Chapter 10

Robin woke to the sound of waves lapping against the shore. She sat up, her body aching from the physical demands of survival that she wasn't used to. Scarlet was already awake, sitting outside the shelter so as not to disturb anyone, staring out at the ocean.

Robin joined her, wrapping one arm around her shoulder. "I've always loved coffee, but I didn't think it was possible to crave it as much as I do right now."

"For me, it's non-sandy underwear," Scarlet said, and she actually cracked a smile. She had a way of making the best of things, even when those things were being stranded on a freaking deserted island.

"We need a plan," Robin said after a few moments of silent contemplation. "We should split our efforts. There are enough of us that we can do both –figure out how to survive, and work on getting rescued."

Scarlet entwined her fingers in Robin's, then kissed her knuckles. "I think that sounds sensible."

It was another twenty minutes or so before the rest of the survivors started to crawl out of the lean-tos. They had a paltry breakfast of the remaining bruised apples, and then Scarlet and Robin proposed their split-effort plan. The tension from last night seemed to have dissipated, and people readily agreed to it.

"We'll scout inland," Raven suggested, hand locked with Kit's. "We can search for Zoe on the off chance she just got separated from the group, and look for anything we can use to survive."

"I know a little about foraging," Lena said. "Reese and I can come with you and look for anything we can eat from the island."

Amelia and Simone said they would take inventory of everything edible that the group had gathered yesterday and make a plan to stretch it as long as possible, and Amanda and Missy volunteered to set up a system for collecting rainwater. They bickered the whole time, disagreeing on the best vessel to collect the water in and then the best way to funnel water into it.

Robin noticed Scarlet observing the two of them with a smirk. "What's up?"

"Oh, just taking mean-spirited bets with myself over how much longer those two are gonna make it," Scarlet admitted. "Did you know they only met two weeks before the trip?"

Robin slipped her arm around Scarlet's waist. "You and I only met eight days ago," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but we don't fight every three minutes. Amanda's always chafed against anyone who wanted anything remotely serious, and two weeks is about the longest I've ever seen her stay with someone."

"You wanna help me collect the new stuff the tide brought in?" Robin asked. "You can keep anything you think is useful for signaling."

"Deal."

They spent the morning scoured the beach. The sun beat down on their backs, its heat a stark contrast to the rain that had pelted them for what felt like an eternity during the storm. Now a part of Robin missed it, and she tried not to think about where they'd get their water if Amanda and Missy's collection system didn't end up collecting anything.

"Hey!" Scarlet shouted, then started running up the beach.

"What?" Robin's heart jumped and at first she thought Scarlet had seen a ship out on the water. The ocean was an unbroken horizontal line, though, and she noticed Scarlet was running toward something on the beach. A glint of sunlight caught her eye, and she followed.

Scarlet dropped to her knees and dug in the sand, and Robin came up beside her just as Scarlet was pulling her treasure out of the ground.

"It's a radio," she said, trying to turn it on.

Nothing happened.

She turned it over, and sea water flooded out of it. It wasn't the kind of heavy-duty, waterproof radio you'd want to take with you on the ocean. It was a regular old plastic one, its antenna snapped off from being battered in the sea, its battery compartment soggy and sandy.

Robin was crushed, but Scarlet jumped up and ran back to the camp. "Look what we found!"

Evie was hunched over in the sand, using a stick to make a rough map of the island based on what Simone and Darcy were telling her. She rose to her feet when she saw the radio.

"Can we fix it?" Scarlet asked hopefully.

Evie took the radio from her, turning it over in her hands. A crease formed between her brows as she examined it, and she let out a huff. "This is destroyed. I don't even know why we had these on the ship. It should have been a waterproof one. Besides, I'm still trying to figure out exactly where we are. The storm blew us off course, and there aren't enough landmarks out there to orient myself."

Scarlet's shoulders slumped and Robin could see the disappointment etched on her face.

"Here, let me have it," Darcy said, reaching for the radio. "No promises, but I'll try to dry it out."

