Bound in the Tempest
It was the third day since the rain had begun. The wind howling across the island was growing stronger by the hour.
"Kyaah?!"
And then, the roof Chester had built finally gave way under the relentless onslaught of the wind and rain. As it collapsed, the rainwater that had pooled on top cascaded over Monia. Startled, she scrambled closer to the campfire.
"I-is it really safe to stay here?"
"Not really, but it's still better than heading into the forest in this weather."
Chester and Monia could barely see each other by the flickering light of the campfire, but beyond its small radius lay a pitch-black darkness where one couldn't see an inch ahead. Venturing into the forest under these conditions would be absolute suicide.
Fleeing to the beach wasn't an option either. The torrential rain and howling winds had whipped up the waves, sending them crashing inland and sweeping away everything in their path. If they went anywhere near the shore, they would be dragged into the raging sea without a chance to fight back.
All they had to rely on was the campfire and this flimsy, makeshift shelter they had cobbled together on their very first day on the deserted island.
...We're reaching our limit.
There was plenty of water to drink, but they had absolutely nothing to eat. For now, the sheer adrenaline of trying to survive this extreme situation and gulps of water were keeping their hunger at bay, but it wouldn't be long before an unbearable starvation set in.
...Can we eat the coconuts? They're fruits, after all.
Back in the coastal cities, Chester had only ever seen merchants selling the juice of the coconuts, which had led him to believe the flesh inside was inedible. But under these desperate circumstances, it was only right to try everything.
"What are you doing?"
"Seeing if we can eat this coconut."
Chester replied as he began to crack open a coconut. First, he drained the juice, then wedged his stone axe into the natural seam of the shell and twisted. Prying it open, he peered inside.
"..."
"...What is that?"
"I don't know either."
The interior of the coconut was hollow, save for a thick, snowy-white layer lining the inner walls. This had to be the coconut flesh. Chester fetched his stone knife and carefully scraped some of it out.
"Well, it feels soft enough."
So, is it edible?
Chester pinched a bit of the scraped flesh between his fingers, examined it, and then cautiously popped it into his mouth.
"..."
"H-how is it?"
"It's... surprisingly oily. Doesn't taste like fruit at all."
"Oily?"
"Yeah."
Chester rubbed his fingers together, feeling the residue.
Eating too much of this probably isn't good for the stomach. It's best to take just a little, chew it thoroughly, and swallow to trick the hunger.
Actually, rather than eating it, this stuff seemed like it would be great for the skin. Chester recalled a time in the snowy mountains when the sun was blindingly harsh; he had smeared animal fat over his face to prevent sunburn. This coconut flesh could probably be used in a similar way.
"Here."
Chester scraped out another small piece and held it out to Monia on his fingertip. Monia stared warily at the white mush on his finger before tentatively darting her tongue out to lick it.
"...Mmph!"
And as expected, she could not stand the taste.
"Ugh! Blech!"
"Force it down. We don't have anything else to eat."
"N-no! I won't!"
"Oh, for God's sake."
Chester firmly grabbed Monia's face.
"You're going to starve to death if you keep being this picky."
"Mmph! Wait! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Just eat it."
With that, he forced his finger coated in coconut flesh into her mouth.
"Mmph...!"
Monia's eyes widened in shock, and then she clamped her teeth down hard.
"Ow! Hey! You bit me! Are you a dog?!"
"Mmph! Oof! Mmmph!"
"If you want to talk, swallow it first!"
"...!"
Monia resisted with everything she had. She absolutely refused to let that repulsive substance slide down into her stomach. But Chester pushed his finger deeper, smearing the coconut flesh near the back of her throat before pulling his hand back.
"Mmph! Cough... Gulp!"
With her throat stimulated, her reflexes took over, forcing her to swallow the mush.
"Cough! Wheeze!"
After a long fit of coughing, she glared at Chester with a look of utter betrayal. Wiping away the white traces of coconut flesh from her lips, she hissed:
"You beast!"
Chester completely ignored her and peered outside.
...The wind seems to have picked up even more.
Even though Chester and Monia were blocking the wind from the front and back, and the bamboo wall was shielding them from the side, the campfire was flickering violently. The rain was driving into their shelter as fiercely as the wind, leaving both of them drenched to the bone despite the fire.
He was desperately feeding the fire with wood and keeping it aerated, but finding dry firewood was becoming nearly impossible. They were reaching their breaking point.
In fact, the palm leaves serving as their roof were tearing away, leaving gaping holes that let the rain pour straight in. The water was barely missing the campfire; if the leak had been just a few inches to the side, the flames would have been snuffed out instantly.
"Hey."
To keep the dark thoughts at bay, the two kept talking, desperately trying to distract themselves.
