"How much farther?" she asked, wanting to break the silence. She had no idea how long they had been walking, but she was growing exhausted, her feet were starting to hurt, and she was hungry.
He suddenly stopped, looking around at the palm trees. She looked around, seeing they were laden with coconuts, and she was suddenly thirsty. When was the last time she had fluid?
"We’re close," he said, not looking back at her. She followed, but her feet felt like they were encased in concrete.
The trees started to change. Leaves were larger, and trunks were getting wider. Gripp stopped deeper into the trees, a bright smile on his face.
She searched the area, wondering what she was missing. Hidden among the canopy was what she could only guess was a structure. It was half hidden, and she didn't see a way up.
"What's that?" she asked, wondering why he was smiling at it.
"This is where we are going to stay." He took several more steps toward it, beaming.
She raised an eyebrow. "How? And how do you know it's empty?"
He rolled his shoulders, standing directly underneath it.
"It's an abandoned watch tower. They used it to catch incoming boats. It's built right into the tree, so you can't really see it. The leaves grew out enough to hide the building even more.”
He circled the tree trunk and knocked his fist on it a few times. "It's probably been abandoned for years. My guess is the mine operators have no idea this is here. It will be the perfect spot for us to rest."
"That all sounds great and everything, but it's up in a tree." She stopped next to him, wishing for a ladder. "How are we going to get up there?"
He tilted his head, giving her a smirk. "I would say it was shocking that the spoiled government kid wasn't allowed to do anything fun but didn’t you jump on me from a tree earlier?"
She scowled, crossing her arms. "Don't call me that. And yes, I've climbed a tree. I just figured there was another way up. Did they honestly just expect everyone to climb?"
He shook his head, interlocking his fingers, and offered his hands. "I'll give you a boost up."
She suddenly wanted to prove herself to him. She hated that he thought she was spoiled. He had no idea who she was.
Gripp joined his hands to make a step for her to put her foot in. When he launched her straight up, she let out a small squeak. He said a boost, not a blast into space. She was halfway up the trunk when she grabbed on.
Gripp climbed behind her, doing everything with lightning speed. She popped the trap door open and shimmied herself into the building.
She looked around. The space was empty, except for a small bed in the corner and a little rock circle for a small fire. The dust had settled everywhere, indicating it had been abandoned for a long time.
April pulled herself all the way inside and checked out the windows. They had a view of the entire beach, which would be useful if someone came at them from any angle.
Gripp popped up and slammed the trap door shut behind him. He sighed, and she turned to see he was holding several coconuts.
"The floor looks solid," he said, tossing the coconuts onto the floor. "And it's big enough for both of us to sleep." He rolled his neck before he turned to her. "And what are you, part monkey? I've never seen someone climb a tree that fast."
"That's what you get for calling me spoiled," she said, seating herself on the ground. "And I can only wish. It would be nice to be able to shift into a monkey. Would come in handy more often than you'd think."
"Really? How so?" He sat next to her, stretching his legs out.
She gave him a smile. "I could throw poop at the bad guys, and it wouldn't be considered weird. It would just be a trait of my other half."
He laughed, shaking his head. He cracked a coconut open, handing it to her. "All right, spider monkey, drink this."
She happily took the coconut. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until she finished it, wanting another.
They drained the coconuts, and Gripp handed her granola bars before he told her to sleep on the cot. He was going to keep an eye out and catch a little sleep when he could. He wanted to make sure no one found them while they were resting.
"All right, try to get some sleep," she said.
She crawled onto the cot and tried to turn her mind off. It was hard, but she focused on the positive. When she got out of this, she could show the entire world what was going on, and that was a huge step in the right direction. She could help those kids, but to do so, she needed to get herself to safety. That was her task, surviving.