Ruby lay on the makeshift raft, as the waves pushed her closer to the shore. The anticipation of a possible rescue drummed through her excitedly.
She couldn't wait to get to solid ground and have something to eat and a long soak in a hot tub.
Her stomach growled as if in protest, causing her to smile in amusement at it's moaning. Not long now she thought as the wood floated into a sandbank and thumped to a standstill.
Ruby stepped off the raft, her legs giving away slightly as she did so.
Feeling a wave of dizziness she stood a moment, knee deep in the clear blue waters below her.
Her head spun wildly, more than likely from the lack of water she thought grimly as she swayed a little.
Then gradually, making her way slowly towards the shore, she grimaced at the pain from her sunburnt body, her limbs moving stiffly in protest of her skin trying to stretch beyond it's burnt limits.
She sighed loudly, gently licking her scabbed lips, then winced with pain as they split a little more, causing a drop of blood to drip down onto her chin.
What she wouldn't give for a long cool drink she thought as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye, and onto her cheek.
She sniffed hard, trying to compose herself, not wanting to confuse her brain with sorrow any more than it already felt.
After all, what good would it do her or any rescuer if she was to greet them hysterically?
“None what so ever” she sighed sadly.
Making her way to the top of the beach, she sat down under a palm tree exhausted and needing to rest a while.
She watched as the hot sun shone down onto the ocean, it's spreading shimmers of light danced skittishly across the blue waters.
It would have been so beautiful under different circumstance's she had thought as her eyes began to get heavy with sleep.
Ruby didn't want to sleep, she tried her hardest to stay awake, but the suns heat and the sea water she had drank earlier had completely drained her body of all energy.
Her eyes fluttered closed, releasing her body for a while from it's pains.
Bolting forward sharply, Ruby woke from her slumber.
Looking around alarmed, her heart sped up a little as she thought that she was still afloat at sea.
Relieved to find otherwise, she sank back shakily against the rough bark of the palm tree, and closed her eyes, waiting for her heart to steady.
After a while, feeling a little better, she opened her eyes then looked around.
She sat at the edge of a beach, the golden sand shimmering with light, as the sun bounced across the fine grains, reflecting them like tiny gems.
The sea, a turquoise blue sparkled invitingly with warmth and calm.
Ruby trembled at the thought of the sea looking inviting.
After all she knew differently. She knew first hand how dangerous and unpredictable it could be.
Looking left and right, the beach stretched as far as she could see, and a feeling of disappointment rushed through her, as there were no beach huts or house's dotted about.
Surely a beautiful place like this would have cabin's or something on the shores she thought to herself questioningly.
Shrugging a little she rose unsteadily to her feet.
“Probably further inland,” she said baffled, a frown creasing her brow.
Walking slowly inland, she was soon out of sight of the beach, the thick vegetation and palm trees towered above her, obscuring her view.
Looking around she found a large stick, then used this as a club, battering and thrashing her way through the dense forest of bushes, her nightgown giving her no protection from the vast amount of brambles that seemed to grab out at her, wrapping themselves around her body, and tearing into her skin.
She cried out in pain as the thorns of a bush flicked back into her face, scratching her painfully across the cheek. Feeling deflated and warn out she stopped, her arms aching from the effort of the continuing battle she had against the forest.
Standing still a while, her head raised, Ruby listened to the sounds around her, hoping with all her heart to hear voices. She knew it was a long shot, as who in their right mind would build a house in the middle of somewhere like this? She thought glumly.
Just maybe there were people on the other side of the Island.
Ruby shook her head sadly, she had no idea how big this place was for a start, and if in fact it did inhabit any people.
She did know though that there were hundreds of little Islands dotted around the Caribbean, and she could be on anyone of them.
The best place to be would be on the beach, after all if a rescue was coming for her, then they certainly wouldn't find her in here.
Turning around, she headed back the way she had come, taking careful note of the trees and bushes around her, looking out for the ones that had been crushed down by her stick. The last thing she wanted was to get lost in amongst the trees.
