The Cry of The Island

Chapter Two

Fruit, Trees and Moths.

Tommy and Atticus were planted down in a crouched position side by side, letting the island smother them as the palms and creepers waited on their next move. Atticus' nose captured the humid earth as he vaulted over a log to continue along the pathway. Tommy would follow shortly behind, hoping to not catch his foot on the bark. There wasn't a clear indication of where to go, though both chose instinct and ascended the slight gradient that the section of the jungle offered. Tommy realised the drop to continue the expedition in the island, as he dropped into a prone position for his chin to reach the elevated area of his current position. "Reckon I could jump it?" Tommy grinned at the drop.

"Try it." Atticus chuckled.

Looking down at where he needed to go, he could see tendrils that hugged branches with desire. Flying insects flew around in the area as Tommy rose to his feet, keeping crouched to avoid a larger fall. His bare feet just managed to not trip on the surface, as he hopped off the soil at the last part of the descent, rolling on his landing to his feet.

"Told you." He smirked.

"Did you?" Atticus spoke, hopping down in similar fashion and rolling on his descent to his feet. A grunt escaped him as he scanned the environment. Tommy couldn't tell whether he was offended or not by Atticus matching what he did, as he shrugged on eye contact with him. Not a sound in the jungle except the insects chirping and buzzing along the palms.

The boys continued to walk as the foreign tropical beamed in the notion of possibility, hearing the buzz of heat fill the air. Flowers, deep  greens and light blues with the latter occasionally coming intro transparency. There was a silence that got overruled by the humming of flying insects in a choir that was deceiving both boys of habitat, though Atticus stubbornness kept his pursuit of exploration intact.

"Are we gonna keep moving then?" Atticus spoke, walking on as Tommy frowned at the back of his head, following on behind.

Both boys walked through the forest as Atticus saw and opening, streaming with sweat whilst the jungle would open up into what seemed like a different area of the tropical. An open and wide space surrounded by cliffs and mountains, with one which seemed like the largest on the island however opposite and unbelievably far in its distance. "We aren't making it all the way over there." Atticus spoke.

Tommy had already began walking.

The surface was all rock, and hot to the touch of Tommy's feet. Climbing up the different levels of flat rock, he couldn't get over the surface that went on for some distance. Atticus was forced to follow on with a reluctancy as the beams of heat would make his body golden, his feet pattering on the rock. Tommy had an eagerness to get to the other side, unable to fully look at the grand triumph of the large cliff on the opposing side as the sun blinded his vision. With a flat angled above his eyebrows, he stopped momentarily.

There were clefts in the surface of rock, though Atticus felt skilled enough to avoid and hop them. As both made their way along the surface, they both began an individual and brick pace across the large flat rock as freedom overcame them. Panting out and breathing heavy with little technique to their journey's, the heat on the rock against their feet started to seem subconscious as they focused on the objective of reaching the large cliff. It would slowly get larger and larger the closer they got to it. Tommy stopped in his tracks, trying to catch his breath as the looming shadow of the cliff being non uniform in its appearance looked right at him. Atticus followed on behind, wiping his forehead of perspiration. Both looked right up, unable to see the top of the cliff properly due to sticking out segments of rock.

Tommy looked to his left, noticing a small rock that offered a chance to ascent the large cliff, though the stability of it was still uncertain. Staggering over to the elevated piece of rock with fatigue, he hoisted himself up onto it.