a three inch shard of metal in the surf and Anna peeled or rather scraped the peeling from a couple of apples with it and peeled a couple of oranges with her fingers. By unspoken agreement they postponed exploration until they ate breakfast. They had found some yogurt and cheese and along with the crackers and fruit had a reasonable meal while sitting in the shade under the big tree.
Anna spoke to Paolo in German and they had a short conversation. She offered him water and some food which he accepted. Keegan ate but immediately crawled away and vomited. He came back in tears and apologized. Paolo glared at him, mumbling something in German and not trying to disguise his disdain for the young Irishman.
Lex rose but stopped halfway to his feet and gasped in pain. “Oh, god. Man, I would trade my Carrera for a bottle of Aleve right now.”
Everyone laughed, groaning their understanding of how he felt. With much grousing except for Dayah, those going exploring got to their feet. Dayah was barefoot and Gray asked if she would be all right walking without shoes. She gave him a skeptical look. “I wear no shoes all time possible.”
The five grabbed bottles of water and walked first to the north along the beach although they could already see it was probably impassable because the shoreline became a jumble of rocky crags.
Directly back of the beach a rocky peak rose out of the jungle. Gray walked to the edge of the rocks and studied the peak. A sliver of a hole in the northwest side of the peak caught his attention. He climbed across the crags as far as he could go to get a better view. There was a man height hole visible only at this northern most position. It was about a hundred feet up the northwest face of the rocks and impossible to reach from the beach without rock climbing gear but it appeared the cave might be reached by coming from the other side where a jungle covered plateau stretched north a short ways out from the peak.
The group turned back and headed south. Three hundred yards down the beach from where they had struggled ashore after the crash, the beach curved in like a notch and the forest sloped gently up to a saddle between two peaks. They debated whether to immediately head inland or see how far the island could be circled from the beach. Gray just started walking south and they followed. The beach stretched on south for about five hundred yards until it ended in a broken and craggy shoreline similar to the north end. They turned back north, retracing their steps to the notch and pushed east through the dense foliage. Once they were past the thick growth along the beach, a trail wide enough in places to walk two abreast led in the direction of the saddle. Thick jungle of vines, large leafed plants, and tall trees lay on both sides of the trail. A small, orange and black bird called from a tree and something ground bound scurried into the undergrowth as they approached. Once away from the shore breeze, the sweet scent of unseen blossoms mingled with the earthy scent of the detritus littered jungle floor.
A ways up the trail Lex sat down and took a drink from the water bottle he carried. Without a word spoken, the others copied him and sat and rested after the slog through the soft sand and up the slope. The air temperature was warm but not oppressive and the smells and sounds pleasant. Gray leaned his back against a tree trunk and Anna scooted close and leaned against him. He wrapped both his arms around her and she dropped her head back and smiled up at him. She closed her eyes and Gray did the same. For a few minutes he forgot his aching body, their terrible situation and the grievously wounded men at the shelter.
When Gray opened his eyes, Melanie was grinning at him from across the trail. She pointed a finger at Anna, made a heart shape of her two hands with the palms and finger tips pressed together and then pointed at him. The gestures
Anna spoke to Paolo in German and they had a short conversation. She offered him water and some food which he accepted. Keegan ate but immediately crawled away and vomited. He came back in tears and apologized. Paolo glared at him, mumbling something in German and not trying to disguise his disdain for the young Irishman.
Lex rose but stopped halfway to his feet and gasped in pain. “Oh, god. Man, I would trade my Carrera for a bottle of Aleve right now.”
Everyone laughed, groaning their understanding of how he felt. With much grousing except for Dayah, those going exploring got to their feet. Dayah was barefoot and Gray asked if she would be all right walking without shoes. She gave him a skeptical look. “I wear no shoes all time possible.”
The five grabbed bottles of water and walked first to the north along the beach although they could already see it was probably impassable because the shoreline became a jumble of rocky crags.
Directly back of the beach a rocky peak rose out of the jungle. Gray walked to the edge of the rocks and studied the peak. A sliver of a hole in the northwest side of the peak caught his attention. He climbed across the crags as far as he could go to get a better view. There was a man height hole visible only at this northern most position. It was about a hundred feet up the northwest face of the rocks and impossible to reach from the beach without rock climbing gear but it appeared the cave might be reached by coming from the other side where a jungle covered plateau stretched north a short ways out from the peak.
The group turned back and headed south. Three hundred yards down the beach from where they had struggled ashore after the crash, the beach curved in like a notch and the forest sloped gently up to a saddle between two peaks. They debated whether to immediately head inland or see how far the island could be circled from the beach. Gray just started walking south and they followed. The beach stretched on south for about five hundred yards until it ended in a broken and craggy shoreline similar to the north end. They turned back north, retracing their steps to the notch and pushed east through the dense foliage. Once they were past the thick growth along the beach, a trail wide enough in places to walk two abreast led in the direction of the saddle. Thick jungle of vines, large leafed plants, and tall trees lay on both sides of the trail. A small, orange and black bird called from a tree and something ground bound scurried into the undergrowth as they approached. Once away from the shore breeze, the sweet scent of unseen blossoms mingled with the earthy scent of the detritus littered jungle floor.
A ways up the trail Lex sat down and took a drink from the water bottle he carried. Without a word spoken, the others copied him and sat and rested after the slog through the soft sand and up the slope. The air temperature was warm but not oppressive and the smells and sounds pleasant. Gray leaned his back against a tree trunk and Anna scooted close and leaned against him. He wrapped both his arms around her and she dropped her head back and smiled up at him. She closed her eyes and Gray did the same. For a few minutes he forgot his aching body, their terrible situation and the grievously wounded men at the shelter.
When Gray opened his eyes, Melanie was grinning at him from across the trail. She pointed a finger at Anna, made a heart shape of her two hands with the palms and finger tips pressed together and then pointed at him. The gestures
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