Today begins our second week on the island. We've now been here just over seven days but you would think it had been seven weeks the way everyone is moping around. Tempers are also running high and it's only a matter of time before someone goes off and says something they'll regret. Or...the rest of us will regret on their behalf. My vote is going towards Cynthia. Between my mother, Deb - my surrogate mother, my best friend Daphne, as well as Melanie and Lindsay - Brian's lesbians, I've been around enough women in my lifetime to know PMS when I see it. I also know how lightly one must tread during these times. Brian has been around his assistant long enough to know when to actually keep his mouth shut, but Neil...he apparently has no off switch. I think he'll end up making one complaint too many and she'll use one of her remaining designer pumps to bludgeon him to death.

It's not that the guy is that bad. Okay...yeah. He is that bad. But he's just a typical cocky jerk. Runs off at the mouth too much. Acts like his shit doesn't stink. But believe me it does. We have to help him hobble out to the "bathroom" when he has to go, so I know first hand.

Anyway, we woke up this morning to a nice hearty breakfast of smoked rat. I would have refused it but...well my stomach has felt turned inside out for the last few days and having something a little more substantial in my diet seemed like a good idea. Even if it meant I had to eat little Fievel. (Of course, Brian reminded me that Fievel was actually a mouse, not a rat, and I've decided to take him at his word when he says he only knows this fact because he was forced to watch "An American Tail" with his son, Gus.)

After a lot of grumbling, everyone finished off their little rat-ka-bobs and went back to their corners to contemplate the level of desperation we're eventually going to get to. Sooner or later we'll probably view a meal like that as a feast. It's a scary thought. Which spurred on another thought. Finding more food. More specifically - Fruit.

This is an island. There has to be some sort of edible plants or fruits or SOMETHING here that will help out the food situation. We have a few meals left out of the food from the plane. Probably another week's worth if we really hold back. But I figured now was the time that we really needed to face the possibility that we might not get out of here before we run out of food. We have to really plan ahead from here on out.

***

April 13, 2008

Since it's Sunday, Rory has suggested we have a quiet time. At least taking a few hours as something of a time to reflect and meditate. One would think we get enough of that here but Rory says it will make us feel better to do this. I figured someone would laugh at her or blow the idea off completely, but I think everyone respects Rory enough to give it a shot. Good thing too. I was totally gonna kick asses if they didn't give her this. Besides...it's not like we have anything better to do.

Neil has crawled over to the entrance of the cave and is staring off into space, daydreaming. Brian went off towards the beach. He won't go far, but I guess he wanted that time alone since we've all been attached at the hip for a week now. Cynthia is up on top of the cave, getting whatever sun she can from the little light coming through this part of the forest. Rory...she's siting very quietly. Very still. Her eyes are closed but her lips, which are turned up into a small smile, move as if she were speaking out loud. I know she's praying. I've always known that she took her beliefs and her religion very seriously but she's never really said much about it. I wonder what she prays for. Or about.

Me, I'm writing this as my meditation. I figured it would be a good a time as any, especially since I haven't yet had a chance to write about what we did yesterday.

So...Cynthia finally snapped. She woke up yesterday morning with a very specific mission. She was going to get the hell out of the cave no matter what it took. It's not as though we're locked in the place. It has a six by four foot opening that any of us could walk out of at any time. But right now it's our home base. It's our shelter, our house. We almost feel an obligation to stay. Almost.

Anyway, Cynthia decided right away that yesterday was not going to be a day of laying around. Of reading magazines for the twentieth time. She walked right up to Brian, where he was testing the best way to knot vines together, and told him in no uncertain terms that she was going out to look for food. We could go with her if we wanted to but she WAS going. Brian stared up at her for a second, undoubtably gauging her mood and finally nodded.

So there it was. The day was decided. The problem came when we realized that someone would have to stay behind with Neil. He can't walk yet. Putting pressure on his ankle, which is only supported by the same mediocre bracing as my own, would surely do more damage to the broken bone. Plus I'm sure it would hurt like hell. In that way I am lucky that it was my arm that was broken. I don't necessarily have to put pressure on my arm to move around. I couldn't imagine being as cooped up as Neil has been. Deciding who would stay with Neil could have been a huge fight. We were about to play eeny-meeny-miny-mo when Neil spoke up. He insisted we all go, saying that he would be fine on his own. I realize this probably should have set off a few bells and whistles but at the time we were all too relieved that the four of us could all escape for a little while.

