DAY ELEVEN
Man thinks himself strong,
Until the sky reminds him.
Ants explore green trees.
The Island
The rain came not long after dawn, dripping from a somber sky as if a trillion wet towels hung above. A schizophrenic wind started and stopped and changed directions. The wind’s uncertainty seemed to infect every creature on the island with a similar sense of bewilderment. Birds flew toward distant horizons and then flew back. Frogs ceased to croak. Insects were suddenly nowhere to be seen. Even the fish that usually darted about the shallows sought deeper water.
Standing in the rain, Joshua scanned the sky, which perplexed him greatly. He’d seen such skies before and knew that they portended nothing good. But these conditions had arrived so fast. He’d gone to sleep with little more than a gentle wind and gray clouds, and had awoken to a world that seemed at odds with itself. Is this why the destroyer left? he anxiously asked himself. Was she seeking safer waters?
Roger stood next to Joshua, trying to read his face as hard as Joshua was trying to read the weather. He knew that his adversary was debating putting the lifeboat to sea. And he very much wanted the captain and his wife to drown. “What do you think?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
Joshua grimaced, not wanting Roger’s company and in no mood for such a conversation. “That a storm is coming,” he replied. “A big storm.”
Recalling how the fool had tried to keep up with him in the jungle, and knowing that his failure to do so was a sore spot, Roger said, “Why don’t I row the boat to the cave? I could make better time than anyone.”
“I don’t think you’d find it from the sea. It’s almost impossible to spot.”
“It can’t be that hard. You found it easy enough.”
Joshua pretended that Roger’s words didn’t register. Licking his finger, he held it aloft. After its temperamental start, the wind seemed to be mostly blowing from the southeast. Though he was tempted to turn the lifeboat upside down over the food and lash the boat down, Isabelle had awoken with a bad stomach ache, and he didn’t want her making the difficult trek across the island. “If something develops,” he said, “it’s not going to happen for a few hours. That’s plenty of time for me to row around the island.”
Roger wanted to smile. Instead he said, “Well, you’d better get going.”
Uncertain what to think of Roger’s behavior, Joshua nodded and walked over to the lifeboat. The vessel was filled with all of their provisions. The slices of fish that were already dry had been carefully wrapped in leaves and shouldn’t succumb to the elements. The medical supplies, a pile of fresh fruit, and several full canteens lay in the stern of the craft. Knowing that he’d occupy an entire seat to row the boat, and that their supplies consumed a great deal of space, Joshua figured that he could take two passengers. Ratu had already asked for a spot, so that meant that he, Isabelle, and Ratu would soon be leaving.
Joshua found his two traveling companions and Jake. He asked Jake to help launch the boat, and soon the two men pushed it toward the water. When the craft touched the sea, Joshua returned to camp. With Jake, Roger, and Nathan crowded around him, he said, “I want to leave before the storm gets any worse.”
“That ain’t an awful idea, Captain,” Jake said.
Joshua glanced around camp and saw that Annie and Akira were huddled under the banyan tree. “Where’s Scarlet?” he asked.
“Atop the hill, sir,” Nathan said, worried for her, wishing that she hadn’t insisted on going up alone.
Joshua sighed. “She’s not going to spot a ship in this mess.”
“Easier to spy a penny in a puddle,” Jake replied. “Want me to fetch her?”
“Yes, please. And when you get back to camp, everyone immediately head to the cave. I don’t like the looks of this storm. Not one bit.”
Jake shook Joshua’s hand. “Good luck, Captain. I reckon we’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Do you remember my instructions on how to find the cave?”
“I surely do.”
Joshua nodded. “I’ve still got the matches from the lifeboat. And I’ll have a good fire going by the time you arrive. Just get everyone there in one piece, and then this storm can do whatever God intends.”
Jake and Nathan followed Joshua back to the lifeboat. They helped Isabelle climb over the high gunwale. Ratu had already seated himself at the bow. “Let’s go!” he said excitedly. “I want to get out in those waves!”
About to launch the lifeboat, the men paused when Annie suddenly ran down from camp. She carried two giant leaves, which she handed to Ratu and Isabelle. “Try to stay dry,” she said to her sister.
