Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 20:27:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Pear III David <drakanian32@yahoo.ca>
Subject: Crash Survivor Chapter 10

CRASH SURVIVOR

By Drake

General Disclaimer and copyrights:
This is just a fantasy work of fiction.  Any resemblance to persons or
places is a coincidence. 
If you aren't old enough to read this in your country, don't read.
If it's a criminal offence to read this in your country, don't read.
If male to male relationships and sexuality offend you, don't read.
If you think the story will be lame and boring, don't read it either.
All rights reserved.

NOTE:

Wow, this one took less time to pull out!  We're getting better here!

I wanna thank you all, I had great comments about the story so far.  I hope
you'll like this new chapter.

Cheers,

Drake


From last chapter:

With a roar of laughter from the four of us - well, five, including Henry -
we carefully walked through the workshop by the dim light coming through
the doorway from the torches and the moonlight coming through the skylights
in the barracks.  Wil carefully let Henry off his shoulder onto the pile of
mattresses and we all said good night to him.  His reply was a quiet,
"Henry's a good boy."

Once we got onto our makeshift bed, ending up spooned together - Matt in
front of me, Jake in front of him and Wil nestled at the other side.  My
mind was a bit of a slushy blur as I listened to Jake, then Wil start a
light snore.

Then slowly Matt said, "Gen.... er..... aaay.... ter," just before he slid
into a quiet snore as well.

Just as my closed eyes were reaching the blessed state of slumber, my mind
drifted, 'Yeah... a great big torch....
more.... help.... on... the.... runway.'  Then I felt the happy, comforting
abyss of sleep totally overtaking my exhausted mind and body.

I did wake up a couple of times through the night with something poking in
my back, but it was ok, it couldn't have been harmful.

--------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10

When my eyelids lifted again and I oriented myself, I still had Matt tucked
up against me in the brightness of the barracks.  I nudged my head to look
over Matt's shoulder and saw that both Wil and Jake were gone - probably
for a leak, I thought, and as usual reminded me that I had to go too.

I tried to ease myself carefully away from Matt, but he mumbled some
incoherent words and twisted his neck to look at me.

"Morning Dad," he said groggily.

"Morning Matt, do you know where the other two are?"  I asked.

"No, I heard them shuffling around a while ago, but I was too comfy with
you to wake up myself and I went back to sleep" he replied, "But if they're
anything like me, I'll bet they've gone for a pee." he laughed.

"Me too," I said, "let's go."

We lifted ourselves from our makeshift bed, stretched, and looked around as
we left the barracks building - no sign of Wil or Jake.  I figured Henry
would naturally be with Wil.

"Wil!  Jake!"  I called as we headed for the latrine.  No answer.

Once inside the latrine, I thought I'd see them there, trying to free up
the taps, but no - no sign of the taps even being coated with oil.  Once
Matt and I finished our absolutions, we went outside again.

Again I called, "Jake!  Wil!"

"Where can they be?"  Matt asked.  "I'm getting a bit worried."

I looked down the runway, scanned across the runway, and called again.
"WIL!  JAKE!"  No answer; no sign of movement.  "Well at least they're
together," I said.

"Let's look around, maybe they went over to the control tower."  Matt said.

"Good idea," I said, wishing I'd have thought of that - at least we'd get a
better view from the upper level.

We circled around the back of the latrine building and I noticed that there
was a rusty pipe extending from the ground leading into a ditch with a
trickle of water still coming out of it.  The long grassy ground fell off
into a ditch, which didn't seem to have any accumulation of water in it.  I
suppose it evaporated at a good rate considering the water had been running
all these years.  There was no sign of any solid waste coming from the
pipe, so I assumed that the buried tank that it came from, had more than
one chamber.  It sure wouldn't be the best water to drink though.

We carried on behind the barracks building still calling again without any
response.  We didn't wanted to go too far into the dense forest because we
weren't sure of the terrain and we didn't want to take a chance of tripping
on something or getting lost, so we headed back toward the control tower
following the edge of the runway.

Before we entered the building, we called again.  "WIL!  JAKE!"  Still no
response.

Once inside the lower floor of the control tower, we saw a wall of
electrical panels, two small desks, with microphones on them.

There was a radar screen on a metal operator's desk, probably for the
ground controller, but I saw no sign of a radar tower anywhere.  They
probably dismantled it before abandoning the airfield.  So this radar
screen was of no use.  On the other hand, Matt seemed more interested than
me about this discovery and took some time checking out the cabinet.

"Hey dad!!!  Look!!!" he said.

"What?  Where?"  I replied.

"Here, under the radar thingy, there is an old signal amplifier!!!" he
frantically said.

"Yeah, but the radar tower is gone, there's no radar outside either!"  I
said.

"No!!!  You don't get what I mean!  It's a SIGNAL AMPY!!!" he continued
with the same excitement.

"What's the difference?"  I asked.

"Dad!!!  Do you know how lucky we are to have this thing?  This amplifier
is very powerful and it's used to transmit and receive radar signal over a
very long range..." he started to explain.

"Yeah BUT I told you we don't have any radar here Matt!" I cut him.

"Not for a radar..." he said with a smile that told me I was the dumber
than I looked.

"Ok, so what for then?" I asked.

"If I can get the generator working, we'll have some electrical power.
Then if I hook up the radio transmitter to the amplifier, then the
amplifier to a makeshift antenna, and then power everything with
electricity, we'll be able to transmit and receive anything over a very
long range, like voice or Morse code!!!!  Now do ya get it?" he replied,
still wearing the same smile.

"Duh!!!  How the hell do you get all those ideas!?!?!"  I asked, a little
dumbfounded.

"I dunno, I just use my imagination and sometimes, it works!"  he said.

"Yeah well, as soon as we get settled here, your first task will be to put
your ideas to work.  Working or not, we have at least to try it.  But for
now, if your imagination could tell us where Wil and Jake are, it would be
of great help!" I stated, starting to panic.

"Yeah, let's go upstairs.... we'll have a better view of the base and maybe
we can see them from up there," Matt said.

The stair going to the upper level was quite steep - not quite a ladder,
but I realized it would take some getting used to, to come down them with
any agility.

