The Pathway To Us (5 page)

“I don’t either.” Logan couldn’t pull the tarp over them because he’d used it to make the sail. He hoped their biggest issue was rain and not the wind tearing down his makeshift sail before they reached the island.

One drop turned into two, then the sky opened up. He rushed to huddle next to Lily as she hugged her knees to her chest; he held her head down trying to shield her face and eyes from the sting of water as it pelted her skin. Logan wrapped his arms around her and tucked his face into her, doing his best to protect them both. The boat rocked violently to one side throwing them in that direction. A large wave came out of nowhere over the side and into the boat. This was exactly what Logan hoped to avoid.

They spent the better part of an hour being tossed around by an angry sea. It was like a being suspended at the top of a rollercoaster only to drop over and over again.

Logan managed to look up during a small break in the storm to see that by some miracle they hadn’t been thrown off course. They were still headed toward the island and were maybe a mile out from the beach. He yelled over the wind and rain into Lily’s ear. “We’re close. Look! The beach is about a mile away.”

She blinked through the rain and thanked her lucky stars when it came into view. As Lily cast her eyes down she happened to notice something of interest. She yelled over the roar of the waves and the rain. “Are those holes on the side for oars? Does that mean there might be oars on this boat?”

Logan was angry with himself. He should have thought of that. The ocean had tossed the boat around moving everything until the holes that weren’t visible earlier were now. Through squinted eyes and crawling around on all fours, he searched. It was too dangerous to stand. The boat was still rocking hard, and the floor was wet. He couldn’t chance falling overboard not when they were this close to land. Lily crawled on all fours too. She pointed. She had found them, oars built into the side of the boat.

A large wave crashed into the boat, knocking Lily off balance. She fell backward and grasped at nothing, trying to hold on to air. Before she knew it, she was falling overboard into the raging waters, choking on salt water and gasping for air. This was it. Lily knew this was how she was going to die. But, she wasn’t going to surrender willingly to the depths of the sea even though it was doing its best to pull her down. She had to fight. She kicked her legs and moved her arms as hard as she could, trying to get closer to the boat. She knew she wasn’t that far away. She fought against the waves until she felt Logan’s strong hand grab her arm. Somehow, he managed to haul her back into the boat. Lily, exhausted and terrified, lie on her back with her eyes closed. There was nothing she could do to prevent the tears from streaming down the sides of her face. This time, she was glad for the rain.

Logan was freaked out. One-minute Lily was in the boat and the next she’d fallen overboard. Everything happened so quickly even though he watched it happen in slow-motion. In those few seconds, Logan thought she was lost to the madness of the sea. Now that she was back in the boat, he couldn’t tell if she was breathing. He was on his knees by her side. “Lily…Lily!” Logan yelled. “Are you okay?” Just as he was about to perform CPR, her eyes fluttered open and closed. She nodded.

Lily took several calming breaths. She wanted off this boat. She sat up with his assistance and yelled over the howls of the storm. “I’m a little shook up, and I want to empty everything that’s left in the bottom of my stomach, but I think I’m fine. Please, let’s just get these oars in the water. I’m ready to get off this thing!”

“Are you sure you can handle it? You almost drowned in that water. It was a wave that pushed you back toward the boat so that I could grab you.”

“I don’t know if I can handle it or not, but I’m going to try. The sooner we get those oars in the water the faster we get out.” Her legs and arms felt dead, but still Lily managed to pull out an oar; Logan got the other one. It took a few minutes for them working together to put them in place, but once they did they set about getting to the island. It was hard battling against the elements. Their first couple of rows were out of sync but within moments, they developed a good rhythm. Half an hour later, Logan hopped out of the boat and was dragging it ashore. Spent, Lily got out and fell face first into the sand. She didn’t move. Of course, she thought, once they made it to the island, the rains decided to calm.

Logan worked to pull the tarp down. Once he removed it, he pulled it over them. Lily began to shake uncontrollably. She was in shock. Logan wrapped her tightly into his embrace as they huddled together until the rains stopped completely.

The storm that came upon them so quickly, but after an hour or so of struggling through it, it seemed to just stop. The sun came out moments after.

Lily sat with an incredulous stare. Her hair was plastered to her face. Her throat was scratchy and raw, and her voice cracked when she spoke. “This is crazy. The water is so still. It acts as if it didn’t just try to swallow me up whole only a little while ago.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Things could have ended a lot differently. As you can see storms at sea can be brutal. Especially, in the South Pacific.”

“Is that where we are?”

He nodded. “I’m pretty sure.” Logan glanced at his watch. “It’s sunny now, but we don’t have much daylight left. I better see what I can do about setting up a small camp for tonight. If you’re up to it, we can explore tomorrow.”

“Right. Hopefully, we’ll find that hotel you were talking about.”

Logan didn’t have the heart to tell her that from the looks of things they were on the uninhabitable part of the island. There were plenty of islands like this that were deserted in this part of the world. It seemed m
ost of this island was covered with tropical forest and bizarre rock formations.
He hoped that wasn’t the case though and that the other side of this island didn’t look like this side. “I’m going to try to find some dry wood to start a fire. You should probably rest. Before I leave you here alone for just a little while it’ll probably be good for me to know, do you have any experience camping or being outdoors?”

