To The End
Chapter 23
Everyone was near the water, Charlotte and Tori taking turns holding the mirror as the guys shaved one by one, and took 'showers'. I sat down on the mat, opening a banana and grabbing a water, as Bob returned from the lower level. He picked up a banana and a water as well, and sank down onto the mat beside me.
"Is it a bad sign that I'm already sick of coconut?" he asked. I laughed.
"Yeah, I think so. We don't have much else," I replied.
"You're from Maine, right?" he asked. I nodded. "I wanna ask your opinion about something real quick. Can you come with me for a minute?"
"Sure," I replied, getting quickly to my feet, as he did the same. I followed him down to the edge of the ocean, where the rocky, fresh water stream emptied out. He climbed onto the rocks jutting out into the sea, and reached out and took my hand, helping me climb up as well. Then he squatted down, and pointed into the water.
"Are those lobsters?" he asked, taking me by surprise. I quickly knelt down beside him, staring at the point where he was indicating, my eyes growing wide.
"Oh my God, they are!" I cried quickly. They were wider than Maine lobsters, but there was no doubt as to what they were. "Go get the buckets, both of them!" Bob jumped to his feet, and scampered off towards the cabin, as I got to my feet as well, running towards the tree line, scouring the ground for a stout stick. When I found one large enough, I hurried back to the sea, meeting Bob, who carried the two large buckets, and together we made our way back out to the rock.
"What now?" he asked.
"Fill those with sea water," I said. Then I smiled at him, and lay flat on my stomach on the rock, before lowering my stick into the water directly in front of one of the larger lobsters. As I had guessed he would, the lobster's claws immediately clamped around the stick, I put my hand in the water, and picked him up by his back, holding him up to Bob. "Hungry?" I asked, smiling at him. He laughed and held the bucket of water out to me, I dropped the lobster in head first. In a matter of minutes, we had caught enough lobsters for everyone, and each carrying a bucket, carefully made our way back to the cabin. Everyone was lounging around on the yellow mat.
"What were you two doing out there?" Gerard asked.
"Catching dinner," Bob said, lowering his bucket to show everyone the contents.
"Lobster? You found lobster!" Frank cried, laughing.
"Bob found them," I replied.
"And Angel caught them," he added, smiling at me.
"How are we gonna cook them?" Tori asked.
"Easy, we fill the tin bucket up with fresh water, and boil them," I replied.Bob took my bucket from me, and carried them to the lower level. I sank down onto the mat beside Gerard, who immediately draped his arm around my shoulders. Soon Bob returned, and sat down beside Tori. Everyone was silent for a few minutes.
"I feel like we should be doing something," I said eventually.
"I know," Gerard replied. "But what? We have food for dinner, we're all clean, the cabin is clean, our clothes are clean. I can't think of anything."
"You think the clothes are dry yet?" Charlotte asked.
"Maybe," I replied. "I'll go check." I scrambled to my feet again, and Charlotte did the same. Together, we ran off across the sand to the clothes line. Charlotte put her hand up to the last clothing we had washed.
"They feel dry to me," she said, and we began to pull them down off the clothes line. Soon, we were headed back to the yellow mat, laden with clothes. "Ok, everyone folds their own clothes!" she said, as she dropped the pile onto the mat. I sat beside Gerard, folding my clothes, as he did the same. Then everyone was bringing their clothing back onto the plane, and stowing them away in the overhead compartment, before heading back outside. As I turned to follow them, Gerard caught my arm. As I turned to face him, he wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Wait," he whispered.
"What's up?" I whispered back, looking at him with concerned eyes.
"Nothing. I just haven't seen you all day," he said, pulling me in closer to him. I smiled, and he kissed me, gently yet passionately. After a few minutes, we pulled apart.
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you too," he whispered back, smiling widely at me. "Come on, let's go join the others." He grabbed my hand, gently pulling me towards the door, and climbing down the ladder, before assisting me. We sat with the others on the mat.
"What do we do now?" Tori asked after a few minutes, with a light laugh.
"Ooh! Ooh! I know!" Charlotte cried, holding her hand up in the air, and bouncing in her seat. Frank laughed at her, and kissed her cheek.
"Ok, Bubbles, what do you want to do?" I asked, in a resigned tone of voice.
"Let's play telephone!" she replied.
"What?" asked Ray, laughing.
