Kal, Male, 37-38

	- Narrator, disaster survivor and castaway

	- Husband of Kate, Bailey, Keekah, and Amy, father of Katie

	- 6'1, 190lbs, straight, shoulder-length dark-brown hair

Nina, Female, 26

	- Lover of Kate, Kal, and Hakee

	- 5'4, 120lbs, light-brown tanned skin, straight shoulder-length brown hair

Hakee, Female, 18
 
	- Survivor from Hahonoko, daughter of Manu, sister of Keekah and Mie, cousin of Poln

	- 5'9, 145lbs, mocha-brown skin, butt-length straight black hair

Kunomo, Male, late-40s

	- Uhonamonan elder, brother of Kahan

	- 5'8, 145lbs, dark-brown skin, short black hair

Popko, Male, 20

	- Uhonomonan native

	- 5'10, 165lbs, dark-brown skin, short curly black hair

It took us over four days to return to Uhonamona. Because our planned route took us well South before moving back to the East, it was a longer journey, and by the time we sighted the island a couple of hours before sunset, the captain of my boat was becoming concerned that we did not have enough fuel. The extra load of heavy supplies had meant less efficiency, and despite the massive fuel bladders which took up large amounts of space, we were down to the last dozen gallons or so when we pulled up to the dock in the middle of the fourth day.

As the crew on the dock tied off the ropes, I realized it was my thirty-eighth birthday. I doubted anyone else knew, and I didn't really want to say anything. We had succeeded in our raid, and I was becoming very eager to get back home. If all went well, we'd divide up the plunder based on our agreement, and Nina, Hakee, and I would head out the following morning, so long as one of the newly built boats had passed its testing which had been scheduled for the days during our raid.

It took a couple of hours to offload the boats and collect the crates and boxes and barrels in the large building which had previously served as the fish processing plant. It had been heavily damaged during the typhoon and a replacement built next to the main dock. We couldn't leave the supplies there long with the threat of rain damage looming.

Nina and Hakee were already working with Kunomo's brother Kahan to inventory what we brought back. I joined them after finishing the work offloading. It was a big project and involved a frustratingly-slow process of opening and cataloging everything. It was well after midnight by the time the lists were complete.

Kunomo and I joined Nina, Hakee, Kahan, and a couple of the elders to discuss the distribution. All the guns and ammunition were given to the Uhonamonans, and in exchange, we got an increased share of the canned food, which was abundant and welcomed by both parties. We moved crates and containers around as the goods were divided up, one share to ten until we reached an agreed-upon point, then one share to twenty. The stacks of our take grew quickly.

Nina kept notes on what we received, and in the early pre-dawn hours, I read with bleary eyes our share. There were four crates of medical supplies, including antibiotics, painkillers, iodine, and various other useful medications, bandages and compresses, and large boxes of antiseptic pads, smaller amounts of other items as well.

We counted as ours a dozen large crates of canned fruits and vegetables, five more of canned and packaged meats. There were eight crates of assorted other foodstuffs, including bags of rice and dried beans, dried fruits and powdered milk. There was even a good sized container of powdered eggs, and several sacks of wheat and other flours.

Additionally, we had four barrels of rum, two of a red wine, one of molasses, one of honey, and one of fuel oil. We had five large boxes of clothing which we traded to the Uhonamonans for as much gasoline as we could carry on our boat, enough for several round trips or fishing expeditions. Two more barrels for our take were of rough butter.

There were cases of rain gear, hats, tools, fishing gear, and three dozen hunting rifles. We took only a half-dozen tools which we didn't have at home, and two of the hunting rifles with ammunition. We kept a few small knives, two sets of binoculars and one rifle scope, and several packages of black ink pens. There had been no paper or journals, which we were running short on back home, but the Uhonamonans agreed to trade us some in exchange for keeping all but two of the short-wave radio sets. There were nearly sixty of them, and I doubted we needed more than two.

The short-wave radios came with what Nina recognized as solar arrays. The arrays plugged into the devices to power them, and there were extra batteries included in those crates. Kunomo and I, along with the others, quickly determined that we would communicate very briefly at regular intervals, using the native languages to protect against listening ears. We discussed the risk of someone pinpointing one or both ends of the conversation, so we agreed to minimal airtime whenever possible.

We added one large crate of candies and hard chocolates to our pile, as well as two which held hard, unleavened bread. I traded most of our share of the crates of tea in order to get two large caskets of coffee beans. There were smaller amounts of powdered cocoa, powdered instant tea, and a powdered drink that seemed to be a malted wheat.

