as unsinkable as i can be // the wilds

chapter twenty-one.

"FATIN! FAAAAATIN! FATIN!"
    "Leah, we have to go back-"
    "No! We have to find her!"
    "The sun is going to go down soon, and if you want us to be walking around in the middle of the woods at night-" Dot was cut off by a harsh glare from Leah. "Okay, we'll keep looking."
    I pushed my hair off the back of my neck, wiping sweat from my forehead and tying my hair up on the top of my head.
    Toni and I walked side by side in silence, her face way less red than mine due to her athletic ability. The trees were looming over us, and as the sun started to set, they seemed to grow closer and closer to the top of my head. My breathing quickened, and I could tell Toni noticed it, cause she yelled out "Hey guys, I need a break!" I gave her a small smile of appreciation, not able to say anything.
    "You okay?" she whispered, squatting next to me. I nodded, my voice coming out in breathy gasps as I leaned my head down beneath my heart, wondering how after everything, my middle school PE teacher's words stuck in my head.
    "It's okay, we can keep going," I said quietly, giving her a look, trying to tell her please don't stop, please let's keep going. She nodded, pulling me up and shaking her head at the other girls, telling them to keep going. They all nodded, turned around, and we continued.
    I didn't know where Fatin was, and I truly had no guesses, either. She didn't seem like the type of person to run away from her problems, and so at that point, the best guess I had was that she ran away at night and then slept somewhere because she didn't want to be walking in the woods in the dark.
    Toni smiled at me, leaving me a little breathing room. I studied her face, trying to give my brain something else to focus on, smiling as I noticed her abs pushed up against her tank top, or the knots that formed in her dark ponytail, or the way she clenched her fists when she fell off balance for a second.
    "Can we split up, please? It'll make it easier for us to cover more ground before the sun sets," Shelby called back to the rest of us. "I know that it is not ideal for us to go off in groups, but I think that it would work best at this point."
    "Guys, I think she's right," Dot agreed, and Shelby smiled. "It's the only way we'll be able to find her in time. I'll take Rachel and Martha, Leah can go with Nora, and then Shelby, Raelynn, and Toni can go together."
    "Can't Marty go with Rae and I?" Toni whined, a scowl settling on her face as she glared at Shelby. "I can't stand the thought of staring at that blonde ponytail for any longer than I have to. I'm pretty sure it thinks it's better than me."
    "Nope, too late! No time for bickering, time for saving," Rachel called out, grabbing Martha by the hand and pulling her in the opposite direction. "We'll go this way!"
    "We've got forward!" Leah called, beginning to walk forward. Shelby huffed, and Toni started following after her in the other direction. Nora seemed to hang back, and when I noticed that Toni just kept walking, I hung back as well.
    "How are you?" she asked quietly, and I noticed that Leah didn't stop to see if Nora was following, either.
    "Good," I responded, laughing a little. "As good as you can be when you're stranded on an island." Nora laughed a little, too, and there was a small silence between us. But it was a comfortable silence, like we didn't have anything to say, but there wasn't anything we needed to say.
    "How's Toni?"
    "Oh, she's good. She's calmed down since the other day. I'm sorry if she hurt you."
    "No, no, it's okay. I'm okay."
    "Good, good."
    "Okay, well, I should catch up with Leah," Nora said, and she waved a little and began her awkward little run after Leah. I smiled after her and began going after Shelby and Toni.
    Nora and I were continually getting closer, and I could tell the way she seemed to gravitate towards a few of the girls that the others were getting closer to her as well. Her and Rachel were getting closer with each of the passing days, and it was incredible, seeing their relationship grow and evolve. What happened at their home, I wasn't sure, but through the rocky moments, I could see their friendship and relationship blossom, despite Rachel's harshness and Nora's quietness.
    The trees seemed to bend away from me, and somehow, there was almost a... pathway that was leading me through the trees, like at a national park or something. It bothered me, how that was, but I couldn't figure out if it was natural or man-made.
    "You're free here, Shelby! You can do anything you want here! Whatever bullshit life you left behind is away from here, five thousand miles away! You're FREE!"
    I started to speed up, afraid that Toni was losing it from something Shelby said, and when I came up to them in a clearing under a lychee tree, there they were.
    Kissing.

—-

SO SORRY IT HAS BEEN SO LONG!!
But I'm back! Please enjoy!
xoxo,
Em :)