Alexandria+B

**Survival of the Fittest** By: Alexandria Bau For all you people who like weird stories! Enjoy!  Chapter One: Run

The waves wash over the delicate, ivory sand and lick at the tips of my blood-crusted toes. The sun was melting into the shimmering ocean and tainting the world with hues as bright and petrifying as the fire that had claimed so many of us. The fading light had, now, a single, all-consuming meaning: the fight for survival and sanity.

We had only been away from home for a mere five hours and already misfortune engulfed us in its merciless flames. In the distance, bits of rubble and vacant bodies lay adrift among the waves, still smoldering with flames and ash. We had only just swam out of that debris approximately an hour ago in a bloody, panicky wreck.

The four of us sat as statues on the desolated beach, still recovering from the chaos we had been thrown into by fate. Fire, blood curdling screams, the realization of fate hurtling towards us. These images replayed themselves over and over in my mind like a graphic movie, or a vivid nightmare.

//Why?//

A trip that would likely have been the best week of our high school lives; gone in an instant. Resting my weary head on my knees with a sigh, I reluctantly closed my eyes. All at once, images swirled themselves through my mind. Our classmates being tossed like rag dolls before us; reaching out desperate hands; fire consuming them.

My eyes shot open. Beside me, the others were breathing deeply, choking back sobs. //Why couldn’t we save them?// Numbing guilt tugged at my body as chills swept through me.

Jonah chewed at the whistle nervously. Somehow I had a sinking feeling this small, yet annoying plastic object we had decided to save would be no help to us here.

The chills worsened as the once sweet ocean breeze struck my neck like a icy knife. Shannon seemed to twitch uneasily with the waves, hugging her knees tight to her chest for comfort. The silence of this island seemed, somehow, unholy. Mind numbing shrills from exotic birds or howl of a wild animal would pierce through our chilled bodies.

After a long while of baking in the last shreds of sunlight, Chelsea was the one to break the deadly silence. “Shelter. We need to build one. //Fast!//” Chelsea bore into our eyes with an intensity that was, presumably, encouraging us to undertake the responsibility of survival. She deliberated our plans of action as she stood and shook the sand off her legs as best she could. Ideas of finding a cave for shelter were tossed around repeatedly in our group. Possibly even build something out of the raft, but that didn’t seem possible. After a long stretch of marching around the beach and bickering amongst ourselves, we realized that nothing would develop from solely chatting about what should or shouldn’t be done as the sun threatened to escape from the bloody sky completely.

With this revelation, Jonah reluctantly trudged back to the raft that stomached our rescued supplies and dragged it back towards us. We took a last, mournful glance at the wreckage, and set off, half heartedly, towards the wall of trees that bordered the beach on every direction. Our best guess, the direction we were currently headed was likely west. Or maybe east. Or perhaps just the direction of the large, steaming volcano that sat looming over us in the distance.

As a united group, we scoured every ominous nook and cranny of the vine sheathed jungle for dry logs useful for fire, large, overgrown ferns for shelter, or at least something to eat. Creeping as silently as humanly possible while dragging an impossibly noisy raft was, undoubtedly, a challenge. Though, the creaking of the forest, howls of distant savage animals, and the echoed roaring of the enormous, thundering waves of the ocean did help camouflage our foreign disturbance.

Somehow, without panic, we realized our fatal flaw. We had scampered into a dense forest, not know our direction, absentmindedly picking through the leaves carpeting the ground. No results could be obtained, in an almost pitch black landscape.

Sticking closer to one another, we scrounged for the tarp within the raft, tied it desperately to the nearest clump of trees and examined the ground for hidden burrows or dangers. Roots and branches layered the floor beneath them.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Annoyed, tired and desperate for sleep, the raft would have to substitute for a bed. Due to exhaustion, dreamless sleeps fell upon each of us, as we huddled for warmth. Yet warmth was not the only reason for our close huddle. The need for comfort enveloped us in a kind of irrational desire that seemed to strike our sanity with every musical note the night sung throughout our minds. The eerie songs whispered through the wind that caressed our chilled, motionless bodies.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Throughout the long, never-ending darkness of night, I lay awake, sensing Chelsea or Shannon twitch restlessly in their sleep next to me. The loneliness and deserted atmosphere seeped into my body like a poison. Unmistakably the unwavering, heart sickening aspiration engulfed the minds and bodies of the other three who rested soundlessly beside me. The ferocious urge to cry and scream tugged at the tip of my tongue as if my life depended on it.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Yet not a sound left my cracked lips. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">* * *