"You know, we sit in a circle, and someone thinks of a sentence, and whispers it to the person beside them. Then they whisper what they hear to the person on their other side, and the last person says it aloud, and we see how off it gets!" Charlotte excitedly cried.
"Ok," Gerard said. "You start, Charlotte." An expression of concentration passed over her face, and she thought for a second, before turning to Frank and whispering in his ear. Soon, the message came to Gerard, and he whispered it into my ear.
"I have never been to Oklahoma, nor do I plan to go," he whispered. I turned to Mikey, beside me, and whispered the same into his ear. Finally, it got to Ray, who was seated beside Charlotte.
"I have never been to Oklahoma, nor do I plan to go," he said aloud.
"Shit," Charlotte said. "That is what I said." We all laughed.
"I guess we just don't have enough people," I remarked. "But I bet we could play tag, or something. Or even Marco Polo. There's even numbers, we could play Capture the Flag."
"Oh, I love Capture the Flag!" Mikey cried.
"Shit yeah," Frank cried. "And we have the whole fucking island to play on! I nominate Gee and Ray as team captains!"
"You're on," Ray replied, getting to his feet and heading to one side of the mat, as Gerard got up and headed to the other. "But I think we should split up the couples. This is Capture the Flag, not Find a Secluded Spot to Make Out." Charlotte and I both began to laugh. "So I choose Angel." I laughed, and smirked at Gerard, before heading over to Ray.
"Give me a second to put on some shoes," I said, and detoured onto the plane. I quickly pulled my running shoes out of the overhead, and stuffed them onto my feet, meeting everyone else climbing up to do the same. A few minutes later, I was standing beside Ray, as Gerard stood on the opposite side of the tarp. Everyone else sat in the center.
"Mikey," Gerard said immediately. Ray lowered his eyes.
"Frank," Ray replied.
"Then I guess I've got Charlotte," Gerard said, lowering his eyes to meet Ray's glare.
"Ok, Bob and Tori, pick a team," Ray said finally. Bob immediately moved over to us, before sending Tori an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Gee," Bob said, "but they've got Frank, and I like to be on the winning team."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Mikey said quickly.
"Yeah, Mikey's the bomb when it comes to Capture the Flag," Gerard added.
"Ok. So what do we use as flags?" I asked. For a moment, no one answered. I thought hard for a second."Ok, Gee? Can you get your marker?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure," he replied, climbing up into the cabin. I took the knife, and began to cut a thin strip from the edge of the yellow mat, then took the strip, and cut it into two pieces as Gerard appeared, marker in hand. I handed him one of the strips.
"Ok, write your team's name on it, so we know which is which," I said.
"Ok, what's our team name?" Gerard asked, and the other team formed a huddle. Ray, Frank, Bob, and I did the same.
"Any ideas?" Ray whispered.
"It needs to be something good, you know Mikey will come up with something killer," Bob added. I wracked my brains...
"Monkey Girl and the Big Bananas," Frank said immediately. Bob and I laughed.
"It's a little weak, but it'll do," Ray said, as Gerard handed him the marker. Ray wrote our team name on the yellow rubber. "On the count of three?"
"Yeah," Gerard replied. "1, 2, 3!" They both held up the flags.
"We Like Ice Cream?" I said, reading their sign, raising my eyebrows, and joining in with Frank, Ray, and Bob's laughter.
"Well, we do!" Charlotte cried, hands on her hips.
"Ok, Monkey Girl, you and your Bananas head off that way, find a base, and we begin," Gerard said, kissing my cheek, as he walked off with his team, towards the bonfire. The four of us exchanged glances, and took off at a run the other way. Once the other team were out of sight, we stopped.
"I have an idea," Frank said. "They didn't give us any rules, did they?"
"I don't think so," Ray replied.
"Ok, so Bob, you're the loudest, so I think you should be in charge of defending our flag, agreed?"
"Fine by me. Especially if it involves less running," he replied.
"Ok, so you put that flag down your pants, and sneak back to the cabin and hide in the bathroom?" Frank suggested. Ray and I exchanged a look.
"Brilliant!" I said.
"Frank's a genius at this. He's the bomb when it comes to cheating," Ray said, laughing.
"Then I think Ray should go straight down the beach the way we came, looking for them. Hide in the tree line so they don't see you. And Angel and I are faster, so we'll go the other way." Ray nodded.
