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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
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She growled as she struggled to work the lighter, but after the umpteenth time of flicking it with a now sore thumb, she tossed it angrily into the fire. “Dammit,” she cursed. “It just keeps getting better!”
Sydney looked at her from where he sat in the sand beside her, offering, “Miss Parker, it is just a lighter.”
“It was my favorite,” she snapped, looking at him with heated eyes. “And I bet Jarod knew that.”
“I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose. He had to build a large enough fire to—”
“Oh, spare me, Freud,” she sighed. She scooted closer to the fire and reached for a stick, pulling it out of the flames and putting her cigarette to its blazing tip. Replacing the branch back in the fire, she returned to her spot next to Sydney and happily puffed away.
Sydney frowned at her for a moment, before he turned his eyes back to the water’s rolling waves. “I thought you were going to quit.”
“Bad habits die hard,” Parker murmured, tilting her head back and exhaling a puff of smoke. “Jarod’s proof of that.”
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him. He has helped us more times than any of us would like to admit.”
“I’m hard on him because I despise him,” Parker seethed. “He may have helped me find answers, but he’s ruined more shoes than I can count, gave me an ulcer, disrupts my sleeping patterns, and dangles my mother in front of me like a carrot on a string.”
“Parker—”
“Don’t defend him, Syd,” she interrupted.
She got up and brushed the sand off her clothes, and then stomped toward the water, leaving the older man to watch her leave with a frown.
“She was such a happy girl,” he mumbled to himself.
---
They ran through the underbrush, dodging trees and stumps in their haste to reach the water’s edge. Excitement and anxiety would not let them slow down until they finally reached the beach on the other side of the island and both men broke through the woods waving their arms wildly.
“Hey! Over here!” they both shouted in union.
As the boat neared closer, Jarod blinked and slowly lowered his arms. It was a large, brown fishing boat that looked a few decades old, with two tall spoke stacks and a flag flapping from the ropes. For a moment, he just stood there as Broots continued to shout for their attention.
“They are coming!” Broots laughed. “We’re saved!”
“Broots …” Jarod said, raising a hand toward the other man.
“Help!” the man shouted. “Over here!”
“Broots,” Jarod said more firmly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. “Broots, I don’t think we want their help.”
“What?” Broots asked, looking at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Jarod looked pointedly at the boat and Broots turned his head to follow his line of sight, for the first time spotting the flag that flapped above its mast. Broots sucked in a breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Broots mumbled.
“C’mon!” Jarod shouted, tugging him back toward the trees.
“You’ve REALLY got to be kidding me!” Broots said again, near hysteria, as he allowed himself to be pulled to cover.
Once hidden, they peered out behind the trees and watched as the boat got closer and closer, now able to make out the two men on the deck with large automatic weapons.
“Pirates?” Broots exclaimed. “This is the freaking twenty-first century! There are no pirates!”
“Pirates aren’t all peg-legs and parrots, Mr. Broots,” Jarod hissed.
“Maybe they will agree to take us back to the main land,” the tech suggested, turning his head to look at the pretender. “Maybe they’re nice pirates.”
“Yes, and those guns are just to ward off the naughty ones,” Jarod said sarcastically. “Think about it, Broots. If you have a boat full of possibly stolen goods and illegal weapons, would you take four stranded idiots back to civilization?”
“I … er …” Broots began. He gulped and answered, “Maybe.”
“Right,” Jarod snapped. Jarod turned his head and watched as the boat slowed and dropped its anchor. “Shit, they’re coming to land.”
Broots gaped wide-eyed for a moment, his breath quickening as his pulse sped up. He licked his lips and whispered, “Do you think they spotted us?”
Around them, the vegetation suddenly popped and exploded with spraying bullets, and both men ducked in surprise, Broots letting out a surprised squeak.
“Does that answer your question?” Jarod replied hastily, as he wheeled around. “Broots, run!”
“What?” Broots barked, spinning and taking off after the fleeing man. More bullets followed them and Broots let out a surprised shout as the shots echoed throughout the island.
---
Sydney looked up in surprise and met the eyes of Miss Parker from the water’s edge.
“Was that gunfire?” she asked.
The psychiatrist slowly stood up and turned toward the island, straining his ears to hear. Shortly after, they heard more.
“We’re not alone.”
---
“Jarod!” Broots shouted. “Wait up!”
Jarod jumped over a log and looked over his shoulder briefly, catching sight of the stumbling tech. He slowed his pace a little and ducked behind a tree, pulling Broots with him as he passed. Sliding to the forest floor, both men huddled together, struggling to catch their breath.
