by Probst, Jeff
The answer to all of it was—maybe. But now was not the time for questions.
Watching Vanessa run off, Jane wiggled her toes. After standing on the tiny ledge for so long, her foot was starting to fall asleep. The sun beat down on them, and her hands were sweaty where she tried to grip the rock wall behind her.
She couldn’t stop thinking about the plane, either. It had flown right over the island, close enough to show the blue markings on its wings and tail. It was like torture, thinking about where they might have been by now if the plane had spotted them. Wrapped up in a blanket with something to eat? On their way back to civilization? On their way home?
“Jane, you okay?” Carter asked from his spot just below her on the wall.
“I will be,” she told him, even though it felt like a lie. It was always harder when she thought about home. But complaining wasn’t going to help anyone.
Finally, Vanessa reappeared on the beach. Jane could see her dragging a long green cane of freshly cut bamboo behind her.
“I’m coming!” she shouted. “Just hold on!”
All Jane, Buzz, or Carter could do was watch as Vanessa worked her way back to the rocks of Dead Man’s Shelf. That was Jane’s name for it—this piece of shoreline where their sailboat had crashed into the island.
When Vanessa got there, she hauled the long pole up onto the rocks and struggled to get it into place. Bit by bit, she managed to pivot the bamboo until one end was directly beneath the spot where Jane waited with her brothers. Vanessa positioned herself at the opposite end of the pole and lifted it up, walking it hand over hand into an upright position.
It was awkward going. Twice, Vanessa lost her grip and had to start over. But on the third try, the bamboo slowly went vertical, and then just past, until it was leaning against the cliff face.
Jane’s heart sunk. The bamboo was almost tall enough, but not quite. The top of the pole had come to rest a few feet below the ledge where Carter was perched.
“Can you get to it?” Vanessa called up.
“I don’t think so!” Jane said.
“Yes,” Carter answered over her, his voice set with determination. Already, he was lying flat on his piece of ledge. With one arm extended, he was just able to wrap a hand around the top of the bamboo cane.
“See? We can do this,” Carter said. “Come on, Jane. You first.”
Jane wasn’t so sure, but she edged herself off the rock where she’d been standing with Buzz for the last hour or more. She eased down into the tiny space next to Carter and stood between his legs.
“I can hold the pole steady from up here while you slide down,” Carter said. “Then Buzz can go next.”
“But then what are you going to do?” Jane asked, alarmed all over again. It wasn’t a hundred-foot drop anymore, but it was still enough to kill any of them if they fell.
“We’ll figure that out later,” Carter said.
“But what if—”
“What if what, Jane?” her brother snapped. “Some-one has to go last.”
He was right, Jane knew. There was no good answer here, and nothing left to talk about. Heart thudding, she squeezed down to a sitting position next to Carter. He kept one hand on the bamboo. With the other, he hooked Jane under her arm and helped ease her off the ledge until she could reach the pole.
First, Jane’s legs wrapped around it. Then as she came low enough, she grabbed on with both hands.
“Have you got it?” Carter asked.
“I . . . guess,” Jane said. For some reason, the bamboo had looked thicker and sturdier from above. The whole thing bowed under her weight, bringing her even closer to the cliff wall. But there was no going back now. With a deep breath, she let go just enough to slide down a few feet, and then stopped again.
“Good job, Janie!” Vanessa called out. “Keep going!”
Jane loosened her grip again and dropped a bit farther.
Then again, and again.
The bamboo burned against her skin as she went. It wasn’t a smooth ride, but the ground came up quickly. Soon, she was standing safely on the rocks next to Vanessa.
There was no time for talking. The girls quickly positioned themselves on either side of the pole as Buzz got ready to work his way down.
His descent was slower than Jane’s had been. His body scraped against the cliff face as he squeaked his way along, foot by foot. By the time he touched down and let go of the bamboo, his arms and legs were marred with painful-looking, deep-red burn marks. Still, he looked more relieved than anything.
Now came the really tricky part. It was Carter’s turn.
Carter flexed his stiff fingers. His hands were raw from gripping rock, and the gash on his palm had opened up. This wasn’t going to be easy.
“Hold on tight, you guys,” he said. “Here I come.”
“We’ve got you!” Buzz said. All three of the others gripped the pole around the base, watching as Carter let himself off the tiny shelf where he’d been waiting.
Gripping the ledge with both hands, he lowered himself toward the top of the bamboo. One foot hooked the pole, and then both legs wrapped around it as he came low enough.
The idea was to let go of the ledge, one hand at a time, then press his palms into the cliff wall and use leverage, leg strength, and gravity to lower himself the next few crucial feet.
But the moment Carter let go with his first hand, he could tell it wasn’t going to work. His other hand slipped off too soon, and he slid faster and farther than he’d intended, several feet down the pole. He’d barely taken hold of the bamboo before his own weight forced it to pull away from the wall.
“Wait!” Jane screamed, but there was nothing Carter could do. The pole came unstoppably into a vertical position, and then kept on going. The next thing he knew, it was falling toward the rocks.
