Alone in Paradise

In a dense layer of underbrush conveniently stacked together like hay a boy lay still and unmoving.

It was unknown how much time he had spent here. The suns dazzling rays slowly breach through a small gap presumably made by his descent from the heavens. The boy's eyes twitch under the sunlight and his golden eyelashes flutter.

The boy's eyes open. He takes in the scenery around him. There was extreme amounts of loose foliage and vines. The ground beneath his feet was mushy and filled with numerous dead plants and sometimes the rotting flesh of animals could be faintly smelled. The echo of different animal calls flooded his ear canals. He got up from his resting place and slowly inched forward.

The sounds of nearby leaves rustling causing him to shoot his gaze in the direction of a bush. The creature behind it snorted and scoffed as if losing the chance to feed on the boy. It was odd as bushes trees and objects in numerous other places let out similar reactions. It was amazing how none of them had given into their animalistic instincts and went for him. One by one they all rustled away from him.

He was too disoriented to notice the other reactions from his surroundings and kept his eyes glued on the bush in front of him. After checking that it had left he continued his aimless walk through the jungle foliage.

During his travels he encountered numerous other animals. They all were strange. Some had black and white stripes and were built like a large cat others were human like with a lot of hair in odd places. They were all strange to him and he had never seen them before. The island he grew up in was regularly culled of any carnivorous or foreign creatures. This kept the predator population to a minimum and allowed for the prey population to flourish which was one of the main food sources for some islanders and how it was able to maintain its ecosystem so well.

After a few hundred meters he reached a small waterfall.

The waterfall crashed in front of him and below it was a row of jagged rocks. The plunge pool of the falls was abnormally deep suggesting that this was previously a ditch or sinkhole before It was filled with the running water. The boy walked up to the edge of the water and looked at his reflection.

His eyes were sunken and showed signs of blood loss. His skin was still pale and his cheeks were slightly sunken. His clothes ripped and torn and his shoes were in no condition to continue to be worn. It was like he was back in the alleyway waiting to die one way or another.

Suffering from just being an orphan. Suffering just because he didn't have alot. He lamented on the cruelty of the world.

Then suddenly a ripple appeared in the water and images of Apathy Belle and Davie flashed alongside his reflection. This seemingly reinvigorated the young boy. He slapped himself in the face and washed the muck and dried blood from his body.

His internal monologue screamed out at him. 'Will you have to save your crew. You are the captain. You have no time to be sad and down when your crewmates lives could be in danger. WAKE UP!'

He ripped off the top of his shoes and used the crude leather lace to make sandals. He liked these more than his actual shoes. He stepped on the ground and wiggled his feet to ensure they were sturdy enough to wear for long periods of time.

He then ran off into the forest and began looking for his lost friends.

Behind him a figure appeared behind the waterfall. It stood there quietly observing the boy walk off. Its eyes glowed an emerald green as it receded behind the falls.

On a beach somewhere on the island…

Two women washed up on shore. Their clothing was wet and they were covered in seaweed. Their bodies were stacked precariously on top of each other making it quite a spectacular scene.

After a few minutes of silence, a loud screech exited from the bodies of one of the girls.

Her long black hair stood on end and she was jolted awake.

"OWWWWWW. MY LEGGGGG!"

A small crab lay latched onto her ankle unwilling to let go. Her scream woke the other girl up.

Belle opened her eyes. The ocean wind hit her wet body causing her to shiver. Her morning was further ruined by the sound of screams coming from beside her. She shifted her vision to the noise and saw Apathy running around with a small crab attached to her leg. She sighed and slammed her head back into the sand.

'I'm alive… and so is she…UgH' Belle's thoughts were discontinued by the continuous screams emanating from that woman. She sighed and muttered some words in the language of spirits. The crab's eyes immediately lost focus and in a trance ran back into its hole.

Apathy stopped screaming and looked at her leg which was now bright red. She looked towards Belle who lay still staring at the bright sun above their heads. The crashing waves that surrounded them and the lush backdrop with different types of trees and even sparse variants of coconut trees lay dotted along the shore line.

The sand was crystalline white and seemed to be a mix of shells and rocks. Making it feel like laying in clouds. Belle who had taken all this in smiled. This is the life she had wanted. The randomness the excitement the danger. She was no longer locked in her castle she was free.

She laughed and Apathy looked at her glowing demeanor and laughed as well. The usually quiet beach was now filled with bubbling emotions.

Belle sat up and looked towards apathy. " Lets go find Will!"

Apathy was about to nod in agreement before shouting. "Don't tell me what to do princess"

Belle ignored her comments and walked off into the jungle.

In a dark secluded part of the island….

" Hello? Will? Apathy? Belle???"