Chapter Eight - Dawning Realizations

It was at about one month hence in their abandonment by the US Navy, that they came to the definitive realization that rescue wasn't coming and that most likely they would be spending the rest of their lives on that island no matter how long or short that time may be. And they realized that they would have to figure out how they were going to make this island their home...and that they and their descendants would survive on this desolate island for years to come. Until then they had looked on to the horizon with the hope that they would see a US Navy destroyer or an aircraft carrier in the distance or even better an amphibious unit in dinghies heading straight for their island. But each passing month diminished that hope and now...they were resigned if not inspired to make a life for themselves.

...and in any case...it was going to be hard to go back to being squadron commander and subordinate in any sense of the word, considering how much they knew of each other. In fact, it could be said that they were closer to each other now than they ever were as an F-14 Tomcat crew. And they also didn't want to be the subject of a JAGMan investigation considering their actions would be considered as "conduct unbecoming".

There were plenty of things to do at any rate to make survival possible. Daily milking of the cows, feeding the chickens and collecting the milk and eggs. And of course, there were baby chicks to cuddle and take care of so that the chickens would continue to pass on their generational task of laying eggs for consumption as well as continued proliferation of their kind. Penning the bull up in the same pen as the dairy cattle proved to be a rather eye-opening experience. However...the bull was probably just as petrified of the circumstances as the rest of the cows after nearly drowning and being dragged on land to dry out, so he pretty much behaved himself. And well, if a couple of cows got pregnant, well, that would just mean more milk in the end.

Animal, having a green thumb, spent time in the garden, which was relaxing and tended the crops, picking out the weeds and making sure that the garden was watered. Then after that task was finished, he'd head down to the beach, pull out the ol' rod and reel and fish for their dinner.

There was a distinct lack of seating in the place that they had constructed...and that was a situation that needed to be rectified, so Animal went ahead and constructed an adhoc table and chairs from jetsam.

And since it appeared as though they were permanently marooned on this island, it was in their best interests to increase their knowledge of survival skills. Tosh decided to, once the books that were in the crate had dried out and to his relief, the print was still legible, he went ahead and started reading up on cooking.

...and to Leah's ever-lasting pleasure, he also constructed a nice little easel out of the rest of the jetsam that had accumulated on the beach so that she could try her hand at painting. Where she got the paint colors was by crushing berries and fruits as well as leaves and flowers. It was a long and arduous process, but it killed time...and time was what they had plenty of.

"You know...this isn't so bad..." Animal said at breakfast. "We've kind of made ourselves a cozy little place which allows us to have shelter from the elements and we have some what of a bed, kitchen table and chairs...and fortune gave us a fridge and stove."

Leah looked at him, "I think I'm starting to get used to the fact now that we're going to be here for the rest of our lives. And having this easel really makes the time go by." She continued eating her goopy carbonara which they had made by grinding the coffee beans into flour and using that to make the pasta noodles. Of course it kept them wired as hell and that meant that they would end up awake all night; but of course, there were other ways to pass the time during a bout of coffee-pasta induced insomnia.

Chapter Seven - Embrace the Suck

Sims 3- Punch Out; A Survival Story (Castaway)

Chapter Seven: Embrace The Suck

Three Months Later

It was pretty evident by this time that they had been written off by United States Navy High Command. They weren't certain as to what would happen now, but at least they had managed to make a life for themselves on this island which was promptly dubbed Misty Isle. since in the mornings, the fog was quite thick but by the time noon rolled around it was quite clear.

Animal and Leah had managed to build a much more secure shelter than their tents. It was a platform house on what would be a stilt foundation, just in case there were higher seas than usual which would wash over the steppe. And frankly, the steppe was high enough that it would probably only be a tidal wave that would have the capacity to raise the water level enough to wash over the steppe's ground and it probably at the worst wouldn't rise farther than a foot. The stilt foundation was four feet tall and had steps leading up to the main floor.

By fortuitous happenstance, several containers which had fallen off a passing cargo ship washed up on the shore of the island. Contained inside were the contents of a rather high-end apartment being shipped with a bed, a crib and appliances in the deal. Whoever it was probably wouldn't be searching for it considering they would have been compensated by the shipping company for the container falling off the ship during turbulent seas. What was the home-owner's loss was Animal and Leah's gain and they managed to build a somewhat workable house by taking down some of the driftwood and trees. The roof was made of metal from the container which also had a section filled with solar panels, which meant at least that they would have electricity. And the fact that they had appliances allowed them to cook something.

Animal had thought that he was going to have to figure out how to cut gemstones and as such he was stockpiling any of the gemstones that he'd managed to get his hands on. But deep within that container that they had found was a gem-cutting machine.

After three months marooned, they had settled into an easy relationship and a daily routine where they woke up in the morning, made love, and then headed down to milk the cow and collect the eggs from the chickens. Then they would fish for their dinner. They had to increase their cooking skill level in order to be able to cook fish dishes.

"I'm not sure if I care if we ever get rescued..." Leah smirked at Animal. The things the two of them had done to each other would have scandalized the JAG and had them end up in chains at Leavenworth for conduct unbecoming - separated; of course.

"Don't you miss your mom and dad?"

"Yeah..." she admitted, "But this is fun..." she looked at him with another sly smirk and looked him up and down as if she were assessing him.

Animal raised an eyebrow, "I'm glad there were clothes in that dresser that washed up, after we washed the salt out of them and dried them, they fit you nicely. Now we need to find a dresser that contains some male clothes.

"I could do with-out that happening." Leah smirked. Seeing you in the morning..." she said implying something untoward, "is always nice. shame to keep it all covered up..."

Animal snickered, "Yeah, but what about in the wintertime when it gets cold?"

Leah closed her eyes, relishing the thought as she replied, "Well, we could stay indoors all day.

They both laughed at the impracticality of that idea.

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Leah continued, "We gotta feed the chickens and milk the cows...A girl can dream, can't she?"

Animal snorted, "OK, Butch...let's get back and catch some sleep, we got another full day tomorrow."