"The Island by Amellie Part 2" by Amellie Forbes

                                          The Island by Amellie: Part 2

Day 4.

Another warm early morning greeted me as I slowly woke up. I stretched lazily and yawned as I took  in my surroundings. The cave was so peaceful, the only sound I could here was the distant cries of seabirds, and the gentle sporadic breaking of the waves as they languidly hit the shore. It would be so easy to lay here longer and take in the sounds, relish the unhurried pace of how my time here was beginning to unfold. I was thirsty though and there was a rumbling in my stomach this morning. It was time to shape up and go get some breakfast. I thirstily drank the water from two of my leaf bowls as I had christened them. My confidence in their safety was now assurred and I happily realised for the first time in days I was no longer thirsty, in fact I needed to pee again at last. Yay!! I went outside and walked just inside the border of the forest to a small spot I`d already allocated as suitable for my toilet and crouched down and relieved myself. It was a sparse amount and it smelt quite strong but it was a start. After breakfast I would collect more leaves so I could store more water still. Then I could finally stop worrying about dehydration.

I walked slowly back to the cave and collected my net and spear and headed to the shallows. I walked slowly in and watched the water cleanse my sand encrusted body. The fish were back again, they weren`t so worried about me after all. But I was determined to make them see I wasn`t the same near useless fisherwoman of yesterday. Well guess what!? I`d caught two in the first twenty minutes or so of trying. My method was to walk a little further out into the sea than they were, then slowly and carefully move back closer to the shore forcing a small number of them to drift into the shallower water. There the spear became more effective for me. The net became all most redundant, in fact I used it more as a means of holding the fish I`d speared.

After forty minutes or so with three dead fish in my net I went back to the outside of the cave and began boning and cooking them. They say practise makes perfect and soon I was eating. There were even less bones left in them this time, and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I was hungry and if anything in my haste I undercooked the third one, it was quite raw compared to the first two. It wasn`t so much pinky, but nearly red. If anything it was even tastier.

I soon set about collecting more leafs for water and modified my design of them slightly increasing there depth a little more. Now they could hold more water still. Then I turned my thoughts to the more long term. It didn`t hurt to plan ahead. I had to assume that I may be here for longer than I was prepared to think of at the moment. And at some point it may turn colder. Eventually the fluid in my cigarette lighter would run out, so I needed to be able to make fire by using only things that were at my disposal and in natural supply on the island. But how to go about it. Everything I needed to build and sustain a fire was no problem. Starting it was going to be the tricky part. Again I`d seen this kind of thing done on survival shows but putting what I could remember into practise was the tricky part. I tried smashing to rocks together over some dried kindling, hoping to produce a spark. No spark. I used my shoelace tied to a bent piece of stick and then wrapped around another stick,. That method was quite promising, but very hard work for me. Then I resorted to plain old rubbing two sticks together. I think with this last one I was as tantalisingly close to success as I was with the second one, but I finally felt too tired to persevere and gave up. I needed to rest for a while, then I`d come back to it. It was vital I learned this skill. There would be no quitting on my part, I simply had to master this.

I then spent the next couple of hours just lazing in the sun. I used the time to think about other sources of nutrition, other than just fish. I needed to be able to rely on a varied diet. I needed fruit as well as meat if I was to remain healthy. I had no confidence in my abilty to pick a safe snack from any of the plants and trees here, so it would be small samples, trial and error, and hope for the best, just like with the water. As for meat, well as far as I knew or could guess there were no livestock on the island. There could be no wild boar or deer here, I assumed I would have known by now if there were. I knew I needed to explore the island again, and this time it had to be as thorough as I could make it. I needed to know exactly just what I had at my disposal here.

Feeling well rested, I decided to take a swim in the sea, the sun was just past it`s highest point by now and I needed to cool off a little. I never strayed far from the shore, and I noted again that the fish had left the shallows for the time being. I swam for around ten minutes or so, casually admiring the abundance of life darting around beneath me further from the shore. As I left the water I noticed a tender, aching feeling in my breasts. I wondered if I was beginning my period it being due around now, and tender breasts being one of the first signs for me. Unusually though my nipples felt odd to me as well. After leaving the water they remained stiff and erect, they just did`nt want to calm down for a while. Whatever! I guess they just liked the sun as well. As I made my way back to the shore I fixed my eyes on the highest point of the island. I decided that tomorrow I`d make my way up there. It would give me a good view of the whole island, a chance to take stock of my circumstances as well. I felt the urge to swim some more, but right now I wanted to save my energy and tackle the tricky problem of starting a fire au naturale. I gave it my best shot again but to no avail. I was nearly there, I felt sure of that. But I fell just short of the mark, just running out of steam again. Still I wouldn`t give up. I had no other option after all.