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sunlight grasped for the lush forest floor as morning dawned on us. Birds sang their morning duets as, unwillingly, my eyes pried themselves open. Turning my head slightly, Chelsea continued to sleep on my right while Shannon lay gazing at the rays of delicate light that showered through the moss embellished tarp, illuminating our bodies in an alien green. Something seemed to be missing, but nothing immediately came to mind.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Suddenly, it hit me and my stomach plunged into a bottomless pit as the realization settled regrettably into my mind.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jonah was gone.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Immediately, the worst ideas shot rapidly through my mind, one after another. Thoughts, such as, Jonah being carried off by a strange, ungodly creature and torn to unrecognizable pieces; perhaps he had decided to take a leisurely walk, searching for useful objects to get us off this god forsaken island, but then being carried off by savage, wild beasts or maybe falling into a large foreboding hole with long, stake-like spears that would pierce his body with astounding ease.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I shook off these grotesque, nightmarish thoughts and gently tapped Shannon on the shoulder. Jumping slightly from the initial shock of my touch, she turned her mud-covered head towards me as I questioned nervously, “Where’s Jonah? Did he say he was going somewhere?”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The worry that filled her eyes nearly made me go insane. She didn’t know either. I could tell before she even said the words, “I didn’t even know he was gone!”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Not even a second after those words were spoken, we woke Chelsea, to her dismay, and practically ricochetted from the canary adorned raft in a whirlwind of panic, practically screeching Jonah’s name. Yet within moments of our urgent howling, every glimmer of hope seemed to be utterly eradicated.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">A bone rattling, metal-scraping crash followed by a blood curdling bellow rang and echoed deep into the forest, leaving a violent shiver to crawl through our skin. No wild animal could ever make that petrifying pitch, leaving the owner to that scream to be one person.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">At that thought, my legs received minds of their own and took off in a furious sprint. Shannon and Chelsea reflected my reaction as we raced towards the sounds of frantic sobs. Branches whipped my face and left behind multiple, bloody grazes as I bolted past trees and hurdled over boulders.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">As the three of us lunged for the edge of the beach, we identified the cause of the distress. Jonah was sat propped against a palm tree yelping with tears rolling down his ghostly white face. The purpose of the deafening screeches that escaped his lips belonged to the single fact that at this exact moment, a small, but deadly segment of metal was implanted within his left leg, separating his knee from his calf. Liquid seeped onto the sand, dying it red.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Gagging, I helplessly fell to my knees. Blood was never a good companion with my weak stomach. I stifled the urge to scream right along with him, trying not to cause anymore panic than there already was.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“Oh God-” Chelsea whispered shakily. Her quivering hand gently brushed at her lips in horror.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Shannon’s eyes seemed to bug out of her head as she stood as an unmoving tree. “F-first aid kit. Back in r-raft. I-umm-” her head whirled around the beach, refusing to make eye contact with the unsightly mess. Abruptly, Shannon panted back into the dense green trees without another word uttered.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“Jonah, are you-. What happened?” Chelsea begged as she slowly approached him. Jonah hyperventilated as he attempted to calm himself enough to speak even a simple word.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“I-I accidentally bumped my head on the tree when //you// three woke me,” Jonah choked out. His strength seemed to be coming back as he grasped the sand in his hands. “Then, out of nowhere, the plane fragment slid from a branch and,” he paused for only a moment, “I didn’t move out of the way fast enough!” Now the tears were streaming freely down his face again, obviously realizing his fate of the likelihood in having to quit the rugby team.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Hesitantly, I examined the damage further. As I looked closer, the scrap metal imbedded in his leg had small words inscribed on it. But it was not the pixilated computer created script. It was scrawled in a thick sharpie and had simple, yet mind boggling, words in one, neat row.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">//Swim. Run. Fight.// **//Survive.//**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Chapter Two: Fight

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Continuing to examine the bloody mess, the ominous rain clouds, now visible over the billowing volcano, blankets the sun.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> At least it’s not so unbearably hot anymore, I thought to myself. I longed for any diversion to clear my disquieted mind. The bewilderment of the disaster that had already been brought upon us continued to linger in my wandering mind.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">//Swim. Run. Fight.// **//Survive//**//.//