From the upper level, we could see 180 degrees from the large hangar at one
end all the way down to the far end of the runway.  I wish there'd been a
set of binoculars left behind by one of the base personnel, but no luck.
Unfortunately, we couldn't see directly to the rear of the tower into the
jungle that was behind the base, but we could see a fair distance across
the top of the vegetation from the side windows.  It was difficult to say
if I could see the ocean where it joined the sky or not.  It was all the
same colour and a bit of a misty fog at the horizon.  Maybe I was looking
at the ocean, I couldn't tell for sure.  A view of the water tower at this
level revealed what appeared to be an inverted cone as a secondary roof
that over-hanged the tank itself.  On top of that was a suspended regular
cone of a slightly smaller diameter that was supported underneath with some
metal work - angles or channels - I couldn't tell which.  I was surprised
at the uniqueness of the design.  Maximum area for maximum collection.

At window sill height in the control tower, there was a bench on the three
sides with four chairs in the room, together with just four microphones,
two to the long length facing the runway and one each at the shorter sides
facing the lengths of the runway.

To the south, looking across the runway, we could clearly see the filling
station, the supply road that we'd used to get here, and the ocean beyond.

Again, we found a small radar screen with a sun visor over it but this one
was wall-mounted and located between two windows.  I was pretty sure this
screen was hooked to the cabinet downstairs.

Matt said, "I think they must have controlled the radio frequencies from
downstairs."

"You could be right Matt, but we'll have a closer look at that
later... right now I'm more concerned about Jake and Wil.  We sure can't
see any sign of them from up here."

"Let's get out on the runway and call them again Dad."  Matt said with some
worry in his voice.

"My thought too Matt."  I said trying not to show my anxiety.

Gingerly, we went down the steep stair and out onto the runway, calling
their names as we traversed the width of the runway, heading for the supply
road.

"WIL!!"  JAKE!!"  We both called in unison several times in all directions;
but to no avail - the silence and a few birds chirping was our only answer.
"WIL!  JAKE!!

After about our fifth call, we heard a large squawk.  Matt looked up and
pointed.  "Henry," he said softly.  Then exclaimed, "DAD, IT'S HENRY!!"

"WIL!"  I yelled.

Henry squawked again and swooped in a circle and said, "Wil!  Mayday!" as
he circled around and landed on my shoulder.  "Mayday Wil," he repeated.
Actually, his talons didn't hurt as much as I thought they would.

"Henry!  Get Wil."  I said with some anxiety after hearing the bird saying
the international distress call.

Matt looked at Henry and repeated, "HENRY!  GET WIL!"

Henry jumped off my shoulder and swooped with a flutter of his wings and
squawked back, "Wil!  Mayday!" as he flew in a large arc that took him back
to the area between the two hangers.  He continued to circle as Matt and I
followed him on the run.  Henry continued to circle as we got to the
hanger, and then swooped in a circle to the back of the hanger.  "Wil,
mayday," he said again.

At the back of the area between the hangars, we saw a single trail.  Henry
squawked again, "Mayday.  Wil."  Matt and I didn't have to say anything to
each other as we started walking quickly down the trail.  I was petrified
as to what may have happened to the boys and I think Matt was too scared to
acknowledge anything I'd have said anyway.  Henry kept flying from tree to
tree so we could keep pace with him.

I called again.  "WIL!!  JAKE!!"

In a small voice from far away, I could hear a tiny response.  "Over here
Dad."  It was Jake's voice.

"JAKE!!"  Matt yelled, "WE'RE COMING!!"

We must have gone another fifty yards along the trail before I called
again.  "WIL!!  JAKE!!"

"Over here Dad," the voice was stronger this time and it was Wil's voice.
Some relief swept over me at that point.  At least he could talk and he
wasn't dead.  Terrible thought, but when you're in a panic, that's what
happens in your mind.

"Mayday Wil," Henry squawked again as we continued to follow him along the
trail.

Finally, after another twenty yards, Henry swooped down in front of us and
said, "Wil!"

I looked down the trail and ten yards in front of us, stood Jake with his
arm around Wil's waist.  Wil had a backpack around one shoulder and his arm
was around Jake's shoulder.  Wil stood there with his left foot off the
ground as the two of them did a three-legged walk towards us.  I ran up and
grabbed him.  Right behind me, Matt ran up and grabbed Jake into an
embrace.  We were so relieved to see them, my tears started to flow.

"WIL!"  I exclaimed.  "What happened son?"

"I'm sorry Dad."  Wil said apologetically.  "We were just out gathering
some fruit and nuts and I tripped over a branch and then hit my foot on a
stump.  I don't think I broke it or anything, but it sure is sore to walk
on."

"And you Jake," Matt said in an admonishing tone, "you aren't supposed to
be putting that kind of a strain on yourself, holding up Wil like that."

"It's OK lover face," Jake smiled, "I'm just helping Jake keep his balance
while we headed back."

"All right," I said as I lowered Wil to the ground.  "Let's have a look at
the foot before we go any further."

Just then, Henry swooped over to the backpack that was laying on the
ground.

"Oh Matt," Wil said, "Reach in the backpack and get Henry some nuts.  Ya
think he deserves a reward?"

"He sure as hell does!"  Matt exclaimed.  "If it wasn't for Henry, it
would've taken us all day to find you guys.  We were worried sick!  You
should have let us know where you were going."

"Ah, come on guys," Jake said as Matt fed Henry one nut at a time, "you
were both snoring and we didn't want to disturb ya.  Wil and I were awake
and we knew we needed to get some fruit and nuts, so we just went for a
gander."

As I was removing Wil's shoe, Matt and I said at the same time, "I don't
snore!"

"YES YOU DO!"  Matt and I said again at the same time looking at each other
with smiling confidence.  Both Wil and Jake started laughing.

"YES YOU DO!" they both said between laughs.

"Well you do too," I said with a chuckle looking up at Wil as I examined
his foot.  "It's a good thing you had your shoes on."  I continued to touch
his foot carefully looking for any sign of pain.

