Chapter 3
1203 Words
Elias walked along the shoreline.His mind was too focused on the aftermath of the crash—the reality of the survival situation they were in, and the realization that they were utterly alone.
As he walked, something caught his eye. A figure half-buried in the sand. Elias's gut twisted with a sickening realization.
A corpse.
He stopped in his tracks. The body was male, and from the look of it, there was no hope left. His face was battered, he had a large gash running from his forehead down to his cheek. The body was swollen with water and there were marks on his limbs that spoke of a violent struggle.
His throat tightened as he took a step closer. His eyes quickly assessed the damage—the blood-stained clothes, the bruises were all signs of a shark attack. The body had been dragged in by the tide, and the vicious marks on the torso suggested the man had been pulled under and ripped apart by the shark before being tossed back out.
Elias bent down, a deep shiver ran through him. He hadn’t been expecting this—finding someone, something, left behind by the ocean’s fury. He reached down, his fingers brushing against the man’s cold skin.
There was no life left in him. He was nothing more than a casualty of nature, just like the wreckage of the ship.
Taking a deep breath, Elias stood back up and surveyed the surroundings. He had no time to dwell on this. The body would attract predators if left here. The waves would reclaim it, and who knew what could happen next. There was no time to waste.
Elias decided to bury the body. It was the only thing to do. He would show respect in his own way. The island was unforgiving, and every moment counted. They needed to be prepared for whatever the environment would throw at them next.
He turned and began scanning the beach for something to dig with. A sturdy stick caught his eye, and he grabbed it, his mind already on the task.The minutes turned into an hour as Eric worked in silence, his muscles aching from the effort. Finally, the shallow grave was ready.
Elias stood over the lifeless body, his eyes scanning it once more. The gruesome sight of the man didn’t seem to faze him. In fact, he began analyzing the situation.
This man, whoever he had been, was beyond help. He wouldn’t need his belongings anymore. But Elias could certainly use them.
He began rifling through the man's bloodstained pockets. There was no hesitation, no guilt. This was the reality now: every item, every scrap of material was precious.
He found a small leather wallet, its contents were soaked in seawater but still somewhat intact. Inside, there were a few crumpled bills and a set of keys, possibly to a car. Elias pocketed the wallet without a second thought.
Next, he checked the man’s clothes. The bloodied shirt, while torn and disfigured, might be useful for bandages or fire-starting material. The boots on the man’s feet could be salvaged too, if they fit him. After all, he’d have no use for them now.
A rustling behind him caught his attention. Elias turned to see the woman approaching. She had been sitting on the beach, her back turned to him, and now she was coming toward him, her face was flushed with what Elias could only assume was anger.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
Elias raised an eyebrow, his hands were still moving over the body. “I’m doing what’s necessary,” he replied flatly, pulling out a knife from the man's belt and inspecting it for any signs of damage.
The woman’s eyes widened in outrage. “You can’t just take his things!” She stormed toward him. “That’s disrespectful. He’s dead, but that doesn’t mean you can treat him like a piece of garbage.”
Elias glanced at her. He stood, shaking his head. “Look, he’s dead. His belongings aren’t going to help him anymore. I’m not disrespecting the dead. I’m surviving. I’m taking what I need to get by.”
“You’re not some scavenger,” she spat, stepping closer, her chest heaving with indignation. “That’s not survival. It’s greed. You should leave him in peace. You can’t just take what you want because you think it’s yours for the taking!”
Elias’s eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance. “What’s the alternative? You want to just leave him here to rot and wait for someone to come rescue us? No one’s coming. Not for us, not for him.”
Her’s hands were balled into fists at her sides. “We could at least show some respect,” she said. “You think this is some game? We’re stuck here, yes, but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost our humanity. We still have rules. We still have boundaries.”
Elias snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. “Boundaries? What kind of boundaries are you talking about? There are no rules here. There’s only survival, and survival doesn’t care about your morals. You want to live? You use what’s available to you.”
Her face turned a shade of red. “You’re a monster. You’ve completely lost it.” Her voice broke. “You don’t even care that he was a person. A human being. You just take and take.”
“Like I said,” Elias replied coldly, “he’s gone. The things he left behind can help us stay alive. What’s left of him doesn’t matter.You can mourn later, but right now, we need every resource we can get our hands on. The world’s not kind, and it won’t wait for you to feel comfortable with it. His possessions won’t do him any good now, but they might just save us. We can’t afford to be sentimental about things like this if we want to make it off this island alive.”
The woman’s nostrils flared, and she took a step back, as though his words physically repelled her. “You’re disgusting,” she muttered. “I don’t care how bad it gets. I won’t be a part of this... this madness.”
Elias didn’t flinch, but deep inside, something shifted. Her words stung more than he cared to admit. But the reality of their situation was harsh.He wasn’t going to apologize for doing what needed to be done.
“Fine,” he said coolly.“Walk away, then. But don’t expect me to stop. You won’t survive with that kind of mindset.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her chest still heaving with fury. And then, without another word, she turned on her heel and marched away.
Elias watched her walk away, her ass jiggling beneath the tight fabric of her swimsuit. The curve of her body was hard to ignore. Elias cursed under his breath and snapped his gaze away. It wasn’t the time for this—any of this
The body needed to be buried, that much was clear.
But before he did, he needed to make sure he had everything he could from it.
- Writer
