As I reach an outcropping, I see where the testicle ends. Squinting, I wave my arms, wondering if Hank can spot me from his side. I can’t quite see all the way around the corner, but there are a bunch of jagged rocks in front of me, and climbing them seems hard.
As I look for an easier route, I come across a massive flat rock overlooking the beach. It’s half-shaded by a cliff, and the other half sticks out in the gray light, the sound of the ocean steady and musical.
I’m so tired I could pass out, so I lie on my back for a minute, catching my breath.
My stomach feels weird.
I’ll just rest a minute here and make sure to tell Hank I couldn’t see all the way. There’s probably nothing around those rocks anyway. Resting is clearly a better use of my time.
A shiver goes through me when I remember that Taylor probably isn’t chilling and working on her set this morning. She’s probably freaking out with everyone else that I’ve disappeared.
Tears fill my eyes, and fear builds behind my ribs. I want to just lie here, smoke a joint, and wait for rescue, but I know that’snot an option. I need to keep moving to stay alive, and weed will give me the munchies.
Anyway, it will probably just make Hank bossier if I come back smelling like marijuana.
After trying and failing to poop through a stomachache, I eat the last violets from my pocket and start the walk back to the valley. My feet hurt badly enough that I try to rig some shoes by using scraps of fabric to tie leaves to my feet, but it doesn’t really work.
Hank probably found people on his half of the scrotum, but even if we have to make a fire and spell outH-E-L-Pon the beach with sticks, we’ll be fine. Uncomfortable, sure. Definitely hungry and gross, too. But we’ll live.
I make myself a promise that I’ll keep up the mood. I might not have the survival skills that he does, but I can help with morale. As I scramble between two big evergreen trees, a surge of determination goes through me.
I laugh. We got this. We’re going to have such an easy time getting off this island.
A hawk calls out from the sky above me, and I keep laughing, full of confidence.
Or delirious with exhaustion. It’s hard to say.
