CHAPTER NINE: SURVIVORS

A new day began as the sun rose to its peak. The expressions on the faces of the group on the beach clearly showed sadness and exhaustion as they slowly pushed themselves from the sandy shores beneath them. Eyes met each other as they all fought the truth in front of them, they were still here and no one had noticed they were missing or even if they had realized, no one was coming to their rescue yet.

Zara leaned over, resting her head on Mia's shoulder as she rubbed on her pupils, trying to clear her vision. Isabel blew air on the lens of her glasses, wiping it at the hem of her shirt before putting it back on. Milo ran his hand through his hair before covering his mouth as the morning yawn crept from his lips.

Sophia let out a large exhale before wrapping her long dark hair into a bun, securing it with a rubber band she pulled off her wrist. Her brown eyes filled with pure sadness as she pushed herself off from the ground, walking over to the beach, and taking a seat facing the ocean. Eyes trailed after her as she moved but no one said anything to try to stop her.

Isabel followed shortly after taking a seat beside Sophia as the pair watched the waves push back and forth on the beach in front of them. No words were exchanged for the first few minutes. The only sound between them was shuddered breaths coming from Sophia as she tried to hold back the tears she had been fighting from the moment they got stranded on the island.

"You don't have to hide your pain, you know that right?" Isabel finally spoke, her eyes fixed on the endless body of water outstretched in front of her

"It kills me every day not being home" She managed to say wiping at the tears trying to escape her brown eyes

"I know the feeling" Isabel said pulling her legs up to her chest

"You'd think being surrounded by nature would make me happy but here I am missing the smell of manure and wet soil after a rain on my father's farm" Sophia chuckled sadly "I complained a lot that I needed a break from taking care of the farm animals. I thought I'd be happier away from home when I got accepted to Uni but I found myself running back home at every little opportunity because I missed home. When I told my mom about the essay competition and how I could get the chance to go to Misthaven Bay she told me to give it a try. I did and I thought that was the best thing ever and now I'm lost and she has no idea"

"What do you miss the most about home?" Isabel asked as she turned to look at Sophia who had tears on her cheek

"I miss my mom's freshly squeezed orange juice and freshly baked apple pie. I miss helping my dad with his rose garden. I miss running around with my little brother in the rain, stomping on puddles of water. Mom would say I'm a bad influence on him" Sophia laughed as she sniffled

"I never knew you had a little brother" Isabel said, surprised at the discovery "How old is he?"

"He's turning nine this October" She responded "I was planning on throwing a birthday party for him at the playground with all of his friends"

"Why'd you say was?" Isabel asked, "You don't think we'd get out of here?"

"I stopped thinking we'd get out of here by day three. I just hope that they all don't miss me too much" Sophia said

"You have to stay positive Sophia. You're gonna be there for your brother's birthday. You're gonna have your mom's pie and you're gonna get married and have your dad walk you down the aisle cause nothing's going to happen to you" Isabel said rubbing her shoulder "We're gonna get out of here together"

A smile laced around Isabel's face as she spoke. It was the assurance in her tone of voice that made Sophia smile as well. She threw her hand around Sophia, pulling her into a comforting hug, even though she had doubts of her own, it was important to her to not let those around her break down.

They stayed like that for a while, even though Isabel could feel her neck getting wet, she didn't let go until she was sure Sophia was better. Sophia broke away from the hug after a while and then smiled back at Isabel before she turned around to face the ocean.

"You remind me of Ava though," Sophia said

"I know you two were really close" Isabel responded

"She'd have been the one saying everything you said to me just now. She had this aura of confidence with her. She has these seducing blue eyes that just makes you trust her." Sophia smiled as she spoke

"Do you like her?" Isabel asked

"Like in a romantic sense?" Sophia arched her brows

"Yeah"

She let out a laugh before she answered "I admire Ava. I'm not in love. I don't know why people assume that Ava and I have something going on. We're just friends. Really good friends. I like Owen" The last words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them

Isabel's eyes went wide as her mouth dropped to the floor "I didn't see that coming"

"Yeah" Sophia chuckled nervously "I've liked him for a really long time now but I haven't had the courage to tell him"

"Wow. I wonder how much Owen would pay for this information" Isabel smirked at Sophia who had her mouth open in disbelief

"You wouldn't dare" She laughed "If you do I'll just have to tell Lucas that you're in love with him"

"Who? Lucas? No, I- you can't prove- there are no feelings" Isabel stuttered "What gave it away?"

