Novella;+Corina

__All Alone__

Chapter 1: Confusions

A tiny drip of condensation crawled down the leaf of a broad palm tree; it plunged toward a dark woman, which startled her awake. Shocked and ill prepared for the trauma she had just endured, she rubbed her swollen eyes. Scanning her surroundings, she observed debris from the crash was scattered amongst the shore, and few other passengers were left to accompany her. A young man was grieving with a frail young boy laying motionless in his arms. He screamed agonizing pleas of help; however, in the state of shock the screaming appeared faint. Stumbling up, the dark woman ventured towards the man. As she wandered, she managed to obtain a few objects she recognized from the flight.

"Where in the-"

"Please mam, my son, he was only six. We were just coming back from a visit with the family. He's so young, it's just not fair. Take me instead. I just can't believe that- I'm Chris. who are you again?

The woman slid her hair back into a slick bun, and rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, others began to gather around the shore.

"I'm Sha Nae Nae Jones. Now, if y'all don't mind me akin', where we at? I was 'bout to visit my uncle Ralph down in Africa. I don't want no tropical vacation." Sha Nae Nae pulled out an outdated cell phone, "No reception? Are you kidding me?"

"Look,” insisted an elderly woman, who was dressed in a red velvet sweatsuit and wore a name tag that read Edith Doolittle. "I don't believe you understand the extent of what occurred. Our flight crashed, the captain had a heart attack, and most of the other passengers died. We were lucky to have gotten the cheap seats; guess money can't buy happiness," she explained with a smirk.

Chris put his son down and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. A tear rolled down his pale cheek, but he turned the other way, as if ashamed that someone had noticed. A young girl toppled towards the group, a prominent wound distracted from her obvious beauty, deep red blood dripped silently down her neck. She couldn't speak, and was barely able to hold herself up. "I, I, I," she shuddered as she attempted to talk.

"Names, aren't important," an exceedingly brave individual emerging from within the surrounding grasses. "Hi, Dante's the name, and I know the outdoors like the back of my hand. I fear Nothing. AHH! Spider!" he exploded with tears and hid behind Sha Nae Nae. "Let's find the others," he remarked, gathering his dignity.

Dante proceeded to carry the young girl and led the group of five through the luscious green tunnels of forest. The sky was beginning to relax and the sun was beginning to disappear into the thick billows of cloud amongst the heavens. Darkness would soon cover the island, leaving all victims to perish, alone in the night.

"Now, did anyone manage to get anything from the wreckage before the tide took hold? Dante spoke with wisdom, and wiped a thin layer of sweat forming beneath his wavy blonde hair.

"Why are y'all fretting?” I have a knife in my pocket; momma told me not to travel without one. I also have my backpack; most of the items are burned to nothing, but I have my compact mirror and few band aids and such." Sha Nae Nae proudly proclaimed.

"There was a good amount of rope back at the shore. I did find a bucket, good as new too, just needs a good scrubbing," Edith announced kindly.

*****

The island was scouted thoroughly, no other survivors were present, the young girl barely clinging to life. The air was thick and the grotesque smell of melted flesh haunted the air. Unsure of the future, hope began to decline leaving the few living survivors to reflect upon their thoughts.

"I've never been so scared. Comin' from me, that means plenty. I'm a proud girl, I never admit my wrongs. Yet I've never been so afraid in my whole twenty-three years of life." Darkness surrounded Sha Nae Nae as she spoke to the others. "I don't know why this happened, but I believe in fate" "That's dumb, and we don't even have a fire," Dante retorted. "Then do something 'bout it nature boy. I just need to catch up on some sleep, I don't know how long we'll be here, and neither do you. Yapping' 'bout it ain't gonna change nothing. So hush up." Sha Nae Nae growled. Her eyes filled with pain. Dante looked at her, and noticed she was terribly petite, her stature was stunted and she stood at about 4'9. Her voice was raspy and her clothes appeared shredded and burned. "We're in this together," Dante replied calmly. He grabbed Sha Nae Nae and Edith's hands, and accompanied them to the sandy earth. "Get some sleep, I'll get the others." Sha Nae Nae closed her eyes, hearing only the crashing of the waves and the roaring of the sea. Until she drifted into a motionless sleep.

"Fasten your seat belts, we are going down, I repeat, we are going down!" Called the captain over the PA system aboard the plane. A single crack echoed and the whole plane went silent. Time seemed to have paused. This was the end. We're going to die. Screams of passengers and the smashing of glass exploded through each isle. Seats disconnected and smacked within the plane. An enormous thud, and all fell silent again. Each window cracked, and the plane slowly filled up with water. Each passenger waiting for their fate to arrive; to live or to die.



