Survival Island (reality show)

14. The waterfall

“You got to tell me how you did that with the fish last night?” Magnus asks him in the morning. He is surprised that the man lasted this long without asking.

“It all comes down to speed and accuracy.” Sebastian answers with a shrug. “And a lot of training.”

“Right.” Magnus smirks. “There is more bull in that explanation than I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, I can’t stop you if you think like that, but it’s actually true.” He responds. “I can see that patience is not your virtue, it’s eating you up, not knowing everything.”

“So you admit there is more?” Magnus chuckles.

“Yes, there’s more.” Sebastian nods at his friend. He still hasn’t decided on how much to tell him, but the guy is growing on him. “But now is not the time. We have to focus on getting up to the waterfall.”

“Fine.” Magnus smirks. He is quiet after that and he even leads the way. A sure way that he doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Sebastian feels bad for him, but he needs to prepare him for the shock of his life. Delicate reveals are not done right before a grueling task. Maybe after is just as bad, but the Major will at least have some time to rest and let it sink in.

The last part of their trek to the waterfall is in silence, because of the booming water. It’s hard to think, let alone hear anything except the water. But the one thing Sebastian hears even with the roar of the water, is a scream. He jumps into action and grabs Magnus from behind. He spins the guy out of the way and over the first rocks on their left. Sebastian lands on his feet steady as if he does this kind of thing every day. He sets Magnus down next to him and steadies him with his arm on the man's shoulder.

What the hell was that?” Magnus yells at him.

“You don’t have to yell at me!” Sebastian raises his voice just a little. Magnus doesn’t have his hearing, he needs to yell. “Let’s see what fell from the top of the waterfall!”

“What?” Magnus yells again and Sebastian only points. It’s futile to yell, he doesn’t hear anything over the roar of the water. He points to his ear and then up and over the rocks. Hopefully the Major still recognizes all the hand signals. He gets a thumbs up and a nod in return, so he guesses they are on the same page. For now.

He helps Magnus climb over the rocks and back to the waterfall side. What they see there, makes his blood freeze in his veins. The scream was from a man falling. Did the guy fall from the top? Was he climbing alongside and slipped? No, he would have seen someone climbing the rocks near the waterfall. The guy must have been on top. What was he doing up there? There is no reason to climb all the way up. There is an actual Indiana Jones style path behind the waterfall. The water must have carved it at some point.

He watches Magnus turn the guy over and gasp. The head is bashed in from the impact he made with the rocks. The body is covered in blood that is welling up from various cuts and wounds, but there is a cut that was not made by a rock. Sebastian is sure of it, it looks like a knife wound to him. He points it out to Magnus and indicates his own knife. Magnus nods to him and points to the path they need to take. They can’t do anything for the dead man. It doesn’t sit well with Sebastian to just leave him there, but they need to get out of here as fast as possible.

‘Someone is killing off the competition.’ His wolf says.

‘And that someone is close. At the top of the waterfall. Do you see any safe spots on the other side?’ Sebastian responds.

‘Further downstream. Half a click maybe. Hurry.’ The wolf answers.

OK. I can do this. I can do this. Sebastian repeats in his head. He grabs Magnus under his arm and drags him at a fast pace under the waterfall. His grip is secure and he is certain that he can keep a hold on the guy if he slips. But, he guesses that Magnus figured out what he wants to do, because the guy rotated his hand a bit and grabbed his back. The pace must be too much for Magnus, but the guy will not falter. It’s not a marine's way, even if he drops panting later.

The five hundred or so meters downstream, he practically carries Magnus into the shelter his wolf saw from the other side of the river. It’s a cave-like structure of boulders with a narrow pass on the water's edge. Complete with a roof of all things. Very convenient and semi quiet, if he excludes Magnus’ heavy breathing. He is a bit concerned for the guy, he did manage to keep up with his pace for almost half of the way here. Not a small feat for a human.

“Take slow breaths, deep ones. You have to calm your heart.” Sebastian tells his friend. “Drink some water, sips only or you’ll get sick.”

“I can’t.” Magnus wheezes and pants.

“All right. Let’s do this together.” Sebastian takes the guy's hands and crouches low. “Look into my eyes. Focus on my voice. Breath with me. In… Out… In… Out.”

It seems to Sebastian that a few hours have passed, but it’s probably only a few minutes. He smiles ruefully when Magnus lets go of his hands and takes a deep breath on his own. He gives the guy his water bottle and steps back to lean on the wall of the small cave.

“Let’s start with what we know first. That guy was murdered. That was definitely a knife wound.” Magnus looks over at Sebastian.

“That was my idea as well. He would probably bleed out from the wound alone.” He nods.

“But why the overkill? Why push him off of a waterfall?” Magnus asks.

“To make it look like an accident? We saw the knife wound, who knows when the next person will see him? It might not be recognizable then. Maybe anyone else will think he simply fell?” Sebastian shrugs and lets out a breath.

“Did you see him fall? Was that why you practically threw me over the rocks?” Magnus inquires.