“I’ve been dry and hot for ten days,” Isabelle replied, though she held the leaf above her. Smiling despite the ache in her stomach, she added, “You should get going, Annie. Don’t forget to keep heading due east after you cross the third stream. And when you hit the beach, walk—”
“We’ve been over all this before,” Annie said, putting her hands against the lifeboat. “Now off you go!”
Annie, Joshua, Nathan, and Jake pushed the lifeboat into the harbor. When the water was up to his thighs, Joshua put his hands atop the gunwale and hoisted himself aboard. He sat down, turning his back to the bow, so that he faced the shore. Taking an oar in each hand, he began to row into deeper water.
“Please be a dear and turn back the sheets for us!” Annie said melodramatically in a thick British accent. “And do get some music going. And a few cocktails, if I may say so!”
Knowing that something had made Annie quite happy, Isabelle laughed. “Shall I ring the maid and have her tidy up before we arrive?” she asked in a similar voice.
“Oh yes. Please do! That would be most lovely.”
“What are you talking about?” Ratu wondered. “And why do you bloody sound like that? I tell you, women are crazy.”
The sisters laughed as the boat pulled away. “I do so adore your umbrella,” Annie shouted. “Did you encounter it in Paris?”
Isabelle lifted her giant green leaf. “Venice, my dear! Venice! It’s the latest Italian fabric. Quite charming, isn’t it?”
Annie held her sides and grinned, waving good-bye. “I love you all!”
Isabelle blew her sister a kiss and watched her grow smaller as the lifeboat continued into deeper water. She couldn’t help but wonder why Annie was so happy, standing in the rain. What had happened? Had Akira done something for her? Or was she simply excited to be moving to the cave?
Pleased for Annie but not possessing any answers, Isabelle turned her thoughts elsewhere. The ache in her stomach wouldn’t leave her in peace, though she didn’t pay it much heed. Aches were a part of her life, after all. If she didn’t hurt at the end of the day, that meant she hadn’t worked hard enough, hadn’t seen enough patients.
“How long will it take?” she asked Joshua, who appeared to be straining at the oars.
“I don’t know. Two hours. Maybe three.”
“Don’t overdo it,” she replied, noting his smile, but also that his knuckles were turning white on the oars, and that a vein bulged in his neck each time he leaned back and pulled.
BENEATH THE BANYAN TREE, the rain seemed less oppressive. Nathan, Annie, and Akira sat at its base, watching the distant lifeboat become fainter. Roger stood a few feet away, facing the trio. He said nothing, but stared at them as if he were a predator and they his prey. Jake had left to find Scarlet, and though Akira was at her side, Annie wished that Jake would return. Roger’s eyes unnerved her, almost immediately spoiling her good mood.
“I’m taking a walk,” she said suddenly, unable to bear Roger’s presence. “Would anyone like to join me?”
“In the rain?” Nathan asked, wanting to accompany her but suspecting that she hoped Akira would rise.
Akira bowed slightly and stood. “I would most enjoy a walk.”
Nathan smiled. He believed that Annie and Akira were falling in love, and was greatly pleased for them. Watching them reminded him of his own courtship. “Don’t get washed away,” he said, thinking of his wife.
Annie said good-bye and led Akira down the beach. They deviated briefly from their intended path to pull two immense leaves from a rambling bush. Strolling beneath the leaves, they edged closer to the water.
“Please do not let Roger bother you,” Akira said, watching the rain roll off her leaf.
“That’s impossible. I’m not a Buddhist, you know.”
“Well—”
“But I can let other things occupy my mind.”
“Like what, may I ask?”
“Like last night.”
He saw a beautiful shell but didn’t pause to pick it up. So intent was he on her words that he could consider nothing else. “You asked me to show you how I felt,” he said, trying to keep his voice from revealing his anxiety. “Did I do this?”
Annie wanted to take his hand, but knowing that eyes were upon her, she merely walked closer to him. “I don’t know . . . I don’t have any idea how to describe it, but last night . . . last night I felt like a different person. Like I was reborn.”
“Maybe you are a Buddhist after all,” he replied, overjoyed with her answer.
