Shipwrecked - Chapter 41: Fairness and Foul Weather (Mf masturbation)

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Chapter 41: Fairness and Foul Weather

It was the lightest touch that woke me in the night. Darkness filled the cabin as tentative fingers touched my stomach, tickled down over my waist and to my genitals. They stopped there, uncertain, curious. A moment of pause before a hand slid over my cock and gently swept past it to my balls.

I became aware that Amy was against me, her warm, thin body held tight to mine, her ass against my stomach, her form curled slightly. Her hand had drifted down my skin and rested lightly on my penis, on my balls. I moved involuntarily at the touch, my dick hardening, pressed out from her hand and pushed against her leg.

Amy rolled back at me, eyes searching mine, almost asking if she could do more. I kissed her cheek, let my penis throb on her thigh. Her hand moved slowly, carefully, exploring my flesh with the touch of someone unsure what to do next. I let her move freely, uninstructed, letting her natural curiosity guide her fingers.

I felt her test my rigid shaft with two fingertips, sliding them along the length. Precum drooled from my dick as she felt me there, and I groaned lightly with anticipation. Heart racing, I lay still, her hand walking slowly over and under my cock, as if she were exploring a man's sex for the first time. Which, I knew, she was. It felt wonderful, and I melted into a mix of thrill and wonder at her gentle touch.

Three fingers wrapped around me and she held that position a moment, seemed to measure the way it throbbed in her hand. Her fingers were warm, a soft fire that kept the precum flowing against her thigh. I moved again, involuntary, needing to feel more, my shaft slipping between her light grip and pushing harder against her body. Back I slid, letting my length slip through her delicate grasp.

She seemed to understand and slowly worked her fingers up and down my shaft, building my pleasure, had me shuddering and moaning into her back. Up and down, slowly, up and down, slowly, she moved her thin fingers and I moved my hips in reply.

Amy looked back at me again, and I saw the wonder and anticipation in her face. I was getting close, sucked at her skin with my lips, licked the salty brine from her flesh as my dick pulsed and a slow burn ran up from my balls.

Back and forth, a tighter grip now, just a bit tighter. More pressure, more pleasure, the tip of my dick smearing a stream of precum over her pale thigh. I groaned, pushed against her, my penis sliding up and down her outer leg. I groaned louder, tensed, felt her fingers slip down to the base of my shaft and back up, almost to the head.

I ejaculated as I cried out, holding an arm over her body, letting her fingers milk my seed. My cum splashed against her, splashed, ran down her thigh and over the other. Again and again I shot my semen onto Amy, the fifteen-year old maintaining her grip, her stroke, her wonderful manipulation of my cock. My balls drained onto her skin, drooled out, her hand becoming coated with my cream.

Euphoria came on like a slow burn, rapturous, intense. I cried out long after my penis had finished spewing hot cum onto the teen's body. Amy kept stroking me until I took her hand and made her hold still. My penis throbbed against her, my seed dripping down her flesh. She panted, as did I.

Amy turned over suddenly, brought her lips to mine, and sank into my arms, wrapping a leg over my thigh. I knew she was laying in a pool of my cum, but she didn't seem to care. My penis was softening, but ended up resting on her inner thigh, the head of my cock tickled by her pubes.

We kissed, our bodies moving slowly, sensually, just rocking with each other in the darkness. She whispered to me, “Kal... when I'm ready... will you do it with me? When I'm ready...”

“Yes, Sweetheart. Yes. I'd love that. When you're ready. That was... mmm... so nice... so nice... thank you...”

“It only seemed fair... after the way you did me earlier... I wanted it to be fair... so I wanted you to... have one too... I've never done that... never felt... shooting on me... it was so hot... sticky... really liked that... like that I made you do that on me...”

We rocked a while before she fell asleep once more and I let myself drift back into dream holding my new lover tight.