"Why don't you go around the other way, and I'll go straight through the woods?" I suggested. Frank shook his head.
"No way," Ray said.
"Yeah. Gerard gave us strict orders to make sure you're ok, sorry Angel," Frank added. I shook my head, and laughed lightly.
"You know he only said that, cause it will restrict us. Makes it three on four," I replied, slightly exasperated. Ray and Frank exchanged a look.
"I'll bet he did," Frank said, glaring. "Ok, then Ray you go the way we came, I'll go through the woods, and Angel, you go around the back, while Bob hides in the bathroom. Is that a plan?" We nodded, and did the whole hands in the middle thing, before running off in opposite directions.
I jogged down the beach, not really sure of where I was going, and keeping as close as I could to the tree line. It really was a small island, and before long, I could hear voices. I veered into the woods, no longer running, and crept as quietly as I could towards them. Frank was on his knees, scoping out the area, and I knelt beside him. From our vantage point, we could see Charlotte and Tori, sitting on a large rock, with their flag in front of them.
"I'll distract them, you grab the flag, and run like hell," he whispered in my ear. I nodded once, and Frank got to his feet, running as fast as he could out onto the beach. Charlotte immediately gave chase, but Tori stayed with the flag. I knew she was still slightly lame, and that I could outrun her. I crept as quietly as I could out onto the beach, then put on a burst of speed, darting in front of Tori and grabbing the flag. She gave a shout, and Frank joined me, closely followed by Charlotte, as Tori chased us as well, but farther back.
The game went back and forth for the rest of the afternoon, though our flag was never captured, and in the end, Gerard's team had to give up. Bob was let out of the bathroom, and it was pointed out that it's not cheating if there were no rules. Soon, we were back on the yellow mat, sitting again in a circle as the sun began to set.
"We should cook up those lobsters, if we want dinner," I said.
"Hey, you caught them, I'll cook them, if you tell me how," Tori said.
"Yeah, and I'll help her," Charlotte added.
"Ok," I said. "Fill up the tin bucket with fresh water, and put it into the fire. When the water boils, drop each lobster in head first, and let them boil. When they turn red, they're done."
"You mean, you boil them alive?" Tori asked.I nodded.
"Yup. That's how all lobsters are always cooked," I said, grinning.
"Do they... Do they scream?" she asked, sounding horrified, and I giggled.
"Probably, but you can't hear it. That's why you put them in head first, it kills them faster," I replied.
"Ok," she said, sounding slightly disbelieving, and got to her feet with Charlotte, and they set to work, leaving me on the mat with the rest of the guys.
"Mm, lobster," said Bob, laying back on the mat. "I wish we had some butter."
"Yeah, me too. But I'll take what I can get," Gerard said. His arm was around my shoulders again, and now he leaned back, pulling me down on the mat beside him. Soon, we were all lounging around on the mat, Mikey and Ray facing each other, talking about their significant others, Bob was asleep, and Gerard, Frank, and I were talking about New Jersey, which would be my new home, as Frank, behind me, braided my hair. Badly, I might add.
It took perhaps an hour, but soon Tori and Charlotte were returning with a bucket full of cooked lobster. The guys immediately dove in, but I returned to the cabin, and pulled out a couple of coconuts and a bunch of bananas. I sat beside Gerard, and immediately began eating a banana.Frank grabbed one as well.
"You don't want your lobster?" Gerard asked.
"Nah, you can have it," I said, wrinkling my nose slightly.
"Are you a vegetarian like me?" Frank asked, taking a bite of his banana.
"No," I replied. "I just don't like lobster."
"But you're from Maine!" Ray cried, laughing.
"Yup," I said. "Not everyone from Maine likes lobster."
"How can you not like lobster!It's fucking delicious!" Ray replied.
"Well, when I was a little kid, my great-grandmother lived with us, and she was from one of Maine's oldest families, tons of money, and like four governors in the family tree, including Joshua Chamberlain," I said, ignoring the confused looks they sent me. "Anyway, she used to tell me that back in the old days, lobsters were like, homeless people food. Sea rats, she used to call them. They didn't become a delicacy until after World War II.She used to say, "You're better than that, Angelina!" So every time I tried to eat one, I would hear her voice, all disgusted with me. So I think it's a mental thing." They started laughing at me.
