Stranded - Chapter 12

STRANDED

Chapter 12: The Boat

“Fuck, you’re right…” Jonas whispered, in shock.

“We have to do something! Do you think it’s getting closer?”

At this point, the boat was only a white point in the vast horizon.

“I’m not sure, Adam. I don’t think she can see us.”

“Well, hurry! We have to make sure the captain knows we need help!”

“Man, it’s too far away. I think it’s just passing by, doesn’t look like a rescue ship or anything. Maybe a cruising boat?”

Adam did not understand Jonas’ reaction.

It was their chance of getting the hell away from this island, after more than three weeks stranded there.

“We have to make the fire so big they’ll have to notice something!”

“If it’s a cruising boat, they won’t come to see what it is about…”

“Jonas, what the hell?! We gotta try! They might call a team to check a weird black smock coming from a supposed to be deserted island! Right?!”

“Yeah… I… I guess you’re right.”

Still dripping with cum at the tip of his deflated cock, Adam ran towards the fire. It was only embers at this stage but he could revive it quickly. He had become a pro at this.

Jonas followed him, unsure.

He was overwhelmed and it was not only because of the boat.

He had just lived a life-changing experience. He had sucked a freaking dick for the first time and he had liked it.

No, he had loved it actually, ever second of it.

His nose in the bushy pubes, his tongue against the balls, the smell of the sweaty junks, the taste of the musky asshole underneath, the sensation of being choked while gagging on the dripping bone.

He had also caught a tuna; they had food for days right now!

Why did they had to leave now?

And their shelters, he had so many ideas to improve their living conditions even more…

He thought he could build a mansion.

But now… Everything was about to vanish because of a damn cruising boat wandering in the Pacific Ocean.

Jonas stood there, unable to move. He looked at Adam hurrying to the fire and alimenting it with kindles and logs.

Adam did not even register Jonas’ passiveness.

When they had been thrown off to the island, he had promised himself he would get his best friend out of this situation.

He still felt guilty about the accident.

He was loving spending time with Jonas but his survival instinct was stronger than anything.

For God’s sake, they could not live stranded here forever! They had to be rescued… Right?

He threw other stuff in the fire, notably pieces of plastic they had found drifting onto the shore, he wanted the smoke to be as dark and cloudy as possible.

For a split second, he thought the boat was getting closer to them, but then, it seemed like it was only getting away.

He could see that it was quite a sizeable ship.

Damn, it was so close and so far away at the same time.

“We’re here!” He screamed in the void.

“Adam, they cannot hear you.”

He turned to Jonas.

“Okay… But… At least I’m trying! Help me out with the fire!”

Jonas’ face changed.

His expression was very grave.

He had never felt such a turmoil and, in line with his character, he reacted impulsively.

He did the only thing that made sense for him at the time.

The stupidest thing you could think of.

They were keeping freshwater on the side of the camp in a makeshift recipient. Jonas walked towards it, grabbed it and threw the entire content on the fire, almost extinguishing it completely.

Adam looked at the scene without registering what was happening.

It was like watching a movie or dreaming. A hallucination maybe?

Jonas had not just destroyed their main chance of being seen. He could not have done that.

“J… Joe.”

Except that he did.

Jonas looked down at the fire, equally in shock of his own action.

“Fuck…” He muttered.

“Jonas?! What the… What the freaking hell?!”

“I…”

What could he say?

He did not even understand his reaction himself.

It was likely that he had just killed them both.

Adam started running like a mad man toward the ocean.

“HEEEELP! WE’RE HERE! HEEEEELP!”

He screamed at the top of his lungs.

Jonas was shaking.

He thought about making the fire again but now, everything was humid and there was a lot of wind that morning.

“What did I do… What did I do… What did I do…”

“S.O.S.! HELP! WE’RE SUVIVORS! HELP! PER FAVOR!”

As he saw his best friend losing his shit, trying to swim in the ocean, cracking his voice as he cried for help, Jonas wanted to run the other way around.

How could he look in Adam’s eyes ever again?

They were trapped here because of him.

“What did I do… What did I do… What did I do…”

“HELP US! PLEASE! PLEASE!”

There was no doubt now that the cruise ship was getting away. She became harder to distinguish in the endless blue of the sky and the ocean.

They would not be rescued.

Not that day anyway…

But Adam kept yelling, howling for help.