- - -

It was a different sensation that woke me sometime after dawn. The cabin door flew open and Bailey stood before me. She wore clothes, had a serious look in her eye. She said, “Kal... Keekah's hurt. She fell... can't walk... She needs help!”

I was up in an instance while Amy moved slowly to her feet. Bailey cast only a short, quick glance at the girl before looking at me again, said, “she fell, might have broken her ankle... She can't walk. Tok too, he tried to catch her falling, but he's hurt too.”

“Ok... Ok... where is she?”

“On the North beach. We can't get them back up to the shack. Hona wants to try to carry them back but Gale sent me here as soon as it was light, to get you. She says to bring the boat.”

My mind raced knowing Keekah was hurting, tried to consider the options. The Hahonokoan's boat was almost out of fuel, and barely seaworthy as it was. I remembered that we had several gallons of fuel still in our wrecked boat, but I hadn't checked on it in some time. For all I knew it had leaked out or gotten spoiled with water or other contaminates.

“No chance of carrying them out if I come?”

“I don't know, Kal! Gale thought not. Manu wanted to try, but Keekah's in a lot of pain and we couldn't move her far as it was. Getting her up the ridge to the shack was too much.”

I was silent a moment as I thought. Amy said, “what can I do? I want to help.”

“There's a big plastic container below deck, has a handle, clear. Grab it. There's a long hose toward the back, against one wall, with an oval pump near one end. Bring that too. Bailey, pack several bags with water and food. Grab the big green kit out of Manu's shelter that has the wraps and salves in it. Grab us clothes in case we need them. Get us ready to move. I'm going to run down to the boat and see if that's viable.”

The girls shot off to their tasks while I jogged down the beach to the East. After offloading their supplies, Tok and I had moved the boat around the edge of the island and anchored it where we thought it might be sheltered. It was out of sight from camp and I had no idea if it was going to make the trip at all. It had many cracks, the hull in disrepair. I hoped it would hold up long enough.

It was a long run by the time I got to the spot. The boat floated out in deeper water, a slight lean that wasn't a good sign, but still holding its own against the waves. I dove in and started the long swim out.

I was winded by the time I started climbing up the rope ladder. I was soon readying the boat and tested the motor. It started after a few sputters, kicking up blue and black smoke that was whipped by the stiff breeze. I checked the fuel gauge which showed empty. It was going to be close.

I cranked the anchor and soon had the boat heading back to our camp. I needed to get it as close as possible to the beach, and found a path that put it just a few feet off shore. I tossed the anchor and let the boat drift toward the sand until it caught tight. I climbed down and swam to the girls waiting on the shore, both dressed in loose clothing.

“Ok, let's use the hose and pump to get what fuel we can out of our boat.”

“Already done,” Bailey said, “I knew what you were after.”

“Perfect. How's the fuel look? Dirty? Water in it?”

“I dunno, looks like gasoline, I think. Looked ok.”

I eyed the clear container and agreed that it wasn't dirty, didn't see any obvious water, though I wasn't sure if they would mix or separate. “Get the...” I was going to tell them to get the raft, but it was already on the beach, the rope in Amy's hand. “Good. Get it loaded with our packs and the fuel. I need to grab one more thing.”

The girls got the raft in the water and I started toward the beached boat, slipping on a pair of jeans and t-shirt. I didn't know what we might need to do to get Keekah and Tok out, but I wanted some protection for my skin in case the sun broke out and threatened to burn.

I ducked into the storage and quickly had a handful of painkillers in a small pouch, then returned to the girls who waited in the raft. I pushed us out a bit and Bailey and I paddled the short distance to the boat. I climbed up first with a couple of the packs on my back while Bailey followed.

I never thought to tell Amy to wait at the camp. She'd made clear that she didn't want to be alone, and she desperately wanted to help any way she could. Still, I had to note that the trip might be a bit rough, and I had no idea if she could swim. I was proud of her for coming eagerly. Her earlier assertion that she would rather die on the island than get on another boat was left behind as the rescue got underway.

