STRANDED!

  He crouched there nude and quickly cleaned the fish, tossing the guts back into the ocean and quickly rinsing himself clean. His hands ran over his nude body and Oceans had unconsciously licked her lips. The penis and scrotum of a white man was completely different than that of a black man's...mechanically they were the same...but looked completely different.

  Oceans turned and ran back to camp before she got caught.

  Now her mind was back to the water, darkened hair between his legs and the ruddy color of his shaft; the water droplets that trailed down his chest, over his defined abs, down to his cock...

  "Oceans."

  Her head popped up. "Huh?"

  He gave her a curious look and she blushed. "After dinner do you want to swim in the quarry?" The fresh water lagoon that they had discovered the first day. They had only gone back once, but they always talked about it when the day had been particularly long and arduous.

  "Yes, that would be nice."

  Marshall nodded, thinking that his life had resorted to taking a pretty girl out on a date to the local swimming hole. He'd taken dates to the top New York restaurants, to see plays, on ski trips...all of which were wasted on people who didn't matter and who didn't care. Oceans would have appreciated those things.

  When the two swam together it entailed designated 'swimming attire'. For Oceans, it was an old t-shirt and Bermuda shorts. For Marshall, it was a pair of athletic shorts from Geddes' bag. The two castaways carefully packed away any remaining food and then discreetly changed into their swimwear. It didn't take nearly as long to get to the quarry as the first time. Their campsite was just closer to it. Still, it was a two hour walk. Along the way, they began to idly chat about things that made it obvious that they had expectations to be residence on the island for some time to come.

  Oceans had just flicked a snake away. They were never large snakes but it still caused Marshall to shudder in disgust. "They say snake tastes like chicken."

  Oceans gave him a look. "We can...yeah, we can try it." Before they had never thought to eat snake or Meer rat. Now...

  Oceans told him that she could make cassava every day. It could be made into porridge, sauces and other things that they'd never tried; including medicine. She also told him that she had woven enough rope to maybe make a lobster trap. He had no idea what a lobster trap looked like, but was happy that she did.

  Marshall indicated that the walls of their new hut would be ready to raise tomorrow. That excited her. She had seen him working on it but the various pieces made no sense to her. He kept them stacked neatly in the forest so that the wind could not carry them away.

  Finally, they got to their destination. Slipping off their shoes, they walked carefully along the wet rocks until they reached the luxurious waterfalls. Marshall unconsciously gripped Oceans' arm to prevent her from falling. The sweat and heat from their journey was immediately washed away as they stepped under the cooling falls. Oceans shrieked and braced herself while Marshall immediately jumped into the water a foot or two below.

  "Marshall!" Oceans screamed again, and this time he noted the change in her yell. This time it wasn't a scream of pleasure but of fear. He looked up at her from her position on the rocks above and she was pointing at something behind him. Marshall turned quickly and saw a family of wild boars, two adults and a baby! The adults were quickly rushing the water as the baby mewed on the rocky shore.

  Marshall's mind went blank in terror. The apparent male and female were huge! All he could see were teeth! Reflexively he turned and dived underwater. He was a decent swimmer, better since being stranded on the island and fishing almost daily. He saw the two adult animals go under as well. Big yapping mauls were coming at him as he frantically kicked; moving impossibly slow.

  One foot slammed into the face of the beast and it meant nothing. Marshall's lungs needed air and he came back up to the surface in time to see Oceans dashing around the circumference of the pool. He wanted to scream at her to stay back, though everything was happening too fast! He felt a tug on his leg and then immediately a sharp, piercing pain. Marshall was yanked under and luckily he had just filled his lungs with air. He began slapping, punching and kicking at anything that he could connect with and finally his fists and feet met with solid resistance and the grip on his leg was released.

  Oceans' screams cut through the quiet of the forest and Marshall's already frantically beating heart spiked even more rapidly. But what he saw halted his movements. Oceans was angrily butchering the baby wild boar. Her arms were going up and down rapidly, gripping the huge hunting knife while blood splattered her and rained down on the water below. The pained squeals of the baby brought the parent's attention from their perspective prey.

  Marshall watched with wide, fearful eyes as the two huge animals turned their attention from him to Oceans. Once she realized that they were charging in her direction, she turned on her heels and darted into the woods. The large, beasts with their short legs had trouble getting back up on the bank over the slippery rocks. Marshall used the opportunity to swim to the opposite shore and as he pulled himself up and out of the water, he caught sight of his leg for the first time. There were four neat little holes that streamed blood liberally down his leg.

  Marshall climbed back up the rocks, unbeknownst to the animals, and hid beneath the falls. He didn't know enough about animals to be sure that they wouldn't be able to track him by the smell of his blood, but he knew for certain that he wasn't going to be able to outrun anything.

  Once on shore, the parents took a few moments to keen over their fallen child. The male took a few moments to stamp the ground and he seemed to want to go into the forest but he wouldn't without his family. Marshall crouched and watched them under the chilly fall of water. Soon it became apparent that the baby was not going to get up and follow them, and with one last nudge of its snout, the mother turned and followed the male from the clearing.

