Found
~GCS~
Dear God. Is it possible? Is that speck in the sky really a plane? I shielded my eyes from the sun and focused so intently that my they began to hurt. I don’t think I blinked one time.
I realized that I was now standing but hope, hope that I had chosen not to dwell upon too strongly, suddenly surged with a force that blocked out physical sensation. I didn’t feel the breeze, nor did I hear the waves breaking on the shoreline. With all my heart, I willed Sam’s discovery to be true and didn’t consider the more rational possibilities. Maybe Sam had spotted a heron or some other ocean bird.
I was vaguely aware of Kevin rising up beside me, also staring toward the horizon and, as we stared, the speck became larger. It was heading straight for us. This was no bird.
“OH MY GOD! KEVIN! IT IS A PLANE – THEY FOUND US, KEVIN! THEY FOUND US!”
I found myself wishing that we had a fire to attract attention but the plane looked like it was flying low. I was screaming, jumping and waving my arms as hard as I could, glad that my makeshift shirt was made from a bright red fabric. Sam was jumping up and down, too. Kevin raised one arm and waved but his expression didn’t seem to fit the occasion. His brows furrowed over his eyes and his mouth hung slightly open, seemingly frozen. There was no smile, none of the sense of jubilation that I felt. I guessed that he was in some sort of a state of shock. I could understand that but I, on the other hand, was positively giddy.
“Sam, run up to the camp and tell the others! Hurry!”
Sam looked at me like I was crazy. “I want to see the plane come,” he whined.
“You spotted it,” I argued. “You get to tell everybody! They can help us get the pilot’s attention!”
Sam brightened a bit. “I’ll get my firecrackers! They’ll get attention!” With that, he took off like jackrabbit, yelling all the way up the incline.
Kevin and I never took our eyes off of that plane. The only words I’d heard from him was when he mumbled, “Well, shit…”.
As the plane came closer, we realized that it was a small, two-seater prop and before long, we could see that the pilot had a passenger. By the time they flew overhead, the rest of the camp had come running through the brush and palms. The realization seemed to hit them all at one time, like some kind of mass hysteria. I could see them yelling and flailing their arms but I could hear nothing now except the sound of the plane’s engine.
The plane was very low and as we watched, it circled several times. Brian, Les and Jamal were down on their knees in the wet sand, close to the water, digging out lines on the beach that read: “HELP US”.
The sun was setting. It would be dark soon, but the plane passed over us one more time and over the words spelled out near the water. As we watched, the passenger stuck his arm out of the window and gave us a sign that he had seen the crudely drawn message.
The next thing I knew, I had fallen to my knees, crying into the palms of my hands. I wasn’t alone. There were a lot of tears. We had been found. Finally.
~KSR~
Jesus Christ…
I was completely dumbfounded. I saw what Sam was pointing to in the sky. I saw it draw close and, after a minute, I could make out the wings and even hear the hum of an engine between the waves breaking onshore. After that, I heard nothing. I could only see.
The space around me seemed unusually bright for being so late in the day. I turned to Glynn and Sam and they seemed to be wrapped in some sort of cloud. I could see Glynnis jumping and waving. Her mouth opened and closed, screaming one minute and laughing the next. I looked back into the sky and saw the plane drawing closer. Sam was running towards the camp. I started to feel a little dizzy and it was difficult to draw a breath. I felt like I needed to sit down but I was paralyzed. I just couldn’t fuckin’ believe what I was seeing. Our life, as we had come to know it, had been completely turned upside down.
I should have been ecstatic. I mean, I was thrilled and all, but… but… well, I sure as hell didn’t expect this. It was a wonderful surprise, right? Then why was I scared to death?
The sun was sinking fast when the small, two-seater made a final pass and someone sitting in the passenger’s seat leaned out of the window to give us a ‘thumbs up’. The others had come down to the beach by now. They were all waving and some seemed almost hysterical with glee. Les and Brian had been digging trenches in the wet sand. I could see now that they had been forming letters. H…E….L…P…
Where was Nick? I didn’t see him.
“NICK?”
I heard myself yell. I don’t remember doing it consciously. I guess it was instinctive. The little shit was never around when he should be. Rehearsals, sound checks, photo shoots…. I always had to scream for him.
“NICK!”
Hell, what was wrong with me? I knew he wasn’t far away but, for some reason, I started to panic, like a parent who had become separated from their child.
“NICKY!”
