Yellowjackets: The Broken Victors

Chapter 11: An Ink Trail of the One Unforgotten Bond

"Do you think it will float?" asked Van, arms crossed to her chest, questioning the raft they just built.

It doesn't look good, of course. Since they lack proper materials for building a raft, they had to be resourceful, like getting the roots and vines that were coiling around the plane they found and using them as an improvised rope to tie and sandwich the bigger logs between the thinner ones to make sure it would all be held in one piece. All they knew was that they could not use all the ropes they got back in the cabin for the raft because they had other important uses for them.

"By the looks of it, no. I don't think so," replied Agami, a hand on her chin, checking their finished product but completely doubtful.

Van smacked the woman's back with so much force that it almost sent Agami to the ground, face first, on the landing. "Stop being a pessimist," she told the woman.

"Well, I'm sorry if I think that a log raft made by two girls who don't even have any experience in scouting or any crafting bullshit will not float!" said Agami, her hand pointing at what she claimed was a piece of crap.

"This was your idea!" yelled Van.

"But that doesn't make it a sure thing!" argued Agami.

"It has to float! We spent two days working to build this stuff!" responded the red-haired woman.

Agami ran her hands to her face in frustration, taking her moment before they put the log raft to a test to see whether it would float, sink, or, in the worst-case scenario, the vines they used to tie everything together wouldn't be able to withstand them and the water itself.

She removed her shoes and socks, and her peripheral vision caught Van doing the same thing. As the two girls' eyes met, they nodded at each other as they began to push the raft from the shore to the lake together. Once it hit the water and the moment they felt that they were already waist deep in the lake, Agami and Van jumped, bringing themselves on top of the raft and lying over the platform as they were catching their breath.

A few moments later, Van gets up from her lying down and starts hitting Agami on her arm.

"Holy shit," she whispered excitedly as she continued to slap Agami.

They both started screaming like kids who managed to ride a bicycle without the training wheels for the first time, as if it were such a big achievement unlocked. Slowly, Van and Agami tried to stand up, balancing themselves on the raft on both ends to make sure it wouldn't sink. The red-haired woman used the long branch they brought along to push the raft off the bank and further from the shore.

"We're the best," said Agami, laughing at their success.

"This has to be added to my list of skills for my college resume," Van responded.

The girls took their time to admire their work and had a few more conversations as they floated around. Agami paddled more, trying to reach the middle part of the lake and check if there were rocks or piles of boulders they could use to their advantage once they tried to catch some fish. When they found nothing, it was obvious that they had to improvise more things for making bait if they wanted to catch something to eat. As much as possible, she doesn't want to go diving with Laura Lee, not just because they both lack experience with it but also because they don't have proper equipment and the lake's water is not that clear. Surely they would have a hard time if they ended up doing that.

After they had finally confirmed that the raft was stable, Van suggested that they should go back to the shallow part of the lake so they could take a little swim since they both reek from sweat and the two of them need to wash their bodies to freshen up.