PULAU MATI (7 page)

“
We should collect the blankets,” Anna added.

Everyone but Paolo
agreed to collect what was available along the beach and close to shore and wait for better light to dive to the aircraft.  They found perhaps two days worth of water for everyone and several of the unopened gift baskets and some stray oranges and apples.  The fruit had a coating of jet fuel making them inedible unless peeled or washed with soap.  The oranges could be peeled easily enough but the apples required a knife.  Dozens of blankets, some sealed in plastic, many of the tiny pillows and a half dozen boxes of tissues, mostly soggy, were retrieved and laid out in the sun with the hope that they would be usable when dried out.

Gray had removed his shoes
while in the water but Anna had not recovered them like his trousers.  He checked the shoes on Sani’s body but they were too small.  He kept them thinking they might fit Keegan.  He tried on Malik’s but they were too large for any serious walking.  Melanie had earlier removed Lleyton’s shoes and they proved a good fit.  When they had recovered everything useful, Gray suggested they explore the island.  Everyone agreed with that but Paolo who was napping.  Shinobu volunteered to stay with the three badly injured men while the others explored.

Anna
gazed at the bodies down on the beach.  “Should we think about burying them… if we are here very long?”

Gray looked
at Shinobu for his reaction.  The old man followed Anna’s gaze down to the beach.  “My wife no longer inhabits that body.  We will bury them if necessary.”

Lex found a
three inch shard of metal in the surf and Anna peeled or rather scraped the peeling from a couple of apples with it and peeled a couple of oranges with her fingers.  By unspoken agreement they postponed exploration until they ate breakfast.  They had found some yogurt and cheese and along with the crackers and fruit had a reasonable meal while sitting in the shade under the big tree.

Anna spoke to Paolo in German and they had a short conversation.  She offered him water and some food which he accepted. 
Keegan ate but immediately crawled away and vomited.  He came back in tears and apologized.  Paolo glared at him, mumbling something in German and not trying to disguise his disdain for the young Irishman.

Lex
rose but stopped halfway to his feet and gasped in pain.  “Oh, god.  Man, I would trade my Carrera for a bottle of Aleve right now.”

Everyone laughed, groaning
their understanding of how he felt.  With much grousing except for Dayah, those going exploring got to their feet.  Dayah was barefoot and Gray asked if she would be all right walking without shoes.  She gave him a skeptical look.  “I wear no shoes all time possible.”

The five
grabbed bottles of water and walked first to the north along the beach although they could already see it was probably impassable because the shoreline became a jumble of rocky crags.

Directly back of the beach a rocky peak rose out of the jungle. 
Gray walked to the edge of the rocks and studied the peak.  A sliver of a hole in the northwest side of the peak caught his attention.  He climbed across the crags as far as he could go to get a better view.  There was a man height hole visible only at this northern most position.  It was about a hundred feet up the northwest face of the rocks and impossible to reach from the beach without rock climbing gear but it appeared the cave might be reached by coming from the other side where a jungle covered plateau stretched north a short ways out from the peak.

The group turned back and headed south.  Three hundred yards
down the beach from where they had struggled ashore after the crash, the beach curved in like a notch and the forest sloped gently up to a saddle between two peaks.  They debated whether to immediately head inland or see how far the island could be circled from the beach.  Gray just started walking south and they followed.  The beach stretched on south for about five hundred yards until it ended in a broken and craggy shoreline similar to the north end.  They turned back north, retracing their steps to the notch and pushed east through the dense foliage.  Once they were past the thick growth along the beach, a trail wide enough in places to walk two abreast led in the direction of the saddle.  Thick jungle of vines, large leafed plants, and tall trees lay on both sides of the trail. A small, orange and black bird called from a tree and something ground bound scurried into the undergrowth as they approached.  Once away from the shore breeze, the sweet scent of unseen blossoms mingled with the earthy scent of the detritus littered jungle floor.

A ways up the trail Lex sat down and took a drink from the water bottle he carried.  Without a word spoken, the others copied him and
sat and rested after the slog through the soft sand and up the slope. The air temperature was warm but not oppressive and the smells and sounds pleasant.  Gray leaned his back against a tree trunk and Anna scooted close and leaned against him.  He wrapped both his arms around her and she dropped her head back and smiled up at him.  She closed her eyes and Gray did the same.  For a few minutes he forgot his aching body, their terrible situation and the grievously wounded men at the shelter.