"It's hard to not notice how deeply you stare at him when you think no one's watching or how you attentively listen to him when he speaks like your whole existence needs the information he has to share" Sophia laughed, nudging Isabel's side

"Well in my defence, my existence does currently depend on the information he has to share" She responded, her cheeks flustered

"So do you want to share my secret and risk yours being exposed as well?" Sophia smiled

"I'll take yours to the grave if you promise to do the same, at least till one of us exposes ourselves," Isabel said with her hand outstretched

"This pact is bounded by emotion" Sophia said as she shook Isabel's hand

"That made no sense" Isabel chuckled as they shook hands before letting hers go

"So why didn't you go with Lucas?" Sophia asked, adjusting the glasses on her face

"I could ask you the same thing. Why didn't you go with Owen?" Isabel questioned

"Well I asked first" Sophia folded her arms over her chest

"I didn't think it was necessary for everyone to go inside the forest and I didn't want to get in the way of whatever they planned on doing inside there" She answered "Now you"

"Owen makes me nervous" Sophia blushed

"I see… He makes your kitty go purrr" Isabel snickered falling on her back

"Stop it" Sophia blushed punching Isabel's shoulder as she laid down beside her "I just get so confused I forget what to say whenever he's close to me"

"Funny how you still want to use words when you're around him. His lips should be doing other things besides talking" Isabel giggled

"You're a huge perv, you know that right?" Sophia laughed

"I'm not even going to deny it" Isabel let out an exhale as she tried to quail her laughter "My mind is a really dirty place"

"Do you also have dirty fantasies about Lucas?" Sophia asked

"Almost all the time. I'm turned on most of the time cause my mind keeps running weird scenarios. Sex with Lucas on the beach while everyone is asleep with the cold evening wind cooling the heat generated from his thrusts and the crashing waves hiding my intense breaths and moans. That's the one that I keep thinking about the most." Isabel let out a large exhale as the thought consumed her

"I hope at least one of us gets to experience something like that at least once before we go back home" Sophia said pushing herself up on her elbows

"Look at you thinking positively" Isabel responded, mimicking her action

"I'm not gonna die without telling Owen how I feel" Sophia said

"Neither am I. I'm going to be with Lucas and we're getting off this island together" Isabel said, as if speaking to the universe

They remained on the foot of the beach for a while, going back and forth, creating scenarios of possible sexual experiences with their love interests before a voice called out from behind them, calling their attention back to the group who had their eyes fixed on something floating in the water

"Is that another body?" Zara asked as she stood beside Mia who had her eyes fixed on whatever it was floating towards the island

"It doesn't look like it" Milo said, taking careful steps towards the unidentified object in the water

"That looks like-" Sophia said moving beside the group with Isabel trailing closely

"Avery's bag" Isabel completed the sentence as Milo picked the bag out of the water

"Is that the same bag that Max threw into the water?" Zara asked

"Yes it is" Mia responded

"That proves the theory of the force pulling objects towards the island" Sophia sighed "But why did it take that long?"

"Look over there" Isabel pointed at something else floating on the water

Milo walked into the water before dragging the object back onto the beach.

"That's the box Evan and Max dropped onto the water over that way" Mia pointed over her shoulder

"Theory number two; the current moves around the island" Milo said dropping the box on the ground "I guess both theories are confirmed"

"There goes any hope of any of us going back home" Sophia whispered.

Isabel reached for her hands dangling helplessly beside her before giving it a tight squeeze, followed by a smile on her face. Sophia smiled back but on for a second before the smile disappeared as the hope drained from her eyes.

