Survival Island (reality show)

24. Water, water

It seems to him that they are walking just for the sake of moving. The area they are trying to find might be too small, or they might have already missed it. He can’t pick up any scent of water anywhere around. Is it futile? Is it too much to ask for a drop of water in this part of the jungle? The humid air is taking a toll on their health and they need to find water soon. It looks like they are in the right area, but where is the water? Is that a seasonal thing? Is it even here right now? They are dangerously close to dehydration, the small amount of fluids they get from the fruit is just not enough.

“Are we spinning in circles?” Magnus asks him. “I think I lost all sense of orientation in this jungle.”

“No. We are going in zig zags. I can’t smell the water.” Sebastian answers.

“Do you think it’s even there? Is it possible we missed it?” The Major asks him. Is he too tired already? Why is he thinking in terms of rank again?

“I need a break. I’m starting to feel the lack of water.” He says. Sitting down is the best option. He glances around and there is a log that just invites him to take a seat and rest his tired feet.

He drops his bag on the ground and takes his shirt off. He feels too hot and the need to cool down is all he can think about right now. He leans forward to take a banana out of his bag and the log he is sitting on moves. Why is the log moving? This thing is too heavy to be in any way affected by his weight. He straightens up and glances around. Magnus is a few feet away from him doing exactly the same as he is. Sebastian shrugs and thinks that he must be hallucinating. He looks up at the canopy above that has an interesting clear spot. He can see the sky from where he’s sitting. 

The view up is amazing. The blue of the Caribbean sky is so much clearer than back home. He leans back slightly to see more of it and falls in the deep. Log and everything coming down with him. Why is he falling? Where is he falling? This is real, not a hallucination! He can feel the air streaming around him and the fall seems to have no end.

“Sebastian!” He can hear Magnus yell, but he can’t answer. The splash is the answer. He is sinking fast in the water! He must not panic! He releases the air from his lungs and opens his eyes. The clear blue is above him, so is the log. The damn thing didn’t sink with him. 

Blue is up! He pushes up with all the strength he has left and breaks the surface of the water. Taking in a deep breath, he looks around. The water pit looks natural. There is greenery and shrubs around it. But the thing is deep down! That is why he couldn’t smell the water. It’s a pool of fresh water, but it must have an underground source. He can’t see any stream filling it. The other thing he doesn’t see is a way out. 

“Sebastian!” Magnus calls again.

“In the pool!” He yells. “Be careful on the edge! I fell in with the log I was sitting on!”

“Damn it!” Magnus exclaims. He can hear rustling and a few crumbs of soil come falling down before he sees Magnus’ head poke through the bushes on the top. “Oh, hell! This thing is deep.”

“I'm looking for a way out, but the sides are brittle and crumbling.” Sebastian tells the guy. “Whatever you do, don’t fall in.”

“I’ll get some vines. I think I can pull you out!” Magnus calls to him.

He looks around him while he waits. The pool is big enough to swim in. He can’t reach two sides at the same time. He hates wet clothes on his body, but there is nothing he can do now. He grabs the lowest bush and tries to hoist himself out of the water, but the bush can’t hold his weight. He splashes back into the water and lets the bush go. First fail at getting out. This will be tiresome. Are the sides too brittle to climb? He can’t just rely on Magnus to pull him up, he’ll have to help. 

Sebastian brushes his wet hair back and tastes the water. He probably drank some before when he wasn’t paying attention, but he needs more. So does Magnus. An idea strikes and he chuckles. Maybe falling in is not such a bad thing after all?

“Magnus!” He yells and listens to his voice echo in the hole.

“Yes? I’m working as fast as I can.” The guy answers and pokes his head over the edge.

“Tie the water bottles to a vine and lower them down. We need water and this is drinkable.” He tells him.

“Damn! Even when you’re in trouble, you think rationally.” Magnus exclaims. He disappears out of sight and a minute later Sebastian sees two water bottles on a long vine flying over the bushes. He fishes the bottles out of the water and fills them without untying them from the vine. It would be bad if one would sink to the bottom, since he can’t even determine how deep this hole is.

“OK. Hoist them up, slowly.” He tells Magnus and prays that they don’t get stuck somewhere on the way up.