I had Amy tie off a rope around the fuel container before I hauled it over the side. She rose on the deck out of breath but looking ok. I found the fuel cap and emptied the container into the tank. The gauge still showed empty, which either meant it was broken or that the tank was so large that we'd added too little to register. Either way, I wasn't very certain we had enough to make the trip and get back.

We hauled out immediately, the girls settling on the front of the bow to help me look for shoals or other dangers as I rounded the Southeast corner of the island and headed North. The waves became very choppy the further we went, and before we came to the Northeast corner it was a struggle to keep the creaking vessel moving steadily in the right direction. The tiny motor made maneuvering very difficult, and I fought the wind and waves the entire time.

It took longer than I wished to finally come to and head West along the North shore of the island. The ridge line met the ocean most of the way before we made out the place where the split beaches marked the North-side stream. By the time we drew close enough to clearly see Gale standing near the shore a dark bank of clouds had pushed in from the North and looked terribly threatening, lighting shooting down in jagged streaks of yellow and white a mile or two away.

Gale signaled us to stop when we were a hundred yards out. She pointed to the raft and I thought she wanted someone to come to her. I turned to Bailey, said, “think you can get the raft in to see what she wants us to do?”

“On it.”

“Take Manu's bag, get her started on Keekah and Tok.”

The golden-brown skinned thirteen-year old was over the side and had the raft detached quickly, paddling with the waves into shore. I tossed the anchor, let it set, then cut the motor off to save fuel. I leaned on the rail on the bow next to Amy.

She said to me, “worried about Keekah?”

“Yes... very worried.”

I felt the hurt a moment and Amy reached out and took my hand, said softly, “I'll help anyway I can. I hope she'll be ok...”

She squeezed my fingers as we watched Bailey make shore. She talked to Gale a moment, the older woman pointing to the West a bit, made some hand gestures and hugged Bailey. The teen climbed back in the raft and paddled against the surf as hard as she could. I tossed her the rope when she was within range and pulled her closer.

She bounded up the ladder. “Gale said she thinks you can get right next to the beach if you back out a bit and pull up right down there. See the two tall trees with the red leaves right off the sand? She said she's seen dolphins in really close to shore there and it might be deep enough to get close. There's a shallow oyster bed there, she said to watch out for that.” She pointed to the West but I saw nothing beneath the choppy water.

“Ok. Tie the raft tight. We'll give this a shot.”

While rain began to fall and the waves were whipped to a froth by the wind, I cranked the anchor up and fired the motor. I backed out slowly, had the teens watching behind the boat for shoals. I turned and pushed the motor past idle, tried to move it carefully to the point Bailey had shown me.

It was a serious challenge. The motor was small and made the boat feel thick and slow to react. I had to plan each adjustment ahead of time, and twice had to back off to avoid the shoals. We crept in close, got only a dozen yards off the beach before Gale motioned us to stop. I kept the motor in a low reverse to fight against the incoming waves while the anchor set and caught. The boat rocked roughly, creaked, and I was certain it had taken on water during the trek around the island.

Amy waited on deck as Bailey and I climbed down and moved the raft up to the sand. Gale hugged me tight, said, “Oh, Kal.”

“How's Keekah? Where is she?”

“She's hurting. Manu's got her resting as best she can, but she couldn't do much more without her kit. I ran it to her while you pulled in. They're just up the stream a bit. We made a temporary shelter for them. We've been on the beach all night.” She eyed the storm pushing up the waves and sending sand stinging against our skin. “That's not going to help things...”

“I know. Let's get up there and see where things are.”

“Amy?”

“She's on the boat.”

“Ok.”

Gale led us up the stream a ways and into the section that was heavily lined with ferns and small bushes. I saw several large logs and big leaves that had been laid together, forming a primitive lean-to just off the stream. I saw the children first, Mie and Poln sitting, knees up, huddled against a tree. Their faces showed they knew things were serious and they looked exhausted.

