Island Rush (Sample)

Chapter 8

Nothing seemed to change. It was as we were walking in circles. Maybe, we were. The trees were tiring to see. The sky, the grass, and everything in between were the same. There was no telling where we were. All we knew was that we had to keep going, keep walking, and keep hoping that this island wasn't as big as we thought.

We started stumbling more as the day progressed. We were getting tired, but it was essential to continue on in the shade of the trees. No matter what we were thinking about, we were both too exhausted to keep up the conversation for long.

When I saw Mr. Rush stop beside me, I turned and noticed his eyebrows were dipped deep in thought. He looked up to me and spoke. "If we keep walking straight, we should eventually hit the ocean, but not the lake. I think it's clear with how long we have been walking that we aren't going the way we figured."

"What are you saying?"

"We should keep going straight. There is no guarantee we will find the lake but the ocean? We will eventually run into it."

I thought about it, and he was right. The ocean surrounded this island and sooner or later, we would find it. The question is, how big was this island? How much farther would we have to go? A thought popped into my head that questioned his idea. "That won't help. We can't drink salt water."

"Technically, you're right. There is a way to make it so we can safely drink it. I doubt it would do much anyway, but we can figure it out when we get there." Mr. Rush paused as he began swaying on his feet slightly. He leaned against a nearby tree before he continued. "More importantly, if we find the ocean, we can find the creek. I know the creek we found hit the ocean eventually."

"Do you know how long that could take?" Considering we had no idea how much longer it would take to reach the ocean, we could be cutting it close. Because if we make it to the ocean, who knows how far down the beach that stream is.

He understood this too. "I have no idea. I just know we will hit it. That needs to be our new focus."

This new plan in action wasn't going to erase what he told me earlier. "You said we needed water by the end of the day, or it would get bad for us."

We continued breathing hard between our words. Just talking back and forth was claiming a lot of energy. "We will be fine," was the only answer he offered. It wasn't too reassuring, but his voice was genuine.

With that, we started walking again under the blazing sun. Our feet were on autopilot and, though we were dizzy at times and tired, we pressed on. As the day drifted closer to night, I didn't want to move anymore. I just wanted to rest and so did Mr. Rush. He was panting as hard as I was.

I played my card. "We should rest. Build up our strength for tomorrow."

He didn't stop, knowing if he did, we might not be able to keep going. He shook his head after a minute as we climbed over more roots. "I know we want to stop, but we can't."

I didn't say anything to that. Instead, I raised an eyebrow at him. With the cold setting in as a reminder of the night coming, I started to watch Mr. Rush more carefully. I could see he looked ready to stop despite his words. He looked tired, and I noticed that his eyes were more unfocused. It made me nervous. It was obvious we wouldn't find water tonight. So, what do we do? Do we stop or move ahead? Would it really hurt to rest for the night?

I wasn't sure, but I was at the point of breathing hard and having a dry mouth from all the walking. My lungs ached and so did my stomach for food. I felt as if I would throw up but what could come up? At last, I said, "We need to stop. We know we won't get anywhere tonight or find water. All we can do is rest."