“JUMP!” Buzz yelled.
He saw Buzz throw himself against the pole and felt a hard jerk from below. The bamboo’s direction shifted. It was falling toward the beach now. In the fraction of a second Carter had left, he realized what Buzz meant for him to do. He thrust as hard as he could, pushing himself away from the falling pole. His eyes took in a blur of rock, sea, and sky—just before he landed in the sand. A shock of pain came up through his legs. He absorbed what he could and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
He was on his back. His eyes were squeezed shut, and he tried to figure out if anything was broken.
“Carter!” Jane’s voice came from nearby. The others were there now, kneeling next to him. Someone’s hand was on his arm.
“Can you sit up?” Vanessa said.
Carter blinked several times and squinted into the hot sun. He wiggled his toes. Bent his knees.
“I think so,” he said.
As they got him onto his feet, it was a relief to find that he could walk on his own. The only real pain came from the throbbing cut on his hand. But that didn’t seem like much, compared to what could have happened.
The point was, he’d made it down in one piece.
They all had. And they’d done it together.
CHAPTER 3
Back at camp, everyone flopped out in the shade. It had been a long morning. Vanessa could hardly wait to tell the others about the cove she’d found, but they had a story of their own to tell first.
Jane explained that a plane had flown by that morning. Vanessa had never even heard it from where she’d been.
It was the first and only plane any of them had seen since they’d been stranded here a week ago. Despite Carter, Jane, and Buzz’s best efforts, everything had gone horribly wrong. The tree bridge they’d been using to reach Lookout Point was gone now, and they’d never gotten a real chance to signal the plane.
Tears showed in Buzz’s eyes as he told his part of the story.
“I’m really sorry, you guys,” he said.
“If I hadn’t fallen off the tree bridge, we could have gotten up there in time. We might have been on our way home by now—”
He stopped and bit his lip. That word—home—seemed to weigh heavily on all of them.
“You didn’t fall, Buzz,” Carter said. “The tree fell. And that was my fault.”
Vanessa stared at each of the boys in turn. It was the closest thing to an apology she’d ever heard from Carter. Usually, he was too stubborn for anything like that. But then again, Carter had changed out here. They all had. And it seemed like the perfect time for some good news.
“Listen, you guys,” she said. “First of all, it was stupid of me to run off like that. I’m really sorry, and I promise it won’t happen again. But you’re not going to believe what else happened. I found this cove up the shore. There’s an old wrecked boat, and—”
Carter raised his head from where he lay in the sand. “What kind of boat?” he asked. Jane and Buzz sat up, too.
“I don’t know,” Vanessa said. “Not a sailboat. Some kind of ship. I didn’t go on board.”
“Why not?” Carter asked.
Vanessa paused. The real answer was because she’d found the grave and skeletal remains before she could explore the ship. But the whole point was to focus on positive news right now.
“Because I found a freshwater stream,” she said. “And we don’t have to go through those nasty caves to get to it, like the last one.”
At that, all three of the others jumped up. The only fresh water they’d found until now was on the other side of a pitch-black maze of caves. Without any flashlight or torch to lead the way, it might as well have been on another island.
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you say so?” Buzz asked.
“Let’s go,” Carter said. “Right now. I want to see this ship.”
“I want a drink,” Jane said.
“I want about eighteen drinks,” Buzz said.
Vanessa stood and looked up the shore. It wasn’t far to the cove, but it was tough going over that long stretch of volcanic rock. The others were already exhausted from their climb down.
Still, that didn’t seem to matter, compared with the prospect of fresh water and supplies.
“All right, let’s go,” she said. “But just so you know, it’s not going to be easy getting there.”
Buzz had never explored the island’s shore in this direction. None of them had, except for Vanessa. She was right about the slow going over the rocks, too. It took the better part of an hour to reach the cove.
But finally, he stood at the mouth of the wide inlet, staring at the big ship Vanessa had told them about.
It was strange, seeing anything man-made here. Anything from the outside world. The ship was maybe twice the length of the Lucky Star. That would make it a hundred feet long. The whole thing was grounded along its starboard side, at the far end of the cove.
“Where’s the drinking water?” Carter asked.
Vanessa pointed past the bow of the ship. Behind it, water was seeping down a low, curved rock wall that formed the U-shape of the inlet itself. The stone was dark with moisture, and it was covered in the green moss and algae that seemed to grow everywhere in this quiet, shady spot.
All four of them—Jane, Carter, Buzz, and Vanessa—took off running. They splashed through shallow water, following the curve of the cove until they came to the stream at the back. It trickled down in several places. To get a drink Buzz pressed his face sideways against the mossy rock and let the cold water run into his mouth. It felt like suddenly waking up. Like a cool shower for his throat and insides.
For several long silent moments, nobody spoke. Carter and Jane had picked their own spots, where they gulped the water down in fast, loud sips. Vanessa stood back and waited for them to finish before she took her own drink.