There were many other items in the cache, and we piled small boxes or loose items into the last few crates. These included lighters and matches, glues and epoxies, nails, screws, metal fasteners, caulking, tarpaulins, bars of a rough soap, sanitary pads, two shovels and a pick, razors, toothbrushes and toothpaste, lip balm, burn lotion, bundles of pipe cleaners and leather straps, candles, boxes of Sterno canisters. We tossed in four whistles, which I felt would be an excellent tool to warn of danger when separated on the island.

There were a dozen gas masks, which made us all pause. I couldn't imagine taking one or two, and in the awful event that we needed them, trying to decide who wore them. I let the Uhonamonans take them all. We also traded the various other military items, such as holsters and helmets, for extra shares from the bundles of rope.

The last odds and ends were tossed in and an hour or so before dawn, we finally finished our split. It was an impressive haul for both sides. Even though the Uhonamona supplies dwarfed our own, we had secured months of food supplements, medicine, and other items which would improve our lives on Phoenix. The native seabees had the goods loaded on our new boat as the sun came up.

I caught an hour of sleep with Nina and Hakee in my guest hut, and rose as the day began to warm earlier. We were all tired, but too eager to be home to linger long.

There were tearful goodbyes with Gale and Tok. It was hard to leave them. They planned to stay about four weeks longer, but possibly more. With the radio sets, we should be able to stay in contact, but it was still difficult to know that we were parting. I kissed Gale deeply, and even with her tears, she reached behind me and squeezed my ass firmly. “Gonna miss this...” she said, smiling as she cried openly.

I shook Tok's hand then hugged him. I had grown fond of the man many times over, and he had become a close friend to me. I wished him success in the village and let him know he would be missed until he returned.

Popko was not around that I saw. I had wished to say goodbye to him after such a pleasurable shared experience. The young man had guts and intelligence, and I hoped he would come visit us at some point. Whether he had asked for permission to go with us that day, I didn't know, but I took his absence to mean he was staying for the time being.

We boarded our new boat, the condition shiny and clean. The Uhonamonans had given it a great deal of testing, and two stayed on to give us some tips as we motored up to give it a try. Nina took the captain's spot, and Hakee and I eventually took our turns. The men gave us some last tips on dealing with heavy seas or winds, then clamored down a rope ladder to where another man had pulled a small motorized boat much like the one used by the scouts.

Nina revved up the motor, and we all waved sincere goodbyes to the dozens of people who had gathered on the docks and along the shore. I still saw no sign of Popko. I let out a series of long, deep breaths and felt butterflies growing in my stomach.

We were bound for home.

- - -

We worked out a schedule to have one of us sleeping while one captained the boat and the third kept watch from the bow. Nina ran the boat whenever she was awake since she had the most experience, and I took over during her rests. We held to four-hour shifts, and by the end of the first day at sea, we were all feeling fairly well rested and ready to be home.

In the middle of the first night, rain drove in hard, making the ocean swells grow. Though it was her turn to sleep, Hakee joined me on the bow where we tied ropes to us and to the railing. The seas were that bad. Nina was calm and cool, rolling with every wave. We kept the spotlights on, risking being seen, in order to stay ahead of the bigger waves. Throughout the night, my nerves stayed on edge.

I dropped down into the small bunk area to retrieve a gallon of water, and a familiar face stared back at mine. “Popko?”

He had a shameful grin on his face, quickly replying, “please don't be mad! Please!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I had to come with you. I know I should have told you, but if I had... Kunomo would never let me leave.”

I tried not to be angry. “Yes, you should have told me. Whether or not Kunomo would let you come, you should have told me.”

“Please... I want to stay with you, with you all, just for a while. I can help. I will work hard. I just... want something different...”

I shook my head. “I can make no promises, Popko. When we get home, we are going to radio your people and let them know you are okay.”

“I left a note, for my friend Hu. He should have found it by now. They will know where I've gone.”

“And they will not be happy...”

“No... they will not...”

I let out a breath. “Listen, as far as I'm concerned, you are free to do as you wish. You're what, eighteen, nineteen?”

“Twenty, three weeks past.”

“Fine, twenty. But it isn't up to me to decide if you can stay. My people will need to make the decision together. I'm sure you are welcome to stay for a visit, beyond that, I make no promises...”

“This is good. I will show you I can help. I want to be somewhere... different.”