"I didn't know your name is Angelina," Gerard said, and I laughed again.
"It's not, it's just Angel. But that's what she used to call me. Angel wasn't formal enough. She was a crazy old bat, she really was. My brother and I were scared to death of her. She died when I was seven, she was a hundred and three years old. The funny thing about that too was that she hadn't had any money in years, they'd lost it all in the depression." I sat silently for a moment, staring out across the ocean. "I think that's why my brother and I both grew up so warped."
"You seem pretty normal to me," Gerard said. I laughed.
"You wait," I said. "I have a very warped sense of humor."
"We all knew that already," Charlotte said. That led to the talk of families, everyone took a turn telling us how they grew up. Eventually, we were all silent.
"Are we ever gonna get out of here?" Tori asked then, in a small voice. My eyes met Gerard's. I knew we were thinking the same thing: no.
"Of course we will," Bob said stoutly.
"I mean, this is the 8th day, and don't they usually search for people for like two weeks or something? Which means we have until Day 14, so that gives us six days left," Mikey said softly.
"I wonder what they're all doing right now?" Charlotte asked. We were silent again, each of us lost in thought.
"I think I want to go to bed," Tori said softly, getting to her feet, and heading to the cabin.
"I'll go with you," Bob said.
"Me too," Mikey said. His eyes looked slightly red, and I could tell from his face he was trying not to cry.
"You ok, Mikey?" I asked. He shot me a smile.
"I'll live," he whispered, and climbed up into the cabin behind Tori and Bob. Gerard began to get to his feet, to follow his brother.
"I'll make sure he's ok, Gee," Ray said, holding up a hand to stop Gerard, getting to his feet and following the others into the cabin. Gerard sat back down, wrapping his arm around me again.
"I think I'll take a walk," Charlotte said softly, looking directly at Frank beside her.
"Ok," he replied. Gerard and I sat and watched as they headed off down the beach.
"What do you think of that?" Gerard asked. I shrugged.
"Charlotte's got her eyes open. She knows it'll end when we get out of here," I replied in a whisper. Gerard sent me a surprised look.
"I don't think so," he said. "Frank's not that type. He doesn't use women as a distraction, so to speak. If he likes her now, he'll like her at home, too. And I think he likes her, I mean, she is kinda like the female Frank." I laughed at the thought. "That reminds me. You know, I don't have an apartment or anything. I've been kinda homeless for the past couple of years. Technically, I guess I live with my parents, but I've mostly been in hotels and shit. Mom and Dad will love you, by the way, but I've been thinking, it's probably better not living with them, if you get my drift, so I asked Frank, and he said we could stay with him until we get a place. I'd have asked Mikey, but I think he'll probably want to spend every minute when we get back being alone with Alicia. Is that ok with you? Staying with Frank for a while?" I nodded.
"What's she like, Alicia?" I asked, softly, leaning my head happily against his shoulder.
"Actually, she's a little like you, honestly. I mean, she's a lot taller, and looks absolutely nothing like you, except she has dark hair. But she's tough, and yet sweet and gentle at the same time. And very smart. Mikey relies on her completely," he said. I nodded again.
"I can tell," I replied.
"What's your brother's name, by the way?" Gerard asked.
"Michael, actually. Michael James Emerson," I replied, laughing. "Mom and Dad named him after the archangel. They thought I'd be a boy too, and they were gonna name me Gabriel. But I turned out to be a girl, obviously, and they didn't like Gabrielle, so they just named me Angel."
"You know, Mikey's name is Michael James too," Gerard said. "Strange."
"Not that strange," I replied sarcastically. "I mean, you guys were born Catholic, right?" He nodded. "Well, Michael and James are the two most popular saints, and you have to have a saint's name. Were you confirmed?"
"No," he laughed.
"Me, neither," I replied, laughing also. "So what's your middle name?"
"Arthur," he replied. "It was my grandfather's name. What's yours?"
"Bernadette. You know, like in Lourdes," I replied, making a disgusted face. "Never repeat that." He laughed.
"So what do you wanna do, do you wanna wait up for Frank and Charlotte, or do you wanna go to sleep?" he asked after a moment.
"I do not want to know what they're doing," I replied, laughing. "Let's go to bed." He got to his feet, and held out his hand to help me up.
"After you," he said, indicating the ladder. I climbed up, and made my way to our compartment. Within minutes, we were both in bed, and he pulled me into him.
