Island Illnes “Where on earth am I?” At least that’s what the two men stranded on this island thought. Sergeant Ripley and his companion Montgomery woke up on an island and they have no clue how they got there. Their last thoughts are back with the war when they were fighting their enemies. Now, here, washed up on a sandy shore where they have never been before. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sgt. Ripley woke up. Seeing his partner next to him he quickly rose to his feet, still feeling weak and confused. He rushed over to Montgomery and shook him around. “Montgomery! Montgomery! Wake up,” Sgt. Ripley shouted. Montgomery woke up, still lying on the sandy beach, just as confused as the sergeant. “Montgomery, where on earth are we,” Sgt. Ripley asked expecting Montgomery to know. “I have no idea Sergeant,” he replied still disoriented from his slumber. Sergeant Ripley, all of his life, has been in the military. His father was in the military and so was his father. He was a very proper, straight-laced man. Although a little over weight, he was still in shape. Sergeant Ripley went through a divorce a few years back, which caused him to become a little depressed. Under Sgt. Ripley’s command was his partner Montgomery. Montgomery never had much of an education but had a very big heart and admired Sgt. Ripley with the utmost respect. Montgomery would do anything for Sgt. Ripley because he is almost like a father to him. As both men stand up they turned around and they took in their surroundings. The island, at first glance, is huge. Green, luscious palm trees align the coast. Behind the trees stand great mountains that contain a giant volcano. The sight is overwhelming for the men. They immediately start to panic. They still have no clue how they got here. “Alright Montgomery, just stay calm,” Sgt. Ripley said trying to keep his own bearings. “First we should just explore, look for a good place to build a camp, a fire.” “Yes, whatever you say Sergeant,” Montgomery agreed. The men were still wet from the ocean water, and their clothes were very heavy. Sand coated their faces and arms. They started up the beach into the dark forest ahead. Once in the forest it was like another world. Bizarre sounds came from all directions. They heard the sounds of birds and monkeys, the slithering of small critters. Tall trees towered over them which blocked out the sun. They stepped carefully through the forest observing everything that they could. There were things here that they have never seen before, things that were never in books or magazines. Plants of all different shapes, sizes, and colors grew out of the ground. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Sgt. Ripley as he held a small, pink flower in his hand. “Me neither,” said Montgomery picking up a flower of his own. “Maybe, we should get to higher ground to try to make a signal of some sort. First, we should make camp. We should make camp on the beach, the forest seems too dangerous, to risky.” “Yes, good thinking Montgomery,” Sgt. Ripley replied. They headed for the beach in search of a good campsite. They settled under a tall palm tree that they could use for shade. Montgomery piled pieces of bark and leaves to start a fire. With two pieces of rocks he found in the forest, he hit them together to make a spark. The first time he didn’t get it. The second time a little, bright spark flew from the rocks onto the bark but didn’t catch. The third time more sparks came from the rocks, hit the bark and a fire was started. Quickly Montgomery went to go fetch wood, or whatever he could find to put on top of the fire. Finally, after gathering what he could find, Montgomery had created a fairly large fire. Montgomery, exhausted from the long day, sat down next to Sgt. Ripley who was chewing on a piece of bark. “Want some bark?” asked Sgt. Ripley as he held out a piece of tree bark that was scattered all over the ground. Montgomery took a piece and ate it. The bitter taste made his mouth cringe. The sergeant and his faithful companion talked the night away. Their conversations varied on topics. They consisted of their past lives, how they got here on this dreadful island, but eventually they fell asleep and forgot about the island they ended up on. The next morning Sgt. Ripley woke up, his face feeling damp from the morning dew. As he slowly opened his eyes he noticed that all of his surroundings were different. Instead of laying on a sandy shore, the shore is replaced with a very rocky surface. As Sgt. Ripley stands up he notices