"So what do we do now?" Zara asked turning to look at Mia

"We'd just have to wait for the expedition team to return. Until then there's nothing we can do" Mia sighed turning on her heels to take a seat back by the campfire

Milo dragged the box and the bag back over to the stack of boxes and clothes on the beach before trailing off

"Where do you think Milo is going?" Zara asked, taking a seat beside Mia

"He probably needs space to process this whole thing" Mia responded watching Milo before he was out of sight

"We're going to be fine right?" Zara asked

"I dunno… I just want to believe that we'd all get out of here in one piece." She said

Thirty minutes later, Milo walked back towards the group, nodding towards Zara and Mia who were engaged in a conversation, before sitting by the campfire, joining the pair

"Feeling better?" Mia asked

"Yeah… I just needed to cool off" Milo smiled as he answered

Shortly after, Isabel and Sophia rejoined the group, taking their seat on the floor next to Milo who scooted over, even though there was enough room for them already

"When do you think Lucas and the others would be back?" Isabel asked

"I don't know. I heard him say something about spending three days in there. Today makes it two days since they went in so I guess probably tomorrow" Mia responded

"I wonder how much time would've passed inside there and how they're doing?" Sophia asked, looking through the path they walked through.

Her eyes scanned the area and then went wide as if she saw something move. Instinctively, she pushed herself up causing the rest to act on impulse, everyone slowly backing away from the entrance

"Did you see something?" Isabel asked Sophia

"I dunno… I thought I saw something watching us" Sophia responded, her fixed on the forest

Seconds later, the sounds of rustling leaves followed by snapping twigs came through the entrance and silhouettes of people formed in the entrance before the expedition group walked through the leaves.

Relief filled the group as they saw Emma, Evan and Max walk out, but their smiles quickly turned into horror as their eyes met Lucas, Owen and Caleb as they carried a body out from the forest.

Firearms covered in slashes and cuts. Dried blood on their forehead, ripped clothes, a weak pulse, but alive

"Ava" Sophia screamed as she ran towards the group

Lucas, Owen and Caleb set her down by the campfire as gently as they could before Sophia crashed to her knees beside her friend with teary eyes and quivering lips

Zara had her hands over her mouth with tears streaking down her cheeks as she stared at Ava's bruised and battered body.

"What happened to her?" Mia asked, turning to face Lucas as she wiped the tears in her eyes "Where did you find her?"

"Ava, can you hear me?" Sophia yelled, squeezing Ava's bloody palm

"Is she still alive?" Zara asked

"As far as we can tell" Caleb responded

"What happened to her?" Isabel asked

"We don't know" Elijah answered "We found her like this"

"Where did you find her?" Milo asked

***

"What did you find?" Evan asked

"There's this really big tree in the middle of the forest. It turns out we're not even close to the centre yet" Lucas said looking over the group

"A big tree?" Natalie asked

"How far up did you two go heading towards that direction?" Caleb asked looking at Elijah and Natalie

"Not so far up… it got pretty dark the further we went so we had to come back" Elijah responded

"I guess that's why" Lucas said rubbing his shoulder "But if you had gone further you'd see the light shining through. There aren't that many tall trees around so there's little light coming through the sky. It's not so bright but it's not so dark either"

"Should we go check it out now?" Emma asked looking over at Max

"Where you lead, I'll follow" Max replied with a sheepish smile on his face

"Calm down wonder twins" Lucas called their attention "We'll go by morning"

"I think we should check it out now though," Elijah said looking over to Natalie who nodded in agreement

"What about you Evan?" Caleb asked looking over to Avery and Evan

"There's no harm in checking out a tree though," Evan said

"Not like there's anything that might surprise us there" Avery added and the rest of the group murmured in agreement

"Okay then" Lucas said as he stood up "Let's go"

The group headed south, towards the direction Lucas, Caleb and Owen searched. They walked up for what seemed like twenty minutes before arriving a few feet away from the tree.

Towering above the ground, stood a magnificent tree with roots so fat and strong, that they were the size of the average trees in the area. The tree was covered in lush, vibrant vines that twist and turn, creating a mesmerizing tapestry of green. It's like nature's own work of art

It would take at least ten people, with arms interlocked to wrap around the width of the tree.

