The Ridge

This story is for persons of eighteen years or over. All comments, good or bad, are welcome and all will be answered.

Part Six

King had been enraged that him, a full back in the school football team had been floored by two blows, and from a fucking Limey at that. He'd taken his knocks on the field but never, never had he been put down with such ease. When he'd regained his breath he almost gloated to see the man that had done this on his knees before him, couldn't resist what he was never allowed to do on the field of play. He stood up and kicked him with all his might, right up in the ribs. That it had hurt him too because he wasn't wearing boots, had the satisfaction of hearing the wind blown out of the lungs and to see him crumple off on to his side. Then another foot to the head before being tackled by Smith, already down on his knees but still had enough drive to keep him away from Carlton.

With seeing the two main adversaries of the other group in heaps on the sand, roared out that they be cast out of his kingdom and their place of abode demolished. He took great pleasure in helping his minions to throw Carlton over the ridge, banished, in exile as he thought in his mind.

Two bottles of vodka and eight cartons of cigarettes was indeed a treasure trove which would keep the rest in thrall, especially the nicotine addicts with him being the only source of igniting said cigarettes. He even got Liam and John to kneel and genuflect before him before he would give them a cigarette, Drew did it only because he was told to.

Carol cried at night realising that she had traded Sodom for Gomorrah knowing that she was now in a worse hell than if she had been on the other side. She clung to Toni, a harlot in her opinion, but one whose soul could be saved if only she had the strength to bring this about.

Toni in turn, clung to Carol for different reasons. Having to give herself to not one, but sometimes three just to get a light for her cigarettes. King played with her, making her beg and do things what shouldn't be written about, debasing herself and to accept the abuse that was being heaped upon her. What was worse now was that he had all the cigarettes.

The two girls kept close together that night as they slept in their shelter and, like the four men, didn't hear the girls of the other group scavenge both camp sites during the night.

In the morning at breakfast, they were all fed up with just tuna and were all thirsty and silently cursed King for losing what had been offered the night before by Pearl. With everybody grousing about their thirst, King said that they should collect empty Coke cans and they would go looking for the source of water and fill them.

He was enraged when Toni reported to him that there wasn't one empty can to be found. Such was his temper that he hit her, knocking her to the sand being the bearer of this bad news.

We could always use the vodka bottles, Liam thought, after we've drunk the contents that is, and when King announced that they all set off to find the water, he lingered back as the rest left the clearing, following King. With the last one leaving through the trees, he quickly went to where King had hidden the bottles, took them and found a new hiding place for them and then hurried to catch up with the others.

They finally found the pool and some fruit trees, but it was the water they needed most and all fell flat on their stomachs and drank their fill. On the way up they had found what appeared to be some kind of melon and had taken some up with them where King cut them in half with his penknife and they scooped out the soft flesh inside to eat and used the halves of skin to carry water back down to their shelter.

They had moved off with these half melon shells full of water but only had half left what with stumbling and the general movement when they got back down. So for the rest of the day, King had the rest of them collecting these melons and only slicing the top off and scooping out the inside for them to be used as their water containers.

The next night, as soon as it was dark, Liam silently slipped out of the shelter and went to where he had stashed the vodka. It was with a big grin on his face that he broke the seal and took a long pull at the bottle. Though he nearly choked on that first mouthful, he leaned back against a tree and welcomed the warmth that flooded through his body at this first drop of alcohol for nearly a week. He took another mouthful and almost crooned as he let it slide down into his stomach then nearly dropped the bottle when he heard Drew speak.

I thought you were up to something, sneaking out like that,' he said sitting down next to him and taking the bottle out of his hands. He too nearly choked on his first mouthful. Aaah, that's good,' he said, his eyes closed at the pleasure of having a real drink. Liam took the bottle back for another and so the bottle passed back and forth between them. They were, an hour later, halfway through the second bottle and well on the road to being drunk when they heard movement very close to them.

They kept quiet and in the gloom of the night, saw Carol go past them and not too far away, squat and begin to urinate in the sand.

Do you know,' Drew said in a whisper to Liam. She's the only broad who's tits we've not yet seen?'

`We wouldn't be able to see them in the dark anyway,' Liam whispered back.

`But we could feel them,' he sniggered.

