Chapter 10-A Farewell and A Fray

A few hours later we were still riding along the calm blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. We had traveled along the edge of St. Lucia and then we gradually lost site of it and we were completely surrounded by blue. It was a bit unnerving, at least for me. If we were to crash somewhere out here, we wouldn't even know which direction to go for land. More than likely we wouldn't be able to reach it even if we randomly picked the right direction. We had a good time on board though, even Kyle. He must have decided that we were pretty much finished if being here turned out not to be in our best interest. So, he decided to enjoy himself. He had spent most of the ride talking with the skipper and helping sail the boat. It was something that he and his parents did together a lot.

Occasionally, Mitch would interrupt them. "Have you gotten us lost?" he asked.

"No, no. It is a long way to St. Vincent," assured Joseph. "We should be there in no time. You see?"

"See what?" asked Mitch in true confusion.

"Never mind," said the Joseph-skipper.

"Joseph?" I directed at my Joseph but both he and the skipper turned to me. Boy do I hate it when two people by the same name are in a small area. I smiled and the skipper but indicated the other Joseph and he grinned and turned back to watching our course.

"Yep?" he asked. I had noticed his face was a little green. He wasn't the only one though. Both Brad and Morgan had gotten sick as well. Though Morgan seemed to be carrying his illness a bit far.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I sometimes get sick. Sometimes I don't. Besides, it isn't too bad. I think I may sit up front, I think the fresh air will help me."

"I'll come with, it should be interesting up there," I said. He smiled weakly and we crawled our way up to the bow of the ship. Once we were there we dangled our feet over the edge.

"Yes, that's much better," he said. I could tell he wasn't lying because his voice and face were already relieved. It made me feel better to know that he was. I started to lean toward him but shied away. He noticed my action though and put one of his strong arms around my shoulders.

"You know," I ventured. "We always seem to smile and lean against each other but we rarely talk to each other." He chuckled. His face lit up magnificently when he did that.

"Well," he said. "What would you like to talk about?"

"I guess," I said, my throat dry. "I'd like to admit that I…really like you a lot and I'm glad you came with us."

"The feeling's mutual," he said softly, his dark eyes searching for mine. "I'm glad I came too."

We just stared at each other for who-knows-how-long. Neither of us knew what to say or seemed to want to speak. I broke the silence. "What a fine bunch we are," I said with a slight nervous chuckle. "Two of a quiet-kind, which doesn't help with our talking-" Suddenly he interrupted me by putting his lips up against mine. I was shocked and I gasped a bit but then I leaned into the kiss as well. It seemed so natural. Any awkwardness I could have felt just melted away. Not so natural to mean that it was not a thrill. Neither of us wanted to pull away but we were forced to by Mitch.

"Hey you love birds!" he called. "Land-ho!" We managed to lean away gracefully but quickly. Sure enough, the shape of a large island could be spotted in the distance.

"Please tell me that's St. Vincent," I heard Kat say. She had also gotten a little sick earlier.

"Yep, that it is," said the skipper.

We were soon in the harbor and the boat was swamped with "Boat Boys" the moment we dropped anchor. They come out in their little dingies and canoes to try to sell you goods and services. I heard they could be quite persistent and decided to get to shore as soon as possible because I'm not good at dealing with persistent sales people. The five of us got our backpacks and brought them to shore. We knew it was time to part and it would be hard to say good-bye.

"Well," said Kat. "I guess its time for us to get on our way. I'm sure we all can't thank you enough for everything you've done."

"Oh it was no trouble," said Terry. "It was nice having you along."

"Where abouts do you all live?" asked Trisha.

"Washington," we all said together. "State, not DC," added Kyle.

"Really? We are too!" Trisha replied. We exchanged the specific towns we would all be in. Joseph, Kat, and I had to add that we would be in different states.

"Oh that's a shame," said John. "Well, if you're ever in the area, look us up. Maybe we'll see you again sometime down here."

"Yeah, maybe," said Mitch to them, though he was looking at Lindsay.

We all exchanged hugs and then with a final wave, we were off. After we had walked a ways, we had gotten over our respective sadness and began talking it up. All except Mitch, who remained quiet. Soon, a man approached us and asked if we would like to visit a nearby waterfall.

