Under Azure Skies

By Wayne Mansfield

Lucien has been shipwrecked on a remote south Pacific island. For the first few months he is alone. When Edgar arrives, Lucien is elated he finally has someone to talk to, to share experiences with. Through Edgar, Lucien even discovers things about himself he’d long since forgotten.

A massive tropical storm brings with it more than wind and rain. It brings a man called Abel. Strangely, when Abel arrives on the island, Edgar disappears. Despite searching for his dear friend, Lucien cannot find him, but the forbidden feelings initially unlocked by Edgar are further explored with Abel, and Lucien finds himself falling in love.

Then the cannibals arrive, bringing with them a second shipwreck survivor. What Lucien and Abel witness is unspeakable, but being unarmed and with danger so close, can they themselves survive? Or is their love doomed before it has a chance to blossom?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Oct 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781634864435

Wayne Mansfield

Wayne Mansfield is a Western Australian writer. He has been writing for nine years and has been published in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Additionally, he wrote a monthly erotic story for the German publications Macho and Dreamboys for two years. His novellas and stories usually have a horror, futuristic, or fantasy theme, although he does write contemporary stories such as The Hiding Place, which received Honorable Mention in the 2013 Rainbow Awards.

Book preview

Under Azure Skies

By Wayne Mansfield

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2017 Wayne Mansfield

ISBN 9781634864435

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Under Azure Skies

By Wayne Mansfield

Chapter 1

It was 1818. Somewhere in the South Pacific. Lucien sat with his back against a palm tree that curved over until the tips of its fronds almost kissed the topaz sea. The sun, burning white hot in a vast sky of bright blue, couldn’t find him beneath the corrugated trunk of the palm. It was a small mercy, but one for which he was no less grateful. The sun’s rays, made stronger and deadlier by the surrounding ocean, had turned his pale English skin to a darker hue, and had, at the same time, bleached his long, dark brown locks many shades lighter. Yet while these changes brought about by the sun were neither welcomed nor cursed, the stinging blisters that dotted his swollen lips caused nothing but misery. Accompanying them, although not so irritating, was the line of peeling skin that decorated the ridge of his nose. It had therefore become his custom to spend the middle of the day hiding, like a vampire, from the worst of the sun’s fury.

I don’t know, he said, his eyes closed and his tone lethargic.

Edgar, the man sprawled on his back beside him, stirred lazily. What don’t you know?

Lucien’s head lolled from one shoulder to the other. Why aren’t your lips afflicted as mine are? How is it the sun seems to bless you and torment me?

Edgar didn’t answer and Lucien was left to ponder the possibilities alone, eventually falling asleep to the rhythmic and calming sound of the waves gently lapping at the shore.

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When he woke up, the sun was behind them, beating down on the western side of the tiny island. There wasn’t much to the bump of land poking up through the mighty Pacific. He could easily walk the length, from north to south, in an hour. Crossing it, from east to west, took even less time, though the thick tangle of tree trunks, shrubbery, and vines made the short distance something of an obstacle course. At the northern end of the island was a large crater, the remains of the volcano that had formed the island. And on the northwest slope, about halfway up, was a small cave, where Lucien and Edgar sheltered from storms.

With the strength of the sun on the wane, it was safe to emerge from beneath the palm tree.

Come on. He looked at Edgar, lying on his back with his left arm across his eyes and his legs bent slightly at the knees. We have to find something to eat.

Edgar groaned. Leave me alone. He turned his face away from Lucien. I’m happy where I am.

If you don’t help, you won’t get anything to eat.

Nice, said Edgar. Very nice, indeed.

It’s the law of the jungle, explained Lucien. That’s all. You don’t hunt, you don’t eat. You don’t eat, you die.

I’ll get dinner tomorrow.

That’s what you said yesterday, and look what happened. Nothing. That’s what. Lucien felt a flash of anger. Perhaps if he’d had the energy he might have kicked Edgar, or at least given him a piece of his mind. Instead, he turned his back in disgust. Bah! he said as he walked away.

There wasn’t a lot to eat on the island. There was a bush that grew red berries, which initially Lucien had been reluctant to try. Most berries, he knew, were sweet and juicy, but some could also take a person’s life—and in a most agonising way. Yet hunger, when it became a maddening need, drove men to take drastic measures, and when his first mouthful of berries didn’t kill him, he came to the conclusion they were safe to eat and could become a regular part of his diet, despite the mildly laxative effect they had on him. In addition to the berries, there was also breadfruit, which was best eaten after being cooked, and coconuts.

Fortunately, there was fresh water. It bubbled up from God-knows-where into a small rock pool in a clearing in the jungle. And when it rained, there was water aplenty for bathing as well as drinking. Neither of the men had clothes to wash. The salt water and sun had worked together on the rags they’d been wearing when they arrived on the island, eroding them until they were no more than a collection of faded threads that eventually disintegrated.

Often there were fish and other sea creatures left stranded