Broots opened his mouth to speak, but Jarod hushed him.
They waited for what seemed like forever, struggling to hear any sound that would clue them in on where their pursuers were. After a long moment of silence, Jarod turned his head and looked at the cowering man beside him.
“Let’s split up,” Jarod whispered.
Broots face paled. “What?”
“I will try to lead them around this area. I want you to head back to where Sydney and Parker are. You need to warn them.”
“I … I can’t do that.”
“Broots, you have to.”
“I … don’t know. I run like a girl and I’m as quiet as an elephant with bells on. I have no coordination and …”
“Broots,” Jarod snapped, interrupting his nervous rant. “You HAVE to do this.”
“W-what do I do when I get to them?”
“Tell them to stay hidden,” Jarod replied. He shot a look around, checking their surroundings, before he continued, “I will meet up with you once I lose them.”
“O … kay,” Broots mumbled.
“Wait a little while before getting up,” Jarod whispered. “And be careful!”
Broots nodded numbly and watched as the pretender sprang up to his feet and darted off in the direction they came from. He waited, listening to Jarod’s fading footsteps before he slowly pushed himself to his own feet. He was about to take off when he froze, hearing a loud CRACK sound, followed by a pained shout.
Broots gasped and spun his head around. “Jarod,” he whispered.
---
Sydney and Parker stared at the trees, both unconsciously holding their breaths as they waited for any indication that they hadn’t imagined it all. After a moment, Sydney took a step forward, but was quickly stopped by Parker’s hand on his arm.
“Where are you going?”
Sydney looked at her, his face grim. “Someone is shooting! Jarod and Broots could be in trouble.”
“Sydney, where do you think Jarod and Broots will be running to? We can’t just leave here.” She shot the burning pile of wood a quick look, adding, “And what about the fire?”
“Parker, there’s gunfire!”
“Yes, and what do you suggest we fight them with? I only have four shots in a rusted gun and you have your psychoanalytical abilities.” Parker took a breath and then looked around. “We’ll need a plan.”
---
Jarod wasn’t sure what had hit him, but he suddenly found himself sprawled across the ground, looking up at a man with an automatic rifle. His face was leathered from the sun and dark hair grew wildly out from behind his head and from his jaw. A yellowed smile split his face as he raised the gun, aiming it straight at Jarod’s chest.
“Get up.”
Keeping eye contact with the gun-yielding man, Jarod slowly pushed himself to his feet and put his hands up in surrender. For a moment, the man just studied him before he asked, “What are you doing here?”
The back of Jarod’s head began to pulse and he felt a little faint from the hit, but Jarod struggled to ignore it. “My plane crashed,” Jarod finally answered.
“Where’s the other one?”
Jarod willed his face to remain like stone. “What other one?”
The man jerked his gun at him, gritting his teeth. “Don’t you lie! Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where?!” he shouted angrily.
“Here!” Broots said from behind him. The man turned just in time to see the thick branch swinging at his face, cracking him in the nose. He hit the ground like a bag of bricks, bleeding and groaning.
“Whoa!” Broots laughed, looking up at Jarod with pride. “Did you see that?”
“Broots!” Jarod shouted, pointing at the still conscious man. “Hit him again!”
“Oh!” Broots said, snapping out of it. Gripping the branch with both hands, Broots swung down on the man several times, before the man sank into unconsciousness with a final groan.
Straightening back up, Broots wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and gave a nervous laugh. “I’m a badass.”
Jarod crooked an eyebrow.
---
Parker kept her gun at her side and pushed through the vegetation, her blue eyes searching the area. Sydney followed close behind, gripping the branch with both hands. After a moment, Sydney grabbed her arm and they both stopped.
“What?” Parker snapped.
“Someone is coming,” Sydney whispered.
Parker held her breath, listening to the footsteps of one person. They were faint, but were quickly approaching, and she ducked behind a tree, dragging Sydney with her. She pressed her back against the bark and gave Sydney a sideways look, seeing that he was holding the stick up at his shoulders and was looking rather awkward. Tucking her gun in her skirt, she took the branch from him with a quick jerk.
She waited for just the right moment before she stepped out from behind the tree and swung. She hit the man in the face, knocking him backward with a loud thud.
“Ouch!”
“Broots!” Parker gasped, looking down at him. “What the hell?”
Broots sat up and pressed his hand to his face. “You hit me!”
“Well, yeah!” she barked, reaching down and hauling him up to his feet. “Running around like idiot will get you hit!” She looked around, before pinning the man with her eyes. “What the hell is going on? And where’s Jarod?”
Broots just stared at her.