Hona and Manu were huddled over Keekah, and I could hear the teen's soft cries as I approached. Tok sat against the lean to, Hakee nearby. His knee looked bloody, busted badly, purple in spots. Hakee was cleaning his wounds. Despite what had to be a painful injury, he smiled when he saw me and nodded in my direction.

Keekah's face was a mix of agony and exhaustion. Her brown skin had an ashen quality. Manu had wrapped her ankle, had it propped on a folded towel. Keekah was the only one of us naked, and for just a moment, I noted how odd that seemed.

I dropped to my knees beside her and her eyes opened slowly, then wide. “KOWL!” She tried to rise, opened her arms, but her pain shot through her and she groaned and fell back.

I sank down and held her head as she looked at me frightened and upset. I kissed her head, her hands weakly wrapped around my shoulders. I whispered to her, “hi, Sweetheart... It's gonna be ok. We'll get you back to camp. You won't be hurting soon. Hang in there, my strong Keekah.” I kissed her lips. They were dry and withdrawn.

For a moment she wouldn't let go until I said, “need to get you in a state where we can move you. Too exposed out here.” I asked Bailey for water and poured a cup for Keekah, pulled out a painkiller and had her swallow it.

Manu eyed me, asked, “what that?”

“Will help her pain for the move. I've got one for Tok, too.”

“He refuse it. He think he strong. More strong. Stubborn man. Keekah strong, too, but strong and know when she weak. He just think he strong.”

I nodded, had her ask Tok anyway, but he shook his head and Manu let me know that he'd refused the pill.

Rain started pouring down with peals of thunder and flashes of lightning hitting from the North and West. Everyone huddled as best we could, there was no sense trying to move anyone in the driven rain.

Gale showed me that they'd made a litter out of two strong limbs and some of the heavier fabric they'd brought North with them. She let me know that Tok could walk, albeit very carefully, so long as he kept weight off his busted knee. While we waited out the worst of the storm, Keekah began to relax as the painkiller kicked in and was soon resting reasonably comfortably. It was a bit tricky getting her on the stretcher, but once on, we were ready for a break in the rain.

Gale, Bailey, and I huddled, tried to figure out the best way to get the two injured friends on the boat. The waves were rough, treacherous, would make it even more difficult to get Keekah and Tok to the deck. Bailey offered, “if we can't get them in the boat... maybe just pull them in the raft?”

I thought a moment. “That's the worst-case alternative, but I don't like the thought of them in the raft in this squall. It stays afloat just fine when it bears no weight, but with them in it, as we move through these waves... big risk. Tok will probably be able to get up under his own weight if someone helps him, but there's no way Keekah's getting off that stretcher today.”

Bailey said, “we could make a ramp. There are several big trees down, just over there. The boat is pretty close to the shore... think that might work?”

“Yes. Yes, great idea. The boat's bobbing unsteadily, but if we could get a couple of those leaning on the bow just right, it might be stable enough to haul her up to the deck.”

I eyed the rain, saw no break in our near future, and pulled in Bailey, Manu, Hona, and Hakee. “We're going to try to build a ramp for the boat, for Keekah. Take me to the downed trees and let's see what we can move. Did you happen to bring one of the saws or the machete, something we could use to chop away limbs?”

Manu nodded and retrieved a small rusty saw and the weighty machete from a heavy bag. I sent Bailey back to the boat to check on Amy and let her know what we were planning. The women and I headed to the area with the downed trees. At first, I wasn't certain there was much to work with. The trees I saw were short, twisted, would offer nothing like the level plane we'd need. But further in, off from the stream to the South, Manu showed me where a dozen trees, mostly straight, had fallen over the previous months.

Some were rotted and not of use, but I found four that looked promising, recently felled and reasonably straight. Long enough to give us a shot to reach from surf to bow. I hacked away at them with the machete, chopping off branches, while Manu and Hona took turns doing the same with the saw. Once cleaned up, we set about moving the long trunks to the shore.