She looked at him, her face tight with incredulity. “How did you do that to me? I had no idea . . . that someone could do that to me.”
“Make you feel reborn?”
“Yes. That little thing.”
Smiling, he watched a miniature wave plunge upon her toes. “You were not the only one who felt such things.”
“What did you feel?”
“Alive. So very alive. And I felt a sort of . . . wonder at being so alive. I did not ever expect to feel that way.”
“I’m glad, Akira. I’m so glad you felt that way.”
A sudden and powerful gust of wind sent rain flying horizontally into their faces. “We should go back, yes?” he asked.
Annie shook her head. “I don’t like that man.”
“That is because he tries to frighten you.”
“Why? Why does he do it?”
“Because he is a coward, and that is what cowards do best.”
“He doesn’t look like a coward. He’s strong and cunning, and I don’t think he enjoys seeing us together. And that scares me.”
Akira stopped. “Please do not worry about him, Annie.” He looked to the west, following the lifeboat as it disappeared, noting how the rain seemed to rise after striking the sea. “There is . . . a side of me that I have not shown you,” he said, his voice reticent. “The side that war made. And although I . . . I despise this side, it can overcome a man like Roger.”
Despite the strengthening storm, she dropped her leaf and took his hand in hers. “I just want to see the side that I saw last night.”
He watched raindrops race down her face. She looked so exposed, as if her old fears of the future had suddenly resurfaced. He touched a tiny piece of the sky as it tumbled down her cheek. “You said you have been searching for me, yes?”
“I have been.”
“Unlike you, I did not know that I was searching. But for a long time I have been jealous of that gardener. And now . . . now I no longer am.”
“Why not?”
“Because I too have found something precious. Something that eclipses all else. And I will take care of it as best as I can.”
BEYOND THE PLEASANT CONFINES OF THE HARBOR, the sea’s true passions were revealed. With the wind picking up substantially, three-foot waves slammed into the side of the boat, inundating Ratu, Isabelle, and Joshua with spray. His hands already blistering against the oars, Joshua rowed as hard as possible. At the bow of the boat, Ratu leaned forward, so that his head and chest were above the water. With each rise and fall of the craft, he let out a jubilant cry.
Though Isabelle felt nauseated, she tried to hide her discomfort from Joshua. She could tell that he was quite worried about the storm, and she didn’t want to burden him with additional anxiety. Instead, she managed to catch his eye on occasion and give him a nod of encouragement. Each of them had put on a life jacket, and Isabelle constantly adjusted the straps of her vest, trying to get comfortable.
Looking at the island, Isabelle was surprised to see how morose it appeared in the rain. The vibrant jungle and sparkling beaches were rendered to near insignificance by the storm. The wind howled, and as she faced the island, Isabelle’s back was struck by rain and spray that strong gusts drove against her.
Joshua had planned to round the southern end of the island and then head north to the eastern beach. Glancing south, Isabelle saw that the tip of the island was still fairly distant. They didn’t seem to be making particularly good time, and she wondered how much stronger the storm would become.
“Another two hours to the cave?” she asked, shouting above the wind.
“Hopefully less,” he replied, grimacing as he pulled on the oars. “If it gets too bad, we’ll head ashore and walk.”
“No, no, no!” Ratu interjected. “Why would we walk when we can ride these bloody waves? I tell you, that makes no sense. And this will be such a cracking good story!”
Joshua eyed the sea. “It certainly will.”
“Are you knackered, Captain? Would you like me to help? I’m good at rowing.”
“Knackered?”
“Are you tired, Captain? Do you need a break?”
“Oh. Well, maybe later, Ratu. But thank you for asking.”
A large swell caught the starboard side of the boat, tilting it up, letting it roll into the trough. “Mother Mary,” Isabelle whispered, fighting back the urge to vomit. Joshua glanced at her and then paused for a moment to look at his raw hands. Seeing her husband’s discomfort, she tried to ignore her nausea. Opening the medical kit, she used the scalpel to cut two strips of cloth from her shirt. “Wrap these around your hands,” she said, handing the strips to Joshua.
He did as she said. “Are you alright?” he asked worriedly. “You look awfully pale.”
