Stranded: Part Two

by Petbumblebee

...Sakura whirled around, looking for the cause of the noise. She spotted something blue floating in on the tide. Sakura ran over to the shore and picked the thing up. It was Beeky! “Oh Beeky!” she cried. A pitiful squeak emerged from the water-logged bird. “Oh Beeky however did you find me?!” Sakura rocked her pet back and forth soothingly. She started to cry, thinking of her mother, her friends, and her life back in Neopia. “Will I ever get back?” she asked herself quietly.

As the sun started to set behind the horizon, Sakura decided to find a shelter for the night. She laid Beeky down in the sand, and got to work. She found two small palm trees near the edge of the forest, and thought that these would be perfect. She built her shelter around them. First she dug a scoop underneath them until her paws were sore and bleeding. The she dragged the remains of her life boat across the beach and set it up as a roof. She used twigs and branches to make a wall, and laid down some leaves inside. By the time she had finished, the sky was jet black, dotted with tiny stars. A full moon hung over the island, casting eerie shadows in the trees. Sakura was huddled in her lean-to, gently rocking Beeky.

Suddenly, it started to rain. Sheets of water spilled over her shelter, dripping into her fur. She pulled the plastic boat around her, so she wouldn’t get drenched. Lightning pierced the sky followed by the low, rolling sound of thunder. A strong wind tore at her small refuge, stripping it of the protective wall she had built. Sakura screamed as the boat was thrown into the sky, revealing Sakura to the harsh rain. Sakura held Beeky tight to her chest as she ran into the forest, tripping over vines and roots. She came to the side of the mountain and searched in vain for a cave or nook. Her paw struck a hole, which she found to be a small cave. Sakura squeezed into the small opening, and gratefully lay down on the somewhat dry floor. “What a storm!” she exclaimed to Beeky, who was preening his feathers. “I hope it doesn’t rain here every night!” Sakura gazed at her surroundings, not being able to see much in the dark. She curled up in a corner, clutching Beeky, and slowly fell asleep...

Sakura awoke the next morning to Beeky’s squawking. She stood up and stretched, then peeked outside. It was a hot, sunny day with a nice cool breeze. “What a beautiful day!” called Sakura to no one in particular. Suddenly, her stomach let out a loud rumble. “I guess I’d better find some food! I’m starving!”

With Beeky perched on her shoulder, she walked out of the cave and onto the white sand. “Well I guess the first order of business would be to make a basket of some sort. I need something to carry around so I can collect fruit.” Sakura found some long fern leaves strewn around the ground. “These are perfect!” she cried happily. She gathered some up and set to work. Soon she had fashioned three fair-sized baskets. “Now, to find some fruit. There must be fruit somewhere on this island! Maybe if I climbed to the top of the mountain, I would be able to see some food and possibly a better shelter.”

So that is what she did. She chose the least rocky trail to start. “I may even be lucky and find some food on the way up” she said to Beeky. Beautiful tropical plants surrounded her, and long vines draped across the canopy. Sakura couldn’t help but be awed. Suddenly, Beeky let out a chirp and flew off her shoulder.

“Beeky! Where are you going?!” Sakura cried. Beeky had landed in a tree a few meters away. “Oh there you are! You had me w-” but Sakura stopped short because Beeky had found a Zeenana Tree! “Wow! A whole tree of Zeenanas! Oh this is great Beeky! Thank You!” she exclaimed joyously. But to her dismay, she found that she was too short to reach them, even while jumping or standing on her tippy-toes. Beeky soon solved that problem, however. He flew about in the tree, knocking down Zeenanas high and low.

Sakura gratefully scooped them up and placed them in her basket. “I wonder what other kinds of fruits we’ll find!” The further they walked, the steeper the mountain got. Soon Sakura had to sling the basket over her shoulder so she could use her paws to climb. By the time they reached the top, Sakura was worn out. She collapsed in a heap and lay still for a few moments. Chirp! Chirp! Beeky squawked. “I’m all right Beeky, just needed a little rest.” Sakura pulled herself to her feet, and had her breath taken away by the view. All around her was a spectacular turquoise ocean, surrounding the large island. Vegetation covered most of the island, but a strip of white sand lay near the shore. Sakura didn’t spot any good caves, but she did see something bobbing on the water. As she looked closer, she realised it was a suitcase! “Oh a suitcase! I wonder what’s in it?! Oh I have to go get it!” Closer inspection told her that it was caught on a large rock in the water. “Oh good! It’s not going anywhere!” Sakura raced back down the mountain, tripping quite a few times.

When she got to the bottom, she took a short rest then got to work making a raft. She collected branches and driftwood from the beach, then used a sharp rock to slice some vines. She used the vines to tie the wood together, and four hours later she had made a raft. “Wow! I can’t believe I did that!” she said contentedly. “Now, for paddles.” she recovered two straight branches and used the leftover vines to tie on some flat pieces of bark. Then, with great effort, she pushed the raft into the water and hopped aboard. The paddles worked fine and she set a steady pace towards the large rock. “Ok, I still have about an hour or so of daylight.” she said.

The suitcase came into view, and Sakura paddled harder. Suddenly, her face went white with fear. A large, triangular fin was circling the rock. “Oh no! A Jetsam!” she exclaimed appallingly. She tried to paddle back towards shore, but the thing had spotted her. Now the fin sliced right towards her raft. Beeky, who was perched on Sakura’s shoulder, squawked in terror. The fin got closer, and Sakura just knew it was going to eat them...

To be continued...