She looked as though she was about to lose it. I reached out for her hand, but she jerked away.

“They’ll find us,” I said.

Penny’s lower lip was quivering ever so slightly. I could tell she was doing everything in her power not to burst out into tears.

“We’ll build a fire. We’ll write help in the sand with stones. It’s going to be okay.”

Penny shook her head. “And if they don’t? Your boat sank. Heidi isn’t going to talk to me for months. No one knows we’re missing.”

“We can’t be that far. We’ll probably see a boat, or maybe even a plane. I’m sure we can flag down someone sooner or later.”

“Yeah, later. That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” Penny said throwing her hands up in the air. “What are we going to do for food? Water? Shelter”

I ran my hands through my hair. Her anxiety was tugging at my nerves. We just had to stay calm.

“Try to relax,” I said.

Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “Relax? You want me to relax? Maybe like this is some romantic getaway? Fuck no. I will not relax!”

Penny starting walking toward the pile of charred wood. I quickly turned and followed her.

“I’ll catch a fish,” I said.

“With what? Your hands?”

“No of course not. I’ll use a sharpened stone, tied to a stick. Yeah. Like a spear.”

Penny rolled her eyes at me. “Good luck to you.”

“I’m sure there are plants we can eat.”

“And you know which ones aren’t poisonous?”

I shrugged.

“Look, Penny,” I said walking next to her. “We’re in this together we might as well—”

“Jack, please,” she said stepping away from me. “I just… I just want to be alone.”

My arms dropped down to my sides. I don’t know why she had to be angry with me. We were both stuck here.

“Fine.” I turned away and walked to the beach. I’d find a stone, and I’d sharpen it. If I caught a fish maybe then she’d calm down.

It wasn’t like being trapped here was the end of the world. They’d probably find us before the end of the day. For all we knew, Heidi had already contacted someone.

I knew it wasn’t pleasant for her to be trapped here with me. In fact, I was probably the last person on the planet she’d want to be here with.

I bent down and picked up a triangular stone and another that had a bit of roughness. I sat down in the sand and started sharpening the rock.

Maybe after she had some time, we could work on some kind of shelter. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. The weather was nice. The quiet was peaceful. It was just too bad I could feel her anger radiating toward me from thirty feet away.

Penny had liked the beach, but it was true for the most part that she’d hated the outdoors. Stuck on an island with me outdoors? Yeah, no doubt she was in hell.

I’d managed to sharpen the stone into something I was pretty sure would work. Of course, I still had to find a way to adhere it to a long stick and then find a way to spear a fish with it. Shit.

I noticed Penny pacing out of the corner of my eyes. It almost looked as though she was having an argument of some kind with herself.

Whatever.

If she wanted space, I could give her space. I walked toward the trees looking for something I could use for my fishing spear. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find a sturdy branch on one of the nearby trees.

I used some thin vines to tie the stone to the wooden stick. It seemed like it might actually work. Maybe the hardest part of my plan would be to actually find a fish.

I stabbed the sand with my spear to test it out. When it didn’t fall apart, I decided I’d wade in and see if I could find anything.

The water was clear enough that I could see my feet on the sand below. I was hip-deep before I actually saw a fish swim by. A small fish. So small that the sharpened stone at the bottom of the stick was bigger than it.

“Shit,” I said looking at the little fish wiggling as it swam away. “I need to find what would eat you.”

I walked in deeper up to my belly button keeping the stick in the water. And that’s when I saw it. A fish that would feed both Penny and I. All I had to do was—

“Jack! What are you doing?” Penny called and the fish, as though it sensed it was in danger, swam away.

“Fuck!” I said turning around, unable to keep the scowl off my face. “Fishing.”

“Come back,” Penny shouted. “You’re in too far.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. As if she cared. It wasn’t a big deal, after all, I knew how to swim.

I waved at her not wanting to speak in case the fish was still nearby.

“Jack, please!” she shouted, as a big wave pushed me back toward the beach about a foot.

The tide was coming in.