Once he’d had his fill, Buzz turned his attention back to the boat. Its starboard hull loomed over the back of the cove like a giant metal wall. It looked as though it had been painted blue once, but most of it had gone to rust. A few black holes showed where the metal had corroded all the way through.
Five minutes ago, the idea of climbing up and exploring the ship had seemed overwhelming to Buzz. Now he was excited to see what they might find.
“Can we live here?” Jane asked.
“Why not?” Carter said. “It’s huge. And the water supply’s right here. We can’t keep hiking back and forth over those rocks every time we need a drink.”
Buzz liked the idea already. The boat would be dry, and there were probably real bunks on board. It also meant not having to rebuild their burned-out shelter.Trying to sleep on bamboo the last several nights had been like torture, anyway.
“Maybe we should look inside first,” Jane said.
“Let’s do it,” Carter said, and started toward the ship.
“Actually,” Vanessa said. “Hold on a second. There’s something else you guys should see first.”
Buzz looked at his sister. She had a strange expression on her face, but he couldn’t tell what it was about.
“What kind of something else?” Carter asked.
Vanessa pointed over her shoulder, to a clearing in the woods. It sat at the top of the rock wall with the stream, and overlooked the whole cove. As for what might be up there, Buzz could only wonder.
But Vanessa seemed intent on showing them. Already, she was climbing up that way.
“Vanessa? What’s going on?” he asked.
“Just come on,” she said without looking back. “It’s better if I show you.”
Carter climbed up to the clearing behind Vanessa, Buzz, and Jane. It didn’t take much effort, but by the time he reached it, all three of the others had stopped.
In fact, they’d gone perfectly still. And then Carter saw why.
Right there, stuck into the ground, was a handmade wooden cross. The wood was rough with age, just two cracked gray planks nailed together. There was no name, or markings of any kind.
“Is that a . . . grave?” he asked.
“I think so,” Vanessa said. “And there’s more. Don’t freak out, but there’s a bunch of bones over there—”
“What?” Buzz asked.
“Actually, not just bones,” Vanessa said. “More like a skeleton.”
Carter felt a chill run through him. He looked in the direction Vanessa had pointed, but he couldn’t see anything.
She led them across the clearing and pulled back some low-hanging vines. What Carter saw there on the ground looked like some kind of movie prop, even though it clearly wasn’t. He’d seen skeletons before, at the Museum of Science and Industry back home in Chicago.
This one was definitely real. It was half sunk into the ground and mostly the color of dirt from however many years it had been here.
Jane reached over and took Carter’s hand.
“Do you think there are more?” Buzz asked. “That’s a big boat for two people.”
“It’s possible the others got rescued,” Vanessa said.
“Or maybe there’s more than one person buried under that cross,” Carter said. He looked down at the skeleton again and shivered. “This guy was probably the last one.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Vanessa said. “There wasn’t anyone left to . . . take care of him.”
Only Jane stayed silent. She pulled her hand out of Carter’s and knelt down by the remains. Slowly, she reached out and laid her fingers over the delicate hand bones of whoever this person had been.
“Don’t touch it!” Vanessa said.
“Why not?” Jane asked. She kept her gaze down, and Carter could see the tears on her cheeks.
“Jane?” he asked.
“We were so close to being rescued,” she said in a faraway voice. “That plane . . . it was right there. And now . . .”
She didn’t finish, b
ut Carter knew what she was thinking. If these adults with their big ship had never gotten off the island, what did that mean for the four of them?
Carter’s thoughts churned while the jungle hummed with the sound of a million bugs and birds all around them. Finally, he spoke up again.
“We need to get real about this,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Vanessa asked him. “About what?”
He looked out toward the mouth of the cove, and beyond that, the bluest ocean any of them had ever seen. “That plane might have been our only chance,” Carter said. “If they were looking for us, then they just crossed this place off their list—”
“You don’t know that,” Vanessa countered. “Besides, it’s not the only plane out there. Beth and Dad are doing everything they can. You know they are.”
“Hold on, Vanessa,” Buzz said. “Carter’s right. I mean, we should definitely build a new signal fire and make sure we’re ready if another plane comes. But we need to think about what happens if . . .”
“If what, Buzz?” Vanessa asked stubbornly.
“If it never comes.”
Buzz was crying now, too. They all were. Carter could feel the tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. A week ago, he might have tried to hide them, but it didn’t seem worth it anymore.
“Why are you guys being like this?” Vanessa asked.
“We’re not being like anything,” Carter said. “It’s just facts. There’s nothing anyone can do for this guy, but we do need a place to live. And we can sure use his ship.”
“Actually,” Jane spoke up in a small voice, “there is something we can do for him.”
Carter stopped and looked at her. Usually when Jane spoke up, it was for a good reason. “Like what?” he asked.
“We can give him a funeral,” Jane answered. “The one he never had.”
An hour later, Buzz stood back and looked at what they’d accomplished. It had been tough work—he was covered with sweat—but he was glad they’d listened to Jane.