"I love you, Angel," he whispered.
"I love you too, baby," I whispered back.
"Is it a bad sign that I'm already sick of coconut?" he asked. I laughed.
"Yeah, I think so. We don't have much else," I replied.
"You're from Maine, right?" he asked. I nodded. "I wanna ask your opinion about something real quick. Can you come with me for a minute?"
"Sure," I replied, getting quickly to my feet, as he did the same. I followed him down to the edge of the ocean, where the rocky, fresh water stream emptied out. He climbed onto the rocks jutting out into the sea, and reached out and took my hand, helping me climb up as well. Then he squatted down, and pointed into the water.
"Are those lobsters?" he asked, taking me by surprise. I quickly knelt down beside him, staring at the point where he was indicating, my eyes growing wide.
"Oh my God, they are!" I cried quickly. They were wider than Maine lobsters, but there was no doubt as to what they were. "Go get the buckets, both of them!" Bob jumped to his feet, and scampered off towards the cabin, as I got to my feet as well, running towards the tree line, scouring the ground for a stout stick. When I found one large enough, I hurried back to the sea, meeting Bob, who carried the two large buckets, and together we made our way back out to the rock.
"What now?" he asked.
"Fill those with sea water," I said. Then I smiled at him, and lay flat on my stomach on the rock, before lowering my stick into the water directly in front of one of the larger lobsters. As I had guessed he would, the lobster's claws immediately clamped around the stick, I put my hand in the water, and picked him up by his back, holding him up to Bob. "Hungry?" I asked, smiling at him. He laughed and held the bucket of water out to me, I dropped the lobster in head first. In a matter of minutes, we had caught enough lobsters for everyone, and each carrying a bucket, carefully made our way back to the cabin. Everyone was lounging around on the yellow mat.
"What were you two doing out there?" Gerard asked.
"Catching dinner," Bob said, lowering his bucket to show everyone the contents.
"Lobster? You found lobster!" Frank cried, laughing.
"Bob found them," I replied.
"And Angel caught them," he added, smiling at me.
"How are we gonna cook them?" Tori asked.
"Easy, we fill the tin bucket up with fresh water, and boil them," I replied.Bob took my bucket from me, and carried them to the lower level. I sank down onto the mat beside Gerard, who immediately draped his arm around my shoulders. Soon Bob returned, and sat down beside Tori. Everyone was silent for a few minutes.
"I feel like we should be doing something," I said eventually.
"I know," Gerard replied. "But what? We have food for dinner, we're all clean, the cabin is clean, our clothes are clean. I can't think of anything."
"You think the clothes are dry yet?" Charlotte asked.
"Maybe," I replied. "I'll go check." I scrambled to my feet again, and Charlotte did the same. Together, we ran off across the sand to the clothes line. Charlotte put her hand up to the last clothing we had washed.
"They feel dry to me," she said, and we began to pull them down off the clothes line. Soon, we were headed back to the yellow mat, laden with clothes. "Ok, everyone folds their own clothes!" she said, as she dropped the pile onto the mat. I sat beside Gerard, folding my clothes, as he did the same. Then everyone was bringing their clothing back onto the plane, and stowing them away in the overhead compartment, before heading back outside. As I turned to follow them, Gerard caught my arm. As I turned to face him, he wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Wait," he whispered.
"What's up?" I whispered back, looking at him with concerned eyes.
"Nothing. I just haven't seen you all day," he said, pulling me in closer to him. I smiled, and he kissed me, gently yet passionately. After a few minutes, we pulled apart.
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you too," he whispered back, smiling widely at me. "Come on, let's go join the others." He grabbed my hand, gently pulling me towards the door, and climbing down the ladder, before assisting me. We sat with the others on the mat.
"What do we do now?" Tori asked after a few minutes, with a light laugh.
"Ooh! Ooh! I know!" Charlotte cried, holding her hand up in the air, and bouncing in her seat. Frank laughed at her, and kissed her cheek.
"Ok, Bubbles, what do you want to do?" I asked, in a resigned tone of voice.
"Let's play telephone!" she replied.
"What?" asked Ray, laughing.
"You know, we sit in a circle, and someone thinks of a sentence, and whispers it to the person beside them. Then they whisper what they hear to the person on their other side, and the last person says it aloud, and we see how off it gets!" Charlotte excitedly cried.