"Its great for swimming," he said. "And I'll take you there for a small price." We had a few hours of daylight left so we decided it would be a great way to spend the evening. We bought some sandwich materials and chips from a small store so that we could have dinner near it.

I noticed Mitch staring at a group of people who were speaking in the local tongue. He looked perplexed and then saw me staring at him. "I can't figure out which language they're speaking," he said in frustration. "Some of the words sound Spanish, others French, and there's even a few English words tossed in."

"Its called Patois," said our guide. "And yes, it has words from all those languages, plus native as well. It's a nice blend." Mitch shook his head and followed us as we started up the dusty road for the waterfall.

It was all the guide had promised. It stood nestled in a small clearing and the waters were crystal clear and inviting. None of us wasted anytime before changing into our suits, there was a small shack used for a dressing room, and jumping in. I made sure to pay the man and assured him we would be okay returning to the town. He smiled and made his way through the trees and back onto the road. The water was surprisingly cold but refreshing. Soon the guys figured out that if you went behind the waterfall, you could jump into it and it would shoot you out the other side. I tried it as well. Despite my phobia of being under water, it was great fun and we were soon pushing each other aside for turns. It was probably the cheeriest any of us had been for awhile. We even started up the riding wars. Which was where Kat and I would ride on the shoulders of the guys and push at each other until one of us fell in. Then Mitch and Kyle began to wrestle as they always did. Joseph would occasionally jump in but they mostly seemed intent on drowning each other and no one else.

When we had finished swimming, we grabbed our packs and pushed through the forest until we broke out into the road. Then we went over to a field that was on the other side of the road and ate our dinner, taking advantage of some of the last sunlight. The trip back was a seemingly quiet, but peaceful one.

We did discuss where to stay. "After last night," said Kyle. "We should stay in the dirtiest, most rat-infested place we can find."

Kat shoved him. "Rustic but not unsanitary," she said with a grin. "What do you want to do? Get us so sick we can't go on?"

He chuckled. "Just pushing your buttons," he said, shoving her back. "But we really should stay in some place with, character."

"Oh no," said Mitch. "Not the "C" word! Character equals the other "C" word, creepy." We all put in what we felt would be good until suddenly we noticed a group of guys following us. Some were a little older than we were, some were a little younger, but they were all around our age. Each of them carried a machete that they carried as though it wasn't for vines. Many of the eyes were focused on Kat and I, though they occasionally swept over the whole group. "Hey!" said Mitch. "Do you have a problem?" They paused for a moment then all laughed and the one in the front said something to the rest of them in Patois.

"Come on," I said to the Mitch. "Let's just go." He seemed angry at letting it go but started walking when the rest of us did. I looked back and saw that they were still following us. The guy who had spoken before, who I decided was probably the leader, had his eyes fixed on me. I couldn't deny that, especially to myself, that this frightened me and I moved a little closer to Joseph. Who simultaneously put an arm around me and glared back at the leader. A wide grin spread on the man's face. After we had walked this way for a bit Mitch stopped again.

"I can't stand this!" he shouted. He turned back to them. "What do you guys want?" They didn't do anything for a moment but then at a single word from the leader they rushed toward us. Everything seemed to happen quickly, Joseph shoved me behind him but stood his ground. Then Kat grabbed me and we started running down the road.

"No!" I shouted at her but her grip was tight and though my mind wanted to go back, my feet wanted to run. "Please Kat, we can't leave them!"

"If they're smart," she said. "They started running as well. They should catch up in no time."

I forced her to stop. "What if they didn't though?" I said. "What if we go back there and they're dead. Or worse yet those guys with the roaming eyes come back and take us to wear they're dead. I'm going back. You can run on if you like." She looked at me desperately. She was truly frightened. I was a fairly good fighter but she spent all her time in the studio and didn't have a clue how to defend herself. I didn't change my decision though. "Come on," I said. "Stay behind me." She looked down the road toward town but then positioned herself behind me and we crept back. When we reached the spot where the fray had begun, it was empty. There were signs of a fight everywhere. Barely anything but the absence of our friends registered very much in my mind though. Kat noticed it as well.

"Kyle! Mitch!" she shouted. She seemed on the verge of tears and her voice was pained.

"Joseph!" I shouted. I know my own voice was strained from fear. The only sounds that greeted us in the early night were the chirping of birds and faint shouting, in Patois.