Chapter 6 Finding A Shelter

I stood up and assigned tasks to the team members. "Karin, Hazel, Tracey, write 'SOS' on the beach. Make it as large as possible so that the rescue team will be more likely to see. If everything goes well, we'll be going home tomorrow."

I doubted that we would be that lucky, but as the leader I had to give them hope.

I drew three pieces of wood from the fire and made them into simple torches. "I'll go into the forest with Rosie and Eliza to find a shelter for tonight. With that, at least we can get out of the wind."

I looked at Anya and said, "And Anya, your task is to make sure that the bonfire stays lit while we are gone. The fire will keep us warm and dry at night."

"Yes, sir!" Anya answered with a smile. She knew that she had gotten the easiest task because she was injured.

I took Rosie and Eliza into the forest, all of us carrying torches.

The forest was darker than the beach, as if it were already night there. Without the torches, it would have been hard to grope through the darkness.

The forest was unsettling, even to me. Who knew what kind of horrible creatures could be crouching amongst the foliage? Occasionally we would hear a roar, or the sounds of strange insects and animals, which made my companions tremble.

Eliza was frightened and moved close to my left arm.

I turned around and looked into her face, which was terrified. It seemed that she was truly scared and not simply pretending to seduce me.

Her soft skin close to my arm made improper thoughts enter my mind.

Maybe she was trying to seduce me after all.

Even the punk Rosie was scared. She followed close behind me and didn't dare to speak, fearing that she would attract the attention of some vicious beast.

Walking close together was a good idea. The flames of our three torches combined allowed us to see our surroundings more clearly and brought us a sense of security.

While we were still searching for a shelter, Eliza shrank into my arms. Her soft skin was close to my chest, and my palm grazed her soft buttocks from time to time. It was inconvenient for me to lift my left hand, but I was embarrassed to put it down.

Luck was in our favor, and before the sky turned dark we found a hidden cave behind a gap in some stones.

The cave was cramped and the entrance was narrow. I had to bend down to enter.

But there was enough space for the seven of us, plus the lit bonfire.

"Great! Let's go back and get the others." Rosie wanted to leave right away so we could get the bonfire and bring it to the cave.

"Wait!" I threw two stones into the cave. A few strange, worm-like creatures appeared, as if startled.

Rosie ducked behind me in terror.

"Give me the torch," I said to Eliza.

Eliza immediately handed me the torch.

As soon as I threw the torch into the cave, the sharp hissing of snakes could be heard. Four brightly colored venomous snakes crawled out of the cave.

Eliza screamed and held me tightly with all her limbs, like an octopus.

"It's all right. We are safe now," I assured her.

The snakes seemed to be afraid of the torch. They fled instead of attacking.

I marked the surroundings so we could recognize them later and went back to the beach to look for the others.

We all returned to the cave with wood and other supplies. We lit the bonfire inside the cave and made a bed with dry grass.

Rosie dusted her hands and said, "Thank God! We can finally go to bed!"

I smiled and was about to speak when loud barking erupted from close by.

It was getting closer.

Something was coming!