Three

1

Three of us. We were the only ones left, the only ones to make it to the island. Most died in the crash. Some drowned. Others were... taken.

We crawled to the shore and collapsed almost simultaneously. I coughed up water onto the sand.

"Where are we?" asked a boy who looked 16 or so, a couple years older than me. He had dark brown hair and eyes.

"An island," I replied.

"How can you be sarcastic at a time like this? Our plane crashed, we're the only ones left, and we're stranded."

"It could be worse," said the girl who looked a few years younger than me, around 11, with fiery red hair and bright green eyes.

Everyone on the plane other than the pilot and flight attendants were in middle or high school. We were the smartest kids from across the nation traveling across the world. We earned a scholarship for this to learn about and experience other cultures. We started in New York City, then would go on to Quebec, Oaxaca, London, Rome, Istanbul, Beijing, Delhi, Tel Aviv, Sao Paulo, Santa Cruz, Buenos Aires, Tanzania, Morocco, Egypt, Sydney, Auckland, and Cairns.

We were on a flight to London. I was looking forward to it; I loved British culture. We never made it though. We were flying over the Bermuda Triangle. Some kids were scared. The rest of us assured them it was just a myth. We were wrong.

"Have we crossed over into the Triangle yet?" the girl sitting next to me asked. She had been freaking out about it since we took off from Oaxaca. I reluctantly listened to all her different theories and explanations of it and I was tired of it.

"So what if we have? Plenty of planes have made it through. We're not going to crash," I said irritably.

"What about all of the other planes that inexplicably disappeared?"

"Other planes that have crashed outside of the Bermuda Triangle have never been found. You weren't worried about crashing on the way to Quebec."

"The likelihood of crashing here is much more likely."

"For the last time, it's just a myth. We are not-"

I was cut off by a loud creaking and groaning. The entire plane was trembling. The pilot's voice came over the speaker. "Please stay seated and buckle up. It will pass soon. Don't panic."

I looked out the window. The sky was as clear and blue as I could imagine. The girl next to me was almost hyperventilating.

"I told you. The weather is better than good, yet the plane is going crazy. It's the Triangle."

I didn't deny her this time. She couldn't be right though. Could she?

The shaking did stop soon. So did the rest of the plane. It stopped suddenly in midair. Screams filled the air as it dropped. I fumbled with the seatbelt and struggled to escape from its restraint. I finally got it undone and climbed over the seat into the aisle, grabbing onto the bottom of a seat. I held on waiting for the inevitable impact.

With a jolt, the plane landed in the water. More screaming came. It began to pool with water. I crawled towards the emergency exit and opened it, letting more water in. I swam out of the hunk of metal that was sinking fast. Kids followed my actions, but many were still strapped in. They were trapped.

I would have tried to save them, but my survival instincts kicked in. I swam to the surface and gasped for breath as soon as my head was above the water.

Others popped up and struggled to catch their breath. Only 20 out of the 80 kids made it out. We all slowly moved our limbs to stay afloat.

"Look!" someone yelled. They were pointing to a sliver of brown in the distance. It was land.

We all began to swim towards it. As it got closer, we could see that it was an island. We swam for a long time. My arms were burning. I looked behind me and saw that there were less people than before.

"Where... Did... They... Go?" I panted.

"They just... stopped swimming," answered a small blonde girl who seemed like she was in tears.

"I couldn't keep them up with me," an older guy said.

"We have to keep going," another guy said. We all began swimming again and we tried to keep a steady pace as best as we could.

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about what happened next. "How could it possibly get worse?" The boy said.

The redhead told him, "We're the smartest kids in the nation. We can figure out how to survive. The island has natural resources."

"We're in the Bermuda Triangle. We'll never get rescued."

"You believe in the Bermuda Triangle?" I asked.

"I do now. There's no other reason for the crash. And those... Whatever they were."

"Hopefully they won't attack the island," Red commented.

"Great," the boy said. "We're stuck on an island with no chance of rescue and things that want to take us and probably eat us."

I sighed. "She's right though. We have to make the best of things."

Red squinted up at the sky. "The sun will go down in a couple hours. We should make a fire."

"It doesn't matter. We're going to die here, why not make it sooner?" said the boy. I decided to call him Grumpy.

"Stop being pessimistic," I grumbled.

Red stood up. "I'll get the sticks."

"We shouldn't split up. I'll go with you." I got up and stared down at Grumpy. "I assume you're staying here. Since you don't care if you die."

He stood. "Whatever. I'll come."

"No, please stay here. Then maybe when we come back you'll be gone and we won't have to listen to your bad attitude."

Red giggled. Grumpy glared at me. "I'm coming."