I narrowed my eyes a bit, “this have anything to do with that night on the boat?”

He hesitated and looked away. “I don't know...”

“Let me make something very clear to you. Sexuality is free and open where we live. But that is just one aspect of our lives there. You must put aside jealousy, you must be selfless in helping others, in doing more than is necessary. You must contribute your muscles and your ideas, be willing to follow those who lead, and be willing to lead whenever others must follow. Staying with us is not a sexual vacation, understand? And only, only may you be with others if they are willing, consenting, and desirous of your company, understood?”

“Yes, yes, all this, yes! I can do this. I promise. You will see...”

I paused a moment, then said in a softer tone, “I like you, Popko. You are courageous to have gone on the raid, and I believe you will hold to your word. Don't make me regret that faith in you.”

“You won't, you will see...”

We went back on deck to startled responses. Hakee was still roped in on the bow as the boat rolled. I explained the situation to her and to Nina, and both agreed that they were troubled that he had not told us of his presence sooner, but they thought we should welcome him to our home, at least until we discussed it with the Uhonamonans.

Popko looked like he hadn't slept since the last night of the raid expedition. I suggested he get some rest so that he could start taking shifts on the bow. He agreed and disappeared belowdecks.

I left the gallon of water with Hakee then joined Nina where she handled the boat in the small bridge. I made her a cup of lukewarm instant tea. “Thanks,” she replied, “that will help me keep at it here.”

“Really fighting it tonight. You're doing great. Let me know what I can do to help.”

“Know any good stop-the-rain dances?” she grinned.

“Afraid that I don't. Just the ones that get you wet, but I don't think that would help right now...”

Nina laughed. “Yeah, not right now, later, maybe...”

“Looks like the water has calmed a bit in the last few minutes. I'm going to get some rest while I can, Hakee's on point, have her get me if she needs anything or if you need a break.”

“I'm good, thanks.” She kissed my cheek, then returned her attention to her task.

- - -

The day broke to calmer waters. The storm had passed, leaving behind cloud cover and less wind. Light drifted quickly over the Eastern horizon and gave us a better view of the empty seas around us. Popko had taken his shift on the bow, and Hakee was at the controls while Nina slept. I took a bit of time to fix a quick breakfast of canned peaches and some of the fresh blueberries the Uhonamonans had given us. They also sent us away with several young blueberry bushes which they hoped would thrive and quickly produce fruit for us.

I checked on Nina and saw that she appeared to be sleeping. I set the half-opened can of peaches and the small bowl of blueberries down below her bunk, then sat on the opposite one, watching Nina breath comfortably.

“You always did like to watch me sleep.” Nina's voice was quiet and sleepy. She turned her head towards me with a smile. “Not sleeping now, though...”

“Have you gotten any since we set out?”

“Here and there this morning, not much. Having a hard time settling down. I don't know that I'll be able to sleep until we get home tonight.”

“Can't wait to be there. I miss everyone so much. I can't wait to hold Katie in my arms...”

Nina watched me a moment, then said, “I'm really happy for you, Kal. Ever since I've been in your life, I knew you were special. You care about people so much, I'm really happy you are surrounded by women worthy of your love, and that you have such a beautiful daughter with Bailey.”

“Thanks... I do the best I can. I hope it is enough.” I leaned forward and brushed the hair out of her face. “You've got a pretty good one, yourself. She's crazy about you.”

Nina smiled, “I know. I love her so much. I never really thought I'd find that, exactly. You know, what we had was... different. You and Kate were primary, and I always knew I was second. Don't get me wrong, I loved that, loved you both, and I still do. But... towards the end, I kinda wanted to be someone's first, you know?”

“I understand. I always knew there would be a time you'd want that. I didn't really want to think about it, but Kate and I talked sometimes and knew that when that time came, we never wanted to get in your way. You deserve to be someone's first, Nina. You always deserved that.”

Nina giggled, “she has such a tight pussy...”

“Tell me about it. You've got one of those, yourself.”

“I'm happy with what I've got, but it's not that tight. She's told me before that she feels really stretched out after you fuck her. She's tiny there...”

I knelt down next to her bunk. “Can I help you get some sleep,” I said, running my hands down over the trousers covering her thighs, “like you did for me a few days back?”

“Mmm... no, I stink. I haven't washed up since we set out yesterday morning...”