In the early evening my favourite fishes returned to the shallows. I trimmed their numbers by another three again, in a shorter space of time as well. I was improving! I found some more crabs in the rock pools as well, four of them. I was going to eat well tonight! Why I had developed a taste for raw fish I didn`t understand. I cooked nothing that night. I cut the heads off the fish, boned them rather half heartedly and picked my way around their raw carcasses. The crabs of course went the same way. Maybe I didn`t need a fire after all? I finished my feast off with the water from three of the leaves, I`d almost given up using my bottle now. And for the first time in days I felt comfortably full. I rounded things off with a rather unladylike belch, and joy of joys half an hour later, my first bowel movement on the island in my freshly and hastily dug new toilet. Relax, I`ll spare you anymore details! Suffice to say I began to feel in the best health I`d enjoyed in the time I`d been on the island. And other than my tender boobs and excitable nipples, I was feeling pretty good in general. Not bad really for a blonde, huh?!

Feeling on a roll, I summoned up all of my energy and had another crack at making fire again. I`d come closest to success with the string method, so I persevered with that for a good fifteen minutes. Again I got to the point where there were small wisps of smoke coming from the stick. I rubbed harder still. I was quickly reaching the limits of my endurance again when I spotted the tiniest little glow of an ember. I tried to rub faster, wasn`t sure I managed to, when finally a tiny little puff of smoke appeared from the kindling. Then to my great joy a small flame finally ignited it. Excitedly I gently blew it to sustain it. When I felt it had taken a hold for a moment or two I quickly placed more kindling on it. Then I added more, then finally some dry branches which soon took light and began to crackle softly in the gathering dusk. I kneeled back and stared at my fire in stunned silence. Then I started to cry in sheer joy at it all. I`d started my own little fire! I was elated and captivated by my achievement and sat there staring in awe at it for a long while. I finally left it burning merrily and went back to the cave where I gently bathed my sore and blistered hands tenderly in the pool. I had created fire. And it was worth every bit of the effort and pain as well! Now if I just practised hard, I hoped it would get easier each time I attempted it from now on.

The moon was high and full again as I bathed and relaxed in my pool. I`d had a really good day today. I`d earnt every bit of this rest and relaxation. I felt good. I thought of Chrissy and my family and a pang of sorrow filled me momentarily. I missed them of course, and I desperately wished I could let them know I was okay, that I was still alive, and was surviving. And I wished they could see what I`d achieved here the past few days. I wanted them to know that little Chloe was making a decent fist of surviving all by herself. People who know me may tell you if pressed that  I`m not the brightest of girls. Academically I guess I was a  disappointment to my family. Yes, I`ve been called a bimbo on more than one occasion, and yes, I`m partly to blame for that. I`ve never done anything to prove myself to be anything other than that. Some might even say at times I`ve encouraged that train of thought. I fell into that role at quite a young age. It was easier to disappoint than to try and prove myself otherwise. But that`s not strictly true either. You see I am quite dim and dippy. But that`s what`s made my achievements here all the more special to me, that`s why it`s meant so much to me. I felt justified in my feelings of accomplishments. I was well and truly pleased for myself as I basked and dozed in my lovely warm and relaxing rock pool bathed by the moonlight.

Day 5.

Breakfast was my best yet. The fish were caught and killed quickly, the same for the crabs. I ate four big fish. Raw. Five crabs. Uncooked as well. I was simply ravenous. Making the fire had burned a lot of calories I guessed. Water was plentiful to me now. I drank four full leaf bowls, and I filled my water bottle for the trek to the top of the island. My breasts were still tender and achy, but I couldn`t let a bit of PMT distract me from my task for the day. Heroic huh?

The climb up was spectacularly pretty but uneventful other than catching sight of what I guessed was some sort of game bird. I say game bird because by its appearance and apparent total lack of fear of me. It made no attempt to fly off and it just didn`t look like it was built for flight either. It had a short stubby tail, and small rather useless looking wings. It was brightly coloured which all in all I thought was rather unfair on it. It couldn`t fly, and it couldn`t hide itself very well either. I imagined their numbers else where in the world were not great. I thought of killing it there and then. It would be some much needed protein and nourishment for supper and a change from fish and crab. But for now I kept my focus on my hike.