When
Gray opened his eyes, Melanie was grinning at him from across the trail.  She pointed a finger at Anna, made a heart shape of her two hands with the palms and finger tips pressed together and then pointed at him.  The gestures made him smile and he gave a small shrug that brought Anna’s eyes open.

“What?” she said.

Gray chuckled.  “Melanie is pantomiming.”

“Huh?”
  Anna asked in confusion.

He
gave her an affectionate squeeze and pushed himself to his feet.  “We’ve got three people whose lives may depend upon what we find on the other side of this island.”

Lex threw his empty water bottle into the jungle and Melanie barked at him about littering such a pristine place.  He rolled his eyes but
stepped off the trail and retrieved it.

Gray said, “Besides littering, we should save those bottles in case we find a fresh water supply or have to catch rain water to drink.”

Lex nodded like he agreed Gray’s was a better reason for retrieving the bottle.  With some loud sighing the others rose to their feet and they headed up hill.

Gray had overheard the conversation between Paolo and Anna and understood much of it but was
still unclear about who he was.  “What’s with Paolo?” he asked her.

Anna laughed.  “Do you think he is a prima do
nna?”

“I was thinking of another term but that one does apply.”

“He is a formula one champion and is very famous in Holland and most of Europe and Brazil too I think.  And he does have the reputation of being that term you did not name.”

“He is a famous asshole?”

Anna laughed loudly.

In
a little over ten minutes at a moderate walk they reached the top of the saddle which was bare of trees.  The break in the forest canopy gave them a view that filled them with hope.  Below, maybe a thousand yards distant, lay a narrow and uneven dock that stretched far out into the incredibly light blue water of a small palm lined bay.

Chapter I
V     The Hut

To the east t
he forest canopy closed in over the trail below the saddle.  Lex and Melanie hurried down the long gentle slope ahead of Gray, Dayah and Anna.  The trail made a few turns on the way down and came out into a clearing about 100 yards short of the dock.  About 75 yards to the right of the trail lay a large, mostly open bamboo hut about forty feet long by twenty five deep not counting a shaded porch on the side facing the bay.  The hut was built on stilts two feet high.  The clearing, which sloped gently from the hut down to the bay, ended fifty yards to the south of the hut at a placid pool of water.  On the south side of the dock was a bamboo construction with a thatched roof and a waist high shelf or work bench but no walls.  In the center of the clearing was a thick post, like a cut off telephone pole, about eight feet high with a thatched awning in disrepair atop it.

When Gray
, Dayah and Anna reached the hut, Lex was coming out brandishing a long knife that he waved about like a sword.  “Some food in there and a locked cabinet,” he said.

“Does the hut look recently lived in?” Gray asked.

Lex shrugged.  “Hard to say.  We did see a couple of chickens, at least I think they were chickens, run into the jungle when we came into the clearing.”

“Good to know.  They might be laying eggs out there somewhere.”

Lex headed toward the bay saying he was going to check out the dock.  Gray walked toward the pool, Anna and Dayah following.  A very small water fall, appearing to come from a spring, tumbled into the west end of the pool.  From that end of the pool, the jungle sloped steeply up to the southern peak.  The pool was about forty feet across, crystal clear and looked six to eight feet deep.

“Our fresh water problem may be solved,” Gray said. 
He, Dayah and Anna walked back to the hut.  The steeply pitched thatch roof hung so low Gray had to stoop to step onto the porch.  There was no door into the hut, only a break in the three foot high wall.  Just inside the break a small shovel leaned against the wall by a plastic bucket with rolls of toilette paper in it.

Only the back wall of t
he hut, made of a woven plant material, was of full height, and the only decorations on it were tattered posters of scantily clad or nude young women.  The other three walls were about three feet high up to a railing and made of the same woven material.  The hut was open from the railings up to the overhanging roof.  From the roof hung rolled up screens made of split bamboo that looked like they could be dropped down to break the wind. Ten unmade cots, most with plastic boxes or chests at one end, took up the sides.  In the center a propane stove, a sink without a faucet and a table formed a kitchen.  Against the back wall stood a rusty beige colored, six foot high metal cabinet with two doors.  Beside the cabinet were shelves that held bags of staples like rice and beans and jars with sugar, salt and meal of some kind.  The stink and squalor of the place gave Gray an uneasy feeling. There was no sign of a woman’s or child’s presence.

