He waited and listened to the water crash against the rocks, hoping for some kind of message from above. He was aware that the sun was starting to rise, and that he should get back before the others woke and found him missing. First, though, he would need to hide his new find.
When he had finished hiding the box under some loose rocks in the alcove and returned to the front of the island, the day was already starting to heat up. He arrived back at their makeshift campsite and found Tyler crouched beside Nash. At first, he thought they were just in conversation until he saw his father’s unblinking gaze staring at the sky.
‘It must have happened overnight,’ Tyler said. ‘It looks like he just slipped away.’
Liam approached, staring at his father, unsure why he didn’t feel anything. Tyler didn’t know what to say. Death made him uncomfortable at the best of times, but here on the hot, tiny island prison that had become their home, it was even worse. He had always held out hope that they would be saved and escape, but now as he looked at the empty vessel sprawled on the sand, the reality of the situation had shattered the fragile illusion he had built and with it reduced the symphony of questions in his mind down to just one.
How will we survive?
It was a good question. Hope was no longer enough. He looked across to Liam, wishing there were words he could say that would make a difference. He knew there were none. Liam, for his part, seemed to be taking the death of his father well. He was kneeling by the body, brow dotted with sweat, sunken eyes taking in the sight and trying to make sense of it.
‘Are you okay?’ Tyler asked, the simple function of speech becoming harder as his energy faded.
Liam had no answer. He simply stared, brow furrowed, sweat collecting on the tip of his nose.
‘Liam?’
‘How long has he been dead?’
There was no emotion in his voice. It was flat and almost disinterested.
‘I don’t know. I woke up and thought he was still sleeping. It wasn’t until the sun shone on his face and he didn’t move that I realised…’
Liam nodded, satisfied with the explanation. ‘You know this changes things for us, don’t you?’ He looked at Tyler, dark and bottomless.
Despite the heat, Tyler felt a flush of cold. ‘Changes things how?’
‘My dad is dead, but it doesn’t mean we have to go the same way. We have a chance now without him.’
‘Maybe now isn’t the time. We can talk about it later. You need time to mourn, to get to grips with what has happened.’ Tyler was shaken by the dismissiveness Liam was showing. There was no sorrow or mourning for his father. He wondered if it was nothing more than survival instinct kicking in or if the heat, thirst, and hunger had simply combined to throw a few switches into the off position in his brain. Tyler couldn’t really argue the point, though. His first thought after discovering Nash was dead had been that they might now be able to risk heading out into open water without worrying about Nash bleeding into it and drawing in the Megalodon. Despite what he had just said, he understood now was the time to act if they intended to try and escape the island. Every wasted second brought them closer to death.
‘Did you have something in mind? To get us off this rock, I mean. ‘
Liam looked out over the water, rocking on his haunches. ‘No. Not for that. Not yet. We’re too weak for that now.’
‘You just said you thought we had a chance.’
‘We do.’ Liam looked at him then, half his face cast in gold by the sun. ‘Way I see it, we need to get our strength before we try to escape. To do that, we need energy. That means food.’
There was nothing more he needed to say. A quick flick of the eyes towards his dead father said more than any words could. Tyler felt the shriveled up thing that was now his stomach tighten even more.
‘You can’t be serious. We’ve discussed this. We’re not that desperate. Not yet. ‘
‘I think we are. I’m not the only one who feels it.’
‘Feels what?’
‘The strength and energy ebb away by the hour. How long do you think we can go on like this? A day? A week? We need to do something now before it’s too late if we intend to get off this island and passed that shark.’
‘I can’t do that. I won’t do that. You’re talking about cannibalism.’
Liam shook his head. ‘No. I’m talking about survival. It’s different.’
‘That’s your father, not a slab of meat. Jesus, can you hear yourself?’
‘You don’t know him. This is what he would have wanted. He’d want us to live.’
‘He didn’t seem too sure on the idea when you first brought it up. If I remember, he looked as disgusted as I feel.’
‘He’d understand,’ Liam snapped. He was twitching and looked almost animalistic as he crouched there. ‘Besides, I’m not asking for your permission.’
‘I can’t stop you. Just don’t expect me to do it. Are things really so desperate you feel this is the only option? We’re not in that place yet where we need to do this.’
Liam laughed, a sharp sound that had no place in such a desolate place under such horrific circumstances. ‘You think I don’t know that? You think I want to do this? I don’t have a choice.’
‘There’s always a choice. Look, I know you and I haven’t gotten along during this trip. But your father asked me to come, and I’d like to think as the elder man here, you might listen to me when I tell you this isn’t something you want to do. It’s a mistake. It’s something you will have to live with for the rest of your life if you do it. Your father told me about your medication, and how not having it can make you think differently.’
‘What the hell do you know about it? It’s not your business. You don’t know anything about me.’
‘I know I want to help you. We need to stick together if we want to get out of here. The odds are already stacked against us.’
‘You say it like there is another choice. You think I want to do this?’
‘Then don’t. We’ll figure out a different way. This isn’t something you want to have to live with if you do it.’
Liam shook his head. ‘We’ll die if I don’t. It won’t matter either way.’
‘But what if we live? What if we figure this out or someone rescues us? What then? How will you handle it back home when it’s all you can think about? All you can… Taste. It will haunt you forever.’ Tyler knew well enough about need. His booze addiction which had been repressed by the need to survive, had been revived by the rain, and once it had tasted water, it now wanted something a little stronger and was thrashing around his gut again. He composed himself and continued. ‘I’m just trying to save you from that kind of trauma. I’m trying to help you here. ‘
Liam stared at him, then looked at his father. ‘I don’t know what I’m saying anymore. My mind seems like it belongs to someone else.’
Tyler shuffled closer, trying to ignore the fear, the heat and the thirst. Most of all, he was trying to ignore the images of steak, rare and bloody, that were flashing up in his mind. ‘I can help you. We can help each other. This isn’t the end. We still might have a chance to get off this island. If you do this, if you… if you do what you were talking about, then it’s over. You’ll have crossed a line you can never come back from.’
‘I don’t want this. That’s the part you don’t seem to understand. You keep looking at me like I’m a monster. I just… I’m so hungry. You must be, too.’
‘Of course I am. But this isn’t the answer. Please just think about it. Take some time.’
‘What else do we have but time,’ Liam muttered. Tyler had heard that before. He thought it might have been a quote from a TV show, perhaps an old episode of The Twilight Zone, but he couldn’t be sure.
‘Exactly. No rush to take action yet. We have all the time in the world. You’ve just lost your father. With the shock and the weakness… It’s no surprise things seem a little off. Please, just don’t rush into anything you’ll regret.’
‘I think you’re right. I need to take some time to think.’
‘Good. You do that. Take some time.’
Tyler watched as Liam stood and walked out of sight around the back of their rock prison. It was only then he could relax. He leaned against the hot stone and stared at the body of Nash. For him at least, it was over. Tyler thought maybe he was the lucky one.