The Raft

After a full day of drying her clothes in the sun, Robie decides it’s time to try and wake up Max. Unfortunately, he is unresponsive when she calls his name, and even when she shakes him. She figures he is just desperate for sleep and curls up on him to gain some comfort as she fights off hunger pangs until she, too, falls asleep.

When Robie wakes again, she discovers a layer of water on the raft, that cannot be rain because her shirt is dry. The sun is out, and her thirst has become acute, as has her determination to wake Max. She tries again to wake him, fails again, and then checks his pulse, which is weak. At that point she convinces herself again that he is fine.

As she tries to wake him she notices his ditty bag again. Feeling through the outer layer of the bag, she tries to guess the content. One object seems to be a book. The other crinkles like plastic wrap. She resists the temptation to open the bag, and instead focuses on bailing the layer of water out of the raft.