Everyone for Themselves

Chapter 1

December 29, 1990

Charlotte's P.O.V:

This is sick. I'm sorry, but this is just sick.

I have GOT to tell you what happened today.

I arrived on a boat first thing this morning... At about 9:00am, I think... To this dump. It's not an island, I don't think, but it might as well be! I don't see any civilization around for miles! So anyway, when I arrived with my BFF, Ashley, there were like, 20 more kids, about 16 and 17 like us, waiting for us! Oh my gosh... There were like, 9 boys and 11 girls there! Soon, another boat started quickly advancing on ours, and me and Ashley frantically grabbed our one belonging they told us to bring, and leapt off the boat.

"Hi!" I immediately said to the waiting and irritated looking crowd of kids. "Umm... Where are we, exactly?"

"Dunno." one of the taller boys answered with a grunt.

"All we know is that this place is a DUMP!" one of the girls added disgustfully.

Ashley nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. The group of kids were starting to chat excitedly to each other, so me and Ashley turned around and started to have our own conversation.

"Where do you think we are?" Ashley whispered tensely. "Maybe on an island?"

"I don't know... It looks like one, and since we had to get here on a boat, I think it is!"

And later, I confirmed it was.

Three more boats had already stopped, emptied out the contents, and zoomed away. Now there were 3 more boys. I clutched my brooch that my mother had before she died, the one with the birds on it, in my sweaty palms and waited for the next boat to arrive. But it didn't. It didn't come.

"Maybe that's it!" I thought. "Maybe that's all the kids!"

And sure enough, I was right.

All the kids were talking energetically now to one another, some showing each other their belongings, and some standing on the edge of the group, looking frightened and tense. I couldn't help noticing this really pretty girl standing to the side of the crowd. She had pretty, curly, bouncy, blonde hair, about down to her lower back. And, oh my gosh, she had the PERFECT figure! Right away I envied her.

Suddenly, everyone stopped talking abruptly as we all heard a loud voice clear its throat. The whole dock fell silent. Everyone suddenly cleared out of the way to see a shaggy looking man with a small mustache and light brown hair down to his shoulders. I immediately realized that he must be the one that took us here.

"Hello! I am Trent Buckley," The man said, and his deep voice surprised me a bit. "I have some rather bad news for you all."

Everyone looked at each other hopefully, as if expecting to be kicked off the island. But the news wasn't that. No... It was SO much worse.

"Only one of you is going to make it out alive."

Oh my gosh! I almost fainted right there on the spot! Most of the others looked really faint too, and some were laughing nervously as if they thought this Trent guy was making a joke. Suddenly I had a terrible thought. Either me or Ashley was going to die! Or maybe even... Both of us! I almost screamed! This was so bad! I clutched the brooch even tighter in my hand and my eyes welled up with tears.

"Now that we got THAT out of the way, let's go find your cabins!" Trent said briskly, and started striding off the dock as if nothing had just happened!

Gripping my brooch in one hand, and Ashley's trembling hand in the other, we both started following him shakily. We were the second to last ones to get off the dock.

The last one, I couldn't help noticing, was the pretty, blonde haired girl. It took all my strength not to look back at her, because she was following so slowly and reluctantly that I thought she was going to fall behind.

Finally, I had the nerve to look back. She was about a quarter of a mile behind us now, and once she saw me looking at her, her amazing blue eyes widened.

"H- Hi!" I called back to her, and motioned for Ashley to stop with me so that we could wait for her.

She walked slowly up to us, her legs trembling. "H- Hi..." she said.

"What's your name?" I asked, trying to sound neutral.

"Serenity..." she mumbled.

"Oh! Hi! I'm Charlotte!" I smiled. "And this is Ashley!"

Ashley waved and smiled. "Hi!"

"Nice to meet you two, I guess...!" Serenity said, looking slightly more cheerful already. "Want to be friends here?"

"Yes!" Ashley and I both said at once, and with that, we all ran down the dock, hand in hand, to join the others.

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Trent's Comments: Wow. An alliance already? This is going to be VERY interesting...