When I reached the highest point of the island I took in the view which as you can imagine was totally spectacular. The sky was a cloudless, gorgeous blue, the sea was a sublime mix of greens and blues, sometimes mixing, other times stand alone variations of hues and shades of their own. It looked as if it had just been created. It looked so fresh and new, perhaps like the whole world did at the dawn of time. It looked like pure untouched and unspoilt majesty. No artist alive or dead could paint a picture as perfect as this. Which was why I couldn`t understand why I felt so unsettled up here. On my way up, I`d had a growing feeling of, well I don`t know what to call it...., despondancy I guess. It was an odd feeling, because I was in a real good frame of mind before and after breakfast. I put it down to the PMT, and tried to forget about it, but I just couldn`t shake that feeling.

I stayed there for around forty minutes or so, mainly admiring the view and taking in the general layout of the island. The shoreline provided no obvious suitable places for ships or boats to dock, especially large ones. The seabed leading to the shore was so shallow and rose so gently that I guessed it made it impossibe for large ships, which would need deeper water to drop anchor in, to approach anywhere near the island itself. Maybe that was the reason the island was devoid of mankind. I surmised there weren`t any valuable minerals or ores lurking in the rocks or under the sea. God knows if there had been oil here, this place would be either being fought over or covered by concrete. It seemed all the island had going for it was its beauty. And that did`nt explain why there were no tourists, back to back holiday apartments, an airfield and hoardes of people. That was all a mystery to me. I didn`t hang around to think about it any longer. I hadn`t really gained much by trekking up here. I`d known already it was a small, spectacularly pretty island. And I knew already I was alone and stuck here for the time being. And I knew I couldn`t wait to get back to the beach and my cave.

My journey back was notable only for the fact that I saw the same bird again. I killed it in a frantic flurry of dust and feathers by breaking its neck as it fought desperately to save itself. No remorse from me again, just anger that the talons on its feet left some deep scratches on my stomach which seeped blood as I carried the dead bird by its offending feet back down to the beach. My mood had brightened by the time I reached the cave. My scratches had stopped bleeding and I cleaned them out with some water from a leaf bowl. I put the bird in the cave out of the sun and lazed around for a while. In the late afternoon I set about plucking the bird, a task I didn`t enjoy in the slightest. I did the best I could, and I guessed it was okay, then I lit a fire. I cheated a bit this time and used my lighter. I was feeling tired from my trek and a little hormonal as well. I just didn`t have the energy to do it manually. I gathered and stored the plucked feathers, I was sure I might make use of them at some point. Right now I couldn`t think what though.

The bird eventually browned and looked well cooked to me, so I pulled off a leg and tried it. I`d been expecting it to taste kind of like chicken I guess, but what I got was an awful taste. I chewed it and it didn`t improve any, then I reluctantly swallowed a mouthful. It was vile. I forced myself to eat another mouthful. Then on the third one I spit it straight out. It tasted awful. I spat on the sand several times and rinsed my mouth with some water. I was puzzled by why it tasted so bad. I`d eaten turkey, duck and obviously chicken before. Surely this bird should have tasted something similar to that? If not, it shouldn`t have been so spectacularly gross. The bird hadn`t appeared to be diseased or unhealthy in anyway. Its biggest problem had been its lack of fear of me. I couldn`t face eating anymore of it, so I took it off the spit and buried it just inside the border of the forest. After that I didn`t feel hungry anymore. I briefly thought about trying to catch a fish or two, but by then the sun was fading and I was as well.

The waning moon appeared as I bathed in the pool. The scratches from the bird didn`t sting anything like I thought they would as I entered the pool, in fact they looked less sore already which was good, but the high of last night seemed a distant memory tonight. It hadn`t been the best of days for me though it had started so brightly. My stomach didn`t feel great and my breasts were sore and tender. It came as no surprise to me later in the night when I awoke and had to rush outside to vomit. It was going to be seafood for me from here on in!

Day 6.

An early morning bout of stomach cramps followed by diarrhea was how I started my new day. Coupled with the onset of my period, it didn`t bode well for the day ahead. I sat outside and watched the sun appear above the eastern horizon. I think I`d only ever been up once or twice before in my life to witness a sunrise. They didn`t compare to this one either. There was no pollution here to taint the natural beauty and freshness of a new day. It lifted my spirits and made me feel better. Ahh, the simple things in life. To my surprise and amazement I noticed the scratches on my stomach from the birds talons had completely healed overnight. I probed my skin where they`d been. Not the slightest hint of them ever having been there. Gone to were the blisters and sores on my hands from my fire making. Bizarre to say the least. I guess I just heal fast in the sun! Anyhow, I lazed around for a couple of hours making sure I drank plenty to rehydrate myself after my stomach upset, and by around what I figured to be 8am, I`d stopped wearing my watch days back now not having to be time conscious here, I decided that I was feeling hungry and needed to catch breakfast. I wasn`t keen to enter the sea while on my monthly for obvious reasons, namely I didn`t want to send the wrong message to any prowling sharks or the like. So I improvised and made a makeshift tampon from my panties by tearing a piece from them and screwing it up. This was something I hadn`t learned from TV and it was unpleasant and uncomfortable, but it was the best I could come up with for the time being.

