Oz Fiction: Paradise Lost
Title: Paradise Lost
Author: aletter2elise
Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Ryan O'Reily/Miguel Alvarez and other surprise Oz characters.
Rating: NC 17 (for sexual content, language, and violence).
Word Count: 19,000
Genre: Very AU.
Beta: tobyfan. My hero! All mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: Written purely for fun not profit. All characters, TM's, etc., belong to Tom Fontana/HBO.
Author's Notes: Ryan and Miguel take a trip to paradise that changes their lives forever. I wrote this story for michele659. I hope this story cheers you up even just a little. Always remember you have friends here who love and care about you. ((Hugs)) Special thanks to cwitch for being such an awesome muse once again and mswriter07 for her kind words and cheering me on. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful f-list!. :)
Chapter 1
Miguel was on his way to the tropical islands of Fuji, the first trip he’s ever been outside the U.S. He needed to escape and this vacation would do just that. It had been a difficult year for him. His parents dying in a car crash to being practically almost homeless. After funeral expenses and so many bills, he was on the verge of bankruptcy. His factory job wasn’t paying enough to make ends meet. Then one day just on a whim, he bought a lottery ticket with the spare change in his pocket. All six numbers matched. He just won 150 million dollars! His luck was finally changing. He decided to quit his job after the money came rolling in and was able to buy his family’s home. After years of house payments it was all his. If only his parents were alive to see. Miguel deeply sighed at the thought, trying not to think about all the pain and sorrow. This trip is what he needed to clear his mind and decide what to do with the rest of his life. Perhaps he will go back and finish college now that he had the security to do so.
The sounds of the airport terminal finally cleared his mind as he looked all around to locate his gate. Shuffling to the song he wanted on his iPod, he starting walking toward gate 12 and sat near a window. The chair back was against the cool glass so Miguel had to turn to his side to look out. Watching planes fly and land on the airport pavement, he smiled at himself relishing back into his thoughts of all the possibilities and hopes for the future. Turning back in his chair, he looked all over his surroundings of the people sitting and standing at the gateway waiting to be boarded. One person in particular caught his eye. A man, sitting two feet away from Miguel from a side glace. He looked oddly familiar. He was dressed in a form fitted white t-shirt and dark denim jeans with black boots. He had cropped hair, reddish from the looks of it, pale freckled skin, a visible hazel green eye and a beautiful smile that seem to brighten his face. Miguel noticed other people eyeing him too. Where had he seen that man, he wondered? The man looked up from reading his magazine towards Miguel’s direction and Miguel instantly turned back toward the window pretending to look out. He could still feel the reddish haired man looking at him.
Leafing through his magazine, Ryan tried his hardest to not stare back at the man by the window. He had dark hair and tan skin, Cuban maybe? He was dressed casually like Ryan, wearing faded jeans and a cut-off red sleeved tee that showed off his many interesting tattoos. The tan skinned man wasn’t at all aware that he was being eyed back for he was too busy jamming to his iPod. Almost singing aloud to the lyrics, the Latin man stopped himself right away and turned back to looking out the window. Ryan smiled and lightly chuckled to himself, going back to reading his sports mag. He was used to the attention. Being an actor does that. This trip was the beginning of the rise of his career. Ryan was offered the leading role in an action flick and filming was taking place in Fuji of all places. Starting out as a rookie and soon becoming an A-list celeb was his long life dream. He worked so hard all year, everything from commercials to small roles on soap operas. His luck finally changed by some miracle running into a well-known producer while working his second job as a bartender. The producer remembered seeing him on a TV commercial about running shoes and told Ryan how graceful he was on camera. The producer was even more impressed in finding out that Ryan did all of his own stunts. So low and behold, Ryan is on this all expense paid trip to Fuji. This was a very exciting time. The only place he ever traveled outside the US was his motherhome of Ireland visiting his grandparents every year at Christmas.
“Flight number 417, is now boarding at gate 12.” the gate agent announced as the first class passengers started to board the plane. Miguel was happy to pay extra for a first class seat if it meant he could get on the plane first, sit next to the window and take advantage of the free drinks. Trying to negotiate with his carry-on, Miguel lifted it to the upper compartment and the bag slipped from his hands and landed on the floor.
“Dammit!” Miguel cursed to himself as he bent down to pick it up. He was stopped by a hand extending on the other handle of the bag. He looked up to see the hazel green eyed stranger again.
“Need some help?” the man asked. Both men started lifting the bag and stuffing it into the upper compartment.
“Thanks.” Miguel replied. They looked at each other for a moment.
“Don’t mention it.” the man said as he went to his seat which was two rows in front of Miguel’s. Miguel sat down to his window side seat looking out yet again. Something about looking out windows always fascinated him. He would often imagine himself in the scenery of the outside. Imagine other cities, other landscapes, now he didn’t have to imagine it anymore. After his drink order of tequila gold was presented to him, Miguel went back to listening to his tunes before takeoff.
Ryan sat down with cat-like ease as he got comfortable lounging in his seat before takeoff. The plane was fairly full of passengers ready to go on a long journey across the Pacific Ocean. Getting back to reading his magazine didn’t help keep Ryan’s mind from what has been hounding him for quite some time. The pressures of the camera and screen he could handle, but marriage was something he could not. Another reason why Ryan wanted to go on this trip. He wanted to use this opportunity to take the time to decide whether or not he wanted to settle down with Shannon, his girlfriend of 3 years. A year ago they talked about marriage and kids. Ryan said if they were still together, they would marry next summer, which delighted her. He loved her enough, but he wasn’t so sure if she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. This was something he really needed time to ponder.
With everyone buckled up and ready to go, the plane took flight. As time progressed, the plane was filled with the sounds of the same old mindless chatter from the passengers trying to occupy themselves for a 14-hour trip. Ryan was busy flirting with a female fan who asked for his autograph shortly after the announcement that passengers may move around the cabin. A movie was played later on; nothing brand new or Oscar-awarded for that matter. Some chick flick about a girl who got knocked up on some crazy one-night stand. Miguel eventually decided to take a nap. He heard enough of the surrounding noise plus his iPod battery juice ran dry 2 hours ago.
When dinner time arrived, Miguel finally woke up and started rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was handed a tray of what was supposed to pass for steak, a baked potato, and vegetables.
“You would think the plane food in first class is appetizing, but this has no flavor at all.” Miguel thought. He took little bites of his meal and only finished up his dinner roll. Taking one last big gulp of his tequila, he got up and headed towards the restroom.
“Hey Sam, where we at?” he asked the stewardess with whom he had small talk during the flight.
“Over endless blue waters as far as the eyes can see. When I see some land, I’ll be sure to give you the signal for land ho!”
Miguel chuckled. “You’re a real funny girl there, Sam, ever think of leaving the life of a flight attendant to become a comedian?”
He walked to the restroom stall door. Sam shook her head with amusement and went back to work. After relieving his bladder, Miguel washed his hands and looked at himself in the mirror. He stared at his reflecting looking at the smooth lined scar on his right cheek. It had been months since the work accident at his former job in the sheet metal factory, but it healed quite nicely. He started tracing the pink line with his fingers. The call for everyone on board to fasten their seats beats broke Miguel’s concentration. It was obvious that they were experiencing turbulence as Miguel tried to gain his balance. He opened the restroom stall door and starting walking as best as he could without falling face down on the floor. The plane was shaking back and forth so much Miguel has to apply both of his hands to whatever surface he could reach.
“Miguel? You really need to take your seat,” Sam said as she too was having difficulty with her own balance.
“I’m trying.” Miguel said with a shaky voice.
Suddenly there was a terrifying sound, like a bomb. One of the plane engines exploded. Everyone panicked. Oxygen masks automatically fell down from the above passenger seats and quickly everyone seated tried putting them on. Miguel had to hold on for dear life otherwise he would have been sucked away. He gripped painfully onto a hand rail and can hear the horrifying screams of everyone on board. Sam was about two feet away from Miguel, hold on to a nearby seat. Extending his hand, he tried to reach for her.
“Sam, gimme your hand!” Miguel shouted.
Sam had both of her hands gripped onto the passenger seat so tightly they felt like they were about to bleed. She tried to reach for Miguel with her left hand, still holding on to the seat painfully with her right. Ryan was only a seat row away from the stewardess. Trying to help as well, he also reached out to her. Ryan’s arm was still too far and had difficulty loosening his seat belt to get closer to her. Sam tried with all her might to grab Miguel’s hand. Her right hand started to slip off grip with the seat. All of the sudden she was gone. Sucked away out into the night sky as if she never existed.
“Sam! No!” Miguel cried.
He held on with both arms now to the rail tightly. The pressure in the cabin made it hard for Miguel to breathe. He tried to reach for a nearby mask with no success. The plane started tilting downward fast. A huge wave of water started filling the cabin. They landed head on into the ocean. The water pressure knocked Miguel from his grip of the rail. His body was pushed all the way to the back of the plane. As the water filled up the cabin, Miguel swam as high to the little air left in the plane as possible taking deep breaths of air. Expanding his lungs he took one last large deep breath before the plane was completely submerged under water. Some of the lights on the plane were still working so Miguel could see inside the cabin. It was like something out of a horror movie. Everywhere he could see people were dead. All still strapped to their seats they looked like floating rag dolls. Swimming around Miguel looked up from the roof torn plane and saw the light of the moon shine on the water surface. Just when he was about to swim upward beside him he saw Ryan. He was still alive! Not for long if Miguel didn’t do something about it. Ryan was holding his breath, tugging at his seat belt trying with all his might to free himself. Miguel quickly swam to Ryan and assisted him. With lots of shakes and wiggles of the seat belt fastener, Miguel was able to finally free him. Ryan was losing oxygen from the breath he was holding in. He started to pass out and Miguel instantly swung Ryan’s arm around his neck and swam them both up to the surface.
