Guided, Garded..... or?

This is to be a submission to a fantasy short story contest. Its all about a guy who finds himeself in the wide open aocean and what happens to him. Its done as if I were the guy

Well, at least I'm not going to drown, I thought, as I staggered up the beach and collapsed on the sand. I sill could not believe it.  Only an hour ago, I had been if a small power boat with 3 other tourists, all wearing life jackets, on a trip to watch whales in the South Pacific. We had found a very large one and the boat followed it, line abreast, about 50 metres away as it leapt into the air and crashed back down with a might splash. Simply fabulous!

The skipper was trying to draw a little closer when, unpredictably the whale changed direction.  It emerged out of the water much closer and simply crashed back down on the front of the boat before anybody could react. It was a no content. The whale weighed many, many more tons than the boat. The prow simply disappeared under the waves and the boat pivoted and we were catapulted way through the air.  Some instinct seemed to have prompted me to inflate my life jacket by pulling the toggle as I was flying through the air.

I crashed back into the sea in a micro-whale type splash and I most have been KO by the impact. When I came to, spluttering, I was alone in the ocean - nothing in sight apart from two distant smudges of islands on the distant horizon. Heart sank, I could never swim that far, about a kilometre was my maximum distance.  Suddenly a breeze sprang up and gathered force to become a quite strong wind.  I was being blown along quite merrily, bobbing in the water. Sadly I was being carried away from the two islands in distant sight.

My brain started to pick up function and I became worried about sharks. For some reason I thought if I draw in my limbs and don't make movements, they might I'm just some debris floating along and leave me alone.  After some time, the tops of some trees came into view and I started to hear the roar of surf. Hope surged. An Island and seemingly close. it slowly came into view until I could see all of it. There was no doubt I was being pushed towards it.  Watching the waves crash against the reef it was oh, oh, how am I going to avoid getting smashed up against that?  

The thunder it made was now jolly load. What I needed was a break in the reef. I kicked my legs in the water to raise myself more out of the water, fear of sharks forgotten in the face of this more imminent danger. There was a small gap over to the right. I started swimming perpendicularly across the wind that was still carrying me forward.  

The gap, of about 5 metres, was starting to come my way, but not quickly enough.  In spite of all my efforts I wasn't going to make the gap. The  wind suddenly shifted and was now helping me more and I swept through the gap like a cork shooting out of a champagne bottle, the water being all white foam, but I didn't hit anything.  Finding myself on hands and knees in the shallows and thankfully staggered onto land.

When I had recovered from my effort, I took stock of my situation. It was around mid-afternoon. I removed the life-jacket.  It contained nothing but the inflatable part and straps and such. I only had shorts and Tshirt and some  sodden low-value bank notes in my pocket, plus the key to my hotel room. Great, I'd heard of being thrown onto your own resources, but this is ridiculous.  I was also feeling thirsty form the seawater I'd had in my mouth. I knew I needed to do two things. Signal my presence by making a help sign and find drinking water.  I knew I was still in shock, so don't make hasty decisions.

Exploring along the beach would be helpful and not risk anything.   The centre of the atoll looked about 20 metres high and I could see some rock here and there.  I made a small pile of sand well away from the water so I would recognise my start point if I went all the way round.   My idea was to see if I could find signs of rain water.  Then I would make my base nearby.

It was only round the curve along the beach that I suddenly stopped short. My bare foot had felt the sand was damp. I wasn't walking near the waterline, but had been looking at the lagoon to try and see fish. I knelt to feel it by hand. It was damp. Looking closely I could see the sand was a slightly different colour leading away from the beach. I followed it into the palm trees, the sand was darkening and it seemed to disappear into some kind of undergrowth. I picked up a handful of the sand. Water oozed out.

Following it into the undergrowth for about 20 metres, there was a small trickle of water. The sand felt a lot firmer under my feet. Probably on rock I thought. Patiently I cupped my hands into the trickle and waited whilst they filled up. Drank. It tasted good. About 20 handfuls later I no longer felt thirsty so I decided to go back to the beach to make the help sign. That took a lot of effort of pushing sand with my feet to spell out the word HELP in letters about 4m high. That finished me off and I curled up nearby on the sand and crashed out.

