Status: Work in progress

The Puppeteer

Chapter One: The posse

Jackson blinked sand out of his eyes as he slowly opened them and then quickly closed them as the afternoon sun blinded him. He rolled over and pushed himself up from the sandy floor. As he got up he started to take in his surroundings. He was on a long beach, it stretched out as far as he could see before it turned a bend. On the other side of him were rocky cliff faces, they were clay-red in colour with white stripes running through, perhaps quarts he thought. He had finally risen up to his full height. He gazed out to the sparkling sea. He turned away and gazed up behind him. The beach converted into brush after about seventy meters and then into trees. Small trees at first but they grew systematically taller as they progressed further up the shore. He marveled at the symmetry of the picture in front of him but he had more important things To think about. His pondering was cut short though by a voice to his right.
“Hello” it called.
He turned to look at the source of the voice and watched the way the boy carried himself, It was powerful and purposeful.
“ what's your name” asked the boy “ myne is Daniel.
“Jackson”
He replied as he held out his hand to be shook. Daniel Closed the short distance that was now between them and shook Jackson's hand. Jackson noted Daniels firm grip and deducted that despite not being much taller than him he was far stronger.”From what i recall i was on a ship, travelling from cape town to portugal: stated Jackson.
“Cape Town” questioned Daniel,
“South Africa” replied Jackson.
“So your south African then”
“Yes”
“I was on a plane, Sydney to Madrid”
Madrid was the capital of Spain, This new information was interesting to Jackson.. Their travel routes would have come close to intercepting at one point, so he assumed that they both must have wrecked around the same point. It was incredibly unlikely that they were the only survivors. He gazed up at the sun , it was still high in the sky but he knew that night would pounce upon them faster than a cat on a mouse.He bent down and ran some of the sand through his hand. It was fine and flowed through his fingers easily. The sea did not look particularly rough to him but if it had beat the sand this fine it must have been at some point. They would have to look for shelter further inland, he did not know where they were, but he knew that the tide must come up high by the telltale incline of the beach from where the tide had washed away the sand as it pulled back.He slowly started trudging up the beach towards the shrubbery and signalled for Daniel to follow. As he progressed further inland he started to to get a better idea of the geometry of the island, if it even was a island it could very well be a cape or bay, perhaps off the coast of portugal or spain all the options were still open so he had to stay vigilant. Jackson watched as the birds chattered and flew around at the top of the far off trees. The shrubbery was thick and he soon realised it would take time and energy they did not have to get through it.
“Let's go around the left side” said Jackson “ I think we can climb over those rocks , it will take to long to break through this shrubby.
The two boys steered left, the going was much easier over the rocks as they both had shoes but it was still tough. Jackson stared up at the cliff face to his right, then down to the beach on his left, he was was wondering how long with path would continue along the contour of the cliff when his thoughts were once again interrupted.
“Look there” exclaimed Daniel in an excited voice. Jackson looked in the direction of Daniels pointed finger and what he saw confirmed his hopes, walking on the beach were five boys walking side by side.
“Oi you down there” shouted Daniel trying to get their attention.
One of the boys looked up and signalled to the other four, soon they were all staring up at the two boys.Jackson stared down at them, summing them up. They all appeared to be around the same age, in fact everyone he had met sofar including himself seemed to be of a similar age.Daniel started running down the rocky slope towards the kids.
“What are you waiting for” called daniel as he turned back to Jackson. Jackson left his thoughts for a moment and started making his way down the hill.
When Jackson finally picked his way down to the bottom of the incline Daniel and the other boys were deep in conversation.
“So what are your guys names” asked Daniel
“Sam” said one of the boys, He was the shortest of the five, he had long sandy hair, and thick arms and legs, he was not quite overweight but he was definitely larger than most. Sam seemed the most confident, he was standing closest to Daniel and had the most open posture. His accent sounded American
“Im Derek” said another. He had short, almost shaved black hair, His height was somewhere in between Jackson and Daniel, but what Jackson really found interesting about him were his eyes, they were a Dark violet with spots of green and hazel, something that Jackson had never seen and quite frankly didn't think was even possibly. Derek worried jackson, it was not just his eyes but his accent, no matter how hard he tried he could not place it. He let his doubts rest as the next boy introduced himself.
“Charles” said another boy. Charles had short brown hair, somehow it was still styled, his accent was very obviously british.
“So any of you guys have any idea what's happening here” asked Charles as he ran his hand through his hair.
“ I have some ideas ,but first what's your name” asked Jackson pointing the the fourth member of the group.
“Finn” stated the last boy, holding out his hand to be shook. Finn's hand was cold and his grip firm. Jackson took an immediate liking to Finn, there was something about his posture and his expression, it displayed both intelligence and friendliness.
“And what is your” started Jackson but he was cut short when he noticed that the fifth boy was gone.
“Where is the fifth?” asked Jackson. All the boys looked around.
“ Jerry? I have no idea where he has gotten to” announced Finn as he scanned the beach and cliffs.
“Jerry, Jerry” shouted Charles.
They scanned the cliffs and called Jerry's name for a minute or two before Jackson announced.
“As much as i want to find your friend, we have bigger problems, the sun will vanish soon and it will be cold, very cold, we need either fire, a shelter or both, i am Jackson bye the way” He quickly added. All the other boys stared at him first with a look of disbelief ,but then they realised he was right as they turned to look at the setting sun.
“I saw a cave further up the beach” suggested Derek
“How far from the water, the tide rises high here”
“Far enough” replied finn “come on this way”
