Survival Island (reality show)

9. Birds

Who would have thought that catching parrots is so easy? These birds don’t seem to have a natural enemy on this island. They only make ruckus and fly when they hear noises that scare them. Like loud screaming. God, he hopes he’s not  going to have nightmares tonight. He can still see the guy hanging on the stakes, but the sight of all that blood was not good for his nerves. And it was terrible for the controlling nature of his wolf. The beast needs to be in control of the killing or he’s not happy.

He managed to climb up into a tree and grab one parrot at the same time that he hit another with the rocks and laces and brought it down. It pays off to be a shifter. His fast reflexes and stealth is great in situations like this. The birds didn’t even notice him until it was too late for two of them. Hopefully Magnus will catch the other one on the way to the ground and it doesn’t get stuck somewhere in the branches. He can’t see where the bird ended up. The branches and leaves of the tropical tree are too dense. The unfortunate bird in his grip gets a bash over the head and then he stuffs it in his bag.

He climbs back down and smiles at Magnus. He’s got the first bird de-feathered and gutted and they don’t even have a fire yet. His parrot is unresponsive but still alive. Is the bird playing dead? Will it try to fly away if he lets it go? Well, he won’t give it a chance to fly away. He didn’t go to all the trouble of climbing the tree to go hungry. It might be harsh, but the birds will learn there are beings higher in the food chain on this island now.

“Sorry, little bird.” He whispers and severs the birds head with his knife.

“Apologizing to the food? That’s new.” Magnus laughs. “I’ll skin it for you, if you make the fire.”

“So that’s how you got all the feathers off so fast. With the skin.” Sebastian nods. “Have to remember that trick.”

He can even find some dry wood where they are, but the fire pit will have to be bigger. He’s got no stones to make a barrier for the fire. He’ll make it with soil that he digs up. Staying fire conscious is important to him, he only hopes others do it too. If the jungle catches on fire, they are all doomed. There is no way to outrun a fire, not on this terrain. He is proud of his newest fire pit, it looks up to his standard. There is enough empty soil around the fire that it can’t jump over to the leaves even if a wind finds its way under the trees. He’s getting good at constructing the fire pits. Maybe he can make a real one back home? For cold winter days outside, to relax by it and read a book?

Magnus thrusts a stick in his hand and the bird is at its end: “Where did you wander off to?”

“Designing a fire pit for my retreat cabin by the lake. I can’t think of a reason why I don’t have one.” He answers and rotates the bird slowly. He hates burnt meat.

“That sounds nice.” Magnus nods. “Any other plans when you come home?”

“To buy a real house to call home and an ice cream shop for my girlfriend.” Sebastian answers. He is sharing personal things. Little by little, he’s warming up to the guy. 

“Will you tell me about this special ability of yours? How did you catch the birds?” Magnus inquires.

“Eat it first. We can talk about serious matters after dinner.” Sebastian smirks. He will not ruin the guy’s appetite. Besides, he needs to decide if he trusts him enough to tell him about the wolf. Can he tell a few things without giving away too much? Can he explain his senses and speed without the wolf?

He likes his meat a bit more on the juicy side, so the bird is off of the fire when it’s more on the rosy side on the inside and slightly brown on the outside. Most  people would call it too raw, but he’s a wolf. He would eat it when it came out of the feathers and it was still warm. 

‘Exactly. I don’t like to clean the feathers out of my teeth.’ The wolf comments. 

‘It’s a parrot. It’s lean meat. I didn’t think I'd ever be in a situation to say I miss the chickens.’ Sebastian responds.

‘Will you tell him?’ The wolf wants to know. There is no debate or question about what. There is just an if. What happens if he tells him? Can Magnus handle this?

“All right, I won't ask again. I’m grateful for the bird dinner.” Magnus says suddenly and brings Sebastian back to reality.

“I’m sorry. I was thinking how much to tell you.” Sebastian answers and looks apologetic over the fire at his friend. He just decided that they are friends, so he can tell the guy a few things. “The birds were easy. I figured they have no natural enemies on the island, so they won’t be alarmed if I climb the tree in silence. They only took off when there was shouting.”

“Oh. A stealth trick. Get them while they think they are safe.” Magnus shakes his head. “I should have thought about it.”

“It’s easy to miss, don’t beat yourself up about it.” He smiles. “You can never expect a bird to sit still and not fly away when it sees you. The trick is to get them when they are not watching.”

Sebastian just sits there for a few minutes, he’s staring at the flames and thinking about the cameras, or the lack of those. The whole thing is starting to look like an experiment and not like a reality show. Maybe he should bring that up and find out what Magnus thinks of it? But how does he explain why he knows there are no cameras around? He’s not ready to disclose the wolf just yet. Would the guy buy an explanation about electric currents and sound? How good does Magnus hear?