She trembled slightly, not sure if it was from the fear of getting lost, or from the dampness that closed in all around her. She hadn't noticed while she had been thrashing through the trees, but now she came to think about it, she felt quite cold.
A feeling of claustrophobia oozed through her and she hastened her pace.
Making her way back to the beach, she burst through the final trees and collapsed onto the sand, her heart racing, her breath gasping.
The sun shone down on her, warming her shaking body, almost causing her to laugh hysterically. She couldn't win, she either baked in the sun, or froze in the forest.
Either way, she thought, she would be much safer where she was.
Ruby composed herself, and tried to think rationally. It was a little difficult at first, as she was dehydrated and hungry. She wasn't a Doctor, but she did know the seriousness of the situation.
The first thing she had to do was find water, as she knew she wouldn't last long without it.
Looking around at her surroundings, she noticed several coconuts on the floor. “This will do,” she grinned as she picked one up, then smashed it against the tree.
Ruby's face dropped as the coconut stayed intact. She tried again, then again, this time using more force, as the anger and desperation built inside her, bubbling like a boiling pot.
Smashing it hard she screamed in pain, the tears already falling down her face, as one of her fingers got crushed between the coconut and the tree.
The coconut immediately fell to the floor, closely followed by Ruby, who writhed in pain, clutching her hand to her chest.
Her throbbing finger getting increasingly worse by the second.
“Damn it,” she screamed in anger, kicking her feet out at the sand. “
“Damn it.”
She sat sobbing, her head bowed, nursing her finger, which she knew would be broken.
Ten minutes later, feeling a little calmer, Ruby held her hand out to inspect her very swollen finger. Purple and blue bruises had already started to form under the skin, making her finger look like it belonged to somebody else.
She tried to bend the digit, then gasped with pain as a shooting stab ran from her finger, along her hand and finally through to her wrist.
Holding her hand limply, she searched around on the ground for what she was looking for. Seeing what she needed she picked up the small piece of wood then broke it to size. Then rummaged through the sand until she found a sharp stone.
Gently hacking through the bottom of her nightgown, she managed to tear the flimsy material, until she could get a hold.
Ripping the fabric away,she pulled off a long strip, to use as a bandage for the home made splint.
Wrapping her first finger (the broken one) to the second finger, with the splint in the middle of the two, she secured them together tightly, screaming out with pain as the broken digit straightened.
Ruby sat back against the tree, waiting for the pain to subside a little, which it did. But not enough to ignore it as the pain was now replaced by a dull ache that throbbed cruelly with each beat of her heart.
Feeling a little better, Ruby took the discarded coconut and placed it between her feet, which were now pulled up frog like towards her knees, then picked up the sharp stone.
Making sure the coconut was secure, she began hacking away at it with the stone. She was not going to let it beat her.
With a look of determination, she continued to bash away at the hard fruit. Perspiration started to fall from her brow, and her good hand began to ache as she relentlessly continued, until finally a crack appeared.
With a renewed zest of a drink coming soon, she sped up her assault, forgetting her aching arm she smashed away faster, licking her sore dried lips as she did so, until a large piece of coconut caved in leaving a gaping hole.
Ruby moaned with delight as she poured the cool milky liquid down her throat, being careful not to spill any along the way.
It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted in her whole life.
She drank until it was all gone, feeling a little disappointed that there was none left, she discarded the coconut then began to hack open another one.
Sitting back against the tree, Ruby smiled lightly. Her thirst had been quenched, but her stomach growled with hunger, a feeling of nausea washed over her. She hadn't felt this hungry since her ballet days she thought grimly as she picked up one of the discarded coconuts and began to scrape out the flesh with her teeth.
Not quite a gourmet dinner she smiled sadly, but at least it was food.
Once she had eaten her fill, Ruby lay back against the palm tree, content that her stomach was filled. She looked over at the ocean, and watched mesmerized as the sun flitted across the top of the sea like small dancing water nymphs.
She needed to organize herself, she thought dreamily as she watched the relaxing display in front of her. If no-one came for her soon, then she would need to think about where she was going to sleep.
