Karmyn+C

=**Island**= Karmyn Chretien



**Awakened**


The gentle waves lapped on the warm white sand. The tides became bigger each time and washed up further debris onto the beach. A little further along the coast laid a woman. Unconscious, she paid no attention to the salty water as it flowed over her legs and back down again. It wasn’t until the water had reached her mouth that she had awakened in a quick jerking motion.

She instantly sat up erect and coughed, trying to get the taste of the salt out of her mouth. She closed her dark brown eyes for a few seconds and opened them up again. A quick pain surged through her brain which made her hold her head in agony. She looked at her drenched clothing. Her low cut purple zebra-print top was covered in sand, same with her white applebottom jeans. The woman then stood up, still holding her head in pain and looked to the sky. It wasn’t until now that she had noticed the blazing sun, warming her dark skin.

“Hey!” a voice suddenly sounded from the west. “Hey lady!”

 The woman took her hand off of her head and looked to the left. A dark haired man, shirtless and well-toned came trotting towards her.

“Hey! You’re the woman who was sitting behind me. Are you okay?”

She looked at his grey eyes; they seemed upset but faithful at the same time. “Yeah. I guess so,” she replied.

“I’m Koliah, Koliah Kudrow.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You don’t look so hot, are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m Bonquiqui Brown. And I’m fine. I just hit my head on the way down.” She held her hand against her temple; it throbbed.

“Let’s head this way,” Koliah pointed to the left of the beach with his finger. “I’ve grouped up with two others who were on the flight. They’re over by the palm trees.”

The two began to walk towards the others. During the quiet trip there, Bonquiqui couldn’t help but see the flashbacks of what happened prior to waking up on the beach. The horrible feeling of being thrust forward in her seat and hitting her head against the chair in front of her, the giant cracking sound as the plane ripped in two and the seemingly endless feeling of falling thousands of feet. Her head ached once more.

She glanced back at Koliah. He sure was an eyesight. Tall and clean-cut, in shape and smooth skinned. At this point, Bonquiqui didn’t even bother to wonder why he was shirtless and just enjoyed the sight, despite the fact that she had just awoken on a deserted island after surviving a deadly plane crash.

The two soon found themselves approaching two other survivors of the crash. One was an average height male. He looked to be around twenty-five; his hair was short and blond. His green eyes squinted from the intensity of the sun as he greeted them. The other was a girl, looking no older than about twenty-three. She sat on a fallen trunk of a palm tree, fiddling with her red hair. She looked at Bonquiqui and then back to the ground.

“Is this all of us?” The light-haired man spoke. “Is this seriously all who survived?”

Bonquiqui stared at him nervously.

“Calm down, Dexter. There may be other people. But Ms. Brown here is the only one who I found.” Koliah shot a glance at him.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Perfect. Just freakin’ perfect.” Dexter turned around, grumbling to himself.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bonquiqui looked back at the girl who was sitting on the log twitching nervously, “What’s wrong with you, girl?” The girl looked back at her.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Oh, I don’t know,” the girl started in a sarcastic tone, “not much, just been through a freakin’ deadly plane crash.” The girl stood up and flailed her arms. “Oh I suppose it’s not worth freaking out about. You know, because there wasn’t a chance of me dying or anything!”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bonquiqui snorted, “Sheesh, what’s up your butt?” Dexter stifled a chuckled. The girl shot a quick glance at her, her hazel eyes tensed with fury.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">The girl stomped towards her, “Look sist-“

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Enough!” Koliah interrupted her, stepping in between the two women. “Fighting isn’t going to get us anywhere!” <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dexter turned back around, breaking the intensity of the atmosphere, “Anyone seen a naked boy around here?” The three of them looked at him in shock disgust. “What? No? How about a fat little one with glasses?”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“What the hell are you talking about man?” Bonquiqui blurted.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Oh, I got it. What about a volleyball? Wilson brand to be specific.” Dexter made an awkward smile at them.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Koliah looked at him, puzzled. “W-why?”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dexter sighed and put his head in his palm, “Come on guys. Y’know, Lord of the Flies? Or Cast Away? Both about being plane-wrecked on a deserted island?” He then began to mock Tom Hanks as his role in the movie, crying out in mock agony “Willsssssoooooooooonnn! Wilson! I’m sorry Wilson!”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Koliah exchanged an awkward glance with the red headed girl.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Dex-“.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Y’know, if I didn’t know any better, I say this is all a bad story written by som-“

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Dexter!” Koliah shouted. “Just... Just stop it.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bonquiqui rubbed her arms. Not thirty minutes after regaining consciousness, and all hell was already breaking loose. She was stranded on a deserted tropical island somewhere in the south pacific. Nonetheless stranded with a tall handsome man, a scrawny, rude, red headed chick and some crazy lunatic who thinks this is all a dream.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">She looked off into the ocean. There was nothing but blue-green water crashing upon itself as far as the eye could see. This was when she realized how horrible and out of luck she really was.

