Chapter 25

Scarlet got up the next morning and found the rest of her group already working hard on the raft, and Darcy had gone off with Krys to scout higher elevations around the island where they might get a better signal with her makeshift antenna.

Kit still looked somewhat gray and was doing her best to hide her pain. Being on a makeshift raft for the-ocean-only-knew how long, with the waves buffeting them and jostling her leg, was not going to be fun for her. They really needed that vodka, but even more, they needed real fucking medicine.

Scarlet found herself clenching her jaw while she worked all morning, thinking about the incredible levels of narcissism and selfishness that went into the decisions Zoe was making.

She was even starting to regret advocating for that monstrous woman to stay in camp.

And she hated thinking like that.

Around midday, she found Robin starting to attach the ropes to the raft wood. "Hey, I'm gonna go fishing for dinner. We're gonna need protein if we have to survive out there."

"Okay, let me just finish this–"

"Actually, I'm gonna go by myself." She gave Robin an apologetic look. "I just need a few minutes to myself."

"You okay?"

Scarlet smiled weakly and shrugged. Who was okay out here, really?

Robin seemed to understand. She kissed her, squeezed her tight, and said, "Promise me you'll be safe."

"I will."

She retrieved the net from camp. When they were ready to try their luck with the raft, they'd disassemble it and use it for its rope. They wouldn't be able to catch fish in the wide-open ocean, and if they could, they'd have to eat it raw.

Scarlet would eat just about anything with a couple nutrients in it at this point. Didn't mean she'd enjoy it, though.

Gather papayas. Figure out rainwater collection. Pray that it actually rains. Come up with a way for Darcy's antenna to work while we're at sea…

The list of things they'd have to figure out on top of the simple logistics of building a raft big and sturdy enough to carry them all was daunting, and she hadn't wanted to bring it up to the group. Kit was looking worse by the day, and the longer they stayed on this island, the higher the chances became that Zoe would do something stupid that would get someone else hurt –or worse.

She'd bring up these problems piecemeal, she decided, and hope others had been thinking about them too, and had solutions.

She stopped at the inlet, stepping into the warm water. She spread the net across the narrowest part of the channel just like she always did, and it didn't take her long to figure out that without Robin to scare the fish toward the net, this would be a fool's errand.

They weren't dumb enough to swim near what was obviously a man-made trap on their own. Scarlet tried leaving the net where it was, wedged into the rocks to keep it in place, and going to the pool to do Robin's part. The fish darted toward the net, but without her to close it around them, they just circled back to the safety of the pond.

She wasted half an hour or more trying, then plopped down on the edge of the water, frustrated to tears.

She couldn't do this on her own.

She wasn't sure the whole group working together could escape the island.

And they didn't even have everyone onboard anymore. Zoe had poisoned so many of them against Scarlet in particular, and all for trying to be optimistic and keep everyone happy.

She smacked at the water with her palm just to get some of the anger out, and the fish darted away.

"Sorry," she said, letting out a long, low groan. Nothing was going right, and she was terrified to point it out, terrified to drop the hopeful fa?ade.

If she did, everyone else would finally give in to the fear too. And then there'd be no hope at all of getting out of here.

She cried for a few minutes by the pool, then stood up, slung the wet net over her shoulder, and dusted herself off. Okay, pity party complete. Time to go back to camp and see what they needed help with.

When she got there, quite a few pieces of life boat wood had been lashed together and the raft was starting to take shape. "We should include some sort of upright element," Scarlet pointed out. "Something that can give Darcy's antenna height if we need to boost the signal."

"Good idea," Simone said. "I'll think about how to do that."

All right, that was one problem addressed.

She went up to the campfire, where Robin was taking a turn cooking dinner. Scarlet wrapped her arms around Robin's waist from behind, kissing the back of her neck just beside her ear. "Hey."

"Hi."

"I didn't catch any fish."

"That's okay. Evie and Lex went to gather papayas."

"Turns out fishing is a two-person job," Scarlet said. "I'm sorry I left."

Robin twisted in her arms to face her. "You seemed like you needed a minute. Feel better?"

"A little."

"Well, Darcy and Krys figured out that if they climb out on the rocks just down the beach, the static clears a bit. They've been attempting to broadcast an SOS all afternoon."

"That's great."

Scarlet was still worried, and Robin could tell. She brushed her thumb along Scarlet's cheek, then tucked a tendril of lavender hair behind her ear. "Any day now, we're getting out of here. You know the first thing I'm gonna do?"

"Restaurant?"

"Shower," Robin said with a big grin. "And brush my teeth."

"Oh God, yes, toothpaste," Scarlet groaned. The very idea was practically orgasmic at this point.

"But right after that… probably before I even leave the shower, I'm gonna make love to you," Robin said. "Slowly, loudly, all night long… without all this damnable sand getting everywhere."

Scarlet smiled, happy for the first time all day. "That sounds wonderful."

Then Evie and Lex came out of the trees, weighed down with handfuls of papayas.

"All I'm saying is that we can't know that Zoe wasn't right," Evie was saying. "It's like a Schrodinger's cat thing. Until proven otherwise, the other group both is and isn't feasting on an incredible bounty right now."

"No, it's not," Robin interrupted. "Zoe is a world-class liar who will say whatever she has to in order to get what she wants, and you of all people should know that."

"Exactly," Lex said. "She's only ever looking out for herself."

"Plus," Amanda said, coming in from the raft crew, "she said she wouldn't share with anybody who didn't go with her, so even if she does have food, we're not welcome to it. She made that crystal-clear."

"We could at least check it out," Evie said. "Do a little recon, you know, if the raft thing doesn't work out."

"It will work out," Scarlet said, in spite of all her own private uncertainties. What was wrong with everybody, even entertaining the ridiculous notion that Zoe was sitting on a hoard of food? "Come on, time to eat. We'll take shifts manning the radio after dinner. If we keep sending out a distress signal, sooner or later someone will answer."

"Yeah, like they saw either one of our HELP signs, or our signal fire, or flew over," Evie said.

"Evie, please," Scarlet answered, sending her an unspoken plea. Keep that negative shit to yourself.