The moment they hit the surface, Miguel inhaled greedily a big breath of air. He tilted Ryan’s face as far away from the water as he could, helping him to open his mouth to breath. Ryan was still out of it, but breathing shallow. They were both lucky to be alive. Looking at his surroundings, Miguel spotted a large piece of the plane floating in the water. Miguel started swimming Ryan and himself towards the floating wreckage. It looked and felt sturdy enough so Miguel lifted Ryan on top if its surface before lifting himself on. Miguel sat down and started to catch his breath. He looked onward to what was left of the plane. Nothing remanded except a few bits and pieces of wreckage. No land in sight. Sam was right. They were somewhere on the Pacific Ocean. The only question was where? Looking at his unconscious companion, Miguel put his ear to Ryan’s chest to listen to his heart and lungs. Thankfully Ryan was still breathing; Miguel started rubbing his own face with both hands wondering what was to become of them. Miguel looked back down at Ryan. He looked asleep. Miguel finally followed suit. There was nothing left to do but wait for help to come.
***
The first thing Miguel noticed when he woke up was a strange sound of metal banging against a hard surface. Opening his eyes he looked to see the metal wreckage of the plane he was laying on hitting a huge rock in the wavy waters. Sitting up, Miguel saw more areas of rocks and sand. The oceans current sweep them to dry land. Excited, Miguel quickly turned to Ryan to awaken him.
“Mister! Hey Mister, wake up!” Miguel shook the man with both hands gripped to his shirt. Ryan slowly opened his eyes moaning to the loud man and the sun blinding his eyes. Blocking the rays with his hand he sat up.
“Ow, my head. What happened?” The whining man said as he massaged his temple.
“Don’t you remember? We crash landed in the ocean.” Miguel helped Ryan off the plane wreckage to the sandy shore.
“
Oh yeah that’s right. Where are we?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Miguel walked quickly all over the beach looking for any signs of civilization.
“Hello?” Miguel shouted to the direction of the palm trees. Ryan echoed the same. They headed toward the tropical jungle shouting hello over and over. It was full of lush palms, coconut, and banana trees. A few fragrant flowers all around. The only sounds were of parrots and a waterfall nearby. Both men followed the sound of the falls and saw the breathtaking sight. The waterfall was huge and it ended into a large sized waterhole with the same looking boulders as the sea shoreline. Miguel went to his knees to the water’s edge cupping his hands to have a test drink. It was fresh so he started cupping more water and gulped it quickly. In no time Ryan plunged into the water and also took a big drink only he was drinking from the waterfall itself. After refreshing himself, Ryan swam back toward Miguel who was splashing the cool water all over his face and neck.
“Maybe we made it to Fuji.” Ryan said as he started getting out of the water to sit by Miguel.
“It’s very well possible. Look over there. That mountain would be a great spot to scout this whole island. We should climb up it and have a look see.”
“Fine by me.” Ryan answered. Miguel led the way toward the mountain.
Neither one of them spoke during the hike. As time progressed Miguel realized something.
“You know, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Ryan O’Reily.” Ryan stopped walking and held out his hand.
Miguel returned the hand shake and smiled “Miguel Alvarez.”
Walking again, the men made it to the mountain and started climbing. Ryan was having trouble holding on the rocky surface.
“Need help? Here hold on to me.” Miguel offered his arm.
“No I’m fine!” Ryan snapped struggling to climb.
“Ryan, I can tell your body’s still a little weak. Please let me help you.”
“I said no!” Ignoring Miguel’s offer he went back to climbing the cliff.
“Ok” Miguel said softly as Ryan passed by him. Still concerned about Ryan’s state of being, he climbed behind Ryan just in case the stubborn man lost his footing. Finally reaching the top peak, the men looked at the great beyond of the ocean. No other islands were in sight. No other people to be seen anywhere that occupied the island. They truly were all alone.
“God dammit fuck!” Ryan shouted kicking his feet on the ground.
“Ryan, calm down man.”
“You fucking calm down!” Ryan pointed his finger at Miguel then waved his hand in the air. “We’re stuck here in the middle of nowhere!”
“Someone will find us. There has to be some kind of search and rescue going on as we speak.” Miguel assured him.
Ryan refused to listen. He got right into Miguel’s face yelling. “How are they gonna find us here huh? There’s no one here Miguel! We could be anywhere. Who the fuck knows how far we drifted from that plane crash.”
“We just have to make the best of this shitty situation.” Miguel looked back out to the beach shores around the island. Not far from where they were washed ashore, he spotted what looked to be luggage bagging. “Hey look over there!” Miguel pointed to the direction of what he spotted. “I see something, a bag. Let’s go after it. We need supplies.”
“Right just what we need. A luggage bag. It’s probably full of some old ladies granny panties.” Ryan said sarcastically.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Just chill out, ok?” Miguel said annoyed.
Huffing in frustration, Ryan followed Miguel back to the beach. Miguel tried to stay positive, but was having difficulty due to Ryan’s attitude. He had a feeling he was to be the one both of their lives depended on to survive. He just couldn’t understand why Ryan was being so nasty to him. Sure he almost died and has been through quite the ordeal, but there was no reason at all for Ryan’s actions. They remained silent the whole way back to the beach. Ryan would stare at Miguel every once in awhile daring the shorter man to speak. His icy stare sent chills down Miguel’s spine. Miguel kept a straight face trying his best not to let his tension show. As the men approached the white, sandy beach, there were now more pieces of baggage on the shoreline. Little bits of this and that everywhere. True evidence that the plane crash really happened. Miguel went for a small box that looked to be some sort of first aid kit. Ryan was all over a Louis Vuitton garment bag stuffed with classy looking button down shirts, dress pants, and shoes. Not exactly survival gear, but Ryan was all in awe for the expensive clothes. He held a pale blue shirt to his chest looking down then up to Miguel’s direction with a smirk. Miguel just rolled his eyes and went back to the first aid kit. It contained the basics: bandages, antiseptics, pills, scissors; there was also a small flashlight, a Swiss army knife, and a tiny pair of binoculars. He searched all over the box for some matches but there were none to be seen.Sighing deeply, Miguel closed the box and walked to Ryan.
“I found a first aid kit. No matches, but it’s better than nothing.”
Ryan was crotched down to the ground still going through more fancy looking bags for clothes in his size.
“Ryan hello? Did ya hear me? I said I found some survival gear.”
Ryan looked up at Miguel then. “We’re gonna need clothes too you know.” he said coldly.
Miguel set the kit down by a palm tree looking down at Ryan. “Alright,” Miguel said keeping his voice in a neutral tone. “Um, I’m gonna look around some more and see what else we can use.”
Miguel walked off the opposite direction of Ryan’s and didn’t even bother turning his head back to look at him. There was no point. Ryan, it seemed, hated Miguel’s guts.
Chapter 2
Sunset was drawing near as the two men scrounged around whether they could find. Both of them were eager and hoping so badly help would come soon. Reluctantly Ryan helped Miguel with finding food, setting up a little camp, and gathering wood for their campsite and to set up a rescue flair. Earlier that day Ryan suggested the idea. They would pile some wood high enough to light a fire and it would create a lot of smoke so someone afar would know where they were. They made fishing poles with long sticks, string found in the first aid kit, and earrings from one of the washed up luggage bags. Ryan caught two fish; Miguel caught three, which totaled five nice looking Perch. As the sun lay down to dusk ending the day, the two men set up the rest of their camp on the beach. Miguel laid out some dried palm leaves to pass for bed padding. He then covered their beds with large pieces of cloth found washed ashore to use as blankets. Finishing his side of where he was going to sleep, Miguel noticed Ryan trying his best to make a fire. Ryan piled up some wood in a handmade pit that had rocks circled around it. He had a stick in each hand and was rubbing them together as hard as he could to make them spark. Miguel smiled a little with no demeaning at Ryan’s efforts and went beside him on his knees.
“Your not gonna make it spark doing it that way,” Miguel said trying his best not to sound bossy.
“I think I know how to make a fire. I’m not that much of a city boy,” Ryan sneered.
Miguel took a deep breath and walked off quick and just as quickly returned with something in his hand.
“The trick is you need something dry like newspaper so you can catch a spark. Were out in the wilderness so dry grass or leaves works just as good.” Miguel set some dry grass down into the wood pile and ushered Ryan to go back to rubbing the stick together.
Ryan shot him daggers but went ahead and did what Miguel suggested. About two minutes passed and Ryan noticed smoke appear. Miguel blew on it.
“Keep going.” Miguel said as he kept blowing the spot between the grass and wood till at last fire appeared instead of smoke.
Ryan sighed and made a self-satisfied look. Miguel added more dried grass to keep the fire burning higher.
“See? Nothing to it. You did good.”
Miguel grabbed one of the fish they caught and pierced it into a sharpened ended stick, sat down on his palm leaf bed and set the fish over the fire to cook. Ryan did the same picking up the largest fish in the bunch and sitting across from Miguel on his own sleeping arrangement. After their fish was cooked all the way, Miguel handed Ryan a large banana leaf to set his fish on to eat. They ate in silence for awhile the only sounds around them were of the fire crackling and the waves crashing on the shore. Miguel was starving to death and ate the fish quickly making a mess of himself.
“So, Ryan, tell me, what do you do for a living?” Miguel said with a mouthful of fish.
“Oh I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you with that mutilated fish in that trap of yours.” Ryan said in that same sarcastic voice from earlier that day.
Miguel finally had enough of it. “Excuse me, what is your problem? Have I offended you in some way? Because you haven’t said one nice word to me since we got stranded here.”