“There is something else that has been bothering me.” Sebastian looks up from the flames. “I haven’t seen any cameras. Not even around the traps.”

“Hm?” Magnus looks over to him. “Cameras? Didn’t they say the cameras will be well hidden?”

“Yeah. But every electrical device makes some sound. Even the battery operated ones.” Sebastian explains. “Even this bracelet they made us wear makes some tiny noise.”

“You can hear that?”Magnus exclaims in shock. “What are you? Super soldier?”

“No.” He laughs. “Put it up against your ear and tell me what you hear.”

“Wow. There is a faint buzz.” Magnus smiles and shakes his head. “So the cameras are making the same buzz just a bit louder?”

“Yes. They can’t hide a camera well enough if you know what sound to look for. And I would hear it when the birds went quiet.” He nods.

“So there are no cameras on the island? Nobody knows that two people died already?” Magnus asks, perplexed. “That’s worrisome.”

“I think they know. This bracelet is not just a GPS tracker. I’m sure it’s monitoring our pulse and blood pressure.” He explains his observations. “This metal part is too big for just a tracker. I think it’s a part of a smart watch. It’s sending our data out, we just don’t have the display to see it.”

“That would make sense, if there were no cameras. This is an experiment, not a reality show.” Magnus says suddenly. 

“Yes. The question is who is paying for it? The military? CIA? We can probably suspect any of those government three letter agencies.” Sebastian smirks back at the guy. He can see Magnus realized the same thing.

“Damn! I think you’re right.” The answer hits him suddenly. He was hoping to be wrong and that Magnus would have a plausible explanation, but the guy just agreed with him. Damn, twice!

“Do you think this is an experiment and they never planned for the civilians to make it over the island? Or would that be a huge surprise if someone from the survival experts group makes it to the end alive?” Sebastian wonders.

“Good question. How long was your survival training?” Magnus asks him.

“The first one was two weeks and the second was four. Yours?” He inquires. Service time is a safe thing to talk about, unless they somehow come to where one was and what you did there.

“Two rounds, two weeks each. We even did a jungle thing in Venezuela.” Magnus answers. “Fond memories of snakes and mosquitos.”

“Lucky you. Mine were desert training in New Mexico and desert training in the Sahara. I can’t stand the sand, even the beach gives me the creeps.” Sebastian shakes with repulsion. 

“Welcome to the jungle with round three.” Magnus chuckles.

“Sarcasm? Nice.” Sebastian throws a bone at the guy, who can’t stop laughing.

“How did you get out of the army sane? I needed some defence mechanism.” Magnus picks the bone off of his lap and throws it into the fire.

“Who said anything about being sane? Insanity is the new black.” Sebastian shrugs. In the end, it’s whatever helps you cope. If you get over everyday life without killing someone, that’s a victory. Repeat it the next day and so on.

“Yeah.” Magnus drawls. “Any thoughts about tomorrow? I’d really like to avoid the swamp.”

“We can cross just the edge of it. We are going East to West. The topmost North corner of the swamp looks narrow on the map. Two hours tops, if we can stick to the trees. I don’t trust the ground in a swamp.” Sebastian answers. Back to the serious topics and the planning.

“Crocs?” Magnus smirks. “Don’t tell me those critters scare you?”

“No. It’s the murky water and what’s underneath. I would hate to get stuck up to my ass in mud.” He tells the guy. “Just the thought is repulsive.”

“No comment.” Magnus remains serious. No laughing this time. “I’ll take the first watch tonight.”

“Thank you. Night, then.” He answers. He does feel tired of all the drama today. 

Nobody expected to see people die on this show. Or whatever it is. It’s getting weirder from the minute. He needs to keep his cool and not go on a rampage through the jungle. Losing it will not help anyone, least of all him. Calm and collected gets you through the traps and the swamp. It’s true what he said to Magnus before, he would hate it to get stuck.

‘Nice workaround. I’m proud of you.’ His wolf says.

‘I thought you were asleep.’ He answers. He knows exactly what his wolf meant.

‘No. Why aren’t you?’ The wolf asks.

‘Thinking. The swamp is bothering me. The absence of cameras, too. I wonder who is going to die next. Those experts out there have never been outside of a controlled environment. They still don’t know there is no help if someone gets hurt. There is no one watching.’ Sebastian tells his wolf.

‘I get your concerns, but the others are not your charges. You’re not their babysitter.’ The wolf smirks.

‘What about Magnus?’ He asks the wolf. How does the animal think when it comes to someone they know and interact with every day?

‘He knows how to take care of himself. He is fun to have around. He makes you laugh.’ The answer is as correct as it can be. Telling nothing, giving nothing.

‘I like him. Night, wolf.’ Sebastian smiles and shuts their connection down. He does need to sleep. Tomorrow will be a hard day.