My Island | Teen Ink

My Island

March 1, 2010
By hellosmoke1 SILVER, New City, New York
hellosmoke1 SILVER, New City, New York
6 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
“I used to say, somebody should do something about that, but then I realized, I am somebody.”


I arose dramatically with a sharp pain in my right leg, not knowing where I was or how I got there. I was surrounded by small bushes all lined up in a perfect circle around me. Under me was all sand and above me was clear night sky. I was on a small island surrounded by miles and miles of water on all sides, preventing me from seeing any indication of land anywhere else.

I got to my feet and was unable to put any pressure on my left leg for there was a lot of swelling and a purple bruise that prevented me. I had nothing on but I ripped T-shirt and loose fitting jeans that I don’t remember buying or even having in my closet back at home. I reached into the pockets on the side of the pants and there was nothing. However, I reached into the back of my jeans and felt a bump telling me there was something inside them. When I looked to see what it was, it was an iPhone. I did not recall taking my iPhone out this very day, or putting them in these pants, which I did not believe I owned.

The iPhone was equipped with full battery life and contained an application called “Survival Guide”; however there was no call service or connection to the internet. Before I thought of opening the application, I saw that the time was 11:00 PM. I decided it was time for me to catch some sleep. Although I was not tired, I thought it would be smarter of me to pursue freedom in the daylight. I leaned back until me back hit the sand and fell asleep instantly.

I sat up and looked at my device, which was still in my hand, it was 6:45 AM and it was bright and clear daylight outside. I thought to myself that if I did not long how long I was going to be at this island for; I should conserve my battery life just in case I needed it. I had a plan to search the whole island to find out where I was and to help me to find out how I got there. I opened the application called “Survival Guide” on the phone. It played a small jingle as it began to work. The application was a tool that helped map out surrounding area to me. This was exactly what I needed to find out more about the island I was staying at. I closed the application, planning to open it once again later. However, it was a necessity for me to find food and water. They were the two things besides air that would help me survive here.

I looked around to attempt to find a source of fresh water, because it was obvious to me that all the water around the island was salt water, which I new would help lead to my death here. It became obvious to me that my only hope of finding anything was to use the survival application. Once again, I took out the phone and opened the application. The application showed the island was very, very small and covered with trees and had a couple of big streams. So, I found the biggest stream on the map, and was determined to go locate it in the real world.

I walked with a limp and used a long stick to help supplicate for my wounded leg. I walked for about 45 minutes when I realized that I had walked in a complete circle around the small island. I was right back where I had started. I had not located the stream which I had intended to find. Being determined I had decided to try again. However, with out finding food or water this time would make me even weaker. For I do not remember eating in a long time, and making these walks on this particular hot day was not good for my health. So it was essential that I find water on my next journey.
I took a small break thinking my travel out thoroughly this time. Proceeding, I went back into the heart of the island going through trees and bushes to find my stream. I had traveled for what had felt like a long time, and was starting to not see completely straight and felt light headed. However, I continued walking toward where the stream was supposed to be. I was seconds away from sitting down and taking a long break, which could have led to my death, but then I spotted running water. It was the stream. Although it was the biggest stream on the island, it was not really that big, but it got the job done.

I got down to my knees instantly, not thinking about the pain in my leg, and started to scoop up water from my hand and began to drink from it. Although it was probable the dirtiest water I had ever drunk from, it seemed to be the best thing I had ever tasted due to its importance. I spent about a half an hour continuing to practice the same routine of cupping water from my hand to drink it, and when I felt like I had had enough I decided to sit up and stop to think. I had my water, now I needed to have food.

I opened the survival guide once again, this time to look for a fruit bearing tree. On my walks I had not seen an animal for hunting, and I did not think that I would be able to catch a fish, so trees seemed to be the best choice. There were many fruit bearing trees on the map, I tried to find the closest one. There seemed to be one in my vicinity so I hobbled up and went to go look for it. It was not long before I had located my tree. However, reaching the fruit was no easy task.

The fruits were mangoes, which I had enjoyed back when I was home. So I assumed that I would enjoy them here, however they were way too high up inn the tree for me to reach. My cane stick was not nearly long enough either. So, I had to find a really large stick, or I had to climb the tree with a bad leg. I looked around for a stick, but there seemed to be none with the reach to pull some fruit off the tree. It was essential that I get these fruit down so I devised a plan to get up to the top.

I built small steps slowly reaching my way higher and higher to get up to a branch so I could pull myself up. I began to go up my steps and it seemed to be supportive however, on the last step, my weight seemed to compress the step making me shorter then what I had planned to be. I reached for the big branch and with a small hop I was able to reach it with both my arms. I attempted to pull myself up, and with a large struggle I did. I was sitting on a large branch high up in a big tree. I was able to reach some fruit and threw down about ten mangoes straight to the ground. My descent was not as hard as I had thought it to be. I just slipped down to my steps and made my way to the ground.

