Free Shipwreck Island by S. A. Bodeen

John seemed to be running the show, because the others did whatever Marco asked them to do, no questions. Marco went over to the top of the stairs and called down, “Bring some blankets. And matches or a lighter!”
    Nacho’s head popped into view. “I found a box of matches!” He held it up, his hands shiny.
    â€œNice,” said Marco. He wondered how much hand sanitizer would be required to get his brother through the morning. He held up a hand. “Toss them here, I’ll keep them dry.”
    Nacho took a step but tripped as he began his throw. The box of matches hit the rope railing and came to rest on the very edge of the deck.
    Marco dove for them, his fingertips grasping air just as the box slid over the side. “Are you kidding me?” Marco watched the box slowly dampen and sink. He blew out a breath. “Great.”
    Nacho got to his feet. “Sorry.”
    Marco shot him a look and went back to what he was doing.
    Their mom climbed up the stairs and set a plastic tub at Marco’s feet. She was sweaty, and stopped to push her hair out of her face as she gazed out at the lagoon. “Oh, this place is so lovely!”
    â€œWhat’s in here?” asked Marco.
    Yvonna said, “I’ve got some dishes and silverware in here. I suppose we’ll have a few meals here before we get rescued, we might as well be civilized about it.” She shoved a hand over her mouth and ran to the side of the boat, then leaned over and threw up.
    â€œMom? You okay?”
    She nodded.
    Marco found a bottle of water in the pile and handed it to her. “You feel better?”
    Yvonna nodded, then took a sip, rinsed out her mouth, and spit. She took a few swallows as she wiped some sweat off her face with the back of her hand. “I think maybe I ate something that didn’t agree with me. Or maybe it’s still the motion sickness. I’m sure I’ll feel better once I’m on dry land.” She added, “So let’s not mention it to John, okay? He’s got enough on his mind.”
    â€œSure.” Marco went back over to the stern and watched as John reached the beach. Ahab greeted him, tail wagging, and stayed there as he unloaded.
    Just then, the sailboat shifted under Marco’s feet, sliding to an even steeper tilt.
    He heard a scream from below. His mom yelled down into the hold, “Nacho! Sarah! Get up here! We need to get off!”
    Nacho and Sarah scrambled up the stairs, breathless. Sarah asked, “Where’s my dad?”
    Marco pointed to shore, and the boat shifted again. Sarah yelled to shore, “Dad! The boat is moving!”
    John looked up, startled, and shoved the dinghy into the water. He rowed furiously toward them, as they all filled their arms with the last of the things piled on the deck. When he reached the boat, they passed the last of it down to him. “Okay, everybody down here.”
    Yvonna asked, “Will we all fit?”
    John said, “Yeah, let’s go.”
    Yvonna looked at Nacho. “Where’s your life jacket?”
    â€œIt was too hot.” Nacho pointed out, “You took yours off too.”
    â€œI know,” said his mom. “There’s no time. Come on, you go first.” His mom took one of his arms and Marco held on to the other, and they lowered him over the side until John could get ahold of his legs, then take him the rest of the way. “Sarah next.”
    They did the same to Sarah, and as she dropped into the dinghy, it swayed, almost tipping over. John said, “We need to dump stuff over. We can’t take everyone.”
    â€œWe might need that stuff!” yelled Marco. “Just take them. Mom and I will wait here.”
    Yvonna glanced at him and nodded. She told John, “He’s right. Just go, take them, and come back for us.”
    John opened his mouth to argue, but Marco said, “Go. We’re wasting time arguing.” John nodded and said