Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2007 02:03:38 -0400 (EDT) From: Pear III David Subject: Crash Survivor Chapter 4 CRASH SURVIVOR By Drake General Disclaimer and copyrights: This is just a fantasy work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons or places is a coincidence. If you aren't old enough to read this in your country, don't read. If it's a criminal offence to read this in your country, don't read. If male to male relationships and sexuality offend you, don't read. If you think the story will be lame and boring, don't read it. All rights reserved. >From last chapter: "Greg, I wish I could put my shyness aside forever. I really want to because I feel bad for the others every time I'm shy. It stops me from doing a lots of things I'd like to do. Maybe sometimes I might fall into my old self, but right now, I really want to give something a try..." Then, he surprised me by adding, "So, I decided something for a good start.... I think I'll be the same as all of you. I'll get naked too." "You sure?" "Yeah, because one day or another, I won't have the choice. You'll all have the time to inspect my dick and my beauty when I take a crap in the ocean! So why should I wait 'til then, since all you guys are naked already!" He said with a big grin. "Well, THAT seems to make sense!" I replied chuckling, then laughing. That caught the attention of Matt and Jake and then their eyes watched in astonishment while Wil dropped his boxers, and more surprised that he was supporting a major boner, which seemed just at bit larger than it should be for his body size and years! "What! Are you jealous? Does it get you a little excited?" Wil said giving two quick strokes to his dick to entertain his audience with a wink and a big grin from ear to ear. We all started to laugh uncontrollably with Wil. I could tell he was doing a really great job to put himself at ease. "OK guys! No more pee, poop, dick or ass talk for a while because we might get too distracted and do something crazy! Now, let's get ready to eat, we have a lot to do this afternoon!" I said chuckling, trying to recompose myself. Now with the gloom of the last 24 hours lifted, we all moved toward the center of the boat to start preparing our lunch. I didn't know why, but I thought we'd have a great one!! -------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 The menu was excellent, considering the circumstances. The boys insisted on organizing our lunch with some of the meal packets they had found near the plane after the crash. Normally, those meals aren't rated five stars, but we weren't in a position to complain so we ate slowly and enjoyed the meagre nourishment. I knew we needed something to bolster our moods and provide us with some balance into our thinking... and it worked. It was the first time we'd displayed any happiness since the crash. The boys told some silly, somewhat juvenile stories and funny jokes and we started laughing and giggling at some of the smallest and strangest unrelated comments. When everything seems to be out of control, a happy peaceful moment like that can take the edge off the terror and bad memories that had ensued for us since the beginning of this catastrophe. While enjoying that moment, it gave us the break we really needed and a hope that we should be able to manage any pitfalls we may encounter in the future. As the boys cleaned up the place from our dinner, I wanted to figure out our position, which wouldn't be easy considering that we didn't know where we crashed, how the prevailing winds had made us drift, and what the ocean currents had be doing since we entered the raft. I knew that Jake placed himself always near the door to control the raft orientation with his paddle. He told me he tried to keep the door in a southerly direction. Matt told him how to use the sun as a compass during the day and by using the stars at night. He'd learned those skills in the Scouts and was the best one of his troop. Technically, Jake did a great job, but no one thought about the fact the raft may have drifted sideways because of the breeze and current. Also, no one had any idea of the speed we were travelling. I looked how the waves struck the raft wall, the ocean was pushing us slightly toward the north east, hopefully in my mind in the direction of Honolulu and the Marshall's Islands. We'd been lucky until now; the winds hadn't seemed to change much and neither had the ocean currents, but I had a bad premonition that it wouldn't last long. One day or another, we may have to face the supremacy of the ocean and be prepared for it. We'd been drifting for three days on reasonably calm water. It was just impossible to be so fortunate forever. I was concerned by the fact that no land was visible, that no ship or aircraft had been seen, and that the ocean was becoming a little more agitated. I was aware that a storm could happen. Wil and Jake were taking some rest, lying down on the raft floor and seemed to enjoy it. As I lay there thinking through all of this, Matt came to me with a bit of worry on his face. "Is everything's ok Greg?" he asked. "For now yeah, I'm just thinking..." I replied, letting out