Shipwrecked Siblings

Join date : 2021-02-24

He was never one for open waters --that was until he found herself shipwrecked in the Galapagos Islands. It was his father's archeological project that had brought Indiana and his family on a “cruise for a lifetime,” or so he was told. While he and his sister were expected to stay put on the ship, his father was to go out and explore the famous dig sites present on San Cristóbal Island.

“This is so ridiculous,” Indiana’s sister Wendy said aloud while puckering her lips into a duckface for a selfie.

“YOU look ridiculous,” Indiana retorted.

“Hey, can we not argue on this trip?” their father asked, rolling his eyes. “This is an important trip for me.”

“SO important that you had to drag us,” Indiana mumbled under his breath, walking away from his sister.

“What was that?” His father asked.

“Nothing.” Indiana replied, approaching the old jukebox in the corner of the deck. He inserted four quarters and scrolled through the selection of 80’s classics; he had heard them all a million times, and decided to settle on Take On Me by a-Ha. Best in the lineup he thought to himself before he started bouncing on his toes.

I’ll be comin’ for your love, okay. “Taaaake oooooon meeeee,” Indiana sang. “Taaake meeee ooooon. I’ll beeee gooooo-.” Indiana was interrupted by a sudden crack of thunder. Wendy ran to her dad’s side.
“Dad what’s going on?” Wendy asked, fear in her voice. She had always hated thunder and how it made her hair stand on end.
A flash of lightning appeared on the horizon, and the jukebox immediately cut out.
“Guess the lightning’s not a fan of A-ha,” Indiana cracked, sharing a worried glance with his father.
“No, the forecast said clear skies,” their father said, frantically pulling his phone out and accessing the weather app. He was met with a “No signal.”
Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the deck and blinded the family. When they recovered, they realized a large cut had been made into the structure of the boat. Indiana was only able to share a horrified glance at the hole, then his father before another bright light completely blinded him and he felt the deck below him give way.

When he came to, Indiana realized just how dry his mouth was. Coughing, he sat up and groaned in achy pain. He looked around and saw a young girl huddled next to a tall tree. He tried calling out to her but quickly choked on his dry throat. Hearing this, the girl turned around and ran towards Indiana. He was able to make out an “Oh thank God you’re alright” before passing out again.
When he came to again, he felt even worse than he had before. The girl he had seen came into focus as she shoved something near him; it was a water bottle. Without even thinking, Indiana lunged for the bottle, unscrewing the cap, and taking a long swig before taking a glance at the girl; it was his sister.
“Wendy, what happened!” Indiana exclaimed bolting upright and grabbing his sister.
“Stop hugging me, ya dork,” Wendy replied. She was grateful her brother was alright, but she couldn’t actually show him that. “After the lightning strike, the boat broke apart. The jukebox didn’t make it,” she grimaced. “But I found these.” She held out her hand to reveal a green ball.
“Wha-” Indiana began.
“It’s a guava fruit.” Now eat up, who knows how long we’ll be here.” Wendy replied.
“Where’s dad?” Indiana asked his sister. She shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she returned. “I haven’t been able to find him, and this island is huge.”
Indiana shook his head; he didn’t know a thing about surviving in the wilderness. He did know they needed to find shelter, and fast. Getting to his feet, he took a quick but thorough scan of his environment and noticed a barrage of twigs, branches, leaves, etc. He smiled and looked toward his sister.
“Alright,” he started. “Hand me those branches over there,” and together they began crafting a fort. The end result wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to keep them covered and potentially protected from heavy rain. They took a seat in their new makeshift home.
“Hey, remember when Dad was always teasing you about those awful dance moves?” Wendy snickered at her brother.
“Yeah,” Indiana said, a smile forming on his face. “He was always saying I reminded him of Grandpa Jack.” Just then they both heard rustling coming from their right. Grabbing a stick for protection, Indiana shielded Wendy and held the weapon at arm’s length. A figure emerged from the clearing, and the siblings quickly dropped their weapons.
“Dad?” They both pondered in unison.

TO BE CONTINUED