Island Rush by Marien Dore

berries, but we will need more than that. Like fish and crabs.  We should be able to find more on land too while we stay here.”
    “So ‘stay here’ as in we are building a shelter here?”
    “Well it’s the best place,” he said, walking back up to shore, exposing his strong body and wet cargo shorts.  He walked up to the berry bushes and grabbed the suitcase and my clothes I had on, moving it closer to where we were.  He started looking around at our temporary home.
    I got out after going under one more time.  I grabbed my black shorts, sliding them on.  Mr. Rush stared at me from where I stood next to him, looking me over with an expression I could not identify.
    In the next moment, he moved and grabbed another shirt from the bag with the belt. He weaved the handmade belt under my arm and out the other, taking the two ends.  He tucked the shirt into the belt and came around to tie it tightly.  With his action, it caused me to jerk forward with it.  Even more, when his hand brushed against my skin in the process, it made my heart jerk too. He looked up to my eyes blankly, staring deeply.
    “What?” I asked nervously.
    He shook his head and backed away after he was finished. “Nothing,” he whispered.
    I watched him, confused. Then, something snapped me out of it. A low beeping sound. One that set off warning bells in my head.  There was no way a sound like that should be here. It only beeped once, and it was enough for me to know what it was. It came from my pocket where I had put my phone yesterday morning.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
    The morning of the crash came back to me with a squeeze in my chest.  I had put my phone in my pocket and never turned it off. I guess I was too anxious to really hear the announcement to shut them off before take-off. But what I couldn’t understand was how it still worked!
    That wasn’t something I was willing to ponder over at the moment. Mr. Rush’s eyes grew and flashed down to my black shorts. I let out a gasp as I retrieved the device and saw it worked. The beeping noise was a warning.  My phone was close to dying and needed charging.
    “Call somebody!” he practically yelled.
    Who could I call? I couldn’t even think! I felt the phone being snatched from my fingers. His own flew over the buttons, dialing with rapid speed and determination. His eyes were bright with excitement when he put the phone to his ear. There was such hope reclaimed at that moment that we both thought was nearly lost before.
    He pulled it away and looked at the screen after a minute. The hope dimmed as he saw that there was no service.  He didn’t – and couldn’t afford to – care, though.  There was so much determination in his face to reach somebody. Stretching his arm into the air, he held the phone up to get a signal as he slowly walked in circles.
    It turned into a long process those few minutes. Of our hopes rising and falling with every movement he made.  It was torture when we knew that phone would die any second.  That’s why he didn’t waste time when we had no service in that area. He moved with purpose towards the waterfall.  
    I followed behind him as he took swift steps, going up the bank of rocks by the falling and rushing water. The man decided to move cautiously up those rocks on the side of the hill.  He moved parallel but in the opposite direction of the gushing waterfall.  Mr. Rush stopped every few seconds, bringing his outstretched hand down to check the screen. That was until his features changed when he stared at the phone’s screen the next time he did that.  
    “Did you get a signal?” I asked loudly up to him over the slight roar of the falls.
    He looked the few yards down to where I was.  “It’s ringing!”  A bright smile grew on his face.  It was such a relieving sight… only to be taken away.
    His expression was that of a child on Christmas morning, only to be instantly crushed. Every color and emotion were drained from