Martin and Keira disembarked from the boat and rushed toward the town.
The road leading to the town was a small path paved with gravel.
On both sides were large banana plantations.
Before 2007, Dominica's main economic sources, aside from tourism, were banana cultivation. Even the country's former leader, Edison James, came from a banana marketing company, illustrating the significant impact bananas had on the nation.
However, in 2007, a massive hurricane named "Dean" hit Dominica, devastating the banana plantations across the country and severely damaging the infrastructure, particularly the roads.
In addition, with the global trend of monoculture and the weak resistance of banana species to diseases and pests, banana cultivation began to gradually decrease in Dominica's agricultural sector.
At this time, though, banana farming remained a key industry for the island.
With the banana trees acting as a buffer, the wind speed diminished significantly, but the rain poured down heavily.
"Ah, damn! Today is just terrible!" Keira exclaimed, holding her head, looking frustrated, as she ran alongside Martin.
Suddenly, Martin called out, "There's a small cabin up ahead. Let's take shelter from the rain."
They rushed into the small wooden cabin. Martin quickly scanned the area and realized it was an abandoned structure, filled with dust and cobwebs. It had a table, two chairs, a cabinet, and a bed.
On the table and bed lay several locally made straw hats, and under the bed was an iron fire pit.
It seemed that this place had once served as a resting spot for banana harvesters.
Martin opened the cabinet and was pleasantly surprised to find two relatively clean towels and a straw mat.
He spread the mat on the bed, shook out the towels, and turned to Keira, saying, "Hurry up and take off your clothes!"
"Ah?" Keira widened her eyes. "Now? Here?"
Martin smiled, reaching out to flick her on the head.
"What were you thinking? You're soaked, take off your wet clothes and dry off with the towels. You'll get sick otherwise. I'll start a fire to warm us up and dry your clothes."
"Just like this?" Keira asked, her big eyes staring at him.
Martin nodded without hesitation. "Yep, just like this!"
"But how are you going to start a fire? Do you have a lighter? Actually, there are other ways we can keep warm!"
The young girl was clever, giving him a flirtatious look and deliberately mimicking scenes from movies where women seduce men. She placed her hand on Martin's shoulder, licking her lips.
Martin chuckled. "Ever heard of friction fire?"
"Huh? You can do that?"
"I can do anything. Now hurry up and dry yourself off. I'm going to start the fire."
Martin wasn't being modest; he genuinely cared about Keira's well-being.
While Keira undressed, he turned his back to her and dragged the iron fire pit from under the bed.
He then gathered some broken wood from the corner of the cabin and placed it into the fire pit.
Next, he found a thin wooden stick and pretended to drill, though he hadn't even sharpened it.
He infused his magic into the wood.
With a thought, the fire blazed to life.
A surprised voice came from behind him. "It worked! Martin, you're amazing!"
Soon, Martin felt a soft weight against his back.
"I'm still wet," Martin said.
"Then take off your clothes!" Keira boldly spoke, wrapping her arms around his back.
Martin turned around.
Their eyes met.
Then, Martin's gaze lowered...
Keira's face flushed.
But she didn't try to hide anything.
She stood confidently in front of him, allowing his eyes to roam freely.
The fire pit brought warmth to the cabin, and the steam rose from their wet clothes, filling the room with a gentle mist.
The wooden bed creaked, the house sang.
The noise of the storm outside seemed so distant now.
...
The next day.
The wind and rain had stopped.
Martin and Keira walked into the town, now dressed in dry clothes.
Most of the buildings in Dominica were a dusty yellow, giving off a primitive feel.
At the entrance to the four-story yellow building where the crew was staying, a crowd had gathered, composed of both crew members and locals, all speaking animatedly.
"What happened?"
Martin's voice came from behind Jerry Bruckheimer, the famous Hollywood producer. He looked surprised, then smiled broadly as he turned to face Martin and Keira. "Damn, you're alright! That's great!"
Orlando Bloom also came over, looking relieved. "You didn't come back last night, we were just about to send locals to look for you. Damn, I was so worried. The storm was crazy last night, I was afraid something happened to you."
Orlando's words were half true, half false. He was genuinely concerned, but he was also worried that if something happened to Martin, the whole production would be delayed indefinitely.
Also, he was the only one who was fine, and he didn't want anyone blaming him for the disappearance of the two.
Thankfully, Martin and Keira had returned safely.
Orlando Bloom finally felt at ease.
Director Gore Verbinski had finished his discussion with the locals and pushed through the crowd, saying half-seriously, "Martin, Keira, I don't think I can let you leave the crew again. My heart can't take this kind of scare!"
"Sorry, my fault. The storm was so bad last night, we stayed in a small cabin on the road."
"As long as you're okay! As long as you're okay!" Verbinski had similar concerns as Orlando.
"The local weather forecast was off. Everyone should stay with the crew, safety first," said Jerry Bruckheimer.
Martin smiled. "Alright, I'll cooperate."
Keira had been hiding behind Martin, her neck shrunk and not saying a word, looking a bit "scared."
Everyone assumed she was still shaken by the hurricane.
In fact, she was just shy!
The hickey on her collarbone was still fresh and she didn't want anyone to see it!
Luckily, the storm lasted for three more days.
The crew stayed at the simple hotel for three days.
During this time, Keira rarely left her room, hiding away.
Once the storm passed, the marks faded, and Keira confidently stepped out of her room, announcing that she had completely overcome her "fear" and was ready to continue filming.
The crew moved to a beach on the edge of the island.
After another day of rest, filming resumed the next day.