The cabinet was flimsy and Gray guessed he could break into it with little trouble using one of the heavy knives from the kitchen.  Something made him reluctant to do so.

“Here’s some shampoo,” Anna said, holding up a scummy bottle.  “Maybe we could wash off the jet fuel and salt in the pool.”

Gray nodded absently.

Using two fingers only, Anna held up a towel that was in dire need of laundering and grimaced.  “They live like pigs here,” she said,

“I’m thinking of breaking into the cabinet,” he said to her.”

“The situation warrants it,” she replied.  “It may contain something we need.”

Lex and Melanie came back into the hut. 
The young man was excited.  “Gray, you should check out the dock.  It leads out into this bay that is so clear you can see the bottom and the fish and crabs.”

“Mmmm, crab would make a nice
lunch.  Any traps out there?”

Lex raised a finger grinning.  “I’ll look!
  There are also coconuts just laying around,” he said and turned to leave.

“Hang on a minute
, guys.  I have some thoughts about this place and they are not good.  I’m going to open the cabinet.”

“Sure.  What are you thinking?” Lex asked.

Gray did not answer.  He grabbed a meat cleaver from a box of filthy knives and eating utensils and stepped to the cabinet.  Before prying at the door he grabbed the handle and gave it a jerk upward and the door opened.

“Oh, that’s how it works! 
Like a school locker.  Duh!” Lex said, sounding embarrassed.

Gray pulled both doors open.
  A couple of rusty AK-47s leaned against the back.  A dozen canvas bandoliers were stacked to the side.  He lifted one up and exposed the end of an olive drab device that looked like a large flattened plastic brick curved into a slight crescent.  Boxes of ammunition and an old revolver lay on a shelf toward the top. A few odd canned goods took up the rest of the shelving.

“Huh,” Lex said, shaking his head.  “Why would anybody leave guns in a
n unlocked cabinet?”

“Probably because no one in this part of the world would steal from these guys.  I think they are pirates.”

Melanie laughed.  “Pirates!  You aren’t serious?”

“Is that a Claymore mine
?” Lex asked, pointing to the device Gray held in his hand.

“
Good call, my man.  I hope they don’t have some of these set up on trip wires around here.  We had better watch where we walk.”

“Pirates!” Melanie
again exclaimed in a skeptical tone.

“Pirates!”
Gray repeated, mocking her tone.  “Only these are Asian but they still board ships and rape and plunder.”

Melanie shook her head.  Lex looked a little less skeptical.
  A fearful expression came to Dayah’s face.

Gray said, “The
y probably have an old rusty trawler that can launch speed boats for hauling boarding parties.”

“What would they use mines for?”
Lex asked.

Gray shrugged.  “I don’t know.  Maybe these are just booty they saved
for some reason.  Maybe they use them as some anti-boarding weapon once they have taken over a ship.  This area is legend for ships taken for ransom or simply looted.  The difference between these guys and the Somalis is these guys aren’t bluffing when they say they will kill hostages.  The Somalis rarely kill the crews; it’s rare when these guys don’t.”

Melanie raised a hand and headed for the door.  “Enough of this
!  I want to find some fishing gear.”

“I’ll make some rice,”
Anna hollered after her.

“Let’s test fire one of the rifles,” Lex said to Gray.

“Knock yourself out.   I’ll be interested too as to whether they function.”

Lex rummaged through the cabinet then straightened and said, “I guess not.  No clip.”

“They can be fired single shot.”  Gray picked up one of the rifles to show Lex how it could be loaded single shot but the action was frozen, presumably with rust.  The action on the other rifle worked.  He stuck a finger into the breach to reflect light and sighted down the bore to assure it was open.  He dropped a round into the chamber, put the selector on safety and handed the rifle to Lex saying, “Don’t shoot something we don’t want shot.”

Lex rolled his eyes and went outside with the rifle.
  Gray followed.  Lex stepped off the porch and aimed the rifle out toward the dock.

Gray hollered, “Lex,
hold it!  Where’s Melanie?”

The young man
brought the rifle off his shoulder and swiveled his head looking for Melanie.  Movement near the bamboo construction by the dock drew his attention.  Melanie came out from behind it holding up some fishing poles.

“Oh, shit man!” Lex said, glancing back at Gray.  “Thanks for saving my ass.  She would have never gotten off my case if a bullet had gone whi
zzing by her.”  He pointed the rifle in the air and pulled the trigger.