The trip started off pretty badly. The girls screamed after they both ran into a huge spider web at the same time. Then Brian stepped in some sort of animal poo and was sulking. Yep. Just a bunch of nature freaks. That's us. Ha! I was the only one that remained unscathed at that point. But my time would come.

Instead of going back towards the beach, we carved a new path in the opposite direction, intent on finding out more about our surroundings. After a good twenty minutes of walking through the brush, we ended up coming across a creek. Using a very scientific method (the headsortails method) we decided to follow the creek to the right. Of course, later we realized that we had made the right choice after noticing that we were traveling downstream. Now, I should probably mention that we've been barefoot for about six days now. Dress shoes just don't work well here. So while I was watching the ground, making sure I didn't step on anything bad - Brian was still swearing that he could feel something squishy between his toes - I nearly fell over a cliff. Yes. That's right. I was about thisclose to plummeting to my death. Because, no matter what Brian might think - my ass would not have bounced and saved me. The only thing that saved me was Cynthia's quick thinking. She grabbed the back of my shirt and slung me backwards to the ground. I was dazed for a few minutes but completely grateful to her for saving my life.

While I was still sprawled out on the ground, Brian slapped me a few times to make sure I was conscious and he also chewed me a new asshole for not watching where I was going. Cynthia just watched, enjoying the show. While the evil ones are tormenting me, Rory, who was for ONCE not looking after the injured party, was checking out the cliff. Turns out it's a straight hundred foot drop into a small ravine. Rory just grinned at us and demanded that we find a way to the bottom.

It took about two hours to find a safe way down. We tried climbing down some of the less steep rock formations, but it was just too unsteady. So we finally went about a mile out of the way and then had to follow the canyon, which was filled with thick grass and a few leafy plants that obviously didn't need sunlight, back to the place where the water was falling. As soon as it was in sight, Rory started running and stripping her clothes off. It didn't take the rest of us long to figure out what she was doing. This was fresh water. This was a SHOWER! So, not feeling the least bit self-conscious, we all stripped and waded into the water. It was seriously fucking cold, but it felt SO damn good! And it did us good to find it. The water was actually no deeper than our waists, as it eventually drained away through another tributary, but we floated for a while and took turns standing beneath the spray of the waterfall. Water is just not appreciated enough.

Afterwards, we all put our grimy clothes back on and made our way back towards camp, feeling completely refreshed. I even had a chance to look up from my feet and see the plants and flowers and trees. Just off the original path, Cynthia actually spotted FOOD! They're these tiny bananas that look funny but taste pretty good when you're hungry enough. I think the fact that she found those actually ended up sparing Neil's life. If we hadn't been so happy about our shower and our food, one, if not all of us, would have torn him limb from limb after what we stumbled onto when we came back to the cave.

Okay, so we were all happy and talking and thinking about going back to the plane to see if we can't find fresh clothing to go with our clean bodies. Then we hear Brian, who had gone to put the bananas inside the cave, start yelling. Now, I know a Brian yell. There's the jerk boss yell when he's just trying to act big and bad to get things done. There's the sexual yell, which is only used when he's totally uninhibited during sex. Then there's the ‘I'm about this close to killing you - give me a reason not to' yell - which I myself experienced long ago after forgetting to set the alarm on his loft allowing the place to be robbed. This yell...was definitely the latter. Rory, Cynth and I ran in to see Neil cowering in the back of the cave, Brian standing over him looking pretty strained. That's when I noticed the little wrappers that surrounded Neil. They were the foil packets that the plane snacks came in. He had eaten an entire day's ration while we were gone.

Suffice it to say that we all had a go at him and he took it. Probably knew that he was lucky, getting his bashing verbally instead of physically. It's only a matter of time though. Someone is going to go off on him. The only question left is who will it be?

And with that, I'm signing off for the day. Cynthia just came back and informed us that it's starting to rain. Which means we're gonna be stuck in the cave until it lets up. But at least we have a better supply of food. Tonight - roasted bananas. Yum.