Day 1 – Where Are We?

Along with two other couples, Zoe Grayson and Miles O’Connell went on a blind date one fateful Sunday morning. They were on a singles cruise and had been paired together by matchmakers based on their compatibility. As a hopeless romantic, Zoe was excited to see if they were right about Miles.

Their small excursion boat departed from the cruise liner, headed out for a day of snorkeling out in the ocean. Couples were standing around on deck, getting to know one another, to see if there were any sparks. Zoe was immediately attracted to Miles’s good looks and cheerful disposition. Miles thought Zoe was drop-dead gorgeous and, to top it off, she seemed to be really sweet, just looking for the right guy to settle down with and start a family.

Within 20 minutes after their departure, the boat began to rapidly take on water, shorting out their power and leaving the captain unable to issue a mayday call. He directed all passengers to head to the bow of the ship and informed them that there weren’t enough life vests for everyone. The captain let the passengers decide for themselves who would get the three life vests. He and his crew would be the last ones off the ship.

Miles immediately grabbed a life vest for Zoe. “Here — put this on.”

“Thanks, but what about you?”

“I’ll grab a seat cushion. They probably float. Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’m a strong swimmer.”

As the boat started to go under, Miles said to Zoe, “We’ve got to get away from the boat so we don’t go down with it. Do you trust me?”

“Yeah, Miles. I trust you.”

“OK. Give me your hand, and we’ll jump on the count of three.”

That was the last thing Zoe clearly remembered, zoning out and following Miles’s lead until she heard him say, “Zoe! Look — up ahead. There’s an island.”

“That’s real? We’ve been out here so long, I thought I was seeing things.”

“Nope. It’s real. Swim, Zoe, swim!”

With all the strength they had left, they swam for the island they’d spotted in the distance and finally arrived on dry land.

“Miles, you saved my life! What can I ever do to repay you?” Zoe said as she gave him a big hug.

Miles chuckled, hugging her back. “Nothing, Zoe. I’m just glad we made it to safety.”

Miles continued, “I don’t know about you, but I want to get out of these wet clothes and dry off.”

Zoe raised her eyebrows and looked a little shocked.

Miles laughed. “You should see your face! I have swim trunks on underneath. I probably should’ve said that, huh?”

Zoe blushed and gave a sigh of relief. “Um, yeah. I thought you were going to go all naked-island-guy on me for a minute there. Actually, I’m wearing a bikini under my clothes, too. We were going snorkeling, after all.”

Zoe watched with interest as Miles yanked the tank top over his head, the muscles in his arms and pecs flexing. He dropped the shirt on a nearby rock.

Then he nonchalantly shucked his shorts. His swim trunks were smaller than she’d expected, but he couldn’t very well hide a pair of board shorts underneath his clothes.

Zoe said, “I suppose I should get out of these wet clothes and give them a chance to dry, too. If it cools down tonight, I may want to put them back on.”

Zoe slowly pulled her tank top off and then unzipped her shorts, being careful as she tugged them down that her bikini bottom didn’t come off with them. When she finished and looked up at Miles, he reminded her of a cartoon character with his eyes as big as saucers. Miles cleared his throat and tried his best to stop ogling Zoe.

“What?” Zoe said. “Is something wrong?” She looked herself over to be sure all the important bits were covered. That would be so embarrassing.

Miles shook his head. “No, it’s all good. You look terrific, Zoe.”

“Really? Thanks. My best friend talked me into buying this bikini for the cruise. It’s a little more revealing than what I would’ve picked on my own.”

Miles chuckled. “Your friend made an excellent choice.”

“Well, it looks like you’re going to be the only one who sees it, Miles, at least until we’re rescued. We will be rescued, won’t we?”

“Look, I don’t want to get your hopes up. I honestly don’t know. Let’s try to make the best of it, all right? Why don’t we take a tour of the island and see what we can do about some basic things like food and shelter.”

“Sounds like a good idea. You know, if I had to get stranded on a deserted island, I’m glad it’s with you. You have a really good head on your shoulders.”

Miles smiled and looked around the area. “There are piles of twigs all around the island. I’ll gather them up and maybe we can make use of them somehow.”

“There are some huge branches back there, between the boulders. I wonder if they’re blocking the entrance to a cave or some other kind of shelter,” Zoe replied.