My sleep was disturbed a few times with the same dream.  A white mist was very close and a voice seemed to be coming from it, but I could not understand what it was saying.  On waking, got more to drink and then went to check the help sign. I needed to keep that in good order, so I went down the side to look at it from the bottom. The I noticed there was a much smaller writing below it. I stood stock still in shock. shaking my head. I must be hallucinating, there can't be any more writing.
Carefully I moved to below it, noticing there was no signs of footprints. anywhere near it. Only my own in making the help sign, coming down to the beach and where I had moved up and to thee right to go to sleep and come back this way.

Gingerly I moved to below the added writing. It spelled a word. YOURSELF.  I went down to the waters edges splashed some all over my face and went back. The extra word was still there.  I studied it carefully. It was a V shaped groove, about 10 cms deep. and also totally even, so it had to have been made by a tool.  Whoever wielded it must be quite expert at it There was not the slightest sign of a wiggle. The O looked a perfect circle.  But how the hell did somebody do it without leaving a footprint? I inspected the sand carefully. It was perfectly smooth, no sign of it been having disturbed to obscure footprints.

Even though the lack of footprints was mysterious, the only conclusion was that somebody else was here.  At least they didn't have bad intentions, I could have easily been brained in my sleep. So what did the addition signify?  It strongly implied that this person, why don't I call him Friday after the Robinson Crusoe guy, so Friday was not going to help me.  In that case why leave a message telling me that, without which I would not know he, or even she, existed?   

Ok, lets plan the day. First have another drink and then go on a tour of the island on the beach It had seemed something over a kilometre long.  The outcropping I assumed was central and it looked only about 300m away, so that made it something like half a kilometre wide.  Even taking it easy and checking things out, I could do that in around two hours. So off I went, My estimation seemed about right. My hopes of finding something more substantial that the trickle lof water were dashed, as were those of finding something useful on the beach. Nor did I see any fish in the lagoon, which seemed strange.

Arriving back at the HELP sign, I was again stunned, more writing had been added below and offset from the 'yourself'.  It said food often flies. Immediately birds came to mind. They could be food, yet I had not seen or heard any.  Come to that, no insects either. Surely there must be insects, they get blown by the wind or brought in by driftwood or such.  Just then I heard splashing noises from the lagoon. I spun round.  There was a small group of dolphins doing their humping movements at they headed along at some speed. In front there were glints of silver and a lot more splashes. I suddenly twigged what it was. Flying fish, the dolphins were chasing flying fish.

Abruptly they started going in different directions and the dolphins split up to follow them. The flyers were doing at least 30 metres out of the water. To my amazement three landed on the beach close by as the dolphin following them swerved away. I watched them flopping until they expired. At around 30 cms long, there I had my food for the day, but what a coincidence that each of the three had landed on a separate word of food often flies. Question was what was I going to gut them with?

I really felt yucky at the thought of having to eat that part as well. Into my mind came an idea. Use a shell. So I walked along the waters egde for a bit and saw one of the flat type about the size of the palm of my hand with a ribbed surface and pure white. I waded in a bit to recover it. There was nothing in it and it broke into its two halves quite easily. The edges were sharp, they would do fine to both cut and scrape.    I made quite a mess of the first one, discovering how it was put together as I did so, but at least my hunger pangs had disappeared.  The other two I buried in the sand where the water was quite present. I didn't want them being pinched by a seagull or an animal, even if I hadn't seen any yet.

Question was, what was I going to do with my time? The shadows showed it was not yet midday. I could hardly explore all day, that would require too much energy for what looked like a meagre food resource at best. In addition I had no means of carrying water and the sun got jolly hot by mid-afternoon. What I needed was to tune into the resources that Nature provided and look at them in terms of what use they could possible be, shells for instance.  I laid on my back and looked up the palm trees, trying to remember what I knew about them and drifted off into a sort of reverie or dozed.

It was something after midday when I woke. Time for a fish lunch and then my plan of going up towards the outcrop and following the small supply of water there might be access to a more plentiful supply further up. I could also scan the horizon better from up top.  So off I set. Initially following the water trail was quite easy, but the undergrowth got thicker as I progressed. Branches of bushes were intermingling over the trickle, whichwas getting larger. If I struggled through those then I would get a lot of scratches, that didn't seem advisable in my condition.  So eventually I walked away from the water but parallel to it where the bushes were less dense.