---
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She growled as she struggled to work the lighter, but after the umpteenth time of flicking it with a now sore thumb, she tossed it angrily into the fire. “Dammit,” she cursed. “It just keeps getting better!”
Sydney looked at her from where he sat in the sand beside her, offering, “Miss Parker, it is just a lighter.”
“It was my favorite,” she snapped, looking at him with heated eyes. “And I bet Jarod knew that.”
“I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose. He had to build a large enough fire to—”
“Oh, spare me, Freud,” she sighed. She scooted closer to the fire and reached for a stick, pulling it out of the flames and putting her cigarette to its blazing tip. Replacing the branch back in the fire, she returned to her spot next to Sydney and happily puffed away.
Sydney frowned at her for a moment, before he turned his eyes back to the water’s rolling waves. “I thought you were going to quit.”
“Bad habits die hard,” Parker murmured, tilting her head back and exhaling a puff of smoke. “Jarod’s proof of that.”
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him. He has helped us more times than any of us would like to admit.”
“I’m hard on him because I despise him,” Parker seethed. “He may have helped me find answers, but he’s ruined more shoes than I can count, gave me an ulcer, disrupts my sleeping patterns, and dangles my mother in front of me like a carrot on a string.”
“Parker—”
“Don’t defend him, Syd,” she interrupted.
She got up and brushed the sand off her clothes, and then stomped toward the water, leaving the older man to watch her leave with a frown.
“She was such a happy girl,” he mumbled to himself.
---
They ran through the underbrush, dodging trees and stumps in their haste to reach the water’s edge. Excitement and anxiety would not let them slow down until they finally reached the beach on the other side of the island and both men broke through the woods waving their arms wildly.
“Hey! Over here!” they both shouted in union.
As the boat neared closer, Jarod blinked and slowly lowered his arms. It was a large, brown fishing boat that looked a few decades old, with two tall spoke stacks and a flag flapping from the ropes. For a moment, he just stood there as Broots continued to shout for their attention.
“They are coming!” Broots laughed. “We’re saved!”
“Broots …” Jarod said, raising a hand toward the other man.
“Help!” the man shouted. “Over here!”
“Broots,” Jarod said more firmly, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. “Broots, I don’t think we want their help.”
“What?” Broots asked, looking at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Jarod looked pointedly at the boat and Broots turned his head to follow his line of sight, for the first time spotting the flag that flapped above its mast. Broots sucked in a breath.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Broots mumbled.
“C’mon!” Jarod shouted, tugging him back toward the trees.
“You’ve REALLY got to be kidding me!” Broots said again, near hysteria, as he allowed himself to be pulled to cover.
Once hidden, they peered out behind the trees and watched as the boat got closer and closer, now able to make out the two men on the deck with large automatic weapons.
“Pirates?” Broots exclaimed. “This is the freaking twenty-first century! There are no pirates!”
“Pirates aren’t all peg-legs and parrots, Mr. Broots,” Jarod hissed.
“Maybe they will agree to take us back to the main land,” the tech suggested, turning his head to look at the pretender. “Maybe they’re nice pirates.”
“Yes, and those guns are just to ward off the naughty ones,” Jarod said sarcastically. “Think about it, Broots. If you have a boat full of possibly stolen goods and illegal weapons, would you take four stranded idiots back to civilization?”
“I … er …” Broots began. He gulped and answered, “Maybe.”
“Right,” Jarod snapped. Jarod turned his head and watched as the boat slowed and dropped its anchor. “Shit, they’re coming to land.”
Broots gaped wide-eyed for a moment, his breath quickening as his pulse sped up. He licked his lips and whispered, “Do you think they spotted us?”
Around them, the vegetation suddenly popped and exploded with spraying bullets, and both men ducked in surprise, Broots letting out a surprised squeak.
“Does that answer your question?” Jarod replied hastily, as he wheeled around. “Broots, run!”
“What?” Broots barked, spinning and taking off after the fleeing man. More bullets followed them and Broots let out a surprised shout as the shots echoed throughout the island.
---
Sydney looked up in surprise and met the eyes of Miss Parker from the water’s edge.
“Was that gunfire?” she asked.
The psychiatrist slowly stood up and turned toward the island, straining his ears to hear. Shortly after, they heard more.
“We’re not alone.”
---
“Jarod!” Broots shouted. “Wait up!”
Jarod jumped over a log and looked over his shoulder briefly, catching sight of the stumbling tech. He slowed his pace a little and ducked behind a tree, pulling Broots with him as he passed. Sliding to the forest floor, both men huddled together, struggling to catch their breath.
