Island Wives Survival

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. I've reused some characters from the 'Island Survival' submission but the story and circumstances are all new.

Hope you enjoy.

Best Regards XXX SD.

***

They had finally found them... 12 survivors were reported!

Tom and Bill flew back to the small Pacific Island but had to wait agonisingly before rescue services confirmed their wives Helen and Mary were safe. Details were sketchy; there was no news of injuries or location, just that they were being rushed for medical care.

Tom had been devastated when his wife's small 'island hoping' charter flight was reported as missing. After 2 weeks the search was officially scaled down, unofficially no one was looking for survivors anymore, all crew and passengers were assumed deceased. After 4 weeks searching for debris and evidence also ceased. Tom spent months pestering the Government and Foreign Office, lobbying to keep the search going, but with little reward, it was 8 months since the flight disappeared.

***

Helen was fit and active and loved travelling independently with both Tom and her best friend Mary. He missed everything about her, her long curly brown hair was usually pinned up with a fringe resting over a set of beautiful deep brown eyes. She was bright, quick witted and fun to be around.

Tom was lifelong friends with Bill, since first knocking about on the streets together aged 10. Tom had introduced Bill to Helen and her friend Mary over 20 years ago; Mary's blonde shoulder length hair and blue eyes matched her bubbly personality; both were immensely popular with a wide network of friends. They had brought up their families together, four kids between them all within 3 years, now they were either in first year of University or preparing for college.

The months without their wives were agony for Tom and Bill, not knowing was perhaps worse than the thought that they were lost. The idea there might still be alive, struggling and needing help was another one of many nightmare scenarios playing through the husband's minds.

During the initial aftermath and searches they had gotten to know the family and friends of the people on the flight well, especially Tony Naidu a big Fijian, and fiancé to the flight's stewardess Lena Taylor. There were a mass of other parents, relatives and friends each locked in their own version of hell.

Now most of them were reunited back on the island, the names and ages of the survivors had been released, 4 women including Helen 44, Mary 45, Lena 23, Margaret 57; and 8 men in their 20's all from a rugby team who had taken the flight together. The majority of their young team mates hadn't made it.

***

After another day of waiting, they finally got to see their wives. Thankfully the press, now numbering in their hundreds since the rescue story broke were excluded from the hospital.

Helen and Mary were side by side in hospital beds, hooked up to all sorts of drips and machines. Tom and Bill rushed forward to hug their wives; the feeling of relief was overwhelming. Tom thought Helen was the sweetest sight he had ever seen, he gave up trying to hold back the tears. She looked thinner... a lot thinner and exhausted, she was deeply tanned to the point of being burned... none of that mattered, she was alive.

Before leaving the nurses warned they only had a few minutes, the patients needed more rest. The conversations were a rushed jumble, a mix of what had happened and how they had survived with expressions of the joy and love in seeing each other again.

The 15 minutes they were allowed flew by, elated they finally allowed the nurses to usher them outside.

***

As they were leaving the ward they saw Tony and stopped dead in their tracks. It was uncomfortable watching a big guy cry.

"Jesus what is it Tony, is Lena ok, she's not ...."

Tony wasn't making much sense before he managed to string a few words together, "No she's alive.... but there's a swell in her tummy, she's... she's pregnant!"

Both husbands look at each other horrified, "Shit, what did she say about it?"

"I, I don't really know... I went a bit numb, something about a one off and a guy needing comfort."

They went to a local bar and commiserated with their new friend. Thankfully Tony had calmed down and was starting to make a little more sense.

"She apologised repeatedly and said it was a one off. Something about one of the guys being depressed, he was having panic attacks and said he didn't want to die a virgin."

"Do you think she is telling the truth?"

"I just don't know, but I don't think I can accept it either way. I mean it doesn't sound that plausible does it. Maybe she had a relationship with him the whole time she was there. I know we're not married but we had already planned our wedding before she went missing and now this."

"We can ask our wives what happened, see if the story matches."

"Yeah, if you could that might help me understand things, I have no idea what to do, I am not even sure I want to see her again."

Tom and Bill both called their kids that night, letting them know their mums were safe but not well enough for phone calls yet due to exhaustion and dehydration. They asked them to pass on the information to the rest of their family and friends.

***

The following day Tom and Bill got to see their wives individually.

Tom hugged Helen, "I missed you so much and thought of you all the time."

"I thought of you every day; not knowing if you were alive was the hardest thing ever. When I saw you I wanted nothing more than to sweep you off your feet and never let you go, it was my dream come true."

"I wanted that too, I missed you so much."

Helen asked about the kids and family and what had happened at home in the past 8 months. They was a lot to cover, so it was a while before the conversation paused and Tom helped her with a drink.

"Sorry Helen I need to ask you about Lena and what happened on the Island, Tony is gutted."

Helen looked sad before explaining, "We were worried about a guy harming himself or others, in the end Lena provided some companionship and one thing led to another."

