The Forbidden Island

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The next morning, Valerie and Isabel ate breakfast together in silence. They did all of the normal things, like planting and watering the fig trees. Just thinking about what would happen that night gave Isabel the shivers. Valerie was nervous too, but at the same time excited to discover new things. Soon the sun had started to set, and Isabel was prepared to do her job. She felt really bad about breaking the rules but she knew that there was no stopping now.

With a nod of Valerie's head, Isabel took a match and  slowly lowered the flame to the ground. Valerie ran to the boat and waited for Isabel to attract more attention. In a few seconds the fire was roaring and people began coming outside to see what all the commotion was about. Isabel quickly dodged her way through the people and ran to Valerie. They both hopped into the boat and started paddling furiously. 

Soon they became tired and still had not reached the island. It was almost midnight and both of their throats were dry and stomachs were hungry. Neither Valerie , nor Isabel had thought to bring a pack of food or water and they regretted it now. They should have thought of the problems that lied ahead and been prepared.

"I knew this was a bad idea" complained Isabel. "What are we going to do now?" Valerie thought for a moment. "We could try to catch some fish, but we would have to eat it raw. We don't have any water though. We can't drink this polluted water."

The girls got to work, using Valerie's pocket knife to cut two thin strips of bark from the boat's thick bark. They cut thin strips of cloth from the bottom of their pants and fashioned it into a net. They lowered thier nets into the water and swished it around a bit. "What if it doesn't work?" fretted Valerie. They had gotten out here with no one noticing but they would never have the energy to paddle to the island in the morning if they didn't get something to eat.

Valerie and Isabel sat there with their nets in hand, until suddenly Isabel broke the silence. "I feel something!" she said her eyes wide with delight. She pulled up her net, and there a tiny fish sat, flopping around. Valerie sighed. "It will have to do." 

Valerie cleaned out the fish, and in the end there was only enough for a few bites per person. They quickly gobbled it up, and kept paddling. After some time they managed to reach the shore of the island. They flopped down tiredly, and went to sleep. They had no idea about the journey that awaited them.