I like the loving wives category but it can be difficult to come up with something different. I write all sorts of stories and try to mix it up; otherwise, we all write the same thing. I'm particularly interested in angst and dialog within unusual situations and relationships. Please accept my apologies for any errors in the topics of survival, aviation, psychology and publishing.
There were 13 survivors!
Some would say that was unlucky, but they were certainly luckier than those who hadn't survived the emergency landing on the remote pacific island.
The battered survivors regrouped on the beach. Slowly they got organised, trying to find shelter, water and food. The pilot hadn't made it, the eldest of the remaining party: Margaret seemed to naturally take charge, checking how people were, and starting to organise things.
Remarkably the four friends survived: Tom, his wife Helen along with Bill and his wife Mary. They had been fortunate to be in the rear, few from the front of the plane had survived. They were both middle class couples in their mid 40's, enjoying a holiday together hopping around Pacific Islands, when they booked the cheap 'sight-seeing' charter on the spur of the moment.
They were all fit and loved travelling independently, it was Tom who dreamed up and planned most of their trips. He and Helen were a good match for each other, both were adventurous and energetic. Tom was 3 inches taller than Helen's 5ft 8 frame, endurance sports, cycling and running kept him physically fit but not in a gym or 'buff' way. Helen's long curly brown hair was usually pinned up with a fringe resting over a set of beautiful deep brown eyes. She was bright and quick witted but could be quite blunt and to the point at times.
They got on fantastically with the quieter and more laid-back Bill and Mary. Tom and Bill were lifelong friends, knowing each other since knocking about on the streets together from the age of 10, thankfully their wives got along equally well. Bill kept trim playing golf and undertaking activities that didn't require too much effort. Mary went to the gym and swimming with Helen. Her blonde shoulder length hair and blue eyes matched her bubbly personality; both were immensely popular with a wide network of friends.
The majority of the passengers were a group of rugby players, but only 5 of them had made it. One other couple survived the crash: Mike and Kelly were in their mid-20s. A lone female was badly injured and remained unconscious. The final survivor was Margaret, their leader, who was a 57-year-old widow and retired nurse.
They had been at the farthest point out on their tour in the ageing twin turbo prop when a storm swept in suddenly. Flying for hours battered by high winds, thunder and lightning. Tom wondered if anyone else knew of their predicament, his doubts worsened when the pilot announced they were going to conduct an emergency landing and for everyone to brace.
The impact of the landing was brutal, ripping the small plane in half after overshooting the intended beach and smashing into both water and reef. The immediate aftermath was carnage, injuries and shock... survival was the priority. Only the rear section of the plane was now visible, hanging precariously on the reef, as the bedraggled survivors made it to the beach.
***
There was little of value left on the ruined plane, some limited food, clothing and a first aid kit, which did little to help them through the first night, as the storm still raged. The following day was perfectly still and calm. Their initial exploration discovered some shelters made from ship's timbers, long since reclaimed by the jungle. They guessed the timbers had been salvaged from a 19th century clipper ship. Then they found the skeletons! Twelve of them and they looked like they had died fighting, judging from the body positions and discarded weapons. That was confirmed when they found the ship's log which documented their exploits and included a map of the island. Thankfully it contained useful information about water and food sources, seemingly there were wild pigs on the island. It also confirmed that the island was deserted at that time. The ship's survivors had been deserted for almost three years and like themselves, had little idea of their location having been blown off course in a storm lasting weeks. Margaret read out their story over the course of several nights, over 20 people survived the initial wreck, but they had lost more people over time through injuries and illness. The end of the log documented petty arguments which built resentment and eventually hatred, accentuated through isolation, fear and lack of food.
"Jesus" remarked Tom, "it sounds like Lord of the Flies!"
He then outlined the plot of a book, where a group of boys also deserted on an island, turn on each other with feral savagery.
Partly as a result of the log and a few disagreements within their group, they decided to elect a leader and agree some principles. Margaret was quickly chosen without any opposition. The principles were more complex, but they settled on: survival being the key aim, including food, water supply and shelter; signalling was agreed as the next priority. Tom suggested collecting any mirrors and shiny surfaces for signalling, he ignored a barb from Adam (the Rugby team captain) about the tail fin of the aeroplane being a rather more obvious signal. It wasn't worth the argument; the plane being washed away the following day would later confirm his point of view. They also agreed to maintain signal beacons and that they had to work together as a community, sharing everything. All decisions would be made for the benefit of the group as a whole by the leader, but everyone would get a vote on key issues.
