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“Don’t be silly. There’s nothing dangerous out there. We’re on a private island.” Lou stood and slapped me on the back. “We might need a hand out there.”
“You won’t need a hand from me and I seriously doubt any one of you needs help with anything.” I shook my head. “That’s a compliment, by the way.”
“Sir, the crew was wondering, if you didn’t need anything for a few hours, they would like to join these gentlemen on their expedition.” Josh poured my coffee. “It would be good for morale.”
“Alright, fine.” I drank my coffee. “I’ll go, but don’t think I’m pretending to not like living on the edge.”
Thirty minutes later, we were all geared up for the mission. I followed behind them while they whacked away at bushes with machetes. I was really glad they knew the right gear to wear. My boat shoes would not have held up in the foot-deep water we were walking through.
“This area right here would be good with a wooden walkway up off the ground. You can add a bridge over that way to the left and some bench seats for resting.” Gunner made a note on his clipboard while Charlie took pictures of the area. “Up ahead I think it’ll be more shallow, where you could get through it with an ATV.”
“ATV? That’s a good idea, and they’re fun.” I made myself a note in my phone to buy a few. “Do you think it’ll take a lot to build walkways out here?”
“You’re the architect, you tell me.” Gunner kept walking.
“I’m not an engineer. How’d you know I was an architect?” I walked right behind him.
“I know all about you. Did you think I wouldn’t have you checked out?” Gunner let out a deep laugh. “Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone what we found out. It’ll be our little secret.”
I haven’t done anything to hide. Have I? He’s joking.
“These trees need to come down if you want a true path, unless you want to keep it more rugged?” Robert asked. “It’s for girls, right, and not the kind that like to get dirty?”
“I don’t know about that. I’ve never met them.” I stopped to wipe sweat off my face. “They’re probably more like me.”
“You’re doing great, Sawyer. Why don’t we stop up ahead where the water stops and have a drink?” Gunner continued walking ahead, whacking away at branches.
We stopped in a dry area. Lou pulled power bars out of his backpack. “I haven’t seen any fresh water out here, so you’ll need to keep that in mind for the expedition with the girls.”
“Were you expecting to find fresh water?” I asked, a little surprised. “We’re surrounded by salt water.”
“You get a fair amount of rain in these parts, so rain water will collect, creating small lakes.” Lou downed half a bottle of water. “You also would have a good amount of evaporation, so I wouldn’t count on too much fresh water.”
“I’ve owned this island for a year now and didn’t know any of that. So, this island could never be self-contained, I guess.” I finished my power bar and stood when they did. “I’ll have to make sure there is a lot of water available.”
“You can put rain collectors out here with filtration on them, but never assume it will be full,” Charlie said. “You can also put a rain shower out here using collected rain water for cooling off.”
“I love that idea. I’m just wondering if we can get all of this done in a week.” I stomped my boots when we got to dry land. “This could be a good spot to switch to bikes.”
“Not everyone knows how to handle a bike,” Lou said. “Unless you meant bicycles.”
“I definitely meant bicycles.” I laughed at the idea of motorcycles out here. “I just might have to get motorcycles too.”
For the next two hours I followed the men across the island. I was really glad I’d joined them. There was so much to see and I felt good doing something gritty. We reached the opposite side of the island. Asher and his buddies were lounging on the beach. Lou and Charlie exchanged looks, then started making animal sounds.
“I thought you weren’t going to scare them?” I chuckled watching Asher walk backwards toward the water.
“I said only a little. They don’t have any weapons, do they?” Lou asked.
“Weapons? Asher?” I laughed, picturing Asher with a weapon in his hands. “It’s more like he pays someone like you to be his weapon.”
“I don’t see someone like me out there, so I think we’re good.” Robert motioned for the others to spread out. “On two.”
I stood back and watched as they shared a well-organized private language. I was so impressed with the hand signals and unspoken coordinated movements that I almost forgot to video what had to be coming.
“Wait, what’s going on?” I whispered to Gunner. “What should I do?”
“We’re just gonna have a little fun with the boys. Do you have your cellphone camera ready?” Gunner grinned. “When we run, follow me with your video on. It might be something you can use as blackmail later.”