“I’m fine. Just a bit seasick.”
Joshua strained to propel the lifeboat even faster. He now felt almost certain that a typhoon was on its way, as they were at the height of the storm season, and the elements that assaulted them were behaving so strangely. Already since they’d been at sea, the temperature had dropped considerably. And the wind was strengthening by the minute. Knowing that nowhere on the island would be safe but the cave, Joshua hoped that the rest of the group had started their walk. He debated putting the lifeboat ashore, but believed he could get Isabelle to the cave quicker by sea than by land.
“Is the worst over?” she asked when a sudden lull in the wind quieted the world about them.
He started to lie but realized that she always dealt in truths and always sought truths. “The worst is yet to come,” he said simply.
“Oh.”
“So we need to get to our cave. Everyone needs to get to our cave.”
“What can I do to help?”
Despite his pain and fear, Joshua felt a sudden sense of pride at her strength. “Hand Ratu that canteen by your feet so that he can bail out the water we’re taking on. It’s slowing us up.”
Within a minute, Ratu was ridding the lifeboat of water almost as fast as the storm was dumping it in. Seeing that Ratu couldn’t keep up, Isabelle stuck a finger down her throat, made herself vomit over the side of the boat, and then picked up another canteen and started to help.
SCARLET AND JAKE finally appeared at the banyan tree. A few words were uttered, and the group headed into the jungle with Roger leading the way. The storm followed them into the foliage, beating against their backs. Trees writhed as if being tortured. Coconuts dropped like bombs. A parrot tried to fly into the wind and was sent backward, exploding in a burst of green feathers against a boulder.
“Watch out for them darn coconuts!” Jake shouted, after one narrowly missed Nathan’s head.
The storm gathered its strength and truly began to assault the island. Trees bent like grass. Branches, nests, and animals tumbled from the jungle’s canopy as if the world had been turned upside down. Streams that had been inches deep now flowed like small rivers, cascading over rocks and fallen branches. The ground was littered with debris or occasionally was nothing more than a deep layer of mud.
Scarlet had already climbed up and down the hill, and now moved slower than everyone else. Jake held her hand. He used his strength to pull her up rises, to lift her over obstacles. The deeper they got into the jungle, the harder it became to make progress. Storm-generated water-falls tumbled from heights above. Rain and debris pelted them with alarming intensity.
Roger, who walked at the front of the group, debated leading everyone astray. They were blindly following him, and he doubted that any of them remembered the captain’s instructions on how to find the cave. How easy, he thought, to lead the pigs to the island’s center and to leave them there. And how wonderful to watch them from afar and listen to the screams of the skirts as the typhoon descended upon them. They’d be scattered like insects.
Immediately behind Roger, Akira helped Annie forward. Though his leg was still slightly stiff, it didn’t hamper him. Akira had survived typhoons while in the woods of Japan, and knew how to navigate the jungle, knew which trees were unduly stressed and would likely fall. He ushered Annie ahead, somehow simultaneously staying aware of dangers above their heads and at their feet.
Though such a scene would have once overwhelmed Annie with fear, she wasn’t unreasonably afraid of the storm. On the contrary, with Akira leading and protecting her, she felt rather safe. She’d never felt so secure with a man, even with Ted and his seemingly infinite talents. The difference, she knew, was that some friends and loved ones would sacrifice her before themselves. Even Ted might. However, such self-preservation was not the case with Akira. He’d never leave her when she needed him, and that belief was of great solace to her.
At the rear of the group, Scarlet stumbled, banging her knee into a slick rock. Wiping blood and dirt from a deep cut in her flesh, she began to cry. Without a word, Jake picked her up and gently draped her over his shoulder. “It’ll be fine, miss,” he promised, carrying her as carefully as he could.
Though Jake was strong and sure, maintaining the pace of the rest of the group soon became impossible. He started to lag, which prompted Nathan, Annie, and Akira to slow. Seeing that everyone was falling behind him, Roger cursed and hurried back to the group. “What the hell’s wrong with you?” he shouted at Scarlet, enraged that someone’s weakness could put his life in danger.