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Introduced **
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Koliah bent down and grabbed a couple of palm leaves off of the rough dirt. His muscles tensed. It had been a whole month since the dreadful day of the plan crash and life was not getting any easier. Constant chores were shared among the four survivors. Today, it was his turn to pick up leaves to patch the shelter roof; although, they had the tarp that Phoebe managed to grabbed from the plane crash; it didn’t do quite enough.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> On his way back to the main camp, Koliah stopped. He didn’t know why, but something was off. He looked over his shoulder dramatically like they usually do in the movies as the camera zooms up on their face; but of course the setting lacked a camera and that would be ridiculous if there was one. He saw nothing. His mind was rather unsteady for the past couple of weeks; the island was playing tricks on him. The whole scenario was surreal and he could not fathom what secrets the island withheld.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and landed on one of the leaves he clutched in his arms, jolting him back to reality. He sighed and began to walk back to camp. Along the way he came up with the idea of having some sort of “Survivor meeting” around the fire tonight. He felt bad for not knowing much about the others after being stranded on the same tropical island with them for the past thirty-one days. The sun was setting quickly, so he picked up his pace not wanting to get caught in the forest alone in the dark.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Dexter’s hand, quick as a cheetah, grabbed the knife off of the trunk and held it up to examine its glow in the moonlight.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “Hey Dex, knock it off, you’re going to take an eye out with that thing!” Koliah scorned him with a mouthful of crab.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> It was past midnight and the moon hung high in the black sky. It was clear of clouds making the bright white stars shine as clear as ever.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Yo Koliah, don’t you tell me what I can and can’t do. I found this thing washed up on shore right next to me along with the rope.” He put the knife down beside him and looked into the giant fire they had started. “If I didn’t have this, you wouldn’t be eating that crab you have right now.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Koliah swallowed the mouthful and sat for a few seconds, waiting for the right moment to bring up his idea.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Hey guys,” he started awkwardly, “I was just thinking we should all introduce ourselves, like, properly. I feel bad that I don’t know all of you that much. Here, I’ll start. I’m Koliah Kudrow. I’m twenty-six years old and I’m a professional sports trainer. I enjoy hockey among other things.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dexter chuckled. “Alright, just to amuse you, I’ll go next.” He shifted his weight and leaned forward. “I’m Dexter O’Flannigan. Twenty-two. Divorced. Oh, and I’m an ambassador of a small island country near Scandinavia. Annnnddddd, I like to play poker.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bonquiqui stopped checking her hair in her handheld mirror and raised an eyebrow at the young representative.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “You’re twenty-two and you’re divorced!?” she remarked.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “Like you haven’t had man issues ‘sister’,” he snapped back.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> She let that one fly by and began to introduce herself as well. “I’m Bonquiqui Brown. Twenty-three years old, Exotic dancer. I like— lik**ed** to hang with my girls, but they’re all dead now.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “Well that was dark,” Phoebe commented. “Well, um. I’m Phoebe Bananahammock. Youngest here, being twenty-one. I’m a college student trying to get my major in psychology. I also collect stamps.” She flicked her auburn hair behind her right ear. “Not much to it.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “Augh, crap!” Dexter broke the calmness of the conversation and flicked his left hand back and forth. “I fricken’ cut myself.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Koliah sat up and started towards the make-shift camp a few feet away. “Jesus, Dexter! What’d I tell you? YOU’RE lucky I got the first aid kit!” He grabbed the red bag and picked up a Band-Aid and walked back to Dexter, chucking the flimsy item at him.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Koliah this isn’t- I’m going to need some gauze.” He held his hand closer to the fire to inspect the cut. It was a long slash through his left palm from his pinky to the bottom of his thumb. It wasn’t deep but blood was quickly oozing out by the second. He winced in pain.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Oh my God, Dexter!” Phoebe held her hands up to her face covering her mouth and nose, muffling her words.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Shoot, that’s nasty!” Bonquiqui remarked in disgust.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Dexter, we have to get away from here. We don’t want the blood drawing any attention to unexpected guests!” Koliah placed his hand on Dexter’s shoulder.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Right there and then, as if on cue for some predictable movie, a mountain lion jumped out of the trees, snarling and crouched in a hunting position. Everyone froze and the only thing that broke the silence was Bonquiqui’s whisper.

