Just Me and Marilyn

When night fell he was far from the shore, bobbing gently on his back, the dinghy rocking a little. He watched the stars appear; dim, brighter, brightest until they sparkled so much that he had to shut his eyes.

“I am the last man alive,” he thought, “just me. Nobody else but me” (he was a fan of Marilyn Munroe). “The question is, what happens now?” He didn't know. There was a slight breeze and a small spatter of spray wet his cheek.

He'd searched the island from end to end. It had taken three weeks. He was alone. All the others had gone- where he didn't know. Everything in the huts was in order, and there was nothing to indicate any problem- no blood, broken furniture, alien footprints- nothing. He had been out in the dinghy fishing and when he'd returned- nothing.

Eventually he set out to sea again in the dinghy. Whatever had happened to his friends was less likely to happen to him at sea, he reasoned. There were other archipelagos beyond this one, thousands more islands. His dinghy, The Marilyn , had enough supplies on board for a week. He hoped he'd make land before then. He tried to sleep, but the dinghy was nudged at intervals by dolphins or turtles that bumped him awake. He should have been panicking, anxious about the fate of his friends, but he wasn't. He felt curiously serene. Baz, Anna and the rest, wherever they were, would have to worry about him for a change. He went through a mental checklist again. Had they been:

1- Washed away by a wave?

No, he'd know about that

2- Taken off the island in another boat?

Unlikely but possible. There was nothing to show this had happened. His friends wouldn't have left their cameras, shoes and cosmetics behind- especially Anna, who liked her cosmetics.

3- Aliens had abducted them.

Or

4- They had hidden from him for three weeks on the island.

No, it's not possible, he decided.

From nowhere came a surge of anger: “Fuck ‘em! Fuck ‘em all” he shouted, slapping the water with his fist. Below, dark shapes moved under his hand. He was poised between the stars and the deep, quiet waters, trapped on the surface of the sea and he could go nowhere. Suddenly, fury abated, he was overwhelmed with self pity. He peered into the murky depths. A face looked back at him.