He and Terry had been stuck on an uninhabited island for several weeks now hoping for rescue. Terry was a man of structure and had begun to lay down the law early on. John had always been less organised and this suited him as he didn’t really want to think too much about practicalities.
And Terry’s rules had made sense for a long time. It was sensible to ration what supplies they had been shipwrecked with, to explore the island together, to only swim with the other watching, to limit exposure to the sun, to take turns in testing the food found.
Now, with the food supplies from the boat gone, Terry was still insisting on rationing the food, despite there being more than enough coconuts and fruits and berries of various kinds on the island to keep them going forever. And keeping the curfew going now they knew the forests so well seemed ridiculous to him. John had lived for his midnight strolls back home.
After Terry forbade John to use the latrine immediately before him, he began to think about how long it had been since he had eaten meat. They had had found no animals on the island, only fruit. And Terry had not yet outlawed murder.
Once Terry’s remains had been laid to rest, John began to explore further and generally do as he pleased. His life became a fine one of solitary pursuits in a tropical setting.
It was too late he realised Terry was too close to the water supply.
And Terry’s rules had made sense for a long time. It was sensible to ration what supplies they had been shipwrecked with, to explore the island together, to only swim with the other watching, to limit exposure to the sun, to take turns in testing the food found.
Now, with the food supplies from the boat gone, Terry was still insisting on rationing the food, despite there being more than enough coconuts and fruits and berries of various kinds on the island to keep them going forever. And keeping the curfew going now they knew the forests so well seemed ridiculous to him. John had lived for his midnight strolls back home.
After Terry forbade John to use the latrine immediately before him, he began to think about how long it had been since he had eaten meat. They had had found no animals on the island, only fruit. And Terry had not yet outlawed murder.
Once Terry’s remains had been laid to rest, John began to explore further and generally do as he pleased. His life became a fine one of solitary pursuits in a tropical setting.
It was too late he realised Terry was too close to the water supply.
Written for the Light and Shade Challenge from the written prompt, "Your rules are really beginning to annoy me," taken from the film Escape from LA.
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