Oh, hell, Sebastian thinks. He showed something more, something no normal person should be able to do. Now he faces 3rd degree interrogation. He was almost ready to let the Major know his secrets, but not like this. Maybe the fact he saved the guy’s life will be a small bonus? Only one way to find out. He has to come clean and tell him what is really happening here.

“I didn’t see him fall, I heard the scream, looked up and acted. It was a reaction I had to decide on in a split second. You realize he would have landed right on top of you?” Sebastian shakes his head. “I chose you. You sneaked into my heart and became important to me over the last few days.”

“I see. Important enough that you saved my life. Again, I may add.” Magnus smiles sadly. “I am grateful… But I have questions that won’t just go away.”

“I know. I’ll tell you, but you must promise me that this information never leaves your lips. It’s top secret.” Sebastian inclines his head slowly.

“I promise.” Magnus nods and reaches out his hand. 

‘A handshake promise? He must mean it.’ His wolf chuffs.

‘Are you laughing at it? Or what is this supposed to mean?’ Sebastian inquires.

‘I’m not laughing. He’s serious. I can smell it.’ The wolf responds.

‘Good. I’ll tell him.’ He replies to the wolf.

“Fine.” Sebastian sighs. “I’m not a super soldier, not an experiment. I was just born different. I’m a wolf shifter.”

“A werewolf? You’re joking, right?” Magnus laughs. “Really? That’s the explanation you’ll give me?”

“Werewolf is a term Hollywood made up. We don’t like it.” Sebastian smirks. “I’ll show you. You have to know, because whoever killed that guy back at the waterfall, is close. It’s possible he was somewhere up there, watching us. He knows that we know.”

“You’re serious?” Magnus swallows.

“Yes. No need to be afraid. You’re on the protected people’s list.” Sebastian laughs.

He takes off his shirt and boots. Then he glances at Magnus, who is watching him intently. He doesn’t sense fear, only curiosity. He shakes his head and takes his cargo pants off. Laying all his clothes on a neat pile next to his boots, he thinks if he’s willing to risk his boxers. He can’t replace those.

“Hope you don’t mind a little bit of nudity? I kind of need my clothes later.” He asks.

“No. I was cured of that. Group bathrooms and all that.” Magnus shakes his head.

“Good. It won’t be for long.” Sebastian winks. 

He strips fast and sets the boxers on the pile. He calls on his wolf and lets Magnus see his golden eyes first. Then he blurs and a snow white wolf stands in his place. Lucky for them, they are in a cave. It would be totally out of place to see a white wolf in the jungle. Besides, he is not counting on anyone else seeing him at all. He tilts his head a bit and watches Magnus. There is no reaction at all. He seems to be frozen on the spot. 

The white wolf pads slowly over to Magnus and lays his paw on the guy’s leg. He can feel a shudder pass through the guy and he whimpers softly. He’s not out to scare him, he just wants a reaction. Anything, really.

“You’re real.” Magnus whispers. “Do you need my scent? Like dogs? Do I have to let you smell my hand first?”

The wolf looks at him and closes his eyes. Too bad they can’t talk like this. For one, Magnus is human, and two, wolves aren’t really known for telepathy. He is completely still, waiting for Magnus to do something, besides talk.

‘He didn’t freak out. That’s good.’ Sebastian comments.

‘Well, yeah. Now what?’ The wolf inquires.

‘Give him a minute.’ Sebastian answers. He is curious what Magnus will do, or say.

“I’m talking to a wolf. Why do I have the feeling you understand me? Can wolves nod?” Magnus says and sinks his hand into the soft fur on the wolf’s back.

‘Emm. That’s a show of trust, if I’ve ever seen one, but I’m not big on being petted.’ The wolf tells Sebastian and pulls himself away from Magnus. He trots over to the stack of clothes and lets Sebastian have his body back. They need to talk and the wolf doesn’t speak.

“I believe you have questions.” Sebastian sighs and gets dressed fast. No need to hide his speed now.

“How did this happen?” Magnus asks. “What else can you do?”

“I was born this way. It’s in the family. There are many kinds of shifters, but I think wolves and bears are prevalent. We can talk about that some other time, it’s not really relevant right now.” Sebastian sits down a little distance away from Magnus. “As to what I can do? I am faster, stronger, I hear better, I see much better, especially if I let my wolf up to the surface. We learned that he can take over my body and do things I couldn’t. Right now my wolf is a spectator, he hears and sees what I do, just like when I shift. I’m right there and watching.”

“You’re in control? When you’re a wolf, you still have all your human traits, emotions, and morale?” Magnus inquires. 

“If I enforce it, yes. The wolf has his own set of rules on behaviour and what is right and wrong. But the most important rule is: don't be seen by humans.” Sebastian answers. “You are in the lucky few that know. Even back home, we have people in town who can’t be trusted with the secret. Not to mention all the tourists that come and go.”

“I promise I won’t abuse this knowledge.” Magnus smiles. “This explains a lot of the weird things you’ve done.”

“You haven’t seen anything weird yet.” Sebastian laughs.