"I think it's my big toe," Wil said as I massaged the heel and sole of his
foot.  Then I touched, then gave a slight squeeze to his toes starting with
the little toe, working my way towards his big toe.  "Getting close," he
said as I wiggled his second toe.  When I moved the big toe just slightly,
he howled, "OW!!"

I looked carefully again without touching it.  I said, "There doesn't seem
to be any swelling yet, so maybe it's not broken, but probably only cracked
or sprained.  Without an x-ray, who, but a physician could tell.  Matt, see
if you can get a soft palm frond and strip its length into strips about a
quarter of an inch wide."

"Right on it Dad."  Matt replied.  "That's all the nuts for now Henry.
You're a good boy, but right now we gotta fix Wil."

"Henry's a good boy!"  Henry replied.

"Whatcha gonna do Dad?"  Wil sounded anxious.

"Well from my experience, I should cut off this toe and..." I started to
say.

"NOOOO!!!  I don't want you to cut off my toe!?!?  Ya ain't gonna, are
ya??" Wil said in a panic.

I continued as if nothing was said, "Then once, it's cut, I would put it in
your mouth so you won't be able to snore anymore," I said, trying to
compose myself before I started laughing.

"Dad!!!!!  That's not funny at all," Wil said angrily.

"Maybe..." I laughed, but then I became aware of a more serious situation.
"Seriously Wil, what wasn't funny at all was that you were nowhere to be
found.  I want you to remember that this incident could have been worse."
Then getting more serious, I added, "This is the last time anyone of you
leaves the group without telling the others where they're going and when
they'll get back.  Is that clear?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah dad," they replied shyly, looking at the ground.

"Now, Wil, let me see if I can do something with your toe.  You know, if
you have a single broken toe, I know that doctors seldom put them in a
cast, they just bind the broken toe to the others to keep it immobile while
it heals.  It'll be tender for a while, but I think you'll be OK." I
explained.

"'Kay...  Just be gentle, 'cause it really hurt when you touched it."  Wil
said.

"Ok, I'll do my best...  Hey you guys, how did Henry know to come and get
us... did you send him?"

"Not really, I just said we needed some help and said that I wished you and
Matt were here."  Jake said.  "And then he took off."

"Amazing bird," I observed.  "I doubt he's forgotten a word.  He kept
squawking 'Mayday Wil' when we first saw him."

"Yes!  He is an amazing bird!"  Wil exclaimed as I started winding the
frond around his toes; first the big toe to the second one and then the big
toe to the third one.  "How does that feel?"

"Well OK... still a bit sore, but OK."  Wil replied as I struggled to get
his foot carefully back into his shoe.

"How about we rest and have something to eat."  I suggested.

"Good idea," Jake said.  "I'm hungry as a horse."

While we sat there and had a meal of fruit and nuts from Jake's back pack
we started talking about our plans for today again.  The first thing I
wanted to do was get those mattresses out of the barracks.  Also, I had an
idea that I was going to spring on the boys about them.  Matt was
interested in getting the generator going, then hooking up the radio and
get it working.  I knew that this kid was incredible at solving any
technical problems, but I thought he'd gone out on a limb with that one.  I
didn't wanted to destroy Matt's desire to get all of those things to work
by telling him what I was really thinking, and I thought it wouldn't do any
harm to at least let him give it a try.  One of the best outcomes would be
that it would work, but I wasn't convinced.  On the other hand, Jake was
interested in getting the water running in the latrine, a luxury that would
be welcomed by everyone.  Wil decided to help Matt figure a way to get the
generator running.  I knew Wil would be a great helper for Matt when it
came to technical work.  Wil had great hands and was always meticulous, but
didn't have Matt's talent in the technical area.

"We didn't get to the end of the trail, but we're pretty sure it goes right
across the island," Jake said.

"Yeah," Wil agreed, "we were making good time until I tripped."

"Well, sometime when your toe has healed and you can walk properly again,
we'll all do the trip together," I said.  "But in the meantime, we have a
load of chores to do back at the base."

"Yeah," Matt said.  "Once we have some electricity and maybe get a radio
going, we can think about these other things."

"OK Wil... let's get you back on your feet."  I said once we'd had our fill
of nuts and fruit.  Between Matt and I, we got Wil onto his feet, but he
was careful not to put too much pressure on his left foot.

"That's better Dad... not as sore as it was."

"Good.  Let's head back then.  Jake, you and Matt lead the way.  I'll hang
in here with Wil."  I said.  "Come on Henry, we're goin' home."

Henry squawked, "Wil's a good boy!" as he took off from tree to tree in
front of us.

With an arm around Wil's skinny waist and his arm around mine, we managed
the three-legged walk pretty well down the uneven trail back to the start
of the trail between the hangars.  Once we started walking on the concrete
runway, Wil tried to walk unassisted.  He did pretty well - a bit of a
gimpy limp, but well enough to get along on his own.

"Henry's a good boy," he squawked as he took off across the runway towards
the access road.

"Dad, while we're here, let's have a look in the hangars."  Jake said.

The hangars were simple Quonset construction.  It was just two arching
metallic walls on a concrete slab between a straight wall at one end and a
sliding barn door at the other end.  They had no windows.  Jake and Matt
were already at the door of the largest of the two building when I arrived
with Wil.

"Look dad!!"  Matt said first.  "Remember we thought it was an airplane
when we arrived here."

"Yeah sure!"  I said as I looked at the door.  The pilots had painted the
face view of a big plane on the door.  From the distance we'd been looking
at it before, it was so realistic that we thought it was a real one.

"This door is stuck bad!!"  Jake said trying to pull to open the door.

"Hey there goof!!  It doesn't open that way?"  Matt said smugly.

"Hey ho, Einstein, show us how then," Jake replied, a little frustrated.

"It's a sliding door Jakey, it's rolling on that rail up above."  I said to
him.

"Huh...  Never saw one like that before," Jake replied.

Thankfully, there was no lock on the door.  Jake and Matt started to push
the door to open it.  The rail and the rollers were so rusty that I wasn't
sure if they would be able to open it.  After a lot of effort, the door
moved only by an inch; not enough to see inside the hangar yet.  Matt and
Jake used all their strength, even though Jake paid particular attention to
keep from opening his wounds again.  I joined the team and with a big
scream, we pushed as hard as we could.  Once we got it rolling, we kept up
our momentum and soon, we had opened the door completely in one slow single
shot.

