as unsinkable as i can be // the wilds

chapter eleven.

"GUYS! LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!"
    Rachel's voice carried all through camp and around the bend, where Toni and I were laying up against each other in the sand.
    "We should go," I told her, pressing my face into her chest. "But I don't want to."
    "Me neither," she groaned, playing with my hair. "But knowing Rachel, she probably found something worth seeing."
    We both reluctantly got dressed, laughing at the prints we made in the sand, and began making our way back to camp.
    "Where have you been?" Martha hissed at Toni, who kept a straight face and played dumb. She knew I didn't want anyone else to know; not now, at least.
    "I told you, we were going to wash off."
    "I don't think washing off takes an hour, but okay..." She gave a little wink and a smile, but Toni just smiled and shrugged, going to sit next to her instead of me. She gave me an apologetic look as I sat next to Leah, but I waved it off, trying to tell her with my eyes that I understood, and it was okay.
    "We found a cave," Dot announced, smiling at Shelby, who had gone with her to scope out possible places for us to sleep. The rainstorm had knocked us up pretty badly, and we didn't want anything like that happening to us again.
    "It'll be great! No worries about rain storms or anything of the such! Now, we can move in later, after we figure out what it is that Leah, Rachel, and Nora found," Shelby explained, and nodded at Leah, as if handing the speaking privileges off to her.
    "What does this thing even do?" Toni asked, staring at the orange and black box with the words DO NOT OPEN imprinted on the side. According to Leah, it was in the plane when they found it, and it took them almost an hour to actually get it unstuck. She seemed exhausted, and I wasn't shocked when she later told me that Rachel hadn't given her one single second to catch her breath. I even overheard her whispering to Fatin that she had almost killed Leah out there, grabbing her ankle underwater when she needed air and not letting her go.
    "We need to open it," Leah said. "It's the only way we'll find out what's inside. Besides, there's probably a recording or something inside of what really happened to us during the crash."
    "Don't we already know what happened though?" Nora asked quietly, fingering the pages of her journal.
    "I mean, do we really, though?" Leah looked around the group. "Can anyone tell me the full account of what really happened to us out there?" There was silence. Leah nodded, her point proven, before laughing a little to herself. "Besides, the DO NOT OPEN is so big, it's almost like it's wanting us to open it. Like it's... being ironic or something."
    "What do you guys not understand about DO NOT OPEN!" Rachel said harshly, cutting Leah off before she could say anything else. "We aren't opening it."
    "Dang, girl, chill out," I heard Toni snap under her breath.
    "It's the only way we'll figure out what is inside of it!" Leah argued, shaking her head. Dot took the box in her hands and used a flashlight to look inside of the tiny holes on top.
    "What happens when we open it and break a perfectly normal... what's it called?"
    "It's called a beacon, I think. It's a nautical term, meaning that it sends out our exact location-"
    "Exactly! We could ruin our chances of ever being rescued!" Rachel exclaimed, cutting her sister off without even thinking twice about it.
    "Guys, there's a bulb inside, but it's out," Dot reported.
    "Okay, so we can assume it's broken?" Leah asked Nora, who just shrugged.
    "I mean-"
    "Okay, if one more person suggests opening it, I swear to God-"
    "Well, Dorthy, what do you think?" Fatin asked, and all eyes turned to Dot. She seemed nervous and conflicted, not sure what to do.
    "Y'all, a decision on this should not be forced onto one person," Shelby spoke up. "Not saying that you aren't capable, Dottie, but I think we should take a vote instead, so that we all have a say. It'll take the pressure off of one person."
    In the end, everyone but Rachel and Nora voted on opening it. Dot unscrewed the lid, and inside was a bunch of wire boards. Dot picked one up, inspecting it and then the grooves inside of the box. When she slid the board into the slot, the piece fitting like a puzzle, there was a loud beeping noise, and everyone's breath caught in their throats.
    "D-does that mean it's working?" I asked quietly, speaking aloud the question that everyone was thinking.
    "I-I mean I don't know for certain, but we can assume yes," Nora said, hugging herself and smiling a little. There was a large sigh of relief.
    "Yeah, we're going home!" Toni exclaimed, tugging on Martha's arm and pulling her close. She made eye contact with me across the circle, and I smiled. She returned the smile, leaning her head on Martha's shoulder, and biting her lip. Everyone started talking at once, splitting off into groups and starting to walk away, but Dot's face gave it all away.
    "What is it, Dot?" I asked, trying to see what was in her hand, my attention leaving Toni. Everyone stopped when they heard my voice, turning to see what Dot's answer was. She held a metal box a bit bigger than her hand up to show us. There was a play button, a stop button, and fast forward buttons on one of the sides.
    "I-I think it's the recording of what happened to us."