a little gasp as I moved my legs. "They still hurtin' you?" he enquired pointing to my hips. "A little. It looks like my circulation isn't up to what it should be..." I replied matter-of-factly. "Wait, I'll rub your hips and you..." "You don't have to, sunshine... I wouldn't think you..." "Hey Greg, I'm offering! I give, you take! No arguments, ok?" He ordered seriously. "Sorry Matt, I just don't want you to be embarrassed massaging a naked man..." I said, trying to convince myself more than him. "It looks like you're the one who would be more embarrassed, isn't it Greg?" He chuckled. "Ok, you got a point! I give up!" I said with a redder face. Damn, he could read me like a book. God, it felt so good as Matt started to knead my hips. I closed my eyes and started to relax until I felt that Matt paid particular attention to rub near my crotch, letting his finger slightly skim it by what seemed to be a 'wanton' inadvertence. Inasmuch as that I wasn't saying a word, he became less inhibited when he started to touch my ball sac and closely around it a little more. I snapped my eyes wide open as I felt him touching the tip of my dick. Did this kid was really know what he was doing? I didn't want him to be ashamed, but it was out of question that he would continue like this; it was wrong person, dialling the wrong number. I took his hands and put them more toward my knees, giving him a wink with a big grin. "Hmm, I... I'm sorry Greg..." Matt said. "Don't be sorry, it felt really good. Maybe too good. I just didn't want to get a boner, my little brat!" I grinned to him, trying to put him at ease. "Oh that? Oh.... Hmmm.... It wasn't on purp..." I cut him off. I had already figured that it was 'very much' on purpose... "Matt, you can't do that to me... I'm an adult; I could have a serious problem, whether I wanted it to happen or not ..." I said seriously. "Yeah, but no one will know here..." and pointing toward his friends, "...and they're sleeping." "Probably, but you can't touch someone's privates parts without their permission. At least, you have to ask, even if it's not easy. Maybe the person will want something sexual to develop, and sometimes, maybe not. You just have to ask Matt..." I said sincerely. "I know that both of us would probably like it a lot, but we can't do it. It's like I'd be abusing you, mainly because I'm an adult and I don't want that to happen. I'm the adult authority here, and it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of you." "It's just that... I..." "That you need to feel loved, cared?" "Hmm, yeah... Maybe..." "It's Ok Matt, but it's just the wrong way to do it. Sex doesn't mean love, it's only a part of it, ya know? You may snuggle and cuddle with me whenever you want without any problem, but you can't do what you did to me... just then..." "Oh... ok..." "Matt..." I waited until our eyes made contact then asked quietly, "May I ask you a personal question?" "Yeah," he replied and with a little concern. "What is it?" I tried to ask THE question without being too direct with him, so I bent forward to Matt, and whispered to him, "Do you like boys more than girls?" Matt, seemed to be shocked at first by my question. I know he hadn't wanted to reply now, but he was too committed with me to lie, so he replied shyly. "Yeah... but don't tell no one... Ok?" and added with the same whimpering tone, "You won't love me anymore now... I know you're disgusted..." I cut him off, saying, "Hey buddy, come here," as I patted my hip. Matt, reluctantly came and sat on my lap. I told him to turn around, so I could see his face. I could tell he was very uncomfortable with the situation. I held him, trying to do my best to make him relax, expressing the affection I had without crossing ethical limits. I continued to whisper into his ear, so the others wouldn't hear what we were saying if they woke up. "Matt, I will always love you. Even if you're blue, yellow, fat, tall, gay, or straight, I'll never judge you. I'm not disgusted at all. I'm even not too surprised about the fact that you're gay." I was looking to his little cute face, where some tears was running down the cheeks. Fortunately, from our position, the other boys wouldn't see anything. "You say... you've known I was... uh...?" he whispered. "Yes, so is Jake too, isn't it?" I smiled. "How did you know that?" He said with a curious expression on his face. "Because he's your boyfriend! You two act so much like a couple that it's difficult to think of you two not being side by side..." I said. "Oh... yeah... he's my boyfriend. But don't tell him that you know that. We promised to not tell anyone. I don't want Wil to know..." He said sadly. "I won't tell, but you know that already huh?" "Yeah" "But you guys won't be able to hide it too much longer... one day or another, Wil'll see it too, and he'll begin to ask some questions that you'll have to answer..." "Yeah, but I think he hates gays." Matt replied "Let me work him into it ok Matt? Then I'll give you a cue so you know when to talk." "Oh, ok... thanks Greg." "And you should tell Jake that I know about him and you. That's just the truth..." "Yeah, Jake... ok, I'll talk to him." "May I