“She’s hurt—”
“That’s nothing but a scratch!” he yelled, interrupting Nathan.
“She’s already climbed to the lookout point and back,” Annie replied, her fists on her hips. “She’s tired and hurt!”
A tree groaned beside them, fighting the strength of the wind. “Don’t you maggots see what’s happening?” Roger shouted. “A typhoon’s coming! If she can’t keep up, dump her! We’ll be better off without her anyway! She’s a worthless old hag!”
Annie put her hand on Scarlet’s back. “You leave her alone!”
“We all know it’s true!”
“Get away from her!”
“Scarlet is coming with us,” Akira said, lifting her from Jake’s shoulder so that he and Jake could carry her between them. “We are much better off with her.”
“You’re a fool, monkey man,” Roger said, roughly bumping into Akira. In a few seconds, Roger was back at the head of the column. Akira and Jake each put an arm around Scarlet and helped her move forward. Annie walked behind them, hating Roger, trying to protect Scarlet from falling limbs.
Still furious that their progress was being hampered by nothing more than a split knee, Roger continued to set a brisk pace. He decided that if the others couldn’t keep up with him, so be it. He’d leave them to fend for themselves, and if they all died, he’d have to forgo the pleasure of Annie’s company, but otherwise would be rid of five stones in his shoe. “I won’t wait!” he shouted, not bothering to listen to their replies. “So you’d better start to drag the old hag!”
THE SEA HAD MUTATED into some kind of wet inferno. The wind whipped up waves that rocked the lifeboat to and fro. As the waves crested, their tops were gathered by the wind and sent flying horizontally. The sky was the shade of coal. The air was so laden with rain that it seemed a mere extension of the sea. Like the salt water, the rain sailed almost horizontally, pelting the side of the lifeboat so ferociously that the noise produced was almost as loud as the shrieking wind.
Turning to eye the distant shoreline, Joshua looked for the break in the cliffs that marked the entrance to the cave. Though visibility was too poor for him to see their destination, he knew he was headed in the right direction. Now that he’d rounded the tip of the island and was rowing toward the eastern shore, the wind was directly behind him and pushed the lifeboat forward as if it were a leaf.
“Ratu!” he shouted. “Ratu, get to the bow and warn me of any reefs!”
Ratu stumbled forward, the rain stinging his exposed flesh. “What do I do?”
“Tell me how far the reefs are ahead, and whether they’re on the port or starboard side!”
“Starboard?”
“Right or left! Tell me if they’re on the right or left!”
Lightning cracked overhead, and Joshua cursed himself for putting them in such danger. He’d been foolish to think he could outrun the storm. Wiping salt water from his eyes with a bloody hand, he continued to row, staring straight back behind the boat, watching the storm grow closer. Like most seamen, he considered storms to be living things. He knew that this one was feeding off the warm waters of the South Pacific, feeding and growing larger. How far away is the eye? he wondered, trying to fight his way through his panic. How much time do we have?
“What can I do?” Isabelle shouted.
“Watch for rocks! Help Ratu watch for rocks!”
Joshua tried to row as upright as possible, for with the wind blowing them straight into shore, his body acted as a sail. “Must be a sixty-knot wind,” he muttered to himself, knowing that it would grow stronger. “Oh, Lord, please let me get them to safety. Please protect them.”
“A rock to the right!” Ratu screamed.
Joshua stuck his right oar deeply into the sea and pulled his left oar from it. The lifeboat immediately turned from danger.
“Brilliant!” Ratu yelled. “Bloody good work, Captain!”
A new roar grew to fill his ears, and Joshua realized that they were approaching the surf. “Find a channel!” he shouted. “Find a channel free of rocks and get us to the beach!”
Thunder boomed, causing each of them to duck lower. “There’s a way!” Isabelle announced. “When I tell you, go to the left!”
Joshua glanced at the bottom of the lifeboat and saw that it had a good four inches of water in it. He started to ask Ratu to bail once more, but decided that he didn’t want him leaving the bow.
“Now!” Isabelle shouted. “Go left!”
Joshua did as she commanded and the lifeboat slowly changed course.
“And now straight!” she said.
He put his weight equally behind both oars, pulling hard.