I waded out into the water careful not to alarm the hoardes of basking fish, then slowly leaned backward into the sea. I submerged myself gently and scanned the underwater scene. I rose to the surface again and took a deep breath again before dipping back under the sea. I swam slowly closer to the fish, who were it seemed unconcerned by my presence. They slowly let themselves drift further from me, but I compensated for that by swimming a little quicker towards them. Closer and closer, then with a speed that startled me, I lunged at them. I caught one straight away with my right hand. In a blur of fish scales and my own flesh I seized the fish close to its tail and pulled it to my mouth where I bit it at the base of its head almost decapitating it. Focused totally on the moment I ignored its torn flesh and the other gore floating from its broken body, and in an instant I`d savagely repeated the same process on another. This time I held it clenched between my teeth, it thrashed and spasmed, but it didn`t stop me grasping another with my left hand. Laden with the fish I swam toward the shore where I threw the dead one onto the sand, dropped the other from my mouth and promptly bit into the flesh of the live one. I panted for a while as I sat on the sand the sea gently rolling around my feet, and having regained my breath I devoured one of the fish. I relished the taste of the raw flesh, my mind thinking of nothing other than eating. When I`d finished with the first fish, I dropped the remains of it onto the wet sand. I was started already on the second, when  I stopped chewing and looked down at the remains of the first fish. The head and tail were still identifiable, the rest of it was just a skeleton. I`d stripped its body entirely of flesh. The bones were neat and clean. It gave me pause for thought, but after a moment I continued eating the second one hungrily. However my mind was on how quickly I`d become so efficient at killing and consuming the fish.

After I`d ate the third I went to the cave and consumed another large amount of captured water, then feeling hungry still I sat outside and contemplated catching more food. I absent mindedly pulled my improvised tampon out from within me. There was only a small amount of discharge upon it, significantly less than what I was used to. My periods had always been on the heavy side at the start of my cycle, but I put this less copious amount of bleeding down to my traumatic last week or so. I buried the bloody remains of my panties near my latrine, and returned to the warm sand to continue my musings. I was preoccupied by the way I`d caught the fish this morning. Particularly how without much thought I`d abandoned my old method with the spear and net and adapted the underwater, savage approach I`d used. Where had that come from? Sure it was more effective and efficient, but it was such a radical departure from my tried and tested methods. And I`d no idea where the impulse to do it came from. I guessed it made sense really. Why waste time and energy using tools. I recognised my circumstances are all about when to expend energy and how best to do it efficiently, and when to conserve it. If it worked for me, and it did, why worry about it? "Don`t over analyse Girl." I told myself.

Then I went back to the sea. I binged on fish on and off for most of the day until the fish left again, then I went in search of crabs. Anything that looked like it might be from the sea I snacked on. I always did tend to pick at food and binge when it was this time of the month for me. Somethings never changed I guess no matter where you go in the world.

Nightime meant bathing time of course. I lay in the pool absent mindedly brushing the tangles out of my hair. It had turned more blonde from the exposure to the sun and had grown out a bit in the last week. With my frequents visits to the sea I`d expected it to become dry and dull, but it seemed the opposite was happening. It remained soft and shiny, and I liked the extra length of it. I`d never really grown it long before, but now without any scissors I had little choice in the matter. It clung damply to my breasts, as I studied the added plumpness of my nipples. That wasn`t a part of my period, but I figured that was down to their constant exposure to the sun as well. The sun didn`t explain away the fullness of my breasts though. They looked and felt plumper to me. Around my areola there was a swelling as well giving my nipples there own little mounds to sit on. They felt sensitive and still tender but in a nice way. I guess the island life simply agrees with my boobs. And hey, what girl wouldn`t like a couple extra inches anyway!

The light from the dwindling moon was filtering through the cave giving an ambient glow to the inside as I continued my reflections. Another thing I`d been feeling for a while was a restlessness in my legs. I couldn`t seem to shake it. They felt like there was an excess of energy within them. But I had no desire to walk or even run to relieve it. They were more toned than they`d ever been as well. My job was sitting behind a desk, so the past week they`d gotten more exercise than they`d had in a long time. But even so there was cleary an added bulk to them as well. Not fat, I hasten to add! Perish the thought! It felt like muscle, hard and unyielding flesh. I wondered if my lower half was taking on the appearance of a female bodybuilder. Seriously there really was a quite noticeable difference in them. If I`d had a full length mirror here I`d be stood in front of it right now closely scrutinising my body!