"So who is the father?"

"We don't want to say, Tony seeking revenge and getting into trouble when Lena has only just got back to him is the last thing anybody needs."

"Well I'm not she does have him back, we talked to him for hours last night and he is absolutely devastated."

Helen looked crestfallen, "He has to... he just has to take her back, she really does love him, we spent ages talking about and planning her wedding when we were on the island, it's what kept her going."

"He isn't sure she is telling the whole truth and keeping secrets about the father isn't going to help, she'll have to tell him eventually."

"What do you mean the whole truth, what exactly are you accusing her and indeed me of?"

"I don't know Helen, is there anything you need to tell me. I can appreciate the circumstances were pretty extreme."

Helen started crying, "No there's nothing. Lena made a mistake but with the best of intentions, she is so caring and we'd already seen too many people die."

"I can't imagine how hard that was for you all; but it is an impossible position for Tony. His fiancé with someone else's child and not knowing who. It seems only a matter of time before the whole world will find out, they can't keep that hidden."

"I know, but it wasn't her fault either, it will come out eventually but it's too traumatic for everyone at present."

At that point a Doctor ushered Tom out of the room, insisting Helen needed rest. He didn't argue, in a way he was pleased to go due to a growing feeling of unease.

***

Tom went to see Helen again the following day and felt gulf growing between them.

"This just feels wrong Tom; we should be all over each other and relieved at being together again."

"Yeah I know, but something doesn't feel right. I know you, and I know you aren't telling me everything."

Helen was silent for a long time, "And what if some things happened on the island that we regret Tom, do you think you could handle that and forgive me?"

"I can't say unless you tell me what they are. You know me, I am fair about things, you know what I could and couldn't accept."

Helen nodded whilst thinking, "If anything did happen, it was all about survival Tom, is there any chance we could leave it at that, the details won't change anything."

"The not knowing is going to eat away at me, can't you be honest with me and tell me."

Helen began crying again, "I can't Tom, not yet at least. I will try to find a way though."

***

Tom, Bill and Tony sat in the hotel bar reciting what their wives had said over the last couple of days and comparing the differing version of events.

Bill began talking, "I don't know Tom, don't you think their stories are a little too perfectly in sync, almost as if they were rehearsed. They had plenty of time to agree a script during the rescue. Mary is so keen to cover for Lena, I know they must have grown close, but I can't help feeling she might be covering her own arse as well."

Tony sighed, "Yeah I know, and another thing, a depressed virgin, really it's like the least thing she can claim short of rape or drugs."

Tom interjected and inched closer to his friends whispering, "Listen guys... Helen pretty much admitted more happened when we talked yesterday, but she couldn't bring herself to tell me exactly. It might be worse than we think."

"Yeah but we can't prove anything".

"They can't keep Lena's condition covered up forever, the 'needing medical treatment' line can only hold so long."

"Mary talked about it today, she said the plan is to say Lena needs convalescence, she is only 7 weeks from delivery. It's not an easy place to reach; they talked about Skype's to family and saying she wasn't well enough to travel. After that there is the possibility of having the child adopted."

"Only 7 weeks, Jesus it must have happened soon after the crash."

Bill sighed, "Are you thinking the same as me, they might have all done something?"

Tony replied, "Wouldn't they all be pregnant, if they'd been having sex, it's not like there is a condom shop on the island."

Tom shook his head, "Helen wouldn't be, she has a 5 year implant for birth control."

Bill added, "Yeah and Mary thought she might be starting the menopause before the trip and Margaret is in her fifties and too old for kids.

"Shit, so it's possible, they all might have had relationships, especially if they didn't know if they would be rescued."

"We could try playing them off against each other, ask the other survivors maybe."

"Yeah but they are talking all the time, probably making sure they are backing each other up, they even have that support chat group."

"We could threaten to go to the press. They are still keeping Lena under wraps, the airline and insurance companies are keen to avoid the adverse publicity, it's already a catastrophe for them."

It was Tom's turn to shake his head, "There are families to think about, if this does leak out, it could turn into a shit show for everyone including us, and we still won't know the truth of it. What if one of the group was given an incentive to spill the beans, money perhaps, in the guise of a journalist... offering a few thousand dollars if there is a juicy enough story."

Bill rejected that idea, "They are getting massive pay outs for the crash, I'm not sure those sums would cut it and I don't have any cash spare, we've struggled with money, I had to drop hours to care for the kids."

Tom expected that reaction, "A different incentive then, we find someone from the rugby team and advise him it would be in his best interest to tell us the truth."

Tony frowned before asking, "And who would that be... and how do we get a hold of him?"

Tom sat back, "Well that's why I choose this hotel bar, you see the guy over there on the far stool... that's Garry McIntyre, survivor and freshly released from hospital. I knew the insurance company would put him up at the hotel."

"So what... we just ask him?"

"We can't afford to be that polite. We grab him, we'd need to mean it though, if he thinks it's an empty threat we'll get nothing out of him.