The bushes were getting taller, above my head and some kind of fern made an appearance. I must be nearly at the top now, it only seemed about 10  metres away and more bare rock was appearing. I took a big step up onto a ledge and stopped dead. Facing me was a very large pool of water surrounded by ferns on all sides. The pool  was oval shaped about 3 meters by 2. I carefully scanned all round. This could well eb the only real source of water on the island. If somebody else was here they would surely stay close by.  I observed all the ferns closely. Nobody could access the pool without at least treading some down, none were.

I went to the edge and plunged my hand in and then my arm by laying down. My finge tips just touched the bottom. It was certainly deep enough to bathe in and not really cold. The outlet was not a large volume of water, about the sort you would get by emptying a mugfull. I waited a good while, but there was no diminution in the level, so it was obviously being fed from somewhere.  Hmmmm  if I wanted to wash the sweat and grime off from my activities, when would be the best time to do it so that the pool would be fresh again when I wanted to drink. Obvious answer was the evening and that would also calm me in preparation for sleep.

I was definitely going to sleep up here, the pool was under an overhang and beside the ledge I had stepped on was sand to sleep on. The overhang would provide protection against the heavy tropical rain showers that often occurred in the late afternoon and more rarely at night. Blast it, that meant I would have to go back down to get the remaining fish, so I would eat down there, come back up before dark, have my bath and then sleep. So I did it that way, checking there was no more writing.

Bathing was super and I felt really relaxed and slept like a log. On arrival at the beach there were three more fish in the same place as before, already dead this time. I thought it very strange, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. That night I was awakened by a light on my eyes. There was a mist over the pool and it seemed to be glowing a pearly white.  You're having a lucid dream, ignore it.  That set the pattern for the days that followed.  

Get up, get the fish check for more writing, and the HELP sign and eat. Walk round the island. Rest in the sand in the shade. Think about things, but I could never remember what the next day. Eat. Walk a long the beach to a different start point. Climb up to the stop of the outcrop, descend. Back to get the last fish. Eat? Climb up again. Bathe and sleep. At least I was losing ùy rather pot-belly and feeling very fit. Each night I was awakened by the  luminous mist and each time it became more and more the figuree of a man. I was now hearing the words clearly, but they were in a strange language.  After a while of discourse, the figure would throw up its arms and disappear and the mist settled down over the pool and lost its glow.

On something like the 13th night. I realised who the figure was, having recognised it from old photos. My great-grandfather, whom I had never seen in real life. He was a Scot and he only spoke Gaelic. Not only that but I could now understand what he was saying.  That was helpful, but I didn't speak Gaelic.  He was saying if you can understand me, give me a sign. I raised my right hand. Praise be and he started gabbling away. I'm thinking slow down, I cant understand at that speed. Ahh sorry. the next thing he said was you must promise never to tell anybody about what I tell you. Okay, nobody is likely to believe it anyway.  He cackled at that. After what seemed a logn time, he said I will leave you now, this is rather a strain for me. You will not see me again for some years. We both waved and he disappeared.

After my breakfast fish today would be different, I was going to take my first step to freedom. I let the air out of the life jacket and walked back up to the pool and waited a long time until the pockets filled with water and then put it on. The means of carrying water I had had available all the time I just had not though of it.  I also I left one fish there for the evening and took the other with me.  And descended to the beach on the other side.  There I expected to find the making of a raft. I didn't see anything that resembled that except for a goodly number of coconut husks on the beach, some still bobbing in the shallows of the lagoon. It was the sight of those that clued me. They floated on water.  

I rushed to recover them and collected the others into a pile, must have been about 20, but where was the wood to use? Nothing in sight. Ok, I'll walk along.  After about 200 metres I came across a fishing net half in the water. Not a fishing boat type net, but the fine net used by one person out of a dug-out and such. I was surprised at how large it was when I spread it all out, it formed a rough square of about 3 metres a side.  Having spread it out I sat down to think, scratching the beard I now had. So the net had to be the raft and the husks the flotation for it. How could I achieve that?

It took me a good while to find the answer.  What I needed was space of about one metre by two to lie on. I could place the husks containing the coconuts, which were about baseball size, on the net so they gave that sort of space between them, fold the net over them and kind of stitch it together using stout twigs. My weight would force the husks outwards. I was probably going to get wet a lot, but as that was what seemed to have been provided, then that's what I had to use. Fortunately the temperature at the surface of the sea was around 25°c so I wouldn't freeze from being continually wetted.  I folded the net carefully and went back to the pile of husks and tested my arrangement. There were two husks left over. Now why would that be?