Miguel threw his fish bones in the fire in frustration. “Jesus.” He muttered, laying his arms on his knees and looked down at the ground pissed off and hurt.
It was then Ryan realized he really was being an asshole. This man has gone out of his way to help him so he could be sitting here right now by a fire eating a nice fish meal instead of becoming a fish meal for the sharks at the bottom of the ocean. A moment passed and Ryan finally spoke.
“Miguel?”
Miguel looked up at Ryan with a saddened expression.
“Thank you…for saving my life.” Ryan waited for Miguel to respond expecting a smart ass remark; instead he was giving a small smile.
“You’re welcome.” Miguel said warmly. He then took a drink of water from a hollowed coconut shell.
“And to answer your question.” Ryan added. “I’m an actor.”
Miguel cocked an eyeball. “Actor? Hmm you do look familiar. What might I have seen you in?”
“Nothing special really. I’ve worked in commercials, soap operas, and some theater. I want to make it big on the silver screen. That’s the main reason why I was going to Fuji. I was picked for the leading role in an action jungle flick. The writer hasn’t come up with a movie title yet, but it’s based on the character Tarzan.”
“That’s a beautiful thought. Actor Ryan O’Reily swinging from vine to vine in nothing but a loin cloth.” Miguel said winking and laughing. The laughter was becoming contagious.
“And you? What were you going to Fuji for?” Ryan asked.
“Vacation mostly. I recently won the lottery. Money is a great thing to have, but I’m not planning on living the lifestyle of the nose-in-the-air, stuck-up rich snob.” Miguel was drinking the last of his water and saw Ryan make a face.
“What’s wrong with being rich? They’re not all stuck up.” Ryan replied taking a drink of water from his own coconut bowl.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, well, my family was fairly well off. My childhood home is a mansion just outside of Dublin, Ireland. I spent the rest of my grown up years in a beautiful brownstone in Manhattan. Also…wait where am I going with this?” Ryan chuckled to himself. “Ok yeah I guess we are stuck up, but hey your one of us now.”
Miguel laughed out loud at that. “Hardly. Anyway I wanna do much more with my life besides travel. I’m thinking of pursuing a career.”
“Oh yeah? What do you wanna do?” Ryan asked. He was still hungry and took a bite of a banana.
“You promise you won’t laugh?”
“I promise. C’mon spill.”
“Well… I want to be a nurse.”
Miguel waited for Ryan to respond. Ryan looked at him holding back a laugh he couldn’t conceal any longer.
“Hey, you promised not to laugh!” Miguel scolded.
Ryan put both of his hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just I’m surprised that you chose that particular profession. I picture you to be more of a mechanic or welder; engineer even.”
“Been there, done that. I dunno I…I just want to do something meaningful you know? Help people just like my mother did. She was registered nurse and found a lot of joy in helping others.”
Ryan studied Miguel’s look of anticipation. “Miguel Alvarez, registered nurse. Has a nice ring to it.”
Miguel smiled happily at that. Ryan smiled back. They stayed up practically all night talking like they were best friends catching up on old times. Miguel told Ryan pretty much everything about himself. He mentioned his parent’s death, his previous job, growing up in New Jersey, his golden retriever he named Julie, and his remaining relatives. Miguel’s only family was his cousin who was half-Italian named Dino Ortolani. He told Ryan he saw Dino and his wife and kids often on weekends and holidays. Miguel also told of his first love named Maritza. She was the love of his life, or so he thought until one night after coming home from working the late shift, he caught her cheating with his best friend in their bed. It happened six years ago and he stayed happily single ever since. Ryan talked about growing up in Ireland, about his little brother Cyril, who was fresh out of law school and backpacking somewhere in Europe. His parents Seamus and Suzanne divorced when Ryan and Cyril were little, but they made the effort to stay in both of their sons lives. Ryan’s father was also a lawyer whose main office was in Manhattan. Seamus hoped that Ryan would get out of this acting phase, also go to law school, and run the family business. It will never happen, Ryan told Miguel. It was all up to Cyril to fill in their father’s shoes. He also told Miguel about Shannon and him deciding about whether or not to marry her. Miguel bit his lip on that one. He didn’t know what to say about it and really didn’t want to answer. Before long, Ryan and Miguel were starting to feel comfortably drowsy and drifted off to sleep.
***
The rays of the morning sun started to wake up Ryan. The smell of cool salty ocean air filled his nostrils reminding him of where he was. Rubbing his eyes and letting out a big yawn, he noticed Miguel wasn’t in his bed. Ryan grabbed his white t-shirt and stood up putting it on looking all around for his missing companion.
“Maybe he went to get a drink of water?” Ryan thought heading towards the falls.
No sign of him anywhere. Ryan cupped his hands and took three big gulps of water before going back to the beach shore. To his right were some steep rocky cliffs that were in the low tide of the shore. The beach seemed dotted everywhere with rocky areas. To his left was where they were washed ashore yesterday so he decided to look there next. Still no sign.
“Where could he be?”
Ryan walked alongside the sea tide back to the right hand side of the island. Passing a higher raised rocky cliff, he spotted Miguel sitting on the larger rocks facing the ocean. He sat there deep in thought with mournful eyes.
“Hey Miguel.” Ryan softly spoke. “You ok?”
Ryan sat beside Miguel, wanting to put his arm around the younger man to comfort him but thought better of it. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking about Sam. The stewardess on the plane remember? I barely knew her but I can’t stop thinking about what happened. Seeing her body flying through the air. It keeps playing in my head over and over.”
Miguel put his head in his hands trying his best not to cry. “I tried to help her…I tried to save her.”
“Miguel you can’t beat yourself up about it. It’s not your fault.” It was then Ryan finally threw caution to the wind and wrapped his right arm around Miguel’s shoulders. “You did what you could.”
Miguel looked up at Ryan accepting the reassuring touch. He leaned toward Ryan’s touch not away and gave another one of his small smiles that made Ryan’s heart ache.
“C’mon, let’s go find you something to eat.”
Ryan helped Miguel up and led him back into the island jungle. “What are you doing? You’re getting too close with this guy. You know what will happen. He’ll fuck you over like everyone else.”
Ryan had to put his hard mask back on. Being close with someone always made him feel weak. He kept telling himself not to be vulnerable with Miguel. That none of this will matter in the end.
The two cast aways gathered a bushel of bananas and a few coconuts for breakfast. After eating their fruity meal, the men set up the rescue flair with the wood they gathered from last night. They made it a good size and tall enough to burn well. It was out in the open but near enough to the palm trees so the tide couldn’t wash it away.
“This is a really great idea you came up with,” Miguel said handing him more branches.
“Just doing whatever it takes to get off this island and make it to Fuji. I just hope I haven’t already been replaced in that movie.” Ryan finished stacking the last of the wood for their flair.
“Oh yeah you’re gonna play <> in the movie right?” Miguel chuckled.
“Laugh it up nurse boy. I’m going places and this movie is my ticket to star power.”
“Smug bastard.” Miguel continued laughing, but Ryan was not amused. He gave a dirty look and walked past Miguel almost shoving him.
“Looks like someone’s back to having a stick up the ass. If he thinks I’m going to take his crap, he has another thing coming.” Miguel told himself as he followed Ryan into the jungle.
Chapter 3
“We don’t have to sleep outside anymore. I found a cave!” Miguel told Ryan happily.
Ryan put the binoculars down, sat up from sitting in the shade of a palm tree and followed Miguel to the location of the cave. For days Ryan stayed either close by the shoreline or up the highest cliff of the island searching and waiting for anyone to come and rescue them. He was determined to go back to his career and his life. Miguel felt like he might as well have been invisible. Ryan barely talked to him since the first night inhabiting the island, but Miguel really thought they made some kind of connection, hoped they would become friends. Ryan had this whole “arrogant-tough-as-nails-don’t-need-anyone” facade going on, but deep down Miguel can sense that he had been hurt in the past by people who claimed to have loved and cared about him. He was going to find a way somehow to drop Ryan’s guard and get inside - to let Ryan know he wasn’t alone.
Days quickly turned to weeks as Ryan and Miguel tried to pass the time by making their new cave home livable. The cave was located not far from the sea shore and had a hollow spot on the cavern wall that looked like a window facing the ocean. Inside it wasn’t rough or abrasive like the rocky cliffs outside but almost smooth due to years of endless moisture. Most of the cavern was fairly dry except for a few spots that still dripped with water causing stalactites. There was another hollowed spot just above the cave that passed well for a chimney, so they could light a fire at night to remove the evening chill. Ryan kept his distance by sleeping on the opposite side of the cavern from Miguel. His bed was near the while Miguel’s bed was more across from his behind the homemade fire pit.
Neither one of them talked to each other much unless a situation called for it. Only small talk for things such as do you need help picking bananas or gathering wood? Miguel finally just let it go and figured if Ryan wanted to open up he would. Miguel kept himself occupied by getting creative with his Swiss army knife and other things found from the plane wreckage. He made a crate for catching crabs using wood and tulle from a torn evening gown. It was a nice change having something other than fish to eat every night for dinner. He carved little animal figurines and even made a chess set so he and Ryan could play a game. One night he took firewood burned to charcoal and drew pictures on the cavern walls to make the place more cheerful. He drew landscapes of woods and farmland. He even drew a graceful dog running in a field that was supposed to pass for his dog, Julie, whom he missed very much. Nighttime was the worst for Miguel. Every night after dinner, Ryan would look at him, wish him good night and turn in earlier for bed. When sleep was difficult for Miguel, he would walk to the beach shore and lay on the sand to look up at the stars. He hated that Ryan ignored his existence. He also hated that he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. All he had were nightmares. They were either of his parent’s accident or watching Sam die in front of him. Sometimes Miguel thought that Ryan was doing right by him, don’t get too close and neither of them will get hurt.
