The oars must be used at the most critical moment, after all, we can't afford to waste our physical strength.
That's why I haven't used the oars.
It's necessary to do this now, because it's just dawn, and this group of boobies shouldn't fly far. Even if they turn in multiple directions, we only need to paddle five or six kilometers, and we should be able to see the island nearby!
I encouraged Catherine and Zhu Ya while paddling hard. The speedboat wobbled northward.
I asked Zhu Ya to take the compass to make sure we kept heading north, and asked her to stand up and observe the surrounding islands.
As the sun gradually rose, the surrounding vision became wider.
The outline of the island five or six kilometers away can be seen clearly with the naked eye, which is very beneficial to us.
"Uncle, I can't see the island. Should we chase the clouds in the sky to find the island?" Zhu Ya said anxiously.
"Definitely not. It's morning now, and the temperature on land is still very low. The sea breeze last night has already blown the clouds away from the land. If you want to see the clouds, you can only see them in the evening." I explained.
I then said, "Pay close attention to the darker edge of the horizon in the distance. Some islands are too low to be seen."
Catherine and I paddled while observing the surrounding environment.
Although we only paddled for a few minutes, it was very strenuous for us survivors who were seriously lacking in physical strength. We were sweating all over and our limbs began to ache.
Catherine was in a more serious condition and her hands soon lost strength.
But we did not give up. We paddled mechanically with willpower.
Catherine really couldn't paddle anymore, so she changed to Zhu Ya to continue paddling.
Although Zhu Ya was slender, she unexpectedly showed amazing willpower. After paddling with me for a few minutes, she changed to Catherine again.
My endurance was much stronger than that of Catherine and Zhu Ya, and I had mastered the paddling technique, so I could keep going.
About twenty minutes later, we finally saw other flocks of birds. Following the direction of the flocks, we finally saw a long "black line" floating on the sea surface.
"Island! It's an island!"
Catherine and Zhu Ya shouted almost at the same time. The feeling of being enveloped by the light of hope instantly stimulated their adrenaline and burst out with amazing strength.
The island was about five kilometers away from us!
We were going to drink all the fresh water and eat all the food. Although the food was still being digested, our bodies seemed to be full of strength.
We paddled tirelessly.
But our speed was not very fast, just slightly faster than the speed of human walking.
It would take at least an hour to paddle five kilometers away!
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Fortunately, it was not at night, otherwise we would definitely not be able to find the island.
The sun is still high and it will take a long time for it to set. Now we just need to keep our eyes on the island and move forward.
If we are not in a hurry to land, we can rest and paddle at the same time, and it will take two or three hours to get there.
However, after thirteen days of drifting, each of us is extremely eager to land. Even if we are too tired to move, we have to continue paddling with numb hands, and we are even unwilling to take our eyes off the outline of the island, for fear that the island will disappear from our sight in the blink of an eye.
Excitement and hope merged together, impacting our tortured body and mind, and bursting out an unimaginable desire to survive.
As we slowly approached the island, we could see a large number of birds moving in the blue sky.
At this moment, those flocks of birds representing hope are so kind and beautiful, like light in the dark, illuminating our already silent souls!
Regardless of the fatigue and numbness of our muscles, we kept paddling with our hands.
The boat swayed, moving towards the destination, towards hope.
The tenacious vitality inspired by the desire to survive shone on the vast ocean. Even if it was as small as an ant paddling a fallen leaf surfing on a river, it would still be favored by the goddess of luck and the attention of God!
Halfway through, I handed the paddle to Zhu Ya and replenished food and fresh water.
Because the outline of the island was becoming clearer and clearer, we didn't need to keep food and fresh water at all.
After I finished my share of food, I paddled again.
Although the numbness of the muscles and the pain in the palms did not disappear, it still couldn't stop my determination to move forward.
There were still about 300 meters to the island. Each of us was exhausted, but looking at the lush forests on the island, the golden beach, and the reefs protruding high on the coast, the excitement in my heart was indescribable.
It was as if God had stretched out a hand and pulled us up from the abyss of hell.
What came into view was the side of the island facing south, which was about three kilometers long, but we had no idea how big the back of the island was.
What I could see was that there was a mountain with an altitude of about 100 meters behind it, surrounded by fog, gray and difficult to see clearly from a distance.
As the distance got closer, I vaguely saw that there seemed to be something like a radar on the top of the mountain.
From my current distance, the visual size was as big as a fingernail, so the actual size must be very huge. It was definitely not a radar or an aviation satellite antenna, but most likely a radio telescope.
The first thought that flashed through my mind was that this was probably a military base or an astronomical observatory!
There are people on the island, we are saved!
Zhu Ya and Catherine also saw the instrument and pointed at it excitedly and shouted: "Hey, look, there must be someone on the island!"
"Fifty meters more!" I estimated the distance and shouted excitedly.
We were seriously exhausted and had already seen stars and felt dizzy. With the last consciousness, we paddled forward numbly.
We could clearly hear the sound of waves hitting the reefs. The waves hitting the reefs on the seemingly calm sea were more than two meters high, which showed how turbulent the undercurrent was.
I reminded Catherine and Zhu Ya not to jump down in a hurry when the speedboat was not completely docked at the shore, so as not to be swept away by the undercurrent or hit the underwater reefs.
Once injured, the risk is immeasurable on this island where there should be no medical conditions.
Catherine and Zhu Ya nodded heavily, their pretty faces were filled with joy of surviving the disaster, and their originally dull eyes became full of hope.
Finally, the hull, with the help of the waves, hit the beach next to the reef.
We couldn't wait to drag our tired bodies and jump from the front deck to the soft beach.
Due to the long-term shaking on the ship, when we just jumped onto the beach, we felt dizzy, our legs were weak, and we fell to the ground!
"Oh God! We are finally rescued!"
After falling, Catherine and Zhu Ya wanted to stand up excitedly, but they fell to the ground again.
I didn't suppress Catherine and Zhu Ya's joy, and let them enjoy the ultimate pleasure of surviving the disaster.
I also lay quietly on the wet beach, panting heavily, half of my face pressed against the soft sand, I closed my eyes, opened my arms and hugged the earth.
Feeling the thickness it brings to me, and greedily sniffing the smell of sand, I grabbed the sand with both hands, grabbed and released, released and grabbed again, repeatedly feeling the reality of the earth.
The wet sand was all over my hands. They were like unpolished diamonds in the sun, reflecting various colors. I never realized that these sands were so charming.
Catherine and Zhu Ya lay on the beach, looking at the blue sky and white clouds, trying and greedily to feel the sense of security that the earth gave them back.
We were so tired that we even fell asleep like this.
