Island Rush by Marien Dore Page A

his features as he rapidly moved his hand away from his ear, staring at the phone.
    I knew it wasn’t dead yet.  He suddenly moved back down the rocks.  The man’s eyes continued darting to the screen as he climbed down, except he was more frantic and less cautious. He needed that signal, and his conclusion was he needed to try a different spot.
    Reaching the bottom, he staggered back around to where we were before.  He kept going until he reached the split in the lake that started a flowing river down to the ocean. He stepped into the shallow water there, walking to the center of the creek and stood, ankle deep.  There was no need for him to wait long this time. The expression on his face looked insane when he pulled the phone back down to his ear and waited. “I have service again,” he said to me.
    I studied the small stream, the sun hitting the water and making it shimmer under the rays. And in the shadows along the banks, there were overgrown tree branches and vines that spilled out over the water.  Shades of red, brown, and green of the stones glowed from under the wet surface. In the middle of it all… was a desperate and worrying man. 
    I stepped from the bank and walked out to him, my feet hitting those small colorful rocks as the current washed past me. I reached the middle and stood next to him as he still held the phone to his ear. I leaned into him, putting my ear as close as I could to hear the slight ring. It seemed to go on forever and with still no answer.
    Then, it stopped. But there was no answer on the other end. Mr. Rush seemed to realize this and slowly pulled the phone away from his ear, fearing what he would see on the screen. It was my fear too — and it came true.  Nothing glowed on the screen of my phone. It was dead.
    He stalked back to the bank, not giving me the chance to see his expression.  Staring at his back as I followed behind him back up the bank, I could see the tension in his body as he moved.  Not to mention the air around him completely changed.  This damaged him, and I saw the extent of that damage when we were both back on the bank.
    He swiftly turned to me, surprising me with his sudden movement. The moment he did that, though, I could see it plain on his face.  I realized that throughout all of this, he was hiding his fear, his sadness, and worry. He played the tough guy this whole time, but I saw that was just another mask of his. He was terrified of our future and who might be alive and dead in it. Neither of us really wanted to acknowledge the future or the reality of the situation.
    However, the reality was that there wasn’t much of a chance of escaping this place. Even with the chance of our message on the beach being seen, it didn’t help. Who would look closely enough to see that? Who would actually be able to see that in the first place?  I think this whole time, Mr. Rush knew that was a hope that couldn’t be relied on.  And when what seemed to be a miracle came – my phone – he couldn’t hide how worried he was. He lost his hope and faith about leaving here when that phone died. I could see it.  Now, he gave me the chance to hear it when he turned to face me.
    “How could you be so selfish?” he hissed at me, catching me off guard.  “Why would you do this to me?” His voice picked up enough to be classified as yelling.  His eyes though with that tone… it was begging.
    “W-What?” I gaped at him.  How was I the cause?
    “You knew you had that phone. We could have been out of here.  But you just let it sit in your pocket, for over a day, waiting for it to die.”
    “Why would I do that?” I asked, outraged.
    “You don’t want to leave this place! I know you don’t. You would rather stay here than face your shitty life back home!”
    “You think I would do that to you?! I wouldn’t drag you down with me, leaving you stranded with me no matter what I want.  No matter if I hate my life and want to stay here because I know you