Ryan knew he wasn’t being pleasant around Miguel. He owed the man big time for saving his life. He just wasn’t sure how to return the favor. Ryan helped with food hunting and gathering of water and firewood which has now become an everyday routine. He would play chess with Miguel out of boredom but secretly because he enjoyed Miguel’s company. Ryan so badly wanted to trust Miguel, to share his thoughts and feelings. Everyone in Ryan’s life has been a disappointment; even Ryan’s brother Cyril was distant emotionally at times. It was always the same for him. Be strong and learn to survive on your own because all you have to rely on in this world is yourself. Ryan figured it would also be easier to keep his distance from Miguel because if and when they ever got off this damn island, it would hurt less to never see him again. So everyday he sat down and watched, waiting for a rescue boat or plane. Ryan kept his main focus to return back to New York and go back to what he loved most: acting. He was sure by now the producers of the Fuji film already found a replacement. Ryan tried to say positive about the whole messy situation, that he would get a new part in another movie.
Morning came and Ryan woke up to notice yet again that Miguel wasn’t in his bed asleep. Figuring Miguel must have gone off to hunt for this morning’s meal, Ryan decided to go to the falls to refresh himself with a bath. He would join Miguel for breakfast later. Walking closer to the waterfall, he stopped in his tracks to see in front of him a naked Miguel swimming in the crisp, clear water singing to himself. He quickly hid in the bushes before Miguel could spot him. He should have left. This wasn’t a woman he was feasting his eyes on, this was a man. Ryan questioned his own feelings about Miguel before, but now he was even more confused. He had seen men naked in the gym locker before and never had any attraction for men in the past. Was this something he had been suppressing all this time? There was no doubt Miguel was beautiful. His light caramel skin glistened in the water. His brown eyes showed so much warmth and life that Ryan found endearing. And his lips, God those full soft lips were made for kissing.
“Stop it Ryan! What is the matter with you? You need to just walk away.” He kept telling himself, but still he didn’t move.
He also didn’t realize he was holding his breath as he saw Miguel lift himself out of the waterhole to stand above the waterfall letting it cascade over him. Miguel stretched his arms out to the water then moved his hands into his hair and torso singing a song in Spanish. Ryan watched as Miguel continued to bathe himself. Seeing his perfectly shaped back, his round firm ass, his strong legs. When Miguel turned to his front view, Ryan got an eyeful of Miguel’s full glory. Turning beet red, Ryan ran away as quickly as he could back to the beach hoping Miguel didn’t hear him. His heart felt like it was about to explode from his chest and he struggled to catch his breath.
“I’m not attracted to him. I’m just feeling lonely. That’s it. That’s all it is.” But that wasn’t it and Ryan knew it. Trying his best to get the nude Latin Adonis out of his head, Ryan calmed himself long enough to decide to have a saltwater bath instead.
After sunning off on a rock by the waterhole, Miguel put on a pair of cut off jeans, got out his knife, and went on his morning search for breakfast. He picked a few bananas for Ryan and himself along with finding two coconuts to eat and drink from. The same old thing they ate every morning. It’s not like they had a choice of variety. Walking to the destination of the cave, he spotted Ryan on the shore already preparing the handmade crab traps. Ryan threw them into the water and tied the rope line onto a small rocky cliff. Ryan turned around to see Miguel watching him work and jumped off the rocks walking towards him.
“Breakfast is served.” Miguel said handing Ryan a banana and coconut shell. Ryan almost couldn’t look Miguel in the eyes after seeing him nude earlier. He tried to hide the flushed look on his face.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong. What are you my fucking dad?” Ryan snapped, grabbing the fruit from Miguel’s hands.
“Jesus someone woke up from the wrong side of the bed.” Miguel gave Ryan a questionable look and then walked away to sit under the shade of a palm. “Just let to go Miguel. The guy obviously hates you. Mind your own business and he will mind his.”
Ryan wanted to take it all back. He felt awful for snapping at Miguel. “I’m going back to the cave to get a few things before I go to the high peak to keep watch. You’ll light the bonfire if you see anything?” He asked plainly.
“Of course I will. We’ve talked about the rescue plan before, Ryan. I’ll catch us some fish for dinner by the time you get back.”
Ryan nodded and took a big bite of his banana as he started walking to the direction of the cave.
Miguel watched him walk away and exhaled deep. “Its check out time on this so-called vacation.
It’s just no use.”
He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind completely of thinking. Why in the world did he still care for a man who wanted nothing to do with him? Tried as he may, Miguel just couldn’t shake off his feelings for Ryan. There were so many good qualities in Ryan. His confidence, his determination to reach his goals, his dry humor, Miguel found that he loved all those things. All Miguel needed to do was show Ryan how to love. Someday, somehow it will happen. He finished his breakfast and decided he would spear for fish instead of use fishing poles. Miguel carved a sharp end of a long wood stick with his Swiss army knife. Satisfied with the sharpness, he put the knife back into his pocket and walked to the shoreline. Locating a deep area of the sea, he climbed up a rocky cliff and dove into the cool water.
Ryan grabbed the binoculars, some water, and the coconut shell and put them into a worn out duffle bag. He tried to keep his mind at ease by not daydreaming of what he saw earlier this morning. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get Miguel out if his head. It wasn’t because he was turned on by his body; he was turned on by his soul. Ryan loved Miguel’s caring nature, sense of humor, and passion for life. They were a lot alike in some ways, so close but yet so far away. Ryan only had himself to blame for that. He truly needed to make it up to Miguel for being such a dick to him. Somehow he was going to live up to that promise. Ryan reached the top peak almost out of breath. He took a large drink from his over-used water bottle and scouted the horizon. As always, there were no signs of life. He crouched down the ground putting his duffle bag down and looked outward with the binoculars. He turned his body a little from left to right. Just as Ryan was about to turn around to look from behind, he spotted something way out in the ocean. Up close it looked like a little red and white speck. Adjusting the lenses, Ryan made out the form of a ship. A ship! He raised himself up slowly with his mouth wide open. His eyes must be deceiving him.
“A ship! A ship! Hey!” Ryan shouted running down the peak as quickly as he could. “Miguel! Miguel! A ship! Light the flair!” He stumbled and almost tripped on his own feet running so fast. He wanted to get back on the beach and he wanted to be there now!
Miguel was so busy fish hunting underwater he didn’t even see the far off ship that looked like a tiny bath toy from a distance. He swam up the water surface taken a few quick deep breaths before diving back into the water trying his best to spear for some good sized fish. After five tries, his practicing aim finally paid off and he caught a large cod big enough to feed two people. He hit the surface in triumph to his hunting achievement holding up his prize. The smile started to turn into a look of confusion as he saw Ryan running on the beach and shouting like a maniac.
“Miguel what the fuck are you doing? Don’t you see the ship!?” Ryan pointed towards its direction.
“What ship?”
“What do you mean what ship? There out in the distance. You’re telling me all this time you haven’t seen it? Dammit Miguel it’s right there in plain sight!”
Miguel was still in the ocean. He turned around to see what Ryan was talking about. He saw the form of a ship in the far distance. “Oh shit!” Miguel made the same face Ryan animated earlier.
Ryan dashed to the rescue bon flair. He was furious to see it unlit. “Miguel, Dammit! Help me light the flair!”
He quickly crouched down and tried to create a spark. Ryan rubbed two sticks together so hard his hands were going numb and started to get blisters. Miguel quickly ran to his side to help him, but it was too late. The ship was nowhere to be seen. As if it disappeared. Ryan looked back down to his hands and throws the sticks in frustration.
“Ryan, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see the ship. I didn’t know.”Miguel reached his hand to Ryan’s shoulder to comfort him. Ryan jerked Miguel’s hand away and stood up just as quickly.
“Get off me! You know I’ve just about had it with you!” Ryan snapped making his anger crystal clear.
“With me?”
“Yeah with you! It’s your fault that were stuck here on this rock.”
“Is that so?” Miguel spat back at Ryan. “If it weren’t for me, pal, you would be swimming with the fishes right now. I saved your ass.”
“Who asked you to do that, huh? You should have left me on that plane to die.”
“Ryan!”
“It’s true,” Ryan hissed. “I would rather be fish food then be around an annoying third-world-country loser like you.”
“You should talk, you spineless snot-nosed rich-bitch excuse for a human being!” Miguel hissed back. He could not believe his ears.
“Shut up!”
“No, you shut up!” Miguel continued. “I’ve seen you. You have been cruel to me to push me away and I’ve had it! Don’t you feel anything other than anger? No, I guess not because you’re nothing but a pussy.”
Ryan snapped and punched Miguel in the face. Miguel fell hard onto the sand. He stroked his sore jaw and felt a trickle of blood coming from his split lip. Raising himself on his feet he eyed Ryan for a moment and walked passed him to the direction of the cave.
Ryan turned towards Miguel. “Where are you going?”
Miguel stopped and turned back around. “It’s a big rock so I’m going to get my things. I’ll stay on one far side of this island and you stay on the other. Then whenever the time comes when we get rescued we can forget about it. We never met, this never happened!”
“Fucking fine by me!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Fuck you!”
“Go fuck yourself!”
"Palos y piedras a mi amigo. Palos y piedras.” Miguel’s voice trailed off as he walked away still muttering in Spanish. Ryan stormed off the opposite direction trying to come to his senses. He didn’t know if he should feel relieved or sad. Miguel could read him all too well and that’s what scared the shit out of him.
