"Great" Ant beamed "and don't worry Dec,we're going to get home,I promise you"
Dec wanted to believe Ant,but he was scared,terrified in fact.
Of course he desperately wanted to go home,but two middle aged men,pedalling a small plastic boat out into the deep,wide ocean?how could that ever end well?
But Ant was right,they at least had to give it a go,or die trying.
Staying on the island was like dying a slow,miserable death anyway,this was the only solution...no matter what the outcome may be.
"So when are we doing this?" Dec enquired "tomorrow?"
"No,not tomorrow" Ant laughed "it'll take a couple of days at least to prepare,collect enough supplies and all that"
Dec nodded thoughtfully.
"Don't worry Decs" Ant smiled as if reading Decs mind "we'll be fine,come on,let's get some sleep,then we can get started in the morning"
Neither of them got much sleep that night,the truth of the matter was that Ant was just as terrified as Dec about what this journey would hold,but he tried to keep his fears hidden for Decs sake.
The next morning they set to work collecting all the supplies they would need and ended up with an abundance of avocados and mangoes,although it took the best part of the day to fetch and pile them all up near the pedalo.
"I don't see how we can collect water" Dec frowned as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
"I've been thinking about that" Ant smiled.
"Go on then" Dec grinned "dazzle me with your bright idea"
"Well" Ant continued "we just keep all the shells from the mangoes and avocados we eat,then fill them up"
Dec immediately saw a flaw in Ants plan.
"Er Ant" he frowned "do you really think they won't leak?"
"Not if we're careful when we eat them" Ant beamed confidently.
"Yeah" Dec continued "but surely even if that worked,all the water is going to be slopped around the boat once we start moving?"
"I've thought of that too" Ant announced proudly "we just secure them into the boat"
"What?" Dec laughed "how?"
"Well" Ant replied "we can put things around them to keep them in place,like pebbles or something"
"As amazing as that idea sounds" Dec said sarcastically "that still won't stop all the water spilling out"
"Maybe not" Ant smiled "but it will stop SOME of it spilling out,so as long as each shell still holds a couple of mouthfuls and the sea isn't too rough,then we'll be grand"
"That's a big if" Dec sighed,he really couldn't see this idea of Ants working and it was very likely that they would both die of thirst out at sea.
Ant ignored Decs negativity "you know what else I thought?"
"What?" Dec asked.
"That we could empty the contents from the first aid kit out and fill it with water,I think that might work" Ant pondered.
"Worth a try I guess" Dec smiled "but there's actually very little space on this boat for storing anything,that's not what they're built for"
"We'll just squeeze things in wherever we can" Ant shrugged "into every little nook and cranny we can find"