  Marshall was shivering with cold as he finally unfolded his body from its crouching position and carefully climbed down from the rocks. His leg was covered in blood now but at least it wasn't flowing as freely. Horror stories ran though his mind of him developing a nasty infection, losing his leg or even dying from it. How did you clean a wound when you didn't have soap? How did you survive on an island when fucking wild boars could appear out of nowhere?

  He was hobbling back to camp carrying the shoes that Oceans had left behind. The brush ahead rustled and Marshall almost lost it. He figured his hair had gone stark white, but then it was just Oceans. They ran to each other so fast and so hard that they practically slammed into the other.

  "Oh god, oh god!" Oceans was sobbing. She was shaking so hard that Marshall had to practically support her. "I thought they had killed you..." Tears were gliding down her face and her chest was hitching. "I thought I was going to be alone."

  "I'm okay." He said while clutching her face and staring into her hysterical eyes. "Oceans, baby, I' am not going anywhere." She grabbed him in a hug, clutching him as if for dear life. He lifted her body from the ground as he hugged her back.

  "I was so scared..." He murmured. "I thought they were going to go after you-"

  "We have to work together-" She mumbled into his neck, voice still hitching.

  "You did so good! I'm so proud of you."

  Oceans pushed back gently from him and looked at him intently. "Let's go back and get it. We're going to eat the motherfucker."

  Once back at camp, Oceans sent Marshall to his hammock to lay down. She had used some of the cassava flour mixed with water to form a type of 'soap' and had used it to wash his wound as best she could. There was no alkaline in it and therefore was not very effective. She shared some of his same fears of infection and set about the task of making something that they hadn't had in nearly two months...soap. Real soap.

  With the pot, lard from the baby pig, and wood ash she had the means to make soap. On the island, she'd seen the old ladies do it, though they had all of the materials they needed nea
tly packaged or bottled...

  She didn't exactly know what she was doing, but really there was just the three major components and so she set forth on the task; fear of Marshall losing his leg as a big motivation to do it correctly.

  It wasn't easy, it took an entire day but she began with the alkaline. She used wood ash (which they had a lot of), some of the fiberglass sheeting and a clumsily woven basket. She slowly poured water into the ash, filled basket until the brackish fluid dripped out of the bottom and collected onto the fiberglass sheeting. What ended on the fiberglass was lye.

  She prepared the piglet for eating, meanwhile separating as much of the fat as she could. This went into a pot of boiling water to render the fat from any remaining meat. After dressing the piglet in large leaves, it went into a shallow pit lined with banana leaves, hot coals, and then more banana leaves.

  Then she checked on Marshall. It was night and he was sleeping deeply. Touching his head, she didn't feel any fever. Yawning herself, but on a mission, she collected the small amount of lye in a coconut shell. She added more water to the pot of fat and removed it from the fire. Finally she dragged herself to her hammock and fell into a restless sleep.

  "Oceans, Oceans!" She dragged her eyes opened, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Marshall was out of his hammock and gently shaking her shoulder. The residue of a nightmare just now fading.

  "You were dreaming." He had awakened to the sounds of her cries and her legs kicking out in her sleep. She looked as if she were reliving the wild boar's attack on him. He had leaped down from his hammock, almost losing his balance even though the 'floor' had been raised significantly. His injured leg had stiffened considerably. Oceans was now watching him fearfully. He stroked her brown hand in reassurance. "Do you want to talk about it?"

  Her eyes looked out at the distance. The ocean was so beautiful, seemingly endless...the idea of it could leave you feeling small and insignificant: claustrophobic.

  "Marshall, I had a dream that on the other side of the island was a resort." She looked at him with piercing, frightened eyes. "All kinds of rich people were there, PAYING to vacation here. There was all kinds of food, and servers wearing crisp white jackets and serving chilled champagne. When you and I walked from the forest, everyone stared at us. We fell on the buffet of food, stuffing our mouths and drinking like gluttons. No one tried to stop us." Marshall watched her, his mouth opened slightly as he pictured what she described. He could almost feel the cool liquid running down his throat. So far, didn't sound like a nightmare...

  "There was a pig roasting on a spit and it started moving, squealing, trying to get up and run away. Then two huge pigs came out of the forest. They looked at me, and I started to run-" She looked at Marshall. "I didn't want to kill their baby."

  He nodded solemnly. "I know Oceans." He spoke to her in a soothing tone, explaining that they had to do what they had to do in order survive.

  "I didn't want to kill that baby..." She cried.

  "I know." He said soothingly, wiping away her tears. "They would have killed me to feed their baby. They wouldn't have done it out of cruelty, just survival. You killed IT to save me...and THAT is survival too."