//<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Shoot.” //

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Action **
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Dexter stared wide-eyed at the wild animal. He knew that it was going to pursue him. The smell of blood must have been delicious to the beast, and Dexter was its potential next meal. The cat began to slowly crawl towards them eyeing them up and down while giving off a deep throaty growl. Dexter knew something had to be done. For Pete’s sake! He was an ambassador; he could not just sit around and watch others get mauled to death.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Everyone,” he said in a soft smooth tone, “just slowly start to lie down on the ground. Pretend you’re dead. I’m going to do something drastic... If I die, tell my ex I hate her guts.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Quickly, with his left hand, he grabbed the knife which was blade-down in the sand. Everything from there on seemed to be in slow motion. His blood began to trickle down the handle of the weapon. The adrenaline in his body overcame the pain of his sliced hand making it numb. He flipped it around so that his fingers were pinching either side of the blade. This was his only chance. He studied the animal and then drew his arm back and quickly jolted it forward, flinging the sharp object in the direction of the large feline.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">As if on cue, the ferocious beast leapt to the left at the last split second sending the knife flying into the bushes behind it. Dexter stood there frozen in fear.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Oh come on!” he gasped.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">The mountain lion roared and lunged itself towards Dexter. He turned to his left and started to sprint along the border of the beach and the tropical forest. With the feline busy chasing the young man, Phoebe quickly thought a plan.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Dexter! Keep running in circles!” she yelled in his direction. “Koliah! Bonquiqui! Help me get the poles out of the shelter! I sharpened them at the bottom so that they could easily puncture the ground. If it can puncture hard dirt, I’m sure it can pierce through that thing!” In a matter of seconds, the three of them quickly tore down the fort that had taken them two hard days of work. Koliah grabbed one ‘spear’ and Phoebe the other. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">With the two branches being in use by the other two, Bonquiqui grabbed a few stones lying by the destroyed shelter. Phoebe then explained her plan to the others. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Bonquiqui, you throw those stones at the cat’s head when Dexter runs past again. Hopefully it will knock it off his trail and turn to you. When it pounces we will throw the spears at it and hopefully kill it.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Phoebe then ran back towards the open beach, not letting anytime for Bonquiqui to protest the suicide-like mission. She yelled to Dexter who was dodging the cat a couple of metres away.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Come this way. We have a plan!”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">He quickly ran back towards the campsite with the mountain lion close behind. The three of them got into positions ready for action. Within seconds a flash that was known as Dexter trailed in front of Bonquiqui’s eyes. The lion, not three metres behind him, was growing tired. She drew her right arm back and chucked the biggest stone in the cougar’s direction as hard as she could.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">It impacted the beast square on the jawbone with a terrifying crack. It bowled over to the right crying in agony. Dexter kept running forward and stopped a few metres ahead collapsing to the ground panting rapidly, trying to catch his breath. It was a second or two before the brown pelt stirred and the animal staggered to its paws. Blood gushed from its sharp toothy mouth. The force of the rock had broken its jaw. If the mountain lion was not enraged before, it sure was now. The fire reflected in its amber eyes as they tensed in fury. Bonquiqui swallowed her fear and hauled another smaller rock at the big cat.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">The beast showed no signs of toleration to the brutality and charged straight at the woman. This was Koliah’s and Phoebe’s chance to strike it down. They readied themselves as Bonquiqui turned around and made a slow dash towards the forest running between the five metre gap between the two. Pheobe held the wooden pole above her right shoulder gripping it in her sweaty palm. She saw the cat’s head, aimed, and took fire, and Koliah did the same.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Unfortunately, both Koliah and Phoebe had the bad luck to have both missed the pouncing cat. Both their spears flew past each other sticking in the sand. Phoebe was struck with fear. She could only watch as the feline landed upon the African-American woman, digging its claws deep into her back.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">“Bonquiqui!” Koliah cried out. “No!”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Bonquiqui let go an ear-splitting scream. The cat flipped her over and with one quick swipe of its giant paw, sliced her jugular open. Blood squirted high in the air. Bonquiqui’s screams ended and were replaced by muffled gurgling sounds and soon stopped. Her life was no more. There was nothing the other three could do now. The terrifying animal stopped and looked back at the two. It snorted then turned back towards the forest grabbing the limp wrist and dragged the dead body slowly until it disappeared into the darkness.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Phoebe held her hands against her mouth, starting to cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks. As if surviving a plane crash wasn’t horrifying enough, the added memory of watching a person being mauled to death by an animal was almost unbearable. She looked off into the distance and looked at Dexter, who was on his back, his stomach rising and falling, the intervals becoming slower every time.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Off in the distance a blast of a ship’s horn blew, shaking the three survivors to their cores. Then a giant white spotlight encircled Dexter and then began to slide on the sand towards Phoebe and Kolaih.

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">The End **