I had to think about that quite a while and then it occurred to me that they should be either at the top or the bottom, they would provide more float there and thus keep my head out of the water.  Getting the right kind of twigs was a toil, they were not easily available.   I had to go quite a way towards the top to find them. The twigs were easy enough to break, but not to detach. They tended to stay attached by a portion of twig and bark and I had to twist and pull quite hard ot actually get it off.
Having gathered an armful I set of back down to the beach.

Feeling pretty fagged out, I stopped for a fish and drink from the life-jacket before attacking the problem of manipulating the twigs through the net. There was a good few centimetres of overlap. I decided that I needed three sets of 'stitching'. If ever it became undone I would simply fall through into the sea. I took account of the fact that whatever the net was made of would contract some when it got wet. I was doing the three levels of stitching one after the other and then moving down a row.  That way it was being tested as more of my weight was being put on it as I advanced.  The sun was low in the sky and I was running out ot twigs anyway. Time to call it a day. Last fish, bathe and and  another sleep like a log.

Next day, down to the none raft side of the beach and eat a fish. No writing, erased the help sign  and the writing by stamping me feet over it. Up to the pool, gathering suitable twigs on the way. Fill the life jacket from the pool. Down to the raft, taking the two fish and collecting more twigs on the way. Lunch was late  after I had inserted all the twigs. After lunch it was back up to the pool replenish the life jacket, collect a lot of ferns, I was going to need protection from the sun. Palm fronds would have been better but there was no way I could climb a palm tree to get them. I then drank as much water as I could form the pool. Back to the raft tested it by laying on it. Seemed fine but the bobbles and kinks in the twigs was jolly uncomfortable.

I thought about it. What I needed was to turn the raft over so there was no 'stitching' on the side I was laying on.  I decided on lifting one side until I got a good grip on it and then throw is over and push any displaced husks back into their correct place.  It worked well enough appart from displacing the husks  afterwards was a struggle and I rested. Recovered, I pulled the raft into the shallows to test it. It floated well enough with me on it. With me with my head over the end with the extra husks I was even able to paddle some with my hand and forearms. More rest.

Knowing that the breeze came onshore around 13:00 and that I would need daylight to make it through the 10m gap that was in the reef on this side. I would set of about an hour before dark. As I set off, having loaded the ferns and the two half shells where my  feet would be, I pushed off climbed on and slowly paddled towards the gap. I was thinking if somebody had offered me a quarter of a million dollars to set off in the open sea on such a contraption to see what happened to me, then I would have declined, being not that bonkers. As it was I felt serene.  I was not surprised that a breeze picked up and aided me through gap on a reflux. The sea was not angry, just a long steady swell. Great, the rising and falling motion lulled me to a dreamless sleep in no time. I had taken the precaution of winding my fingers in the netting to avoid being taken off if a wave swept over me.

The next morning, three fish landed on the raft and I grabbed them before they wriggled off. I had about three litres of water. Two in the breast pockets and one in the neck. I would leave that until last. it helped to protect my neck against the sun. When it got higher I used the ferns to cover my self, particularly the top half, as best I could. The day passed in a sort of daze and so did the next. The morning of the third day, there was only one fish. I gazed at it in stupefaction. That obviously meant something, as there had always been three, but what?  Conclusion. I would reach land before lunch. I struggled to get to my knees, even though that meant they got wet,  and looked around. Sure enough, there was an island quite close and I was going towards it.

About an hour later I was only about a kilometre away and could see it lying down. I felt pleased about that, only pleased, not the dancing for joy that would have seemed more appropriate. I hit the beach about 30 metres from a small jetty that had a boat moored at the end. A native type guy appeared from it onto the jetty and called. You okay there? Yes, I yelled back, but I'm feeling thirsty, do you know where i can get some drinking water? I have some, come on over. I climbed off rather stiffly, yanked the raft up a metre or so and walked over. He had disappeared back into the boat and came out with a lbottle of Badois. Take it easy, he said handing to to me. I screwed the top off  and drank about half of it. That feels better, thanks a bunch. You look a real castaway, looking me over. I looked down at my front and saw several tears in my Tshirt and at least three in the front of my shorts.