In the dusky light filtering into the cave I noticed for the first time something that was odd. The beds of my toenails had taken on a greeny bluish hue. It looked like someone had put nail varnish below the nails. But mixed within the blue and green there were darker mottled patches as well. I put my hairbrush down and pulled my kness up to my chest. Even in this light the colours were unmistakable. I gingerly ran my fingertips over them. No outward change in appearance. I pressed them and they stayed the same. My toenails were slightly longer than usual as welI. I gently felt their length, and oddly as I did so the nail of my big toe lifted upwards before dropping back. The nails on my other toes were similar as well. I could lift them all. There was a slight narrowing to them as well or so it appeared. I let my feet drop back into the pools water, then quickly checked my fingernails. No change there though. I shook my head. How odd! I pulled my foot up and examined it closely again. What was it? Some kind of fungus? Who knew what I might pick up on an island like this? It served to remind me off how precarious my existence here could become if it was to be for an extended period of time. I really needed to take care of myself. No unecessary risks I silently told myself.

Day 7.

I`ve been here a whole week now and it was another day of pigging out I`m afraid. My appetite is seemingly insatiable right now. My stomach is clearly back to normal. My period is over as well. No bleed today. It`s the lightest and shortest one I`ve ever had. Yay! Island life is good! Again my legs feel energised. I`ve countered that by doing lots of swimming, those fish aren`t going to come to me on their own you know. My boobs are bigger! I tried on my bra for the first time in days, and I was squeezing out of it in places I never used to. It fits fine around my back, but the cups are too small for me now. Awsome! The fabric felt all rough and scratchy to me as well and I was glad to get it off again. I`ve decided I like being a naturist better than wearing clothes now! My toenails are continuing to cause me some concern though. They seem thinner and longer still today and I`ve no means of trimming them. I`ll have to come up with some other way to do it, and soon if they carry on growing as quickly as they seem to be at the moment. I can still lift them as well. And my eyes did not deceive me last night, they are a mottled greeny blue colour now. Strange kind of fungus. But I must say I do rather like the color. I think they look pretty.

Oh, and for the first time since I`ve been here a light breeze blew. It made for a nice cool afternoon and it made the sea a tiny bit more choppy when I was fishing. It made no difference to me though, I`ve got it down to a fine art now. I`ve become a real pig of late, I can`t believe how much I`m eating just now. I feel so desperately hungry all the time. I hope the fish are having lots of babies somewhere.

I`ve been spending a lot of time thinking of home. I haven`t seen Chrissy for seven days, but it feels more like it`s been a year. I can`t think of a time since we were kids when we`ve spent longer apart. I miss my girlfriend real bad right about now. I long to chat endlessly like we always did. I miss her silliness, I miss everything about her. And dare I say it I even miss her pining over Brett. I miss my family as well of course, but in a different kind of way to Chrissy. We`ve spent so much time apart from each other over the last few years, vacations were the only times I saw them now, and even that had to be at different times with my parents. Theirs was not an amicable parting. I feel torn. I need my home, I need Chrissy and my old life. But I`m also kind of reluctant to think about leaving here. Weird huh?

In the pool tonight I`m really starting to wonder what`s going on with the size of my legs. I`m always being told I`m paranoid about my body. What woman is`nt? But I can`t be imagining their size though. My thighs and calves, and it breaks my heart to say it, even my cute little butt, all seem to be bulking up. Not good! Now I`m away from the sea for the night, the restlesness in my legs is driving me nuts. I`m tempted to leave the pool and go for a real swim. God, it`s like I`m being pulled to the sea sometimes. And I`m hungry again as well.

Day 8.

There is patchy cloud today and the breeze of yesterday has been replaced by a stronger wind today. It`s whipping a fine layer of sand off the surface of the beach, and the sea is looking kind of choppy. But I`ve eaten well again. I thought I might struggle in the sea, but I had no troubles until I was returning to the shelter of the cave. I`d awoken with a tingling in my feet and lower legs, which on the way to the sea turned to full on pins and needles. They passed quickly while I was swimming, but walking up the beach to the cave they returned and then my legs gave out on me completely, sending me and my lunch sprawling on the sand.

I`ve decided I should go check on the boat today. The tide is undoubtedly a little higher on the beach here and I`m concerned the boat might catch a wave and start to drift away. I need to think of a way to secure it better. After all I might be able to catch that easterly one of these days. I need to be ready if that chance arises for me. But then again do I want to be? See what I mean? I`m torn. I don`t know what I want anymore. Right now I`m just waiting for the numbness in my lower legs to pass, then I`ll go to the boat. I just don`t feel like walking anywhere right now. What can I do though? I have to make the boat safe somehow.