I kissed her lips. “I don't care. I love you, love the way you smell right now.” I inhaled and could smell her musk, the pungent, briny scents of her unwashed body, even through her clothing. “Please, I'd love to...”

“You always were a perv, Kal... don't ever change...” Nina stopped resisting and let me slide my hand into her pants. I found her hairy pussy sticky and wet. Sweat and nerves had left her genitals fragrant and slippery. I pulled her pants off and slid between her legs. Warm, heavy odors from her unwashed body rushed into me, and my cock grew hard in response.

“Oh, Nina... you smell so good...”

She chuckled a few seconds, then moaned as I ran my tongue along her sticky slit. She tasted sweaty and meaty, her unwashed pussy flavorful and rich in my mouth. I lapped up her juices, running my tongue into her vagina to lick up the cream collecting there. She moaned again, and I teased her clit, circling it as her back arched, her fingers running through my hair.

Nina came within moments, crying out loudly as her vagina leaked juices onto my chin. I cleaned her there and enjoyed her flavors as they coated my tongue and slid down my throat.

She pulled at my shoulders, encouraging me to fuck her. I unzipped my pants and pulled my cock out of the hole in the front. Nina eyed it as I tried to squeeze onto the bunk with her.

It was an awkward fit, both too short and too narrow to comfortably position myself over her, but we weren't going to be deterred. I kept my lower legs up as I knelt and leaned forward, my hard penis finding Nina's slippery vagina easily. I pushed into her and groaned in pleasure.

I fucked her with a comfortable rhythm, not too fast, not to slow. Her body took me in lovingly, welcoming my penetration. We kissed throughout, and as I started to ejaculate, she wrapped her arms around my neck and held me against her. Hot cum rushed from my cock and into Nina's vagina, filling her quickly, the salty seed soaking inside her hole. She held me over her as the last of my jism slid out and added to the globs of white semen already inside her body.

“I love you, Kal... no matter what else, no matter who ever is in my life, I love you.”

“And you know I love you, too, Nina.” She purred softly against me, and I could feel her body relaxing. She started to breath deeper as exhaustion took over.

I slowly pulled off of her body, my penis soft and slick with cum. I covered her with a blanket and left her to sleep as I righted my pants and slid onto opposite bunk. I quickly found sleep.

- - -

Nina woke before I did, her bunk empty when I next opened my eyes. I clamored up the ladder to find her back at the controls, Hakee and Popko sitting on the deck near the bow. The sun was low in the afternoon sky, a spare few clouds to the East the only other things visible in the blue dome above.

I joined Nina and kissed her cheek.

“Thank you for earlier... I needed that.” She sniffed my face. “I can smell my pussy on you... I can see why you like that scent... dirty and sexy at the same time.” She licked my cheek then returned to watching the water ahead. “If my calculations are correct, we're no more than two hours from home.”

I felt my stomach tighten in anticipation. We were so close. I could almost swim there if I had to, though I hoped it did not come to that. “Need anything? I'm going to get some water.”

“I'm fine. I'll just keep us pointed straight and running hard. We're almost there...”

“Can't wait.”

- - -

The sight of land an hour before sunset brought the butterflies around in force. I couldn't sit still, kept pacing around the deck despite the way the seas were once more rolling and a storm was threatening from the East. Nina was doing great at keeping the boat steady as she maneuvered through the roiling waters.

I could see the camp fire even as the island shimmered near the horizon. I knew Bailey and the others would be scrambling, ready to run to the North. I hoped they realized it was a friendly boat as quickly as possible.

There was little to do as we slowly approached our home in the growing darkness but think back on the nearly two weeks I'd been away. It had felt longer, and yet, the time had passed, at times, in quick bursts. The days at sea dragged on endlessly, while the time in Uhonamona, and the period between meeting the scout boat and making our escape, had been lost as if mere minutes.

I reached into my pocket and grasped onto the items I'd traded for on Uhonamona. The natives there made what they called 'honor pendants'. These were a piece of traditional engagement jewelry that a man would give to a woman he wished to wed. They were hand-carved and stained in dark reddish-browns and shades of grey and black, the symbols on each showing hands embracing or the sun rising over the sea. I got one for each of the women I shared my bed with, each that I had bonded with.

I held onto those wooden tokens and tried to calm my excitement. Soon, they would be hanging around the necks of the women I loved, and I'd be there to hold them and love them, and, hopefully, to never leave their sides again. It was a long trip away, and as I watched the island grow closer in the dwindling light, I grew more and more excited to be nearing my home.