Oh, God. I groaned inwardly as I pulled the broken tree limb. I was a scientist, and a small one at that. I was not the kind of person acclimated to manual labor, so the past two days have been my own personal hell. I could feel my pale blond hair plastered to the back of my neck, and not for the first time, I wished I had some muscle to help me on the island. I shook my head as Alexei appeared in my mind. Net. YA ne mogu pozvolit' sebe otvlech'sya. Alexei had left me, and for some cute musician, too. Someone whose hands weren't covered in chemical burns, or who had a regular sleep schedule. Someone who could be there to satisfy him at essentially any time. I gave my head another concussive shake, trying to clear the memory of the last time Alexei and I had sex. God, it was so long ago.
The soft snow under my foot gave out, and I fell forward into the tree branch I was dueling with. I tasted blood, and I sighed at the iron in my nose. You have got to be shitting me. All I fucking wanted was this stupid fucking tree to get out of the way of my stupid fucking communicator so I could talk to my lovely baby sister about stupid fucking ballet and her stupid fucking boyfriend. I slid down onto the tree and immediately regretted it as snow soaked into the ass of my pants. This is such bullshit. Finally, in one last show of exasperation, I gave the tree a kick with all the strength I could muster. It cracked, and rolled down the hill, out of the way of the communicator.
"Huh," I thought out loud. Why didn't I just start with that? I shrugged and started towards the base, which was really more of a tent in a cave that currently had all my shit shoved in it. I pulled aside the flap that was a door and was greeted with a faded Polaroid of me and my sister, smiling in front of the Bronze Horseman statue in Saint Petersburg. As was my habit, I kissed my middle finger and tapped it to her nose. Not the kind of thing typical of a big brother, but hey, she was my best friend.
I shot a quick glance at the clock by my sleeping bag, making sure it was still a reasonable time in Moscow. Seeing as it was 2245 there and Anastasia never fell asleep before 2330, I opened a video call.
My laptop rung a couple times before my sister's pale, pretty face appeared onscreen.
"Niki! Kak dela?"
"Ya v poryadke. I fucking hate this island, though. Entirely too many trees." Her ringing laugh split the air.
"I'm glad. And there's no strange Russian Tarzans to be seduced?"
"Because you know me, Gospodin Soblaznitel'nyy. But no, no half-naked native men."
"Aww, I'm sorry." I rolled my eyes. "Oh, before I forget," Anastasia started. She held up her left hand, flaunting the gem on her fourth finger. "Guess who's engaged?!"
"What?! Why the fuck didn't you start with that? That's amazing, Stazi!" The ring was perfect for her. A small diamond, because she always looked for functionality over flashy looks, but still beautiful. Ivan must know her really well.
Was I bitter I had only met my baby sister's now-fiancé twice? Yes. But in all fairness to them, I had been living on a deserted island for two years. Kind of hard to arrange a coffee date when you live several thousand miles apart.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by ominous thudding from Stazi's side of the call. The look of resigned misery wordlessly informed me that her cat, Lyublyu (more commonly called Blue or "you asshole"), had knocked something off of a surface. Knowing him, it was probably a glass containing some kind of colored liquid, resting on the coffee table on the cream rug of her living room. I chuckled. "I'll let you go see what destruction has be wreaked. I love you, Stazi! Hope to see pictures of the wedding!"
As the call ended, I felt a pang or sadness creep through my chest. I was going to miss my baby sister's wedding. I had been told after my first six months on the island that my work had been mostly successful, but that after spending half a year on an island with radioactive chemicals, I couldn't safely be reintroduced to civilian life. I was a walking biohazard. I had (somehow) developed an immunity to it, but if I were to walk down a street in the populated city of Moscow, my home, it could be catastrophic. Oh, well. I suppose there's nothing I can do about it.
That's actually not true. I think there was some vodka in box somewhere...
*One hour later*
I found the vodka. All is right with the world. However, I was reminded that my sister is still a bitch. Only she would watch me leave and say, "Oh darling brother! You are leaving for an unknown amount of time to live on an island, all alone, with radioactive chemicals. Never fear, I send you with condoms and lube!" Yes, fuck you, too, Anastasia. I only thank you for the vodka so that I may drown away my lonely sorrows. But really, you need to see a psychiatrist. Bitch.
•••••
Hello, chitateli!
Some of you may have noticed a there's a lot of Russian in Nikita's POV. I sincerely apologize, and for your benefit, I am including a translation in chronological order here!
Net. YA ne mogu pozvolit' sebe otvlech'sya. = No. I can not afford to be distracted.
Kak dela? = How are you?
Ya v poryadke. = I am fine.
Gospodin Soblaznitel'nyy. = Mister Seductive.
Lyublyu = (Anastasia's cat) Love
Chitateli. = readers.
Dobryy den' i spasibo! = Good day and thank you!
Sorry for any confusion! Also, Anastasia's POV will also have a lot of Russian, but Levi's will have very little. I will always translate in the author's note, so no fear!
I have no clue who the attached picture is of, but he is my character model for Nikita, just so you can have an image in your head for what he looks like.
Dobryy den' i spasibo!
S. L. Comer
YOU ARE READING
Alone on the Isle
ActionNikita Vasiliev studied for years to be where he is. The leading cancer research doctor in the world. He had been sent to study on an island off the coast of Russia, a freezing wasteland of solitude. The radioactivity of his studies were deemed too...
