Stranded

Shelter

Roy stared off into the distance. Wally did as well, and also had a sleeping bird in his lap. After being knocked out, woken up, injured, then thrown into a freezing and wild ocean, Dick had been exhausted and had fallen asleep with his head on Wally's legs.

Roy asked the first question. "Wally, what's out chance of survival?" Wally shrugged. "Unless we find land, a fifty percent chance. With Dick injured, even less. It doesn't look good." They sat in silence.

After a few minutes, Wally broke the silence. "Do you think they're looking for us?" Roy sat a while, thinking. "If I'm right, we should have landed an hour ago. They'll start searching, but it'll be a while before, or if, they find us." Wally sighed and layed on his back, careful not to wake up Dick. There was silence for a while.

Roy studied the stars. He knew all the constellations. If he found the right ones, he could get them to safety. He didn't see anything that would point to land yet, but he would. He wouldn't stop until he found it.

Finally, he located a constellation that Ollie had seen when he was stranded. It mean they weren't too far from land this raised Roy's hopes. At least they had a chance now. After telling Wally, they moved Dick so he didn't wake up, and hopped into the water. It was cold, but after paddling for a while, Wally wasn't as cold. Keeping his eyes on the stars, Roy directed Wally. After about thirty minutes, a dark shape appeared on the horizon. In a short time, they had reached the island.

Dick was jolted awake by the landing. He looked confused, and tried to sit up using his left hand. He stopped quickly and groaned. It hurt like hell.

After Wally finally got out of the water, they all walked onto the land. A little shakily, in Dick's case, but walking nonetheless. They stared.

The trees were a vibrant green, brighter than Dick could remember. The jungle was alive with the sound off animals. A tiger hopped out of the trees and walked up to the boys. Wally and Roy tensed up, but Dick was relaxed, letting it walk close to him. It stopped and repeatedly ran his head back and forth under Dick's hand. Dick sat down, getting on the tiger's level. Roy and Wally
walked a little, keeping Dick in sight.

The jungle had many fruits, a lot of which Roy recognized. There were a few streams, and animals were drinking out of them. At least the water was still drinkable. Wally and Roy walked back to Dick to see a surprising sight.

The tiger was laying on Dick's legs. It was digging it's head into the warm sand. The tiger's tail was wrapped around Dick's upper arm. And Dick was petting the tiger's head. He looked up at Roy and said, "can we keep it?" Dick had such a childish joy about him that Roy couldn't say no.

Wally wanted to know how they were going to keep the tiger with them, without a leash and all. That wasn't a problem. In the short time Dick had been with the tiger, it had bonded. It refused to leave Dick's side. So, they had a new group member.

After a short run around the island, Wally found a cave big enough to house them the  time they were there. There was even enough room for Tasha, what Dick had named the tiger. He still hadn't left, which Wally found weird. Dick didn't mind, but Roy agreed with Wally. It was weird.

After mapping the island, the three boys went out to search for certain items:Roy for food, Wally for water, and Dick for wood. They set off, the sun now high in the sky.

Roy found his with ease. He had seen the fruit and berries when he had come on to the island. Thanks to his training, he found nonpoisonous berries. The fruits were easier, as he knew the major fruits, and he knew the island had them.

Wally had a harder challenge. He knew where the water was, but he had no idea how he was going to get it back. He could make a basket, but he didn't know how to waterproof it. He could make a clay pot, but he didn't know how to disinfect it. Eventually, he decided to carve a little hole into the stone wall and bring it using a cup he had packed. He planned ahead like that.

Dick had the hardest job of all. Even though he knew he was surrounded by wood, he couldn't cut it down. The branches that fell were more like twigs than branches suitable for a fire. After the tiger saw what Dick was looking for, it bounded off. A few minutes later, it came back dragging a large branch. It lead Dick to a long dead tree perfect for firewood. He still had to drag the wood back to the cave and organize it into piles for campfires and signal fires. He sighed. It was about to be a long afternoon.