Eventually I did walk stiffly from the cave. I decided it might be easier for me to swim there, so I threw myself into the incoming waves and was rewarded straight away by the relief of the numbness in my legs. It made me temporarily happier again and so I set off parallel to the shore for the boat. I made good time, I don`t know if there was a current with me, but I doubted I could`ve walked the distance quicker, especially today.

The boat was exactly how I`d left it, but I saw from a distance that the tide had been up to the hull at some point in my absence. I`d been lucky it hadn`t come much further or the boat would`ve been well adrift by now. I set about trying to think of a way of mooring it more safely, but I was at a loss as to how I could do it. It had no anchor for a start. I guess it didn`t need one if it was just used for charter trips like mine had been. The rest of the time it would just have been tied up in the port. What to do? All I could come up with was to take the mooring rope onto the shore and weigh it down with as many rocks as I could collect. The discomfort in my legs prevented me from making the rope as secure as I would have liked and the results of my efforts weren`t ideal by any means, but it was the best I could do. I just had to accept I was incapable of doing more right now. I hoped it would hold the boat and left. I made good use of the swim back catching several fish on the way. Some were different to my normal fare, I assumed the choppier water brought them closer to the shore, but I was sure they`d go down well. The one I carried in my mouth tasted nice enough anyway.

As I lay in the pool brushing my hair I fidgeted a little that night. My legs felt relaxed but the thought of the boat being so tenuously secured worried me. The wind hadn`t dropped much all day and still blew strongly the length of the beach. I thought of Chrissy and how much I wanted to see her again. And I thought of the island. My life here. I didn`t dislike it. Quite the opposite was true. Oh, what would I do if the chance came for me to leave? I`d have to take it wouldn`t I? I couldn`t stay here forever. Could I?

I started daydreaming of a life here by myself. The boat gone for good. Me alone. I absent mindedly fondled my swollen left nipple bringing it to hardness. It felt rubbery and so much more plump than before. I softly began to sing a lullaby from my childhood. Then feeling thirsty I twisted to reached for one of my leaf bowls of water. I began to take a mouthful when I was seized by a powerful contraction of my legs. They slammed together so hard it caused me to drop the bowl and the water within into the pool. The water in the pool surged into a small wave and washed over the side on to the sand floor of the cave. It took me so by surprise I gasped and let out a scream of shock. I sat up quickly as my legs clenched as it seemed they forcefully tried to push themselves tight to one another. I felt peculiar spasms in my womanhood and my thigh muscles began to cramp from the pressure my legs were creating. I tried to bend them, but a fierce pressure in my knees and calf muscles forced them straight out on to the bottom of the pool. Then when I stopped trying to pull them up, they lifted slightly clear of the water. I felt the  unyielding tightness of my thigh muscles, and grasped them with my hands. They were rock solid gripped by the cramping pain from within them. I sobbed through clenched teeth. Then to my sheer terror I felt small lumps or bumps emerge from the taught flesh of my upper legs. I gasped in shock as whatever they were they quickly covered the tops of my thighs right down to my ankles. Panicking I thrashed in the water. I tried to pull myself away from whatever was happening to my lower half. I grasped at the side of the pool and tried to heave myself out but slipped back again.

The seizures or whatever they were stopped just then and to my  relief the strange lumps that had appeared simply disappeared as my muscles stopped spasming. I was exhausted and scared beyond belief and allowed myself to slip lifelessly back into the pool. I sat stunned staring at my legs. For a moment I thought I`d dreamt what had happened. Then slowly my legs moved back firmly together, straightened, and the lumps reappeared slowly, but even more pronounced this time. I gaped at them for a long, long moment, my throat as dry as sand. Then slowly I summoned up the courage to lift out a trembling hand. My heart was thumping wildly within me and I felt nauseous as I softly touched my thighs. They were cool, and didn`t feel as taut and so tightly strung as they had minutes ago. I felt one of the lumps gingerly. It was soft and yielding to my touch and flattened where my finger felt it. The fluid or whatever lay within it, was momentarily displaced by my probing finger. I pulled my hand a way in shock and fear. My mind swam wildly. Fragments of coherent thought finally began to string themselves together as my mind slowly absorbed the fact that whatever those things were on my legs they were indeed a part of me. And as if to reinforce that fact they stayed until I could summon up the strength of will and presence of mind to drag myself from the pool.

