.
I slipped the phone and the battery into my pocket. “There’s nobody else I’d rather be stranded with than you, Jack.”
Jack wrapped his arms around me. I could feel his heart racing. He put on a good show, but I knew he was scared to death. “It won’t be long before we’re back home,” he said, squeezing me tight.
“The sooner, the better.” I held back a sob, knowing that crying would only make things worse. I had to stay strong. “Okay guys, so what’s the very first thing a group of castaways should do for survival?”
“Find a volleyball and name it Wilson?” retorted Mike.
I couldn’t help but smirk. “No, Tom Hanks.”
Jack brushed his dark hair out of his eyes and smiled. “Start a fire.”
Grinning, I met his gaze and held it. “You got it.”
His grin grew even bigger.
I motioned around me. “Let’s start collecting some tinder, twigs, and lots of wood. We’ll make a big, giant, blazing fire—so big that even a satellite from space will see it.”
“Great idea. Let’s get a pile going.” Jack began picking up some smaller-sized logs.
Mike blinked. “Tinder?”
“You know…grass, leaves, bark—stuff to start a fire. You do watch Survivor, right?”
“Yeah, but we won’t need a fire until tonight when it cools down…if we’re even here that long.”
“Fire will scare away any spiders or predators—not to mention that smoke can be seen for miles and miles during the day.” I paused to pick up an armful of dry, twisted branches and then continued. “The sun—or make that the suns—will set, and then what? Nothing sucks more than making a fire in the dark, especially with no matches or a lighter. So let’s get started, ’cause I swear I’m not staying the night out here.”
Jack took a few steps forward and motioned toward the beach. “The international distress signal is three fires in a triangle thirty to fifty feet apart. Doesn’t matter what country we’re in. Every rescue worker knows it. At the first sign of a plane or helicopter, we’ll smother them with palm leaves so they’ll smoke up good.”
“Wow,” said Mike. “You have that Mr. Einstein thing nailed down.”
Jack smiled, a twinkle in his blue eyes. Because of his easygoing nature, he never took Mike seriously. He was proud to be a jock as well as a brain.
I reached for another branch. My shoulders ached, and I could barely see over the high pile in my arms as my thoughts drifted back to my family. I would never have dreamt in a million years that I’d be torn away from my parents and be shipwrecked. I bet my parents were worried sick. How could a vacation go so wrong?
“Hey, do you need any help?” Jack’s biceps bulged as he pulled at a heavy log embedded in the forest floor.
“Nope. I can carry my own weight.” I tried to hide the quiver in my voice but didn’t quite manage. No way did I want to be labeled a whiny, helpless girl.
Jack let go of the log and called over to Mike. “Hey, one more thing… Don’t forget we need a fire if you plan on eating. So if you don’t help, Casey and I will be eating hot, grilled fish. And you—” He paused and then continued, “I really hope you love sushi.”
“Ewww, gross!” I gave him a weak smile, thankful for the diversion. Jack always knew how to distract my worried thoughts. I turned my head and caught Mike’s smirk.
“Cold, raw fish?” he asked. “Is that supposed to scare me? You know there’s nothing I won’t try once.” He walked toward the beach with a load of wood.
“Wait…I’m coming! My arms are about to fall off.” I ducked under the tangle of vines and made my way out of the jungle.
“Hey, looks like we’re further down the beach,” said Mike.
I nodded. “Yeah, that explains why we didn’t hear the river when we first got here. Well, that along with all those loud waves, chirping birds, and noisy insects.”
As Mike staggered ahead, his footsteps started to give off light—lots of it. “Whoa! Mike, look at the sand.”
He smiled. “Didn’t we discuss this already?”
“Time to discuss it again. Your footsteps are lighting up. Check it out.”
“Whoa! Has to be from the suns really beating down on all those mica crystals.”
I squinted and set down my load. “Yeah, but how does it give off light like that?”
“You’re right. Something’s up,” said Mike, kicking the sand around with his shoe.
Jack appeared beside me, carrying a long, heavy log. I glanced at his powerful body and broad shoulders. Thrusting his shoulders back, he adjusted the weight. “Like I said before, it’s plain old sand mixed with tons of mica.”
“Good old mica, huh?” Mike threw up handfuls of the white, sparkling stuff.
“Awww.” I covered my head as the sand rained down on me. As much as I liked Mike, he could be so childish sometimes. A sparkling flash in the air blinded me. “Did you guys see that glare?”