Sebastian watches intently how the water bottles vanish through the buses on the top. He laughs loud when one comes flying back down. Magnus must have been thirsty. He takes a few more sips of the water himself and then he fills the bottle up and waves to Magnus to pull it up again.

“You’re next!” Magnus calls down. “I have the vine tied to the closest tree. I will pull, but help if you can!”

“Good thinking! I hope it doesn’t break. If we both fall in, we’re doomed.” Sebastian yells. He grabs hold of the vine and tries out if it holds his weight. It looks like it will hold. He uses the bushes at first and the roots when he climbs a bit higher up.  Praying to the gods to make it out. He is careful to not over expand his strength, he could easily tear the vine, if he’s not careful. Falling back in would be a disaster so close to the top.

Sebastian stands up at the top and grabs the hand Magnus is holding out to him. Safely back on firm ground he laughs at his own stupidity and drops to the leaves. He needs rest after this unexpected climbing session.

“Thank you. I would still be down there, if not for your help.” He tells Magnus later.

“You saved me countless times. For once I was able to do something useful.” Magnus answers.

“Well, it was totally unexpected and I prefer to take a bath without my clothes and boots on.” Sebastian chuckles. This is an experience he is not keen on repeating.

“Your shirt is still dry.” Magnus chuckles, too.

“We got a laugh out of it.” He shakes his head and sober up. 

This thing could end in a disaster and he knows it. He was lucky that he didn’t break any bones when he fell. The log could have landed on his head. That could be fatal. Losing consciousness in water is never good. The few cuts he sustained from the close contact with the bushes will heal fast. He is not worried about those. The wet boots will be an inconvenience, but the pants will dry fast. His fire starting kit and map are probably ruined, but Magnus still has his. They are safe when it comes to that.

Sebastian empties out his pockets to see what kind of damage the water did to his things. The map is done for. It was not of a good quality to start with and the soggy mess that it’s now, is just sad. It is totally unrecognizable, so he might just throw it away. It’s paper, it will rot fast. The fire starting kit is all wet, but maybe it will dry out and work again. He sets it out to dry and sighs. Does he take the boots off or not? They will need a longer time to dry, but he is not keen on walking barefoot. It’s uncomfortable to be in wet boots, but taking those off and then putting them on again is not appealing either.

‘Stop yammering. You won’t die from wet boots.’ His wolf smirks at him.

‘Lucky you, you didn’t get wet.’ Sebastian retorts. He is not in the mood right now for the smartass remarks his wolf dug up.  

‘But the water was nice and cold. Don’t you feel refreshed?’ The wolf asks him.

‘That is the only good thing about it. And we have something to drink again.’ He answers. 

‘You’ll live. I’m happy it wasn’t Magnus who fell over. He might not have made it.’ The wolf remarks and curls up to sleep.

‘That’s a bombshell! And you’re going to sleep right after?’ Sebastian prods his wolf, but the beast is faking sleep already. This conversation is over for the wolf.

“Are you OK?” Magnus asks him.

“Yeah. Just had a disturbing conversation with my wolf. I’m not gonna repeat it, so don’t ask.” He answers.

“Fine. Want some fruit? We will be here for a while.” Magnus offers it to him.

“Please. This thing kind of threw me off guard. I don’t remember when I so carelessly fell into a hole the last time.” Sebastian tells him.

“I think I understand. It was a shock the way you just disappeared from sight.” Magnus nods. “Don’t do that again.”

“I hope I won’t. I can’t even blame it on anything. I was just tired and careless to not check out the log and what was behind it.” He answers. 

They make themselves comfortable up against trees and he gazes at the small fire they have going on. It will help get his things dry and it’s his one small comfort lately. He likes the fire they make every night. It’s a constant he can rely on to keep the bugs away from them. He gazes over at Magnus to see that the guy is asleep already. It was a shock for him and pulling him up was not an easy task. He is grateful for that. It would be a bummer to be stuck down there for a longer period of time. He doesn’t even want to think about it.

Relaxing his mind, he takes a page from his wolf's book and tries to get some sleep. He will need the energy tomorrow to continue their trek to the extraction point. He only hopes they can avoid more surprises like this one. But first, they will have to get back on the right path. He is not sure how far off they have walked today, but it’s not even close to the right direction.