"Ok," Gerard said. "You start, Charlotte." An expression of concentration passed over her face, and she thought for a second, before turning to Frank and whispering in his ear. Soon, the message came to Gerard, and he whispered it into my ear.
"I have never been to Oklahoma, nor do I plan to go," he whispered. I turned to Mikey, beside me, and whispered the same into his ear. Finally, it got to Ray, who was seated beside Charlotte.
"I have never been to Oklahoma, nor do I plan to go," he said aloud.
"Shit," Charlotte said. "That is what I said." We all laughed.
"I guess we just don't have enough people," I remarked. "But I bet we could play tag, or something. Or even Marco Polo. There's even numbers, we could play Capture the Flag."
"Oh, I love Capture the Flag!" Mikey cried.
"Shit yeah," Frank cried. "And we have the whole fucking island to play on! I nominate Gee and Ray as team captains!"
"You're on," Ray replied, getting to his feet and heading to one side of the mat, as Gerard got up and headed to the other. "But I think we should split up the couples. This is Capture the Flag, not Find a Secluded Spot to Make Out." Charlotte and I both began to laugh. "So I choose Angel." I laughed, and smirked at Gerard, before heading over to Ray.
"Give me a second to put on some shoes," I said, and detoured onto the plane. I quickly pulled my running shoes out of the overhead, and stuffed them onto my feet, meeting everyone else climbing up to do the same. A few minutes later, I was standing beside Ray, as Gerard stood on the opposite side of the tarp. Everyone else sat in the center.
"Mikey," Gerard said immediately. Ray lowered his eyes.
"Frank," Ray replied.
"Then I guess I've got Charlotte," Gerard said, lowering his eyes to meet Ray's glare.
"Ok, Bob and Tori, pick a team," Ray said finally. Bob immediately moved over to us, before sending Tori an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Gee," Bob said, "but they've got Frank, and I like to be on the winning team."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Mikey said quickly.
"Yeah, Mikey's the bomb when it comes to Capture the Flag," Gerard added.
"Ok. So what do we use as flags?" I asked. For a moment, no one answered. I thought hard for a second."Ok, Gee? Can you get your marker?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure," he replied, climbing up into the cabin. I took the knife, and began to cut a thin strip from the edge of the yellow mat, then took the strip, and cut it into two pieces as Gerard appeared, marker in hand. I handed him one of the strips.
"Ok, write your team's name on it, so we know which is which," I said.
"Ok, what's our team name?" Gerard asked, and the other team formed a huddle. Ray, Frank, Bob, and I did the same.
"Any ideas?" Ray whispered.
"It needs to be something good, you know Mikey will come up with something killer," Bob added. I wracked my brains...
"Monkey Girl and the Big Bananas," Frank said immediately. Bob and I laughed.
"It's a little weak, but it'll do," Ray said, as Gerard handed him the marker. Ray wrote our team name on the yellow rubber. "On the count of three?"
"Yeah," Gerard replied. "1, 2, 3!" They both held up the flags.
"We Like Ice Cream?" I said, reading their sign, raising my eyebrows, and joining in with Frank, Ray, and Bob's laughter.
"Well, we do!" Charlotte cried, hands on her hips.
"Ok, Monkey Girl, you and your Bananas head off that way, find a base, and we begin," Gerard said, kissing my cheek, as he walked off with his team, towards the bonfire. The four of us exchanged glances, and took off at a run the other way. Once the other team were out of sight, we stopped.
"I have an idea," Frank said. "They didn't give us any rules, did they?"
"I don't think so," Ray replied.
"Ok, so Bob, you're the loudest, so I think you should be in charge of defending our flag, agreed?"
"Fine by me. Especially if it involves less running," he replied.
"Ok, so you put that flag down your pants, and sneak back to the cabin and hide in the bathroom?" Frank suggested. Ray and I exchanged a look.
"Brilliant!" I said.
"Frank's a genius at this. He's the bomb when it comes to cheating," Ray said, laughing.
"Then I think Ray should go straight down the beach the way we came, looking for them. Hide in the tree line so they don't see you. And Angel and I are faster, so we'll go the other way." Ray nodded.
"Why don't you go around the other way, and I'll go straight through the woods?" I suggested. Frank shook his head.
"No way," Ray said.
