T I M E - S K I P : 12 Hours After Departure
A S H O R EEd sighed, leaning back from the fire to put his back against the log once more. With one hand he swigged back a drink from the bottle in his hand, absentmindedly scratching the back of his head with the other. They had not been lying about the long trip.
For five hours they sailed, the excitement of the initial discovery first crushed by Krauss's insistence on protocol, then by the trip to the beach which took the rest of the day. Even once they reached land, Captain Conway had insisted on sailing as far up and down the shore as he could, looking for what he called the "perfect place to settle in". To Ed, anywhere would have done: they had been so close.
Once they actually had to disembark, however, Ed had seen the issue. The Garrloch only had a pair of
smaller boats to get them to shore, and it had taken a long while for the majority of the crew to get to land. A smaller force, including the ship's XO, were still on board, keeping things from getting too lax while they were ashore.
After a few of the soldiers who had come along swept their chosen campsite for anything even remotely resembling danger, they had finally been allowed to row to shore. The sun had already set by the time they had started the trio of fires, and thrown up the scattering of tarps to protect them from the elements.
But they had made it, in the end. Now they were getting making quite merry with their survival and apparent success. Naturally the sailors had brought inordinate amounts of alcohol along: they could probably drink a barrel of rum a day for the rest of the month, and still have enough for a month more. Ed chuckled at the thought and threw a cracker into his mouth. What lovely rations they had been given.
He had been so eager to explore the island when they had first found it, he'd nearly throttled Krauss when the man had forced him back to the ship. Constance had been similarly irate, but there was nothing either of them could have done. Now, however, Ed was perfectly content to wait: the hours aboard the ship had dulled his sense of adventure considerably, and the darkness beyond the fire snuffed it out further still.
"I still blame you for making me wait," Ed said over his shoulder, to where Krauss and the others were located. "Thanks to you my motivation is gone." He took another sip of the brew in his bottle, wincing at the almost acrid taste. "I swear, if I wasn't so genuine and good-hearted, I'd--"
A loud snap in the woods shattered his train of thought. Ed's head whipped around painfully fast, almost drawing a gasp from his lungs. He glanced at the others around him as if to ask, "did any of you hear that?"
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