The Island, Chapter 13_(0)

Author’s Note, Part 2: Apologies in advance, but this was inevitable. The story demanded it. Hold off on the angry comments until the next chapter comes out.

Chapter 13

I arrived at the beach just after the sun had gone down. Most people had eaten already, and I scraped together a tray of food (we were using the airline trays for their intended purpose—I personally felt the food on the island was better than the stuff on the plane) and thanked the neo-hippies for their cooking. I plopped down on the sand. I was just finishing when Joelle appeared.

“Dave! There you are. Where have you been?”

“I was exploring in the jungle,” I said. Several jungles my mind supplied giddily. “I got a little tied up.” I managed to keep a straight face. “Anything going on?” I asked.

“No. I helped Janie and Jared clean their fish. The caught a whole bunch.”

“I think I just ate one, thanks. Shall we make rounds on our patients?”

I offered her my arm and we made a circuit of the beach, checking on the various minor wounds that had been dressed or sutured after the crash, and inspecting Danielle’s leg.

“The sutures look pretty good,” Joelle commented. “No sign of infection.”

“Yeah. Probably 5 or 6 more days until they come out.” We walked toward Boys’ Town to check on Connor, but I turned back.

“What’s wrong?” asked Joelle.

“Nothing, go ahead. I needed to ask Danielle something.”

I returned to the field hockey coach and she looked up at me expectantly. “Mary’s probably going to tell you quite a story later. I had a… um… session with your girls today. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention it to Joelle. She’s still pretty innocent about those things.”

Danielle’s eyebrows raised. “You look a little tired, but I guess you survived. They can be pretty… aggressive.”

“No shit,” I said ruefully. “Anyway, just thought I’d give you a heads up.”

I jogged over to where Joelle was checking on Connor. He seemed to have mastered his crutches and the leg looked fine. Dkembe was our last stop, the giant still sleeping soundly.

“I gave him some more water and coconut milk a little while ago,” Joelle said. “I can’t get him to eat anything, though. I guess the wet nurse starts in the morning. Hopefully she can maintain his nutrition until he wakes up.”

We kissed our goodnights and parted. I headed over to Janie’s camp. She was talking to Jared and greeted me with a peck on the cheek.

“Hey, Dave!” Jared said. “Were you out exploring?”

“Yeah,” I told him. “Saw a few new sights.” Janie’s eyebrow raised as she caught some subtext to my answer. “But I’m pretty beat so I’m going to turn in.” I lay down on the sand and closed my eyes, and was quickly asleep.

For once, I was not the first one up in the morning since I slept later than usual. I guess being gang-raped by a field hockey team takes a lot out of a guy. Not that I was complaining. I took a morning swim in the lagoon and had some cold fish and mango for breakfast. Stopping by the medical shelter, I saw Gabrielle with Dkembe’s head in her lap, a blanket over him to shield their activity from passers-by. She smiled and pulled down the blanket to show me.

“He ‘as a good appetit. I think he will do well.” The dark lips were pulling on that magnificent milky mam like there was no tomorrow, suctioning her sweet milk like a machine. I was a little jealous, wishing I could join him at the bar, but I knew he needed it more than I did. I hungrily watched a drop of milk form on her other nipple and drip, wasted, onto the African’s chest. Too bad!

“Do you know where Joelle is?” I asked the Frenchwoman.

“I think she and the Indian woman—Anjali, non?—are taking the prisoner woman to get her cleaned up. I ‘eard there is to be a, how you say, trial today to decide what is to be her fate. They went to la riviere.”

I ran into Janie as I left the hut.

“Hey, Dave,” she greeted me, kissing me lightly. “What did you get up to yesterday?”

“It’s a long sordid story, but I think you’ll like it. I’m going to save it for later, when we can…discuss it in private.”

She gave me a naughty grin. “I like the sound of that.”

Switching gears, I asked, “What’s going on with the terrorist girl?”

Janie looked worried. “I asked a couple of the girls to help her clean up and get her a little more presentable. We need to have a powwow about what to do with her. We can’t keep her tied up forever. I know some people are in favor of killing her, but who would do it? I can’t bring myself to do that. I mean she did try to kill us, or at least hijack the plane, but to execute somebody? I don’t even like hunting.”

“Yeah, I guess we’re overdue for a discussion,” I agreed. “I don’t think banishing her would work, either. From the one time I spoke with her, I’d be worried she would sneak into camp at night and kill us all in our sleep.”

“We’ll have to hash something out. I figure around midday. I’m going to talk to Horace about a larger shelter for a common area. He approached me yesterday and I think it’s a good idea. We’d have plenty of volunteers to help build it. You want to come?”

“Nah, I’m going to have a good scrubdown. I’m feeling a little funky, and a saltwater swim just doesn’t do it.”

Janie leaned in to my ear. “I’d offer to scrub your dick for you, but I have a commitment with another man, even if he is pushing 70.” She bit my earlobe for emphasis and walked away. I watched her swaying hips depart, thinking she’s just hamming it up, now, but enjoying the show all the same. Trailing behind her came Christopher, all moon-eyed and dreamy. I recognized the signs of teenage infatuation.

“Hey, Christopher, come here!” I called to him. He tore his attention away from Janie’s ass.

“Yeah, Master Connor? What’s up?”

“A little word of advice from someone who’s been there. Don’t start to think of Ms. Scarlatti as your girlfriend. She’s not going to go steady with you. She’ll probably let you get lucky a few more times, but she’s not a one-man gal.”

He turned bright red. “Oh my God! You know!” He looked mortified.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. We tell each other everything. She really likes you, and thinks you’re pretty hot. But she’s not going to ‘go steady’ with you. Don’t waste all your affection on her. Remember, there are a whole lot of cute girls to choose from. Think of her as your coach. She’ll help you practice, but the other players are the ones in the game. Got it?” I patted him on the shoulder.

“I guess,” he moped. “I know in my heart she’s not going to be my girlfriend or anything, but she’s so sexy and what she did with me was incredible. I just want to do it again.”

Oh, I think you’ll get your chance,” I encouraged him. “She is pretty amazing in the sack,” I said dreamily, looking at her departing rump.

He looked shocked. “You too?!”

“Me too, buddy. I know exactly what you’re talking about. But she’s got a ferocious appetite, and I think even both of us together won’t satisfy her completely. I’d suggest asking her later if she wants a back rub. She likes that.”

His eyes brightened. “Thanks, Master Connor.”

“Call me Dave unless we’re in class,” I ordered.

“OK…Dave,” he said hesitantly. “And, maybe you could, um, give me some pointers on how to be, um, better with her?”

“Sure,” I agreed, chuckling. “Catch up with me later and I give you some hints. She’s not shy about telling you what she likes, though.” I patted him on the back and headed to my bag to get some bathing supplies.

Carrying shampoo, soap, a towel, and some new clothes, I headed to my “private pool” just inside the tree line from the stream’s outflow into the ocean.