Devan wakes up and looks around knowing that this is the last time that he will be awakening here. He quickly breaks down the tarp he had been using as a shelter so that he can use it for a sail. He attaches it to the thin log that he will be able to roll and unroll to deploy the sail or put it away if it gets too rough.
He gathers everything that he has left out and heads to the raft. It doesn't take long for him to hook up the sail and then put the rest of the things in the crates to store till they were needed. Devan takes a deep breath looking at the raft knowing what is left for him to do now. He knew he had some time before high tide and that was going to be the time that he was going to be able to launch the raft.
Deven knew that he had a couple of hours before high tide, but he had a lot to do in that time. The main thing he had to do was get the back of the raft lifted. So that he could slide it down into the water. He was glad that he had left the rope over the tree from before. Now all he had to do was lift one or two of the logs that the raft was sitting on to turn them into a ramp. That way he could slide the raft off of it into the water.
The log was easy enough for Devan to tie a rope around the end of it. All he had to do was dig away the sand that it was sitting on. He verified that the rope was tight and the knot would not come free. Once he tested it and it held, he went to the other end and pulled. The rope pulled easily at first but then the weight of the log hit and slowed it down. By the time the weight of the raft hit he had all he could do to pull it hard enough to lift the log. In fact, the tree started bending down with the stress of the weight.
Once he got the log up in the air there was no way to try and tie it around the tree. with it being so heavy and the rope so tight. Deven kept the rope tight as he circled the tree four times taking all the weight off the end of the rope enabling him to tie it in place.
Devan felt the strain on the rope and hoped that it would hold out long enough for the task. He makes a test push on the raft to see if he is going to be able to move it and how easily it will move.
As Devan pushes on the raft, he feels it move a little, but it is going to take all his strength to get it moving. He was prepared for the raft to be hard to move since it was as big as it was and how heavy everything that was in it was. He picked up one of the pols that he had made to hold up the canvas for a shelter. Slides it under the edge of the raft and only lifts it a little just enough to see if he is going to be able to get it to move like this. When it moved Deven smiled that it moved and quickly stopped pushing. He was hoping by leaving it as far back as he could the momentum would help it launch into the water.
Devan started getting excited as the water's edge inched its way to the raft. He knew that it was only a matter of time till he was going to be able to push it out. Devan anxiously awaits the tide to come in and wonders if he has forgotten anything. He goes through the mental list of things that he thought he should have just to try and make sure that he had not forgotten anything. As the water touches the edge of the raft Deven knows that he has exactly 5 more inches before the tide will come in to be at its max. He now wishes that he would have put it closer to shore but he knew that he was going to need the tree, and this was the best one to build it by.
Devan finds that his excitement is actually growing as time gets closer to when he can launch the raft. Finally, he decides that is close enough and gets behind the raft digs in deep, and with a huge shove on the pole the raft starts to slide. Devan is instantly relieved as he feels the wave move the raft a little toward him and then try and suck it back out.
Now Devan put the pole under the edge of the raft again and then waited for the wave to come in and then pushed hard as it rolled out again using the water to help pull it out. He was surprised at how well that was working. He just had to keep up with it and assist the waves. As the tide helped lift it a few inches at a time. He was able to move it out with the wave as it rolled out. Devan was surprised that it was moving as well as it was.
It was slow going but not that bad. He was able to walk it out to where it was all floating. At first, he thought that it was going to sit too deep in the water, but it was floating a lot better than he thought that it would. He figured that it must be that he didn't collect all the water that he was going to that was making it float so well. Devan had made some paddles for it, but he didn't think that they were going to be of much worth. Since the raft was so big and square it was not like they were going to be able to push the thing. He thought that if worst came to worst he could try and steer with them or something.
Devan smiles as his last hard push frees the raft to completely float free of the island. Devan throws the pole on it and then pulls it close so that he can get on it himself. At first, he struggled to find good enough footing to get on it. He hadn't realized that once it was in the water and floating it was going to be so hard to boost himself up onto it. He started to panic as the raft was being pulled out with the tide and dragging him along with it.
Devan finally manages to get a good enough foothold to boost himself up onto the top and get settled as he drifts out farther. At first, Devan tries to push the raft in the direction that he feels it needs to travel, but the poles do only a little. The water quickly gets too deep to allow him to reach the bottom.
Devan tried to paddle with the ores that he made. He was able to get a little bit of movement with it but figured that it would be of better use as a tiller than an ore. Deven thinks that he is clever in turning the canvas into a makeshift sail. Which works but still is hard for him to control, and half of the time tries to pull him off of the raft. He was able to tie the edges down and pull one side or the other to get the sail to turn some but mostly he was at the mercy of the wind and the tide to push the raft wherever it wanted to go.
Devan sits there mostly trying to get used to the rocking of the raft. He was just glad that there were no real waves. He finds himself wishing that there are more clouds in the sky since the hot sun is bearing down on him. It was making him sweat and wishing that the canvas was a cover for him again.
Devan looks up into the sky wondering where all the clouds have gone. He had not realized how hot it was going to be out here on the raft in the sun without any real wind blowing leaving the air hot and heavy. Making it even harder to breathe. Devan thought about all those days when he got drenched by the rain, and now that he wanted it there was not a cloud in sight.
Devan drinks from the water that he has stored. Looking out into the ocean he knew how good the water would feel if he just dove into it. But he would have trouble getting back up on the raft not to mention he wouldn't want the water drying on his skin making him itch more than he already was. Devan knew that part of what he was feeling was the itch from getting on the raft before.
Devan thought as long as the itching didn't get too bad, he should be able to just ride it out. At least until it rains again, and if it does get bad, he supposed that he could use a little of the water that he had to take care of it. But that would be a more or less last resort.
Devan looked out in the water as he drifted not knowing where he should even try to go. All he could see was water now. The islands that were close he had drifted past and now there were no signs of them. He had been on the ship before and the fact that he looked out and all he could see was water didn't really faze him then, but everything was different now.
As the minutes turned into hours, he felt so helpless. His raft which he thought was so big and hard to move was just a speck in the ocean. Now that he couldn't see anything but water in every direction things have changed in him once again. Everything that he was going through was just showing him that he was too old for all of this. He just wanted the wealth that he had acquired to see him through his remaining years. He just had to get through the ordeal that he was in the middle of.
As the day turned to night, he found that he was going to have to tie himself to the raft. So that he doesn't roll, or get washed off over the edge of it while he was sleeping.
Here he sits and waits thinking that this is how it's going to be as the days and nights go by. He just hopes that not too many go by without him getting rescued.