Bailey waited there, and Amy was standing on deck, watching. Bailey joined us and we brought the three other trees down. It was going to be close. Even in the near-shore, the waves were as large as any I'd seen on the island, tossing the creaking boat all around.

Manu and I worked the first tree out, debated how best to get it to deck, settled on a rope attached to the end. I climbed up while the women got the rest of the trees into the water. They were heavy, but none of them gave up until each was ready to position. On deck, I found a rope and tied a strong loop around one end, lowered it down. Bailey ran it over one end of the first trunk and pulled it tight, just behind a small knot in the wood.

It was slow going as I pulled the rope in one fist at a time. Wood on the bow rail splintered, snapped, two large pieces breaking free before the end of the tree finally slipped over the edge of the deck. I tied it off as best I could and found another rope to get the second trunk.

Slowly, we had four long natural planks in place. I looked down at the ramp and knew it was going to be tricky. The slant was more than I'd hoped it would be. I'd managed to mostly ignore the driving rain and thunder while we worked, but I became all too aware when a flash of light snapped loudly to the West and set my ears ringing. Cracking, breaking timber was followed by a crunching boom that signaled a newly fallen tree. It was very dangerous and we needed to get things going quickly as it seemed the storm got worse by the minute.

Amy waited on the boat while we raced back to the lean-to. Tok was already on his feet, supported by a heavy stick he used for a crutch. Gale assisted him and started him slowly toward the boat. Keekah slept despite the booms and lightning strikes. Mie and Poln picked up the gear in the bags and hurried down out of site while Manu, Hona, Bailey and I carefully picked up Keekah and prepared her to move.

We walked her gently, trying to keep her as stable as possible. She groaned a couple of times, and I was very grateful that the painkiller was absorbing most of her agony. When the boat came into sight, I noticed Tok was slowly pulling himself up the ramp backwards, using his hands and one leg to support him as he scooted up on his butt. It was a steep climb, but he managed to get on deck where Amy helped move him out of sight.

Hakee got the children up the rope ladder and returned to see what we would do with Keekah. I knew then there was no way we could walk her up, carrying the litter. It was too steep and the rain made it too slick. I thought maybe we could use ropes to pull her up the ramp, but the angle was such that she'd never stay on the litter. For a moment, exhaustion washed over me as I explained my thoughts to those listening.

It was Bailey who saved the situation. “What if we put something under the stretcher, under one end, that leaves her at a different angle. Like a big limb or something that can just slide up.”

“Brilliant. Yes.” Lightning against blasted to the West, causing us all to jump. “Let's find something. Gale, get Amy to throw down one of the thin ropes tied on the stern. We'll need it.” Bailey and I sprinted up the stream looking for the right shape. The saw and machete were back on the boat, so I hoped to find something ready to go.

It took a few minutes but we found a section of broken limb four feet long and half as thick. It was our best shot to try. Bailey and I used the stream to help move the heavy wood and soon had it back on the shore. Gale waited with the rope I'd requested. While the women and I held Keekah's litter up, Bailey carefully worked her way underneath and, with some direction, tied the thick branch tightly to the litter.

A relative calm hit just then, rain still driving but no lightning close by. Waves crashed against the boat and our feet as we dragged Keekah's stretcher to the ramp and got her in position. Amy tossed down two ropes which we tied off carefully to the top of the gurney, and a third which we looped around her waist. Worst case, we hoped we could keep her from falling too far if the ramp shifted suddenly. We positioned Keekah on the ramp, and got ready to test our solution.

I climbed up on deck along with Hona and Manu, the three of us along with Amy taking hold of the ropes. Bailey waited at Keekah's feet where she was going to try to keep her stable on the way up.

Slowly, very slowly, we set our backs against the strain. The friction between the untreated wood trunks and the litter made it difficult to get movement started. We'd inch her a bit before it slid a foot, then would hold fast once more. Bailey crept slowly behind while Keekah moaned. Rain picked up again, lashing in from the North as we worked and rocked on deck.