“And now right! Right, Joshua, right!”
Hearing the panic in her voice, he furiously worked to get the boat to change direction again. The waves were growing larger as they approached the shore, and each swell rolled the boat forward. He knew that if a wave picked the boat up and dropped it on a reef, they’d be swimming for their lives.
“That’s it!” Ratu yelled. “Ha! Good job, Captain! Cracking good job, I tell you!”
“Yes!” Isabelle added. “Yes, now just go forward! We’ve a straight shot to the beach!”
“Keep looking for rocks!” Joshua shouted, blood dripping from his palms. “Ratu, start bailing! Get that water out of here!”
Wishing that his father could see him, Ratu jumped to the floor of the lifeboat and began to dump out water as quickly as possible. The wind screamed in his ears and the rain stung his eyes. He looked behind and saw a large wave rolling toward them. “Captain!”
“Hold on!” Joshua yelled, frantically trying to keep in front of the wave. The lifeboat managed to for an instant. Then the wave lifted it up and carried it ahead. Joshua felt the bow of the lifeboat tipping too far forward and he instinctively leaned back to try to counter the movement under him. Miraculously, the bow didn’t disappear beneath the sea, but struck sand. Everyone and everything was thrown forward. Fortunately, Isabelle and Ratu had been holding on to the benches and succeeded in remaining in place. Joshua’s grip slipped from the wet oars and he tumbled toward the bow, careening into the bench beside Isabelle. The air was hammered from his lungs, and, struggling to breathe, he rolled out of the lifeboat and into the shallows. His chest still throbbing, he dragged the craft behind him toward the beach. Isabelle and Ratu joined him, and the three of them pulled the boat as far as possible out of the water.
“You two . . . take the food and supplies . . . inside the cave,” Joshua said, still trying to catch his breath. Worried that the typhoon would destroy the lifeboat, he ran twenty paces to a boulder the size of a small pillow. He wrenched the boulder from the sand and carried it to the lifeboat, setting it on the floor of the vessel. He repeated the process at least ten more times. At that point, he felt he had enough weight in the boat that no wind could carry it away.
“Thank you, Lord,” Joshua whispered, making a sign of the cross. He grabbed whatever supplies remained in the boat and followed Isabelle’s tracks to the cave, flying sand stinging his exposed flesh as he moved ahead. He hoped that the rest of the party would already be there, but upon entering the cavern saw that it was empty save Isabelle and Ratu. Groaning, he said a quick prayer for their safety and hurried to Isabelle. Putting his hands against either side of her face, he asked anxiously, “Are you alright? Is the—”
“Shhh,” she said, placing a finger against his lips. “Everything’s fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry to have put you through that,” he said, feeling her belly, weak with relief that she and their child were safe.
She kissed his cheek. “I’m fine, Joshua.”
“I can’t believe how bloody big this place is!” Ratu exclaimed, gazing about in wonder. “It’s like the inside of an old church!”
Ratu’s enthusiasm had a slightly calming affect on Joshua, who reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “You were a wonderful first lieutenant.”
“I was?”
“You most certainly were,” Isabelle added. “I don’t think we’d have made it without you.”
Ratu fingered the tooth on his necklace. “Would you . . . would you call me that, Captain?”
“First lieutenant?”
“Yes, please.”
Despite his throbbing hands and fear for the other party, Joshua tried to smile. “I certainly will.”
“Thank you, Captain. I tell you, my father will be so happy about that.”
Joshua turned to Isabelle and shook his head. “I don’t know why they’re not here. They should be.”
“You’re going after them, aren’t you?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
Isabelle nodded reluctantly. “But come back. I need you. We need you. So for goodness’ sake, don’t do anything foolish out there.”
He pulled a metal vial from his pocket. “Here are the matches,” he said, attempting to slow his breath, to gather himself to again face the elements. “There’s wood in the back. Get a nice fire going and get yourself warm.”
“You promise to return?”
He kissed her. “I love you.”
She reached for him as he stepped outside and was swallowed by the storm.