Jackson gave one last glance up at the sun and then turned to follow the other boys.
The sand crunched under his feet as he walked. The cliffs on the beach had now turned into a gentle incline.There was something not right about this, how could the one boy ,Jerry his name had been, just disappear, it didn't make any sense. It sacred jackson, this feeling of not being able to understand something, it was completely new to him. Their guide started angling up towards the center of the island. Soon they were off the sand, The shrubbery here was not nearly as thick as the in the previous encounter but it still made the going tough.
“How much further” asked Sam “ my legs are full of cuts, i'm wearing shorts”
“Its right up here you see that rock” replied Derek “ the entrance is on the other side”
Jackson immediately noticed the flaw in this situation, how could he have seen the cave, from what he understood the boys had walked along the beach there was no way he could have seen the entrance to a cave facing away from the beach. He decided not to express his concerns, it was possible Derek had not been with the other group the entire time, but if he did have something to hide he didn't want Derek to know that he was onto him. They turned the corner around the Rock and sure enough there was the gaping entrance to a cave.
“Here we are” announced Derek gesturing to the entrance
“Nice” commented Finn as he bent under the entrance “ looks like there is plenty of space for all of us”
“Any chance one of you guys knows how to get a fire going” asked Daniel.
“I do” replied Derek, but i will need tinder and wood, Sam Charles and Daniel come with me”
“Oi Jackson want to go look for fruit i think there has to be some somewhere there” invited finn as he peered towards the groves of trees.
“Sure lead the way” replied Jackson
The two boys trudged down the hill back towards the beach, Jackson glanced back up at the sun, it was low in the sky now soon it would be dark but they would have time. Before they got to the beach they turned left. They stuck to the rocky ground between the sand and plants, their legs were already scratched more than enough, as they walked along the contour. Soon it was no longer a slope to their right but a rocky cliff. They took a moment to stop and look out to sea, it was still calm and they watched at the tiny waves lapped onto the shore. They started heading up towards the center of the island where the vegetation was more abundant. After pushing their way through overgrown shrubbery and bushes for almost twenty minutes they emerged, with plenty of scratches and cuts, into a clearing. It was surrounded on all sides by trees laden with a bright blue fruit.
“We have hit the jackpot alright” exclaimed finn with an excited grin on his face.
“Yes but how will we get it down” asked Jackson staring up at the fruit.
It was several meters of the ground. There were a number of pebbles of the ground among other clutter such as sticks and leaves. Finn picked up a pebble and threw it, his aim was perfect but the effect was not the desired one. The fruit exploded in a shower of blue juice and mushy pulp.
“What the hell kind of fruits are these” demanded Finn in surprise.
“ very ripe ones apparently” replied Jackson.
The trees formed a circular clearing, the light shone down through the leaves in shafts, in the center of the clearing was a rock, it was about double the height of Jackson. He scanned the surface of the rock for handholds, there was one just out of reach.
“Hey finn give me a hand here” ordered Jackson.
Finn walked over to the rock and intertwined his fingers together to make a step. Jackson, using the makeshift step managed to grab the handhold, from there he put his hand over the top and then managed to get a foothold to, from here he hauled himself up. When he got to the top he rolled over, he just lay there for a few seconds staring up at the canopy above and the shafts of light shining through, it was a breathtaking scene, but they were pressed for time. He pushed himself up and studied the branches, there was some fruit that he could reach from here, it was not a permanent solution but it would work for now. Jackson started picking fruit and dropping them down to Finn, who managed to catch most of them. When they were finished ,they both had their hands full which was extremely impractical, Finn took of his shirt and used it as a makeshift backpack.
“ It looks like if we travel along those boulders over they should lead back to the cave” said Finn pointing to some boulders on the outside of the clearing “ i don't think i'm up to wading through that shrubbery again”
“Sounds like a plan” agreed Jackson
The pair walked towards the boulders, pushed through the undergrowth and scrambled up the boulder. At the top they had a decent view of the island, and the sun which was dangerously low in the sky now.
“Theres the cave” exclaimed finn “ and from what i can see we can make it there without a single cut or scratch”
They started running along the the boulders, jumping between them when they were further apart, the setting sun cast long dancing shadows as they ran. Jackson glanced at finn as he ran, his expression was one of complete excitement, Jackson could practically see the adrenaline pumping through veins. They stopped on top of the last boulder and Finn met his gaze, the two buys smiled at eachother before finn announced
“Let's go join the rest of the posse”
They started sliding down the boulder and walked the last few meters to the cave entrance.
The rest of the buys were sitting around a roaring fire. Jackson and Finn approached, the other four buys shuffled up to make space as the pair took their seats around the fire. Finn took his shirt off his back and dropped the bounty.
“Who's hungry” he asked with a wide smile on his face.
The boys didn't even bother to reply they grabbed fruit and started stuffing their faces, the juice dripped down into the fire and sizzled before evaporating. The entire group had eaten their fill and they all leaned back and warmed their hands on the fire. The sun had now well and truly set, they had all watched as it disappeared across the sea in a mash of orange red and yellow and sent glittering rays dancing across the waves. Jackson watched as one by one as the boys eyes drooped and they fell asleep. He yawned as his eyes became heavy and he felt sleep closing in. Just before sleep took him he saw Derek staring into the fire, no sign of weariness.
  1. Chapter one : the posse
    The begging of the story, the posse gets toether
  2. Chapter two : The summit
    The boys begin their exploration of the island.
  3. Chapter 3 : The Unforgiving dark
  4. Chapter 4 : the boy with the blonde hair