The ramp twisted suddenly, threatening to send Keekah into the water as we tried desperately to hold tight the ropes. Bailey clamped on to the stretcher with her hands while her legs held fast around the ramp. It was a tense moment, but thanks to Bailey, the boat and ramp soon stopped twisting and we were able to keep pulling the girl up.

It probably took us fifteen or twenty minutes of incredible strain before the litter approached the deck and started over. A very long fifteen or twenty minutes. The storm intensified, had the boat and the ramp moving constantly. The ramp threatened several times to pull away, but by inches, we were spared that disaster. Once the litter was in sight, Manu and I grabbed the ends and worked it up over the extended ramp, and with Hakee and Hano, got Keekah on deck, finally, moving her toward the back where there was a bit less rocking.

Bailey climbed up the end where Amy took her hands and helped her onto the deck. The two hugged tightly. Bailey was cut up. Both her legs and her hands showed long red welts and cuts from sliding over and hanging on to the wood and the litter. She looked much older than her thirteen years in that moment.

I wasted no more time. We had to get moving. The boat already felt dangerously laden, water beginning to weigh it down as it leaked in from cracks and flooded in from the rain above.

By the time I moved back to the stern, Hona and Manu were hard at work cranking on the anchor, so I fired up the little motor and heard it sputter to life. It was a very welcome sound, weak and pathetic as it was.

I realized we were far from out of danger. The trip around from the South had been difficult, but the storm and the waves and the wind had all gotten stronger, deadlier. Once the anchor was up, we untied the ramp. It thrashed a moment as the boat rocked, tore big chunks of the deck rail off as the heavy wood tried to come free. It fell to one side with a heavy crash and the boat was finally free of all restraints.

It took every bit of power to get the boat moved off the shore. The deeper water I was in was a narrow slit, and I didn't dare risk trying to turn the boat against the waves so close to the sand. We'd have surely been beached, and all our work would have been for nothing. Instead, I kept the motor in hard reverse, fighting the waves that pounded us from the North.

It was probably close to an hour before I got us far enough out to to try to power the boat through a turn. Slowly the creaky vessel came to, barely able to turn against the force of the waves. We'd turn a few degrees only to lose most of that with the next wave, then move a few more in the right direction, losing most of that again. It was a long, scary turn that left me feeling incredible anxiety. I thought briefly of how much I longed to sit in the sun at camp, smoking a joint, waiting for a fish to swallow my hook.

I let that go and concentrated on captaining the boat. It sloshed heavily as we finally moved to the East. I had to keep it pointed to the Northeast to keep us moving steadily along the shore. More than once I feared the power of the waves was too much for the boat to handle, and more than once I considered beaching us and waiting out the roughest weather.

But slowly we made progress. The high ridge met the water once more to our South, and we were soon leaving the sandy beach behind in the blowing gale.

It took all my concentration to keep things stable and moving. Bailey regularly stood with me in the steerage, her face one of determination, not fear. She had the look of someone who was facing adversity with a powerful will, a single-minded focus on accomplishing a difficult goal. She glanced at me once, gave me a small smile, and melted my heart despite my anxiety.

Hakee, Amy, and Hona took turns on the bow keeping watch for underwater obstacles, but I doubted they'd see anything in the rough water. Manu stayed with Keekah and Tok, did her best to keep them comfortable. Mie and Poln held the litter to keep it from sliding around deck.

We made the turn around the Northeast corner of the island and finally gained an advantage. The waves were pushing straight onto the stern and helped us speed quickly to the South. Ahead I could see flashes of light, but that edge of the storm raced ahead of us. Behind, I could hear rumbles of thunder and knew another line would soon be upon us. The rain never slowed, and the wind whirled across the deck, almost drowning out the creaking hull and its clapping, loose planks.

