Page 64 of The Darkest Hour

But it was worth a shot.

I dragged the cooler out from under the sand, its exterior flaky with old paint and rust.

Next, I cautiously opened it.

To my surprise, there was food, or what used to be food. Now it was just a heap of rotting, unidentifiable mush. Plastic containers bulged and swelled from the pressure of dark black decomposed food with specks of white and green fuzz. Some of the stuff appeared hard and solid.

Ick.

There were other things too. Once colorful packages of something was now dull and faded.

Disgusting.

The pungent smell made me retch.

There was no way we could eat this.

But then when I moved the rotted food away, I spotted seven water bottles and three beers inside.

Alright. Maybe the water is still good.

Commercially bottled water was designed to have a long shelf life.

I checked to make sure the seals were undamaged.

They were.

Whew.

My spirits lifted.

We at least have some drinking water.

I lifted one bottle after the other out of the cooled box and lined them up on the sand, counting each one like they were prized gifts.

There were seven bottles in all—seven days’ worth of water if we rationed it right.

However, if those are actually coconuts that Havoc gets from the trees then we don’t have to ration this water for that long.

I put my view on the three beers. The idea of celebrating with a cold beer on this godforsaken island was absurd, but it somehow gave me a semblance of normality amidst the hopeless scene around me.

I returned to the first water bottle, uncapped it, and took a hesitant sniff.

It smells fine.

I took a sip.

Okay.

The water was hot, yet I was pretty sure it was drinkable.

Fuck it. Only one thing left to do.

I chugged down half of it in one go, resisting the urge to gulp it all. Warm liquid coursed down my parched throat, rejuvenating my battered soul.

Alright. We’re going to fucking live.

I put the top back on the bottle to save the rest of the water for Havoc. While he still selfishly held that bag, he was getting us coconuts.