Chapter Two: A Turn of Events

The sun rose dolefully every given day; it was the only way to keep track of the passing time. The dark silhouettes of the surrounding palm trees cast a gloomy shadow across the shore. Sha Nae Nae opened her eyes, and hopelessly stumbled to her feet. A horrific nightmare had become reality, and only time would tell who would survive.

“Is the fire still going?” Sha Nae Nae stressed tiredly.

“Yeah, no thanks to you though.” Chris replied angrily, “I swear, the whole two weeks and three days we've been here, you've done the least, and have been the most negative.” Chris came to his feet and stormed off kicking a nearby piece of driftwood and muttering to himself.

“What's his deal?” Sha Nae Nae asked calmly while pulling at her untamed mane. “Hey, wait a second, where's uh what's her name?”

“Hello fellow islanders!” Edith proclaimed cheerfully. “I have alongside me, five crabs and a few coconuts I just collected from the shoreline. I am really getting used to this, but I truly do miss my beloved other.” Edith placed the live crabs in a nearby blue sandcastle bucket and smiled. “How are you, Rose?”

“I'm fine, thanks, Edith.” Rose insisted quietly. A scar stretched across her porcelain cheek down to her shoulder, and her eyes were marked with sorrow. Until about a week ago, she had been unable to speak or move without assistance. Nobody believed that she would still be alive, but against all odds she recovered.

It was early it the morning, yet the sun had already begun to beat down against the warm golden sand. Dante ventured off into the thicket while Sha Nae Nae and Chris meandered down the coast in search of more materials for their raft. Believing in rescue had been reason to stay alive for the first few nights. However, hope began to fade as each hour passed, leaving the islanders to attempt to wrestle their own fate.

“Chris, I don't feel well at all., I don't think I should take the trip today,” Sha Nae Nae protested. Unlike the others, who seemed to be decreasing in size, Sha Nae Nae had become prominently large, or at least had vastly increased in size since the crash. Her cheeks were fuller, and her ankles were swollen. Yet her stomach had rounded and looked as if she had stuffed a large beach ball beneath her ratted sundress.

“Sha Nae Nae, I don't mean to sound rude or inconsiderate of your feelings, Chris began, “but is there anyway you could be”- he paused and stared into her dark eyes- “pregnant?” He quickly looked away as if to avoid further conflict. Sha Nae Nae intimidated most people, including Chris, who despite being much taller than Sha Nae Nae, was lanky and much of an introvert.

“Of course I am,” Sha Nae Nae retorted proudly. “I'm almost at full term too. Hopefully the baby waits, or this trip is gonna be hell. I don't want anyone else to know. Got it?” She rubbed her belly and tried to catch Chris' eyes, but he was off in his own thoughts.

“Guys.” Dante loudly announced, “I found some more stuff for the raft, where you headed?”

“She's not feeling well,” Chris replied motioning at Sha Nae Nae, “I'm heading out though, bye.” the air between Dante and Chris seemed thicker. A poisonous vibe was created whenever the two meshed. Whether jealousy or simple clashing of personalities, being around both of them made everyone uncomfortable.

“Okay,” Dante started, “Sha Nae Nae, you could fix up the roof on the shelter, the wind had the best of it last night I'm afraid.” his voice was uneasy, yet confident, however, his eyes gave away his anxiousness. He scanned the area briefly, and continued towards the half standing shelter. It was mainly constructed of vines and palm tree leaves, all strung together by rope. It leaned, barely held up by the unstable branches surrounding it.

“Being here so long, you'd think we'd have our shelter together, but, nope.” Sha Nae Nae objected. Her gaze fell upon Edith, who was cracking open the pastel coloured shells of crabs with the rusted pocket knife. Edith appeared so sweet and innocent, she was kind spirited and reminded Sha Nae Nae plenty of her own grandmother. Sha Nae Nae blinked away the thought of home and knocked down the remaining branch causing the entire shelter to fall with a thud. She smiled smugly until a loud moan caused her to jump.

“Ow! Sha Nae Nae, I'm still in here!” exploded an exasperated tiny voice.