After panting on the floor for sometime I fearfully tried to get to my feet, but it was useless. My legs had no strength and felt like rubber. I dragged myself further from the pool to the spot where I normally slept. For the longest time I stared wide eyed in shock at my fastidiously straightened legs and their abnormal additions. At some point during the night I came to a stable enough frame of mind to admit to myself that there was something seriously weird and wrong happening to me. The instinct to be back among those who loved and cared for me became overwhelming as I cried, and through my tears stared at the deformities now adorning my legs. I felt no doubt that whatever was wrong with me, whatever it was, couldn`t be left unchecked. It suddenly had become a matter of necessity that I somehow get off the island and make it home. I needed help from someone now. This was no longer a game or romantic adventure. I could already feel myself slipping further and further from the people I cared about. But even as I thought of leaving a pang of anguish filled me. I felt a bond with this island and somewhere within me I knew I didn`t want to go. I had no idea where these strong emotions were coming from or why I felt them. But it was now blatantly clear I couldn`t stay. It was going to be a wrench for me but I had to go. I feared what may happen if I didn`t. In an act of defiance towards what was happening to me, warily eyeing my lower half I reached forward gingerly and wrote, I AM CHLOE in the soft sand of the cave floor.

Day 9.

Of course how could I sleep after that! I watched as the day dawned overcast and yet more windy. The waves were the biggest I`d seen them yet. Rollers were forming around 200 meters from the beach, then they`d come crashing down onto the shore in a manner that only heightened my anxiety about the boat. The wind was strong enough to give me a decent speed from sail power in the boat, but of course it wasn`t blowing the way I needed. It blew from the south more or less straight northwards. I checked it frequently with my compass. Occasionally I thought I detected a slight alteration in its direction, but each time on closer study I realised the variations were only minor. I had no idea how much wind blew around the island over any given time and had no way of knowing when it would be windy again. What if it seldom or never blew west to east?

I`d sat forlorny in the cave since last night. The weird lumps had disappeared again, but my legs still felt all wrong. My feet were numb. I touched them and they felt very cold , the same with my shins and thighs. The weather wasn`t great, but it was by no means cold enough to make them feel that way. I just couldn`t understand it. Another symptom of whatever was wrong with me I could only assume. The sides of my ribs were aching as well now, and I could feel a steady throbbing from within my back. To round off my woes my intimate parts were alternating between feeling numb, and then aching and sore. Hunger had caught up with me quickly, that was no surprise at least, and I braced myself to stand and walk to the sea to hunt fish. I used the smooth side of the cave to ease myself upward. But it was no use. Standing was more than I could bear just now. Being on my feet just felt all wrong. I was scared enormously by this of course. After twenty minutes or so of fretting, it was clear what I had to do. I could just stay here and wallow in self pity or I could fight this.

I chose the latter and so I began to drag myself from the cave down to the shore on my belly. My near useless legs dragged behind me offering no more assistance other than the occasional push to keep my momentum up. Out of breath and weakening quickly I finally felt the soothing relief of the water spraying on to my naked skin. I paused briefly to savour the sensation and then dragged myself into the waves until I could swim easily. The waves couldn`t blunt my fishing skills and I caught several fish easily. I revelled in the freedom the sea gave me after the limitations that land was forcing upon me. I threw several fish on to the beach out of reach of the waves and continued diving for more until there were eight carcasses plus the two I carried onto the shore. There was no possibility of me taking them to the cave to eat. How many times would I have to drag myself over the sand to make that happen? Once was enough for me!

I sat on the beach as the wind blew wisps of sand over my wet body and started to tuck into the feast. I was in the middle of a mouthful when the cramps hit me again. I nearly spat out the fish but groaned in pain through it as my legs snapped fast and tight together. They started to shake and spasm as my thigh muscles tightened and gripped, clenching themselves harder and harder. "Ohh God!" I cried out. I kept trying to sit up and lie back in a vain attempt to ease the discomfort. I twisted on to my belly and buried my head in my arms as I screamed and tried to remain calm until this....., whatever it was, stopped. I cried, and I beat my fists on the sand in a mixture of helplessness and sheer frustration.

When it all finally eased I turned around to see what had happened to me. My legs were there and were normal. Whatever the bumps meant they were gone again. I gently touched the cold flesh of my thighs and shins. Slowly they started to wrinkle like an orange peel effect. It looked just like cellulite actually. Then the numbness in my feet was replaced by a dull aching. My legs of their own freewill moved gently together again, and as I watched the greeny blue colouring of my toenails began to spread slowly onto the flesh of my toes and progressed half up my feet before slowly stopping. I watched as the lumps pushed out larger and more abundant than any of the times before. My condition was deteriorating. And it was doing so quickly.