Mike shook Jack’s shoulder. “Is this all crazy or what?”
He hesitated. “That’s… Wow! Do it again.”
I brushed my clothes off. I grabbed two fistfuls of sand and threw them toward the ocean.
“Check it out!” said Mike. “Are we still going with that mica theory?”
A barrage of shimmering particles flew through the air, reminding me of a bright, white flash in a fireworks display. “No way is that plain old sand. That’s paranormal sand of the freaky kind,” I said.
Jack threw his log down on the rest of the pile and then wiped the bark and debris from his hands on his shorts. He dropped to his knees, swirling his hands around. “The sand’s hotter now. It’s like the heat from the suns is somehow activating the mineral compounds. They’re glittering like crazy, even lighting up when stirred.” He picked up a nearby stick and scribbled his name in the sand.
To my surprise, the grains of sand twinkled. “I’ve traveled around the world, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” I raised my eyebrows. “Let me try.”
Jack tossed me the stick and I wrote, “Casey was here.” Sure enough, the words started to glisten.
His eyes locked with mine. “It’s glittering like some sort of neon billboard.”
I leaned closer to the scratched letters. “Yeah, it…it’s like an electric sign. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. What’s going on?”
“I haven’t a clue.” Mike plopped himself right down in the freaky sand, like he was back home in California, trying to get a tan.
Jack’s eyes widened, his tone urgent, as he took the words right out of my mouth.
“Are you crazy? Get up. We don’t know anything about this sand, and you’re lying in it!”
Undeterred, Mike stretched out his arms and legs and flapped them back and forth.
“Jack’s right.” I nudged his leg with my foot. “Stop rolling around in that stuff!”
“We were lying in this stuff after we swam to shore.” Mike raised a hand to shield his eyes. “Listen, the damage’s done. If we were going to turn into zombies or sprout some kind of superpowers, it would’ve already happened. As far as I know, I don’t have X-ray vision,” he said with a smirk.
Mike scrambled up and took a step back from his creation. The sand angel sparkled as if it were sprinkled with thousands of tiny diamonds. A moment later, the sand particles began to sparkle and shimmer, slowly at first, but then very quickly, until it reminded me of an animated logo. He dropped to his knees, his mouth gaping wide. “Now…that’s a sand angel.”
“Wow!” I said.
Mike shook my shoulder. “You’ve got to paint this when we get back home!”
“Yeah, man. It’s on my list with all the other freaky stuff.” I bent closer to examine it. The particles were as fine as dust as they scattered through my fingers. I’d never seen anything like it; but then again, the entire island and its odd two suns seemed like something my mind could have conjured u
p. I glanced over for Jack’s reaction, but he looked away.
“How does it do that?” Mike kept shaking his head, his voice filled with awe.
“I just…I dunno,” said Jack.
Jack seemed a little freaked out by it, but I knew exactly how to divert his attention: We had to focus on how to use this stuff to our advantage, rather than dwelling on all the weirdness. “Hey, guys, why don’t we write a humongous SOS or something?” I asked.
A smile lit up Jack’s stern face. “Oh, wow! That’s a great idea. We’re bound to get someone’s attention.”
I picked up a long stick and traced giant letters in the sand. I could only hope the SOS message was big enough for a helicopter to see from the air, if anyone even bothered flying in that direction. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind, together with nightfall and giant man-eating spiders. I swallowed and forced a smile. “Guys, I’m going to make it bigger—waaaay bigger. Why don’t you two dig some holes for the fires? We can’t waste precious time.”
Gazing out across the sea, Mike picked up a palm-sized flat rock and threw it. It skipped ten times along the glossy surface. He pumped his fist in the air. “Oh, yeah!”
I lifted the hair up off my neck. It was only morning, and the suns had scorched my skin already. What would we do come midday? A trace of irritation rose up inside me at Mike’s childish behavior. Jack, on the other hand, seemed able to focus. Why couldn’t he? “Mike, what’s wrong with you?” I said. “Don’t you want to be rescued? ’Cause it kind of seems like you don’t.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah. Stop screwing around, man. We need your help here.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” Mike dropped his handful of rocks and dusted off his shirt and shorts.
It was a good thing he was getting the message, because skipping stones wasn’t going to get us off the island. I raised my voice slightly to get my point across. “We’ve got one chance if a plane flies by. That’s it…just one chance.”
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