“Sorry, Rose. I had no idea you were even home,” Sha Nae Nae insisted with a smirk. Rose emerged from the broken hut-like shelter and had a crooked frown stretched across her freckled face. Sha Nae Nae took much pleasure in this. Suddenly, she couldn't contain her laughter anymore, a bead of sweat dripped down her forehead and down off her broad nose. Her eyes began to twitch and her vision became blurry, everything seemed like a fantasy. She paused and inhaled the hot dry air. Until she felt an intense jolt of pain in her lower abdomen. She abruptly doubled over in tears, Rose looked down at her in complete shock. “No No No, please not now!” Sha Nae Nae pleaded to herself. Her eyes filled with tears of desperation and regret. “Rose, get the others, I'm having a baby.”



Chapter 3: Peace is Made

The first rain crept over the island as Sha Nae Nae lay panting. It was dark; most of the others were asleep by now. Dante and Chris had wandered off hours ago, and weren't aware of the severity of the situation back at camp. The air was dense and heavy with anticipation. “Rose! Help me! This don't feel normal!” Sha Nae Nae pleaded weakly. “I faint at the sight of blood, I, I, I,” her hands shook nervously while the blood drained from her pale cheeks; she turned an inhuman grey. Her normally warm complexion turned as cold as the rain impounding on the sand. She abruptly fell over, face down in the wet mud-like sand. Sha Nae Nae was alone.

 The rain became prominently stronger, and with one final push, Sha nae nae finally felt relief.

Her vision was blurry, yet she became aware of the puddle of blood around her. Slowly, she sat up in disbelief, silence surrounding her entirely. She picked up a tiny lifeless being from beneath her lap. A tear rolled gently down her rigid cheek, for she knew that nothing in the world could be this rotten again. “Hello? Anyone?” Sha Nae Nae yelled with weakness in her voice. “Hello?”  ***  In the deep thicket, voices echoed against the large trunks of surrounding trees. A man emerged; Dante, behind him, followed a shrunken figure, pasty and malnourished.

 “Dante, man, slow down! I can't keep up, I'm out of insulin. I'm gonna die.” Chris looked up at Dante with helpless eyes. “Just leave me; I can barely walk. Go help the others, be a man!”

 “Chris, I-”

 “Go,” Chris commanded, holding back bitter tears of remorse.  Dante stumbled through the vines and bushes- the darkness made it nearly impossible to see a few feet in front of him. He heard loud cries, and ran forward towards the noise, leaving Chris alone in the darkness. Dante could make out a dark figure, sulking under a nearby tree.

 It was Sha Nae Nae. She was cradling a petite doll-like infant. Dante attempted to help and ran towards the shelter.

 “Edith! Get up, Chris is dead. Sha Nae Nae gave birth to a baby, and it isn't breathing! Not to mention, Rose is passed out on the sand. How can you just sleep?” He nudged her peaceful body, yet she didn't move. “Edith?” he questioned quietly. Dante slowly grabbed her wrist and placed his thumb carefully, in search of a pulse; there was none. Tears streamed down his face, his frustration elevated to an extreme.

 He speedily removed himself from the shelter and darted through the rain towards Sha Nae Nae. “Are you okay?” Dante managed to ask calmly.

 “No, I'm not. How are the others?” Sha Nae Nae choked through tears.

 “There are no others. It's you, me, and Rose.”

 “I'm scared,” Sha Nae Nae cried. “Light a fire.”

 “In this rain, it's hopeless-” the beating of rain became stronger atop the palms. It was so loud Dante had to cover his ears. It was so loud, that it couldn't possibly be rain. He managed to look up, only to see a bright light shining back in his direction. A PA sounded and it was evident that a rescue helicopter had finally come. “We're safe! We're safe!” Dante cheered and ventured to wake rose.

Two men dressed in blue jumpsuits marked rescue wrapped a warm wool blanket around Dante, as rose and Sha Nae Nae were loaded onto stretchers.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> “How did you find us? There was no fire, nothing” Dante asked.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> “We've been scoping the area for weeks. Tonight with all the lightening I suppose we saw a faint reflection, possible from a mirror or some small object,” The man replied in a strong accent.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> Dante looked over, and saw the small mirror from the day of the crash laying on the shore, just above the crashing waves. He looked back at Sha Nae Nae; only it was different, her body was cold and not moving. The man with the accent was pulling a sheet over her; Rose was awake and responsive, watching the whole event in horror.

The helicopter lifted off, leaving the island that imprisoned the campers for so long lifeless. The last twenty four hours were hell, people were dropping like flies. The relationships and bonds were ripped apart, lives destroyed. Dante couldn't help but hold Rose in his arms. They cried, and imagined how perfect life could have been without the accident. Staring into the darkness ahead, they wondered, why was the world such a cruel place?