For the time being I`d lost my appetite completely. I stared open mouthed at my lower torso. Curiosity finally got the better of me and I gently began probing myself with my fingers then my hands. The lumps were soft and yielding still. But there was a different feel underneath the fluid like surface of them. A harder, but still quite soft protrusion. I tried to spread my legs apart to see my inner thighs but they were having none of it. When I tried it just caused my feet to straighten outward. What the hell did that mean? Was there something wrong with the wiring of my brain now? Since when did it confuse the message to open my legs with a signal for my feet to move? I saw the lumps had appeared all around my womanhood and gently probed them and was rewarded by a pleasant warmth emanating from within it that caused it to moisten and me to shudder slightly. My thighs were so tightly together I couldn`t gain much more access to it, so my gaze traveled further up my body. The lumps had appeared even further up this time. They finally seemed to lessen just below my belly button, which to me appeared less pronounced now. Where the protrusions finished on my waist, the colour of my flesh was tainted with the same greeny blue as my feet. I gasped. I looked from my body to the now sand covered carcasses of the fish. I propped my self on my right elbow and wiped the sand from one of the fish. Then I looked at my hips and feet. I shook my head slowly as fear mounted within me. "No...., No..., it can`t be. It can`t be."

I felt like I was choking, hysteria was mounting within me. I thought I was going crazy, when from nowhere a gentle calmness seemed to arise within me. I thought I felt a hand on my shoulder. I thought I heard a voice say, "Chloe..., Chloe...., it`s alright. Don`t worry you`re going to be fine...., you`ll be fine." I looked to see who`s hand it could be touching me. Of course there was nobody there. I was still alone. Alone like I`d been for the last week. Alone as it seemed I was drifting slowly into insanity. Hearing voices was now added to my growing list of symptoms. Whether it was my imagination or not, it had the desired effect on me. It calmed me...., I did`nt feel so alone just then. I lay by the waters edge and let the salty spray soothe me as I stared at my failing body. But after only a short time the instinct for self preservation and survival kicked in and my hunger pangs returned. I removed some of the sand from the fish and started to feast on them again. When I`d finished them all I lay close to the sea reassured by its close proximity. As the tide grew higher I let it pick me up and take me and my still altered body in its embrace and pull me back out with the waves. I could no longer swim as I had before. My legs still refused to part.  Back in the occean they became more energised. I kicked my legs, arched my back and dipped my head as I began to swim faster and better than ever before, even with the limitations that my body now bore.

I swam and dived for a long while. Free from the constraints of the land I revelled in the rough occean. The exercise, and the sheer exhilaration lifting my spirits to a height that was unimaginable to me short hours before. Finally my energy levels dipping I beached my prone body upon the sandy shore again and snacked upon three fish opportunistically seized as I rode the growing waves. The light was dimming by then, the grey overcast day coming to an end. Without needing to look, I knew my legs had remained the same, and I began to drag my inert lower half up the beach to the cave.

I thirstily drank several bowls of water and thankfully immersed myself in the pool. I picked up my hairbrush and tiredly started to brush my hair. I sang softly to myself as I closed my eyes. My legs twitched and my feet cramped and I groaned helplessly as whatever was happening to me began again. I lifted my feet up out of the pool and watched the color start to spread past my feet, and then my ankles. I was jolted upright by my thighs and shins heaving themselves tighter and tighter together. I groaned as I watched my ankles press harder and harder to one another. My feet moved forty five degrees downwards until they formed a perfect line flush with my shins. I panted harder as they started to spread flatter and outwards, before stopping. My attention was straight away back to the lumps on my legs. They`d become so numerous while I`d been watching my feet that there wasn`t a part of my legs and hips not affected by them. The larger ones began to part like the petals of tiny flowers opening. Beneath them I could just see the softest of shimmers of what I could only describe as small scales. I stared eyes wide at them for a long time. Had I expected to see what I`d just seen? Was I totally surprised? I guess I was because I couldn`t believe or even begin to comprehend why or how this could be happening to me. It all seemed so impossible and unreal. But those feelings did little to diminish the growing fear I felt for myself. The fear that I wore and felt in every sinew of my body and mind. I felt the hand brush my shoulder again and the same soft female voice saying, "It`s alright Chloe...., you have nothing to fear....., you`re safe here Chloe..., you`re safe....,"

Again that voice caused me to question my state of mind and the loosening grip on reality that I now held. But in its soft and reassurring tones it still managed to penetrate and impact on my anxious thoughts. It calmed and soothed my jangling nerves. Of course it couldn`t completely assuage my fears and concerns. But it did make me feel a little less scared. As I looked helplessly over my altered body, feelings of resignation began to emerge. I felt a sense of inevitability about my life now. I hadn`t the physical or mental strength left to drag myself from the pool. But that was okay. I felt that I was now at one with the water in the pool and the occean And I was becoming more so everytime I immersed myself within its welcoming embrace.

                                                                  To Be Continued....