Bill added another priority, that they bury the dead, both recent and the skeletons. Adding sadly that the number now included Amy, the lone traveller who had died peacefully in her sleep without ever regaining consciousness. Partly to record her passing, Tom began updating the ship's log with their story.
Things began reasonably well with the group, shelter and water were available, but food was scarce, they organised foraging, hunting and spear fishing. Initially they were confident about being found, but never saw a single plane. Tom realised they had flown for hours in the storm and wondered if they had even filed a flight plan, the airfield was rudimentary at best, little more than a rough grass track. He also wondered how hard the storm had hit the region, if they were all recovering from a cyclone, would they even be looking for a small random charter flight. He decided to keep that information to himself.
As hope of quick rescue faded, tempers began to flare. After a few weeks fights broke out around the women with accusations of flirting. This was mostly between the youngest husband Mike and members of the rugby team, who he accused of pawing his wife, Kelly.
Tom noticed the captain of team 'Adam' constantly hovering around his wife Helen and youngest guy in team 'Dan' around Mary. He tried to quietly inform Helen rather than create another argument; she was pretty dismissive of his concerns. It didn't help that their clothes got more and more threadbare, exposing quite a lot of skin.
Things came to a head when a full-on fight broke out, Zack one of the rugby players punched Kelly's husband Mike, who retaliated in a frenzy. By the time they were prised apart, Zack the rugby player was unconscious and bleeding heavily.
Margaret urged restraint, pointing out that they had no medical supplies and couldn't treat any serious injuries. The rugby players were furious about the injury to their friend, resentment between the factions escalating quickly.
It was Adam who outlined that they were supposed to be in things together, but there was one thing that wasn't being shared. The three married guys were furious, it nearly erupted into another fight, Margaret only just managed to calm things, telling everyone to go and cool off.
Margaret discussed her concerns with each of the wives, she was subtly enquiring if any of them would be willing to offer 'comfort' to the younger guys, their testosterone was clearly in overdrive, Helen as ever, was direct and to the point.
"Do you mean like a hand job or full-on sex?"
"I haven't gotten that far, we are just exploring possibilities."
"Our husbands would never stand for that!"
"Mike might uttered Kelly, he is absolutely distraught at hurting Zack."
Opinion was split, and no decision made.
"Try mentioning it to your husbands, see what they say. Expect them to oppose it, but read in between that response, see if there is any underlying acceptance of just how precarious our situation is."
The resultant discussions resolved little other than increasing tensions. They debated it again at a meeting involving everyone. Adam demanded a vote due to the importance of the issue and current impasse. Margaret agreed, but only to see how things stood, all the women had choice in the matter. The four young guys voted for 'sharing comforts' as it was phrased, and the three husbands voted against. Mary and Kelly also voted against, it was almost decided thought Tom, only to be completely flabbergasted as Helen voted in favour. He looked at her in total bewilderment.
With Zack unable to vote, despite Adam's claim he would vote 'for', the deciding vote was now Margaret's.
Margaret could see the tension and insisted everyone think through their votes, nothing would happen for a few days.
"I'd encourage you all to discuss the potential implications; our continued survival depends on it."
Helen tried to explain her vote to Tom, "This is serious, we're already fighting and that can only escalate. Zack might not survive, what do you think is going to happen if he dies; in comparison a little fooling around is nothing.
"This is ridiculous, they are half your age, it will cause more fights and more resentment, and you seem far too keen."
"Look around Tom, there is no one their age here except Kelly and she is already dealing with them all fighting over her. It's natural for them to need female company, at their age they should be dating, it's been months without. We're deserted and struggling to survive; societal norms don't apply in this situation. Who knows when or even if we will get off this island, you can't expect 20 odd year old guys to suddenly become celibate indefinitely."
"Well how very convenient for you! We can't expect that, but it seems we can throw away the promises we made to each other."
