Water Nymphs Pt. 01

"But we could get picked up before then." Amber said in a sullen tone of voice.

"We can, but I wasn't able to get a Mayday signal out and I don't know if the boat was able to either. So it's possible noone will know anything is wrong until tomorrow. Figure they won't know to search for us until noon, It will take about another 24 hours before anyone comes looking. This area of the Caribbean has a ton of little atolls and islands. We will be safer once we reach dry land. In a couple days we will be on dry land and we can start getting our shit together to be rescued."

Yeah .... I was full of bullshit, we could have been headed to Africa for all I knew.

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Four days, two rainstorms, a box of energy bars, and a freak out about sharks later we saw an island in the distance. Jill was in pretty good spirits but her leg wound looked red and nasty. I had gotten in a couple screaming matches with the twin bitches Amber and Tiffany while Svetlana rolled her eyes and kept her mouth shut. The current was bringing us closer to the island so I was not wanting to break out the paddles just yet. Tiffany and Amber had stopped whining about being hungry and just stared longingly at the island. It seemed to be decent sized although it was tough to tell from here. This was good. The bigger the island the better chance ships would stop by. Towards the end of the day we found ourselves close enough that I decided we should try paddling into a cove. Our luck held as we got into the cove without capsizing on any of the shoals. The minute we were on the narrow strip of beach all the women except Jill hopped out and just sat in the sand. I pulled the raft as far onto shore as I could, then helped Jill out. We fell down onto the sand and she ended up on top of me. She smiled and gave me a big kiss.

"Thanks for taking care of me. Thank you too for getting us out of there." she said.

The other girls were looking at us. We were on a very small beach and everyone was wondering what would happen next. I was able to tie the raft off to a nearby tree. The sun was going down, and it was actually getting a little chilly.

"Let's sleep in the raft tonight and tomorrow we will explore the island." I suggested.

"WHAT?" Amber screamed. "We just spent four days in that damn raft. You said things would get better once we got onto land. No way am I sleeping in that thing again."

My God this woman was a harpy.

"Princess, feel free to sleep on the beach or in the jungle or under the fuckin water. I am not wandering around an unknown jungle at night trying to find the shit to make a shelter for your spoiled ass. I don't know what is going on in there and I am not gonna get caught walking through an unfamiliar jungle in the dark," I replied.

"NO! We need to get a fire going so someone can see us and rescue us. You said our chances of getting picked up go up when we are on land, we need a big bonfire at night so people looking can see us." she yelled.

I saw where she was coming from. It wasn't a bad idea. There was probably a half hour of daylight left and a fire would help all of us mentally.

"Okay, you and Tiffany go that way and find whatever drift wood you can on the beach. DO NOT go into the woods very far at all. I am not running around looking for you. I will head this way with Svetlana and grab what we can. Keep the raft in view at all times. Tomorrow we will explore this island more. I doubt this is the best place to set up camp so let's be prepared to move." I replied.

Without another word the girls walked up the beach looking for wood. I was more interested in trying to find some coconuts. We could drink the milk and eat the meat, plus the husks made for some very good tinder to get the fires started. I was sure I could find some coconuts and breadfruit tomorrow to help add to our diet of energy bars and fish.

"Jill, you need to keep that leg stationary," I looked at her, "We won't be out of visual range I promise."

She grimaced and nodded. I was beginning to really like her. I offered my arm to Svetlana in a chivalrous manner and she rolled her eyes and walked past me picking up a piece of firewood.

"I am not a medic but it looks like you did a good job with Jill's leg," I told her.

"I was going to school to be a nurse in the Ukraine until Russia invaded the Crimea Peninsula. Things got tense and I was lucky enough to have Avion give me a chance," she replied in a clipped tone. Now that I thought about it it could just be her slight accent that made her sound bitchy. Oh well.

I walked into the woods a little bit and found a few coconuts. One of my money making shticks was giving people an authentic island survival experience. We would fly into a small island and then everyone would jump into a dinghy and float onto the beach. For 24 hours they would make a shelter and start a fire and eat energy bars while trying to fish. The amount of money they would spend to act like they had nothing was pretty insane. It had the advantage of giving me a few skills. I could start a fire with a flint and steel. I could shell a coconut and could find enough fruit to keep people happy for a little bit. Now that I was facing an actual survival situation, I hoped things would be as easy. I had my doubts though.

When we got back to the where Jill was sitting we had a couple of big pieces of driftwood. I cleared out an area high on the beach and shelled the coconuts. The husks made a great tinder. I opened a coconut for Jill and let her drink the milk. I did the same for the other girls. Amber spilled some over herself but Svetlana and Tiffany were able to get enough to hold off their thirst for a little bit. Guess which two women gave me a thank you?

We got the fire going and it was amazing how everyone's spirits picked up. Amber and Tiffany actually spoke civilly to me. Jill perked up a little. Svetlana was still stand offish but even she smiled at one of my inane jokes. We each had an energy bar to go with the coconut meat, followed by a bottle of rainwater. It wasn't prime rib but it was the best meal we had in a week.

That night was all the respite I was going to get. I was woken up by a squeal and yelling. I made my way out of the raft and saw Tiffany crying at the area where we had the fire.

"IT WENT OUT!" she wailed.

Oh my fucking god.

I walked up to see what she was talking about. The fire had died down and was just some smoldering embers. I was trying to wake up and figure out what the problem was.

"You expected it to last all night?" I asked.

"What if a ship came by and missed it?" She sobbed.

I tossed some small pieces of wood on the fire and stirred the ashes. After about 15 minutes we had a fire going again. In the meantime the other girls had climbed out of the raft and stood around the fire warming themselves up.

"Okay we need to figure out where we are. This beach is too narrow for us to stay here. We also have to see about a water source. Hopefully an island this size will have a spring or something. It will make its way to the ocean and we should be able to follow it up." I said.

The best laid plans of mice and men and all that. Not only was this beach narrow, it didn't extend that far in either direction.

"Good call Marco Polo." Amber said caustically as we met back up at the raft.

"What the fuck is your problem lady? I am busting my ass trying to keep us alive and you are giving me shit. I don't need it and I don't need you. You're on own. All of you girls except Jill can kiss my ass. I'll even leave you the fucking machete." I shouted as I dropped it at their feet. "Jill, I will be back soon." With that I started my way into the jungle.

End Part 1