Lily felt inadequate. She wanted to carry her own weight, but she didn’t know anything about the outdoors. “Not really.” She rushed her words. “But, I learn pretty quickly. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

Logan wasn’t able to hide his disappointment quickly enough for Lily to miss it. He hesitated. “Just rest for now. I’ll unload a few things off of the boat.”

She tried to stand, but couldn’t seem to get her legs or body in gear.
Don’t think just move Lily
. She managed to stand then put one foot in front of the other. She followed Logan to help him unload the boat. When he turned around, he saw that her white romper was completely molded to her body. He could not only see every curve but the color of her ice blue, lacy underwear. Quickly, Logan turned away. It was almost as if he was violating her privacy.
I must be crazy. How can I even notice something like that at a time like this? I’m certifiable. “
Lily, I’ve got this. Please, go sit down before you fall down.”

He was right. Just walking over to the boat sapped what remaining strength she had. Logan had to throw her arm over his shoulder and help her back to a spot on the sand not too far from the water’s edge, but far enough away from the jungle behind them.

It took very little time for the heat and humidity to return. After a couple of trips to and from the boat, Logan breathed a sigh of relief when he finally sat down next to Lily. He hadn’t had a chance to stop and process everything that had happened from the moment they got into the life raft the night before. Logan didn’t have time to rummage through everything in the emergency box because they were quickly losing sunlight but he did find an eight-inch knife and a flare gun. Lily had probably never even seen one. She was lying flat on her back with her eyes closed. Her clothing was still transparent. This time, he gave himself an uninhibited moment to stare at her. He raised his knees up and rested his elbows on them. “When you’re a bit more rested I’ll need to show you how to use the flare gun.”

Lily opened her eyes. Even though her body screamed no, she sat up anyway. She was a bit breathless. “You can show me now. How does it work?”

Logan wasn’t sure. “Lily, it’s okay just to chill for a minute. You’ve been through a lot.”

“We both have. I need to learn, and there’s no better time than now.”

He seemed to stare clear through to her soul in an attempt to make sure she was in good enough condition to help. Once Logan was satisfied he stood and helped Lily to her feet. After a couple of demonstrations, Lily thought she had it down. “I’ve got it. Basically, point it up in the air and shoot.”

“Yeah. There’s not much else to it.”

Before Lily could finish her thought, Logan looked over her shoulder towards the jungle. “I need to go in there to see if I can find some dry wood.”

Lily turned around. “In there? Are you serious? Anything could be in there? It’s probably better if we just wait here until morning.”

“I wish I could. Unfortunately, when the sun goes down, it’ll be pitch black. We won’t be able to see two feet in front of us. Whatever is in that jungle could come out here, and I want to be able to see it.”

Lily chewed her lip. “Hmm . . . good point. I hadn’t really thought about that. Maybe I should come with you.”

Logan quickly put that suggestion to rest. “No. Stay here with our stuff. I have a knife and shouldn’t be long. If something happens use the flare. I’ll come running.”

She was worried. “But, what if something happens to you? I won’t know.”

“I’m a big boy with a big knife.” Logan tried to smile reassuringly. “I know my way around a jungle or two.”

*****

Lily sat back down on the wet sand waiting for Logan to return. She wanted to be useful but wasn’t exactly sure what to do. Her head ached, and her body felt foreign. All she could do was think about her situation. Lily should be thankful she was alive. That sobering thought brought her back to Megan. She hoped that she and everyone else made it safely off the yacht.

Scared, Lily turned around and stared into the part of the jungle that Logan entered. It was intimidating. While she did a lot of overseas traveling with her parents, teaching English as a second language, it was never to remote places like this. They were always highly populated. Lily sighed, and she begged her Maker not to let the other side of this island look like this one or to please allow someone find them soon.

Logan pushed his way into the dense foliage. He didn’t want to go too far away from the beach considering time wasn’t on his side, and he didn’t want to be away from Lily too long. It was clear she had zero survival skills. He hoped she wasn’t lying when she said she was a quick learner. She would need to be in order for them to get through this. Somehow, he thought she’d be able to handle this. Most beautiful women wanted to be waited on hand and foot, but Lily was definitely eager to help, so that was a plus.

The heat and humidity were stifling, and his clothes were sticking to his skin. The bugs were already starting to be a real bitch. Logan smacked at them every few seconds, while looking around for a large branch, stick, or something to start a fire. He didn’t want to run up on or surprise anything in here. Out of the corner of his eye, Logan spotted a branch lying on the ground. Quickly, he moved to snap it up.

Logan looked around from where the branch had fallen hopeful the tree it fell from was close.
Bingo
. There it was rotting away. Logan knew he could make kindling if the wood was dry. Quickly, he made his way to the tree. When his hands touched the tree, and it was dry, he felt like a kid on Christmas morning. Logan grabbed as much of it as he could, but it would take a couple more trips to have enough to get a good fire going; one that would last until tomorrow morning. Just as he was about to head back towards the beach, Logan noticed another tree. He couldn’t believe it.
I’ll be damned
. Eucalyptus didn’t grow in this part of the world, or so he thought, but apparently it did. He was not leaving without some of it. He took his knife and cut down several leaves.

*****

Lily was almost in a full state of panic. She was pacing with her arms folded across her chest, nervously biting her lower lip watching the stillness of the jungle—waiting for any signs of Logan coming back through the place where he’d entered. He had been gone for more than a half an hour.

The moment his head appeared through the clearing, Lily pressed her hand to her heart and rushed over to him. His arms were loaded with wood and leaves.