Facing the entrance, Wil was the first to speak.  "WOW!!!!!"  he exclaimed.

As we turned back, trying to understand why he was so surprised, we saw it
just in front of us - this was A REAL BIG PLANE!!!!

"WOWWW!!!!"  was all we could say.

"Do you think this bird can fly dad?" Jake asked.

"Hmm, I don't think so...  There's no propellers on any of the engines...
And that right wing is in a pretty bad shape!"  I told them pointing to the
wing in question.

"Can we go in?" Jake asked again.

"Sure, but be careful...  You'll be in complete darkness inside there.
Watch your step and where you put your hands," I replied.

Soon, all the boys were running toward the plane, Wil jumping on his good
foot, trying to follow the other boys.

"Hey guys!!  Wait for me!!" he yelled.

Once the boys were in the plane, I started to give a closer look around the
rest of the hangar.  Here and there were some tools scattered on the floor,
as if they'd left in a hurry, without putting them back in their right
location.

At the left was some tools chests and benches and on the right side some
equipment probably used for plane's maintenances and repairs.  I couldn't
see anything at the back end of the hangar because of the darkness.

I was in my reverie for just a couple of minutes before Matt came up to me,
pushing, with some difficulty, a strange blue box that was on rollers.

"Look at this dad!!" he said happily, sweeping is face with his hand after
the great effort he'd just made.

"What is it son?" I asked him.

"Guess?  It's so kewl" he asked me as Jake and Wil were coming back.

"Hmm, let me think.  It seems heavy, big, and slow as hell to move... it's
a blue box.  Ah!! I got it!  It's Jake's brain!!!"  I teased.

"Daaaaad!!!  You're sooooo bad!!"  Jake said.

"Seriously dad!!!" Matt asked again, very happy about his newfound toy.

"I dunno..." I said at first sight.

Then I took a closer look at this curious thing.  If Matt thought it was so
'kewl', I'm pretty sure he had a good reason to think that.

 "What's that handle and those cables for?" I asked him after my quick
study.

"Hang on, I'll show ya!"  He replied excitedly.

Then Matt went to a bench a came back with a small electric fan, probably
something they used for air circulation in the pilots cabin.  He hooked up
the fan with the cables from the blue box.

"Turn the handle clockwise and you'll see."  Matt said with a big grin.

So I started to turn the handle, completely unaware of what it would do.
It sure was hard to turn.  A gear grinding sound started and it became much
louder as I got some speed.

"WOW!!!!!!  LOOK DAD!!!!  IT'S TURNING!!!!!"  Wil screamed.

"I know Wil... and it's pretty stiff to keep it going, but it's no big
deal."  I said, still concentrating on my task.

"NO!!!  Not the handle, look the fan!" he said.

I left the handle that was still turning and moved to see the small fan on
the ground.  It was turning at full speed!!

"What the hell is..." I started to say.

"It's a manual generator, I think some people called them a magneto!"  Matt
said.  "I saw something like this in an old workshop at my uncle's place!"
he continued.

"And what's it for?" Jake asked.

"It's used as a battery booster to help charge weak batteries when you're
somewhere where there's no other electrical source."  Matt replied.

"Oh..." was Jake's only answer.

"Are you thinking, what I'm thinking Matt?"  I asked him.

"You betcha dad!!"  Matt replied.

"What that?"  Wil asked.

"You'll see," Matt chuckled as he put the cables back on the booster.

I went along Matt's tease and didn't reply to all the other boy's
questions.  I was too happy myself and wanted them to have a little
surprise.  God, I hoped Matt's idea would work!

Soon, we were slowly making our back onto the runway toward the barracks,
Matt pushing the generator behind us.  The boys chatted about their new
discoveries, telling me what they found in the plane and how it looked
inside.  We gave a quick peek in the other hangar, but there was nothing
too interesting.  Just some more tool chests and benches, but no airplane.

Once we arrived back at the barracks, I explained to the boys what I wanted
to do with the mattresses.

"Each mattress is about six feet long and twenty-four inches wide.  If we
put three of them end to end and another three end to end six feet from the
first three, then join the two lengths with a mattress in the middle going
cross-wise, what shape do we have?"

I watched as Jake looked at a confused Matt and Wil pointed at the ground
with his finger - one, two, three; one two, three, the he drew a line
between them and smiled.

IT'S AN 'H'!" Wil exclaimed.

"Right," I said.  "And what's the next letter?"

"'E' 'L' 'P'!"  The three boys exclaimed.

"Right on boys!"  I enthused, ".... right down the length of the
runway... or at least a sign about forty feet long by eighteen feet high.
We have twenty-five mattresses that we aren't using and it'll only take
maybe twenty-three of them to do it."

"I guess we might as well," Matt said a bit dejectedly, "even though we
haven't heard an airplane in the air since we've been here."

"Well Matt, I agree, but it's just more thing we can do, just in case, and
it won't take that long for the four of us to get it done.  What do you
think boys?"

"You're right Dad... it wouldn't hurt."  Matt said.

"Hell of an idea Dad," Wil said.

"OK, but first, let's see if we can help Matt get something done with that
generator."  I suggested.  "He's going to show all of us how it's supposed
to work.  That way if he's not around and something needs to be done to it
in a hurry, each of us will know what to do."

"Let's get to 'er!"  Jake exclaimed.  "It'll be time for something to eat
again by the time we get that done."

"Good ol' Jake.... always thinking of his stomach," Wil giggled.  "So Matt,
how do you plan to get the generator going?"  Wil asked Matt.

"Well, I'll tell you what I had in mind," Matt started as we all entered
the barracks.

"What's with the blue box?"  Wil asked.

"C'mere!" Matt said.  "Why isn't the generator running?"

"Because there's no fuel, right?"  Wil questioned.

"Nooo...  Try again bro," Matt told him.

"Because it can be started?"  Wil tried.

"Bingo!  And we can't start it because the batteries are dead..."

