Chapter 3: The Sharks
1180 Words
In a previous military unit, Jackson often dealt with corpses and had become immune to it.
Squatting beside Accountant Cooper, he reached out to remove the watch from Cooper's wrist, then took off the clothes, leaving only his undergarments and stockings. Jackson thought for a moment and decided to remove the stockings as well!
"Rest in peace, given the circumstances, please forgive the offense!"
Jackson dug a hole beside the reef, buried Accountant Cooper, and placed a few rocks as markers!
The watch read 1:50 PM, indicating that it had been 24 hours since the plane crash!
The sky was still as glaring as ever, the sea as blue as ever, and there was no sign of a rescue team!
Jackson felt an inexplicable melancholy, picked up the clothes, gave them a quick rinse by the sea, and hung them on the reef to dry, with the stockings drying beside them.
As he turned around, Jackson suddenly saw a few coconut trees on the right, with huge coconuts hanging from the high branches!
Jackson's eyes lit up with excitement, the problem of thirst was solved!
Although his body was somewhat weak due to dehydration, he was still able to support himself to climb the coconut tree!
Jackson was a pro at climbing trees, and several coconuts fell to the ground with a "thud, thud, thud."
Once on the ground, Jackson carried four coconuts to the fire pit, two for him and two for Lisa.
"Drink up, your lips are parched!"
He found a sharp stone, carefully cracked open the coconuts, and opened them all in one go.
"Is this... a coconut? Where did you find it?"
"Coconuts are, of course, found on coconut trees! Drink up!"
Jackson finished drinking two coconuts and checked the time; it was almost two o'clock!
Lisa drank the coconut with satisfaction, finding the sweet, thirst-quenching coconut more delicious than anything she'd ever tasted.
"There aren't many dry branches left, I'll go find some, you rest well!"
The rule of survival on a deserted island is to maintain the ability to ensure absolute safety for oneself.
Fire is essential!
He found quite a few branches at the edge of the jungle, spending half an hour at his fastest pace.
"Crackle, crackle!"
The pile of dry branches next to him was enough to last through the night. Jackson sat down to rest, while Lisa's stomach was growling loudly!
"I'm so hungry! When will the rescue come?"
Lisa was dizzy with hunger, and having been distracted earlier, she touched her stomach and murmured to herself.
"If I could go back to the present, I would never waste food!"
Hearing this, Jackson almost laughed out loud, but then he thought, Lisa is wealthy, and being extravagant is just her way.
"Stay put here, and if there's danger, throw the branches in to keep the fire going."
"You lousy guard, what are you going to do? Not protecting me!"
"Find food!"
Jackson searched around the edge but found nothing edible. Looking at the ocean, he decided to find a relatively long and sturdy fresh branch. Jackson also found a sharp stone and tied it to the branch, a simple tool similar to what Native Americans used to catch fish.
Jackson leaped into the sea!
He could hold his breath for only two minutes, so he first searched around the shallow reef areas, where it was easiest to find some sea snails and shrimp, or even some fish that liked to inhabit the reefs.
Jackson first observed the surrounding reefs and locked onto a target. Blindly searching would just waste energy and breath. As he searched, his breathing became labored, so he immediately swam to the surface to breathe fresh air, inhaled enough, and then went back down to observe. After repeating this several times, Jackson locked onto a reef.
Returning to the surface again, he took a deep breath and swam toward the reef, trying to swim slowly so as not to startle the fish.
There was a yellow-spotted fish that covered itself with sand, leaving only its flat head exposed. Jackson discovered it when it moved to a new spot. He raised his spear and stabbed fiercely, piercing the yellow-spotted fish!
The fish was about a pound, clearly not enough for two people!
The hunger pangs hit, and combined with the long time spent underwater, Jackson felt his stomach and lungs churning with pain, as if pressed by a stone, almost out of breath!
Jackson decided to head back to shore, rest for a while, and then plan again!
While catching his breath at the surface, he suddenly saw a suitcase!
Jackson felt like he'd stumbled upon a new world, his heart racing at the thought of the suitcase holding something useful!
As long as he could get that suitcase, it might solve a lot of problems!
Jackson planned to go back and rest for a bit before grabbing the suitcase!
Luckily, the reef wasn't far from the shore. With the sun high in the sky, Jackson felt much more relaxed lying on the beach. He almost wished he could fall asleep right away to ease his exhaustion!
But he knew he couldn't afford to!
Jackson raised his hand and checked his watch. It was almost five o'clock!
That meant the tide would start rising in about an hour!
Once the tide rose, who knew where the suitcase would end up!
Jackson took a deep breath, propped himself up with his hands on the sand, and walked toward the sea!
Fortunately, swimming on the surface wasn't too difficult!
Jackson had been swimming for nearly half an hour before he finally spotted the suitcase. The sea was choppy, and he had to grab it as quickly as possible!
The life-or-death struggle was happening now!
Jackson mustered all his strength, knowing that motivation can amplify one's potential. Thanks to his robust physique, Jackson closed the gap to just a few meters from the suitcase in minutes.
He estimated the suitcase to be 24 inches, not small by any means!
Caught up in his excitement, Jackson failed to notice the danger creeping closer.
Three meters, two meters, one meter—within reach! Jackson splashed forward, pulled open the handle, and grabbed the suitcase. In his joy, he adjusted his direction, knowing that as long as he kept swimming forward, he'd reach the shore!
Suddenly, Jackson felt a chill behind him and instinctively used the suitcase to shield himself, kicking out to the right!
"Whoa!"
A shark brushed past Jackson's foot, its gaping maw and flesh-smeared teeth etched into his mind.
"Oh no!"
Jackson shouted in panic, knowing he had to swim with all his might to survive!
At the moment, this was his only escape, even though it was the most reckless! Sharks are the rulers of the ocean, capable of swimming at speeds up to 56 kilometers per hour!
While the shark was still recovering from its exertion, Jackson swam desperately for his life, pushing himself to the limit, terrified that even a moment's hesitation would let the shark catch up.
- Writer
