Unknown - Island of terror

"Sorry were late Captain," Miss Carter said.

She turned to us. "Ladies, this is Captain Brown, who will be with us for the rest of the trip. He's from Fort Morehaven school, and will be in charge, as he's been on this trip before."

"Ladies," he said, looking over us imperiously, as if making sure we were standing at attention. We weren't.

"My men are already packed and waiting aboard. You ladies stow your gear here," he pointed at a baggage door on the underside of the plane, "… and get aboard. We are already an hour late."

He said this last part like we'd personally insulted him.

"Like its our fault the plane was late taking off," I whispered to Wendy.

We threw everything inside and then trotted up the stairs. There were supposed to be twenty boys there, but I didn't try to count. The back rows had been left clear and we all quickly sat down and strapped in as the propellers started up.

The plane took off after a long bouncy ride. It was the first time I'd been in a small plane and it amazed me how much more I could feel it's movements than on the big jets I'd ridden.

Again we rode for several hours. Some of the luckier girls nodding off. I talked quietly with Wendy mostly, as the noise of the engines droned on.

Then the plane shook. I looked up in alarm, and the captain, not Captain Brown, but the one flying the plane, came over the P.A. and told everyone we were passing through a storm, and to do up their seatbelts.

Nobody slept after that. The ride got bumpier and bumpier. We flew up and then dropped down, leaving our stomachs near the roof. After twenty minutes of this everyone was ready for the barf bags, except we hadn't eaten in hours and didn't have much to barf.

This went on for almost an hour, during which our initial panic gave way to a kind of annoyed acceptance, and a kind of lofty snobbishness set in. I guess we all sort of said to ourselves, well, what can you expect from a third world airplane being flown by some banana eater.

It wasn't really a conscious thought, most of us were pretty liberal, except for Annie and Cathy. Nevertheless, there was the thought that this wouldn't happen if we were on TWA.

Then the Captain called back from the cockpit again. This time he was so excited, he forgot to speak English. Captain Brown yelled out that we were going to land in the ocean and for everybody to bend forward.

The next five minutes were the most terrifying in my life, as the plane swung up and down and then hit something, hard. We bounced into the air, and then came down again, then bounced again, before staying down. I couldn't help looking up to see water flying past the window, and fear clutched my heart.

Then the bounced calmed down slightly as our speed dropped. We all sat up and started babbling in frightened voices.

"Miss Carter! Keep those shrieking hens quiet!" Brown yelled back. I shut up indignantly before Miss Carter even started shushing us. Even in the midst of a disaster I resented being insulted.

The plane bounced through the waters for several minutes as Captain Brown stood braced in the cockpit door, talking to the pilots. Then he turned and held one hand up in the air for silence.

"There's an island up ahead. We're going to land the plane there," he said. "We'll ride out the storm there, and ten try to repair the engines." A few minutes later there was another larger bump, then the plane stopped.

Captain Brown moved over to the door and flung it down and open. I could see rain pelting down outside and hear it striking the water.

He turned to one of the boys and said something. The boy stood up. He was wearing a uniform too I noticed, and jumped out the door. Then I heard him calling to Brown. Brown nodded and turned back to us.

"All right, I want you ladies to come up here one at a time. One of my boys will accompany each of you out the door and to the beach. The water is only about four feet deep her, so you shouldn't have any difficulty."

One by one the girls moved up to the front of the plane, and a boy got up and went out with them. When it was my turn, I wanted to say forget it, or at least tell them I wanted to go with Wendy, after all, we were on the swim team, but my courage deserted me in the face of those steely eyes and I meekly scurried up to the front.

A tall boy of eighteen or nineteen went out first, and then stood there in the water waiting for me to jump. I held my breath and then dropped down, surprised at the warmth of the water as it covered me to the shoulders.

The boy slid a hand around my arm and held tightly as we walked towards shore. I would have preferred swimming, but that wasn't an option. I joined seven other dripping wet girls on the beach and turned to watch Wendy coming out.

Then the rest of the boys piled out, followed by Captain Brown and Miss Carter. They all walked ashore like they were assaulting the beach in some World War Two movie, they'd probably practised this before even.

They were hauling on a long rope attached to the side of the plane, pulling it ashore behind them. That was good. I wanted some dry clothes. The water might be warm enough, but standing soaking wet was never a fun thing.

"Hey!" One of the boys on the beach suddenly yelled. I looked up from the Captain and Miss Brown to the plane. One of the pilots was leaning out the door with a long knife, sawing away at the rope. Captain Brown yelled something at him, but he only sawed faster.

Brown and the boys started hurrying back toward the plane but the rope came free then. The man pulled up the door and the engines started. The propellers started spinning and then the plane moved out away from shore, leaving the furious Captain Brown and his boys behind.

Boy is he pissed, I thought. We could hear him cursing from the shore, as the plane moved faster and faster, and then bounced into the air.

Several minutes later it was gone, and we all stood on the shore pondering what we were going to do.

"Probably after all our luggage," Captain Brown snarled, glaring up at the sky angrily.

"B… but why?" Miss Carter stammered. "We weren't carrying anything really valuable."

"Twenty dollars is a months salary to these people," Brown growled, still staring up at the empty sky.

He turned and stared around at us.

"All right men. Survival actions. Let's look for shelter, water, and food, in that order. Smith, take two men, look for shelter. Mclean, you take two and find water, and Ferguson, you go and locate some food." He clapped his hands and a bunch of the boys took off in different directions.

"How are we supposed to get off this crummy place?" Annie whined. The Captain turned and eyed her distastefully.

"We will get off when we find a way off, or somebody comes and takes us off. It shouldn't be long," he said. "In the meantime, you ladies stay together and don't wander off and get lost."

I turned to Wendy and she shrugged. We moved away from the water, towards the bushes and woods. The Captain wouldn't let us go into them though, so we had to stay out on the beach in the rain.

Most of the boys stripped to the waist, dropping their soggy uniform jackets and shirts in a pile. Having nothing better to do, me and Wendy, and Penny occupied our time watching them. Annie of course, occupied her time by whining and bitching endlessly to anyone who'd listen.

"Those guys must work out," Wendy said, admiring the physique of a pair of boys returning from the jungle.

"Probably have to do ten mile hikes and all that shit," I said.

"I wish they'd take off their bottoms too," Penny giggled.

"My what a smutty mind you have," Wendy said, admiringly.

"It's not a bad thought though," I grinned, twisting my hair together to wring out some of the water.

"Maybe you should take off your dress," Wendy teased.