Chapter 16 the master of survival
Jack woke up on the sand as the sun was high in the sky. His body felt heavy, and his skin was white with dried salt from the ocean. He looked at the waves that had destroyed his raft. For a moment, he felt like he had failed. But then, he looked at his hands. They were strong. He looked at his legs. They had carried him through the deep water for hours.
"I am not a loser," Jack said to the empty beach. "I am a survivor."
He decided that since the ocean would not let him leave yet, he would become the strongest man to ever live on this island. He would not just sit and wait. He would turn the whole island into his own personal gym. He called it the Island Olympics.
Jack went back to his cave. He was hungry and tired, but he didn't lie down. He ate some dried fish and drank cool water from the spring. Then, he began his first test.
In his old life, Jack’s father had paid for a gym with expensive machines. Here, Jack had rocks. He found two heavy, round stones near the river. They were smooth and hard to grip. Jack picked them up and lifted them over his head twenty times. His muscles burned, but he didn't stop.
He then found a thick fallen log. He spent the morning lifting one end of the log and flipping it over, moving it all the way across the beach. By the time he was done, his chest was wide and his arms were thick like the branches of the trees.
The second part of Jack’s Olympic test was the Mountain Sprint. He looked at the highest peak—the one where the mist always sat.
"Yesterday, I almost drowned," Jack told himself. "Today, I will touch the sky."
He started at the bottom of the mountain. Instead of walking slowly, he ran. He jumped over roots. He swung from vines. He scrambled up the steep rocks using only his fingers and toes. His heart was beating like a drum in his chest. When he reached the very top, he wasn't even out of breath. He looked down at the forest. He felt like he could run forever. He was no longer a boy; he was a machine of bone and muscle.
After the mountain, Jack went back to the water. He was still a little afraid of the deep ocean because of the raft sinking, but he knew he had to beat his fear.
He went to the calmest bay on the island. It was three miles long. Jack dived into the water. He didn't swim for his life this time; he swam for power. He moved through the water like a shark. He did not get tired. He did not feel cold. He swam from one side of the bay to the other, twice. When he came out of the water, he stood tall. The ocean had tried to kill him, but now he was the master of the waves.
The final part of the Island Olympics was the Test of the Hunter. Jack did not use his spear. He wanted to see if he could move as silently as the animals.
He went into the thickest part of the jungle. He followed a small deer for two hours. He stayed downwind so the deer could not smell him. He stepped on nothing that made a sound. He moved through the bushes without moving a single leaf. He got so close to the deer that he could have touched its tail.
Jack smiled and let the deer go. He didn't need to kill it today. He just wanted to know that he was the best hunter on the island. He was fast, he was quiet, and he was smart.
That night, Jack sat by a big fire outside his cave. He felt a deep sense of joy. He had lost his raft, but he had found his true strength. He looked at his reflection in a pool of water. With his short hair and the white scar on his eye, he looked like a warrior from an old story.
He took a piece of charcoal and went to the wall of his cave. He drew a circle with five lines inside it. It was his own Olympic medal.
"I am ready for anything now," Jack whispered.
He didn't need a boat to be a man. He didn't need money to be rich. He had his health, his strength, and his island. He lay down on his bed of grass and felt his heart beating strong and steady. He had won the Island Olympics, and he was the champion of his own life.
