Island of the Dragon

Act I Scene I

The stormy seas whisked us about as we clung to any driftwood we could reach. I would say half of the passengers were lucky enough to stay afloat, but many were dragged by currents away from the wreck. That is what we get for buying a yacht for two hundred dollars, then not buying lifeboats that came with it.

None of us were prepared for the frigid water, and my greatest worry was that people on the makeshift life rafts would start to sink away. My piece of driftwood was the largest, and I had my three best friends holding with me. Laura, the youngest of us, looked like she was about to let go. “Keep a hold of Laura.” I yelled over the thunder crashing above us. Chase, the older brother of Laura, wrapped one arm around his baby sister while keeping a fierce grip on the wood.

I turned to the rest of our party, some dozen or so. “Everyone, paddle over here. And grab as much rope as you can.” I ordered. People responded with groans, but the sound of kicking was apparent. I clambered onto my board and invited everyone to hand me the rope. I wrapped rope onto the protrusions on my piece of wood and fastened the collective drift wood into a makeshift raft. Our small band of survivors sat atop the soaked yacht fragments and trembled and we drifted.

“We need to be close together. It will keep us warm.” My voice cracked a bit as I spoke. The cold sea air was not good on my lungs. We huddled close together, soaked bodies producing heat for all. I ended up in the second ring, with little people like Laura in the middle and people like Chase on the outside. I fell asleep on the back of a friend of my sister, who was probably somewhere in the second ring as well.

I had expected the brutal storm to be a nightmare, but when I opened my eyes, Chase was on my back fast asleep with his arms around me to keep me warm. I was still up against the friend of Sage, but they were not awake yet. Squirming alerted Chase to wake up, and he did so immediately. “So it was real.” He sounded disappointed; as I am sure we all were as the others joined consciousness.

Someone started crying on the other side of the raft, and I could hear my name pass around the circle. At first it was in anger, like I had cause in the remains. Then it was reverent, like someone mentioning God in church or a dead relative at a funeral. I could feel eyes on me from time to time, but that did not bug me. I saved their lives, but many thought I was the root of the evil. It is natural for them to have been taking glances.

“So what happens now, Eliyah?” Someone said, followed by murmurs of agreement.

I thought about that for a moment. Where could we go from there? I could not see land from our position, and the waves had carried us far from the wreck where some basic survival kits were. “Did anyone grab the kits from the ruin?” I asked.

A few boxes were pushed to me, still carrying their contents: eight water bottles between the set, bags of dried fruits and vegetables, and four large security blankets. Relief rushed through my veins. We were not going to starve for a while, but water was at a major low. “We need to be sparing with water, everyone.” I announced, placing them in a box alone. “Food wise, we should be okay for a time. And these blankets will help keep us warm.”

“But there are only four.” Some girl argued, voices joining her.

“We’ll sleep the way we did last night. That worked out fine.” My statement had more supporters than the complainer had. “We should have people watch for land.”

“And if we see anything?” Chase thought aloud.

My bottom lip was folded between my teeth. “Who here is a strong swimmer?” A few hands went up, but not enough. “Who is willing to be a strong swimmer if it means we get off this?” More rose. That would suffice. “If land comes into view, we will need you to push us that way.”

A long rod, a few smaller ones and rope were placed in my lap. “Could we use a sail?” The girl I slept on inquired. A smile teased at my lips as I nodded.

Chase stood up carefully. “I’ll get started on that.” He took the materials away from me. “I’ll need a blanket.”

Protests rose quickly. “We can’t use a blanket. We need it for warmth.”

“We were fine last night, we’ll be fine tonight.” I calmed, folding a blanket onto my lap, nodding to Chase to continue. The raft tilted, bringing the reaction to lean the other way. “Move only when absolutely necessary.” I added as some of the outer ring kids balanced out Chase’s weight.

The day went smoothly after that. There was a bit of complaining about the food, but one word about starvation shut them up. Chase had a nice sail prepped and even rigged a rudder to help when land was reached. Once again, Chase had his arms around me as we slept. Luckily he did not have wandering hands; the fact that we were technically snuggling was awkward enough. Our side of the rings did not take a blanket, sacrificing extra warmth for better sailing.

Part of me wondered if we were being punished. Sage and I took the yacht without permission for summer vacation. It was her idea to invite our friends, so we lead them to this. Was it because of our stealing the yacht for three months that it sunk?

I stopped the thought. There was a malfunction, nothing more. I readjusted my position on the girl, trying not to wake her or Chase. Sleep came surprisingly easy, with the waves gently rocking and the sound of the water soothing me into a lulled state.

So I was thinking about how Crimson is a Red Riding Hood parody nd I realised that Island of the Dragon is kind of a Beauty and the Beast remake. So, that's what I'm calling it from now on. :-)

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