Chapter 6
1521 Words
Eric flared up immediately. "William, I'm not asking for your fish. I just want to borrow your knife. Just give it to me!"
William's voice was icy. "I'll tell you one last time: use whatever you want, but stay the h*ll away from me!"
William knew that once they took something from him, there was no chance of getting it back.
The situation was uncertain, and no one knew when rescue would arrive, so every tool was extremely important.
Besides, it was a knife. If it ended up in their hands, wouldn't that just create trouble for him?
Ruby, holding the fish but unable to eat it, sharply yelled at William, "William, are you even a man? Why are you so petty? Mr. Stone is your superior. Besides, whether you know us or not, this is just a simple act of kindness, isn't it?"
With that, she walked up to William and held out her hand. "If you're even half a man, lend us the knife. Mr. Stone is generous enough not to hold this against you. But if you keep being so ungrateful, you'll regret it!"
William picked up a burning stick and tried to hand it to her.
Eric quickly pulled Ruby away.
In Eric's view, if she got burned, she couldn't please him anymore.
William smirked mockingly. "Didn't you want it? I was giving it to you. Why are you dodging?"
Seeing that William was really trying to burn her, Ruby became furious. "William, you're a d*mn disgrace to humanity!"
Eric shielded Ruby behind him. "Ruby, don't waste your breath on this *sshole. He thought we all needed to beg him for help just because he got some useful tools. He doesn't even know his place. Just wait until we get back. I'll teach him a lesson then!"
Without tools, gutting the fish was tricky. They couldn't just roast it with the guts and gills still inside, could they?
As they were stuck, Tina came back empty-handed. She looked at Eric and said, "Mr. Stone, all the fish got scared off. I couldn't catch any."
"Id*ot," Ruby muttered under her breath.
Eric patted Ruby on the butt, signaling her to stop talking, then gave Tina a smile and handed her the fish. "It's fine, Tina. Here, take this fish and gut it. It's pretty big. It should be enough for the three of us."
Ruby protested, "Mr. Stone, how is that enough?"
"Be quiet!" Eric snapped lightly.
Tina took the plump fish and stared at it for a while before coming up with an idea.
She quickly ran back to the beach, searched for a while, and finally found a sharp shell in the waves. She then went to a large rock and used the edge of the shell to slowly scrape at the fish. Before long, she managed to cut a slit in its belly.
She had never cleaned a fish before, but she had seen her family do it. Recalling the steps in her mind, she reached into the fish's belly and pulled out all the innards, setting the roe aside just like William had done earlier.
Ruby grabbed the fish and waved it in front of William. "Id*ot! We gave you a chance, but you didn't take it. If you had lent us the knife, Mr. Stone would've owed you a favor. You'd have gotten some benefits when we got back."
Then, in a mocking tone, she added, "Too bad you let it slip because of your arrogance."
Eric walked over with a stick. "Exactly, William. You should really learn from Tina. She's genuinely helpful. When we get back, she'll probably star in some big female-led drama. And you'll be a st*pid security guard for life."
He eagerly skewered the fish, but just as he approached the fire to roast it, William, who had already eaten his fill, scooped up a handful of sand and extinguished the fire.
Eric panicked and shouted, "What the h*ll are you doing?"
He rushed forward, trying to stop William, but it was already too late.
With William's quick movements, the fire was completely buried under a mound of sand.
The sand on this beach was damp and heavy, and once it covered the fire, not even a wisp of smoke could escape.
In fact, if they acted quickly, the charcoal inside might not have been completely extinguished, and Eric and the others could still use the embers to reignite the fire.
But Eric was already furious at William's actions and didn't care about anything else. Together with Ruby, he pointed at William and began cursing at him, "William, you f*cking *sshole! You should rot in h*ll, you lowly creature!"
William ignored their insults, flashing a wicked smile instead.
He stood up and walked toward a large tree at the edge of the jungle. He wasn't planning to venture into the jungle just yet but was looking for a place to settle down.
The beach and the jungle were both full of unknown dangers.
Out in the wilderness, no one could predict what might appear. The relatively safer choice was to stay up in the trees.
Eric and Ruby eventually tired themselves out from all the yelling. After calming down a little, they finally remembered the urgent task of saving the fire.
The sun was setting, and fiery red clouds stretched across the sky. If they couldn't reignite the fire, not only would they be unable to cook the fish, but they'd also have to spend the night cold and in darkness.
Eric frantically dug through the sand. He didn't have a lighter with him, and without fire, there was no way to start one.
"It's all William's fault," Eric muttered angrily. "He needs the fire too. He put it out just to spite us. What a f*cking ret*rd!"
Ruby chimed in, "He's got something wrong with his head. If he's not doing well, he can't stand to see anyone else doing well either."
Not far away, William heard every word they said, but he only sneered and continued with what he was doing.
Earlier, he had gathered some vines from nearby. If he had more time, he would have made a hammock, but it was clear there wasn't enough time for that now. Instead, he used the vines for something simpler.
He climbed up a tree to a spot where two branches forked close together. He wasn't planning to lie down but sat with his back against the trunk. The two branches were sturdy enough to hold him, though they weren't very comfortable and might hurt his balls.
Using the vines, he tied the two branches together, wrapping and securing them tightly. This created a small makeshift platform. While it wasn't enough to lie on, it made sitting much more comfortable.
Leaning against the tree trunk with his hands behind his head, he coldly watched the others still struggling below. It was an easy way to pass the boring night.
Meanwhile, Eric was growing desperate. He had been too slow, and now even the charcoal had been completely extinguished by the damp sand. Trying to reignite the fire with it was hopeless.
"D*mn it!" Eric cursed through gritted teeth. After all the effort they'd spent catching the fish, now it was all wasted. "Your cousin is so selfish. When we get back, I'm going to teach him a lesson!"
Ruby sat by the extinguished fire pit, staring at William with hatred. "Someone like him isn't even fit to be a security guard in our company. Mr. Stone, you better make sure he learns his lesson when we get back."
Then she leaned closer to Eric. "Mr. Stone, it's so cold!"
"Come here. You won't feel cold in my arms." Eric pulled Ruby into his embrace, his hands wandering freely.
"Stop it, Mr. Stone!" Ruby said playfully, but her body didn't resist his touch.
Tina, watching from the side, shook her head in silence.
They didn't know how to do anything but act so high and mighty. If they had just swallowed their pride and asked William for help, they wouldn't have ended up like this.
Whoosh—
A gust of sea breeze blew through, making Tina's already damp skirt feel icy cold. She hugged her arms tightly, shivering.
Eric glanced at her with a lecherous grin.
It was so cold at night. She'd give in eventually.
When that happened, he'd finally have his chance...
Indeed, Tina couldn't take it anymore. Even though she didn't want to give Eric and Ruby the satisfaction, she wasn't about to freeze to death just to spite them.
She turned and began walking toward the edge of the jungle.
Eric called out, "Tina, where are you going? There's no fire now. Why don't you come here and huddle with us for warmth?"
Tina didn't respond. She picked up a few dry sticks and some leaves from the jungle's edge and brought them back.
She wanted to try starting a fire by rubbing sticks together.
She had never done it herself before, only seen it on TV.
But no matter what, she had to try.
- Writer