I started our turn early as we neared the Southeast corner, bringing the boat in at small angle to shore long before we could go around. It worked nearly flawlessly despite the powerful waves, and as we came to and headed West, I begin to think we'd soon be at the camp.

The engine sputtered, smoked, and died as we entered the lee side of the island. I tried repeatedly to get it to crank. It turned over, sputtered, and refused to fire up. I forced down the fears rising in my head as we slowly drifted away from shore. I refused to panic, but the impulse was there just below the surface. Gale rushed up, said, “Tok thinks he can fix it.”

I looked at her with surprise, then saw Manu and Hona helping Tok hang over the back of the boat, his busted knee seemingly forgotten. I couldn't see what he was doing, but I heard a few heavy bangs, then Manu signaled me to try again. Once more, I tried to start the engine and it failed.

We washed further away and all too quickly we were easily a few miles offshore, the island small in the distance through the sheets of rain. At that point I made the decision to toss out the anchor and keep us from going any further. A large splash was followed by heavy chains sliding into the water, and it caught fast. The boat shuddered against its restraint, and it rocked noisily as the surf tried to break it free.

Tok continued to work on the motor and I tried to start us several times. The motor refused to even sputter and he finally raised up and admitted defeat. We were stuck.

The next line of storms were pounding the island and I came to the realization that there was nothing we could do until we had calmer seas. I forced everyone down into the cabin. We carefully carried Keekah down, a challenge with the vertical steps leading below deck.

Once inside, eleven of us sat huddled, buffeted by the heavy seas, anxiety running high, and everyone's fright obvious on weary faces. Bailey was the one that showed no fear, the one who kept hope alive in the first couple of tense, frightening hours. She hugged everyone, whispered to each of us, moved around as if she had limitless energy. She held Keekah's hand, smiled at her, at me. She pulled Mie and Poln to her, rocked them and sang them little, sweet songs she'd known as a child.

Bailey passed around dried fish and bananas, ensured everyone had water to drink. For hours we were cramped in the small room. When bowels and bladders forced someone topside, it was Bailey that helped them up and down the ladder, helped them keep stable long enough to void and urinate. When Keekah needed to pee, Bailey was the one to pack a heavy towel through her legs, letting the fourteen-year old urinate into it before cleaning the girl with a clean rag and water.

The room smelled of our bodies, of stale urine, of fear. Several times we were thrown over to one side, and each time I wondered if the boat had finally taken on enough water to capsize and sink. But each time it sluggishly righted and seemed to have a bit more fight in it.

Gale told a story, one that she later told me came to her in that dark, smelly room spontaneous and unbidden. It was a story she'd once known well but forgotten during her years on the island. She settled into a telling of The Wind in the Willows, of Mole and Ratty and all the creatures that lived in Wild Wood. It was fascinating to hear Gale tell it. I'd read the book when I was a teenager, but her version was more personal, fanciful, lighter and more carefree than I remembered the narrative to be. She said a few sentences in English, then did her best to repeat the tale for the Hahonokoans.

We sat caught up in her tale as she introduced Mr. Toad and Mr. Otter, had us waiting for each twist and turn in the adventure. We all forgot about our desperate situation for a while, and it did wonders for us as we waited out what I'd come to believe was our slow and agonizing drift to our deaths far out at sea, far away from our home on the island.

When she finally ended the tale with Toad's banquet and how his redemption was complete, I felt refreshed. Weary, to be sure, but there was something in the way Mole and Toad and the others had struggled with their challenges that drew me in and let me believe we might yet survive.

The anchor slid often throughout the day and into the night. I could feel the boat pull it along and I expected we were getting farther and farther from the island.

Sounds of bashing waves and creaking boards had most of us dozing off and on in the silence after Gale's story. There wasn't much to do but wait and wait and wait. Amy settled against me on one side, Bailey against the other, and I held both teens tight as I drifted in and out of uncomfortable sleep, the light sounds of snoring and the smells of stale fear and sweat heavy in my nose, fears of dying and loss and desperate moments heavy in my mind.