Part 2
Author: aletter2elise
Fandom: Oz
Pairing: Ryan O'Reily/Miguel Alvarez and other surprise Oz characters.
Rating: NC 17 (for sexual content, language, and violence).
Word Count: 19,000
Genre: Very AU.
Beta: tobyfan. My hero! All mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: Written purely for fun not profit. All characters, TM's, etc., belong to Tom Fontana/HBO.
Author's Notes: Ryan and Miguel take a trip to paradise that changes their lives forever. I wrote this story for michele659. I hope this story cheers you up even just a little. Always remember you have friends here who love and care about you. ((Hugs)) Special thanks to cwitch for being such an awesome muse once again and mswriter07 for her kind words and cheering me on. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful f-list!. :)
Chapter 1
Miguel was on his way to the tropical islands of Fuji, the first trip he’s ever been outside the U.S. He needed to escape and this vacation would do just that. It had been a difficult year for him. His parents dying in a car crash to being practically almost homeless. After funeral expenses and so many bills, he was on the verge of bankruptcy. His factory job wasn’t paying enough to make ends meet. Then one day just on a whim, he bought a lottery ticket with the spare change in his pocket. All six numbers matched. He just won 150 million dollars! His luck was finally changing. He decided to quit his job after the money came rolling in and was able to buy his family’s home. After years of house payments it was all his. If only his parents were alive to see. Miguel deeply sighed at the thought, trying not to think about all the pain and sorrow. This trip is what he needed to clear his mind and decide what to do with the rest of his life. Perhaps he will go back and finish college now that he had the security to do so.
The sounds of the airport terminal finally cleared his mind as he looked all around to locate his gate. Shuffling to the song he wanted on his iPod, he starting walking toward gate 12 and sat near a window. The chair back was against the cool glass so Miguel had to turn to his side to look out. Watching planes fly and land on the airport pavement, he smiled at himself relishing back into his thoughts of all the possibilities and hopes for the future. Turning back in his chair, he looked all over his surroundings of the people sitting and standing at the gateway waiting to be boarded. One person in particular caught his eye. A man, sitting two feet away from Miguel from a side glace. He looked oddly familiar. He was dressed in a form fitted white t-shirt and dark denim jeans with black boots. He had cropped hair, reddish from the looks of it, pale freckled skin, a visible hazel green eye and a beautiful smile that seem to brighten his face. Miguel noticed other people eyeing him too. Where had he seen that man, he wondered? The man looked up from reading his magazine towards Miguel’s direction and Miguel instantly turned back toward the window pretending to look out. He could still feel the reddish haired man looking at him.
Leafing through his magazine, Ryan tried his hardest to not stare back at the man by the window. He had dark hair and tan skin, Cuban maybe? He was dressed casually like Ryan, wearing faded jeans and a cut-off red sleeved tee that showed off his many interesting tattoos. The tan skinned man wasn’t at all aware that he was being eyed back for he was too busy jamming to his iPod. Almost singing aloud to the lyrics, the Latin man stopped himself right away and turned back to looking out the window. Ryan smiled and lightly chuckled to himself, going back to reading his sports mag. He was used to the attention. Being an actor does that. This trip was the beginning of the rise of his career. Ryan was offered the leading role in an action flick and filming was taking place in Fuji of all places. Starting out as a rookie and soon becoming an A-list celeb was his long life dream. He worked so hard all year, everything from commercials to small roles on soap operas. His luck finally changed by some miracle running into a well-known producer while working his second job as a bartender. The producer remembered seeing him on a TV commercial about running shoes and told Ryan how graceful he was on camera. The producer was even more impressed in finding out that Ryan did all of his own stunts. So low and behold, Ryan is on this all expense paid trip to Fuji. This was a very exciting time. The only place he ever traveled outside the US was his motherhome of Ireland visiting his grandparents every year at Christmas.
“Flight number 417, is now boarding at gate 12.” the gate agent announced as the first class passengers started to board the plane. Miguel was happy to pay extra for a first class seat if it meant he could get on the plane first, sit next to the window and take advantage of the free drinks. Trying to negotiate with his carry-on, Miguel lifted it to the upper compartment and the bag slipped from his hands and landed on the floor.
“Dammit!” Miguel cursed to himself as he bent down to pick it up. He was stopped by a hand extending on the other handle of the bag. He looked up to see the hazel green eyed stranger again.
“Need some help?” the man asked. Both men started lifting the bag and stuffing it into the upper compartment.
“Thanks.” Miguel replied. They looked at each other for a moment.
“Don’t mention it.” the man said as he went to his seat which was two rows in front of Miguel’s. Miguel sat down to his window side seat looking out yet again. Something about looking out windows always fascinated him. He would often imagine himself in the scenery of the outside. Imagine other cities, other landscapes, now he didn’t have to imagine it anymore. After his drink order of tequila gold was presented to him, Miguel went back to listening to his tunes before takeoff.
Ryan sat down with cat-like ease as he got comfortable lounging in his seat before takeoff. The plane was fairly full of passengers ready to go on a long journey across the Pacific Ocean. Getting back to reading his magazine didn’t help keep Ryan’s mind from what has been hounding him for quite some time. The pressures of the camera and screen he could handle, but marriage was something he could not. Another reason why Ryan wanted to go on this trip. He wanted to use this opportunity to take the time to decide whether or not he wanted to settle down with Shannon, his girlfriend of 3 years. A year ago they talked about marriage and kids. Ryan said if they were still together, they would marry next summer, which delighted her. He loved her enough, but he wasn’t so sure if she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. This was something he really needed time to ponder.
With everyone buckled up and ready to go, the plane took flight. As time progressed, the plane was filled with the sounds of the same old mindless chatter from the passengers trying to occupy themselves for a 14-hour trip. Ryan was busy flirting with a female fan who asked for his autograph shortly after the announcement that passengers may move around the cabin. A movie was played later on; nothing brand new or Oscar-awarded for that matter. Some chick flick about a girl who got knocked up on some crazy one-night stand. Miguel eventually decided to take a nap. He heard enough of the surrounding noise plus his iPod battery juice ran dry 2 hours ago.
When dinner time arrived, Miguel finally woke up and started rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He was handed a tray of what was supposed to pass for steak, a baked potato, and vegetables.
“You would think the plane food in first class is appetizing, but this has no flavor at all.” Miguel thought. He took little bites of his meal and only finished up his dinner roll. Taking one last big gulp of his tequila, he got up and headed towards the restroom.
“Hey Sam, where we at?” he asked the stewardess with whom he had small talk during the flight.
“Over endless blue waters as far as the eyes can see. When I see some land, I’ll be sure to give you the signal for land ho!”
Miguel chuckled. “You’re a real funny girl there, Sam, ever think of leaving the life of a flight attendant to become a comedian?”
He walked to the restroom stall door. Sam shook her head with amusement and went back to work. After relieving his bladder, Miguel washed his hands and looked at himself in the mirror. He stared at his reflecting looking at the smooth lined scar on his right cheek. It had been months since the work accident at his former job in the sheet metal factory, but it healed quite nicely. He started tracing the pink line with his fingers. The call for everyone on board to fasten their seats beats broke Miguel’s concentration. It was obvious that they were experiencing turbulence as Miguel tried to gain his balance. He opened the restroom stall door and starting walking as best as he could without falling face down on the floor. The plane was shaking back and forth so much Miguel has to apply both of his hands to whatever surface he could reach.
“Miguel? You really need to take your seat,” Sam said as she too was having difficulty with her own balance.
“I’m trying.” Miguel said with a shaky voice.
Suddenly there was a terrifying sound, like a bomb. One of the plane engines exploded. Everyone panicked. Oxygen masks automatically fell down from the above passenger seats and quickly everyone seated tried putting them on. Miguel had to hold on for dear life otherwise he would have been sucked away. He gripped painfully onto a hand rail and can hear the horrifying screams of everyone on board. Sam was about two feet away from Miguel, hold on to a nearby seat. Extending his hand, he tried to reach for her.
“Sam, gimme your hand!” Miguel shouted.
Sam had both of her hands gripped onto the passenger seat so tightly they felt like they were about to bleed. She tried to reach for Miguel with her left hand, still holding on to the seat painfully with her right. Ryan was only a seat row away from the stewardess. Trying to help as well, he also reached out to her. Ryan’s arm was still too far and had difficulty loosening his seat belt to get closer to her. Sam tried with all her might to grab Miguel’s hand. Her right hand started to slip off grip with the seat. All of the sudden she was gone. Sucked away out into the night sky as if she never existed.
“Sam! No!” Miguel cried.
He held on with both arms now to the rail tightly. The pressure in the cabin made it hard for Miguel to breathe. He tried to reach for a nearby mask with no success. The plane started tilting downward fast. A huge wave of water started filling the cabin. They landed head on into the ocean. The water pressure knocked Miguel from his grip of the rail. His body was pushed all the way to the back of the plane. As the water filled up the cabin, Miguel swam as high to the little air left in the plane as possible taking deep breaths of air. Expanding his lungs he took one last large deep breath before the plane was completely submerged under water. Some of the lights on the plane were still working so Miguel could see inside the cabin. It was like something out of a horror movie. Everywhere he could see people were dead. All still strapped to their seats they looked like floating rag dolls. Swimming around Miguel looked up from the roof torn plane and saw the light of the moon shine on the water surface. Just when he was about to swim upward beside him he saw Ryan. He was still alive! Not for long if Miguel didn’t do something about it. Ryan was holding his breath, tugging at his seat belt trying with all his might to free himself. Miguel quickly swam to Ryan and assisted him. With lots of shakes and wiggles of the seat belt fastener, Miguel was able to finally free him. Ryan was losing oxygen from the breath he was holding in. He started to pass out and Miguel instantly swung Ryan’s arm around his neck and swam them both up to the surface.