`Yeah, why don't we then?' Liam said as he carefully placed the bottle down as only a drunk can and they rose up, wavered, and moved to where she was still crouching.

She was caught quite literally with her pants down as Drew grabbed the back of her blouse and in pulling her up, tore the buttons from the front. She gave out an unheard shriek at the sudden attack and fought them as they wrestled her, scratching at their faces when they got too close as they slowly tore away her clothes.

Drew raped her first and as they were about to change places, she kicked her way free and got to her feet and ran for the ridge. The two men, now both naked, ran after her as she climbed up, kicking at them as she got up on top. She jumped over to the other side and stumbled as she fell which gave Liam the chance to catch her. He took a flying leap off the ridge and brought her down by tripping her with his hands, getting hold of her ankles and twisting her so that she was on her back.

Drew came over the top and landed near her head and grabbed her shoulders. When she started to scream, he rammed a handful of sand in her mouth as Liam covered her body in his turn to rape Carol.

When he'd finished, they left her lying there in the sand and went back over the ridge to finish what was left of the vodka. She was dead before they'd even crossed the ridge, the sand had choked her and that was where she was found by Smith the next morning.

`Bastards,' Smith had muttered, his hands clenched into fists, standing there with the others that he had called, with the exception of Carlton. They were looking down at her body, noting the scratch marks and teeth bites to her breasts as Judy knelt down to check her over.

She's been raped as well as choked to death,' she said, but I can't say how long ago. Her body's warm but that's from the sun.' The sun was not only keeping the body of Carol warm, but beginning to burn it for it was already turning pink. `We'll have to bury her soon. We can't leave her lying here too long.'

`Bastards,' Smith said again as he bent down to start to lift her by the shoulders. Tiki and Pearl went either side while Judy and Stacey took hold of a leg apiece, and they carried her up to the tree line.

It took them four hours to dig the grave in the sand, only having their hands, though they used broad palm leaves in place of buckets to get the loose sand out of the four foot deep hole. They laid Carol in it, face upwards and covered her body and face with palm leaves before piling the sand back.

`Shouldn't we say a prayer or something,' Stacey said when the grave was smoothed over.

`The Lord's Prayer should be fitting,' Pearl said and so they bowed their heads while she recited the words and all said amen at the end.

`We should put a marker here,' Judy said when it was over.

Well fashion a cross with some wood and use a creeper to tie it together,' Smith said, for I've got other things to do.'

`Has anyone told Bob yet?' Tiki asked.

`No! He's not to be told until he's up and about,' Judy said as she went back to see to her patient. The other girls silently followed her while Smith went off into the trees and wasn't seen for an hour. He came back to the shelter with varying lengths of tree branches and sat down with the penknife and began whittling away at the ends.

It was late afternoon when Tiki said that they should go for water so as to be back before dark. Smith agreed and telling Judy and Stacey to look after Carlton while he went with Tiki and Pearl. They went up to the pool and back down without incident, not meeting any of the other group.

Smith went back to his whittling while it was still light and Judy came up and sat down beside him.

`Well Bob's going to be alright. He's speaking coherently and the scalp wound is clean and I think he'll be up tomorrow,' she said.

Good,' Smith said, Headache?'

`A little one he said, but I've given him some codeine. What are you doing?'

Making some things for you and the others,' he said and handed her an eight inch piece of wood that had been sharpened to a fine point. All of you will carry one of these at all times. It's the closest thing I can make as a knife in the circumstances.'

`What are the long bits of wood for?'

Spears,' he replied succinctly. Next will come stakes to surround the shelter.'

Knives and spears,' she said and gave a shudder. Do you think it will really come to that?'

`Let's hope not but it's best to be prepared.'

`It'll be dark soon James, I'm going to see if the others have got some food ready,' she said as she got up and left. It was being got ready and she took some on a leaf and hand fed Carlton before sitting down with the others to eat.

Smith was already there, and when they had eaten, he produced four of his hand made knives, giving the girls one each. Eight inches in total length as already said, four of which was still the rough bark of the tree it came from. The other four inches had been shaped and tapered to a point.

I'm not trying to alarm you but the death of Carol forces us to try and protect ourselves as best we can,' Smith said. These really are poor substitutes but are better than just bare hands. Carry this at all times and by tomorrow night you'll have a second one. No one is to move about in the trees alone. That is paramount! Wherever you want to go, have someone with you. Water carrying, fruit picking, nut collecting, whatever, even going for a pee, you go in pairs.

