The short nap turned into an eternal slumber. Once more, my gaze fell upon the skeletal remains of what were once Sam, Max, and Captain Francis. These individuals, who once held names, identities, friends, and families who treasured them, had now been reduced to mere heaps of bones.
Will the same happen to me, If I ended up dying alone in a place like this, and if someone manages to find me will they only look at me as a heap of bones and not as Francis Slander? Is this what life is all about? We are all going to die anyway so why am I struggling this much to survive?
*Whimper*
Rex's sad whimper brought me back to reality, I looked at him and he was looking at me with a sad face.
"Hahaha… Don't worry Rex. It's nothing I was just thinking about something", I petted his head and reassured him.
Alright enough with the negative thoughts, I have to survive no matter what, what will happen to Rex if something happens to me? Who will take care of him? Once again Rex is the one giving me the strength to live.
Now I know the truth behind this cursed island, I should get out of here as soon as possible. I took the watch from my pocket and it was around noon. Ok, for now, let's spend the night in the ocean, and let's return to this island tomorrow morning.
Once again Sam, Max, and Captain Francis caught my eye.
*sighs*
I sighed, I can't leave them like this, let's give them a proper burial"
I remember seeing a shovel in the cave, maybe that's what they used to bury their comrades on this island.
I took the shovel and went a little deeper into the island to find a good spot.
"Hoo… What's this?"
There were some makeshift wooden crosses, is this where they buried their comrades? The crosses were covered in vines and moss. I cleaned one of them and saw the name James Anderson.
He was probably one of their fellow comrades. At least he was fortunate enough to have been given a grave, unlike others like Alex, whose fate I came to know through the diary.
I started to dig near their comrades' graves but it was hard to dig with just one hand. Then I remembered Rex.
"Rex, buddy, could you lend me a paw and help me dig these graves? I want to at least provide these people with a proper burial"
*Woof woof*
He eagerly obliged. Once the digging was complete, I returned to the cave. Breaking open a few wooden rum boxes, I utilized the available nails to craft makeshift crosses. Finding cornstarch in one of the trunks, I mixed it with water to create white paint. With a small knife from the same trunks, I carefully carved their names onto the crosses and then applied white paint over them.
I carefully moved Max, Sam, and Captain Francis to their final resting places, gently lowering their skeletal remains into the graves before tenderly closing each one. I placed their respective crosses on the three separate graves, each marked with the inscriptions "Here lies Max," "Here lies Sam," and finally, "Here lies Captain Francis S. Slattery."
Unlike Captain Francis, I couldn't determine the last names of Sam and Max, but I knew there was nothing I could do to change that. Interestingly, I stumbled upon a multitude of keys on Captain Francis, a discovery that surprised me considering I hadn't noticed them during my previous search. Uncertain about their purpose, I decided to hold onto them, just in case.
*sighs*
I sighed, that was a lot of work but if I didn't do that, I don't know what kind of effect that will have on my conscience. The only reason I am sane till now is because of Rex. I took out the watch to see the time, it was around four in the evening. I should leave soon.
I went back to the cave and took a few weapons and some rum and a few food ingredients with me and went back to the supply ship.
"Come on Rex, let's go"
*Woof*
…..
After driving for a few hours now we are currently in the middle of nowhere, stranded in the middle of the ocean. I was very hungry because of all the hard work. I got to the refrigerator and took out some chicken and fish and used the rice, soy sauce, and other ingredients, and made some kind of mixed chicken and fish fried rice.
It was really good if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, Rex can't eat this because most of the spices are toxic to dogs so I gave him some plain rice with some boiled chicken with their bones removed and I even added some boiled egg for good measure.
*Woof Woof*
He happily started devouring the meal. Well, we should get our strength back because we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.
Starting with the search for NS Scorpion.
…..
As the sun began to rise, I started my day with a cup of coffee and a satisfying morning meal. Afterward, we returned to the island. Docking the boat, we surveyed the surroundings. Everything appeared normal, so I proceeded to search for NS Scorpion as mentioned in the diary.
Following the diary's instructions, I headed north until I reached a massive Banyan tree. From there, I turned left and walked for a few minutes until I stumbled upon a small rock formation. As I drew closer, I began my search for the entrance. And there it was—Bingo! I had found it.
I brought a few weapons with me, just to be prepared. I had an assault rifle and a handgun, as well as my trusty machete.
And I entered the cave. The natural sunlight illuminates the whole cave and what greeted me was a beautiful and majestic NS Scorpion. She was around 77 meters in length.
I have seen many beautiful boats and submarines during my time at the Navy but she has a unique beauty to her, it was kind of like she had a certain vintage aesthetic, wait now that I think about it she is kind of old and was stranded here for almost Fifty years.
If I remember correctly NS stands for Nuclear Submarine so there is a pretty good chance that she is still operational but I don't want to have my hopes up because she has been stranded here for nearly half a century and I could even see algae growing on her.
So I started approaching her and stepped into some shallow water then suddenly something popped out of the water and caught my right leg, I started to panic and got out my assault rifles and was ready to fire but another one of those popped up and severed my right leg.
*Ahaaaa*
I tumbled onto the nearby dry land, hastily firing my weapon without bothering to aim accurately, directing my shots towards the general vicinity where those creatures emerged. When my entire magazine was spent, their true nature was revealed: Mermen.
In contrast to the one I encountered yesterday, these Mermen were clad in armor and armed with swords and spears. They wielded pressurized water weapons, just as the diary had described.
Blood started gushing from my severed leg. I quickly tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around my leg.
*Woof Woof*
It all happened very quickly so Rex didn't even have time to reach.
"Re-Rex, Can you go and find me something like a sturdy stick so that I can balance myself?"
He bolted away from the cave, and I lay down on the ground. Why do these kinds of things keep happening to me? Why do I keep losing my body parts? Is this how I am going to die?
Then I heard the sound of Rex's footsteps, he went and bought the shovel we used earlier to dig the grave, well as long as I have Rex with me I won't die very easily.
I retrieved the shovel from Rex and made an attempt to stand up. However, maintaining balance proved challenging with just one leg and one hand at my disposal. Unfortunately, this shovel is too short to be used as a support.
Then the spear that the mermen used caught my eye, "Rex can you bring that to me? But be careful there could be more of them hiding somewhere"
*Woof*
He jumped into the water without a second thought and swam towards the spear and bought it back to me.
"Thanks, buddy I would like to pet you but my hand is full at the movement"
For now, let's go back to the cave.
.....
I arrived at the beach cave and settled onto the bed. Questions filled my mind: Why had those Mermen gathered near NS Scorpion? And why were there only two of them? Could they have been scouts, dispatched to gather information about my presence on the island?