Island Living - Poguelandia Edition

Ch 2: Home is Wherever I'm With You

JJ's POV

I open my eyes only to be blinded by the rising sun. I immediately squeeze my eyes shut, as the sharp pains radiate my skull. My immediate reaction is to pull my hands to my face but there is something warm wrapped tightly around my arm. I turn my head to see Kie with her messy curls sprawled across her face, softly snoring away. At some point during the night she must have wrapped her arms around my bicep and tucked her head into my shoulder. I try to stay as still as possible not wanting to wake her. Last night she was really scared and worried, I hope she was able to sleep.

I can't help but think about that moment we shared on the boat before everything went down. The moment made me question everything, made me feel like she felt the same way. The way she was looking at me changed something inside me, a surf trip with Kie would be a dream come true. I've always had a soft spot for Kie compared to the rest of the pogues. I'd do anything to protect her, even if I had to risk my life in the process. I'm still shocked that she jumped off the Coastal Venture just to save me. Not sure how she feels about me taking a machete in the head for her, but I'm sure she'll bring it up eventually. We have barely talked about the whole situation but it's very clear she's pretty anxious about the whole thing so I've been trying my best to rest and stay out of danger, at least until this damn headache goes away.

Kiara starts to shift and curl her head towards me when she opens her eyes and blinks a few times in surprise. "Hey," she says kind of awkwardly and quickly lets go of my arm.

"Mornin'," I say, "sleep well?"

She stretches her arms out and groans. "About as good as you can for a deserted island," she says smirking.

We both sit up and see Cleo and Pope just waking up too. Sarah and John B appear to have been awake for a while since they are both sitting around the freshly lit fire quietly talking.

We all gather around the fire with sleepy eyes. The others start talking but I don't pay any attention, too busy trying to ignore my brutal headache. Kie nudges me and whispers "We're supposed to make spears today." My eyes widen, eager for the task and she continues. "Pope and Cleo are going to come up with some plans to make a shelter. Sarah and John B are going to see if they can find a stream for fresh water and try to find some more fruit."

We get up to search for some rocks, sticks and whatever else we can find. Kie suggested we sharpen some rocks with my knife and then find something to tie it to the sticks. While we're walking I can tell that Kie's doing a little better today. The thing I love about Kiara is she's so effortlessly beautiful, in so many ways. The way she walks so freely, her messy hair blowing in the wind, her warm eyes and a soft smile. She radiates so much confidence. I can't help but admire her. Despite all the traumas we have faced, she's stuck by the pogues through everything. She's fierce and loyal, there's no question she's a pogue at heart. I end up sneaking glances at her every once in a while so she doesn't catch me staring.

Sarah's POV

John B and I grab a couple of coconuts and start hollowing them out with a rock. We decided they would be a great way to collect some fruit and water. When we finish our preparations we take our stack of hollowed coconut and then make our way towards the lush palm trees.

The further inland we go I notice the sand starts to transition into dirt. The landscape is very different than what I'm used to, the island is filled with lush vegetation, that is very jungle-like. So far we've seen lots of bushes, some with wild berries and others with beautiful tropical flowers.

I stop for a moment to enjoy the view. I've travelled to many places around the world but I've never seen so much untouched beauty like this. There are miles of palm trees and vines. You can hear the melody of dozens of birds singing among each other while the breeze lightly blows against the palm leaves.