“I’ll drag out the branches and find out. But first, let’s see what else is here.”

Zoe noticed a small pond and pointed it out to Miles, who said, “I wonder if there are any fish in the pond? With the fire pit we have here, we might be able to roast fish if we can catch some and get a fire going.”

“That sounds great,” Zoe replied. “Now that the adrenaline rush has died down, I realize I’m starting to get hungry.”

Across from the island was another small area where it looked like fruit trees were growing. Zoe said, “I don’t know anything about fishing, but I wouldn’t mind checking out those fruit trees to see if there’s anything to harvest.”

“Sounds good. While you swim across and check it out, I’ll see if there’s any fish in the pond.”

Miles found a discarded fishing pole near the pond and couldn’t believe his luck; the pond was teeming with fish.

When Zoe reached her destination, she noticed a metal watering can and used it to water the fruit trees.

She planted a tomato and green pepper that she found on the ground, hoping they would grow into healthy plants that would provide them with sustenance in the days (and weeks?) to come.

When Zoe finished planting, she swam back to the island and began fishing with Miles. He managed to catch two fish — a tetra and a bass, as well as a cowplant berry and pomegranate. Zoe caught a cowplant berry, but nothing she could eat. It was nearly 3:30 in the afternoon by now, and Zoe desperately needed a bathroom. Of course, there was no such thing on the island.

Resigning herself to peeing in the bushes, she at least wanted some semblance of privacy. She remembered a couple of large bushes near the fruit trees that seemed to serve no purpose other than to look pretty. Zoe swam toward one of them, muttered to herself about how gross it was and went about her business.

When she finished, she ducked out slowly, checking to see if Miles was around. When she saw that he wasn’t, she smiled to herself since she felt a little better. The bush she’d just exited was a bit stinky, though. Such is life on a deserted island.

Once she swam back to the island, she saw Miles heading to the same area she just vacated. Zoe smiled to herself, knowing she wasn’t the only one stuck in these conditions.

Sure enough, Miles used the same type of bush as Zoe — just on the other side of the fruit trees — each of them staking their claim.

Once they’d finally relieved themselves, both Zoe and Miles felt a burst of energy and swam a few laps before finding themselves famished.

Miles got a fire going and gave Zoe one of the two fish he’d caught earlier. They each used one of the long sticks that had washed ashore at some point to spear their fish and roast them over the fire.

It was nearly 9:30 when Miles asked, “Isn’t this thing cooked yet? I’m really hungry. You must be, too.”

As they roasted their fish, Zoe caught Miles checking her out.

Finally, their fish was cooked and they sated their hunger. When they finished eating, they cleaned up and went inside the shelter. Miles had cleared out all the branches and twigs, and it wasn’t such a bad place.

There was a flat, wooden bench where two people could sit. She and Miles sat there and chatted for a few minutes.

Miles caught Zoe yawning and said, “Why don’t you lie down on that bench and get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”

“Thanks for everything, Miles. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” Zoe gave Miles a hug and said, “If I sleep here, where will you sleep?”

“I’ll find someplace. Don’t worry about me, Zoe. Just get some rest.” As Zoe started dozing off, Miles used the sink to clean up as well as he could. The last thing he wanted to do was to gross Zoe out with body odor.

Miles went outside and weighed his options. He could sleep on the beach and take his chances with sand fleas, but that didn’t sound like a very good idea. Then he spotted a bush like the one he’d peed in earlier. Its leaves were sturdy but soft, so he tried leaning back on it. The next thing he knew, he was fast asleep. 

---

Author’s Notes:

At about 9:00 every morning, I have to roll the dice to determine the gods’ will for the day. On Day 1, using Random.org’s Dice Roller, I rolled:

#8 = Llamatipoca is sending a thunderstorm to the island. Sadly, one of your Sims (your choice) gets struck by lightning and loses 4 skill points. 

Because Zoe and Miles had just arrived, they had no skill points to lose. So, my first roll  was a nonevent.

Zoe and Miles gathered 37 twigs from the island. After clearing the shelter, Miles dragged one of the rocks from inside and placed it near the fire to give them a place to sit. The second rock/seat was purchased using 3 twigs, leaving them with 34.

Advertisement