The moment they hit the surface, Miguel inhaled greedily a big breath of air. He tilted Ryan’s face as far away from the water as he could, helping him to open his mouth to breath. Ryan was still out of it, but breathing shallow. They were both lucky to be alive. Looking at his surroundings, Miguel spotted a large piece of the plane floating in the water. Miguel started swimming Ryan and himself towards the floating wreckage. It looked and felt sturdy enough so Miguel lifted Ryan on top if its surface before lifting himself on. Miguel sat down and started to catch his breath. He looked onward to what was left of the plane. Nothing remanded except a few bits and pieces of wreckage. No land in sight. Sam was right. They were somewhere on the Pacific Ocean. The only question was where? Looking at his unconscious companion, Miguel put his ear to Ryan’s chest to listen to his heart and lungs. Thankfully Ryan was still breathing; Miguel started rubbing his own face with both hands wondering what was to become of them. Miguel looked back down at Ryan. He looked asleep. Miguel finally followed suit. There was nothing left to do but wait for help to come.
***
The first thing Miguel noticed when he woke up was a strange sound of metal banging against a hard surface. Opening his eyes he looked to see the metal wreckage of the plane he was laying on hitting a huge rock in the wavy waters. Sitting up, Miguel saw more areas of rocks and sand. The oceans current sweep them to dry land. Excited, Miguel quickly turned to Ryan to awaken him.
“Mister! Hey Mister, wake up!” Miguel shook the man with both hands gripped to his shirt. Ryan slowly opened his eyes moaning to the loud man and the sun blinding his eyes. Blocking the rays with his hand he sat up.
“Ow, my head. What happened?” The whining man said as he massaged his temple.
“Don’t you remember? We crash landed in the ocean.” Miguel helped Ryan off the plane wreckage to the sandy shore.
“
Oh yeah that’s right. Where are we?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Miguel walked quickly all over the beach looking for any signs of civilization.
“Hello?” Miguel shouted to the direction of the palm trees. Ryan echoed the same. They headed toward the tropical jungle shouting hello over and over. It was full of lush palms, coconut, and banana trees. A few fragrant flowers all around. The only sounds were of parrots and a waterfall nearby. Both men followed the sound of the falls and saw the breathtaking sight. The waterfall was huge and it ended into a large sized waterhole with the same looking boulders as the sea shoreline. Miguel went to his knees to the water’s edge cupping his hands to have a test drink. It was fresh so he started cupping more water and gulped it quickly. In no time Ryan plunged into the water and also took a big drink only he was drinking from the waterfall itself. After refreshing himself, Ryan swam back toward Miguel who was splashing the cool water all over his face and neck.
“Maybe we made it to Fuji.” Ryan said as he started getting out of the water to sit by Miguel.
“It’s very well possible. Look over there. That mountain would be a great spot to scout this whole island. We should climb up it and have a look see.”
“Fine by me.” Ryan answered. Miguel led the way toward the mountain.
Neither one of them spoke during the hike. As time progressed Miguel realized something.
“You know, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Ryan O’Reily.” Ryan stopped walking and held out his hand.
Miguel returned the hand shake and smiled “Miguel Alvarez.”
Walking again, the men made it to the mountain and started climbing. Ryan was having trouble holding on the rocky surface.
“Need help? Here hold on to me.” Miguel offered his arm.
“No I’m fine!” Ryan snapped struggling to climb.
“Ryan, I can tell your body’s still a little weak. Please let me help you.”
“I said no!” Ignoring Miguel’s offer he went back to climbing the cliff.
“Ok” Miguel said softly as Ryan passed by him. Still concerned about Ryan’s state of being, he climbed behind Ryan just in case the stubborn man lost his footing. Finally reaching the top peak, the men looked at the great beyond of the ocean. No other islands were in sight. No other people to be seen anywhere that occupied the island. They truly were all alone.
“God dammit fuck!” Ryan shouted kicking his feet on the ground.
“Ryan, calm down man.”
“You fucking calm down!” Ryan pointed his finger at Miguel then waved his hand in the air. “We’re stuck here in the middle of nowhere!”
“Someone will find us. There has to be some kind of search and rescue going on as we speak.” Miguel assured him.
Ryan refused to listen. He got right into Miguel’s face yelling. “How are they gonna find us here huh? There’s no one here Miguel! We could be anywhere. Who the fuck knows how far we drifted from that plane crash.”
“We just have to make the best of this shitty situation.” Miguel looked back out to the beach shores around the island. Not far from where they were washed ashore, he spotted what looked to be luggage bagging. “Hey look over there!” Miguel pointed to the direction of what he spotted. “I see something, a bag. Let’s go after it. We need supplies.”
“Right just what we need. A luggage bag. It’s probably full of some old ladies granny panties.” Ryan said sarcastically.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Just chill out, ok?” Miguel said annoyed.
Huffing in frustration, Ryan followed Miguel back to the beach. Miguel tried to stay positive, but was having difficulty due to Ryan’s attitude. He had a feeling he was to be the one both of their lives depended on to survive. He just couldn’t understand why Ryan was being so nasty to him. Sure he almost died and has been through quite the ordeal, but there was no reason at all for Ryan’s actions. They remained silent the whole way back to the beach. Ryan would stare at Miguel every once in awhile daring the shorter man to speak. His icy stare sent chills down Miguel’s spine. Miguel kept a straight face trying his best not to let his tension show. As the men approached the white, sandy beach, there were now more pieces of baggage on the shoreline. Little bits of this and that everywhere. True evidence that the plane crash really happened. Miguel went for a small box that looked to be some sort of first aid kit. Ryan was all over a Louis Vuitton garment bag stuffed with classy looking button down shirts, dress pants, and shoes. Not exactly survival gear, but Ryan was all in awe for the expensive clothes. He held a pale blue shirt to his chest looking down then up to Miguel’s direction with a smirk. Miguel just rolled his eyes and went back to the first aid kit. It contained the basics: bandages, antiseptics, pills, scissors; there was also a small flashlight, a Swiss army knife, and a tiny pair of binoculars. He searched all over the box for some matches but there were none to be seen.Sighing deeply, Miguel closed the box and walked to Ryan.
“I found a first aid kit. No matches, but it’s better than nothing.”
Ryan was crotched down to the ground still going through more fancy looking bags for clothes in his size.
“Ryan hello? Did ya hear me? I said I found some survival gear.”
Ryan looked up at Miguel then. “We’re gonna need clothes too you know.” he said coldly.
Miguel set the kit down by a palm tree looking down at Ryan. “Alright,” Miguel said keeping his voice in a neutral tone. “Um, I’m gonna look around some more and see what else we can use.”
Miguel walked off the opposite direction of Ryan’s and didn’t even bother turning his head back to look at him. There was no point. Ryan, it seemed, hated Miguel’s guts.
Chapter 2
Sunset was drawing near as the two men scrounged around whether they could find. Both of them were eager and hoping so badly help would come soon. Reluctantly Ryan helped Miguel with finding food, setting up a little camp, and gathering wood for their campsite and to set up a rescue flair. Earlier that day Ryan suggested the idea. They would pile some wood high enough to light a fire and it would create a lot of smoke so someone afar would know where they were. They made fishing poles with long sticks, string found in the first aid kit, and earrings from one of the washed up luggage bags. Ryan caught two fish; Miguel caught three, which totaled five nice looking Perch. As the sun lay down to dusk ending the day, the two men set up the rest of their camp on the beach. Miguel laid out some dried palm leaves to pass for bed padding. He then covered their beds with large pieces of cloth found washed ashore to use as blankets. Finishing his side of where he was going to sleep, Miguel noticed Ryan trying his best to make a fire. Ryan piled up some wood in a handmade pit that had rocks circled around it. He had a stick in each hand and was rubbing them together as hard as he could to make them spark. Miguel smiled a little with no demeaning at Ryan’s efforts and went beside him on his knees.
“Your not gonna make it spark doing it that way,” Miguel said trying his best not to sound bossy.
“I think I know how to make a fire. I’m not that much of a city boy,” Ryan sneered.
Miguel took a deep breath and walked off quick and just as quickly returned with something in his hand.
“The trick is you need something dry like newspaper so you can catch a spark. Were out in the wilderness so dry grass or leaves works just as good.” Miguel set some dry grass down into the wood pile and ushered Ryan to go back to rubbing the stick together.
Ryan shot him daggers but went ahead and did what Miguel suggested. About two minutes passed and Ryan noticed smoke appear. Miguel blew on it.
“Keep going.” Miguel said as he kept blowing the spot between the grass and wood till at last fire appeared instead of smoke.
Ryan sighed and made a self-satisfied look. Miguel added more dried grass to keep the fire burning higher.
“See? Nothing to it. You did good.”
Miguel grabbed one of the fish they caught and pierced it into a sharpened ended stick, sat down on his palm leaf bed and set the fish over the fire to cook. Ryan did the same picking up the largest fish in the bunch and sitting across from Miguel on his own sleeping arrangement. After their fish was cooked all the way, Miguel handed Ryan a large banana leaf to set his fish on to eat. They ate in silence for awhile the only sounds around them were of the fire crackling and the waves crashing on the shore. Miguel was starving to death and ate the fish quickly making a mess of himself.
“So, Ryan, tell me, what do you do for a living?” Miguel said with a mouthful of fish.
“Oh I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you with that mutilated fish in that trap of yours.” Ryan said in that same sarcastic voice from earlier that day.
Miguel finally had enough of it. “Excuse me, what is your problem? Have I offended you in some way? Because you haven’t said one nice word to me since we got stranded here.”
