1Realm Wars
Part I
Chapter Two
White sat up on the rocky beach. He felt the back of his head and was shocked to find it bleeding. The fog had cleared and he was left alone at this place, that no-one knows about. They should be searching for him now. He felt his pockets and was relieved to find a few nougat bars and a couple of sweets. It would keep him working for a while.
He unwrapped two sweets and popped them in his mouth. Then, he stood up to examine his surroundings. Rocky beach and a forest inland. He stared up at the sky. The rain had stopped and it was growing dark. He wondered how long he had been unconscious. He reckoned it was about five hours from his watch.
White crouched down and tore away part of his trouser legs. He then took it to tie a scalp bandage around the back of his head to stop the bleeding. He stripped the wet lifejacket off his torso and placed it on the shore for it to dry, as he went further inland away from the sea. For all he know, the high tide could come anytime and sweep him away.
A more urgent problem would be water. There was the sea and nothing else. And he could not possibly drink the saltwater. He licked his lips. He had been dehydrated for the past five hours or so. He looked around, his resourceful mind scanning the surroundings. A couple of coconut trees nearby. He had to climb it.
White spent the next few minutes grabbing hold to the trunk of the coconut tree, as he pulled himself higher. He then knocked a few coconuts off with his fist and watched them fall to the ground.
The next challenge was to open it. White took a couple of sharp edged pebbles and rammed it along the coconut. After a few tries, he managed to create a line of weakness along the shell. He dug his fingernails into it and pried it open. White drank the juice thirstily and felt refreshed.
He lay against the beach and slept. He was grateful that he had picked up survival skills in scout. Yet at the same time, if he had not joined scouts, he would not be stranded here.
It was the next morning when he awoke. He felt sores all over his body and pushed himself up. His clothes were soiled but dry. He shivered against the morning cold. He picked up the life-jacket and strapped it back on him.
White then spent the next few hours accumulating more coconuts. Some were spoilt or were not ripe yet. He discarded them and tied the good ones together and carried them. The scouts were not back for him, decreasing the chances of them ever coming back. He had to try getting out of this place. He drank more coconut juice and then hiked into the forest.
White knew how dangerous the forest was. This was not a national park or something else. It was a true rainforest in the midst of Malaysia and he did not know what it held for him. He scrapped the film of salt off his lifejacket. It was left over when the sea water had dried off under the sun. He collected it and put it in his pocket. It could come in handy when the bloodsuckers arrive.
He came to a crossroad. Three paths, one which he had come from. White began to panic. Yet, he told himself that he was lost and it would not get any worse if he chose another wrong path. So, he faithfully trekked down the left path.
White stopped once and then for a few breaks drinking more of the juice. It rained once in a while and he collected them in the empty shells. It was a hard trek and White was getting tired.
He sat down on a hard rock for a rest. How long more before he would break down? White did not know. His trekking shoes was in danger of breaking apart. He felt the soles coming loose. It was not long before he would have to walk bare-footed.
He sighed as he took a mouthful of rainwater from an empty shell. It came across his mind that he would have to live here as a hermit for the rest of his life.
"Nah, someone would find me sooner or later." He comforted himself. Yet, it was a disturbing possibility.
White continued walking along a trail made up of pebbles and small little stones. He stopped mid-way and took another drink. It was the afternoon and the sun was high up. Though the canopy of the forest had filtered the piercing sun-rays, it could not remove the heat. He wondered if he would fall sick.
White assumed he had to drink lots of water to minimize chances of having a heat stroke attack. After a few more hours of trekking through the forest, he came to a cliff. There was a little stream running below it. It could be a river, but he could not tell from this height.
He sat by the cliff, taking out his nougat and began chewing on it slowly. He lay by the edge of the cliff, staring down to the far ground below dreamily. White missed his family now, knowing the fact that he may not be able to see them again. He wondered what they were doing and how they were coping with the disastrous news of his disappearance.
And he thought about Vanessa and Kevin. Was she worried about him? He thought so. He loved his girlfriend dearly. He learnt to cherish all things in life. He missed his comfortable and most importantly, hygiene living conditions in his flat. Kevin. How was he coping with the news? He wondered whether they had found his trails yet. Or were they still searching for him at all.
White bit on the tin wrapper of the nougat, and found out that he had finished it. He stood up and wiped his fingers on his shirt and turned to leave. His sole tore away from the bottom of his shoe and White lost his balance. He tipped over and fell down the cliff, but not to his death.