You could say that, I said. How long have you been on that thing, gesturing at the raft? About three days, I answered. Wow and on the open sea? I nodded. Where are you trying to get to? I gave him the name of the island where my hotel was. Well you lucked in. I'm heading there as soon as my wife turns up. We need to go to get some things that you cant get here. I guess you don't mind waiting? Not at all.  You just going to leave that, gesturing at the raft again?I nodded. Well I'll take it, the coconuts and the the netting are worth something at least, give me a hand with it? Sure. We got it and dumped it int he rear of the boat. My wife will sit on it. She won't mind, its the ritz compared to some of the things she has had to sit on.  Ohhh, here she comes now.

I looked round to see this enormous woman waddling down the jetty, whose wood was giving load creaks of protest as she crossed over it. She stepped down and the boat seemed to sink into the water about half a metre, planked herself on the husks . took one look at me and said to her husband. I see its another white down and out you have picked up again and turned her nose up and looked away from me. The guy rolled his eyes ad started the motor. and cast off? About 40 minutes he said to me as we zoomed off. During the trip I was asking myself why i felt so ambivalent about my return to civilisation.

We arrived in the port and I got off with many thanks and headed towards my hotel. Plan was to go straight to my room, as I still had the key. If somebody else was occupying it, then it would be excuse me and I would ask at the reception where they had put my things. On entering the hotel I just walked up to the stairs to the first floor and my room number. Nobody. I went straight to the safe and entered the combo. It opened and my wallet, passport and some V& A stuff was there. That was puzzling. After nearly three weeks, why would my things still be here?  First thing was a hot shower with soap, shampoo and stuff, so I did that. I was just drying myself off when the phone rang. Huh?

Hello? Hi Alex, we are at the usual table waiting for you to start lunch, what's keeping you? I recognised the voice of one of the three guys I had chummed up with the day after my arrival. Ohh sorry, I got a bit held up. Please start without me, I'm not very hungry, so I'll only take a main course. Okay then.  Click.  I combed my long hair and beard in the mirror. That took a good bit to get all the tats out. I wasn't going to try trimming things with a the safety razor, I would visit a barbers later. Dressing in fresh shorts and a nice shirt and sandals - trashing what I had been wearing - I went down to the resto, went up to the usual table sat down and said....

You are supposed to say, Hi sailor, long time no see, thinking Boy do In have a tale to tell.  I was totally nonplussed when they all started howling with  laughter, pointing at me and slapping their things and such. Super practical joke, one said, to more laughter. What's so funny? What joke?  Don't play the innocent, you with a wig of long hair and a false beard and having tinted your skin a much darker brown and that. What makes you think that its not real. Oh come off it. Since breakfast this morning you cannot possibly have grown long hair and a real beard and got a real deep tan, but its very well done and they all started clapping. My head started spinning. What the hell is happening here?

So you have not noticed I have been on the loose for nearly three weeks?  Hardly old chap, you may have stuck lucky somewhere after breakfast, but we are sure not going to believe you have been shacked up with some native for three weeks. More laughter and digs in the ribs.  I was vacillating between amusement and irritation and irritation seemed to be winning. I stood up. Ok, then, as I remember, last night you were making rather pointed remarks about my pot belly. turning to one side and lifting my shirt up. Kindly explain how that has disappeared since last night. They looked stunned. Karl said, that's a strong point. No, another quipped he had some drawn, but not quartered.

I thought someone is out of touch with reality. It doesn't need a Sherlock Holmes to figure out that its me. I recollected what my great-grandfather had said when I asked him why there was nothing but plant life on the island. He had said perhaps because its not where it appears to be.  The waiter arrived to take the orders for the next course. I asked for the fish, prepared but NOT, repeat NOT cooked. He rolled his eyes and said as you wish, Sir.  One of them remarked, you have to give Alex credit. He's playing his charade to the hilt. More clapping. After we had finished the main course, one said we cannot afford the time to wait for desert. We are due at the port at 2. To do what, I asked? You can't have forgotten that yesterday after lunch we agreed to go whale spotting after lunch today.

I felt myself going rather faint. I'm not feeling like doing that now, lets do something else instead and do that tomorrow. Sorry old chap, we had to pay for the trip when we booked it. So sorry if you don't feel up to it, but we've got to go. In any case its your turn to pay for the meal. See you this evening.  They rushed off with wavings.  All now slotted into place. They were the other three in the boat with me when the whale hit it.  They would not be back this evening, or ever! Heavy hearted, I made arrangements to leave the next day.