"Yes?"
"You said you wanted revenge, right?"
"Yes. That commoner, the Prince... I will make them pay!"
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"...I haven't thought that far ahead."
"You really are a brainless woman, aren't you?"
"Did you just insult me?!"
At that exact moment, a sudden, violent gust of wind swept through, scattering the campfire.
"No!"
"What in the—!"
The burning logs that made up their fire were swept away, vanishing into the darkness. Plunged into instant, absolute blackness, the two could only stare toward each other in utter dismay.
In this newly blinded world, they couldn't see an inch in front of them, but they knew the other was right there.
A moment later, Chester and Monia clung tightly to each other, desperate to preserve whatever body heat they had left. Having already suffered a severe bout of hypothermia once before, Monia cast aside all sense of shame. But the fire was gone.
"W-w-what do we do? What should we..."
That single realization shattered Monia's fragile mental state. The composure she had desperately maintained amidst her anxiety crumbled, and her internal panic manifested as physical tremors.
The wind howling in her ears sounded like the roar of a monstrous beast, and the raindrops pricked her skin like sharp needles. Things she hadn't even noticed moments ago suddenly became hyper-vivid, fueling her terror.
And then, another violent gust of wind slammed into them.
"Hieek!"
Monia had never thought much of the wind before. To her, wind was merely a pleasant breeze, a gentle natural phenomenon. But this was different. A single powerful gust was enough to violently shake her entire body.
The wind, threatening to rip her very soul away, felt like the scythe of the Grim Reaper from the scary storybooks she had read as a child. The tale of a miserable man who resisted and resisted the Reaper's blade, only to lose his life in the end. She felt as if she had become the protagonist of that tragic tale.
"...!!"
Monia curled in on herself even tighter, shivering violently.
She's not shaking from the cold.
Realizing she was trembling out of sheer terror, Chester didn't immediately try to comfort her. Instead, he checked the stone knife and stone axe he had secured. Having tools made a world of difference in any crisis, so he had grabbed them reflexively the moment the fire was blown away.
We're not dead yet.
Monia was thinking of death. So was Chester. In this situation, being exposed to the elements without a fire was incredibly dangerous.
But we're still alive.
Both Chester and Monia were still breathing.
We're alive. I can see, I can hear. My hands and feet still move. And I have my tools.
Chester forced himself to focus on the positives.
Then we can survive. It's fine. We can make it.
Chester grit his teeth.
Just then, the bamboo wall—which they had lashed together using split water containers—was struck by something flying in the wind.
*Crack!*
A sharp, splintering sound pierced the darkness. At the same time, the shattered bamboo wall whipped wildly in the wind, striking Chester's body.
Ugh!
Chester bit his lip hard to keep from crying out. If you show weakness, you die. With that thought, he suppressed any sign of vulnerability. It hurt, but he didn't scream. If he didn't scream, the pain was bearable. He didn't know what had hit him, but it wasn't enough to make him cry out. So he was fine.
"Sob... hic... Waaah!"
Monia's weeping echoed from his chest. In the pitch-black darkness where only the terrifying storm existed, her warmth and her voice were the only clear things Chester could feel.
It was something he had never expected, but in this very moment, Monia was becoming an anchor for his mind. The simple fact of not being alone—of having someone there—gave him immense strength. Hardships that would break a man's spirit if faced alone could be endured with surprising ease when shared with another.
Still, her continuous crying and whimpering was getting a bit counterproductive.
Chester fumbled around in the dark. His hand brushed against a length of rope that had snagged on a piece of the collapsed shelter instead of blowing away. He grabbed it and tied one end securely around his own wrist. Then, he tied the other end to Monia's wrist.
"W-what are you doing?"
"There. Now we won't get separated, no matter what happens."
"..."
"So it's fine. We're going to be okay. You've seen everything I've done since we got to this island, right? I'm a lot more capable than you think."
"..."
"And you've got me right here. So calm down. It's alright. Come on, stop crying. Crying just wastes your energy."
"...Okay."
Monia clung even closer to Chester. Miraculously, the paralyzing fear of death that had been tormenting her began to fade.
As the two of them leaned on each other, the true breaking point arrived.
But it wasn't the two of them that broke—it was the makeshift shelter Chester had built. On any ordinary day, the structure would have held up perfectly fine, but it was no match for a tempest of this magnitude. Neither the shelter nor the tree that served as its main support could endure it any longer.
*CRACK-CRACK-CRACKLE!*
A sound like the world splitting in half echoed through the night.
"Ugh!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
The shelter collapsed completely, burying Chester and Monia beneath it. A split second later, the tree, snapped clean at its base, came crashing down over the ruins of their home.