Chapter 19

When Scarlet and Robin returned to camp that evening, not a lot of progress had been made on what to do about the skeleton. Lena was still arguing for an investigation, but she'd agreed to hold off until the more superstitious among them could be convinced the act wouldn't visit a plague upon them.

Raven was coming around, suggesting that Lena could do her investigation if it ended with giving the bones a proper burial, rather than letting them lie on the ground exposed to the elements the way they were.

There was one thing they were all finally on the same page about, though: they couldn't keep sitting around, passively hoping to get rescued. If somebody was looking for them, they were doing it in the wrong location because in the two weeks they'd been stranded here, not one plane or ship had come close enough to see.

They were going to have to take matters into their own hands in a larger way.

"Maybe our signal fires just haven't been big enough," Lex suggested. "Scarlet, didn't you say you wanted to make a giant HELP sign on the other side of the island because the beach is bigger there?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Scarlet said. "Although I'd be nervous making the sign and not moving our camp to be near it. If we're two hours away on the other side of the island when someone sees it…"

She thought of the skeleton. The person who spotted the sign might think whoever made it was long gone.

"It would be a huge undertaking to move the camp," Amelia pointed out. "And doesn't it make sense to stay closest to where the ship sank?"

"I'm not sure that matters anymore," Evie said. "They don't seem to be looking in the right place."

"Then we need to get off the island ourselves," Kit said.

"The life boats were disassembled for our shelter," Marnie pointed out. "And they were in really bad shape before that anyway."

"We could still use the wood," Kit said. "Build something new, like a raft."

"There are almost fifty of us," Evie said. "A raft that big would break apart in the surf."

"So we send out a scouting party, like we did around the island perimeter," Raven suggested.

"And either they drown, or they reach another island that's also deserted?" Zoe scoffed.

"It would be a risk," Raven agreed. "Whoever went would have to be willing to take it."

They talked late into the night, past when most of them were usually heading to bed. The group was energized and hopeful for the first time in ages, and when they got up the next day, they had a plan in place.

Raven and Kit were going back into the interior of the island, looking for anything they could use to build the raft. Reese and Lena were joining them to search for signs of the dead person's camp and any tools they might have had that could be useful.

Jess, Dana, Amanda and Tasha were going to hike along the beach to the other side of the island to build the larger HELP sign.

Darcy was redoubling her efforts with the broken radio. She actually got the battery working, indicated by a little red indicator light that came to life whenever she plugged it into the radio, but the antenna was trashed and they needed a larger one to reach beyond the island.

And the rest of them were scavenging near the camp for vines and sturdy leaves to braid into rope for when they were ready to assemble the raft. They'd vetoed the idea of dismantling the shelter to reuse the wood from the life boats because they would need something to keep them out of the elements until it was time to go.

Scarlet and Robin fell into an easy rhythm with the braiding, working side by side all day in the shade of a palm tree. When they were on their fifth length of rope, Scarlet noticed Zoe lying on a mat on the sand, her lower body submerged in the surf, once again the only person not working hard.

"What's up with that?" Robin asked when she saw Scarlet looking.

"Don't say anything," Scarlet said, frustrated but unwilling to point it out in case it caused yet another fight.

"Maybe she just needs a task," Robin said. "Hey, Zoe!"

Zoe tilted her head backward, looking at them upside down rather than sit up. "Hmm?"

"Come here and help us weave. We could use an extra hand."

Zoe huffed and looked for a moment like she might refuse. Then Lex walked past her with a scowl and she hauled herself up from the sand, dragging her mat over to Scarlet and Robin. "My back hurts so much," she said as she plopped down again. "I was bent over gathering vines all morning."

"So were we," Robin pointed out.

"Yeah, but you must be used to it," Zoe said. "It's so hot out here. I am not an outdoor girl."

"You are right now." Scarlet shoved a bunch of vines at her. "Start braiding."

By that evening, they had several good-sized coils of rope and Jess reported that she and her crew had made good progress on the HELP sign on the other side of the island.

"It says HEL right now, which I argued is good enough because it's accurate," she said.

Dana smirked. "We'll go back tomorrow and add more driftwood to make the P."

Reese and Lena came back with directions to some palm trees that had been felled by lightning and might be good to build a raft with. "The terrain on the way there was pretty rough, though. Some erosion from all these storms," Reese said.

"I put my foot on what looked like solid ground at one point and it just kinda melted away," Lena explained. "If Reese wasn't there to grab me, I might have broken something."

Scarlet's mind went to the broken leg bone in the skeleton. That was the last thing they needed out here.

"Well, make sure to take a group with you next time," she said. "Buddy system for safety."

"Oh, trust me, those trees aren't going anywhere without a huge group effort," Lena pointed out.

"Umm, speaking of the buddy system, did Kit and Raven come back with you?" Robin asked.

Reese furrowed her brow. "We split up early in the day. They wanted to scout in a different area, cover more ground."

"They should know better than to stay out till dusk," Scarlet frowned.

"I'm sure they're okay," Amelia said, coming over to get them all for dinner. "They hiked the Appalachian Trail, they can find their way back to camp."

"Yeah, they're probably just shacking up in a cave somewhere," Amanda said, then winked at Scarlet. "Sound familiar?"

"Hey, we got caught in a storm," she said. "That wasn't on purpose."

"And I'm sure you and Robin hated every minute of it."

They all had dinner, setting aside some for the latecomers. Raven and Kit still didn't appear, though, and Scarlet tried to distract herself by asking Darcy about the radio. But the news wasn't good.

"I keep trying different types of metal from the debris that's washed up on shore, but either it's not the right kind or I'm not up high enough because none of it has gotten me a signal," she explained. "Add to that, I have no idea how much battery life I've got and no way to recharge the battery if it goes dead, and I'm afraid to keep trying."

"Okay, whoever's been sitting around with comprehensive knowledge of solar panels or wind turbines in their back pocket, now's the time to let us know," Evie announced.

"I can–" Raina started. "No, wait, I went to performing arts school. Now I know why my dad was so disappointed."

That got a little chuckle out of the group, but Scarlet kept looking into the tree line, hoping Raven and Kit would come through at any minute and scare them all with their ruckus.

Robin put her hand on Scarlet's shoulder. "They're okay. If anybody is equipped to survive the night away from the group, it's those two."

"I just have a bad feeling about it," Scarlet explained. "They only planned to be gone a few hours, and the weather's been perfect. What if they're in trouble?"

Robin stood up. "Then we go look for them."

"Really?"

She reached for one of the torches. "I can tell you're not going to sleep a wink until we know how they are, and truth be told, I'm nervous for them too."

"We'll go with you," Lena offered as Reese picked up a second torch. "We know where they were planning to hike."

Scarlet nodded, grateful.