If you meet any of the other group, back off. Do not confront them unless Carlton or myself are with you and decide otherwise. Discretion is the better part of valour. If you are threatened and become subjected to physical contact you do not want or are being forced, use the wooden knife.

Stick it anywhere in the torso, stomach, lower chest or throat. Don't go for the arm that might be hitting you or the leg that is kicking you, hit the biggest part of the body. When and if you do strike with the knife, twist your hand and break off the point, leaving that end of the knife inside them. That will give them more than enough to cope with in trying to get it out than a mere flesh wound. Then with your second knife, go for the face because if they see it coming they will rear back and their arms or hands will come up. If they do, then change the direction and go for the chest, the point is long enough to piece the heart or puncture a lung.

It's gruesome, but believe me, if you are attacked, you'll use them rather than have a place next to poor Carol.'

The girls were silent as they handled their wooden knives only for him to speak again.

`No Tiki and you Stacey! Do not hold it like a dagger with the handle in your fist and point downwards. To strike like that you have to raise your arm and that will give them the chance to see it in your hand. You bring it up from your side with the point upright like this,' and he showed them how to hold it, even how to pull it out from their panties.

Wouldn't it be better if we made some kind of belt from the creepers to hold them?' Judy asked. If we had them stuck inside our knickers, we might end up stabbing ourselves.'

`I was going to bring that up next, so that is a job for tomorrow, making belts.'

It was dark by the time he'd finished speaking and so it was time for them to turn in. Judy was already lying down next to Carlton when Smith knelt down by his head.

`How you feeling now soldier?' he asked.

`Better now thanks. Body still feels like I've been through a mincer but the headache's gone,' Carlton replied.

`That was some tackle man. I've never seen a full back put down so quick. Sorry I wasn't as quick.'

`Next time, I'll let you lead the charge,' Carlton grinned.

George King had had his pee and not seeing Drew and Liam about, went looking for them and found the two of them, naked and snoring drunkenly with the two vodka bottles, empty, between them. He roared and kicked and punched them awake and kept kicking them towards the sea to sober them up. It wasn't just to wake them, it was because they had drunk the only alcohol on the island and he hadn't had one drop of it.

If it had only been one of them, he would probably have drowned him in the surf. Both John and Toni kept out of his way when he stomped his way through the sand back up to their shelter. His foul mood lasted all day and he seemed to have calmed down when fruit, nuts and tuna was spread out for their evening meal before he noticed that Carol was missing.

`Where is she?' he wanted to know.

`Don't know,' said John, Toni shaking her head at the same time.

`Do you know?' he demanded of Drew and Liam.

The last time I saw her,' Liam said, was last night and she was on the other side of the ridge.' Telling the truth after a fashion but not enlarging on it.

`The bitch! The psalm singing conniving bitch! Going over to the other side! Why didn't you stop her?'

`I tried, but she got over before I did,' Liam said, not looking at Drew who kept his head down as he ate his fruit.

We'll get her back,' King began to mutter, we'll get her back. She's got to be shown who's boss.' The others kept quiet, Toni most of all for she knew that his anger would be directed at her later when it was dark.

It was, and she vowed that she was going to go over the ridge at the first opportunity. Cigarettes were one thing, but having to put up with King was getting to be more than she could bear. She gave thanks to God that she had taken a birth control pill while on the plane and had slipped the almost full strip into her shirt pocket. But they wouldn't last forever and the last thing she wanted was to be gotten pregnant by this Neanderthal.

Two days later, she found the stache of cigarettes and with these, made her escape over the ridge to beg mercy from the other group.

Before she appeared, Carlton was allowed, on Judy's say so, to get up and move about in their small clearing. He took it easy and with Stacey, went into the sea to try and ease his aches and soothe his abrasions with the salt water while Smith stood by to watch for sharks. She helped him swim a little and aided him to lie on his back and soak up the sun as well.

The fact that he was naked was not commented on or even really noticed such was her concern for his well being. His underpants had been torn in the fight and were no longer a means of covering his sex. Smith's shorts, what had once been his trousers, were that torn he was now reduced to only wearing underpants. Carlton refused to wear his trousers for they were now being used to carry the fruit that was collected and opted to stay naked.

