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Chapter 127
The coconut crab turned around and made its unsteady way down the palm. It paid Joseph and Noah Diaz no attention. It didn’t seem afraid of them at all.About ten feet from the ground, it dropped from the tree. Then it raised its huge pincers toward the two men, as if warning them not to touch its food.It scuttled over to the coconut it had cut down, then looked back at Joseph to make sure he wasn’t coming for it.Joseph stared. Had a crab just threatened him?He glanced at Noah Diaz, who looked equally stunned. If they told anyone about this, they’d be laughed at for weeks.“Boss,” Noah Diaz said, blinking, “that crab has quite an attitude. Is it really not afraid of us?”Joseph wondered the same thing. Shouldn’t it have run at the sight of people?Then he thought about its shell. Most animals wouldn’t bother trying to eat something so well protected, especially when its pincers could injure them. Perhaps that was why coconut crabs had grown so bold. Apart from humans and harsh weat
Chapter 126
Joseph realized Noah Diaz wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been thinking. Kyle Lee and the others were no better.“Come back,” he called. “You won’t be able to pick any even if you go.”Kyle Lee stopped. “Why not? You have climbing spikes, don’t you? We can use those. You shouldn’t have to do all the work.”Climbing a bare palm without help was beyond them, but they’d heard of climbing spikes. How hard could those be to use?“When did I say I had climbing spikes?” Joseph asked.Noah Diaz blinked. “But you just said—”“I asked if you’d seen them. I never said I had any.” Joseph was losing patience. “Think about it. Why would there be climbing spikes on a cruise ship?”Now that they thought about it, he hadn’t said he had any. He’d led them on.But that wasn’t the point.“Then how did you get up the tree?”Everyone stared at him. Without climbing spikes, how had he brought down the coconuts?Joseph decided it was time to tell them. “I climbed it with my hands.”“No way!”Kyle Lee and the
Chapter 125
They could skip a meal, but they couldn’t go without food altogether.Joseph moved the fishing net to a different spot in the pool. Somehow, the pool where they collected drinking water had become their only source of food.After what had happened with the body, no one was ready to enter the forest. They needed time to recover.Beyond the huge rock where Noah Diaz had found the suitcases lay another stretch of beach. Joseph made his way around the rock and across the water. Ahead stood a row of tall coconut palms. The coconuts had ripened, their husks beginning to turn yellow.On the sand was the large “SOS” he had laid out with stones. He hoped a passing plane might spot it and come to their rescue.So far, he hadn’t seen a single plane. He was beginning to wonder if this island really moved. He had spent plenty of time studying world maps before, and he’d never seen it marked anywhere. If it had been on a map, he thought he would at least have some idea where they were.He put sever
Chapter 124
Joseph stood a short distance away, frowning.He had seen something like this before. The violent movement inside the body, the way something had entered her abdomen to feed—He should have realized what it was.The heat would cause gases inside the corpse to build up. Whatever was in there wouldn’t stay put. It was about to burst out.And Julia Kelly was standing right beside the pyre.“Get back!”Joseph shouted and ran toward her.Julia Kelly turned to look at him, confused.Bang!The woman’s abdomen burst open. Pale, waterlogged flesh flew through the air, along with several thin, black-and-white shapes that twisted as they fell.Sea snakes!Julia Kelly turned to run, but it was too late. One of the snakes was flying straight toward her. Startled, it opened its jaws.She froze.Everyone’s face changed. Unlike the snakes they were used to on land, these sea snakes were venomous. If one bit Julia Kelly, the consequences could be deadly.Joseph narrowed his eyes. He drew the dagger fr
Chapter 123
A gold bracelet on the woman’s wrist caught Joseph’s eye.He had a feeling he’d seen it somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember where. He shook his head. There had been so many people on the ship, and a crowd had watched when Charles gave him trouble. Even if he had seen this woman then, her face was unrecognizable now.Judging by the state of her body, she had died several days ago. She must have survived the shipwreck, only to drift at sea for days before dying. The rising tide had carried her to the shore beside their camp.Something was still moving inside her swollen abdomen. Joseph had a bad feeling about it.There was the human finger he’d found undigested in the black bear’s stomach, the two people Charles had killed, and the three who had died in the wolf attack. With this woman, seven of the already few survivors were gone.Every death weighed on them. Everyone fell silent, mourning her in their own way.They couldn’t leave her there. In another couple of days, the body w
Chapter 122
In Joseph’s cabin, Alice was still sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him work. She hadn’t quite recovered from what had happened.So he had rushed out to fix the fishing nets. All because of something she’d said. Could it really work?A smile touched her lips. She kept thinking about the kiss he’d given her, and her cheeks were still warm.It was the first time Joseph had kissed her. After all this time as husband and wife, it felt like the first real step forward between them.She had thought he was incapable of taking anything seriously when there was a chance to tease her. But once again, Joseph had proved her wrong.She watched his busy silhouette, her smile growing. This was what she wanted.Then she looked at the pear in her hand, the one she had bitten out of spite, and sighed. She had meant to give it to Joseph. He had eaten so little of the food he’d gathered today, leaving most of it for the others and giving them the best portions. Perhaps no one else had noticed, bu
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