Miguel threw his fish bones in the fire in frustration. “Jesus.” He muttered, laying his arms on his knees and looked down at the ground pissed off and hurt.
It was then Ryan realized he really was being an asshole. This man has gone out of his way to help him so he could be sitting here right now by a fire eating a nice fish meal instead of becoming a fish meal for the sharks at the bottom of the ocean. A moment passed and Ryan finally spoke.
“Miguel?”
Miguel looked up at Ryan with a saddened expression.
“Thank you…for saving my life.” Ryan waited for Miguel to respond expecting a smart ass remark; instead he was giving a small smile.
“You’re welcome.” Miguel said warmly. He then took a drink of water from a hollowed coconut shell.
“And to answer your question.” Ryan added. “I’m an actor.”
Miguel cocked an eyeball. “Actor? Hmm you do look familiar. What might I have seen you in?”
“Nothing special really. I’ve worked in commercials, soap operas, and some theater. I want to make it big on the silver screen. That’s the main reason why I was going to Fuji. I was picked for the leading role in an action jungle flick. The writer hasn’t come up with a movie title yet, but it’s based on the character Tarzan.”
“That’s a beautiful thought. Actor Ryan O’Reily swinging from vine to vine in nothing but a loin cloth.” Miguel said winking and laughing. The laughter was becoming contagious.
“And you? What were you going to Fuji for?” Ryan asked.
“Vacation mostly. I recently won the lottery. Money is a great thing to have, but I’m not planning on living the lifestyle of the nose-in-the-air, stuck-up rich snob.” Miguel was drinking the last of his water and saw Ryan make a face.
“What’s wrong with being rich? They’re not all stuck up.” Ryan replied taking a drink of water from his own coconut bowl.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, well, my family was fairly well off. My childhood home is a mansion just outside of Dublin, Ireland. I spent the rest of my grown up years in a beautiful brownstone in Manhattan. Also…wait where am I going with this?” Ryan chuckled to himself. “Ok yeah I guess we are stuck up, but hey your one of us now.”
Miguel laughed out loud at that. “Hardly. Anyway I wanna do much more with my life besides travel. I’m thinking of pursuing a career.”
“Oh yeah? What do you wanna do?” Ryan asked. He was still hungry and took a bite of a banana.
“You promise you won’t laugh?”
“I promise. C’mon spill.”
“Well… I want to be a nurse.”
Miguel waited for Ryan to respond. Ryan looked at him holding back a laugh he couldn’t conceal any longer.
“Hey, you promised not to laugh!” Miguel scolded.
Ryan put both of his hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just I’m surprised that you chose that particular profession. I picture you to be more of a mechanic or welder; engineer even.”
“Been there, done that. I dunno I…I just want to do something meaningful you know? Help people just like my mother did. She was registered nurse and found a lot of joy in helping others.”
Ryan studied Miguel’s look of anticipation. “Miguel Alvarez, registered nurse. Has a nice ring to it.”
Miguel smiled happily at that. Ryan smiled back. They stayed up practically all night talking like they were best friends catching up on old times. Miguel told Ryan pretty much everything about himself. He mentioned his parent’s death, his previous job, growing up in New Jersey, his golden retriever he named Julie, and his remaining relatives. Miguel’s only family was his cousin who was half-Italian named Dino Ortolani. He told Ryan he saw Dino and his wife and kids often on weekends and holidays. Miguel also told of his first love named Maritza. She was the love of his life, or so he thought until one night after coming home from working the late shift, he caught her cheating with his best friend in their bed. It happened six years ago and he stayed happily single ever since. Ryan talked about growing up in Ireland, about his little brother Cyril, who was fresh out of law school and backpacking somewhere in Europe. His parents Seamus and Suzanne divorced when Ryan and Cyril were little, but they made the effort to stay in both of their sons lives. Ryan’s father was also a lawyer whose main office was in Manhattan. Seamus hoped that Ryan would get out of this acting phase, also go to law school, and run the family business. It will never happen, Ryan told Miguel. It was all up to Cyril to fill in their father’s shoes. He also told Miguel about Shannon and him deciding about whether or not to marry her. Miguel bit his lip on that one. He didn’t know what to say about it and really didn’t want to answer. Before long, Ryan and Miguel were starting to feel comfortably drowsy and drifted off to sleep.
***
The rays of the morning sun started to wake up Ryan. The smell of cool salty ocean air filled his nostrils reminding him of where he was. Rubbing his eyes and letting out a big yawn, he noticed Miguel wasn’t in his bed. Ryan grabbed his white t-shirt and stood up putting it on looking all around for his missing companion.
“Maybe he went to get a drink of water?” Ryan thought heading towards the falls.
No sign of him anywhere. Ryan cupped his hands and took three big gulps of water before going back to the beach shore. To his right were some steep rocky cliffs that were in the low tide of the shore. The beach seemed dotted everywhere with rocky areas. To his left was where they were washed ashore yesterday so he decided to look there next. Still no sign.
“Where could he be?”
Ryan walked alongside the sea tide back to the right hand side of the island. Passing a higher raised rocky cliff, he spotted Miguel sitting on the larger rocks facing the ocean. He sat there deep in thought with mournful eyes.
“Hey Miguel.” Ryan softly spoke. “You ok?”
Ryan sat beside Miguel, wanting to put his arm around the younger man to comfort him but thought better of it. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking about Sam. The stewardess on the plane remember? I barely knew her but I can’t stop thinking about what happened. Seeing her body flying through the air. It keeps playing in my head over and over.”
Miguel put his head in his hands trying his best not to cry. “I tried to help her…I tried to save her.”
“Miguel you can’t beat yourself up about it. It’s not your fault.” It was then Ryan finally threw caution to the wind and wrapped his right arm around Miguel’s shoulders. “You did what you could.”
Miguel looked up at Ryan accepting the reassuring touch. He leaned toward Ryan’s touch not away and gave another one of his small smiles that made Ryan’s heart ache.
“C’mon, let’s go find you something to eat.”
Ryan helped Miguel up and led him back into the island jungle. “What are you doing? You’re getting too close with this guy. You know what will happen. He’ll fuck you over like everyone else.”
Ryan had to put his hard mask back on. Being close with someone always made him feel weak. He kept telling himself not to be vulnerable with Miguel. That none of this will matter in the end.
The two cast aways gathered a bushel of bananas and a few coconuts for breakfast. After eating their fruity meal, the men set up the rescue flair with the wood they gathered from last night. They made it a good size and tall enough to burn well. It was out in the open but near enough to the palm trees so the tide couldn’t wash it away.
“This is a really great idea you came up with,” Miguel said handing him more branches.
“Just doing whatever it takes to get off this island and make it to Fuji. I just hope I haven’t already been replaced in that movie.” Ryan finished stacking the last of the wood for their flair.
“Oh yeah you’re gonna play <> in the movie right?” Miguel chuckled.
“Laugh it up nurse boy. I’m going places and this movie is my ticket to star power.”
“Smug bastard.” Miguel continued laughing, but Ryan was not amused. He gave a dirty look and walked past Miguel almost shoving him.
“Looks like someone’s back to having a stick up the ass. If he thinks I’m going to take his crap, he has another thing coming.” Miguel told himself as he followed Ryan into the jungle.
Chapter 3
“We don’t have to sleep outside anymore. I found a cave!” Miguel told Ryan happily.
Ryan put the binoculars down, sat up from sitting in the shade of a palm tree and followed Miguel to the location of the cave. For days Ryan stayed either close by the shoreline or up the highest cliff of the island searching and waiting for anyone to come and rescue them. He was determined to go back to his career and his life. Miguel felt like he might as well have been invisible. Ryan barely talked to him since the first night inhabiting the island, but Miguel really thought they made some kind of connection, hoped they would become friends. Ryan had this whole “arrogant-tough-as-nails-don’t-need-anyone” facade going on, but deep down Miguel can sense that he had been hurt in the past by people who claimed to have loved and cared about him. He was going to find a way somehow to drop Ryan’s guard and get inside - to let Ryan know he wasn’t alone.
Days quickly turned to weeks as Ryan and Miguel tried to pass the time by making their new cave home livable. The cave was located not far from the sea shore and had a hollow spot on the cavern wall that looked like a window facing the ocean. Inside it wasn’t rough or abrasive like the rocky cliffs outside but almost smooth due to years of endless moisture. Most of the cavern was fairly dry except for a few spots that still dripped with water causing stalactites. There was another hollowed spot just above the cave that passed well for a chimney, so they could light a fire at night to remove the evening chill. Ryan kept his distance by sleeping on the opposite side of the cavern from Miguel. His bed was near the while Miguel’s bed was more across from his behind the homemade fire pit.
Neither one of them talked to each other much unless a situation called for it. Only small talk for things such as do you need help picking bananas or gathering wood? Miguel finally just let it go and figured if Ryan wanted to open up he would. Miguel kept himself occupied by getting creative with his Swiss army knife and other things found from the plane wreckage. He made a crate for catching crabs using wood and tulle from a torn evening gown. It was a nice change having something other than fish to eat every night for dinner. He carved little animal figurines and even made a chess set so he and Ryan could play a game. One night he took firewood burned to charcoal and drew pictures on the cavern walls to make the place more cheerful. He drew landscapes of woods and farmland. He even drew a graceful dog running in a field that was supposed to pass for his dog, Julie, whom he missed very much. Nighttime was the worst for Miguel. Every night after dinner, Ryan would look at him, wish him good night and turn in earlier for bed. When sleep was difficult for Miguel, he would walk to the beach shore and lay on the sand to look up at the stars. He hated that Ryan ignored his existence. He also hated that he couldn’t get a good night’s sleep. All he had were nightmares. They were either of his parent’s accident or watching Sam die in front of him. Sometimes Miguel thought that Ryan was doing right by him, don’t get too close and neither of them will get hurt.
