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Chapter 1: The Pilot Part 1

Isabella sat up high in her usual tree, perched above the island. Her eyes were trained down, as she watched for the boar she'd been tracking. It wandered into her sight and began grazing, just as the island began shaking. The boar looked up and let out a squeal of fright before dashing off. Isabella had to grab on with all of her might to keep from falling. When everything settled, Isabella released her hold on the trunk and started climbing down. There wouldn't be any boar today.

A low rumble came from somewhere overhead. She looked up; not a cloud in the sky. As the roar grew louder she could see what was causing it -- a large airplane. On the side she read Oceanic Airlines. The plane tore into two, then three. She followed the fuselage with her eyes, as it crashed towards one of the beaches. She took the bandana off from around her head, tied it around the tree, and shook her dirty, blonde hair as she ran through the forest, aiming for the wreckage. She'd seen where the sun was, and she knew she needed to head towards the south-western end of the island.

She knew it'd take an hour, probably more, even running at full speed. She just hoped to get there quickly, and blend in with any of the survivors, if there were any. Otherwise, she'd loot the plane for everything it was worth, assuming she was the first there. Isabella shuddered to think of what would happen if anyone else got there before her... if any of them saw her there.

She paused by a stream, splashing the cold water onto her face and filling up her bottle. She'd have to leave the pack. She just hoped she could get at least a little further before having to ditch it. She splashed through the water, only getting the bottom of her shoes wet. Climbing up out of the small valley proved to be harder than she thought. Here was where she ditched the bag, not even ten yards from the small stream. She held a tree root and used it as a rope. She made it to the top, then pushed herself up and laid on her back, catching her breath. She wasn't sure how much further she needed to go, but she did know that she had to hurry. She had to get there before they got to know each other too well... Before she'd stand out.

Her hands were a little raw from the tree, but she didn't dare tend to them; hopefully, it'd look like she got it from the crash. She picked up running again, but the sun had already started to dip. The sky had already started to change color, however it was so slight you'd only know it if you were looking for it. Dusk had pretty much settled by the time Isabella broke through the tree line.

She saw a man with long, stringy, dirty-blonde hair coming up to her.

"What were you doing out there?" He asked, sort of sneering. He also seemed curious.

"I..." She had used up pretty much all of her energy running and climbing, then running mostly on adrenaline -- 'running on fumes'. Now that she stopped, having reached her destination, everything caught up with her. She collapsed, the last thing she heard was the guy calling out for someone to help her.

***

She woke to the most unnerving sound. It was horrible. Despite still feeling weak, Isabella pushed off the sand where she'd been laid, and joined the crowd forming by the tree line. Among them was the guy who'd called for help, although he didn't seem to see her. He seemed familiar to her, although she couldn't quite place it. The night was dark, and the beach was lit with scattered fires. The sound echoed again. She looked around. Everyone was panicked and afraid. They didn't know what that sound was. Unfortunately, Isabella did. She heard crashing, and looked to the side as trees in the distance were knocked down as the thing disappeared back into the jungle.

The group was silent for a while, no one saying anything. Until somewhere in the crowd, someone muttered, "Terrific."

The group broke apart, and one of the guys towards the front of the crowd saw her. He rushed towards her. "What are you doing? You should still be laying down. You used up way too much energy already."