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">What did it mean? Was it a guideline to what was happening to us now? No, that was impossible.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">A sudden recollection hit me. Simply put, a book recently written for crazed teenagers had been published. Something about four spoiled brats being ship wrecked on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, after stupidly commandeering one of the parents’ yacht, and how they, unfortunately, survived.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Some kid with a sharpie must have loved the book and written it on the inside of the plane.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Right? It was just a weird coincidence that it was unscratched and currently imbedded in Jonah’s leg facing me. Still oddly coincidental, especially considering our current state.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Nobody else seemed to notice this small detail, so I let drift away from my mind until it became a small, insignificant detail in the air.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> As I come back to reality, my eyes shift nervously to my surroundings, and suddenly become glued to the awful sight before me. Feeling ashamed for staring, I remove my gaze, yet find myself fixated on the mayhem. It was as if my eyes were attached to a bungee cord and were bouncing involuntarily towards the bloody leg.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">By this point, Jonah seemed to become a limp body in the sand which was dyed a terrifying scarlet shade. The nub of his leg still left was tied in a beige bandage with the scarlet blood seeping through as easily as water. He was breathing deeply, calming his rattled nerves.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Shannon was also panting from her run back to the raft, and paler than ever before the dark emerald of the dense, leafy trees. Her body shivers slightly with the ocean breeze.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Bluish and bloody, the calf and foot of Jonah’s leg lay linked to the metal scrap, the blood drying. Shannon was staring in utter horror. We all were. It was as if we were staring at a scene straight from a horror movie. The blood. It was the red liquid that pooled in clumps of copper coloured mud that churned our stomaches as if the waves of the untamed ocean itself dwell within us.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Chelsea fidgeted with the first aid kit, crouching in the sand beside Jonah, just as pale as any of us. Somehow, though, she seemed to be the most stable of the three of our hysterical-looking herd. Her eyes were focused, only slightly glazed, as she concentrated on the medical kit. Very unlike the rest of the herd whose eyes wandered every which way; unfortunately, in Jonah’s regrettable situation, sorrowful eyes that were heavily stricken with pure agony.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The four of us crouched in the sand, avoiding the blood. Things couldn’t get any worse than they already were.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The plane with all our grads and a few teachers: dead. The trip to beautifully sunny Cuba: canceled. Hope of getting off this island: dwindling. Chances of any, if not all of us, surviving: rapidly decreasing.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Whats more disheartening is the actuality that none of the ‘lifesaving’ items we recovered from the wreck would be any help to us. The medical kit was now running low on supplies, wasted by our inexperience. The excessively annoying whistle would never be heard by passing ships unless those aboard had the hearing of dogs.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Our short length of rope was currently being used to keep the tarp up, merely keeping us slightly drier. The only object, saved from the wreck, that could have held possible usage was the knife. Unfortunately, that one possibly lifesaving object was severely dull and rusting.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">With the sun glaring down and my skin beginning to barbecue, I couldn’t remain on the sweltering ivory sand a moment longer. Rising swiftly, I shook the sand off my legs. Eyes shifted towards me, questioning my swift actions.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I began wandering the beach aimlessly, gathering pebbles and sticks to clear my muddled mind. Not a word had been uttered for nearly half an hour. Only the ocean and birds were to be heard.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Once more, my eyes swept over the leg in anguish. There had to be a way to get him out of the sun without dragging him or having to lift him; we were exhausted and had no strength left to carry a rugby buff. Undeniably, we were all on the verge of heat stroke.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The answer to this dilemma was obvious.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“I’ll be back in a few minutes!” Breaking the awkward silence, I started toward the trees without a second thought. The idea scorched through me like wildfire, willing my body to run for the little hope left.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“Alex! Wait! Don’t go in there alone!” Shannon yelped at me as I continued to run. “Haven’t you read Swim...” Her words were cut off as I emerged into the thick underbrush.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Shannon and Chelsea protested and shouted after me, yet I ignored their pleading and questionings, continuing to sprint away.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The raft. The answer was as simple as that.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Gleaming down at the large, canary yellow raft as if it were the most amazing Christmas present I had ever received, and without further delay, I willed my body to push through the pain that antagonized my muscles and lugged it back towards the beach by the rope.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The run to the camp had been at least ten minutes, if not more, but now with muscles seizing from dehydration and the sun higher in the sky, it felt as if the trudge back would never end.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Distractions. I need distractions. Wincing, another sliver found its way into my blistered feet. Convinced I wasn’t far from safety, I let my guard down and began, once more, daydreaming.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">TV. Music. My car. Food. Water... Food. Those wonders that I so sorely missed on this unknown place. My mind continued on in its dreams and desires. Warm bed. Hot showers. Princess the cat meowing.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">No, not meowing. Howling. At the dim edges of my subconscious, the yowling of untamed beasts echoed through my mind, the daydreams blurring and dissolving as my conscious screamed for attention. I willingly conceded to the red warning signs that blared through me.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Pushing farther and faster, my body burned with adrenaline.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">It was behind, no above. //Where?//

