Chapter 2 Borrowing Fire

• “Zayn?”
• I heard a familiar yet daunting voice. I turned to the source of the voice and saw two women pop out from a bush. The taller one was my dear cousin, Hailey.
• I felt my lips move as I tried to utter her name, but my throat closed up. I couldn’t bring myself to make a sound.
• Several figures appeared behind Hailey. Eventually, it turned into a large group of people of all ages. It dawned on me that Tina and I weren’t the only survivors. We just got washed ashore later than them.
• “So, we have twenty-eight survivors in total. Seven men and twenty-one women. We need three things figured out; our location, if help is coming, and if we can stay alive till it comes!” A well-built man with a husky voice said.
• He was Jude Ford, the co-pilot and the only survivor from the cockpit. According to Jude, he redirected the plane to land on water, saving our lives ultimately.
• Before I regained consciousness, he became the leader among them.
• “Aren’t you supposed to know where we are? You’re responsible for this. We demand answers!” A balding, middle-aged man argued.
• Jude flashed a smile and abruptly punched the man in his stomach.
• The man yelped as he bent over to cover his stomach. Right then, Jude lifted his knee and gave the man another blow to his chin.
• Instantly, the man collapsed onto the ground. Jude then stepped on his chest until the man fainted.
• A beat later, Jude scanned the group with a grin on his face. “As you know, we’re in great jeopardy now. If we wanna live, we have to unite. That means we don’t have room for disagreements. What do you say?”
• Silence fell over the crowd. Jude’s behavior was undoubtedly foul. However, in moments like this, his iron fist approach could be helpful.
• Sure enough, someone nodded in recognition of Jude’s position as the pack’s leader.
• Like sheep, it was human nature to follow the majority as well, especially in times of despair. Tina bit her lips as she saw that more people consented to have Jude assume the position. Before she got to express herself, I clasped her wrist.
• “Hailey, over here!”
• I beckoned my cousin to come over. Rolling her eyes, she came and stood by my side.
• Jude squinted his eyes at me and curled his lips benignly. “Hey, you got something to say?”
• I replied with a casual smirk, “It’s not you. It’s me. I think we should take charge of our own fate. That way, even if I die, I won’t have regrets. Heh.”
• “I see.” Jude held prolonged eye-contact with me before he darted his eyes away. “Is anyone else with him?”
• “I’ll stick with Hailey!”
• Another flight attendant stepped forward and joined us.
• I led them down the beach as we introduced each other.
• In our tiny crew, there were Hailey, Tina, Yara, the other flight attendant, and me.
• They went on an expedition with Jude after they had arrived in hopes that they might find a way out. They didn’t go far before Tina’s scream brought them back.
• Tina questioned my decision of not joining the group, as there could be more resources that way.
• I curled my lips. “Uh... Cos Jude’s a dumb-dumb. The first thing you should do is collect the essential materials, not explore the place.”
• Tina was confused by what I meant.
• “That’s right!” I went back to the sea and flung a shard of metal onto the beach.
• “What’s that for?” Tina was full of curiosity. She picked the piece up for inspection.
• I pulled a solemn face and explained, “We need all hands on deck. In order to survive until help arrives, we all have to put in work. Get down here and salvage whatever you can!”
• Hailey was the first to follow suit. We gathered whatever we could find in the sea just in case we needed it later.
• Yara joined shortly. I suggested that they focus on metal objects as we couldn’t produce them on our own using natural resources.
• Jude saw what we were doing and copied at once.
• We were apparently outnumbered. Possibly obeying an order from Jude, they encircled us and whenever we reached out to pick something up, they would grab it before us. I even saw a pack of cookies being snatched away from Yara.
• Hailey was about to explode on them, but I stopped her.
• I looked into the distance and predicted that a tragedy would happen if we stayed any longer.
• And so, the four of us went back to the beach, where I had them move our collected items to a corner while I took care of the dead bodies.
• What I meant was to strip them off. I removed their clothes and possessions for my own use before dragging them into the sea in undergarments.
• Upon seeing what I was doing, Jude’s people began mocking me. Even my group looked away as if they were ashamed of me.
• I knew they were not in that headspace yet, but I was in survival mode now. They might disagree with me, but pride was pointless in our current situation.
• I could bet that in less than three days when they failed to find food, they would turn to these dead bodies. Well, I would not allow that!
• I sent those bodies out into the ocean one by one. Then, I brought their belongings back to my group. The three girls were quite upset, to say the least, completely ignoring me.
• “If I didn’t give them a sea burial, they would rot and pollute the air and the beach. Would you like it if we got infected and couldn’t do anything because there are no meds? They are dead and can’t make use of their belongings anymore, but we can! That’s my justification.”
• I lowered my voice and delivered the speech in all sincerity. The girls shared a look before Hailey and Yara nodded in affirmation.
• To be honest, that was only one of the reasons. I didn’t disclose that I thought Jude’s group would eat those bodies later. Moreover, I did it to avoid a plague, and I also hoped those bodies could attract fish for us to catch.
• I was giving the fish food so that in turn, they would become our food. It was a common technique in fishing.
• A sudden scream brought my attention back to the wreck. The rising tide had taken two people with it.
• They were too greedy for their own good, and that wasn’t the only reason that had cost them their lives. It was also due to their lack of observation.
• The three girls on my side were appalled as they witnessed the two people fighting for their lives in the raging waves. Meanwhile, I tilted my head to examine the island.
