Adrift

Icy winds slashed at his face like needles. His breath came out in short bursts. Daniel looked around aimlessly trying to get his bearings on the beach. He couldn’t tell how big this island was, or if there was any way for him to get food or shelter.

The two things he did know were that he was completely and utterly alone and that all he had with him was an inflatable life raft.

It was like waking up inside a nightmare.

How could they do this to him?

Daniel’s feet felt like lead weights as he trudged through the damp sand, battling the force of the storm. His hands were turning purple, red, and white from grasping the life boat rope with all of his strength as he lugged it behind him.

He blinked through the watery haze, just making out the group of palm trees in the distance. There had to be some way to make a shelter with the life boat.

The events of the last twenty-four hours were a blur. He couldn’t make sense of it. The last thing he remembered was that he was on a yacht with his friends, getting drunk and celebrating his upcoming wedding.

Surely, they hadn’t left him here on purpose?

His friends would be looking for him right now… right?

They’d find him. They had to.

In a few hours, he’d be back on the yacht. Laughing along with them.


Daniel wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he managed to get the inflatable boat tied between two sturdy palm trees. The rain had let up a little bit, but not enough to feel completely soaked through to the bone.

Not to mention it completely ruined his best suit.

Another reason for Darcie to go on a rampage. This was her favourite suit of his.

Daniel rummaged through his jacket pockets, a flash of panic that his phone had been damaged by the rain or the sea.

The screen flashed into life.

His lock screen looked normal.

He let out a relieved breath and looked through his messages. But of course… no signal… no way to communicate.

He tapped on the photos and saw a whole load of new ones from the stag do last night.

At first, he felt hope, but that soon turned into rage as he saw the evidence of his closest friend’s stupidity.

Whose bloody idea was it to do that?

More to the point, whose idea was it to hire the damn yacht in the first place?

From the looks of it his best mates thought it would be hilarious to put him in an inflatable boat, whilst drunk out of his mind, and let him float away aimlessly from the yacht they were on.

Daniel glared at the stupid grins on his friend’s faces. They were all posing like goofballs at the edge of the boat, and there he was, passed out, splayed out, on the inflatable life raft, floating a few meters away, with only a rope to connect him to the yacht.

Had the rope snapped, or unravelled?

He zoomed in on two of the photos that were in focus, but Travis, his best man, was blocking the ropes’ view. He had no idea how it was tied.

There was a deep ache forming in his stomach.

What if they hadn’t realised he was missing yet? He could be stuck here for days.

Daniel let out an almighty roar against the rain hitting his makeshift shelter. The sound engulfed his cries as if they were nothing.

He should’ve trusted his instincts when he saw what they had planned for his stag do. The seven of them spending three days on a yacht was never going to end well.

He dropped his phone on the ground. His head in his hands.

No one was going to find him.

He was a dead man.

Daniel was supposed to get married in two weeks’ time. What was Darcie going to think if he didn’t turn up?

She was going to go nuclear.

~

A loud bird cry jolted Daniel awake. He scanned around him in a panic. The sun was seeping through the makeshift shelter, illuminating the fabric in an orange glow.

He peered his head out.

It looked like paradise.

He got to his feet and walked towards the untouched beach. Hands on his hips, he stared at the clear blue ocean.

For a moment, the panic of yesterday felt far away.

This could almost pass off as serene.

If only he didn’t fear for his life, his sanity, or losing a bit of humanity. What if he was stuck here for weeks on end? Would he end up becoming a savage? Or a caveman?

Would he ever see another human being again?

He plonked himself on the soft sand and reached for his phone in his trouser pocket. There had to be a way for someone to find him through this thing. Some of his close friends and family were all linked together on ‘find my phone’, maybe Travis or Darcie would be able to find him somehow?

Daniel sighed, knowing it was a lost cause.

The battery was still at eighty percent. If he was careful, it might last another couple of days. Three at a stretch. Along with being in a ‘no signal’ area… he was screwed.

This was where survival skills would’ve come in handy. But like most of his friends, growing up, Daniel wasn’t into scouts, camping, or nature in general, so this was going to be another hurdle to get over.

The list was piling up.

Daniel had one last look at the photos on the screen, before he had to leave it alone.

He scrolled up a bit, wanting to see Darcie’s face one last time, when he noticed there were two videos recorded from the yacht.

He brought the screen closer to his face.

There was drunken laughter and jeers, the camera slightly shaky, a view of two of the guys carrying Daniel along to the end of the yacht.

“This is a bad idea…” Travis sounded concerned.

“Don’t be such a spoil sport!” the voice of the person holding the camera yelled. “It’ll only be for a few minutes.”

The footage abruptly cut off.

The next video was of the boys trying to get into frame together. They were all laughing their heads off, while Daniel was unconscious in the inflatable boat. They clearly thought this was the funniest thing in the world.

Daniel rolled his eyes as he watched.

That’s it. His friends were complete idiots.

Wait… hold up.

What was that?

Daniel replayed the last few seconds and zoomed in.

Travis was the only one not laughing. In fact, he looked thoughtful and distant.

Daniel had known Travis since college, and he had never seen that look on his face before.

Was Travis worried that something bad might happen? Or was it regret? Maybe he didn’t want to hire the yacht either?

Daniel went back through the photos of last night. There was something bothering Travis.

It was odd.

In every photo, his smile looked fake and didn’t reach his eyes. He also stayed close to the rope while the other bozos moved around making different poses and faces.

Would Travis be the only one clear-minded enough to notice he was missing?

Would he be awake now?

The time on his phone said 5:45am. It was unlikely they would’ve noticed yet.

The reality was beginning to sink in…

Daniel was going to be here for a minimum of three days…

Crap.