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">//Crash!//

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Yelping, I leaped backwards and slipped straight into the raft. Slowly, I lifted my head to remark upon the black blur that fell, as if lightening, before me.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Gasping I took in the sight before me. It was... it was....

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“Monkey!”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Like a small child, I leaped up from the raft and crouched before it, arms held open, eagerly welcoming the furry little chimp.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The baby chimp backed away, cautiously. Instincts told him danger. But curiosity took control and he toddled straight into my arms.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">It felt as if hope had just been gift wrapped into a furry creature nearly the size of a dog. The chimp picked at her hair and chirped his little monkey chirps.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Still petting the monkey, I barely realized the mass of chimpanzees swarm around me, each unique in their own monkey ways. Some were nearly midnight black coloured while others were painted lighter browns.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">My jaw dropped in awe as nearly fifty monkeys surrounded me curiously, picking at my hair and clothes, all the while hooting and hollering in amazement. Five minutes passed with monkeys surrounding me curiously, me giggling uncontrollably and the goal I had had just moments ago, gone.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The monkeys poked me and hooted louder as I went still and rolled my eyes in annoyance with myself. Oops. Sorta forgot about everyone else didn’t I, I thought distractedly, my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Sighing, I forged ahead into the jungle, monkeys leaping excitedly all around. Not even five steps in, the monkeys climbed into the raft, weighing it down until dragging the plastic thing became an impossible task.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">But then I noticed something amusing. A few of the monkeys were helping me pull the raft, exactly the way I had been pulling it.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Then it hit me.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">A few of the monkeys insisted on pelting my head with small pebbles and berries they found amidst the leaves; but then an amazing idea came to me. Manipulative, yes, but brilliant for someone on the edge of heat stroke.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I lifted the raft over my head, both a shield from the abuse and to see what the monkeys would do now. Playfully, the monkeys leaped around the raft and mimicked my movements, although in a more clumsy fashion. It was heavy, but with so many of them now lifting the raft high above their heads, bouncing it to an unheard beat.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The rest would be easy. Take the rope that attached the tarp to the raft and lead them to the beach as if they were dogs on a leash.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">With ease, it took a mere five minutes to finally reach the beach. The mass of monkeys and I were welcomed with wide eyes and gaping mouths as the horde paraded down the beach, bouncing the raft up and down. Amazement and relief was painted brightly on their faces as if they had foreshadowed my death.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“Umm. We brought you a raft we could drag you around in.” I grinned pridefully. The sight of the blood didn’t phase me anymore with the monkeys around.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Shannon began to giggle as a couple monkeys began to bounce their way toward her and Chelsea looked just as delighted. Even Jonah seemed to perk up as monkeys began to surround him.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">It was as if we were all small children with new toys. Live, furry, screeching toys.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Curiosity brewed deep within the monkeys as they scoured their new discoveries. One of them began to poke the blue foot the was once Jonah’s. Now it became a mere plaything for a young monkey who began chasing the other young ones wildly. Certainly not a sight you see everyday.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">As the monkeys began leaping around us and one another, they became louder and louder. The bellowing each monkey made began to rattle the bones in our body, but it felt better than lying miserably on the beach with absolutely no hope.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Why had we never heard them before? We had heard birds and other small creatures, but why not them?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">It all became clear as a low, ferocious bellow swept through each one of them. All became still and silent. Not a second later and the monkeys began frantically climbing over one another to get to the trees on the far end, wailing in terror.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Not a trace of monkeys the were left in sight in less than a minute, leaving the four of us vulnerably in the center of the beach, with anything watching. Chills swept into my veins as I began to quiver. Whatever this beast was, we could never outrun it.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">A single word popped into my mind as reality set in.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">//Fight.//

