He wasn’t sure he could eat the hand of a fellow human being, but he was dying...

|NOTHING IN PROMPTICULAR|

PROMPT: He wasn’t sure he could eat the hand of a fellow human being, but he was dying...

No sunrise, no sunset. They had twenty markings on the cave wall. Now it was just him. Ron couldn’t make it through the heat of the crimson storm. Their wives passed four markings ago. Their stench had started to fill the cave. Brandon and Melanie were killed by the berries they gathered from the valley.  

Brandon didn’t heed his warning, “Don’t eat from the trees of a strange island” ,he said. 

 “Berries are berries Dave.” Exactly what Brandon would have said if he wasn’t dead.

After sixteen days, Dave had figured out that the crimson storm could power his scrappy communication system. He didn’t expect to reach anyone but he pressed on regardless. They needed to survive. They needed to tell the story. The story of how a gentle cruise out to the open sea became a date with death on an island that was far from normal. But now, Ron was gone too.

Nineteen markings without food. They had been surviving on the water that collected on the rocks from the roof of the cave. It made them sick to their stomachs. But it was all they had. Now he sat alone on the ground, wearily fidgeting with stubborn wires as his body clawed at him. It begged for food. 

…

 The wires sparked! His circuit was alive. The crimson storm was imminent. Temperatures began to rise. His weary frame refused to be lifted of the ground. He needed to eat something. Anything! 

What was there to eat? Rocks were crunchy and rich in minerals but if berries could kill, he wasn’t willing to risk it. Another failed attempt cut him to the heart. It was hopeless.

 Dave dropped the wires and lay beside his buddy. Almost as still, hoping to conserve what little energy he had left. He was too sad to cry. He looked at his lazy wires and sighed, “Its over Dave…you did your best.”

Then his eyes shot open. He sprung up with a sense of urgency. Dave hobbled a little beyond Ron's lifeless body. With the last of his strength he lifted the best rock he spotted. 

Ron’s arm came clean off. The rock was bloodied from the action. Dave caressed his lifeline. The monster he faced had spawned a monster within him. Staying alive was more important than holding on to his humanity... 

#MA #review #shortstory