Washed Up ≫ A.I

Chapter [12]

[Charlotte Kendall]
Day 5

"Any luck?" I quickly look up once the curtains of the flaps open and Denise dives inside. She coughs into her hand before shaking her head softly. 

I slump my shoulders down and look over at Tyson asleep beside me. His face was twitching from the constant itch but nothing to wake him yet.

"We'll look again tomorrow. The poison should pass but out here. . . well, out here could be different."

All yesterday and today the twins and Benson were out looking for some kind of Aloe plant to help with the burning. Inside the first aid kit was anti-itch cream but the tube was almost empty since it was a small sample patch. I had rubbed the entire tube on his hot skin, soothing the itch but never getting rid of it. Denise had mentioned it was definitely poison ivy but was disturbed on how he could have possibly got it. She said these plants are less common outside of the United States and considering we are on an island in the middle of the pacific the thought of this poison was ignored.

A hand gently pinched my shoulder. Denise was smiling sympathetically at me before bringing in the tin water bottle. I took it from her and set it down beside Tyson's waist. He was finally sleeping so I didn't want to bother with waking him for a little sip of water.

"You should get some sleep too, you know," Denise whispered while rubbing her hand up and down my bare arm gently. I touched her hand with mine and smiled.

I wish I could but now I was far too awake. It was early and the sun had just gone down. Everything was still buzzing through my head whether everything was going to be okay or not.

I sighed, "I think I should just get some air first."

Denise scoots away in the sand and allows me to crawl out from under the orange tarp. I walk out and am immediately greeted with the cool night air. I sucked in the fresh air through my mouth obnoxiously before breathing back out through my nose. Everything was opened up again and heat illuminated me from the fire pit. Tonight it was big, with four large tree branches hiked up against each other and creating a tower of fire.

Brandon and Emma were sitting down next to each other talking and laughing. I smiled noticing the safety in Emma's eyes. Here and there she had mentioned how much Brandon reminded her of a Greek God and I knew she would. Benson was standing beside the two, looking dead in the fire with his hands on his hips. Here and there he would look up at the stars and search for anything above.

I hobbled over to my friend and took a clumsy seat next to her and Brandon, "Hey how is he in there?" She asked.

"He's asleep now."

I hadn't really left the tarp since yesterday morning. I was always the one he wanted to see and the one he saw. I would only get out for air once he was asleep and all. I would eat, drink and pee too before heading back in to wait for him to wake up again.

Emma bumped shoulders with me gently and I smiled. I slid my arm around her back, hugging her from the side as she ducked her head under my chin laughing. She was so positive. It was best to have her here or else I would go insane. Emma was bright enough to see the small amount of positivity on being stranded. She never gave up on hope. But for me, hope was a dangerous thing.

Benson dropped a large green rock in front of me without a word of explanation. It hit the ground gently and rolled over right next to my foot. I grabbed the rock and realized it was a large fruit once I felt its light weight.

Emma leaned away and laughed up at the sky, ruffling her hands through her short hair some more. I winked up at Benson before bugging Brandon for the large branch beside him. It was a coconut that needed to be shredded off its hard shell.