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I wouldn’t know what to say anyway. I don’t want to like him. I don’t want to love him. I don’t want to crave him. But I do. All of it. And I hate myself for it more than I hate him.
“Where are you going?” he asks as I grasp his tools and knives and a lit torch. You never know when you need fire. Then I hurry off into the jungle again without answering him.
“To find some wood,” I reply sternly, letting him know I’m not going to let him stop me.
“Don’t,” he says, immediately grabbing a torch and running after me.
“You wanna help? Then help, or get out of my way,” I bark, not even looking at him.
It’s not because I don’t want to. I can’t because his eyes alone would be enough to make me stop and stay.
But that isn’t the right thing to do.
Not when it comes to this island.
It’s toxic.
“Help you with what?” he says.
“The boat, remember?” I say, searching through the jungle, looking for a tree I can cut down.
“No, no, no.” He catches up with me and grabs my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. “It’s dangerous out there. There’s something stalking around the bushes.”
“I don’t care.” I think he’s lying because he wants to keep me with him, so I jerk myself free. “Go back to the hut then. I’m going to get wood.”
“Jules …” he growls.
“No,” I snap, turning to face him. “I’m doing this, whether you like it or not. You want me to be happy? Then let me do this.”
He shakes his head. “You’re making a mistake.”
“So be it.” I wave the torch the other way. “See ya.”
“Jules,” he mutters, but I keep walking with my head held high.
I’m glad he’s not following me. That means I won’t have to deal with these conflicting emotions.
I can’t keep giving in. Can’t keep ignoring this little voice in my head that says I need to get out of here now.
I keep going until I finally find a few thin but strong trees I can cut down. If I can get these back to the hut, we can tie them together with Lock’s rope and create a raft, which is much better than a tiny boat. Especially when combined with a sail … which we could make from the skins of the animals he hunted.
The thought alone makes me throw up in my mouth a little, but there’s no other way to do it. There’s no leaf large enough to withstand that amount of wear and tear from waves and all the wind.
I sigh and grab the tools. “Better get to work.”
Accompanying Song: “Arrival Trailer Music” by Johann Johannsson
Within two hours, I’ve cut down most of the wood I need. I take a break to quench my thirst with some water, and I wipe the sweat off my forehead. Even if this isn’t enough, it’ll do for now. I need to spend the rest of my energy hauling it back to the hut anyway.
I hope Lock is still awake to help me rope them together. It looks like at least a couple of hours have passed since the sun has already moved across the sky.
I grab the thin trees and tie them together with the small piece of rope I brought, so I can drag it behind me over my shoulder. It’s not easy, but it’ll have to do.
If only Lock hadn’t gone back to the hut, maybe he could’ve helped out. But I guess he’s really afraid of some kind of animal living out here.
I haven’t seen any of the dangerous ones yet, though, despite being here for a long while. Nothing bigger than a monkey, and I doubt they could hurt us, so is it all a figment of his imagination? Or is there more to this island than I’ve seen so far? A quiet paradise … with a dangerous killer stalking the woods.
I shiver at the thought.
Better not think about it if I wanna make it out alive. Making a noise will only draw more unwanted attention. I’ll just have to pull my big girl panties up and do it.
I throw it over my shoulder and take a deep breath before I start pulling. It’s much heavier than I thought, but I should be able to carry it back to the hut. I didn’t stray that far.
With the torch in one hand and the rope attached to the load of wood in the other, I make my way through the jungle. Sweat drips down my back, but I ignore the strain in my muscles and push on.
A sudden rustle in the bushes up ahead makes me stop in my tracks.
What was that?
I hold my breath and inspect my surroundings like a hawk.
I don’t hear anything anymore except the buzzing of the insects.