She and Simone walked away, and Robin stepped closer to Evie so she could whisper to her. "Captain… we overheard you and Zoe arguing on the first day on the ship. Was it her fault that the ship sank?"

Evie looked surprised. "No. She was a cheapskate who knew nothing about running a cruise line, but she didn't put the rocks out there, and she didn't make the storm happen."

No… but if they'd had the supplies they were supposed to, the waterproof radios that made sense… maybe they wouldn't still be out here.

That afternoon, Robin watched the second scouting party emerge from the dense foliage. Raven and Kit led the group, their hands no longer intertwined, but their shoulders brushed as they walked. Lena and Reese followed close behind, their arms laden with an assortment of fruits. Robin's heart soared at the sight of it.

Everyone gathered around the returning women for show-and-tell.

"We couldn"t find any trace of Zoe," Raven reported, her voice heavy with exhaustion. "It"s like she vanished into thin air."

Robin gestured to the fruits that Lena and Reese were laying out in the sand. "What about food?"

Lena held up a large, oblong fruit with a greenish-yellow skin. "We found a grove of papaya trees," she said, excitement in her voice. "There"s plenty of them, but they"re high up. We"ll need someone to climb for them."

Simone stepped forward, taking the fruit from Lena"s hands. She examined it closely, turning it over in her palms. "I'll happily climb for papaya," she said. "These have got to taste way better than soggy Danishes."

Reese nodded in agreement, but her brow furrowed as she pointed out the other fruits they collected. "We found coconuts too, but we'll have to figure out how to crack them open. And we"re not sure about these ones." She held up a small, round fruit with a bright red skin. "Anybody recognize it?"

Nobody did.

"We can't risk dehydrating ourselves with food poisoning if they're not safe," Amelia said. "We'll stick to the coconuts and papayas. The good news is that they'll go perfectly with what we've got planned for dinner."

"Dude, my shoe will go perfectly with dinner," Lex said, "I'm that hungry."

Amelia and Simone had found a large, banged up stock pot amid the debris, along with a massive bag of white rice that could last them a week if they were careful. Now they proudly presented the pot nestled in the campfire, steam rising from under its lid –which was nothing more than a scrap of metal, probably from somewhere on the ship.

"It's not seasoned, but it's warm and it'll fill your belly better than old pastries and apples," Simone said, nudging the ‘lid' off with a stick. "Everybody, go get some clean leaves to use as bowls."

She ladled the rice into the makeshift bowls, and Reese and Lena got to work portioning out the papayas to go with it. Robin sat down next to Scarlet. There were multiple fires on the beach now so that everyone had a place near the warmth. As she took her first bite, heat and comfort spread through her, chasing away the chill of the evening air and the fear of living out here.

Around her, the mood of the group was shifting. Smiles appeared on faces that had been etched with worry. People were actually chatting about inconsequential stuff, and it felt nice not to be in a constant state of anxious tension.

"All right, I'm going to ask the big question," Lex said, making Robin's heart skip a beat. Oh man, had she spoken too soon? "If we end up being here for a while, are we gonna be Castaway or Lord of the Flies?"

"Too many people for Castaway," Christy pointed out.

"And too sapphic for Lord of the Flies," Reese added. "Plus I don't care how hungry I get, I'm not worshipping a pig's head."

"Let's hope it's not The Beach," Evie said.

"You guys… obviously it's Gilligan's Island," Scarlet said with a chuckle.

Lex sat up taller, snapping her fingers. "No, Gillian's Island. If we're gonna become delirious and start worshipping false idols, it has to be Scully."

Everyone started debating what role Gillian Anderson would play in a sapphic recast of the campy sitcom, and Nat spotted her chance to steal Tasha's guitar. She snagged it, then started providing soft background music for the group.

When they noticed they were getting another concert, a few of them started singing along, so Nat switched over to songs that everyone was sure to know. The music filled the air, lifting everyone's spirits, and Robin turned to Scarlet. "I think we're going to be okay out here."

It was the first time she'd thought it since the ship went into the water, but looking at the women around her, she felt strong and hopeful.