She wasn't sure if there were any wild animals on the Island, and didn't really want to find that one out, so she would need to find somewhere up out of the way, probably in the trees.
Sighing softly Ruby's eyes closed, a gentle breeze whispered gently around her as she slept soundly.
Ruby's eyes fluttered open, a cool breeze chilled her as she sat forward and looked around.
She was shocked to find that she had slept for quite a while.
The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon, and she sat a while mesmerized by its ebbing glory. Purples and pinks streaked across the lightly clouded sky like a flurry of cotton candy, enticing Ruby with it's deliciousness.
Stretching out her good hand, and closing one eye, Ruby felt as if she could almost grab a handful out of the sky, and wrap it around her feeling it's warm softness against her skin.
Shuddering again at the cold creeping in, Ruby jumped up and began scanning the trees and possible places to make her bed. She didn't know the first thing about surviving out in the open and didn't really have much idea on how to make a bed, but she would give it a good go, she thought to herself as she continued her search.
Several trees down from her original palm, she noticed a rocky outcrop set back a bit from the beach. Going over to it, she noticed an overhang, with several large rocks either side, leaving a small entrance at the front, with enough space for her to crawl into.
Cautiously she entered, scanning for any signs of snakes or other wild animals, then let out a sigh of relief as she realised that it was clear.
The small cave like structure wasn't very big, but big enough for Ruby to sit upright in it. Laying down, she stretched out her legs, to get the feel of how much room there would be whilst asleep.
Fidgeting around a little, and laying at a diagonal Ruby could sleep quite comfortably.
Nodding and feeling a little pleased with herself, Ruby made her way back outside to find something she could use as bedding.
Pulling hard on a palm leaf, Ruby cursed as her hands slipped down the razor side of the leaf. Looking down alarmed, she noticed a speck of blood creep slowly across the palms of her hand, where the rough edges had sliced into her skin. Her hands began to sting furiously.
“Arghhh,” she screamed loudly. Normally she had the patience of a saint, but this Island brought out some hidden demon within her. Why did everything have to be so god damn hard she thought angrily to herself.
Rethinking the situation, she retrieved the sharp edged stone that she had used on the coconuts, and began cutting in a saw like motion at the stalk of the palm leaf.
Gradually it came away from the tree, and Ruby dropped it to the floor with a shout of triumph. Hurrying onto the next leaf, she continued.
Some time later Ruby looked up, a little surprised at the fading light.
The night was drawing in fast, and she didn't nearly have enough leaves to make her bed, but she didn't want to be out in the open for much longer. Hastily collecting the six leaves she had cut down, she retreated back to the cave, and dropped them outside the entrance, then ran back to the beginning of the thicket.
Grabbing three or four large branches she took them over to the cave and dropped them down beside the leaves.
Happy that she had got everything together for her first night, she wandered over to the sea and bathed away the sweat and blood from the days events, her palms stinging madly as the salt water got into her wounds.
Half an hour later Ruby sat in her makeshift house.
Placing four palm leaves, two across and two high onto the floor she had made a fairly springy mattress, happy with this she put the other two against the wall for later to use as blankets, then proceeded to fill up the entrance to the cave with the branches, using them as a barricade from any uninvited guests.
Not that they would do much she thought with a shudder as she looked out one final time at the millions of stars that now lined the skies.
Putting the last branch in place, she sealed herself off from the rest of the world.
Leaning back against the cold wall, Ruby shivered, more out of apprehension than out of cold. She really wasn't looking forward to sleeping on this Island all on her own, and not to mention her broken finger which still ached so badly.
She would give anything at this precise moment to have some sort of pain relief.
Tears began to course down her face as she lay down and covered herself with the palm leaves.
Not knowing what the next day would bring, or even daring to hope too much on being rescued.
Quietly she cried herself to sleep.
(So what does everybody think so far? Is there anything you think that needs changing or adding? Please leave your comments, good or bad so I know if I am heading in the right direction with this story. Thank you to everyone so far. Happy reading.
Gizinks xx )