Ryan knew he wasn’t being pleasant around Miguel. He owed the man big time for saving his life. He just wasn’t sure how to return the favor. Ryan helped with food hunting and gathering of water and firewood which has now become an everyday routine. He would play chess with Miguel out of boredom but secretly because he enjoyed Miguel’s company. Ryan so badly wanted to trust Miguel, to share his thoughts and feelings. Everyone in Ryan’s life has been a disappointment; even Ryan’s brother Cyril was distant emotionally at times. It was always the same for him. Be strong and learn to survive on your own because all you have to rely on in this world is yourself. Ryan figured it would also be easier to keep his distance from Miguel because if and when they ever got off this damn island, it would hurt less to never see him again. So everyday he sat down and watched, waiting for a rescue boat or plane. Ryan kept his main focus to return back to New York and go back to what he loved most: acting. He was sure by now the producers of the Fuji film already found a replacement. Ryan tried to say positive about the whole messy situation, that he would get a new part in another movie.
Morning came and Ryan woke up to notice yet again that Miguel wasn’t in his bed asleep. Figuring Miguel must have gone off to hunt for this morning’s meal, Ryan decided to go to the falls to refresh himself with a bath. He would join Miguel for breakfast later. Walking closer to the waterfall, he stopped in his tracks to see in front of him a naked Miguel swimming in the crisp, clear water singing to himself. He quickly hid in the bushes before Miguel could spot him. He should have left. This wasn’t a woman he was feasting his eyes on, this was a man. Ryan questioned his own feelings about Miguel before, but now he was even more confused. He had seen men naked in the gym locker before and never had any attraction for men in the past. Was this something he had been suppressing all this time? There was no doubt Miguel was beautiful. His light caramel skin glistened in the water. His brown eyes showed so much warmth and life that Ryan found endearing. And his lips, God those full soft lips were made for kissing.
“Stop it Ryan! What is the matter with you? You need to just walk away.” He kept telling himself, but still he didn’t move.
He also didn’t realize he was holding his breath as he saw Miguel lift himself out of the waterhole to stand above the waterfall letting it cascade over him. Miguel stretched his arms out to the water then moved his hands into his hair and torso singing a song in Spanish. Ryan watched as Miguel continued to bathe himself. Seeing his perfectly shaped back, his round firm ass, his strong legs. When Miguel turned to his front view, Ryan got an eyeful of Miguel’s full glory. Turning beet red, Ryan ran away as quickly as he could back to the beach hoping Miguel didn’t hear him. His heart felt like it was about to explode from his chest and he struggled to catch his breath.
“I’m not attracted to him. I’m just feeling lonely. That’s it. That’s all it is.” But that wasn’t it and Ryan knew it. Trying his best to get the nude Latin Adonis out of his head, Ryan calmed himself long enough to decide to have a saltwater bath instead.
After sunning off on a rock by the waterhole, Miguel put on a pair of cut off jeans, got out his knife, and went on his morning search for breakfast. He picked a few bananas for Ryan and himself along with finding two coconuts to eat and drink from. The same old thing they ate every morning. It’s not like they had a choice of variety. Walking to the destination of the cave, he spotted Ryan on the shore already preparing the handmade crab traps. Ryan threw them into the water and tied the rope line onto a small rocky cliff. Ryan turned around to see Miguel watching him work and jumped off the rocks walking towards him.
“Breakfast is served.” Miguel said handing Ryan a banana and coconut shell. Ryan almost couldn’t look Miguel in the eyes after seeing him nude earlier. He tried to hide the flushed look on his face.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong. What are you my fucking dad?” Ryan snapped, grabbing the fruit from Miguel’s hands.
“Jesus someone woke up from the wrong side of the bed.” Miguel gave Ryan a questionable look and then walked away to sit under the shade of a palm. “Just let to go Miguel. The guy obviously hates you. Mind your own business and he will mind his.”
Ryan wanted to take it all back. He felt awful for snapping at Miguel. “I’m going back to the cave to get a few things before I go to the high peak to keep watch. You’ll light the bonfire if you see anything?” He asked plainly.
“Of course I will. We’ve talked about the rescue plan before, Ryan. I’ll catch us some fish for dinner by the time you get back.”
Ryan nodded and took a big bite of his banana as he started walking to the direction of the cave.
Miguel watched him walk away and exhaled deep. “Its check out time on this so-called vacation.
It’s just no use.”
He shook his head as if trying to clear his mind completely of thinking. Why in the world did he still care for a man who wanted nothing to do with him? Tried as he may, Miguel just couldn’t shake off his feelings for Ryan. There were so many good qualities in Ryan. His confidence, his determination to reach his goals, his dry humor, Miguel found that he loved all those things. All Miguel needed to do was show Ryan how to love. Someday, somehow it will happen. He finished his breakfast and decided he would spear for fish instead of use fishing poles. Miguel carved a sharp end of a long wood stick with his Swiss army knife. Satisfied with the sharpness, he put the knife back into his pocket and walked to the shoreline. Locating a deep area of the sea, he climbed up a rocky cliff and dove into the cool water.
Ryan grabbed the binoculars, some water, and the coconut shell and put them into a worn out duffle bag. He tried to keep his mind at ease by not daydreaming of what he saw earlier this morning. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get Miguel out if his head. It wasn’t because he was turned on by his body; he was turned on by his soul. Ryan loved Miguel’s caring nature, sense of humor, and passion for life. They were a lot alike in some ways, so close but yet so far away. Ryan only had himself to blame for that. He truly needed to make it up to Miguel for being such a dick to him. Somehow he was going to live up to that promise. Ryan reached the top peak almost out of breath. He took a large drink from his over-used water bottle and scouted the horizon. As always, there were no signs of life. He crouched down the ground putting his duffle bag down and looked outward with the binoculars. He turned his body a little from left to right. Just as Ryan was about to turn around to look from behind, he spotted something way out in the ocean. Up close it looked like a little red and white speck. Adjusting the lenses, Ryan made out the form of a ship. A ship! He raised himself up slowly with his mouth wide open. His eyes must be deceiving him.
“A ship! A ship! Hey!” Ryan shouted running down the peak as quickly as he could. “Miguel! Miguel! A ship! Light the flair!” He stumbled and almost tripped on his own feet running so fast. He wanted to get back on the beach and he wanted to be there now!
Miguel was so busy fish hunting underwater he didn’t even see the far off ship that looked like a tiny bath toy from a distance. He swam up the water surface taken a few quick deep breaths before diving back into the water trying his best to spear for some good sized fish. After five tries, his practicing aim finally paid off and he caught a large cod big enough to feed two people. He hit the surface in triumph to his hunting achievement holding up his prize. The smile started to turn into a look of confusion as he saw Ryan running on the beach and shouting like a maniac.
“Miguel what the fuck are you doing? Don’t you see the ship!?” Ryan pointed towards its direction.
“What ship?”
“What do you mean what ship? There out in the distance. You’re telling me all this time you haven’t seen it? Dammit Miguel it’s right there in plain sight!”
Miguel was still in the ocean. He turned around to see what Ryan was talking about. He saw the form of a ship in the far distance. “Oh shit!” Miguel made the same face Ryan animated earlier.
Ryan dashed to the rescue bon flair. He was furious to see it unlit. “Miguel, Dammit! Help me light the flair!”
He quickly crouched down and tried to create a spark. Ryan rubbed two sticks together so hard his hands were going numb and started to get blisters. Miguel quickly ran to his side to help him, but it was too late. The ship was nowhere to be seen. As if it disappeared. Ryan looked back down to his hands and throws the sticks in frustration.
“Ryan, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see the ship. I didn’t know.”Miguel reached his hand to Ryan’s shoulder to comfort him. Ryan jerked Miguel’s hand away and stood up just as quickly.
“Get off me! You know I’ve just about had it with you!” Ryan snapped making his anger crystal clear.
“With me?”
“Yeah with you! It’s your fault that were stuck here on this rock.”
“Is that so?” Miguel spat back at Ryan. “If it weren’t for me, pal, you would be swimming with the fishes right now. I saved your ass.”
“Who asked you to do that, huh? You should have left me on that plane to die.”
“Ryan!”
“It’s true,” Ryan hissed. “I would rather be fish food then be around an annoying third-world-country loser like you.”
“You should talk, you spineless snot-nosed rich-bitch excuse for a human being!” Miguel hissed back. He could not believe his ears.
“Shut up!”
“No, you shut up!” Miguel continued. “I’ve seen you. You have been cruel to me to push me away and I’ve had it! Don’t you feel anything other than anger? No, I guess not because you’re nothing but a pussy.”
Ryan snapped and punched Miguel in the face. Miguel fell hard onto the sand. He stroked his sore jaw and felt a trickle of blood coming from his split lip. Raising himself on his feet he eyed Ryan for a moment and walked passed him to the direction of the cave.
Ryan turned towards Miguel. “Where are you going?”
Miguel stopped and turned back around. “It’s a big rock so I’m going to get my things. I’ll stay on one far side of this island and you stay on the other. Then whenever the time comes when we get rescued we can forget about it. We never met, this never happened!”
“Fucking fine by me!”
“Fine!”
“Fine!”
“Fuck you!”
“Go fuck yourself!”
"Palos y piedras a mi amigo. Palos y piedras.” Miguel’s voice trailed off as he walked away still muttering in Spanish. Ryan stormed off the opposite direction trying to come to his senses. He didn’t know if he should feel relieved or sad. Miguel could read him all too well and that’s what scared the shit out of him.
Part 2