Pearl too had lost her panties on some rather obstinate bushes and with no other clothing, was as naked as he was, though the girls did manage to fashion some kind of grass skirt for her. Carlton refused to wear a grass skirt. As the girls were making belts out of creepers to hold their knives, made one for him and threaded it through some holes they'd made in a palm leaf to hang from the front.

We couldn't find a fig leaf,' Tiki said as she gave him his belt and front cover. Our naked breasts might not be turning you on but your thing swinging about is distracting for us.' He grinned and thanked her and let her tie it on for him. She then put two knives into the loops that were above the right cheek of his buttock, out of sight from the front and easy to reach with his right hand. Loops were put into all the belts and by the end of the day, all were armed in the same way.

One day was enough for Carlton to feel one hundred per cent better though he still sported a bandage about his head like a turban. This, he joked, could be used later, when washed, to make a least one decent skirt for one of the girls.

They told him that evening about Carol and thought he was going to have an epileptic fit he went so rigid and blood suffused his face. Smith and Judy actually both put their hands to his shoulders to prevent him from rising up. It took quite a few minutes before he came to terms with it and appeared to calm down.

`Nobody, nobody should ever be subjected to that, be it a man or a woman,' he said, still seething inwardly.

`We've got to get Toni away from them,' he said a few minutes later, and had approved of the knives that Smith had made for themselves and the girls and of his now making spears. As to the stakes, he agreed in the principle but not for their present location.

He went on to say why they had no chance of defending the present site and it was revealed that he had spent six years in the British Army from the age of sixteen. He'd been through nearly every training ground and had experience out in the field.

`What about the top of the crater?' Tiki had asked.

`Defendable considering the weapons and strength of the opposition. Impregnable but impracticable. We'd yield within a few days for they would control the water. That is the key. The water pool. That is where we must move to.

I will not deny them water, but I don't think we could trust them to grant us the same courtesy, so we must move our shelter to where we have access to the pool.'

Makes sense,' Smith agreed. When do we move?'

`Tomorrow. Now get some sleep. I've had plenty over the last two days so I'm going to stay up on watch,' Carlton said.

`Are you sure you should do this?' Judy asked anxiously.

`The moving of our shelter or staying on watch?' he asked with a smile.

The sitting up all night of course,' she cried, her eyes blazing. You've just had a massive hammering of your head and it is sleep you need! I'll stay up and keep watch!'

`We'll do it together then, thank you, and thank you for taking care of me,' he said.

`You can thank me later for that,' she said going coy all of a sudden. Smith gave a snort.

`Well I'm turning in, lot's to do tomorrow,' he said, leaving Carlton and Judy alone.

`You don't have to sit up with me,' Carlton said once they were alone.

But I want to,' she said putting her arm round his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. You're my patient and I've got to take care of you.'

He'd sat down with his back against the tree that was a side support for their shelter so he was fairly comfortable and rather liked having her head on his shoulder, smelling her hair that trailed down his chest. It wasn't long before she fell asleep but he let her stay as they were and even dozed off himself several times during the uneventful night.

He was awake when the others began to stir as the sky began show signs of the coming dawn. Tiki crawled out from the shelter and stood up and stretched and he felt a stirring in himself as he watched her breasts tauten with the movement, to be copied a minute later by Pearl. They had smiled at each other and were just about to move off into the trees when he called out and stopped them.

Wait!' he said, his voice and body movement woke up Judy. I know where you're going, but you should be three.'

`James said we were to go in pairs,' Tiki said.

`Well I'm changing that to three. One does what you have to do while the others stand guard. Only one to pee or whatever at a time. We move in three's, that way we cover both front and rear at the same time. Did you all hear that,' he said looking into the shelter where all were awake now. There was a chorus of assent and Stacey got up and went and joined Tiki and Pearl and they went off to see to their ablutions.

When they returned, Judy went with Carlton and Smith for them to do the same. They all used the sea to bathe in every morning and it had been Pearl who had found a soft wood tree that they used pieces of to clean their teeth, the fibre, when wet was not unlike the bristles of a toothbrush, no toothpaste but the salt water was just as good.

It gave Carlton the shivers to look at the ridge that split the beach in two making him think of the old Berlin wall. They being now on the west side, the side of democracy while on the east, tyranny reigned in the form of King and Co.

