“I don’t care.”

“What do you mean you don’t care? This is not the time for one of your ‘fits’, Stephen, this is the time to make sure these three hundred-plus people are taken care of.”

“I’ve got no problem with that, Teri. But my first priority is making sure that little traitorous midget doesn’t go anywhere I don’t want him to.”

“This is ridiculous, Stephen. The two of you are the only ones who actually have experience surviving on an island – you should be leading things here. Plus… it’s your company anyway!”

“And that’s why I’m making sure that the biggest threat is taken care of. Plus, it’s night anyway – you’ve already started a few fires, made sure we’ve collected the water we brought, and folks are settling in for the night on the beach.”

“And we should be planning for tomorrow. Not….not THIS!”

Thomas is sitting around a small fire of his own, comparing the length of some thick branches. Hortense tosses down more to the pile near him.

“That’s all I can do, Shoog. I’m plumb beat. Why don’t you come over here and snuggle with Big Mama.”

Thomas ignores his wife, and does the same to Teri as she stomps away. He has only eyes for two things: the pile of sticks next to him, and the sleeping midget on the other side, whose hands are still bound by the nylons, which are now wrapped around a large makeshift pole.

“They don’t know how sneaky he is,” Thomas says, talking to no one in particular. “I can’t chance him getting away. He still blames me for leaving him on the last island we got stuck on – who knows how deep into this idiot ‘Hacker’s’ plans he is. Hell, if he were smarter, I’d think that he is the Hacker.”

“Shoog, did you say something?”

“Nothing, Hortense. Just go back to sleep.”

His hands continue to work in near silence. During his time on an island previously, he had learned to make wonders with coconuts and the other various parts of a palm tree. It might be a sleepless night, but in the morning, he’d feel much safer.

As soon as this cage was done… and the Red Midget inside.