THE WIND HOWLED. It screeched and panted and wailed. Its fury bent trees to impossible angles and ripped branches from trunks the way a child pulls petals from a flower. Objects of every size and shape pelted the six figures as they stumbled through the jungle. Faces and arms bled from a variety of cuts and scrapes. Voices were strained from trying to shout above the storm. Visibility was almost nonexistent.
A coconut flew toward Roger and he spun away from it, so that it only grazed his shoulder instead of breaking it. Knowing that he could make it to the cave in a matter of minutes by himself, he took one final glance behind him and started to run. After he’d taken no more than a few strides, a tree split and fell before him. A small sliver of wood flew through the air and embedded itself in his thigh. The primeval scream of the wind assaulted his ears. He began to tremble in fear, his teeth chattering, his legs growing weak. He stumbled forward, fighting the wind.
Akira saw Roger leave but said nothing. Avoiding dead or dying trees that would surely fall, Akira led the party forward. He was unafraid. As long as he made no mistakes, no one would die. He could hear the distant surf, and knew they were close to the sea. Stopping next to a boulder, he looked for potential dangers and planned their route. A cluster of bent trees would be avoided. An open space that might draw lightning would be circumvented. A stream swollen to ten times its normal size would be forded, with everyone holding hands.
Akira thought about each obstacle ahead before he began to move again. He held Annie’s hand, simultaneously pulling her forward and supporting her. He found it hard to believe how calm she seemed. Behind them, Nathan and Jake helped Scarlet. “Watch above!” Akira shouted, worried about flying debris. “I will watch the trail!”
The group proceeded to the stream, and after they all held hands as Akira suggested, he stepped forward. Soon he was knee-deep in the raging water. Branches and fruits and dead animals were carried toward the sea by the swollen stream, and these objects swept into Akira’s legs. He paid them little heed, as he was much more worried about the danger of trees shattering above. Incredibly, the wind grew even stronger as they neared the shoreline. Akira realized that he was walking directly into the storm’s fury. Each step soon became nothing less than a battle, a test of will.
“We are near!” he shouted, finally stepping from the stream. He peered ahead, trying to discern a path that would lead them safely to the beach.
“Watch out!” Annie shrieked, pulling on his arm.
Akira fell backward, toward her. A healthy-looking tree that he’d been standing next to suddenly split shoulder high from the ground. The upper part of the tree sailed for a few feet and then tumbled into a group of saplings. To his amazement, Akira saw a swarm of bees emerge from the hollow where the tree had split. The wind sucked up the bees and carried them away.
Akira wiped blood from a deep scratch on his cheek. Knowing that he might have died if Annie hadn’t pulled him back, he struggled to his feet and yelled, “How did you know?”
“I saw part of the hive! And then the tree started to split!”
He squeezed her hand. Not wanting any bees to be thrown into their faces, he walked upwind of the shattered trunk. The storm’s ferocity was suddenly appalling. He had to lean far forward to move. Through a break in the trees he glimpsed the surf. Akira knew the cave was close, but wasn’t exactly sure how to find it.
Unexpectedly, he thought he saw someone waving up ahead. Had Roger returned? Akira took a few steps and realized that Joshua had found them. The American, with the storm behind him, quickly ran forward. In fact, he almost ran completely past Akira, and only when Akira extended his arm and the two locked hands did Joshua stumble to a stop.
“You made it!” Joshua yelled, thrilled that everyone seemed to be fine. “Well done!”
Akira bowed slightly. “It is good to see you!”
Seeing that the group was holding hands, Joshua took Akira’s hand in his own and stepped into the wind. Sand flew from the beach, and he used his free arm to shield his eyes. He knew that if the typhoon further intensified, it would pick them off the ground and toss them to their deaths. And so he tried to walk low, tried to put all his strength behind each step.
When Joshua reached the beach, he turned to his left and was no longer walking directly into the storm. He started to half run, half stumble toward the cave. Still holding Akira’s hand, he willed himself forward. Lightning cracked above, as if the storm, seeing the humans headed for safety, wanted to give one last show of its strength.
Joshua saw the cave, saw Isabelle, Ratu, and Roger at its mouth. He staggered ahead and then shouted in joy and triumph and, without further thought, leapt into Isabelle’s outstretched arms.