I choke as I drag myself onto dry land. Hank falls next to me, gasping air as he stretches an arm over his face.
“God hates us,” he rasps. “This is starting to feel personal.”
I let out a delirious laugh. Every muscle in my body aches, and I’ve never been so tired.
But we made it. We’re on land.
When I push my head up to look around, I immediately spot a small creek, emerging from the trees and trickling to the sea. Scrambling to my feet, I run toward it. “Water! Fresh water!”
I fall to my knees at the creek and start splashing it into my mouth, so relieved I cry some more.
“Not too much!” Hank rasps. “We should taste a little and wait to make sure we don’t get sick.”
I gulp. “I’ll be the test subject. You wait as long as you want.”
He sits across from me with a huff. “We lost almost everything,” he says grimly. “Our jackets.” He looks down. “Our shoes and socks.”
After a moment of skeptically studying the creek, he caves and drinks some, cupping the water in his hands. His stubble has grown out, and his white t-shirt is plastered to his belly and hairy chest, making him appear much more rugged than the accountant in the suit I first encountered.
I lean back and feel something in my pocket. “The lighter survived,” I say, and pull it out to show. “So did the joints.”
Hank snorts. “Of course they did,” he says. “Hopefully we won’t need to start a rescue fire at all. We’ll just find whatever people are, with luck, on this island.”
“Right.” I get down on the rocky ground and lie flat, the creek running right by my ear.
“What are you doing?” Hank asks.
“Resting. I know we have to trek soon.”
“Yes, soon,” he agrees as he stands. “I’ll be right back.”
Hank walks off.
“What?” I yell after him. “Where are you going?”
“Just around these trees!” he yells back. “Nothing to worry about!”
I sit up. “What do you mean?”
He doesn’t answer, so I drink some more water, trying not to feel unnerved by suddenly finding myself alone.
Birds call out from every direction, and waves lap the shore. In the quiet, the emotional weight of our circumstances catches up to me. My friends are going to be worried sick that I’m dead, and Hank and I are still far from safety. He’s only gone for a moment, but it’s enough time for my nerves to work up.
He returns, barefoot and stepping awkwardly to avoid the pointier rocks.
“Find anything cool?” I ask, hiding how scared I was.
He rubs the back of his head. “If you have to know, I used the bathroom, okay?”
“You found a bathroom? That is cool.”
“No, smart-ass. You know what I mean.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Eventually, you’ll need to do the same.”
“I dropped my anchors off the side of the raft,” I tell him as I stand up.
“Excuse me?”
“While you were sleeping.”
