Young Writers Society

Eliza grasped Susan's hand and Susan hoisted her up and put an arm around her waist. Eliza slung her arm over Susan's shoulder's, walking stick in the other and they started moving.

Eliza muttered something about telling the others and called out to Jack and Moira announcing that they were going to build a solar still. Hopefully it sounded sciency and plausible enough that the two of them wouldn't think they'd gone mad.

The two of them made their way down to the beach, moving slowly through the dense foliage of the forest.

As they walked, Eliza asked, "So, where did you find the idea to build this?"

"Oh that, I worked on it for a science fair a few years ago. It was pretty fun to build and surprisingly we got it to work," said Susan, laughing. "No one expected that. Although like I said it does take like forever to get a decent amount, but it'll help us out a lot if we get it working."

Week 7 --- Post 4/5 --- 168 words

"Oh that, I worked on it for a science fair a few years ago. It was pretty fun to build and surprisingly we got it to work," said Susan, laughing. "No one expected that. Although like I said it does take like forever to get a decent amount, but it'll help us out a lot if we get it working."

"That's really impressive," said Eliza, pushing aside the low hanging vines to let them through. "I hated doing science fairs, but it was required in my elementary school. I would make my projects big and out of the box. It usually resulted in a mess of some sort."

Eliza chuckled and hopped clumsily over a log. "I think my science teachers were glad that I left."

The sound of the waves grew louder, so Eliza and Susan pushed past the final bushes and found themselves on the beach.

"Okay, Susan, what should we do first?" asked Eliza, stretching her arm behind her head.

Week 7-- Post 5/5-- 136 words

"That's really impressive," said Eliza, pushing aside the low hanging vines to let them through. "I hated doing science fairs, but it was required in my elementary school. I would make my projects big and out of the box. It usually resulted in a mess of some sort."

Eliza chuckled. "I think my science teachers were glad that I left."

Susan smiled, "but those are the best science projects. I mean, you have to make a few messes before you ever get something right. Of course, hopefully this project doesn't become a miss."

With that, they pushed past the final line of trees and found themselves on the sand. It was time to start building.

"Okay, Susan, what should we do first?" asked Eliza, stretching.

Week 7 --- Post 5.1/5 --- 125 words

"Right," said Susan, rubbing her chin, "let's see, we'll have to build the simplest version that we can so..." She trailed off as she racked her brains for the best place to start.

"Okay, so well the first thing we'd have to do to build this thing would be to dig a hole in the ground but before we get around to doing that, I think we need to try and find the stuff we need. So in that case uhhh...lemme see, what do we need. We probably shouldn't try the modern version of this that I built because we don't really have some of those things, but the original version calls for a bunch of small branches I think, tis to make a sort of funnel thing to direct the water to the receptacle."

Week 7 --- Post 5.2/5 --- 135 words

"And speaking of a receptacle we need one of those," said Susan, "probably should make that out of something nice and clean because we're going to collect all the drinking water in that. I dunno what to do for that, we might have to try and look for an abandoned bottle or even a piece of plastic or something that seems reasonably clean. That can't be too hard," said Susan, "there had to have been like hundreds of bottles on that ship, at least one of them would have managed to float in this direction. So anyway, that's the funnel and the receptacle which makes up two parts of this thing. Then, if I remember correctly, all we have left is to make a lid out of something."

Week 7 --- Post 5.3/5 --- 128 words

"So the lid," began Susan, now feeling like she was back at that science fair again, explaining her project to the judges, "umm...well the easiest and best way would be to find like some proper piece of meal or like a tarp or something, or maybe we could even use that flamingo, but we need something fairly waterproof to cover it with. We could do it with like a bunch of leaves and stuff but I don't think that will be as efficient and because this process is slow enough as it is, we should try and make it as efficient as we can possibly make it. So I think....umm...yeah flamingo? Unless having a floating this is more important in which case we should get out there and look for a tarp and a container of some kind."

Week 7 --- Post 5.4/5 --- 138 words

"Um, so I think that's it, that was less complicated than I thought," said Susan, "I thought we'd need a lot more stuff. Of course, the hard part comes when we have to try and get this thing to work, we need to basically try and get a full on distillation process going on, well not full on, that's bad actually, fun fact, hundred percent pure water is actually bad for you, but this one won't be that effective, which is a good thing. I love that irony. Anyway, so I think we should be getting around to trying to build this then. I think I'll try and gather this stuff while you dig this hole? Walking around looking for stuff is not going to be great for that leg.

Week 7 --- Post 5.5/5 --- 130 words

After a while, Moira somehow managed to drift off. To her surprise, she actually slept soundly, moreso then she'd ever remembered in her New York City apartment of late. It must have only been a few hours, though. Without her phone, she had no way to keep track of time.

But at the moment, they had bigger things to worry about.

She woke when Jack roused her and asked if he wanted to help her find water. Not seeing an alternative option, she agreed.

Her clothes had dried somewhat overnight and do so more quickly in the sun, but she still didn't have shoes, which was going to have to change somehow, and soon.

"You know," she said, once she saw Jack making a beeline for some coconut trees. "They did a demonstration on one of my excursions. Though I'm not sure I'm remembering..."

Week 8 -- Post 1 -- 144 words

"Demonstrations?" Jack repeated, glancing back at Moira while he approached a coconut tree. "You mean to crack open a coconut?"

