On the beach

Warm water lapped at her legs. The heady scent of seaweed and sand filled Misty's senses. Through the thin protection of her eyelids she could feel the bright glare of the sun. Misty brought her hands up to her chest and felt the uncomfortable life jacket digging into her flesh through her clothes.

"Thank the gods for life jackets."

Misty reached out to the ground beside her. Cool wet sand and warm water lie just under her fingertips. She rolled over to her side away from the hot sun and opened her gritty eyes.

White sand and blue ocean extended as far as the eyes could see. Misty couldn't help her confusion. Palm trees lined the beach like soldiers. Misty struggled to push herself up and twisted around to look at the land behind her.

In the distance rose a mountain and she could see the dark specks of birds fluttering in the sky. The world seemed to sway around her and for a moment, she felt sick to her stomach.

She spun around. It didn't make any sense for her to see so many plants that would only be found in tropical climates. When she fell off the ship, they had been really far north! How had she made it so far south.

She pushed herself up and stood in the waves. Every time the ocean fell across her feet, she felt the sand pull at her. Misty looked off to the horizon. The shocking blue of the ocean startled a gasp of appreciation from her throat.

"Well, at least I'm alive. And the view isn't too bad either!"

Smiling to herself, Misty picked up the life jacket and inspected it. Luckily, there was a little survival kit on the vest. She pulled it off and unzipped the bag.

- Mechanical Lighter

- Water filter

- Collapsible container

- Rope

- First aid kit

- Survival knife

There wasn't much in it, but Misty thought she could handle a while on her own with what was there. Looking at the life vest, she didn't see any locator devices or compass.

Misty sighed to herself. Maybe she would recognize the stars tonight? Too bad the only constellations she knew were the big dipper and Orion.

She began to walk in from the beach to the tree line. She felt too exposed after having experienced a pirate attack. Misty's face twisted in a sardonic grin and she gave a short chuckle of cynical amusement. Check that one off the bucket list.

She didn't want to get too far from the ocean just yet since she could theoretically get rescued, but she knew that if she didn't find water soon, life would not be great for her.

She hugged the tree line as she walked down the beach. Misty was hoping that eventually she would find a stream or civilization.

It had been a few hours since she started walking when she finally came across a stream cutting through the beach. Misty turned into the trees and began to follow upstream. Once she felt she had gotten far enough, she used the mini filtration system to get some fresh water.

Sitting on a fallen tree, she began to sip from the container. She had been surprised to see so few animals and there weren't very many bugs either. Not that she was scared of bugs, but she was expecting a mosquito or two.

Misty closed her eyes as she let the sounds of the forest roll over her. The forest rustled in the wind and Misty could hear the chittering of creatures in the undergrowth.

Then she heard a groan. Misty's eyes shot open and she whipped her head toward the sound. Misty jumped up and she packed away the water bottle. Knowing that she might be wrong, she considered her choices.

Either this was one of the people who invaded her ship or one of the locals. Maybe it was just her imagination? Misty steeled her heart and pushed forward into the trees toward the sound.

Then, Misty tripped over something. A moan sounded in her ear and she yanked her body back and sat hard on her tailbone.

"Ouch!"

Pain blinded her for a moment and Misty blinked away the welling tears. She looked down at the creature she had stumbled over and her eyes widened.

It was a giant black cat!

Thick gashes ran across the shoulder and back of the beast and blood pooled and dripped down to the forest floor. She looked down at herself and could see the blood staining her shirt from her fall.

Misty had never seen a giant cat this close. She had been on school field trips and seen lions from a distance, but this cat looked nothing like them. Slick black fur gleamed in the rays of sun peaking through the palm trees. Maybe this was a jaguar?

The cat gave another groan and Misty felt a sudden sense of sorrow. The first living thing she had met here was this animal and it was dying. She kept her movements slow so as to not startle the creature. Soon, she was really close.

The cat turned its head to face her and Misty felt that she could see the pain in its dark eyes. She reached her hand out and touched the fur close to the wound. Her first aid kit would probably not be enough for such a large gash.

"I'm sorry." She told the cat. She stroked the side of the creature. Her suppressed tears started spilling out and streaming down her cheeks.

"I didn't mean to trip on you! Really, I didn't. I thought you might be a person." The cat shuddered under her and she could feel its shallow breaths as he laid his head back onto the ground.

Misty closed her eyes and thought about the last 24 hours. I guess it hadn't even been 24 hours! She felt the overwhelming stress of what she had been through. Warm fur under her hands lended a small amount of comfort.

Misty looked at her hands and wished that she could heal the massive beast. Between the heat of the day and the recent events, she felt as if all of her energy was being drained from her. Feeling the sudden dizziness, Misty laid beside the cat and fell asleep.