Slaves of Elysium
letting the cool water revive her. The stream had exposed and polished smooth a few substantial rocks, and against one of these she finally managed to crack open her coconut. Then sitting in the stream chewing the crisp white flesh she tried to get her thoughts in order.
    Now she had established a supply of food and water her next priority, once she regained her strength, must be to search for the others. She thought despairingly of her last sight of Ash, but then told herself to be positive. Even if he had not made it to the raft he’d been wearing a lifejacket. He was a strong man. He would survive if anybody could. If she’d been washed up then there was a good chance he, and the others, had as well.
    But where was she?
    About her birds twittered and chirped in the trees, and insects flitted through the bars of sunlight, but there was no sign of any larger animals, much less human habitation. The sun was rising from behind the land, suggesting she had landed on the western side of a moderately large island, judging by the length of the shoreline. If they had actually been heading east instead of west whilst lost in the fog, might this be somewhere in the Azores or even the Canary Islands? But could they have travelled that far with the fuel they had? On the other hand, where else could it be?
    As the water and coconut milk washed though her system, Jeni found herself needing to pee. She scrambled out of the stream and made her way cautiously into the shelter of the bushes until she found a spot where she could squat down. As she relieved herself she became aware of a lingering soreness in her vagina, reminding her of the strange events of the previous day.
    Though she could recollect what had happened perfectly clearly, it all seemed like another world away now. She knew it had told her something important about herself and her darker desires. Where it might lead in time she could only guess, but for the moment she must put all that aside.
    She made her way back down to the beach and looked about her.
    If there had been any sign of habitation she would have made for that first to raise the alarm about the shipwreck. But the coastline as far as she could see was completely deserted, nor were any vessels visible out to sea. She could of course head inland until she found a road or settlement, but that might take some time. She felt she should make her own search first while there was a chance of finding the others close by.
    Very well, then, the stream would be her base. With that as a focus she would search the shore methodically in both directions. If she had no luck by the end of the day she would think again.
    But which way first: north or south? One was as good as another. And what if one of the others passed by the stream from the other direction while she was gone?
    Gathering some dead palm fronds, Jeni laid them out in the shape of a large arrow in the sand, indicating the direction she was travelling, and wrote JENI beside it. She took another drink from the stream, wishing she had a container to carry more water with her, and then set off north along the beach.
    She kept to the shade under the trees as much as possible while scanning the sand for any trace of the others. She saw no footprints or, what she most dreaded, bodies; but she soon came across inanimate evidence of the wreck. There was a sunbed cushion of the sort carried on the Galatea , a little further along some teak flooring slats and, rolling in the waves, a section of splintered superstructure moulding.
    These sad remains of a fine vessel depressed Jeni and she plodded on with a heavy heart. If the storm had been powerful enough to smash the boat apart, what chance was there that the others had survived? Was she the only one left?
    She had been walking for almost an hour and was wondering if she should turn back when, over the crest of a spit of sand, she saw a figure heading towards her. For a moment she hesitated, wondering if it was a local

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