Then, “For crap’s sake Kevin. Chill, man. I’ll find him…”
It was AJ. My hearing had returned. His skinny legs were moving like he was dancin’ on hot coals and he was grinning like a damn jack-o-lantern. I remember thinking that AJ couldn’t find his own dick but he had the good sense to take off before I could verbalize that.
The whole event was passing over me like a hazy dream, but I was suddenly aware of the incessant chatter and laughter erupting around me. Numbness fought sensation; happiness fought confusion; relief fought fear. Fear? Of what? We were going to be rescued, for God’s sake.
We wouldn’t leave tonight. It was getting dark. Probably tomorrow. Soon, we would be off this damn island. Maybe tomorrow we would be sleeping on real mattresses and showering in hot water with scented soap and real shampoo. There would be chairs to sit in and electric lights. I would see my mother and brothers again. Drive a car. Listen to music…. I should be down on my knees, crying tears of joy.
But when I turned, the crowd seemed to separate and there stood Glynnis in the sunset. Her previously excited grin had softened to a gentle smile as she stared at me past the small throng of jubilant survivors. My thoughts seemed to divide, like a split television screen. One side of my mind projected visions of our life together in a civilized world: walking together through Kentucky bluegrass, grocery shopping, looking for a place to live, making love on soft sheets and down pillows. My other vision was not so pleasant and consisted of accusations, lies of omission and Kristin.
Any choices or deliberations I might have had an hour ago, were now gone.
The Bomb is Dropped
~GCS~
The celebration had been marked by gales of laughter, tears, prayers of thanksgiving and a large dose of shock. I figured that Kevin had fallen into the 'shocked' category. He had said very little. I guessed that even His bandmates had noticed this by the furtive glances they seemed to be casting his way. Brian had seemed especially concerned but Kevin seemed to avoid him. At first, I had chalked it up to emotion but as we lay beside the fire, I began to question my assumption. Dawn would soon be upon us. Stuart was probably already at the beachfront, awaiting a sign of rescue. Kevin lay on his back, silent, staring up to the sky and, from time to time, I could see him tremble as if he had become chilled.
I wasn't a complete fool. I knew that we faced trying times. We would be reentering a world that we thought might be gone from us forever. A world where goals would be shifted from food and shelter to far more mundane things. Our isolation brought with it a certain measure of safety. Day to day drudgery contained few surprises. Now, watching him lay there, I became fearful and my mind began to race. Were our feelings for each based on our circumstances? If we had met in a more conventional way, would we have felt this same connection?
I pushed myself up so I turn to check on Sam. He was sleeping soundly. When I turned back to Kevin, he was staring at me.
"Please Glynnis…know that I love you more than anything…"
I wave of relief swept over me. God, he must have been lying here reading my mind.. I smiled and leaned over his face.
"I love you, too, Kevin…"
My relief was short lived. When I began to lower my face to his, he stopped my show of affection.
"I told you we had to talk," he whispered.
The sky had started to lighten and I could see the deadly seriousness in his eyes... I was confused. But before I could ask the question, he answered it.
"I'm married."
***********************************************************************************
~KSR~
Dear God, I'll never forget the look on her face. For a moment, she looked like she'd been shot. I tried to spew an explanation as she pulled away from me. We're separated, Glynn! The marriage is over - it's been over for long time. Hell, I'm not sure it ever really existed! Please try to understand. I didn't want to lose you. I was afraid. I should have…. Then she was gone.
Dry heaves wracked my body but I forced my stomach into submission and took off after her. I didn't know where she went but headed towards the lagoon, hoping she had taken the same route. She wasn't there. She wasn't in the garden or the pasture, either. Off in the distance, I heard a horn blow over the water. The sound should have been music to my ears ….our ears… but, to me, it just signaled that my time to fix this had almost run out. Jesus - where did she go?
I was heading towards the path that lead to the other side of the island - the one that we had landed on after the crash. The horn sounded again. Tick, tick, tick…
Shit. It would take too long to go there. I stood on the path for a moment and leaned down to catch my breath. My heart was pounding like a tympany. I didn't know what to do. I really had little choice. I would go back to the hut. Surely she would go back there, even if only to gather a few things.
But she wasn't there. At least she wasn't there when I got there. She had been back while I was looking for her, though. I spotted the necklace I had made for her laying on one of her feather pillows. She had meant for me to find it. I was staring at it when Brain came to the makeshift doorway.
"You told her…."
My eyes never left the shell as I answered. "Yeah, Brian. I told her."
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