Tony smiled at that, "I can handle that and trust me... I will mean it."

"When?"

Tom replied, "Well there's no time like the present... he has had a few drinks so when he goes to the toilet, we follow him in and we'll push him out the back fire exit. Bill you bring the car around."

***

For an off the cuff plan it worked surprisingly well. Tony managed to quickly subdue Gary with a gut punch, before he and Tom ushered him out the back door and into the waiting car driven by Bill. Tony literally lifted and threw him into the back seat.

Bill and Tom looked at each other both thinking the same; they never wanted to get on the wrong side of Tony. Once they all piled into the car, Bill drove off towards the beach road whilst Gary started jabbering about them getting arrested.

They stopped at the cliff tops just 10 minutes outside of town and pulled Gary out of the car.

"Do you know who we are?"

Gary nodded looking at each man with a worried expression.

"Who is the father?"

"No way am I telling you that, we all agreed not to say anything about it."

"Agreed with who?"

Silence...

Tom pointed to Tony as he began speaking; "Now you might think we won't do anything and that's probably true for me, he on the other hand has a pregnant fiancé and is seriously pissed off."

Gary eyed Tony looking concerned but staying quiet. Tony walked up and punched Gary again doubling him over, then he pushed him toward the cliff edge.

"Fucking hell stop...stop!" You can't, can't do anything to me, the police...!"

Bill interrupted, "The police will think it's a shame you couldn't get over the 'survivors' trauma' Gary; taking your own life, suicide by throwing yourself off a cliff after drinking too much is a plausible story."

Gary didn't like the look in Tony's eyes or the fact they had already thought about covering his demise.

"Ok, Ok, but I don't know who the father is!"

Tony stepped forward again.

"No, No wait, it... it could have been any of us, we all fucked her!"

"All of you!"

"Yeah... we made an arrangement about sex pretty early on, once we realised rescue was unlikely. The story was to try and give you guys a chance to stay together, no one was trying to break you up and she was clearly besotted with you."

"What about the other women?"

"What about them, we fucked them all; even that Margaret was a good fuck for an older bird."

"Including Helen and Mary?"

"Yeah everyone was into them; they had that mature experienced thing going on and were so voluptuous. Mary was sweet, everyone liked her and Helen was..."

Gary stopped himself.

"Helen was what?" It was Tom stepping forward this time.

"Look she was really up for it ok, she was a 'right go-er', often took two of us on at a time, she loved it. I can't believe she didn't get pregnant as well, the amount of cock she took. It's no good blaming us, we just took what was put on offer, no one made them do anything they didn't want to do, quite the opposite in fact... it was their idea."

Tony glowered at Gary, "You say anything about this and I'll come back for you."

"Right fine, I don't want anyone knowing I spilled the beans anyway; just promise to leave me alone."

***

"I know the true story Helen; we manage to convince one of your little group to tell the whole sordid truth."

Helen sat back, recalling her time on the island...

The battered survivors regrouped on the beach. Slowly they got organised, trying to find shelter, water and food. Helen and Mary had survived at least for now; they had been fortunate to be in the rear, no one from the front of the plane had survived.

The majority of the passengers were a group of rugby players, but only 8 of them had made it. A stewardess, Lena was injured but conscious. The final survivor was Margaret, who was a 57-year-old widow and retired nurse, she seemed to naturally take charge, checking how people were, and starting to organise things.

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, 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 landing, 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 hardly anything 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 with the storm still raging. The following day was perfectly still and calm.

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 needing everyone to work together as a community, sharing everything with food, water supply, shelter the priority. All decisions would be made for the benefit of the group as a whole.

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 rescue plane. Adam captain of the rugby team 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 field. He also wondered how hard the storm hit the region, if they were all recovering from a cyclone, would they even be looking for a small random charter flight.

As hope of quick rescue faded, tempers began to flare, after a few weeks fights broke out mainly focused on food and the women. There was a lot of tension surrounding Lena the stunning stewardess, but all the women were attracting a lot of male attention. It didn't help that their clothes got more and more threadbare, exposing quite a lot of flesh.

Margaret discussed her concerns with Helen and Mary, she was subtly enquiring if any of them would be willing to offer comfort to the younger guys, their testosterone was clearly in overdrive.

"That is ridiculous; they are half our age and we are married!"

"Look around, there is no one their age here except Lena 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 weeks 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. I am worried about what might happen if they get desperate, it's not like we can call the police, and this is about survival!"

Margaret stood before the group several days later with the other three women, "I've talked to everyone in the camp, you all understand how precarious our situation is. You have admitted to being frustrated and angry, we can't ask you not to be attracted to the opposite sex and you have no opportunity to do what comes naturally at present. We need to accept this is a different and emergency situation; the usual expectations and boundaries no longer apply in this setting. We have a different type of community where we agreed everything is shared and we care for all of us as a group."