Natros

Chapter 3: The Island

 His hearing returned before his sight. He could hear the cawing of seagulls and the crashing of waves. Vahn sat up and yelled. The knife was still lodged in his shoulder blade, sending waves of pain throughout his body. He grabbed the handle and pulled gingerly.  It stung, but it needed to come out. He pulled it out quickly and sliced pieces of his shirt into strips to act as bandages. When Vahn thought the bandages were tight enough, he set out for food and shelter.

 Grabbing the knife, he climbed out. His head began to clear and the memories began to come back. Nikolai, Wisteria, Nathaniel, and the rest of the crew's deaths played over and over in Vahn's mind until he couldn't take it. He fell to his hands and knees and started punching the sand, tears rolling down his cheeks. He was the only one to survive and he did nothing to help. As he cried, Vahn swore he would kill Diablo and avenge his crew mates.

 Leaving the beach, Vahn headed into the jungle. Vahn found himself in a cave. It was spacious and empty. He leaned against the cold, stony wall and plotted his next course of action. Hearing his stomach rumble, Vahn decided to make a fire and find something to satiate his hungry body. He started collecting twigs and dead leaves. Vahn would kill for a hatchet.

"Maybe the boat had some rations on it...," Vahn said to himself.

 Carrying his bundle, he trudged back to the beach to check the boat. The good news was the boat had rations, but the bad news was that crabs and seagulls had already picked the boat clean. Vahn was going to have to resort to traps. When everything was right in Vahn's world, he had learned how to trap animals to provide food on an expedition. He never imagined he'd use that knowledge to save his life on an island.

 He grabbed some vines off of a tree and sharpened a few sticks. He tied them together, creating a rake-like structure. Vahn then attached it to a bendy stick and another vine. Some weird fruit Vahn found was to act as bait, as Vahn didn't know if they were safe or not. Vine in hand, Vahn climbed a tree, bending the stick and priming the trap.

"Now we play the waiting game."

 It seemed like centuries went by in the tree. Just as he was about to give up, a boar came sniffing around. The scent of the fruit hit its nose and it began to eat. Vahn, seizing his moment, let go of the vine. The rake snapped down, impaling the boar's side and leg. It squealed in pain as Vahn hurried down the tree. It saddened him and reminded him of what happened, but Vahn was hungry. He rubbed the boar's head, calming it somewhat.

"I'm sorry, but I need to eat...," Vahn told it.

 Vahn pulled out the knife and pierced its heart, ending its misery. As Vahn carried it back to his cave, rustling could be heard in the trees. When he reached the cave, he went to work removing the entrails. When the boar was gutted and blooded, Vahn constructed a spit and set a fire by the cave mouth, as not to suffocate himself.

 The smell of cooking meat made his mouth water and his stomach growl even more. Before he was even done cutting off the leg, he sunk his teeth into the meat. It was juicy, but tough. Vahn ate and ate until he stripped the bone. He reached for more when a figure dropped in front of him. It pointed a spear at him while shouting some aggressive language.

  "Alaba ski kotar mi squa!"

 Vahn backed up into the cave wall, a jagged rock tearing his bandages and opening his wound. He ignored it and held his hands up. He gestured to the figure to partake of the boar. Vahn thought he figure was a girl based on its voice, but he was unsure because of the mask and the cloak coverings. Its attention shifted from the boar to Vahn until it turned around and began to yell.

"Kibo! Milana! Squa!"

 Two small kids emerged from the brush and stood next to the figure. Vahn stood slowly and walked towards the boar. The figure thrusted its spear at Vahn once again, causing Vahn to jump. He pulled out a knife and cut off a leg. He handed it to the figure.