ask another question?" "What's that?" "You're so young that I wonder how two boys of your age may know that they are truly gay." "It's not easy to explain... It's just, it's... I dunno how to explain it... it's like I'm having a heart attack each time I see a cute boy. It never happens even with the hottest girl in school, but sometimes when I'm around a cute boy, I get a boner... never around cute girls, but then every time I look at Jake, I have some spark that twinkles in my heart... I can't help it..." "Does Jake feel the same?" "Yeah... Jake feels the same... he can't explain it either." "How do you think it started?" "Jake's been my best friend since kindergarten, we played a lot together and one day, we discovered our sexuality together..." "How?" "Oh... we fooled around ya know, just doing it... like... between friends, and the more we did it, the more we liked it, and one day, we... we..." Seeing Matt starting to be a little bit embarrassed, I said, "Ok, I understand... you don't have to continue..." "Thanks..." "But, just so I can give the proper guidance, would you mind telling me how far you guys went?" "Hmm, it's a little embarrassing..." "You don't have to reply if you're not comfortable with the situation Matt, ya know?" "No! No! I want you to know. It's just... Ok... We do it all... You know.... umm..." "You mean sucking?" I said, trying to diminish how far they could have gone to put him at ease. "No, not only sucking... You know... Like, making love..." "Oh, Ok... and you both like it?" "HELL YEAH!!! Oops!" He said placing his hand over his mouth. "I could tell!" I chuckled. "As long as both of you are love each other equally and with respect, that both of you are enjoying it, that you're doing it SAFE, and that no one is left aside in the relation, I won't have anything to say about you two!" I added. "Jake and I are really in love, Greg... everything we do, we do it 'cause we both want to do it. We love each other too much to hurt each other." "I'm really impressed Matt. I can tell you're more mature than some grown-ups I know... I'm really so proud of you... do me a favour and just stay like the Matt I'm growing to know, ok?" I said as some tears started to form in my eyes. "Thanks..." he said and added a little angrily, "I wish you were my father instead of that shitty man..." "Hey Matt, maybe you don't like your father for the way he acts, but it doesn't give you the right to mean-mouth him. He'll always be your father." "Yeah, but he called me faggot... a cock sucker!! He told me he'd put me in a clinic to 'fix' me, to remove to sin out of me!" Matt said aggressively. Then he added, "If I'd known that he hated gays that much, I'd have been more careful... anyway, I don't live with him anymore..." he said in a sad tone. "What do you mean?" "One day, my mom barged in my room without knocking... I'd forgot to lock the door. I was with Jake, we were only kissing on my bed, but we were, uhh... we were a little nude, you know?" "Ok... I understand... Then?" "Well.... she slammed the door when she closed it... she was a little surprised... you know... by what she'd just seen. My father asked what all that commotion was about, and she told him what she'd just seen. Jake and I were able to put our clothes on, before my father came up the stairs. When he came into my room, he started insulting both of us, threatening Jake and telling him to leave our fucking house. For sure, I could tell he was pissed! He almost kicked Matt's butt! I... I knew how my father was and I thought that's what he might do, so I stepped quickly between Jake and him and received the kick on my right ankle. Jake ran out of the house, but since my father had already started on me, he continued to beat the shit out of me. I ended in a pretty bad shape, with a lot of bruises and a broken rib... here have a look..." He said, pointing to his ribcage. "Shit Matt... I didn't know about that. I'm so sorry, I wouldn't have asked if I'd known how terrible you've had it growing up, and maybe how painful it still is for you. Why the hell didn't your mother have him put in jail, or how come she didn't call the CPS?" "She was afraid. He told her he'd kill us if we ever talked... Mom called the school to say I was sick. I stayed home for a week. I wasn't allowed to use the phone or leave my bedroom. Jake tried to call me, but my parents told him I was too sick to answer, then Jake asked Wil to call me, but he got the same answer. During the weekend, Jake was so afraid that something bad could've happened to me, so he called the cops, told the story he knew, and asked them to go see how I was. There's a good God for the cops 'cause they were smart and came with a warrant." "They came to your house?? With a warrant?" "Yeah, later the same evening. I dunno how Jake convinced them to come, but I know how persuasive he can be sometimes... So, they came with two cruisers, knocked on the door and asked for me. My father told them I was at a friend's house. They asked which friend and, even though he didn't like him for.... ya know... what Mom had seen us doin', he told them I was at Jake's. Since Jake was in one of the cop's cars, they got