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Chapter 3: Survive

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Desperately, my eyes scan in every direction of the beach. Lightening crackled overhead, the four of us tensing, waiting for the boom of thunder. As expected, the rolling thunder shook our bones not a second later. Down pouring rain came only a few seconds later.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">As the rain soaks through our burnt, muddy skin, the four of us back, or in Jonah’s case, drag, ourselves away from the direction of the ominous growling. Shannon stumbled slightly over a large, thick stick and immediately swept it into her hands. She held it steady, ready for whatever hunted us from the dense brush.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Seeing how the rest of us were now completely vulnerable from the snarling beast, Chelsea and I scampered across the beach to where Shannon stood, picking up other stick that lay strewn around the, now muddy, beach.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jonah scooted himself up onto the raft that was quickly filling with water, completely helpless and almost useless in this situation. Nerve dug itself deeper into him as he began to chew desperately on the whistle around his neck.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Fear enveloped us all as a dark shadow stalked its way out of the dark underbrush. Deep, piercing gold eyes scrutinized us, the sharp, white teeth taunting us. The strong, savage muscles on the beast vibrated with each powerful stride. Snarling through its teeth, the panthers tail twitches, anticipating slicing its iron claws through our soft stomaches.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">We stared back, wide eyed, a cold sweat combined with rain dripping like a waterfall off our stone bodies. The panther prowled closer to us, cautious of our makeshift weapons. Slowly, I twisted my head towards the others. Each one of them were a ghost pale, lightning bouncing off the skin, thunder shaking their already quivering bodies, water seeping into the hair and clothes that clung to their bodies.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Jonah, however, was the palest of all. A combination of fear and a major amount of blood loss. He wouldn’t last long if the giant, blood thirsty cat decided to pounce and slash at his throat. My mind swarmed with ideas of how we could survive the inevitable at all. It didn’t seem promising.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Every scenario I envisioned seemed to end in at least one, if not all of us, dead.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Clenching my fists and squeezing my eyes shut tight, I began to deliberate what I should do. There were two options that seemed to be okay as I thought long and hard as the immense black cat paced the beach before us, deep bellows rippling through its lips.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">There were two options that would keep at least three of the four of us alive. One, the three of us girls ditch Jonah and book it through the forest as the monkeys had or two...

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I bit and chewed at my lips until I felt a warm, metallic tasting liquid began to slip into my mouth. The realization of what I was about to do was absolutely mind chilling.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Solemnly, I turned to Shannon and Chelsea, their eyes still stuck with horror. The panther continued to snarl at us, eyes full of hunger.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Stuttering as I spoke, I gestured towards the forest. “Get Jonah and yourselves out of here.” I winced as the next few words escaped my lips. “I’ll distract the panther.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">They gasped as I began to step forward. I wouldn’t say I wasn’t terrified out of my mind, yet, somehow, it seemed better that I should be the one to distract the panther and that they should survive. I would be dead within the next few days without food anyway. Being a type one diabetic sort of had its downfalls I guess.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Squaring my shoulders with the blunt object in my pale, quivering hands.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“No. You can’t sacrifice yourself for us!” Shannon whispers in a harsh, low tone through her teeth. “We should fight tog-”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I cut her off roughly as soon as she began. “I’ll be dead within a few days anyway! I’m not going to survive without enough food!” Calming myself with a few, long deep breaths, I spoke the last sentence slow, turning towards them, expressionless. There was no need to show my fear. “I can at least give you a chance to survive.”

