Chapter 139
Chapter 139
Skylar
We sat there waiting; four hours later Dr. Benning walked out, and they pushed him out.
“He’s okay. They’ll take him up to the VIP ward.”
“Okay,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief.
“Skylar, we’ll head up with him,” Eli said. I watched as they headed up; I looked at Dr. Benning.
“What exactly happened to him?” I asked, my tone leaving no room for excuses.
“It seems like he was struck by something sharp that pierced him, hitting his small intestines. It seems like someone tried to help him, or he did it himself, stitching it, but it was almost infected. Luckily, you brought him here on time, or it would have been tragic,” he said.
“Thank you, Dr. Benning.”
“He should be awake; why don’t you go check on him?” he said, patting my shoulder.
I headed up to the VIP ward. Leon was standing outside. I was almost at the door when I heard raised voices, so I stopped. I motioned for Leon to be quiet, and he nodded.
ELI: Don’t bullshit me, Rhys. What the fuck happened to you? And start talking, or I’m bringing Skylar here.
ASHER: Okay, fine. But promise me, Eli. You have to promise me that you won’t say a word to her.
pELI: Rhys?
ASHER: Promise.
ELI: Fine, I promise.
ASHER: I was tired, so I was at the back of the jet taking a nap. I woke up when the front of the jet exploded, then another explosion hit the middle, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was on the sand on a beach. I didn’t just wake up; I woke up in pain. My left arm was broken, and a piece of metal was sticking in my side.
ELI: Jesus.
ASHER: That’s only half of it. I crawled my way up the island; I was losing a lot of blood. I pulled the metal out bit by bit and used seaweed and my shirt to stop it. Even though I was in pain, the only thing that kept me going was Sky. A storm was rolling in, but I didn’t really care. I tried; I used a stick to help me walk around and found a whole bunch of garbage, but I found a broken pallet. I used what string or pieces of rope I found and tied the empty bottles to it to make a raft. The storm had set in, and the winds were too high. I knew if I went out to sea at that moment, I would die, so I dragged it back to the trees and sat there and waited.
ASHER: The storm didn’t let up. I didn’t really have the strength to find somewhere to hide, so I stayed there in the rain. After what seemed like days, it stopped, and the sun started shining. I looked around some more; I searched for a stick I could use to steer. I didn’t find any, so I used a branch. I dragged the makeshift raft to the edge of the water. I had just gotten on when a group of men rushed out of the trees. They had spears and what looked like knives, yelling and screaming in some indistinguishable language.
ELI: Savages or headhunters?
ASHER: I don’t know, and I didn’t want to find out. I used the branch and pushed out to sea. I drifted for days on end, no land or ship in sight. I was dehydrated and malnourished. I guess I passed out because I woke up when I felt someone touching me. It was a little kid, about ten or so. He was beside the makeshift raft in a canoe. All he said was, “Help,” and I passed out.
ELI: Jesus, Asher.
ASHER: When I woke up again, I was lying down on a cot. I wasn’t lucid. I had malaria and pneumonia. I had a serious fever, cold, you name it. The same little kid was beside me. I was lucid enough to hear him. He said I was sick, they will help, and the last word I heard him say before I passed out was, “I was safe.” When I woke up again, I was more lucid. The kid was still there along with an older man.
ASHER: The kid, his name was Jacob. He said missionaries came and spoke, so he learned their language, English. The old man spoke, and he translated as best as he could. He told me I was sick and I was hurt, and they tried to help but couldn’t do much; I needed more help. I asked him how long I had been there, and the kid said, “Almost 360 suns.”
ELI: Almost a year?
ASHER: Yeah, they counted the days with the sun. After a while, I gradually got better. Jacob would help me walk. They were a small tribe; they had no idea about the civilized world. They lived mainly off roots and vegetables I’ve never seen, fish, and wild meat. One day, I was sitting by the shore when Jacob came. He said missionaries won’t return. He asked how I would get back to land. I told him I don’t know, but I had to. He asked me why, so I told him about Skylar. He spent many days sitting with me, asking about my life, about Sky.
ASHER: One night, I was sitting right there when the old man came; Jacob was with him. Jacob had told him everything I had told him. Jacob said there was a way back to land. He said his grandfather said that a big ship passes every full moon but on the other side of the island. They were hidden away from the headhunters and cannibals from other islands. That Jacob and a few others will take me to the other side of the island and wait for the ship and get on.
ELI: How long?
ASHER: It took seven days to get to the other side. They made a bonfire. I saw the ship in the distance. That night, as the ship got closer, they lit the bonfire; it burned all night. By daybreak, the ship had stopped midway. Jacob took me out in a canoe. My wound had started bleeding. When we got to the ship, I guess it was the captain. I told him I was stranded and needed to get back anywhere and that I would pay him anything when I got to land.
ELI: That’s why you asked me to give him ten million?
ASHER: Yeah. After they got me on board, I thanked Jacob and told him I would visit him when I was better. After that, we left. The captain said I was lucky that his ship was the last to take this route, and this was the last voyage. When they discovered I was hurt, they tried to help me but were limited. He said we could make it to port in two days if he went full speed, if I could hold out. I told him to go for it. The minute he had signal, he handed his phone to me, and I called you.