suspicious and they shoved the warrant in my father's face, saying they wanted to see if I really was in the house. He didn't want to, but he had no choice but to let them into the house. They found me in my room, I was still pretty sore.... rocking myself on my bed. After they saw how bad I was, they arrested my father, and I went to the hospital with Jake and my mom in one of the police cruisers." "You remember everything?" "Hell, no! That's what Jake, my mom and the cops told me... I just remember being beaten and I was kinda numb to everything but the pain until the cops took my father and I heard him yelling names at me and Jake... After that, I remember everything." "Did they find him guilty in court?" I asked. "Yeah, he did only one damn week in prison. ONLY ONE WEEK!" Matt said with anger. "How rotten is the system in this world?" I pondered. "The cops do a great job and the courts undo it all." "Yeah, but he wouldn't have changed his mind toward me anyway. During that week, my mom filed for divorce and everything went quickly. My uncle came to our house with a big rig to put our stuff into it, and we moved to an apartment." I could tell that this move was a sort escape for Matt. Then he continued saying, "I never saw my father since then... and the last words he yelled at me was 'fucking faggot, my son is a cock sucker." Matt held his face in his hand. "He called me faggot... cock sucker! Damn!" Then he started to cry again. After some sobs, he calmed down a little and was able to tell me, "Now you know, but you're so different, you never judged me when I told you... it's why I wish you were..." "If I could... could be your dad instead...?" I stammered the words, but I was confident of the warm feeling they gave me. "Dad? " He asked with a questioning look. "If you want, I could be a 'dad' for you. I'd be honoured! I'd never hit you, I'd never judge you, I'd just be there for you... I think I really could be a dad right now..." I said sincerely. "D.... D... d.... Dad!!!!" He sighed burying his head to my chest, quietly sobbing. I held him there, my arms stroking his bare back. I could tell that Matt was relieved. He cried, but they were happy tears. From now on, at least he'd be able to share his deeper thoughts with someone. He'd have a dad that cared about him. I was flooded with a new feeling I'd never known. For both of us, it was like a tender love, something engraved for our whole life in our soul. I knew from that moment on, it would last forever in our hearts. Matt raised his head with one of the happiest smiles I'd ever seen. Then he kissed me on the cheek, wove his arms around my neck, and gave a little squeeze. We stayed in that embrace for a long time, enjoying the moment, our bodies in complete contact, sharing a new understanding and love. After what seemed to be an hour, Matt broke the mood saying that he had to go back to work on my legs, so I'd be able to walk. I wanted to stay in that embrace forever, but Matt being Matt, you can't fight him! Thanks to the great massage he gave me, my legs started to work normally after a few callisthenics. This time, he hadn't persisted in touching my groin area, instead, he did a really good job of working my thighs, calves, and knees. With some effort and a few knowing aches, I was able to get up on my two feet, so I tried, somewhat unsuccessfully to walk around the instable floor to test them. Wow! That was great! Jake and Wil looked at me with astonishment as they stirred from sleep! Everybody was happy that I could walk normally. Again, I really owed another part of my life's recovery to Matt! I could tell that Jake was aware that something was going on between Matt and me just by the questioning look he was giving us. Now that I was able to move on my own, I started to inspect everything. I wanted to see if everything was ok. First, since the crash, the raft began wearing out and had a very slow leak. We had a hand pump to inflate it. It's like the pump you have in a sphygmomanometer for taking blood pressure. Wil was always giving it a couple of pumps to maintain the raft's pressure. I hoped that the raft would withstand another couple of days in the ocean. The other raft was still hooked to the one we were using, but it wasn't in the right position to be used, and it was too risky to detach it, and then maybe we wouldn't be able to turn it over onto the right side. I just didn't want to take the chance of losing it either. It may turn out to be a home of last resort. Next, I took stock of our food and water supplies. I noticed that we were starting to run a bit low. We were four in the raft, and from what I could see, with proper rationing, we'd be able to eat and drink for only two more days, maybe three. To be prepared as much as possible, I decided to do the inventory of what we had in the raft. If we had to live from the ocean, we'd have to be inventive and use what we have in hand properly. I talked to the boys about my concerns and told them to gather everything except the food that we had in the raft. We sat in circle around a pile of various objects, as soon as they finished. "Ok boys, now that we have everything that's in the