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">We stared for a few more seconds, our eyes exchanging our last goodbyes rather than use meaningless words.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">While the growling got more impatient, more savage, closer to our bodies, my body grew tenser. My back was to the beast. With one last wordless nod to the others, I began cautiously turning to face the panther.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I glowered back at the panther, not willing to show it the fear that surged through my veins.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">“Go. Now!” I yelled, pure terror on the edge of my desperate words. I surged forward, adrenaline now replacing the fear. The black panther dissolved into a blur as it did the same.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Thankfully, I heard the scrambling and dragging of the raft being tugged through the trees and bushes. At least they were going to have a chance to live, I thought as I raised the stick over my head, ready for an attack.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Growling, the panther lunged, his powerful legs launching him into the air. He was nearly on top of me. With adrenaline pumping through my veins now, I swung the stick down as hard and swiftly as my arms could.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">A definite //thud!// was heard as I felt the vibration of wood hitting the furry body. Smirking with triumph, I continued on a few meters on the beach, away from the snarling, hissing beast. He was angry. The fire, lingering deep in his eyes alone made it obvious that he intended the next strike he took would have my innards flowing cleanly onto the beach.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Adrenaline now vigorously coursing through my entire body, I drop the stick with one last idea to outlive a few extra minutes. That final, desperate idea: run like the bloody wind and hope to dodge at least a few deadly swipes at my throat.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">My legs pumped and pushed through the thick sand, just at the edge of the forest. I didn’t even dare look back. Yet, I didn’t need to look back as the heart stopping growls whispered at the nape of my neck. The light, nearly soundless claws, scraping against the sand with every deep stride swept down my spine, sending my legs flying faster, more furious.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Blood thirsty. Irritated to no end. This panther would not give up this annoying meal. Unfortunately for him, I was not willing to give up my life to become a banquet so easily. Pounding my legs harder yet into the ground, I pushed my right leg deep into the sand, twisting the rest of my body, and headed straight to the forest.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Figuring that making a few sharp turns would possibly make it easier to lose him, I did so, clutching the vines and branches to help me swerve this way and that, leaping over downed trees and throwing lose branches behind myself. Somehow, though, it didn’t seem to be of much use to my attempt of living. The snarling only became more infuriated and even closer to my neck.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Suddenly, the forest ended, only to become a desert like place with deep trenches carved obscurely around the entirety of the landscape. With my legs still pounding and teeth at my ankles, stopping in a matter of seconds was one thing that was likely not going to happen. What happened next was the result of the fear and adrenaline combining that made my body become nearly weightless and the world become black as a starless, moonless night.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Falling into a seemingly bottomless trench could have been made better, in my opinion, if the first thing that wanted my blood spilt hadn’t fallen in afterwards. I guess I would describe it as slightly more painful than the insulin injections I take everyday, and more like having five sharp knives come slicing down your body as you spun down a dark hole, sometimes staring up to the dark, cloudy skies, but then back down at you impending doom.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The rain was somewhat soothing. So was the fur that occasionally took the place of claws. If only the warm, comforting fur didn’t belong to the thing that wanted to kill me; we could’ve been friends.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Strange how these were the thoughts that came to me in my last moments of consciousness. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> * * *

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">It had been 217 days. The days were long, but not unbearable. Far from it really. It was nice being with my good ol’ friends again. My body wasn’t aching, for one thing. For another, we were no longer on the island. At least, three of us weren’t.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">I had been the first to get out of that god forsaken place; the beautiful, practically glowing people saving me, providing food, drinks, clothing and shelter for me. It was great not having to live in fear anymore. Too bad there was one condition to living in this sanctuary.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Chelsea joined me a few weeks later. Her story was that she accidentally slept to close to the fire one night and poof! Here she is, next to the rest of us who weren’t lucky to survive, and watching the final two on the island.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">It was almost like watching a reality TV show. Exciting, entertaining, and painfully sad when things don’t work out.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Shannon, only weeks before the Navy found our crash site, committed suicide by knowingly consuming large amounts of poisonous berries after having to listen to Jonah sing song after mindless song on the whistle that each and every one of us in heaven wished would burn in hell.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">With Jonah the last one on the island, the entertainment got that much more exciting. For three weeks, the questions lay unanswered; Will Jonah find a way to survive this week? How long can he go without antibiotics on that leg that is now turning green?

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Finally, with Jonah at the edge of being greeted by the bony hand of death, a Navy ship happens to have one quick glance at this secluded island and sees a boy with only one leg and makeshift crutches between his withered arms, loping around the beach aimlessly and dazed by the months of merciless heat.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">It was good knowing that at least one of us had survived to tell our story, yet we still wished we could’ve survived with him.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">It was also somewhat boring now, in heaven, with nothing to watch from up here. The rest of us shipwrecked, plan crashed tragedy people from around the world now anticipated the next tragic disaster story we could come up with and see how many people could survive this time.