"Ohhhhh, I think I'm starting to understand," Wil said with a sparkle in
his eyes.  "You want us to use that manual booster to start the
engine.... is that it?"

"Yes Wil!  That's what I'm thinking."

"Great!  So hurry up, let's get starting it!"  Wil said happily.

"No no!!  Wait.  We can't start it just like that.  It takes a lot of
preparation.  First, this engine hasn't turned over for years and it needs
to be well lubricated before we get it going, otherwise we'll destroy it as
soon as it starts to turn over.  Even before that, we have to turn off all
the main switches in the electric distribution panel so the generator won't
feed any electricity to the base."

"Why?"

"Because we have to turn them on one by one to make sure that there is no
short-circuits.  Doing it any other way would probably destroy the
generator or something may catch on fire."

Jake and I just stood there, listening to the banter between Wil and Matt,
both of us getting a bit of an education at the same time - or at least I
was.

"Alright guys," Jake said.  "How about giving me a small can of oil and
I'll go over to the laaatrrrreeeen and try to free up some taps.  This
stuff here is boring."

"OK Jake," Matt said.  "Take one or two of those bottles and fill 'em up
with that oil there."

"Oh and Jake," I said, "Be careful.  Soak them very, very well and don't
put too much pressure on them when you try to turn them on.  If we break a
tap off we'll have water everywhere for a short while and then none after
that."

"Gotcha Dad," Jake replied.  "I'll take one of those blankets with me to
wipe off the excess oil."

"Good man!"  I hoped he understood the importance of what I'd said, but on
the other hand I hoped his attempt would be successful at least to some
degree, so he would be encouraged by his success.

I watched as Jake filled the bottles and left the generator room.

"How come you guys know all that stuff.  Matt, sometimes you're just too
intelligent!"

"You're just as intelligent as me Wil...  It's just different for me when
it comes to technical things.  It just comes easier for me than it does for
you," Matt said shyly.

"I'm more intelligent than you?"

"You don't think so?" Matt asked.

"I'm so dumb sometimes.  I could never be smarter than you!"

"It's just because you really don't know who you are.  You're such a great
friend, and a lot better since we crashed!"  Matt said as he dropped his
head down, as his memories of the crash came down on him.

"We survived that and we'll survive this too Matt..." Wil said.

"It's just that sometimes, I miss being home..." Matt said with some tears.

"Hey bro, we're better off here than anywhere!  Remember how crappy things
were back home?" Wil asked.

"Sometimes, I don't think it was that bad..."  Matt said, trying to
convince himself.

"Want me to beat you with a stick so you can remember more?"  Wil asked
smiling.

"No, I get the drift Wil...  Thanks. I love ya..." Matt said.

"I love you t...  What?!?!"  Wil asked in disbelief.

"I love you like a bro goof!!  I know you love me more than that, but
remember what I already told you."

"Yeah, I was just... just..."  Wil stuttered.

"...thinking that I'd changed my mind?"  Matt tried.

"Yeah..."

"I love you Wil, but you know I'm really IN love with Jakey.  Even if I'm
young as hell, I'm sure I'll spend the rest of my life with him.  Even if
we're able to get through all of this and we're able to go back
home.... it'll always be him, even after all we been through since the
plane went down."  Matt told him.

"Hmm yeah.  It's just that, shit I would really like to have someone to
love."  Wil told him.

"You have Henry?"

"Yeah, but that's only a pet.  I love him.... but, well.... you know..."
Wil winked.

"Huh no, I don't know.... wha'da ya mean?"  Matt chuckled.

"He can't suck me off!"  Wil said smiling.

"MOUAFFFFFF AFFF AHAH AHAH!!!  That's the dumbest line I ever heard!" Matt
shouted as the three of us started laughing.

After composing themselves, Matt said, "Wil, you're such a good boy, you're
pretty good looking too.  I'm sure someday, you'll find someone, boy or
girl that'll suit you."

"Too bad it's not true at the moment!" Wil said quietly.  "Thanks Matt.
Right now, I'm so lucky to have you in my life, thanks."

"No sweat bro."

"Alright guys, enough of this chit-chat," I said.  "Matt let's get on with
trying to get this thing going.... we have a lot of other things we'd like
to do today as well."

"Right Dad."  Wil acknowledged.  "What's the first thing we have to do
Matt?"

"Well first, let's get the windows cleaned so we can see better and then we
have to get some tools from the workshop."

"OK, you boys go get the tools and I'll start on the windows with these
rags."  I said.  I wasn't after a professional window cleaning job, just
something to get the years of grime and dust wiped away to make it brighter
in an otherwise gloomy room.

Just as I was finishing that, Wil and Matt returned from the workshop with
some tools from the workshop on a roller cart they'd found.  Right away
Matt started removing some covers to examine the parts of the generator and
the engine.  Wil and I became his able assistants as he handed one piece
after another or we handed him a wrench that he requested.

Matt started working on the engine first.  Matt taught Wil and I how to
inspect all the bearings and how to lubricate them with the only tools we
had at hand.  Everything was in good condition so far.  Matt handed the air
filter to Wil to be cleaned.  Then he removed the carburetor throttle body
and inspected it to ensure that nothing was stuck or varnished in it.
Unfortunately, the carburetor was well varnished.  So, as Wil continued to
lubricate the bearings and rollers then cleaning the air filter, Matt tried
different kind of lubricant or cleaner; he wasn't sure which one it was,
he'd found in some barrels in the corner to remove the varnish.

Within the hour, the carburetor was completely cleaned and was back on the
engine block.  Matt had worked quickly on it with his magical hands but, I
was pretty sure that the carb would be better than it was when it came out
from the factory.  Since the carburetor was governed by the engine speed
mechanically, there was no need to adjust the idle mixture or choke.  This
engine was simple to understand as a lawnmower was.

Now it was time to lubricate the engine itself.  Matt, opened the oil
filler and filled the engine completely with oil he found in some gallons
in the room.  With Matt's direction, I tried to crank the engine with a
wrench.

"It doesn't budge at all!" I said.

"Yeah, the piston's rings may be seized to the cylinder's wall," Matt
explained.