  She finally nodded her head and he kissed her cheek. "Go to sleep Oceans, you need some rest." She slowly closed her eyes as he stroked her hand and placed kisses on her face and head. Knowing that he was there, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

  ***

  The soap got made into crude uneven pieces. She scented it with several flowers whose leaves she fished out before the liquid set on shallow pieces of fiberglass. They both took a hunk of the soap and looked at it in amazement. Wordlessly, they walked to the ocean's edge and removed their clothing. Neither looked at the other; the wonder of having soap after two months was more important than anything else.

  Entering the ocean only far enough to reach their knees, they began the process of washing. Afterwards they swam and played, chucking the soap pieces further up on the beach so that the precious thing would not float away as they played. They had never played together in the water naked; it was more like a celebration—not an attempt to seduce or to get off on looking at the other. Like children, they frolicked innocently. Then when they finally came back to shore and slipped on their clothes, it was time to feast. Having skipped breakfast the two were ravenous. The pitted piglet was succulent. They didn't eat anything with it, just pork chops, ribs, pork roast, even roasted liver. With distended stomach, they wrapped up the scraps that were left over and napped.

  ~MONTH 3~

  Oceans climbed up the ladder that Marshall had put together. She preferred stairs; especially since they'd just found large flat rocks. But Marshall was incredibly anxious about wild boars. Oceans couldn't blame him. She hadn't been bitten by one!

  When she got to the top, she was careful to step onto the solid foundation of their house. Marshall had done a great job making it livable. It was very nearly the size of the average two car garage. And it was waterproof despite the large tree that cut through the wall and ceiling—but necessary if they wanted use of the hammocks inside.

  Oceans dropped an armful of mud on her work mat. It wasn't actually just mud but clay. Over the last few days she'd made bowls, pitchers, and now she was going to try her hand at making plates. Marshall thought it was just added work because then it meant dishes needed to be washed instead of banana leaves being tossed. However it kept her busy and he couldn't deny that having water jugs was a lifesaver. At night he fired the dried clay for her, covering it in the red hot coals until the morning when pottery emerged from the ash. She even painted them with various plant dyes.

  Her lobster trap had worked exceedingly well—though it needed repairing each time something ended up in it. Now he was in the process of preparing two large ones for lunch, along with more of the roasted cassava and various berries. He could hear Oceans singing softly as she kneaded the hard clay. He stopped what he was doing; frozen in his spot.

  It was in that very moment that he realized that he was hopelessly in love with her. His heart felt like it was swelling in his chest; maybe it would even burst. Then one of the lobsters clamped down on his thumb and he shouted. It wasn't the first time he'd been pinched and remembered that Oceans had instructed him to gently squeeze the lobster's body and it would let go. However, when something was biting the hell out of your digit, clear thought was not always possible.

  Oceans came rushing to the door of the hut with clay up to her wrists. Her eyes were big terrified pools of darkness. Marshall's heart crashed that he'd scared her with his yell. But as soon as she saw the lobster dangling from his hand, her face broke into a smile and she hid her laughter behind her clay-laden hand.

  "Marshall." She called. "Squeeze his belly!" He resisted the urge to slam the thing against the nearest rock and did as instructed. The lobster released him and he dropped it to the ground. Oceans climbed down the ladder, insisting on examining his finger thoroughly. It had blistered painfully but the skin hadn't broken. Marshall watched her silently as she rinsed it with clean water from one of her water jugs.

  "Ooo..." She cooed. Her full lips made a concerned pout. His eyes took in the slope of her nose and the broad flare of her nostrils. Her lashes, as she looked down, were so long that it appeared to cast shadows. Though he knew he shouldn't, he reluctantly allowed his eyes to drop lower.

  He suppressed a moan. The peaks of her nipples were clearly imprinted on the thin fabric of her dress. His mouth ached to take even one taste of-

  She placed her lips on his wounded finger and then looked at him brightly. "There, now it's all better." Marshall felt a tremble begin from his feet and move quickly up his body. She gave him a surprised look and before Marshall knew it his head had dipped down to her slightly parted lips and he was kissing her. In that moment there was not one thing that could have tasted better to him than the taste of Oceans’ lips.

  "Marshall..." She murmured. He hesitated but she didn't pull back, then she was le
aning forward. Marshall was suddenly possessed. His hands slid over her body; they were trembling, he could barely breathe.

  Oceans felt her head begin to spin. Her hands travelled up along the hard muscles of his naked shoulders. They were still slightly wet from his venture in the ocean, but hot. It was like the heat had begun to set up residence in his body. Even as her body began to tingle at his touch her mind also worried that he didn't get heat exhaustion.

  Marshall wanted to literally fall into Oceans...but his need was not her burden. He suppressed his desire with a shudder, looking like a man going through withdrawals. With great reverence, he allowed his hands to travel up her sides-causing ripples of pleasure to course through her body. His hands then slid down her back, sliding over her round ass, where they lingered to hold her against him. When her hands reflexively moved up to wrap around his neck he was suddenly overcome with emotion.

  Choking back a sob he buried his head into her neck. "I love you Oceans...I love you. I'm sorry..." He apologized as he shuddered against her firm body and tried to collect himself. He didn't know what he was apologizing for but-