It then occurred to him that he had no idea how to crack open a coconut, nor did he know how to obtain it since it was so high up. He approached the closest tree and squinted up, realizing it's 20 feet higher than he was. He scratched his head in thought and looked back at Moira. She wasn't very tall, but he could possibly find a shorter tree and pick her up to grab a coconut. Even then, he'd probably have to find something to stand on. Hmm...

Jack's mind raced with a thousand thoughts a minute, and he changed course to find a shorter tree while continually glancing around him to find things he could stand on, preferably things that weren't broken.

Week 8 -- Post 1 -- 144 words

"Yeah, it was really cool," Moira said. "They showed us how to make milk and water, and how you get all the good stuff for things like coconut cream pie..."

She trailed off, realizing it had only been a few days since she'd stood on a similar beach, albeit on a habited island, with Anya and Jill. They'd all laughed their way through the demonstration. They'd had to have help from the guides because they each had been struggling, but Moira didn't want to bring that up to Jack now.

Then, they'd all stopped for drinks at a local bar before the ship left port. The owner of the restaurant had approached them and in broken English had said, "For three beautiful women? Free. Come to my restaurant any time."

Anya, Jill...

Anya's lifeless body flashed before Moira's eyes.

Moira took a deep breath and had to find her balance as she looked at how tall the trees were, and then back at Jack, waiting for an answer other than what was right in front of them.

Week 8 -- Post 2 -- 178 words

Jack glanced back at Moira when she mentioned coconut cream pie, and it was then that he realized he was parched and hungry. The fish filled him up last night since he had a healthy portion for lunch and breakfast on the cruise, but it seemed that being on survival mode had drained him of energy, and he knew he could probably eat a giant meal and still be barely full. How long would he be on this island? Maybe... he could somehow find supplies for Moira to make a pie... because he sure couldn't make one.

He shook his head, swatting away the useless thought. Right now, they had to focus on grabbing and opening these coconuts.

"You sure know more than me," he said back to her. "Let's find a short coconut tree and find some things to stand up on."

He continued to walk but glanced back at her one more time. "I might have to pick you up and have you grab them, if that's okay."

Week 8 -- Post 2 -- 171 words

Moira took a deep breath as she processed what Jack was saying. She didn't necessarily like it, but she knew, as he did, that it was the only way.

"You should know," she said, a little anxiously. "I tried to be a cheerleader back in middle school. But I got laughed out of the tryout. It was... not a pretty sight." Moira once again trailed off, thinking of how awkward she'd been in her youth.

That was why she'd started writing.

It was an escape.

"Some day, I'm going to write a book about this," she said before realizing what a cliche that was. Then, she eyed the same tree that he was, and mentally prepared to herself to get onto his shoulders. "Anyone ever tell you like Aldous Huxley? The writer?"

Week 8 -- Post 3 -- 129 words

Eliza's brain whirred with the information that Susan had presented to her. She was fairly certain that she had forgotten most of the words that the younger girl had said. Eliza just remembered "dig;" "flamingo;" and "water."

When Susan finished speaking, Eliza blinked, trying to process what she had just been told.

"Well, I think we should look for a tarp or something first before we try the flamingo float," she said. Eliza lowered herself to the ground, near some twigs that were at arm's length. Her foot groaned with pleasure as her body's weight lifted off of it.

"I'll start digging the hole," said Eliza, burying her fingers in the warm sand and making a small hole. "One question, though: how do I make that funnel thing out of the twigs?"

Week 8-- Post 1/5-- 132 words

Jack didn't know Moira too well, but her trying out to be a cheerleader didn't surprise him. She was pretty and poised; she seemed like she'd fit in the cheerleader clique, although apparently, she didn't. It sounded like she was bullied for even trying out.

And then she admitted that she was a writer, and to be frank, Jack wasn't expecting this. Guess it was true that you should not judge a book by its cover.

He bent down to pick up a small beaten-up wooden crate that miraculously survived the ship wreck. It wasn't much, but perhaps if he found another thing to stack this on on, it would be just enough for Moira to grab a coconut after he picked her up.

"Aldous Huxley?" he repeated, picking up the crate. The name sounded familiar to him, and he racked his brain for a memory until it dawned on him. "You mean the author of Brave New World?" He glanced back at her with a small smile. "No one's ever told me that before. Well, I hope I can help inspire you to write."

He paused, realizing how off-putting that sounded. "I mean, because of Aldous Huxley. And, uh, because we're stranded on an island."

He was never really good with small talk.

Week 8 -- Post 3 -- 214 words

Moira laughed as Jack readied the crate for her and Moira looked up at the coconuts on the tree. She didn't think that she was afraid of heights, but she was afraid of what might happen if she were to fall. But then she took another look at Jack, realized how strong he seemed and that he wouldn't let that happen.

"Yes," Moira said. "The author of Brave New World. It's the first thing I thought of when I saw you. You're even tall like him."

She took a deep breath as Jack got on top of the crate and then he picked her up. His grasp was strong, and she only just managed to grab three coconuts before she started to lose her balance, feeling like she was in some kind of movie.

The coconuts may have fell into the sand, but Moira didn't fall.

She laughed nervously. "Mission accomplished?"

Week 8 -- Post 4 -- 149 words