"What if we put a pull bar tube over the wrench and we both try together?"
Wil asked.

"Yeah, but that's a big engine, it'd be hard for us to make it turn
normally, and well.... forget it, we don't have a pull bar..." Matt said a
little discouraged.

"We sure have!!  I saw one standing in the corner in the small hangar," Wil
said happily.

"OK, I'll go get it," I said, "I want to check on Jake and see how's he's
making out in the latrine."

"Makin out?!"  Wil laughed.

"Don't go tryin' to get me horny Wil!"  Matt exclaimed as I left laughing.

Once I'd retrieved the hollow steel bar from the hangar, I went into the
latrine with it.  The first thing I noticed was the door had been taken out
of the way and was leaning against the side of the wall.  I went inside and
there was Jake diligently dribbling oil over the shower taps, catching the
excess with his rag and squeezing it back into one of the sinks that he'd
plugged up with a piece of the rag.  He'd already taken the broken down
partitions and piled them neatly in the centre of the floor.

"Dad!" he exclaimed when he saw me.  "Look!"  He went over to one of the
other sinks and turned the tap with some ease and I watched in amazement as
the water came through.  Then smiling from ear to ear, he went over to the
first shower and turned the tap.  "Watch this!"  Water gushed out and
sprayed all over his head before he closed the tap again.  He was laughing
ecstatically.

"JAKE!"  I exclaimed, "You're a miracle worker!"

"Ain't that great Dad?!  We'll be able to take showers.  I think I'll have
them all working in another hour or less.  Ya just have to soak them for a
while and then wipe some more oil into them, then try 'em.  Sometimes it
takes a few more tries with the oil, but it's workin'."

"Jake that's great!"  I said as I gave him a hug.  I didn't care if he got
oil all over me or not, I was so proud of him.  "Jake, I have to get this
pry bar over to Matt and Wil.  I not sure, but I think we may get
electricity pretty soon.  Keep your fingers crossed for us."

"You bet I will Dad.  Things are looking up around here."  Matt said with a
big smile.

As I was leaving the latrine, I turned back and smiled, "Jake, I'm really
proud of you!"

"Thanks Dad... I'm pretty happy about it too."

As I entered the generator room again, Matt was looking at the electrical
panel.  The main switch was already turned off.  There were some meters
under it for the voltage, amperage and even for the engine rpm.  There were
three lights for ground faults and three other one for each phase power
indicator.

"This is a 480V three-phased circuit..." Matt said more to himself than Wil
or me.

Then looking beside the main power section, there was four cabinets,
containing the circuit breakers and fuses for every distribution panels
they would find in the base.  One for each barracks, one especially for the
workshop, one for each hangars, one for the control tower, one for the
radar amplifier, one for the fuel pump, and even one for the navigation
beacons and runway lighting.

"Navigation beacons, runway lighting...  How come we didn't see anything
like that on the runway."  Matt mumbled.

"What?"  Wil asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking out loud..."

"Everything's ok?"  Wil asked again.

"More than ok, I even found some things that would be interesting if a
plane did come by!" Matt replied.

"Huh?!?!  Really?"

Matt explained to us what he found out on the circuit breaker panels and
how it worked.  The boys inspected each breaker to ensure there was no
copper corrosion or bad contacts.  They turned each breaker off then
resumed their task on the engine.

They put the wrench handle into the six feet pipe and put the wrench around
one of the crankshaft pulley locknut.  I went over and checked that
everything seemed secure.  Then they placed themselves at the far end of
the pull bar and pulled as hard as they could, stretching their whole
bodies then lifting their feet from the ground.  The effort was priceless
to watch.  I'd thought I should join in the effort, but I wanted them to
appreciate the rewards of their effort.  Slowly, the crankshaft started to
turn.

"We're getting it!" exclaimed Matt.

They pulled until they weren't able to anymore.

"Ok stop, we'll probably break a connecting rod in the engine if we
continue."  Matt said.

"How come?"  Wil asked.

"Remember how much oil I put in it?"

"Yeah?  What's the point?"  Wil asked again.

"I'm pretty sure some of this oil went through the cylinder and it's now
compressed between one piston and the cylinder head.  At least now, we know
that's everything is lubricated, but if we try any more, we could break a
piston's connecting rod."

"So we can't do anything more.  Is that what you're saying?"  I asked.

"Nooo...  We just have to remove all the oil in it, then turn the engine
the other way... opposite to what we just did.  Pretty easy!"  Matt
laughed.

I watched as Matt put a gallon can under the engine to save the engine oil,
then he unfastened the oil drain plug.  Wil and I handed him more gallon
cans when he filled each one.  All together, four full gallons of oil came
out of the engine.  As he instructed, I turned the engine backward just a
bit at a time while more oil was released. Then Matt took the dip stick and
the normal line was stated at seven gallons.  So he put the drain plug back
on and filled the engine with the right quantity.

Now that the motor was properly filled and that every moving part was
lubricated with some oil, there were no danger to try to turn it.  So
together, Wil and Matt tried the pull bar in the opposite direction, the
motor moving easily. They continued to turn it so the motor would make a
complete turn.

"I think everything is done.  We just have to put back the air filter.  I
hope the fuel pump and valves aren't stuck.  I have no way to check
them..."  Matt said.

"Just try it...  After all this work, I'm sure the engine will come to life
like a new born baby!!" Wil said.

"Goof!"  Matt chuckled.

"What should we put it the tank?"  Wil asked.

"Diesel would be fine, but if it's varnished or in bad condition, I can
just hope the oil mixture is volatile enough.  If not, I'll have to adjust
the carburetor to compensate for it."  Matt replied.

While they put the filter back on, I located a full rack of sealed diesel
fuel barrels.

"How comes they're sealed?" Wil asked.

"Probably because they had to transport it in a ship hold.  At sea, those
holds become salty and it would have ruined the diesel.  We're lucky, it'll
probably last us better than fifty years or so."  Matt said.

I opened one of the barrels and took a sniff.  Yep definitively diesel, but
with a strange odour to it.  I wondered if it had probably varnished but
Matt said there was no harm in trying it - we had nothing to lose.  Since
the generator diesel tank was completely empty, we just filled it up to the
brim.  Then we checked all the lines and connections to see that there were
no leaks.  No need to waste this precious resource or create a fire hazard
with fuel all over the floor.

