Chapter 9

It was very dangerous to be stranded on a desert island alone at night. There were many snakes and insects on this island, many of which were poisonous. A single bite from them could be fatal. Apart from the animals, there was a more pressing matter. It was none other than food. It was difficult to find food at night. One might grow exhausted and ultimately pass out. Ryan looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was beginning to set. Once the sun completely disappeared over the horizon, he would also be in danger. Should he leave? Just as Ryan hesitated, a groan came from the crevice below. "Ouch! Is my leg broken?" The sound snapped Ryan out of his reverie. He carefully pondered. While Sherry might not be the best person, she wasn't malicious. At most, she was a naive girl with a penchant for sympathy and a blurred sense of right and wrong. Apart from that, she hadn't done anything harmful to him. If he left Sherry alone here, she would undoubtedly die. Moreover, when Ryan first arrived on the island, Sherry was the one who helped pull him out of the sea. Thinking of this, Ryan dismissed the idea of walking away and leaving Sherry alone. Right then, Sherry also regained consciousness from below in the crevice. "Ryan, are you still there? Ryan? You didn't leave, did you? "You bastard. How dare you actually leave me here alone? I'm so scared. Am I going to die? I don't want to die." When Sherry began to cry, Ryan finally spoke, "Why are you crying? I'm still here." "You haven't left?" Ryan said leisurely, "Not only am I still here, but I also heard you calling me a bastard." "Uh..." Sherry felt somewhat embarrassed. She then quickly shouted, "It's great that you haven't left. Hurry up and rescue me. I don't want to stay in this place for another second!" With the sky darkening rapidly, Ryan wasted no time. He immediately began to search for ways to rescue Sherry. At first, Ryan wanted to lie flat at the crevice and use his hands to pull Sherry up. But he quickly realized that this method wouldn't work. The crevice was too slippery due to the waterfall. He would easily fall off. Moreover, Sherry had injured her leg when she fell. She couldn't even stand steadily, let alone reach out to grab Ryan's hand. After several attempts, Sherry slumped in defeat on the ground. Her voice was tinged with a hint of despair as she spoke. "What should we do? Am I going to die here?" "Sit down and conserve your energy. Drink some water. I'll see if there's another way." After saying that, Ryan ran to the nearby woods. He climbed up a tree trunk and used his foot to break off the longest branch he could find. Then, he dragged it back to the waterfall before lowering one end of the branch down. "Sherry, grab onto the branch and hold on tight. I'll pull you up." He lowered the branch, and soon, there was a response from below. Sherry grabbed the branch and shouted. Ryan stood above the crevice and began pulling upward. This method seemed to be somewhat effective. Ryan watched as Sherry was slowly pulled upward, and his confidence grew a little However, just as things seemed to be going well, the branch suddenly made a cracking sound. Sherry immediately slipped back down a bit! Startled, Sherry exclaimed with a trembling voice, "What's going on, Ryan? Is the branch going to break?" Ryan observed the situation and noticed that the branch had indeed cracked. Fortunately, the crack was near his side. Hence, he took a few steps forward and continued to pull Sherry up. Just as Sherry was about to be pulled up, the branch made another cracking sound! Ryan reacted instinctively and took a couple of steps forward. Suddenly, his feet slipped. The next moment, everything was spinning. "Damn it!" "Ouch!" A thud rang out. When Ryan opened his eyes again, he realized that he had also fallen into the pit. A sharp pain shot up his buttocks. Rubbing them, he stood up. He looked around and realized that he had fallen into the pit along with the branch. Ryan turned around and met Sherry's gaze. "You fell down too..." Sherry said with a trembling voice. "Yeah." Feeling a headache coming on, Ryan rubbed his temples. Sherry gulped. "If I'm not mistaken, unless someone comes to find us, we won't be able to get out of here." "Yeah. Did you tell anyone about the freshwater resources here?" "No." Both of them froze. An eerie silence filled the pit for a moment. Were they going to die here just like this? As the sun completely set and the pit grew darker, Sherry's stomach suddenly growled. "I'm so hungry..." Sherry hugged her shoulders and suddenly burst into tears. "Ryan, it's all your fault." "If you hadn't suddenly appeared from behind and startled me, I wouldn't have fallen. It's all your fault! It's all your fault! It's because of you that I'm in this mess!" Ryan's stomach was growling, too. He looked up at the pit and noticed that the walls were extremely flat. There were no protrusions for him to climb. He felt even more frustrated. Hearing Sherry crying and complaining, Ryan couldn't help scoffing. "Really? I didn't scare you from behind. I only said a few words, and you got all startled. Are you sure it's not because you feel guilty? "If you hadn't kept the source of fresh water a secret and instead told everyone about it, you wouldn't have been startled by just a few words. Besides, if you had told them, at least we would have had a chance of being rescued. "Isn't all of this your own fault? Don't blame me for your own mistakes." Ryan was straightforward. He hit the nail on the head and directly exposed Sherry. Upon hearing this, Sherry stopped crying. She immediately fell silent. Now that things have calmed down, Ryan regained his composure. Since they couldn't get out for now, they had to fill their stomachs and keep themselves warm. Despite being on a tropical island, the temperature would drop rapidly once the sun had set. There was a significant temperature difference between day and night. Coupled with the high humidity in the pit, it felt even colder. Luckily, keeping themselves warm wasn't an issue. When Ryan fell earlier, the branch had fallen together with him. As long as they could ignite the branch and start a bonfire, they could stay warm. Most importantly, once their companions saw the fire, they could be rescued! Ryan broke off the branch into smaller pieces. He took out a lighter and successfully ignited a bonfire. As the fire blazed, thick smoke billowed out. It filled the pit and caused both of them to cough. Ryan quickly gathered some leaves and fanned the fire. After a while, the black smoke rose smoothly out of the pit. "Great, now as long as someone sees the smoke, they'll come to rescue us," Sherry said as she huddled near the fire for warmth. She rubbed her hands together. Time passed slowly, with only the crackling of the flames breaking the silence in the pit. The eerie stillness made them both anxious.