raft in front of us, we have to think about how to use them to survive." I said as an introduction. "What do you mean?" Wil said. "I mean that, since the crash, we didn't have the time to prepare ourselves for another fatality. We're on a little raft in the middle of a big ocean and we don't know when we'll be able to reach habitable land. Maybe we'll have to supply ourselves from the ocean to get food and water. So we have to know what we have on hand so we'll be able to deal with every kind of situation we may get into." "Oh, ok." Wil said with a worried expression. He then added, "Would you like us to sort everything so it will be easier to have a look?" "Yeah, you're right Wil, let's sort the things properly." I replied. So we made up small group of items by sorting them by their use. Soon we had them layered everywhere around us. We took some time to figure out how we could use everything and we packed everything in all the bags we had at hand and secured those bags to the raft. I made a point to the boys that we should take care of everything and use what we have properly. A little after, we ate a small supper and drank only a little, sharing the same bottle. It was enough for the need we had. Now, when it comes to privacy, I could tell we didn't have any. We all needed to take a crap, but to be able to, one had to be held by two others to avoid falling into the water. It took a lot of humility on everyone's part. We had to solve the bathroom tissue's problem too. We used a plastic wrap soaked in the salty water to wipe our butts. God it's hurt, but it did do the job! Once we were over the embarrassment and pain of that bodily function, a bit of humour returned to the boys banter between them. I took a few moments to stand up outside the tent and look around. For days, we'd been floating in a cloudless sky, but as I looked to the south-west horizon, I saw some large cumulous clouds building. They weren't very high above the horizon, but nonetheless, part of an early warning system that we had to respect. They weren't there this morning, so somewhere through the course of the day, they were coming imperceptibly towards us from somewhere. I didn't want to alarm the boys, but I had to be honest with them. "Boys..." I interrupted their chatter, "it looks like we may have some rain coming our way, so I'd suggest we get huddled together and have a quick nap just to conserve some energy." They agreed and we installed ourselves in our usual position, sharing body heat, an arm inside each one of our life jackets. We were very lucky that none of us suffered from sea sickness. Except for Matt's bout with grieving illness, we all enjoyed the gentle rocking as the ocean rippled under the raft and it was conducive to gently rock us into a sound sleep at any time of the day. I don't know if I slept for a long time, but it was disorienting darkness that enveloped me when I was awakened by a cold splash of water, coming from the door opening. Within an instant, there was almost three inches of water in the raft, soaking us through to the bone. With a rude awakening, I snapped back to reality in a flash! Suddenly, the noise was near deafening. I rushed to close the door, but was struck down by a new wave. We were in a bad situation, taken by surprise at the edge of a big thunderstorm. The raft was shaking so much that we were bouncing like balls inside it. It was very dark inside the raft and we couldn't see anything. The tremendous noise of the rain and the ocean water striking the raft mixed with the wind snapping on the tent top and the thunder hitting everywhere around us was frightening! Welcome to the dark side of the moon... I couldn't hear or feel the boys; were they all safe? I screamed over the terrific sound. "Ok, boys! I want everyone to put his life jacket on and inflate them!" Then I heard an almost inaudible, "Ok!" probably from Wil, but I wasn't sure. So I screamed again, "I'll give a roll call, I want each one of you to reply when I call your name!!" So I started to call them all. "Wil!!" "I'm here!" "Jake?" "Here too!" "Matt!" "Here!!" I was relieved that everyone was still in the raft. To avoid knocking ourselves together, I shouted them, "I want each one of you to grab a handle located on the raft wall, NOW!" Then I tried to find one for my own use. The boys were really scared, so was I... We were in a more secure position, but still in a very dangerous situation. Suddenly, the water became more agitated, I could tell that the raft was gliding over the waves because the exhilaration in my stomach was the same as riding a rollercoaster. I had a lot of difficulty staying anchored to the raft each time we were cresting the top of each huge wave. The wind started to scream violently as it gained velocity. That caused our tent top to be torn apart. Two more wind gusts and it was gone. Now, we were completely exposed to the elements. We couldn't open our eyes because of the cold salty water splashing on us. I tried to see if the boys were ok, but all I could see was a black inky soup. I gave another roll call and everyone replied in a weaker voice. The kids were really fighting for their lives as they