The sky above was clear, with only the sun in all its glory up above. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle swishing of waves brushing up against the edge of the beach.
The three survivors lie on the sands. Chamnan is still hugging Adrin tightly, while Adrin still clutches on the rope. Desia is also holding on to the other end of that same rope.
Chamnan starts to feel the harsh sunlight burning his delicate skin. He then opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees is Adrin's face. Chamnan quickly realises that he is hugging Adrin tightly. He blushes and quickly pushes Adrin away.
Chamnan rolls away and lies down on his back, facing the clear blue sky. He then quickly turns his face as the sun is burning her eyes.
Meanwhile, Adrin starts to regain his consciousness from being pushed.
"Where am I?..... Am I dead? I wonder which heaven I ended up in...."
Adrin mutters as he opens his eyes, only to see blinding light. But soon enough, the light is blocked by a blurry, feminine face.
"Are you..... an angel?"
Adrin mutters as he is still half-conscious. So Chamnan slap him in the face, then says
"Wake up! We are not dead! At least you are not dead since I can feel your pulse! Wake up!".
The slap wakes Adrin up to his full consciousness. He quickly remarks
"Ow! Chamnan! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make fun of your appearance! I swear!".
Chamnan lower his brows and says
"I will let it slide this time since you were half-conscious and staring at the sun.".
Adrin gets up to sit and look around the area. Meanwhile, Chamnan goes to check on Desia.
"Okay, I can feel a pulse here... Desia, wake up!"
Chamnan said. He shakes Desia's arm and calls his name to try to wake him up. But Desia remains unconscious. So Chamnan slapped Desia's cheek hard. Desia immediately wakes up from the sudden pain and gets up. He accidentally headbutts Chamnan on his way up.
"OW! Aw! My head! "
Chamnan yells as he rolls on the ground in pain.
"Oh! I'm sorry! That is just my reaction!"
Desia said. He then looks around himself, and remark
"Wait... We are still alive!?".
Adrin approach him and says
"Chamnan said that You and I have pulses, so I guess at least the two of us are alive....".
All three of them went quiet and turned to look at the sea, to see the raging storm lingering over the horizon.
"So... We are stuck here eh?"
Chamnan remarked. Adrin then says
"I wonder how's the captain and the rest of the crew is doing right now.".
Desia then says
"Maybe they might get washed up on this island like us! We need to find them!".
Suddenly Desia stomach growl as he feels his hunger and fatigue set in. Adrin then remark
"I think our priority is to get some food, fresh water and start a campfire for tonight. We must focus on surviving before we start exploring the island. But do keep an eye out for smoke as that might mean there are people on this island.".
Desia replies
"That's sound fair to me. I can scout around the area and try to hunt for animals....."
Desia looks around himself and pat his empathy quiver in distress as he says
"Oh no, I think I lost my bows and all of my arrows to the sea....".
Chamnan then remarks
"I know how to forage for foods and herbs. It's one of the things I have to learn as a herbalist. If we are lucky, we might be able to find some mushrooms or fruits to eat.".
Adrin pats his belt sash to see that his machete is still with him. He then says
"That is good to hear. The most important thing, for now, is to find so freshwater. If we have a bamboo pole, I can do spearfishing for food. We should explore the surrounding area together. We need fresh water, bamboo pole, firewood and food.".
Desia nods and replies
"Got it. I will keep an eye out for danger and freshwater. Chamnan can focus on foraging while you cut down some bamboo and gather some woods. Since you are the only one with a machete here.".
Chamnan then says
"We should get going already. We are all thirsty and hungry now, which mean we don't have much time before we starve.".
Adrin then replies
"I'm sure there is plenty of food and water on this island since those jungles look quite dense. We are in this together now. We will survive this island together. Now let us go check out the jungles.".
They walk into the jungles. Adrin clears the path and marks some trees with his machete.
"Wow, This jungle is dense! Keep an eye out for colourful things. Colourful things are usually poisonous. We should also keep an eye out for snakes or other creepy-crawlies."
Chamnan said while scanning the area with his eyes. Desia then remark
"What a snake?"
They suddenly stop walking and turn to give Desia a worried look. Adrin then says
"Dude, do you remember that legless lizard you asked me about at the market when we were visiting the mainland?".
Desia stops to think about it, Then he remarks
"Oh! I remember it now! Snakes....".
Chamnan then replies
"Seriously!? How can you forget what a snake is!?"
Adrin quickly explain
"The Island he came from doesn't have any snake. His native doesn't even have a word for "snake". The first time he saw a snake is his only time.".
Desia remark
"Don't worry about me. I know not to mess with those legless lizards. I will keep an eye out for them, but I do hope this island has no snake.".
Chamnan is shocked to hear that an island with no snake exists. Chamnan says
"Yeah... okay. I'm glad that we are on the same page now. Let us continue on our way.".
So the group continued deeper into the jungles. They walk past many trees and dense shrubbery. The jungles shade blocked out most of the sunlight. They can feel the soggy leaves on every step they take, for this jungles is as humid as it is hot.
Chamnan starts to fan his collar while he looks around for something to forage. Meanwhile, Desia continues to keep an eye out for danger.
"Damn, this jungle is hot! Is it normal for a jungle to be like this?"
Chamnan complained about the heat. So Desia tell him
"Why not take off your shirt? You wear a shirt because you are sensitive to sunlight. But we are under the shade of the jungle right now. You don't have to worry much about the sun.".
Chamnan shrug and says
"I rather keep my shirt on. Unlike you guys, I prefer to keep my shirt on and well buttoned. I don't have thick, well-tanned skin or a muscular physique to show off.".
Desia then replies
"Oh, come on! What do you have to hide? We are all boys here. We don't make a big deal out of each other appearance.".
Adrin turn to look at them and says
"Desia, You are making him even more uncomfortable than he already is. Don't forget that he's a mainlander. I'm sure he has his reason we might not get. Let him be and focus on the task at hand for now.".
Desia shrug and replies
"Yeah, you have a good point. Sorry for bothering you, Chamnan. I will let you focus on foraging."
Chamnan smile and says
"Thanks, I can assure you that I have a reason, which I rather keep to myself. It's not like I don't trust you guys or anything. But there are things you rather not know.".
Desia remark
"Okay, now you just made me curious... Nope, I will keep up to my word and stop bothering you about this. By the way, did you guys see anything interesting yet?".
Adrin approach a group of bamboos and says
"I'm going to stop and cut these bamboos. You two should go look around. But make sure not to go too far.".
Chamnan nods and replies
"Got it. We will make sure to not go too far away. Let's go, Desia."
So Chamnan and Desia walk away to explore the area, not knowing of the danger that lurks...