After making sure that everything was ok, Matt disconnected and removed the
battery that was really in a unusable state.  Then I watched as he hooked
up the manual booster to the motor, using the battery cables.

"OK, this is a 6 volt battery," Matt said looking down at the old battery,
"not a lot of current even when it was new, so I'm sure it'll be easy to
start the engine with our booster."  Matt said.

"OK.  What do you want me to do?"  I asked.

"Well let me think for a minute.  I'm not sure but, if I understand that
electrical schematic, the engine is only allowed to start when the main
breaker is on, and that this 'Engine Control' switch is on too."  Matt
explained as he turned the main breaker on.

"But it won't start by itself, will it? "  Wil asked.

"Only if we use our manual booster.... it'll act like a battery.  If a good
battery was attached to the engine, it would be already starting if I
pushed on the 'Engine Control' switch."

"Ohh, okay, now I understand." Wil said.  I stood there kinda dumbfounded,
but very proud of Matt and his ability to educate us.

"Dad, could you to turn the handle as fast as possible in clockwise
rotation.  No need to start the engine in the reverse direction!!"  Matt
chuckled.

"It would be a pain in the ass!"

"As soon as you get enough speed up, I'll turn the 'Engine Control' switch
to on.  It should slow down the booster as it draws current from it, so
you'll have to put an extra effort into it to keep it going."

"Okay Matt.  Gotcha!"  I said as I went to the booster and grabbed the
handle.  Wil came over to the front of the booster and stood beside me.

"Ready, start turning!"  Matt said.

The screaming sound of the booster started to increase and became more and
more powerful as I got some speed up.  I tried to turn as fast as possible
then once I had the momentum, I went at full speed.  The noise was really
unbearable in the room.  As soon as he thought the speed was right, Matt
turned on the 'Engine Control' switch.  At first, I thought the motor would
start to turn right away but no.

"How come it didn't start?  Do you think the starter's broken?" I asked
Matt.

"Dunno...  Maybe...  Ah no...  Ohhhh!!!  I get it!!!" Matt said happily.

"What!  What is it?" I said as I started leave the booster's handle.

"Don't stop dad!!  Keep going!  There's a startup cycle on that engine.
Right know, I think you're just supplying power to warm the glow plugs!"
Matt replied.  Then after a loud relay clicking sound coming from the
control panel, he added "Look at this guy!"

Still concentrated on my task, I looked at the motor starter which began to
turn, and then gained some speed.  One, two, three explosions and that was
it.  I was disappointed so I quit turning the booster as I was really
exhausted after the effort.

"WOW!  That's harder than I expected!" I exclaimed.

"We nearly had it going Dad!!  It almost started!"  Matt exclaimed.

"Are you sure?"

"You didn't hear it?" Matt asked.

"A little bit but the booster was screaming in my ears!"

"Hey, I know this thing is going to start.  It fired a couple of times on
that try.  Let's try again, this time I'll turn.  Wil, push that button
when I look at you," Matt said pointing to the engine control switch.

"M'kay" replied Wil.

Soon, Matt was back on my previous task, turning the handle faster and
faster to get more speed.  Sensing that he wasn't able to gain more speed,
Matt looked at Wil, still turning the handle.

Wil pushed the button and the engine started to turn.  Then after six
internal combustion explosions, it started to run by itself, very poorly,
missing about every fifth beat, but it was running.  Since the engine
turned also a little by itself with each explosion, Matt was able to
withstand the pressure on the handle and give some energy to compensate the
fact that the motor wasn't completely started yet.

"Dad, come help me!  I'm exhausted!"

"Right here Matt."  I said as I grabbed the handle from him.

I took the handle and kept turning it as rapidly as I could as Matt went to
check the carburetor.  With a screwdriver, he adjusted the mixture going
into the engine.  As soon as he turned one screw clockwise, the engine
started to gain speed and the sound and vibrations evened out.  Then he
returned to the booster and unhooked the cables and signalled for me to
stop turning.

Together Matt and Wil stood side by side looking at the engine that was now
coming up to the proper speed.  Matt took another look at the meters, which
were showing a good stabilized 480 volts on each phase.

Matt looked Wil and exclaimed with a big smile, "Man, we have electricity!"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Wil smiling and give Matt a big kiss on
his lips, I guess just because he was happy about what they'd just
accomplished.  It was an emotional moment for me too.  Then my head took a
jerk as I looked to the door from the barracks.  Jake was just coming in
with a big smile of his own on his face.  I smiled back, but then his face
turned from happiness to a soured look of agony.  I looked in the direction
of his stare.

Matt and Wil were kissing passionately with their arms wrapped around each
other.

"SON OF A FUCKING BITCH!!"  Jake screamed with his legs spread as tears ran
down his cheeks.  "You fuckin' bastards!"  Then he turned quickly and ran
from the generator room.

"Oh shit!"  Wil exclaimed.  "DAD!  Stop him!  I gotta speak to him!"

I knew Wil wouldn't have a chance of catching up with an enraged Jake with
his foot in the shape it was in and so I ran.

While I was running and watching Jake in the distance as he headed for the
supply road, I thought, 'Bloody right, why should Jake have to suffer from
something he has nothing to do with.  He certainly deserved better than
that considering it was Wil that had saved his life.  Did Wil have the
right to take back what he's given - Jake's life.'  I was fuming mad at Wil
and Matt and had nothing but the deepest sympathy for Jake's emotional
ordeal.

We were about twenty feet down the supply road before Jake stopped ten feet
in front of me.  I reached him and grabbed him into my arms.  I was out of
breath and so was Jake, but he had tears rolling down his cheeks as I
embraced him.

"Jake.... Jake.... it wasn't your fault.  What they did was absolutely
despicable."  When Jake had caught his breath, he started sobbing
uncontrollably.