"Yeah. Gerard gave us strict orders to make sure you're ok, sorry Angel," Frank added. I shook my head, and laughed lightly.
"You know he only said that, cause it will restrict us. Makes it three on four," I replied, slightly exasperated. Ray and Frank exchanged a look.
"I'll bet he did," Frank said, glaring. "Ok, then Ray you go the way we came, I'll go through the woods, and Angel, you go around the back, while Bob hides in the bathroom. Is that a plan?" We nodded, and did the whole hands in the middle thing, before running off in opposite directions.
I jogged down the beach, not really sure of where I was going, and keeping as close as I could to the tree line. It really was a small island, and before long, I could hear voices. I veered into the woods, no longer running, and crept as quietly as I could towards them. Frank was on his knees, scoping out the area, and I knelt beside him. From our vantage point, we could see Charlotte and Tori, sitting on a large rock, with their flag in front of them.
"I'll distract them, you grab the flag, and run like hell," he whispered in my ear. I nodded once, and Frank got to his feet, running as fast as he could out onto the beach. Charlotte immediately gave chase, but Tori stayed with the flag. I knew she was still slightly lame, and that I could outrun her. I crept as quietly as I could out onto the beach, then put on a burst of speed, darting in front of Tori and grabbing the flag. She gave a shout, and Frank joined me, closely followed by Charlotte, as Tori chased us as well, but farther back.
The game went back and forth for the rest of the afternoon, though our flag was never captured, and in the end, Gerard's team had to give up. Bob was let out of the bathroom, and it was pointed out that it's not cheating if there were no rules. Soon, we were back on the yellow mat, sitting again in a circle as the sun began to set.
"We should cook up those lobsters, if we want dinner," I said.
"Hey, you caught them, I'll cook them, if you tell me how," Tori said.
"Yeah, and I'll help her," Charlotte added.
"Ok," I said. "Fill up the tin bucket with fresh water, and put it into the fire. When the water boils, drop each lobster in head first, and let them boil. When they turn red, they're done."
"You mean, you boil them alive?" Tori asked.I nodded.
"Yup. That's how all lobsters are always cooked," I said, grinning.
"Do they... Do they scream?" she asked, sounding horrified, and I giggled.
"Probably, but you can't hear it. That's why you put them in head first, it kills them faster," I replied.
"Ok," she said, sounding slightly disbelieving, and got to her feet with Charlotte, and they set to work, leaving me on the mat with the rest of the guys.
"Mm, lobster," said Bob, laying back on the mat. "I wish we had some butter."
"Yeah, me too. But I'll take what I can get," Gerard said. His arm was around my shoulders again, and now he leaned back, pulling me down on the mat beside him. Soon, we were all lounging around on the mat, Mikey and Ray facing each other, talking about their significant others, Bob was asleep, and Gerard, Frank, and I were talking about New Jersey, which would be my new home, as Frank, behind me, braided my hair. Badly, I might add.
It took perhaps an hour, but soon Tori and Charlotte were returning with a bucket full of cooked lobster. The guys immediately dove in, but I returned to the cabin, and pulled out a couple of coconuts and a bunch of bananas. I sat beside Gerard, and immediately began eating a banana.Frank grabbed one as well.
"You don't want your lobster?" Gerard asked.
"Nah, you can have it," I said, wrinkling my nose slightly.
"Are you a vegetarian like me?" Frank asked, taking a bite of his banana.
"No," I replied. "I just don't like lobster."
"But you're from Maine!" Ray cried, laughing.
"Yup," I said. "Not everyone from Maine likes lobster."
"How can you not like lobster!It's fucking delicious!" Ray replied.
"Well, when I was a little kid, my great-grandmother lived with us, and she was from one of Maine's oldest families, tons of money, and like four governors in the family tree, including Joshua Chamberlain," I said, ignoring the confused looks they sent me. "Anyway, she used to tell me that back in the old days, lobsters were like, homeless people food. Sea rats, she used to call them. They didn't become a delicacy until after World War II.She used to say, "You're better than that, Angelina!" So every time I tried to eat one, I would hear her voice, all disgusted with me. So I think it's a mental thing." They started laughing at me.
"I didn't know your name is Angelina," Gerard said, and I laughed again.
