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caused them to re-evaluate whether they should relocate their campsite to the forest as opposed to the beach. There were pros and cons for each.

Oceans thought she remembered palm trees being very close to the beach. If they moved their campsite yet again, they'd be even further away from the old campsite...but also a bit further from the water source. All in all, it was an easy decision to relinquish their neat hut for the opportunity to sleep off the ground. Since it was growing dark, they put off the move until the morning.

When they retreated to the hut, Marshall again offered to keep watch while she slept, though this time she made him promise to wake her up in a few hours. She knew he'd play Mr. Macho and not want to do it, but she got him to agree by indicating that they'd be able to wake up earlier and accomplish more if they both slept during the night.

She stared at the dark image of the cell phone. "When should we try it?"

Marshall stared out into the night. The torches and the fire raged, but he wasn't convinced that it was sufficient to ward off a wild boar. He turned to Oceans. "In the morning, we'll check as soon as the sun rises." He turned back to stare into the night. They had to get off this Island. Eventually something was going to get at them and he couldn't protect her for long.

***

As he promised, Marshall woke Oceans and then lay down for a restless sleep. She fed the fire but mostly just thought about getting off the island. It seemed to take forever for the crack of dawn. But as soon as the first light showed, she woke up Marshall. He jumped up as if he was a kid at Christmas.

Marshall picked up the battery first and examined it, trying to see any evidence of wetness. Then he picked up the phone and didn't see any condensation. It was completely dry. He knew that the hot Caribbean sun would work fast.

"Say a prayer." He said. Then he slipped the battery back into the phone. He squeezed it in his hand before pressing the button to turn it on. He'd dropped more than one cell phone into water. Usually a few keys wouldn't engage or it wouldn't move forward or backwards. But it always worked.

But this time it didn't. It was completely dead. Marshall stared at it in horror.

"Hold the button down a little longer." She suggested. He did as she asked. When nothing happened he stared at it for a few minutes, neither of them speaking. He dropped the phone onto the ground and left the hut. Oceans looked after him but didn't follow. He walked to the waters edge and stopped just short of the ocean. His bare feet sank into the cold sand as he watched the horizon. Marshall began sobbing.

Much later, he walked back to the hut. Oceans watched him approach and then set aside the mat that she was working on. She stood and put her arms around him and hugged him tight. Marshall stiffened but didn't pull away. Soon, Oceans broke the hold and looked at him curiously. He just stared at the ground before murmuring.

"Maybe we should head over to the new campsite now." She nodded in agreement. The hammocks carried most of their belongings. They'd have to make a second trip for the pot and the torches, but they got most of their things in one trip. They traveled quietly and it felt odd not to chat with him. Oceans was finding herself becoming lonely since Marshall had sunk into this funk. It started when the wild boar had chased her. Now Marshall never went anywhere without one of the lethal spears that he'd made. During his watch, he seemed to expect the worse. She had begun thinking of Marshall as her friend and it hurt her to see him like this. Maybe something as small as the hammocks might lift his spirits.

They found one large tree that grew on the rocky embankment where the beach met the edge of the forest. It was a massive tree with no coconuts growing from it; a potentially deadly place to hang a hammock from if it did grow coconuts. Nature had created the perfect hammock base; a tree that curved away from