"I love Matt," he said between sobs, "why.... why would they do this to
me?"  I heard Wil approach as he stumbled through the underbrush with his
bad foot.  I held Jake tight to my chest and held my other hand out,
straight up, indicating that Wil should stay where he was just as I lowered
Jake to the ground still sobbing, whimpering, and then out and out bawling.
He was devastated.

"Jake, they did it to each other," I said as I held him closely.  "They're
lust took over and any thought of you left their mind.  Right now I'm so
angry at the selfishness of their actions."

"Jake.... I love you," Wil had crept closer to the two of us.  His voice
was trembling and quiet.

"Oh fuck off you asshole!"  Jake screamed.  "Why the hell did you save my
life.... just so you could ruin it.  WELL YOU DON'T OWN ME YOU PRICK.  I
can go live anywhere else on this island and get along quite all right
without any of you!"

I looked at Wil with a scowl.  "Don't you move one inch closer.  Jake, look
at your leg, it's bleeding again."  That running had been too much for him
and I started putting pressure on the wound with my hand.

"Ooooh shit!"  Jake howled.  "Just leave me alone.  GO ON!  GET THE HELL
AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled, but I held on.  Then in a whimpering sob, "just
let me lie here and die."

"NO!"  I said sternly.  "Wil go get the first aid kit NOW!"  Turning back
to Jake I said, "Jakey, this time it's my turn to save your life.  You're a
survivor, but this time you need some help.... and I mean it when I say
that your life means more to me than my own.  We're going to get over this,
I promise.  I know with the way we feel now, I'm thinking it should be
those two that should be living on their own, but let's wait and see what
they have to say for themselves before we make any bad decisions."

"I hate them," Jake said as Matt came running down the road with the first
aid kit in his hand.  Wil was hobbling along about fifteen feet behind him.

Without saying a thing, I took the kit from Matt, opened it, and pulled out
the bandages and started to apply them with as much pressure as I could.  I
watched carefully as the bleeding seemed to stop.

When I was sure that Jake's leg was going to be OK, at least in time with
some more tender loving care, I turned to Matt and Wil who were standing
there looking guilty as hell at the ground.

"Jakey...."  Matt whimpered.

"DON'T say a word, either one of you.  Pick up the first aid kit and put it
back where it belongs!  I said sternly.  "Then stop the damn generator, we
won't use it tonight.  After you're done, start hauling those mattresses
out onto the runway and for every one that Wil takes out, Matt you will
have to take two.  Go on.... get back there and get busy.  I'll look after
Jake."

Once Wil and Matt were a distance from us, I pulled Jake to his feet.  "OK
Jake, it's time for you and I to do the three-legged walk.  You feeling up
to it?"

"I guess so."  Jake sounded sad and resigned.  We started our walk - it was
awkward, but we used little steps and it finally worked.

As we approached the runway, we saw Wil and Matt busy getting the old
mattresses out of the barracks and they had about six of them already
spread down the runway, but not in any particular order.  Jake and I
stopped and rested on the foundation to the filling station.  I checked his
bandage and it appeared that there was no additional oozing from his old
wound.

"Do you think there's room in your heart for forgiveness Jake?"  I asked
quietly.

"What?  So they can do it to me again.  NO!"  Jake said with a great deal
of exasperation.

"Jakey, I love you and I love them too."  I began.  "We're a family here.
I know what happened there in that generator room.  Wil and Matt were happy
and excited about the success they had in getting the generator running.
It took a lot of work and I think they just got excited with their
celebrating."

"Yeah, at my expense!"  Jake said.

"And mine too," I continued as I watched Matt almost run with each mattress
and Wil hobble awkwardly and rather slowly.  "It took the three of you to
save me from the airplane when it crashed and I'll be forever grateful for
that.  Right now we have a situation that we gotta get over somehow or
we're all going to perish before too long because I know we can't get along
without each other.  I know in his heart that Matt still loves you deeply
and so does Wil, but not the same way as Matt does."

"Well I don't HAVE to like them!"  Jake said angrily.

"Alright, enough said.  Let's get you back to one of the chairs outside of
the barracks so you can rest that leg while I get lunch ready."  I said
dejectedly.  It saddened me to think that I was going to have to take a
firm stand with these three boys over this situation.

Jake and I did the three-legged walk across the runway and I got him seated
comfortably on a chair and checked his wound again.  Meanwhile Matt and Wil
were still doing their assigned duty of getting the mattresses out of the
barracks.  I noticed that Wil's limp was very pronounced and he winced when
he put weight on his sore foot.  Matt was sweating profusely and I knew
that he too must be exhausted after all the work he'd done in the generator
room.  Even I was becoming physically beat with the effort of half-carrying
Jake back to the barracks.

As Wil came out of the barracks with another mattress, I told him to stop
and drop it.  "Go over to that far chair there," I ordered.  In a cloud of
dust the mattress hit the concrete and I looked up to see Matt coming out
with yet another mattress.  I told him to drop it as well, which he did.
"Now come with me and help me make some lunch."  I said quietly.  I had my
anger under control, but I knew there was a big lesson for these three kids
to learn.  "You two sit there and rest."

Inside the workshop, I picked up Wil's backpack, pulled out a coconut, put
an axe in the bench vice and with careful aim, struck the coconut to the
blade and it opened in one shot.  I did the same to another one.

"Dad...."  Matt said.

"Not a word young man," I said firmly, then I filled the coconuts with a
variety of fruit and other nuts.  I handed two of them to Matt and ordered,
"You will hand one of yours to Jake."

I followed Matt out of the workshop and watched for any reaction between
him and Jake.  Without looking up, Jake accepted the coconut without a
word.  I handed one to Wil.

Wil said, "Thank you.  Dad, I...."

I interrupted him with, "Shut up and eat!"  Although I wasn't angry, I knew
I was going to have to let my thoughts be known to the boys.

The boys were hungry and ate ravenously.  Little did they know - the shit
was going to hit the fan when they had finished their lunch.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

To be continued...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Many thanks for reading this little story.  If you wish, I'd appreciate
your feedback.  Just send me an email and put Crash Survivor in the subject
line so I won't think it's spam and delete your message.  As usual, I'd
appreciate knowing where you're from and how old you are!  ;-)

Cheers,
Drake
drakanian32@yahoo.ca