The beach had become a scavenger hunt, but most people were searching for the wrong things.
Kai watched a man in a torn designer shirt celebrate over a handful of watches he'd pulled from a broken display case. Two women were arguing over a handbag whose leather had been ruined by seawater. Nearby, Kael was holding up a bottle of expensive wine and explaining its value to anyone willing to listen.
Nobody seemed particularly interested in food.
That was the first thing Kai found strange.
The second was how quickly everyone had convinced themselves that rescue was inevitable.
He'd seen the system's warning over Elara's phone. The emergency signal hadn't gone out. He didn't know exactly where they were, and he had no reason to believe a rescue team could find them before nightfall.
Yet the others were behaving as though they'd merely missed a connecting flight.
Kai turned away from them and focused on the wreckage.
The golden text appeared and disappeared as his gaze moved across the beach.
Shattered Luggage Case: Waterlogged clothes. Limited usefulness.
Damaged Cooler: Three sealed cans of tuna. Still edible.
Half-buried Storage Crate: Twenty-four bottles of drinking water. Seal intact.
Kai stopped.
There it was.
He dropped to his knees and dug sand away from the crate. A section of the ship's metal hull had pinned it down, and he had to brace his feet against the ground before he could drag it free.
The crate was heavy, but he managed to pry open the lid.
Twenty-four bottles of water sat inside.
He counted them twice.
Twelve liters.
Not enough to support a crowd for long, but enough to give him a serious advantage if he rationed it carefully.
A second label appeared over a dented metal tin nearby.
Canned Beef
Twelve sealed tins. High calorie content. Suitable for storage.
Kai gathered the cans and six bottles into a makeshift bag made from his soaked hoodie. He carried the rest of the water toward the dunes, where a thick stand of sea grape bushes offered some cover.
He couldn't hide everything in one trip. The crate was too heavy, and the sand made every step difficult. By the time he had dragged it behind the bushes, his shoulder was throbbing again.
Still, he covered the supplies with driftwood and leaves.
Out of sight was better than sitting in the open with a sign that said steal me.
Now he needed shelter and a weapon.
The system pointed him toward a rocky stretch of beach where a black pouch had become trapped between two slabs of stone.
Tactical Dive Pouch
Caught in a rock crevice. Likely to be washed away by the next strong wave.
Contents: Fixed-blade survival knife, magnesium fire starter, waterproof flashlight.
Kai hurried over.
The pouch was wedged deeper than he'd expected. He had to brace one foot against the rock and pull with both hands before it finally came free.
He opened it behind a boulder.
The knife was solid, with a black handle and a sturdy blade. The fire starter was intact, and the flashlight still worked when he pressed the switch.
It wasn't much, but it was more than he'd had an hour ago.
Kai checked the knife's edge against a thin piece of driftwood, then slid it into its sheath and secured it beneath his shirt.
For the first time since waking up on the beach, he felt he had some control over his situation.
He wasn't safe. He wasn't suddenly an expert survivalist. But he had water, food, a way to make fire, and a knife that could help him prepare for whatever came next.
He returned to the beach to collect the remaining supplies.
He'd barely lifted the crate when a familiar voice called out.
“Reed! What the hell are you doing?”
Kael approached with two other sales employees, Tyler and Javi. Both had filled their arms with watches, necklaces, and other valuables. Kael himself carried an unopened bottle of champagne.
His eyes dropped to the water crate.
Then he laughed.
“You're collecting bottled water?”
Kai kept his grip on the crate. “Looks that way.”
“Seriously?” Kael shook his head. “We get rescued tonight, genius. You're going to drag all that junk around until a helicopter shows up?”
Tyler snickered. “Maybe he's planning to open a little grocery store.”
“Give him a break,” Kael said, grinning. “A whole case of water. That's probably the most valuable thing he's ever owned.”
Kai said nothing.
Kael stepped closer and looked down at the bottles.
“Tell you what. Give us a few, and I'll forget that you tried to hoard company property. Fair deal?”
A golden label appeared above Kael's head.
Kael Rainer — Head of Sales Operations
Condition: Mild dehydration. Adrenaline elevated.
Current assessment: Overconfident. Unlikely to recognize danger until it becomes immediate.
Kai looked at the champagne in Kael's hand.
“Do you honestly think that stuff will help you survive out here?”
Kael glanced at the bottle. “It's champagne, not poison.”
“Alcohol won't replace the water you're losing. If you keep drinking it in this heat, you'll make your dehydration worse.”
For a moment, Kael looked irritated rather than amused.
Then he laughed again.
“Listen to the survival expert. What, did you watch a documentary on the way here?”
Tyler joined in.
Kai could have argued. He could have explained the system, the dead phone, and the fact that nobody had any reason to believe rescue would arrive that night.
But none of them would have listened.
“Keep your champagne,” Kai said. “Just don't come asking me for water later.”
Kael's smile faded.
“You're getting a little too comfortable, Reed. Don't forget who signs your evaluations.”
“Hard to forget. You remind me every day.”
The words came out before Kai could reconsider them.
Tyler stopped laughing.
Kael stared at him, apparently trying to decide whether he'd heard correctly.
Kai picked up the crate and walked away.
“Reed!” Kael shouted after him. “You think this is over? When we get back, you're finished!”
Kai kept walking.
He had better things to do than argue with a man who still thought a job title would protect him from thirst.
He followed the system's directions toward a rocky slope behind the beach. Hidden behind a curtain of vines was a shallow cave, dry inside and protected from the worst of the wind.
It wasn't comfortable, but it offered shelter and a narrow entrance that would be easier to defend than an open patch of beach.
Kai carried his supplies inside and arranged them against the back wall.
Then he sat down, took a drink of water, and listened to the sounds of the island.
The tide was rising. The wind had begun to pick up. Somewhere beyond the trees, something called out in a voice he didn't recognize.
He checked the knife beside him.
Tomorrow, he'd need more supplies. He'd need to learn the terrain, find a reliable source of water, and work out whether there were any dangerous animals nearby.
And he'd need to be careful around the other survivors.
Because the first thing he'd learned about the island wasn't that nature was cruel.
It was that people could be dangerously slow to accept when the rules had changed.