"It's not, it's just Angel. But that's what she used to call me. Angel wasn't formal enough. She was a crazy old bat, she really was. My brother and I were scared to death of her. She died when I was seven, she was a hundred and three years old. The funny thing about that too was that she hadn't had any money in years, they'd lost it all in the depression." I sat silently for a moment, staring out across the ocean. "I think that's why my brother and I both grew up so warped."
"You seem pretty normal to me," Gerard said. I laughed.
"You wait," I said. "I have a very warped sense of humor."
"We all knew that already," Charlotte said. That led to the talk of families, everyone took a turn telling us how they grew up. Eventually, we were all silent.
"Are we ever gonna get out of here?" Tori asked then, in a small voice. My eyes met Gerard's. I knew we were thinking the same thing: no.
"Of course we will," Bob said stoutly.
"I mean, this is the 8th day, and don't they usually search for people for like two weeks or something? Which means we have until Day 14, so that gives us six days left," Mikey said softly.
"I wonder what they're all doing right now?" Charlotte asked. We were silent again, each of us lost in thought.
"I think I want to go to bed," Tori said softly, getting to her feet, and heading to the cabin.
"I'll go with you," Bob said.
"Me too," Mikey said. His eyes looked slightly red, and I could tell from his face he was trying not to cry.
"You ok, Mikey?" I asked. He shot me a smile.
"I'll live," he whispered, and climbed up into the cabin behind Tori and Bob. Gerard began to get to his feet, to follow his brother.
"I'll make sure he's ok, Gee," Ray said, holding up a hand to stop Gerard, getting to his feet and following the others into the cabin. Gerard sat back down, wrapping his arm around me again.
"I think I'll take a walk," Charlotte said softly, looking directly at Frank beside her.
"Ok," he replied. Gerard and I sat and watched as they headed off down the beach.
"What do you think of that?" Gerard asked. I shrugged.
"Charlotte's got her eyes open. She knows it'll end when we get out of here," I replied in a whisper. Gerard sent me a surprised look.
"I don't think so," he said. "Frank's not that type. He doesn't use women as a distraction, so to speak. If he likes her now, he'll like her at home, too. And I think he likes her, I mean, she is kinda like the female Frank." I laughed at the thought. "That reminds me. You know, I don't have an apartment or anything. I've been kinda homeless for the past couple of years. Technically, I guess I live with my parents, but I've mostly been in hotels and shit. Mom and Dad will love you, by the way, but I've been thinking, it's probably better not living with them, if you get my drift, so I asked Frank, and he said we could stay with him until we get a place. I'd have asked Mikey, but I think he'll probably want to spend every minute when we get back being alone with Alicia. Is that ok with you? Staying with Frank for a while?" I nodded.
"What's she like, Alicia?" I asked, softly, leaning my head happily against his shoulder.
"Actually, she's a little like you, honestly. I mean, she's a lot taller, and looks absolutely nothing like you, except she has dark hair. But she's tough, and yet sweet and gentle at the same time. And very smart. Mikey relies on her completely," he said. I nodded again.
"I can tell," I replied.
"What's your brother's name, by the way?" Gerard asked.
"Michael, actually. Michael James Emerson," I replied, laughing. "Mom and Dad named him after the archangel. They thought I'd be a boy too, and they were gonna name me Gabriel. But I turned out to be a girl, obviously, and they didn't like Gabrielle, so they just named me Angel."
"You know, Mikey's name is Michael James too," Gerard said. "Strange."
"Not that strange," I replied sarcastically. "I mean, you guys were born Catholic, right?" He nodded. "Well, Michael and James are the two most popular saints, and you have to have a saint's name. Were you confirmed?"
"No," he laughed.
"Me, neither," I replied, laughing also. "So what's your middle name?"
"Arthur," he replied. "It was my grandfather's name. What's yours?"
"Bernadette. You know, like in Lourdes," I replied, making a disgusted face. "Never repeat that." He laughed.
"So what do you wanna do, do you wanna wait up for Frank and Charlotte, or do you wanna go to sleep?" he asked after a moment.
"I do not want to know what they're doing," I replied, laughing. "Let's go to bed." He got to his feet, and held out his hand to help me up.
"After you," he said, indicating the ladder. I climbed up, and made my way to our compartment. Within minutes, we were both in bed, and he pulled me into him.
"I love you, Angel," he whispered.
"I love you too, baby," I whispered back.
10/13/13