Montgomery standing on the edge of what seems to be a cliff. Sgt. Ripley realizes that they are on top of a mountain. Wind is swirling around them and hitting them in the face. As they both stand there looking over the edge they can see the whole island. “How the hell did we get here!” asked Sgt. Ripley shouting over roaring wind. “I have no idea Sergeant. It’s like…. It’s like we just ended up on top of this mountain. We fell asleep and then woke up here! We have to get of this godforsaken island!” shouted Montgomery. They worked there way down the mountain slipping here and there. “It looks like there’s only three more miles,” said Montgomery trying to make a joke. “That’s not funny,” replied Sgt. Ripley. They finally arrived at the bottom of the mountain after the long journey, which took almost the whole day. They walked back to their camp on the beach shore and found that the remains of their fire was still there. Some of the wood they used was still left from the night before. They decided to just try camping there one more time, and see what happens. Once again, Montgomery started the fire while Sgt. Ripley went to go gather food. Sgt. Ripley went into the water to try to get fish to eat. He waited in the water, watching the fish as they swam by. He didn’t know which one to choose, he was searching for the biggest one. Slowly, he placed his hands in the water and let the fish swim around them. He spotted a decent sized catfish and let it swim around his hands for a while. He waited for the right moment to grab it. As the catfish swam between Sgt. Ripley’s hands he quickly grabbed both sides of it and threw it out onto the beach. After gutting and cleaning the fish with a sharp, jagged rock they stuck a stick through the meat and held it over the fire. The fish was not much, but it satisfied both men. The men decided that they would stay up and take shifts just to make sure nothing happened. Sgt. Ripley told Montgomery to take the first shift. Montgomery tried his hardest to stay up but eventually fell asleep. Once again Sgt. Ripley woke up without the feeling of the warmth of the fire beside him. He rose to his feet, again, seeing that trees were around him. Without thinking anymore, he new he was in the forest. Sgt. Ripley looked around for Montgomery, but he was nowhere in sight. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!” a noise came from above. Sgt. Ripley looked up. It was Montgomery, he was standing on branch of a tree. “Montgomery, oh my god! Get down from there. How did you get up there? Why are you up there? Get down!” shouted Sgt. Ripley. Montgomery was just as confused as Sgt. Ripley. He grabbed a nearby vine and slid down it slowly making sure not to hurt his hands. “We have to find a way out of here. Why do we keep waking up in different places? There is no way to get off! Ughhhhh- What are we going to do?” said Montgomery. “Survive,” replied Sgt. Ripley Days went by, eventually turning into months which turned into years. Each day the men woke up in different places. For eight years it was the same routine. Eventually the men learned how to survive, and adapt to the island. Suddenly, one day, Sgt. Ripley’s eyes opened from a long sleep. As usual, his surroundings were different. Only this time he wasn’t on an island. He was laying on a bed in a white room. There were machines hooked up to him. He felt really weak. “He’s awake!” shouted a random person hovering over Sgt. Ripley. Sgt. Ripley saw several people rush into the room; they seemed to be doctors, or nurses. Suddenly, it came to him. Memories on top of memories fired into his mind. The last thing he remembered was standing across from one of his enemies at gunpoint. Bam! His enemy fired and the bullet grazed his head. He fell to the ground, his mind faded, and then he blacked out. He was put into a coma. For eight years he was in this coma, trying to survive, trying to survive the island. His strong will kept him alive. It was all in his mind. Montgomery! Who was this? Was Montgomery just a figment of his imagination? Was he a guide to help him get through the island? Sgt. Ripley had no former memories of this man, Montgomery. His mind made him up; Montgomery was a figment of his imagination. As Sgt. Ripley laid there confused, the nurses and doctors started asking him questions. Sgt. Ripley wasn’t listening to a word they were saying. He was too confused, he had no idea where he was, a hospital perhaps. Suddenly he felt the urge to ask a question. “Where on earth am I?”
Copyright © 2000 Tony Trakowski |