I picked up one of the bigger mangoes and began to bite into it right away. The taste was better than any mango I had ever eaten before. I finished one, and though I wanted to eat another, I thought it would be better to save. I decided that it was time I set up a shelter for me to stay in while I was on this island.

I wanted to stay close to the water and the tree, so began to gather lumber so I could put my “home” together. All I really did was set up a bed of logs covered with sheets of large leaves. It was where I planned to sleep and I located the bed under large trees so I could protect myself from the rain. As soon as I finished the bed, I looked at the time, saw 8:30 PM and decided it was time I get some more sleep for I was tired from the long day.

The feeling of a cold water drop woke me up, and it startled me. I had a flashback, to a scene that I do not remember living, so it must have been something that happened putting me on this island. It was night time and I had been knocked out cold but had just woken up to a splash of water, I do not remember why or when, but I was already wearing the clothes I now have on. There was an older man and a younger man, both of whom I remember the faces of from work, and they were calling each other Big and Small respectively. The younger man was being controlled by the older man similar to how a father has control over his son. Small had picked up a big bucket of water and thrown it over me. As soon as that occurred, my scene had ended. However, I feel it was a clue to me figuring out how I ended up on the island.

I arose to my feet and was got some water quickly from the stream I had gotten it from before. I then ate one of my mangoes quickly, not thinking to savor it for I was not going to have much to eat in a day. After this, I checked my phone; the time was 7:08 AM. I thought about going back to sleep for I had nothing to do in the rain, but I was not tired. I wanted to get more clues in how I ended up on this island.

I walked around the island, without my cane and still with pain in my leg. I was using my phone’s application to guide me. After walking around for almost an hour and a half, I decided to start heading back. However, as I turned, on my left I saw something. There was something on the island that was not natural, it seemed man made and I hobbled over to get a closer look.

It was small plane. The plane seemed to have crashed into a tree that was now fallen and the plane, unmarked at all on the sides, had been preserved completely. I went to go check the plane, to see if there was anything useful inside. When I was going towards what looked like the front, I saw Big. The man brought forth another one of my flashbacks.

I was sitting on a plane, which was probably the one I was standing in front of right now. Big and Small were both on it, and were talking about an issue with having enough food. They did not know I was awake; however I was listening to their conversation. I did not yet have a bruise on my leg, but I now felt the phone in my back pocket, which I now recall was not in my pocket earlier. As soon as the men started coming towards me, my remembrance of it had ended. It was another clue.

I left the plane after searching it thoroughly and finding almost nothing. I took a seat pillow back and began to walk back to where I had set up a home. I went back to my camp and drank some water, but did not eat. It was almost 5:00 PM and I decided to take a little rest.

I sat down on my “bed” and thought about what I had left back at my real home. I had a wife, but things were not going well for she wanted children, however I did not think we were ready. I was only 26 years of age, and my career nor had hers not taken off yet. I had a job as an assistant for an agent in the movie business, and was waiting eagerly for me to get my chance to be a real agent. When I was recalling my work place, I remembered seeing the faces of the two men who were in my flashbacks. They were not working with me however were in a business meeting with the person I worked for. I saw there faces and smiled without receiving a smile back. When they went into my boss’s office, my boss looked at me with a sad stare and closed the door and the blinds, which he never does. I did not think anything of it, but now it seems to be of importance. It had been brought to my attention that I knew too much of what my boss does to get his clients before, and now I felt like he was trying to do something about it. My boss was extremely competitive and did whatever it took to get the best clients, sometimes even illegally sabotaged others. I knew of it all and he knew that I knew, but we never discussed it and I figured he did not care.

I became tired after all my thinking and tried to go to sleep. It took me a while because I had to get all the other stuff off my mind, but I fell asleep at about 7:45 PM.
I continuously woke up through out the night, when it was finally hitting me that I was on a disserted on island all on my own, away from the world. The thought was haunting me that I was away from everyone, and at home, everybody most likely thought I was dead and had moved on with their lives. I figured the reason I was on this island was evident in that my boss wanted me here for I knew too much, but what did I know? I wanted to find out whom besides the two men that took me here knew about this operation and why did they pick or how did they find this place. I finally fell into a deeper sleep and awoke in the morning.

It was my longest sleep yet for I had woken at about 10:00. I noticed that my phone’s battery was loosing its juice, and I thought about the fact how I too was getting weaker and loosing my juice. I erased the thought from my mind and went over the stream to drink some water followed by a couple of mangoes, still good. When I finished I really had nothing to do but explore the island. I started on a journey with my survival guide application on my phone, and was going to walk everywhere around and in the heart of my island.

