Shapeshifter Isle Installment #1

Here's a story I have been working on. A few friends from carnivoraforum.com have already seen it, as that is where it was first posted. The title of the story is a working title, and not final. The characters with blatant pseudonyms are members of Carnivora. All others are original characters. This is my first real story, so it's a bit shaky on the details, and could do with some editing. All text henceforth is subject to intellectual copyright.

Installment #1

I thrust my head above the raging waters engulfing the ship around me and try to swim towards shore. I see Wild Dog fighting the current not too far behind me, and Black Ice is already on shore and preparing to swim back out. The heavy load I bear upon my back is Adamantus, knocked out by a falling bookshelf but not seriously injured as far as I can tell. Vodmeister and Superpredator are lying upon the beach, shivering from the cold water and trying to get warm. As I struggle toward the shore, the crashing of waves and the screaming of the injured form a deafening cacophony that threatens to overwhelm one’s senses. My head dips below the water and I burst back up, spluttering and gasping for breath. ‘Just another 40 feet…’ I silently say to myself, and, going against everything I hold dear, I send a prayer to whatever is out there to let me get through the next few hours.

4 Hours Later……….

          I sit by a makeshift driftwood fire alongside my friends, wondering how we managed to survive. ‘It felt like it was going to be too much not too long ago…’ I think to myself, and look back at the beach despite my better instincts yet again. The gruesome sight of the half sunken ship littered with bodies dominates my view of the ocean. Gulls screech and peck away at bodies still on the ship, while coyotes and bears pick apart bodies upon the shore. ‘These animals have no fear of people… Does anyone live on this island? Or any of the others?’

          “What are we going to do?” asked Superpredator. The young kid had lost both his parents in the wreck, and was hanging on by a thread. I could sense the twinge of despair in his voice, and it touched my soul. Even though my parents weren’t dead, they were gone forever. I rest my hand on his shoulder and say “Survive. Make it through till someone comes looking for us.” in the strongest voice I can muster. Superpredator looks unconvinced, but nods his head in acknowledgement of the sentiment I put forth.

          “Look what I found!” yells Wild Dog, loud enough for the bears to turn toward us with interest. Even if they weren’t afraid of the humans, the sheer number of people and the presence of fire kept them from getting too curious. “Shut the fuck up! Do you want to get killed?!” snarls Vodmeister, accompanying his words with a wordless growl. “Chill, Vod. Chill.” I say. I stand up and address the crowd: “Hey everyone, I realize that we are royally screwed here, but we need to get our shit together. There’s only an hour or two before dusk falls and I sure as hell don’t fancy sleeping near the scavengers over there,” I jerk my thumb towards the ship that’s being dragged further out to sea with each lap of the waves. “and I don’t imagine you guys do either. We should move into the forest, at least for tonight. We can figure everything out tomorrow.” My bones ache and my muscles scream for rest as I begin to gather my belongings, and see about ¾ of the other people following suit, but others, notably the older men stay put.

          “Why should we listen to some kid? He doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.” says one man who looks to be in his early 50’s. Everyone looks at me expectantly. I make a snap decision, grab my machete, and walk up to the man. I contort my voice into a deep rasping growl and say “I’m the primitive survival expert who won’t hesitate to cut your miserable throat if you don’t do what I say.” Gasps can be heard echoing through the crowd, and the man laughs nervously despite the fear growing in his eyes. At 6’1” I tower over the short man, though he probably has 40 pounds on me. “I don’t have do what you say, kid.” stating his position vehemently with emphasis on the word “kid”. Other older men stand up behind him and start to move towards us. I turn and look at Black Ice. He nods, and he, Vodmeister, Wyvax, Wild Dog, and Adamantus stand up and begin walking forward as well. The tension is palpable. One of the few children who are alive begins to ask his parents something, but is shushed by his mother. I tilt my head, and knowing my breath smells terrible, I breathe into his face and stare him down. After what feels like eternity he breaks eye contact and begins to back away. All of a sudden one of his cronies comes up and shoves me backwards. I instantly hit him with the hilt of my machete and punch him in the throat. He cries out in pain, and one of the sorority girls screams. I turn away, satisfied knowing I’ve sent him back to his friends with a broken nose and damaged pride.

          ‘Now they know who’s boss… This’ll probably backfire, but oh well. Too late now…’ I silently muse to myself. Wild Dog, always the pacifist, shoots a disapproving look my way, but picks up his bundle of items wrapped in a blanket and walks towards me. “What was it you wanted to show me…” my voice drops off as he unravels the blanket and reveals shimmering chunks of obsidian. They shine in the firelight, and the effect is heightened by the sun setting behind us. Black Ice looks over and exclaims “Hell yeah bro!” with a whoop and small jump. Others turn toward our fire and murmur to each other at the sight of the wickedly sharp, impossibly black shards of volcanic glass. “What are they?” one sorority girl asks. I grab a piece and saunter over, unconsciously trying to appear as masculine and confident as possible. “This is called obsidian. It’s formed by volcanoes, like the one over there.” I say pointing towards the towering, smoking mountain further inland. She looks up at me with doe eyes and says “Can I have one?” I smile and say “Sure, have this one.” She takes it and I cast my gaze over the assembled people. Wild Dog is showing most of Carnivora the rest of the obsidian, while Black Ice looks me in the eye and winks. My cheeks flare into heat, and my predicament isn’t helped when I notice the other sorority girls looking me up and down and giggling. As I shift my gaze back to the girl, her fingers near the razor edge of the obsidian shard. All embarrassment forgotten, I snap my hand out and grab her hand before she reaches the edge. She looks up in surprise and I say quietly “This thing is so sharp it’ll cut your hand to the bone without you even noticing. Try and avoid the edge.” A twinge of humour creeps into my voice and I can feel the laughter in my eyes as I pat her hand and turn towards the Carnivora fire. I see her smile out of the corner of my eye as I begin to walk away. “Wait! What’s your name?” she exclaims with a scarcely detectable edge of longing in her voice, provoking giggles from her friends and looks from Carnivora. “My friends call me Rashido.” I say. “What’s your real name?” she says, slightly confused. “Telling you would take away the mystery, wouldn’t it?” I say jokingly with a broad smile, teeth flashing in the firelight. She smiles back and replies “Yeah, I guess it would.” With a coy flip of her hair she spins and walks toward her own fire. I shake my head, and return to Carnivora’s fire with a grin on my face, exhaustion dominating my senses, and tentative hope in my heart.

A/N: I am nowhere near as much of a casanova as this may suggest, but it does my personality justice. Bear in mind that this was just a fun little project to share with some friends. I realize this was quite short, not well polished, and lacking in punctuation of any sort, but hopefully whoever reads this will enjoy it. More installments on the way.