“WE’RE HERE! WE NEED RESCUE! PER FAVOR! PER FAVOR!”

It was pointless.

He continued screaming and crying long after the boat was completely out of sight.

Jonas went to sit further away, looking in the opposite direction.

He felt empty, drained.

At least, he was numb.

Adam was just angry, frustrated, mad.

It had all happened too fast. Jonas blowing his dick, the bliss, the sight of the boat, the hope, and suddenly, everything being taken away from him, his best friend betraying him, the ship disappearing in the horizon.

Since he did not know what to say, he said nothing.

In fact, the boys did not exchange a word for the rest of the day, reveling in their bitterness.

After a couple of hours, Adam returned to the camp and prepared a meal.

He did put some aside from Jonas but he was on the other side of the beach, refusing any contact.

He ate much later, just before dusk, and only because he had to. His stomach had rumbled all afternoon.

Just like a married couple in crisis, that night, they slept in separate rooms.

Adam went up to the cave, still without a word, and Jonas slept on the camp on the beach.

He did make the fire again before the sun was fully set. They had better tools now and he was getting much better at it.

*

They did not talk the next morning, and the more they were staying silent, the more difficult it was to engage conversation again.

To discuss what? The rescue? To apologize? To try understanding each other? That would have certainly been the right thing to do.

It was like their feelings were stuck in their throat, unable to come out.

In total, and as crazy as this may sound, they did not talk for three full days afterwards.

Not a single word.

They still cared about each other, checked on one another, they ended up sleeping again in the cave, but there were no longer entwined, simply lying side by side.

They did not need to talk to know what they had to do for their survival. Fishing, cooking, brining back water, exploring, taking care of the fire…

They kept doing what they were supposed to do but they spent more time on their owns and their mouths stayed shut.

No more blowjobs, no more fooling around.

Jonas marked the 25th line for their 25th day on the island.

This was the moment when the danger came back.

He felt them before even hearing or seeing them.

He turned around and there was not just one set of yellow eyes looking at him through the bushes, but a half dozen of them.

A pack of jaguars.

One of them growling.

“Ah.” Jonas gasped.

He grabbed his machete.

Adam was on his way to the cave when it happened. He had just left Jonas behind.

The jaguars came out of the bush but they stayed on the edge on the beach. They did not like the sand too much apparently.

Jonas thought he was about to die and he screamed.

“Adam, I’m sorry!”

Those were the first and only words that came out of his mouth.

It probably said a lot about what truly mattered to him.

The sound echoing through the island gave chills to Adam. He stopped in his track and turned around, in a hyper-alert state.

He ran toward a spot on the hills from which he could see the beach.

Quickly, he saw his best friend with the machete in his right hand facing the beasts.

Adam’s heart dropped in his chest.

“No…”

He was holding a torch, - they always did when walking through the jungle -, he almost dropped it as he watched the scene.

This was utterly terrifying.

Without thinking, he turned around and went on his steps, running toward the beach.

He had to save him, one way or another.

His stress was unnecessary.

When Jonas screamed, the jaguars got scared.  

They were not threatening. Human flesh did not interest them. They were mostly curious.

In fact, the creatures were beautiful.

A family, Jonas thought.

When Adam arrived on the beach, panting but ready to fight, he was welcomed by a trembling but giddy Jonas.

“What… What are you doing, man? You wanted to fight the jaguars with a damn torch?”

“Joe! I… I saw you from above. I thought you were about to get….”

“Eaten?”

“Attacked!”

“I thought so too, but apparently, I don’t look good enough.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It kinda is… What are you doing here, Adam?”

“I tried to help you, idiot.”

“That is kinda stupid, risking your own life, for me.”

“I didn’t… I didn’t have time to assess the situation, I just ran.”

Jonas smiled.

“I’m fine. You can relax. I don’t think they’re after us.”

“Oh… Okay.”

Silence fell upon the boys once again. The sun was setting behind them.

It lasted for a good minute but this time, Jonas intervened.

“We’re not going to do that again… The silence treatment, I mean… Right?”

“Right.”

“Adam, I… I’m sorry. I really am.”

“About what?”

Jonas rolled his eyes.

“You know… The fire.”

“Why did you do that? I still cannot wrap my head around that.”

Jonas scratched the back of his head.