• “Come on. It’s time to find a home to settle down.”
• “Home...” The girls seemed dazed yet melancholy. That word sounded like it belonged in a dream.
• “Home is wherever you find peace.” I chuckled before I looked at them soberly. “Remember. Wherever we eat and sleep in peace is our home!”
• It was evident that we weren’t the same type of people. They were still taken over by their sorrow as they walked behind me like dead ducks.
• The island was enormous, and for this reason, I was fearful of going too deep because we were unarmed and vulnerable to any threat.
• I had always scored full points in wilderness survival training back in my military days. That was why I had the confidence not to follow the other group.
• Yes. We could be more powerful and resourceful with more people. But at the same time, it also meant more conflict of interests, complexity, and responsibility.
• Based on my knowledge, I knew the ideal camping spot should be close to freshwater.
• Unfortunately, we didn’t have the privilege currently. Hence, I picked a leeward spot, which was an adequate Plan B.
• This island had the traits of a subtropical climate. It was now right between spring and summer. Although it wasn’t cold during the day, the night breezes could be strong as we were right by the sea.
• Human bodies could lose heat quickly that way. Besides, a rough wind would make starting a fire difficult. For all the reasons above, we ended up camping under a tall rock.
• Using a piece of wreckage of the aircraft and a stick, I constructed a makeshift axe. After cutting down some branches with the axe, I tied some torn-up jeans on them, which formed a made-do tent.
• The tent was so tiny that it could barely fit the four of us.
• Hailey questioned if I did it on purpose to take advantage of them.
• I gave her the side-eye and explained that a smaller surface meant that it was harder for the wind to blow us away. Additionally, it’d be chilly at night, so cuddling together would help. Last but not least, the small size protected us against predators.
• I was so convincing that Hailey kept her mouth shut.
• It was a tiny tent all right, yet it took a lot of work. When we were done building it, we were already out of sunlight.
• After our task was completed, we looked at each other in silence before we heard a stomach growl. Lowering her head, Tina embarrassedly placed her hands on her tummy.
• We hadn’t eaten anything for half a day now. It was no surprise that a privileged girl like Tina would be the first to have trouble. She probably didn’t usually work out or eat much.
• “Can we find food here?” Yara seemed peckish too.
• “Of course!”
• The girls’ faces relaxed when I nodded in affirmation. However, I had to keep it real. “Not tonight, though. We need to worry about water first. People can survive for a month without food but no longer than three days without water.”
• “Isn’t finding food and water the same thing?” Tina looked at me with puppy-eyes. Her subtext was for me to find food and water together, but she was too shy to spell it out.
• “We can make our own water!”
• I left the tent to pick up some dry grass and sticks. After that, I took out a shoelace from my pile of collected items and created friction until we saw the fire.
• The red flames painted our faces with a red hue. Even though the smoke irritated our eyes, we couldn’t help but cheer with excitement.
• This success rekindled a spark of hope in us. As everyone sat around the campfire on the deserted island, our hearts gradually opened up and joined as one.
• “So... how do you make water?” Tina swallowed hard and asked. I could tell that she was starving by now.
• “It’s easy.” I narrowed my eyes as I stated, “But we have to focus on protecting our own resources first.”
• “What do you mean?” Tina was puzzled.
• I flashed her a smile as I acknowledged the shadows in the dark. A beat later, Jude showed up with four men.
• “Not bad! Someone’s got the fire going already!” Jude pulled a fake smile, then gave me a thumbs up.
• “Eh. It’s nothing.” I clasped my hands behind my back and mirrored his smile.
• Jude then let out his signature hypocritical laugh. “I’m sure you won’t mind if we borrow it then!”
• Two of his men silently stepped forward with improvised torches in their hands.
• I stood in his way and revealed what I had been holding behind my back—an axe. “I do mind, to be honest!”
• Jude was seemingly taken aback. He puckered his eyebrows. “Ay. We’re all in the same boat. Isn’t this a bit selfish?”
• I chuckled. “Did you say selfish? You have made your intention clear by coming to ‘borrow’ in a gang of five. I suggest you clean the cookie crumbs on your face before you lecture me about selfishness.”
• Jude wiped his mouth out of reflex, only to realize I meant it as a mockery after he saw my sarcastic smirk. He burned me with a sharp look.
• I knew what he was plotting. He was determined to get the fire, either by asking nicely or by violence. Thanks to his attack on the middle-aged man, I was aware of how controlling he was.
• In some way, we were the same people; we were both rational and calm under pressure. In other words, we were both perfect candidates for a leader. Sadly, there could only be one king for the throne.
• With a slight hop, I managed to grab onto a branch of a tree. I swiftly swung my axe and chopped it off. After which, I gave him the death stare without saying a word.
• Jude’s eyes winced before he answered, “Fine! You’ll regret this.”
• Having said that, he left with the men. I yelled at them from behind, “If you want my fire, trade it with cookies!”
• Jude let out a grunt as he looked straight ahead. They eventually disappeared into the darkness.
• “Was that a bit too... you know...” Tina brought up her worry hesitantly.
• “They didn’t consider us to be on the same boat with them when they feasted on the cookies. Jude, oh, Jude,” Hailey sneered.
• Tina decided to let go of the moral dilemma, seeing everyone else on the same page. She then gazed at me earnestly. “So... Can we make water now?”
• “Chill! They’ll be back with cookies in no time!” I claimed with a grin.