Trapped in a Island with James Tullos

Chapter 7

I walked along the beach, slowly, looking for supplies. I wiped the sweat from my forehead using my sleeve. It was uncomfortably warm. Oh course, it was only natural that James would be angry. I'd lied to him and I'd caused him pain, even if I had meant well. That didn't make it any easier to face. "Fuck off," he'd said to me, and rather emphatically at that. It hurt to remember, especially given how I felt about him.

James wasn't a role model to me, exactly. I couldn't honestly say I had any interest in being a YouTuber, or any sort of online figure, and I would rather work a stable nine to five than relying on advertisement revenue and Patreon supporters. But I found him to be insightful and clever, and at times, humorous. He had a way of dissecting stories and presenting their flaws in a clear, entertaining way. He was well-spoken and intelligent. I could never do what he did, and I admired him for it. In another version of this story where he hadn't broken his arm, perhaps I could have picked his brain to learn more about his creative process. Perhaps we could've been good friends.

But of course, that wasn't what had happened, and he probably wanted me dead.

I continued to scan the beach for anything that might be useful to make a splint. The easy part would be the stiff component. All I really needed was a couple of sticks, which I'd found almost immediately once I'd began searching. The difficult part would be securing them to James's arm. That would require some kind of tape, or a soft rope. String might work, if we were truly desperate. But I failed to see how we could get any of those things.

I sighed. I'd hoped that I'd be able to find something we could use. There's no place on earth that's untouched by humans, and anything can be helpful in a survival situation. Even trash. But so far I'd not found as much as a bottle cap. Of course, scavenging wasn't strictly necessary. This wasn't truly a survival situation. Rescuers would find us by nightfall, at the latest. I'd just hoped I would be able to make James more comfortable in the meantime.

I considered giving up and walking back to him. It seemed as though I was just wasting my time, walking along an empty beach, looking for garbage that wasn't there. I didn't want to leave him alone for too long, and I'd already walked further than I had intended. I glanced up the shore, giving one last look for anything at all.

Nothing.

With a frustrated huff, I started to turn back. As I shifted, a glint of red caught my eye.

That's not a color you see in nature. Not when it's that vibrant.

I walked quickly towards the area where I'd seen the flicker of red. I ducked and bobbed my head to try to catch the light again, to make sure I hadn't imagined it. There – just the tiniest flash of color. Something was reflecting the sunlight.

As I approached, I saw it, half buried in the sand near the water – an old coke can. Not exactly what I'd been hoping for, but it was at least something. And where's there's one piece of trash, there's more to be found. I sat down by the can and ran my palm through the sand, wiping in wide, quick strokes. Maybe the was more, hidden underneath. After a moment, my hand hit something that felt springy and unnatural. Plastic. I saw just a tiny bit of what looked like a red, circular, translucent lid stuck out of the sand. Thankfully, the sand was dry and loose, and I was easily able to pull it free.

Not just a lid, but a whole, intact hummus container. Mostly clear, with just a red ring around the edge of the lid. There appeared to be dregs of hummus left inside, but thankfully, no mold. I set the container carefully aside turned towards the water. If I was finding this much lightweight trash, there might be something more substantial that hadn't washed up completely. There was a cluster of rocks at the water's edge, only partially submerged. A piece of thin, blue material was caught on the smallest one, swaying back and forth in the gentle waves. A jellyfish? I took a cautious step forward, my bare feet dipping into the water. No, just a plastic bag.