Read Escape, a New Life for Free Online Page A

screamed, “We’re on an island!”
    “I’m just as confused as you are.”
    She pushed past him, her mind racing to fill in the blanks.  Why would she be on an island?  How in the world did she get here?  How come she could not remember a damned thing?
    Eric was markedly calmer.  He sat, staring off at the ocean in the distance.  “There’s another island over there, on the other side,” he said.
    “ I see that,” Abby snapped back.  “How do you propose we get there?”
    He looked back at her with a blank expression.  “I wasn’t suggesting we do. How do we even know we want to get there?  I was just pointing it out.”  He was clearly hurt.
    “Sorry ,” she said.  “I just can’t put the pieces together here.  I’m frustrated.” 
    “I get it.  We’re in the same boat… well, not a boat actually, though that would be helpful, huh?”
    She smiled. 
    From their vantage point, they could see the entire island.  There was no sign that anyone else was here.  No houses, no phone towers, no manmade structures that they could see.  Mostly what they could see were the tops of the trees that made up the lush vegetation on the island.  They could not see all of the beaches, but there were no docks, boats, or anything else visible along the water line that would indicate there were other people there. 
    As far as they could tell , they were all alone.
    Abby felt a familiar anxiety in the pit of her stomach, the kind of anxiety that goes with loss of control.  She was on an island with this stranger and had no idea how to get off.  Can I trust him?   She weighed the question in her mind.  Looking at him, he certainly appeared to be just as baffled as she was.  There was something familiar about him, too.  Although they had only known each other for little more than a day, something about him was familiar.  Whether that made sense was another question, but for now she decided to accept the comfort that his familiarity seemed to offer. 
    They sat silent and overwhelmed at their situation.  Neither had any ideas at the moment.  Eric reached out and took her hand in his.  “Hey, we’ll figure this out.  Don’t worry.”
    She looked at him and felt very calm . “I’m not worried.”  She gave him a reassuring smile.
    “I know you’re not,” he chuckled, “and I can’t tell if that freaks me out, or makes me feel better.”
    She laughed.
    “At least we’re a good team,” he said. 
    Holding his large hand, she noticed that it felt hard and calloused.  No doubt he had been working with his hands for a long time.  She gave him a squeeze with her small soft hand before she let go.  Abby admired the ocean in the distance.  There was something moving slowly out on the water.  Something very distant and very large.
    She stood and squinted . “A ship!” she shouted. “Or a boat. I don’t know what it is, but look.” 
    He looked up . “I don’t see anything.”
    “Come here !” She yanked him up and pulled him close.  Holding her head against his, she directed his eyes toward the ocean.  Their sudden closeness and the smell of his skin distracted her, if only for a second, until she pointed. “There.”
    “Son of a bitch!  Y ou’re right.”
    Abby looked below and saw the pile of half -charred wood.  His eyes followed hers, and they both had the same thought.  He piled the wood like a tepee and she quickly lit some kindling under it with her blade and flint.  The sticks and dry charred wood were burning in a full blaze within minutes.  
    “Toss on some more logs,” she told him. “I’m going to get some leaves.”
    “Leaves?”
    “They’ll make smoke.”
    He stopped and stared at her.  “How do you know these things?”   Sometimes Abby impressed herself.  How did she know that?  She must have seen it on TV or something.
    Running into the trees, she tore her knife from its sheath and began hacking thin low lying branches as quickly as she could.