I was so caught off guard that I leaned a little too far, and nearly tottered when the tree swayed slightly in the wind. I grabbed the trunk in a bear hug and tried to catch my breath. Had what I had seen also been a trick of the wind? But I saw branches and leaves moving along the ground, below the level of the tree canopy, within the jungle-like foliage. There was no wind there; it was dead still. Nothing else had moved. Although I stared, I could not see anything but the trees, and they no longer moved. My instincts said something large had been moving through the trees, and relatively close. Should I go see if I could find tracks? But that would mean moving out of sight of the beach, and if that thing was as large as the tree movement seemed to indicate...I was not so sure I wanted to find out on my own.
Gingerly making my way back down, I warily made my way back to the beach, trying not to look panicked. One of the passengers at the end of the line where the luggage was being offloaded, Devin ran up to me when he spotted me.
"Did you see any buildings? Ships? Anything?!" he asked desperately, ignoring everyone else, including the teenage girl he had left holding a piece of luggage she had been trying to hand to him. Irritated, she rolled her eyes and tossed the luggage over where the other bags were lined up. I didn't want to say much, especially with only some of the passengers within earshot, but Devin didn't seem like he'd give up without causing a scene, so I shook my head.
"Nothing but ocean and beach and trees in all directions," I said firmly.
"Dammit!" Devin yelled, pouting. "You gotta be kidding!" That pretty much drew everyone's attention, except for the drunk, who had picked a tree that hadn't been his urinal and was now snoring in the shade. I hadn't seen the irritated lady return either. Leah, who had been helping organize the foodstuffs, came over, sweat beaded on her dark skin.
"I don't think we're going anywhere fast," I told Leah as Devin stomped back over to the luggage line. "I think...we should find a way to store our food safely and a little away from camp. We should probably also build a fire and try to set up shelters. There might be wild animals on this island, so we better be safe than sorry." I avoided any mention of the size of the animals. Even if I wasn't just seeing things, there was no point in starting a mass panic. Anyway, I hadn't seen anything in particular. Not really. Well, I'll keep telling myself that for now, at least.
"You guys seem like you have everything under control, I'll get some wood and start a fire. If a few people could get some firewood from along the tree line, that would be great," I ventured. Leah agreed, then rounded up a few helpers for me. While the bonfires looked relatively cheery against the darkening sky, only I knew why I built them so big.
Although dinner had more of a somber vibe than a camping trip one, after the kids had been convinced to sleep, we discussed what our next steps would be, and I elaborated on my little tree climb.
"There's a rise in the land inland a ways, almost like a hill. From the top of that we might get a better idea of the size and shape of the island. There was beach as far as I could see in either direction from where we are. I would suggest," I continued, "that we break up into four teams tomorrow. One to stay here and keep salvaging from the plane, building shelters, watching over the kids and food; two to scout along the beach - one in each direction - and one to go inland to the hill."
"Shouldn't we concentrate on the hill instead of worrying about scouting the beach? From up there we might be able to find other people!' Devin interjected.
"It isn't easy to move through those trees," I replied. "A big group would just slow things down. Also, we need to find water; easiest way is to find a stream along the beach and follow it up to its source."
"So people with hiking experience should take the hill," Chris nodded to himself. "The beach should be easier since you can't get lost. And those not-so-mobile can stay here and prep the camp." After the plans were finalized, I subtly rounded up some of the stronger and responsible-looking passengers, as well as the pilots.
"Here," I said, passing out long branches I had sharpened and hardened in the fire. "We should take turns keeping watch. There's no telling what's out there, and we have food." The others looked at the makeshift weapons, then nodded to me.
"So which group are you going with tomorrow?" Leah asked as we sat down to take first watch. I pondered for a minute. Should I tell her what I saw?
"I think I should join the group..."