I started out going back to my plane, and I was thinking about how I could have survived such a crash. My flashbacks started to occur and I was thinking about after the plane had just crashed. I was running to escape even though in the crash my leg had been crushed and probably broken by the seat backs in front of me when my leg was in between them and I the impact of the crash had hurt it. I ran anyway through the rain and I noticed a man behind me. Small was there and he had run the other way giving no attempt to chase me perhaps because he too just wanted to survive the situation without complicating things. However when I had turned around to look at Small and we had made I contact, my scene had ended.

I continued my journey throughout the island and when it was getting dark I decided I should go back to my camp. As I was going back, I heard a sound near me. There was something in the trees however I could not see what it was. Even though my thoughts were that it was Small right away, I decided to continue back to camp convincing my mind that it was just an animal.

When I got back to my haven, I noticed it was 8:05, and I went to go take a drink. After drinking, I looked for my mangoes, however they were all gone. Unwillingly once again, I told myself that it was just an animal, though I knew this was not true. I then went to go take a nap in my bed, and all my logs were torn up. Small had been to where I was resting and decided it was necessary to ruin my camp. I was too tired to try to take any action against him, and decided I would just sleep on the floor tonight and go look for him in the morning.

I arose from the ground, with pains in my back from the uncomfortable sleep, and went to take a drink from my stream. I looked at the water and noticed how clear the water was today, thinking to myself that this meant I was going to have a good day. After my long drink, I noticed that I would have to climb back up the tree to have my mangoes once again. This time, more mangoes were towards the bottom of the tree, making it easier, however I still had to climb the tree. With my leg better, I figured it would be easier, and I was right. With one leap from the ground I was able to reach a small branch and pull myself up to a bigger one just above it. I pulled down about 7 or eight mangoes and through them softly down to the ground. Hanging from my arms on the big branch I released and landed on the ground with out injury. Although my leg was still in some pain, I learned to deal with it. I tried to turn on my phone; however it would not light up. I continued to do so, when a signal with an electric bolt and a battery came up. My iPhone was out of battery. I no longer had the time or my survival application. I had to remember the island all by myself from my previous journeys if I wanted to explore. However, I just decided I should wait for the man to come to me. I sat on the floor and through rocks into my stream waiting and waiting for hours upon hours.

When it felt like I had waited for almost three hours and had already taken a few naps, I heard a familiar sound deep in the bushes. I turned and waited to see what was coming out. I was frightened to see the man, however anxiously waited his exit from the bushes. I saw his legs first and then his body and then his face. Small was standing right in front of me and we looked straight at each other. My flashbacks started up once again, I had visions of me getting taken by these gentlemen, and visions of me getting on the plane, and getting changed into the clothes I had on now. I had several different visions that connected all the pieces to how I ended up here but I wanted to know why.

I thought to myself that there was no reason in us fighting each other right now. Although I wanted to hurt this man for bringing me here, I knew that he was not the one behind this and there was someone else that needed to be dealt with. So I asked Small a series of questions regarding how I came to be here. He told me that my boss could not let me be an agent on my own for I knew too much. He said that as an assistant, He knew that I would say nothing because my job was still at stake but he could not take these risks when I am on my own. My boss decided to hire him, Michael Oppenheimer, and Big, Stephen Matthews, to commit the perfect murder, or not even kill me at all. They were trying to fly a plane here, a deserted island that was not mapped however they knew about it. The landing was trouble and Stephen died and the plane could not be taken up again, although it looked in perfect condition. However, he said that he had contact with the real world and he was planning a trip back to the states.

Upon hearing this all, I was not in a state of shock as most people would have been. I understood what was happening and at this point most people would have tried to hurt Michael, however I did not. H e was my way out of this island, and I needed him alive. Although his occupation involves getting dirty, he had nothing to do with me; he was just doing his job. I just walked away, not expecting anything more of him until I saw him again. I was heading back to my camp for several minutes when I noticed he was following me, so I turned around and asked him why. He said we could use each other now, and if you want to go home, you are better off sticking with me. That was the last words we spoke to each other although we went to sleep sitting right next to one another and we spent the next morning together.

In the early afternoon, Michael took out a device and started to dial numbers on it, it looked like a radio that was able to contact people from long distances. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, when a voice came out of it and said that they are “nearing the destination.” I became excited but showed no emotion. I awaited the plane’s arrival and was thinking about what I would do when I got home. I wanted to see my wife and tell her everything, and make sure that things between us improve. I thought my boss could be handled after. I was not going to tell him right away, I was going to make his life a hell similar to how he did mine. A helicopter was coming in, and Michael boarded it quickly and yelled to me to hurry it up. I ran on the helicopter took my seat and buckled myself in. All my memory was back now; I remembered everything that happened to me. The helicopter started it ascent; I had no thoughts going through my mind except what had happened to me this past week or so. The helicopter started to fly away and my stay on this island was over.

The author's comments:
This was my story with help from ideas from tv shows I have been watching.

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