tried to hang on to the raft. I could tell they were starting to tire. Three major factors were playing against us in this battle. The first one was how long the storm would continue; the second, how long we would be able to withstand it; and the last, would the raft be able to withstand the pounding from the violent sea and wind. I heard Wil shivering and I knew he was freezing. Yeah, the cold started to bite into us; we were still naked, so our skin was directly exposed to the cold rain that was being lashed by the blowing wind. We really needed to put our clothes back on even though they were soaked. At least by wearing them, it would help protect us from the wind blowing directly on our skin. I yelled at the boys. "I want everyone to put on socks, pants and a shirt, WITHOUT losing your handle... I want each of you to find something in the clothes bag, it doesn't matter whose it is!" "Where's the bag?" Jake screamed. "Just beside the left paddle holder, follow it to find it," I yelled back "I got it!" "Ok boys!! I want everyone to get near Jake to take your clothes. Stay as low as possible in the raft and use the handles to get there!" We were all able to get near Jake safely and put some clothes on quickly. Luckily, the storm had calmed a little for a while, it was just enough to allow us to put our clothes on. I had more difficulty getting into mine because I was larger than the boys and only mine would fit me. Tediously, we were able to get all our clothes on with our shirts over our life jackets. It was tricky putting them on while holding ourselves to the raft, but we managed to do it. I knew we weren't out of danger. The storm was recovering its previous strength and now was lashing at us with vengeance. Suddenly, another wave struck us hard on one side and pulled the raft up into a vertical position, while another one from the other side slammed us down as if we were four rag dolls. I'd say it was like God's Hand pulling us from the water and pushing us back into it with the full speed and sound of a freight train. Then I heard a squeaky scream I'll remember all my life... "Help!!!!!! Heeeeeeeeeeeelllp!!!!!" coming repetitively from nowhere. I wasn't able to tell who it was, but I could tell that the sound was becoming less audible as we were moving in what seemed to be the opposite direction away from it. "Matt?" I screamed. "Y.. y.. yeah?!" screamed a frightened Matt. "God, you're still there son!" Then I yelled, "Jake?" No answer. "J... Jake? JAAAAAAKE!!!!!!!!" I screamed with all my will. "JAAAAAAKE!!!" I heard both Matt and Wil shouting to the ocean. "Wil, you're there?" I said. "Yeah, still, but I won't be able to hang much longer! I'm getting awfully tired!" he yelled back. "JAAAAAAAAKE" we said in unison. "JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE" I heard Matt crying over us. Still no answer... Damn, we had to turn back to where he fell off. But shit, which way was back? No one could tell. We weren't in a position to paddle, still holding onto the raft for dear life. We had no choice but to agonize about where Jake might be. I wasn't able to see Matt or Wil, but I could hear them sobbing uncontrollably, and I agonized unable to get near them to give them some comfort. Then quickly as it began, just to be shitty, the storm started to lose some of its power right after Jake had fallen into the water. The waves started to get back to a normal level, the wind calmed down, and the rain started to ease. The storm had finally stopped its fury completely one hour later. It was near 4 AM. I could tell it lasted more than two hours. We were devastated and exhausted. For the first time in my life, I wasn't in control of myself. I wanted to be hard as a rock and help Matt and Wil, but with the cold hitting me, I wasn't able to make the right decision. We were near to hypothermia and I had to do something about that. The horizon was starting to show a glowing line and the moon had returned, so I was able to see our condition. The raft was almost shredded, but was still holding on. Wil had a cut on his arm, but it was bearable. We'd lost the tent top, and the other raft too. The only good news was that everything we had secured to the raft, stayed in place. There was some water left on the floor and I scooped it out the bottom of the raft with a plastic bag. I did taste it, but it had been contaminated with seawater. We weren't able to salvage any of the rain water that had fallen from the sky. I told the boys to remove their clothes again; we laid down on the floor, cuddling together and put the thermal sheet over us. We were so exhausted. Aside from me giving instructions, no one had spoke since we'd lost Jake. Matt was to first to speak more to himself with a fragile voice. "Jake... come back, love... don't leave me here..." He said while sobbing. Then, the words travelled to Wil's own mind... "Matt, you'll go insane with thoughts like that. Man, I miss him too... we all love him ya know!" Wil replied, crying with a gentle smile as he looked at Mattt. "No, you don't understand Wil," Matt retorted. "I do. I miss him too ya know..." Wil said. "I FUCKING SAID THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!!" Matt yelled over angrily. "Hey, man, chill... I didn't wanted to..." Wil started to say. But I cut him off. "Matt, it's not Wil's fault that we lost Jake. We all miss him and we all wish he could be here..." I got no answer. Matt was depressed, and Wil was looking at me with a questioning look, unable to decide what to do. As if he was reading my mind, Wil did what I thought was the most logical thing to do - take Matt in his arms and comfort him. They stayed stuck together, without saying anything for what seemed to be a very long time. Matt started to calm down, breathing less heavily. Wil was stroking his hair softly. I could tell that Wil had a high level of compassionate understanding. During those few moments, he was the rock that Matt needed to hang on to. It wasn't too long before Matt started to speak in a rather calm voice. "Sorry, Wil... Thanks..." He managed to say. "No sweat man, really. I didn't mean to make you angry on purpose..." Wil replied. "It's not you. You just don't understand," Matt said, remaining steadfast to his earlier stance on the subject. "Maybe you could explain Matt?" "No Wil... I don't think so..." "Oh.... Ok.... but you know I'm here if you wanna talk ok?" Wil offered. "Ok, thanks Wil..." "That's ok Matt. Now that you're settled, we have to think about Jake to give him the will to survive, maybe he's still near us." "Maybe, but I'm so weak... I just don't know what to do..." Matt moaned from the exhaustion that wracked his body. "Me too." Wil said weakly. "I'm so sore all over. It hurts so bad, I don't even think I can keep talking....." "But we gotta try," Matt whined, his tears of guilt renewed. "Boys listen to me. I don't know if Jake has survived the storm in just a life jacket, but if he has, he'll be ok for another few hours at least. Right now it's too dark to start looking and I know that we're totally exhausted. If we don't rest, we could die from the exhaustion. Our metabolism and our hearts will only take so much abuse. We have to rest and get some sleep so we'll have some energy, then we'll try to find Jake when it gets brighter... ok?" I asked quietly, equally tired as each of the boys. I truly felt guilt ridden that I couldn't make an effort there and then to search for Jake, but I knew we were surviving on just a little thread of life. "Yeah..." Matt agreed reluctantly; the guilt, pain, and tears still in his eyes too. "I love him so much," he whimpered. "We all do son," I cooed repeatedly, hoping that the quiet of my voice would lull him into sleep. Slowly, each with our minds in an invisible turmoil, we drifted quickly into a sleep we really needed. Before I opened my eyes again, I awoke, first by a loud screech that vibrated through my body, then by the movement of Wil as he disentangled himself from my left side, then a piercing squawk, and finally by Wil's yelling. "GREG! MATT! WAKE UP! FUCK! WAKE UP!" It only took an instant, before my eyes popped opened to this barrage of new sounds and I bounced up to the sitting position pulling Matt up with me. We'd just rubbed against a rock. My panic mode set in. I jumped to my knees quickly; almost tossing Matt aside, brushed by Wil, and grabbed the paddle to push us away from the jagged rock that protruded from the water. Once again, a bit of luck was on our side - the rock hadn't ripped the skin of the raft. I kept twisting my torso back and forth slowly, looking at the area around the raft, raising my eyes slowly with each turn of my body, looking for more rocks, until I was finally looking at the horizon. The sun was huge as it started its morning rise above the water. Then I slowly twisted to the opposite direction listening to the chorus of squawking seagulls. "Oh my God..." I whispered. At first I wondered if the bright sun was playing tricks on me or was I still having a dream that just came into my conscious mind. "Wow!" Matt exclaimed quietly as he too stared in the same direction. It wasn't much to look at, but there, just barely visible on the horizon, still many miles away, was a long green line. I whispered again, "Boys, we have hope...." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To be continued... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow! That was a long one. No it's not a cliff hanger! Just a teaser for the next chapter! Till then, take care, Drake drakanian32@yahoo.ca ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's comment: A teaser? My heart is still sitting like a heavy lump in my chest! What about Jake? It's frightening that the title of this story is 'Crash Survivor'. Singular - not plural! I'm sure Drake wouldn't be so mean that he'd leave us with a dwindling of humanity that ends with an unhappy ending. Let's trust the ingenious mind of our writer. Editing the punctuation etc. in this epic is giving me a tremendous lift. Many thanks Drake. I don't know where I came across this quote, but somehow it makes sense as we continue to read this saga: "When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing.".... Enrique Jardiel Poncela As Always, David of Hope ----------------------------------------------------------------------