With breakfast over, the remaining food and water along with any empty cans, were hidden away in the trees and they all went up to the pool. They knew that the other group had found the pool as well because of the sliced off tops of melons left behind. The significance of this was not noticed at first and it was only this time that the answer struck Pearl and she told Carlton.

Damn it. Why didn't I think of that. A melon shell would hold as much water as four cans at least. We'll get some to take down with us after we've found a site for our shelter. So Smith, you take Tiki and Stacey with you and start on that side,' he said pointing to the east, and I'll take Judy and Pearl and look this side. We don't want to be too far from this pool, and having an idea, being below the pool would be better than above it. Okay? Let's meet up here in about an hour.'

With that, they split up and keeping together, went looking for a new home. Judy thought it amusing to see Carlton's white backside moving along next to Pearl's black bottom, the grass skirt sparse at the back and wondered how long her own panties would last and would her backside look as attractive as his.

Both Smith and Carlton had decided to start at the top of the tree line before the crater and then fan out moving down on their respective sides. On Smith's side, the trees went just over a hundred yards out from the pool and as they could only be ten yards apart and still see each other meant they would have to do three sweeps. It took them the full hour for these sweeps and that was only the upper reaches of the pool. It was strange that both men had adopted the same technique of only sweeping the top section first, though it took Carlton four to cover his area and so was a good twenty minutes over the hour.

Neither group had found anything suitable on the upper sides of the pool and so after a short rest, began to search the lower sides. Again, Smith couldn't find anywhere suitable though Carlton did which would keep them to the west of the ridge. It was just over sixty yards from the pool and if you can imagine that the pool was a clock face, it was roughly between the seven and eight.

It was a small flat area with two trees twelve feet apart and about fourteen feet behind, the ground sloped down rather sharply, making an ascent from this, which would be the blind side, a rather difficult undertaking. From what would be the front of the shelter, there would be a clear view of nearly thirty feet once they cleared away a few bushes.

Smith agreed when the whole group later viewed it later. Hungry and tired, they made their way back down to eat a late lunch, after which, Carlton had his head wound checked by Judy while Smith carried on with his making of weapons.

It was decided that it was too late to attempt the move that day and as Carlton rested and watched Smith, the girls collected a quantity of the large palm leaves to take up the following day. As Smith was sharpening the end of what would be a spear, Carlton's mind wandered over the melons that could be used as water jars and they would no longer need the cans. But the cans were of metal, albeit aluminium, but still metal. Would the knife Smith was using be able to cut the top and bottom off?

Judy!' he called out. Fetch me an empty Coke can please. Smith, let me use the knife for a minute.' Judy came over with what he asked for and Smith passed over the knife. Carlton found it quite easy to put the tip of the knife into the metal and not that difficult to saw the top off the can. Getting the bottom part cut off was harder as the can kept bending but it finally parted. He then cut down one side and finished up with a piece of aluminium four inches by eight.

Smith had understood what he was doing and passed over the spear for Carlton to wind the metal round the point at an angle, banging it tight with a piece of wood at every turn. Getting Tiki to find him a thin bit of creeper, wound this round the end and tying it tight.

`Voila!' he said when he'd finished and he got a round of applause from the girls who had stopped to watch him give the spear a sharp pointed metal tip.

Not bad, not bad at all,' Smith said as he inspected it. It'll probably come off after it's hit something, but it'll do what it's intended for.' He stood up and hefted this spear in his hand and went and picked up another empty can and placed it upright in the sand and walked back twenty paces and threw the spear at it.

He missed it by a foot, the point burying itself in the sand. He grinned as he returned with the spear, the metal tip still attached.

`Missed the can but this tip gives it weight to fly straight which is the main thing and King is a lot bigger than the can.' His attempt at the can had been applauded and he passed the spear over for the girls to start practicing at throwing it, so the rest of the afternoon was spent at this.

As the evening drew closer, Pearl and Stacey broke off to start preparing the fruit and nuts for their last meal of the day. With this eaten, darkness was falling so they began to settle themselves down for the night. Goodnights had been said but there was still furtive whisperings, Stacey to Smith and Tiki, much to Judy's annoyance, to Carlton. Tiki's hand was also stroking his body and it was just about to get serious when they all heard movement in the bushes not far from their shelter.