Survival Read Online Free PDF

telling him that open water covered four-fifths of the Earth's surface, and it was the most difficult environment to survive in. He grimaced, then looked up and saw the shocked faces of the rest of A-Watch. Quickly, he pulled himself together. Unzipping his belt pouch, he brought out a small tobacco tin, sealed with waterproof tape. He began to peel away the tape, whistling quietly to himself and, as he had hoped, the others began to get curious.
    'OK,' said Amber, finally. 'What's in the tin?'
    'This,' said Alex, filling his voice with more confidence than he felt inside, 'is a survival kit.'
    'Oh, yeah? What's in there? An inflatable island?'
    Alex carefully rewrapped the waterproof tape around the base of the tin, then he pried the lid off. The inside of the lid was highly polished and, as Alex turned it back and forth in his hand, it sent out blinding flashes of reflected sunlight.
    'To signal with,' said Alex. 'When a plane or a boat appears.' He slipped the lid into his shirt pocket, then held out the base of the tin so that everyone could see. Inside, there was a whole collection of different items and packages, all nestling in a layer of cotton wool.
    'My dad gave me this,' said Alex. 'I always carry it with me. The tin – and my knife.' He patted the knife, which he carried in a sheath at his belt. 'It doesn't look much, but this tin could make all the difference in a survival situation.'
    'So, seriously, what's in there?' asked Hex.
    Alex reeled off a list of the contents, pointing to each little package as he named it. 'OK. For lighting fires, I have waterproof matches, a candle, a flint and a magnifying glass. Those are needles and thread. A liquid-filled compass—' Alex stopped to hook the little button compass out with his finger. He slipped it into his shirt pocket with the tin lid before continuing. 'Fish hooks and line, aspirin, a beta-light – that's a special crystal which gives off enough light to say, read a map in the dark. Then over here, I've got a snare wire, a flexible saw—'
    'It does not look like a saw to me,' said Paulo, leaning forward to prod at the coil of metal wire.
    'It is though. See those loops at each end? Well, when I want to use it, I cut two sticks to size, slip them through the loops for handles—'
    'Ah, I see!' grinned Paulo. 'That is good. It would cut down a tree?'
    'Eventually,' said Alex.
    'Yeah, right,' muttered Amber. 'Just what we need right now. A saw.'
    Alex ignored her and carried on with his tour of the survival tin. 'That's a medical kit, surgical blades, butterfly sutures, plasters – oh, and a condom.'
    'That's for you, Paulo,' giggled Li. 'In case you finally get lucky and find a girl who can't do judo.'
    Paulo felt a blush spread across his face as he grinned shame-facedly at Li. He had tried to make a move on her at the start of the voyage. He had come up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. A second later he had been flat on his back, gasping for air. She had simply grasped his arm, shifted her weight and thrown him over her shoulder.
    Alex shook his head at Li, pretending to be irritated, but secretly he was pleased to hear her laugh. 'That condom will hold up to a litre of water, Li. It makes a good water-bag in an emergency.' He took the lid from his shirt pocket and closed up the tin. Then he sealed the join once more with the waterproof tape.
    'Shouldn't you keep that handy for signalling?' asked Paulo.
    'It's more important to keep the tin dry,' said Alex, carefully packing the tin away in his belt pouch. 'I'll be able to reach it quickly enough when we need it. So,' he continued, 'we already have one signalling device to attract attention if a ship or a plane comes along, but we'd better check the stern lockers too. Li and Paulo, have a look, will you? You never know, we might find some flares or an air-horn.'
    'Yeah, right,' said Amber, her voice full of mockery. 'Would you like to ask the wish fairy for a VHF radio while you're at it? Or a