“I don’t know, honestly, I’ve been thinking about it non-stop for the last few days. It’s just… I didn’t want to be rescued, not so soon… I’ve been so happy here, with you.”

“So, because your little survivor adventure has been going so well, you don’t care about us dying?”

“No. I realize this place is dangerous.”

“I mean, you said it yourself, the jaguars ain’t threatening, so we’re fine, right? When the season will change and we’ll have storms every single day, we’ll be okay too? When we’ll have freaking cavities because we can’t brush our teeth, we’ll be fine. We'll just have to pull our own teeth! Easy!”

“This is such a dentist thing to say.”

Adam chuckled nervously.

“Well, yeah, I think about those sorts of things.”

“And I don’t think about anything…”

“Clearly not! You put out the fire while rescue was potentially on the way.”

“I know, I have no excuse.”

“You just want to live your Robinson fantasy but…”

“That’s not it, I swear!”

“Then what?!”

“I have no idea! But I am truly sorry. You know that you’re the one who matters the most to me and this is why I shouldn’t have done what I did. I guess I just wanted to spend more time with you… It was just after the… When I…”

“When you sucked my dick. You can say it out loud you know.”

“We weren’t not saying much out loud recently.”

Adam sighed and softened up.

“That’s fair.”

“I feel bad about the potential rescue. I know you want to get the hell out of here.  I do too… I reacted impulsively.”

“If that can make you feel better, I don’t think the smoke would have worked. The boat was so far away… Just like the commercial planes, way too high in the sky to see the damn S.O.S.”

“If something happens to you now, I’ll never forgive myself. I… I promise, Adam, I’ll do everything to get you back to the mainland.”

“Jonas, you think I didn’t enjoy what we’ve been doing?”

“You did?”

“Come on… I’ve been swallowing your cum twice a day. Don’t make that face, that’s just the truth.”

“I suppose.” Jonas grinned.

“The fact that I enjoy it doesn’t mean we have to stay here, living alongside the monkeys and the jaguars.”

“I’m not sure about anything anymore… I know it’s wrong, I know we have people waiting for us in the real world but… For a moment, I didn’t want to return to that. It was too soon.”

“You think that I do want to return to my life? You think I want to go back to my patients? You think I want to be with Erica as if nothing has happened?”

“You don’t want to be your wife anymore?”

“I… It’s complicated.”

“But we’ll have to, Adam. Once we’ll get out of here…”

“If ever…”

“Yes, if we get out of here. We’ll have to return to our lives.”

“God, Jonas! Are you hearing yourself? You think we have only two options, surviving here together until we die one way or another, or going back to our old lives! You know what your reaction tells me about you?”

“Oh, please, enlighten me because sincerely, I have no idea what I feel.”

“You don’t really like me. You’re having fun here, but at no point, you’re thinking about us seriously.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“The reason why I most want to get off that fucking island is precisely because I feel like I’ve been wasting so many years of my life and that I finally know what can truly make me happy. And you know what that does to me?! It makes me want to live, to live a long fulfilling life where I’m not afraid of losing you every damn minute!”

“Oh… I…”

“And you’re clearly not there yet. And probably, you’ll never be. See, I don’t think my feelings for you are just about having a good time on a deserted island, Jonas.”

“Your feelings for me?”

Another awkward silence.

Jonas let go of his machete he was holding this whole time.

“What now?” Adam asked with a little voice.

“You would be ready to leave Erica? I mean, we’re talking about divorce here.” Jonas spoke.

“I… I don’t know, I didn’t think about it this way but… I… I do have feelings for you, as fucked up as it is.”

Jonas walked closer to Adam.

He wiped a tear falling on his cheek, dripping on his furnished beard.

“I think I have feelings for you too, as fucked up as it is indeed. And I think that’s why I put out the damn fire. I’m sorry.”

“That was very dumb.”

“Yeah, we might get cavities and need dentists’ appointments even more now…” Jonas joked.

“And we both know how much you hate dentists.”

“I cannot stand them.” Jonas whispered before kissing Adam.

The kiss solved their conflict and after three days without any physical contact, it was certainly their most passionate to date.

But did it really solve the bigger issue?

What if another boat showed up? Would they hump on it or hide on the island?

[Since I'm taking a break next week, chapter 13 of Stranded is coming up in two weeks! Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

FYI, this story will be 16 chapters total and therefore, we're entering the final arc here!]