Broots opened his mouth to speak, but Jarod hushed him.
They waited for what seemed like forever, struggling to hear any sound that would clue them in on where their pursuers were. After a long moment of silence, Jarod turned his head and looked at the cowering man beside him.
“Let’s split up,” Jarod whispered.
Broots face paled. “What?”
“I will try to lead them around this area. I want you to head back to where Sydney and Parker are. You need to warn them.”
“I … I can’t do that.”
“Broots, you have to.”
“I … don’t know. I run like a girl and I’m as quiet as an elephant with bells on. I have no coordination and …”
“Broots,” Jarod snapped, interrupting his nervous rant. “You HAVE to do this.”
“W-what do I do when I get to them?”
“Tell them to stay hidden,” Jarod replied. He shot a look around, checking their surroundings, before he continued, “I will meet up with you once I lose them.”
“O … kay,” Broots mumbled.
“Wait a little while before getting up,” Jarod whispered. “And be careful!”
Broots nodded numbly and watched as the pretender sprang up to his feet and darted off in the direction they came from. He waited, listening to Jarod’s fading footsteps before he slowly pushed himself to his own feet. He was about to take off when he froze, hearing a loud CRACK sound, followed by a pained shout.
Broots gasped and spun his head around. “Jarod,” he whispered.
---
Sydney and Parker stared at the trees, both unconsciously holding their breaths as they waited for any indication that they hadn’t imagined it all. After a moment, Sydney took a step forward, but was quickly stopped by Parker’s hand on his arm.
“Where are you going?”
Sydney looked at her, his face grim. “Someone is shooting! Jarod and Broots could be in trouble.”
“Sydney, where do you think Jarod and Broots will be running to? We can’t just leave here.” She shot the burning pile of wood a quick look, adding, “And what about the fire?”
“Parker, there’s gunfire!”
“Yes, and what do you suggest we fight them with? I only have four shots in a rusted gun and you have your psychoanalytical abilities.” Parker took a breath and then looked around. “We’ll need a plan.”
---
Jarod wasn’t sure what had hit him, but he suddenly found himself sprawled across the ground, looking up at a man with an automatic rifle. His face was leathered from the sun and dark hair grew wildly out from behind his head and from his jaw. A yellowed smile split his face as he raised the gun, aiming it straight at Jarod’s chest.
“Get up.”
Keeping eye contact with the gun-yielding man, Jarod slowly pushed himself to his feet and put his hands up in surrender. For a moment, the man just studied him before he asked, “What are you doing here?”
The back of Jarod’s head began to pulse and he felt a little faint from the hit, but Jarod struggled to ignore it. “My plane crashed,” Jarod finally answered.
“Where’s the other one?”
Jarod willed his face to remain like stone. “What other one?”
The man jerked his gun at him, gritting his teeth. “Don’t you lie! Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where?!” he shouted angrily.
“Here!” Broots said from behind him. The man turned just in time to see the thick branch swinging at his face, cracking him in the nose. He hit the ground like a bag of bricks, bleeding and groaning.
“Whoa!” Broots laughed, looking up at Jarod with pride. “Did you see that?”
“Broots!” Jarod shouted, pointing at the still conscious man. “Hit him again!”
“Oh!” Broots said, snapping out of it. Gripping the branch with both hands, Broots swung down on the man several times, before the man sank into unconsciousness with a final groan.
Straightening back up, Broots wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and gave a nervous laugh. “I’m a badass.”
Jarod crooked an eyebrow.
---
Parker kept her gun at her side and pushed through the vegetation, her blue eyes searching the area. Sydney followed close behind, gripping the branch with both hands. After a moment, Sydney grabbed her arm and they both stopped.
“What?” Parker snapped.
“Someone is coming,” Sydney whispered.
Parker held her breath, listening to the footsteps of one person. They were faint, but were quickly approaching, and she ducked behind a tree, dragging Sydney with her. She pressed her back against the bark and gave Sydney a sideways look, seeing that he was holding the stick up at his shoulders and was looking rather awkward. Tucking her gun in her skirt, she took the branch from him with a quick jerk.
She waited for just the right moment before she stepped out from behind the tree and swung. She hit the man in the face, knocking him backward with a loud thud.
“Ouch!”
“Broots!” Parker gasped, looking down at him. “What the hell?”
Broots sat up and pressed his hand to his face. “You hit me!”
“Well, yeah!” she barked, reaching down and hauling him up to his feet. “Running around like idiot will get you hit!” She looked around, before pinning the man with her eyes. “What the hell is going on? And where’s Jarod?”
Broots just stared at her.
---
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