Grey
heard the click but the gun did not fire.  “Lex!  Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction!  It may be a hang fire.”  He stepped down to the young man and took the rifle from him.  Turning his face away from the rifle, he worked the action.  The cartridge flew out and landed in the dirt.  He bent to get a closer look at the primer.  It was not dented.  He picked up the cartridge and showed Lex the primer.  “The firing pin is either broken or missing.  Let’s check the pistol.”

As they went up the porch steps,
Anna and Dayah were coming out.  They were carrying a load of pots, pans, plates and cups to the pool to wash them.  Gray called after them, “Do your washing at the east end where it runs out to the ocean.”

Anna waggled her hand without turning.  “Yes, yes.”

Inside, Gray examined the revolver, a very old Smith and Wesson in 38 special.  He checked the cylinder and it was unloaded.  When he cocked the hammer, the cylinder locked up aligned okay although a bit sloppy.  The action was gritty when he pulled the trigger double action but again it appeared to function properly.  He pawed through the boxes of ammunition on the shelf and found one with a handful of 38 special cartridges in it.

Out
side, he loaded and fired the revolver twice at a bare spot of slope on the west side of the clearing.  The bullets kicked up dirt surprisingly near where he aimed.

“Okay, enough playing,” he said to Lex.  “I’m going to look for two long bamboo poles we can use to make a stretcher
.  We can’t carry Lleyton or Malik any distance without one.”

Melanie had come up and said she had found something that looked like crab traps and some fishing gear.  She and Lex head
ed toward the dock.   Gray went back inside the hut.  As he pawed through the shelves and around the cots looking for useful items he tried to decide whether they should move to this side of the island for its convenience and ready made shelter or stay on the other side.  He did not want to be here if the owners returned, although he and the others should have ample warning because the bay was too shallow for an ocean going ship and one could not moor to the flimsy dock. A ship would have to moor outside the bay and lower a smaller boat to come to shore, giving Gray and the others time to leave, hopefully without anyone shipboard seeing them do so.  He was not worried about the obvious signs they would leave from being here.  Someone returning would have to assume whoever had come here had come by boat.  If there was no boat here they could only assume the trespassers had already left.  They would never guess an airliner had crashed on the other side of the island.

The jungle was so thick across the island
Gray thought they could hide indefinitely as long as they had water, food and shelter. He would check out the hole in the rock when they went back to the other side.  It might offer shelter.  Otherwise they would have to build it.  Gray found a small, working LED flashlight which he pocketed, a machete, a hack saw, although he would have preferred a wood saw, a couple of heavy knives, some wire, clippers, heavy twine, light rope, a jar of wooden matches, a Bic lighter and some cloth sacks for hauling those items and whatever else they might collect.

Anna
and Dayah returned with the pots and pans and Anna was wearing a pair of wet camo shorts that fit her lean frame quite well.  She and Dayah both smelled and looked clean.

“Well, what a change!” Gray said.

“Yes, and we feel better,” Anna said

“I guess I should do the same.”

“You might as well.  We’re going to put some water on for rice.  It won’t be ready for a while.”

“This pot?” Dayah asked, holding up one of the pots they had cleaned.

“That should make enough,” Anna said.  Dayah headed back to the pool.

“I think she believes this hut could belong to pirates,” Gray said when Dayah was gone.

“She should know.  She is from a town up the coast from Kuala Lumpur.”

“
Anna, I want to take some of this stuff to the other side of the island in case these guys come back.  Will you help me?  I’m not sure Melanie and Lex think it necessary.”

“Of course, I will.  They think you are being overly cautious, but they would have scoffed at the possibility of the
airplane being hijacked.”

“I’m going to take some of the mines
,” he said.

“You are familiar with weapons?”

“Yes.”

“
Sehr gut, as my father would say,” she said in a mixture of German and English.

“Very well
, wie mein Vater sagen wuerde,” Gray said, finishing the English part of her sentence in German.

“
Hast Du mir nicht alles gesagt?”

“N
ein, nein, I mean no, no, I’ve not been holding out on you.  I don’t’ know why I did that.  Urge to show off I guess. I speak German very poorly.”

“No, you
speak it well!  I wondered after Alyson introduced us.  You always pronounced my name correctly.  It makes me happy that you know any of my language.”