The group stood far off and observed from a distance. The closer they got to it, the colder it felt

"This place suddenly rubs me off the wrong way" Emma whispered

"Why are you whispering?" Max whispered back

"I don't know" She whispered again

"Something about this place feels… dark" Avery whispered

"Do we get close?" Natalie asked

"I'm good over here," Elijah said

"What's that over there?" Emma said pointing towards the base of the tree

"Somethings sticking out the side," Avery said as she squinted her eyes

"It looks like-" Lucas started to speak

"Someone's foot" Caleb blurted out and before anyone could say anything else he bolted out of the cover and rushed towards the tree. When he got close enough he dropped to his knees, lifting Ava "It's Ava" He yelled and the rest of the group rushed over

"What the fuck happened to her?" Elijah questioned looking around the tree

"Is she still alive?" Natalie asked trying to hold back her tears

Caleb placed an ear over her chest listening for her heartbeat. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard it thump against his ear, barely noticeable but it was there

"Fuck hypothesis, we need to get her out of here" Caleb yelled, picking Ava in his arms "Let's go"

The group turned on their heels rushing out, heading towards their campsite to grab the rest of their gear and then head out

***

"And we came rushing back out here," Lucas said

"It looks like she was tortured" Sophia said sobbing

"Sophia, you know more about plants than anyone here, save her," Caleb said falling to his knees beside her

It took a moment before Sophia managed to House herself together. She pushed herself off the ground running barely into the forest

"Go with her," Lucas instructed Milo, who bolted right after her.

A few minutes later, they both rushed back with leaves from various trees and bushes. Sophia made quick work, separating the leaves from the branches and tossing them to the side

"I need water" Sophia yelled and Max rushed over to the ocean, picking up a coconut shell from the campsite to scoop water from the ocean.

She dipped the leaves in the shell of water, washing off any dirt on them. Placing them between her hands she rubbed and squeezed, placing the mushy leaves on Ava's injuries.

Ava whined at the pain but her eyes stayed shut, as if she felt the pain from the great beyond.

"You're gonna be fine" Sophia mumbled as we repeated the steps on other cuts and bruises on Ava's body "I need something to wrap it with," Sophia said looking up to whoever met her eyes

Evan bolted over to where the boxes and clothes were stacked grabbing a couple of shirts before bolting back to Sophia. She grabbed a top, gripped it and ripped it in half before using it as a bandage to wrap Ava's wounds.

Thirty minutes later, Ava was almost mummified with the amount of clothes wrapped all over her body. Her breathing was shallow but she was alive, and no longer at risk of losing blood.

"It's getting dark. I'll set up the campfire" Max said heading over to the campsite

"We need to move her" Caleb said to Sophia who remained at Ava's side

"We made a bed from branches, clothes and vines. It should be comfortable enough for her to rest on for now" Elijah said

"Okay" Sophia managed to say as she moved aside so Caleb could pick her up easily

Caleb put his hands underneath Ava, picking her up with ease and moved her over to the bed they made close to the campsite, placing her down as gently as he could.

"Thank you," Sophia said as she knelt beside the bed

The campfire was lit now and the group sat down on logs around it in silence. Eyes occasionally trailing over to look at Ava as she slept.

"What could have possibly happened to Ava inside there?" Avery said, breaking the silence

"When we were inside the forest, I thought I saw someone watching us," Elijah said, his eyes focused on the fire

Those on the beach turned to look at him like he just dropped a bomb on a small-town

"What do you mean someone? Do you think it could be Professor Turner or Dr. Bennett?" Milo asked

"If it was either of them then they wouldn't have run away when our eyes met" Elijah responded

"I saw someone too as we were moving Ava out of the forest," Emma said. Her expression could be translated by a single word; Fear.

"I guess it's official" Max started to speak

"We're not the only ones on the island" Elijah whispered but loud enough for everyone to hear

Nothing could've prepared the group for everything they were about to experience from that moment onwards.