Chapter 29: Break on a pacific island

It's been three days since they set out into the azure waters.

Nothing of note had occurred thus far, but that was about to change as they approached a small island along their route.

Before them lay a typical Caribbean island, with several palm trees, a beautiful natural sandy beach, and a mountain in the center, from which a distant waterfall could be seen.

"Can we please take a break there? This island looks so beautiful," Diana requested, her thoughts already drifting to the prospect of bathing after days without a shower. She couldn't reconcile that with her Aphrodite-inspired motto: 'One must always present their best self, as anything could happen at any moment.'

"Okay, but only because it's directly on our way. I could use a dip myself," Adan replied, seemingly sharing Diana's sentiment. "I'm up for it too," Riley added subsequently.

As they reached the shore, Riley, being the first to disembark from his 'speedboat', as he had recently renamed it after much consideration, since the term 'jetski' no longer seemed adequate, exclaimed, "Whoa, there are crabs here!" as he nearly stepped on one. "Watch out, guys, when you get off."

Once the other two had also disembarked, the trio made their way towards the island's interior, ensuring to secure their 'speedboats' more firmly to prevent them from being washed away by any tides.

En route, they passed a palm tree where Riley spotted ripe coconuts and proposed a wager to his friends. "Hey, how about a challenge? Whoever can get a coconut down first gets to bathe first?"

Both immediately agreed, with Adan suggesting they start the countdown from 3, which they all accepted.

3

2

1

"go"

Adan retrieved his bow, quickly nocked an arrow, and shot towards the coconut to dislodge it.

Simultaneously, Riley pulled a peculiar device from his pocket, which transformed into a sort of pocket knife after he pressed a button on its side. Attached to the knife was a spring mechanism that could be released to form a sort of trampoline. He leaped onto it to reach a coconut.

Meanwhile, Diana took a bit longer to contemplate, but eventually came up with an idea. She watched as Adan shot the coconut down, then ran towards the palm tree to catch it. However, Diana commanded him loudly and clearly, "Stop!"

Adan immediately halted, while Riley looked over, seeing Diana holding a coconut in her hand, dismantled his trampoline, and remarked, "You've won."

"Of course, smart girls always win," Diana countered.

They enjoyed their coconuts, made their way to the waterfall, leaving Diana alone there, before Adan called back to her, "Shout if you need help."

While Diana freshened up, a task that could take quite a while for a daughter of Aphrodite, the two boys continued to explore the island. Perhaps they would stumble upon some food. Indeed, after about 5 minutes, they came across bushes bearing berries.

"Who knows if these are edible. It's better not to eat until we know if these berries are poisonous or not," Riley suggested, recalling a lesson at camp on wilderness survival.

"Agreed," Adan responded.

3 minutes later, they came across a cave. From outside, they heard a faint rustling and squeaking, so they decided not to enter under any circumstances as there could be a predator or bats in there.

A little later, Adan and Riley headed towards the waterfall to check on Diana.

The return journey proceeded smoothly, with no further peculiarities or incidents. Arriving at the waterfall, they inquired about Diana's status, who quickly replied, "Almost done. If you peek, I'll kill you!"

"We won't," Adan called back. After about 10 more minutes of waiting, it was finally the boys' turn to bathe.

Once they were finished, they returned to the beach. While Riley conjured up a parasol and a sun lounger for himself and Diana using his device, Adan sat on a rock and meditated, diligently absorbing solar energy.

They knew they were on a mission, but they had earned a free afternoon. After all, they had already covered a significant portion of the journey.

As evening approached, the three teenagers each indulged in another coconut, started a burnfire before returning to their 'speedboats' and settling in for a night of rest.

.

.

As the next day arrived, the trio gathered some more coconuts from a nearby palm tree when they heard a screeching sound nearby.

"Come on, I've got a bad feeling about this. Let's leave as soon as possible," Adan said, his experience in sensing danger prompting his urgency.

However, even as they hastened their pace, a creature resembling a cross between a wolf and a lion emerged from behind a tree. Spotting the trio, it let out a roar, likely to defend its territory, Adan surmised, while Riley and Diana hurriedly sought a safe escape route.

Adan cautiously drew his bow, recalling from camp training that erratic movements near predators could trigger an attack response. Diana readied her sword, while Riley, having left his in his 'speedboat', hadn't anticipated needing it.

"Riley, take the coconuts and both of you take slow steps backward and head back to the 'speedboats'," Adan instructed, but Diana, concerned, asked, "What about you?"

"I'll follow as quickly as I can. We don't want to provoke it if there's an alternative," Adan replied, the creature still growling in the background. Suddenly, a juvenile of the creature emerged from behind its mother, but the creature immediately pushed it back, fearing for its safety.

Seeing this, Adan addressed the creature, though he knew it likely wouldn't understand him, he tried nonetheless: "We mean you no harm. We understand this is your territory. We'll leave shortly."

Initially, this seemed to work. The trio began to retreat cautiously, but something had to go wrong. Riley stepped on a branch, which catapulted another branch towards the creature. Instantly, the creature roared again, and Riley and Diana tried to retreat faster.

This prompted the creature to perceive it as an attack and charge towards its prey. Diana, noticing this, stood her ground in a fighting stance, while Adan drew his bow and aimed at the creature, releasing an arrow aimed at its paw, intending to slow it down rather than kill it.

"Swoosh" went the arrow as it struck the creature's paw, causing it to halt in pain and roar for its life. Five seconds later, the trio heard more noises coming from the forest, assuming the creature was calling for reinforcements.

However, the creature seemed to stop in its tracks, presenting the opportunity they had been waiting for. Immediately, the demigods sprinted to their 'speedboats' as fast as they could. Despite this, Riley didn't leave the spoils behind, as they intended to retrieve them: beautiful, delicious coconuts!

Soon they reached their destination, climbed through the hatch, and departed as swiftly as possible. As they moved away from the shore, they spotted six more large creatures in the distance. The reinforcements, which, fortunately, arrived just a bit too late.