The Beginning

Chapter 3

When she came to, the first thing she saw was massive dens that were made with leaves, twigs, branches, clay along with other materials. She was dumped onto the ground, pain shooting up her legs. She blinked, trying to fix the blurriness. She saw Carlos and Sam near her. She tried to rush over, but there was something wrong with her legs and she promptly tripped and fell flat on her face. She groaned and stood up, this time walking shakily to Carlos, who was covering his eyes with his hands.
"What happened?" he groaned, squinting at her.
"We got knocked," she replied, looking around. "And we got dumped into an unfamiliar place that looks like a jungle."
He nodded. "And Sam?"
"Right next to you."
Riley looked at Sam, who was crawling to her. "We got dumped next to each other. Whoever-or whatever-these creatures are, they seem to know that we're friends."
The ground shook as one of the creatures came closer to her. She could only see the silhouette of it, but she guessed it was the blue eyed male. He growled at her, then slithered off into a den. She stood up and looked all around her. She saw a massive entrance a couple of feet away, and she turned to Carlos.
"There's an exit right there," she said, pointing to it.
Carlos nodded. "Okay. Let me go get Sam, then we can get out of here."
Riley looked all around her again, making sure that none of the creatures saw her. Sam was behind Carlos, her eyes gleaming hopefully. "Where's the exit?" she excitedly whispered. Riley started silently walking to the exit, and she looked over her shoulder to see Carlos and Sam following her. The exit led to a field where they can stop and rest if they ever need to.
Taking the chance, she bolted toward the exit and ran down into the field, where she put her hands on her knees and panted. The tall grass rustled, and she whirled around, fear creeping up her spine. Carlos's face popped out, and he walked toward her, Sam behind him.
"We can hide here until it's safe to come out," Riley whispered. She could already see a few things that can be used to make camp. A massive leaf that can be used as a tent, a couple of sticks for the fire, and the grass to make the fire.
Sam nodded. "I'll set up camp." With Carlos's help, they both started making the tent, using sharp stones to make holes in the corners of the leaf and using small sticks to keep it in place. Riley poked her head out, and seeing nothing, started making the fire. She put small sticks in the shape of a pyramid and lay some small shoots of grass inside of it. She stood up, satisfied. Now she needed something to make the fire.
"Any of you have, like, glass or something so I can make the fire?" she asked, hoping that they did.
Carlos shook his head. "Nope. I didn't know that we would be captured and taken to somewhere new, so I didn't bring any fire making materials. Sorry."
"Me neither," Sam said.
Riley sat down, frustrated. Something broke in her pocket and she took it out. It was a little glass cat, the one she always had in her pocket for good luck. She took it out and laid it out into the sunlight, which was strong enough at this point to make a fire. The glass caught on fire, and she tossed it into the pyramid, where the fire hungrily engulfed it and grew bigger. Strangely, it kept burning even when the wood and grass was all burnt out. Riley started wondering if this island was magic, or if it's just a strange coincidence.
Dusting her hands, she turned to her friends. "We can stay here, or we can explore this place. I have a feeling that no matter where we are, this campsite will be wherever we end up."
Carlos stood up from placing the sticks. "I'm in. It would be useful to know more about this place in case we ever need to get out."
Sam nodded. "Same. I would get bored just sitting here and waiting for something to happen."
Riley smiled. She was lucky to have such good friends, and she would need them more than ever in this place. Turning around, she silently walked out of the grass-she now realized it was a wheat field, and again wondered if the creatures are smarter than they seem to be- and headed toward a small pool of water that a small waterfall cascading into it. She kneeled down and cupped her hands to fill them with water. She brought it up to her lips, and the second one little drop hit her lips, she realized something.
She was incredibly thirsty. Suddenly, this water was her life source. She ravenously drank the water from the pool, coming up for air every now and then. She sat up and wiped her lips, her thirst finally quenched. Sam and Carlos came running at her, eyeing the water deliciously. They both kneeled down and started drinking the water ferociously. Riley felt a bit amused; it was funny, watching her friends drinking water like they worshiped it, when the three friends often overlooked water as if it wasn't important. Being here made Riley realize how much she should appreciate water, because if it wasn't for the flavorless liquid, she may not survive on this supposed island.
Carlos came up for air from the pool. He had a halted expression. "Did you hear that?"
Sam looked at him. "What? I don't hear anything- oh."
Riley could hear it too: a soft trilling coming somewhere above them. She then realized something: they were completely alone. There was nothing and no one around them(as if anyone can be on this island. It looks deserted, Riley thought wryly.) She nodded toward another trail which seemed to lead to a forest. "Let's go there. It looks pretty, and there's more water that we can drink."
As they walked toward the forest, the trilling slowly got louder and louder, gradually transitioning into a loud meow. Panicking, Riley ran toward the forest floor and realized it was a trap. The only thing she could see was a giant bush, and she dove under it, feeling Carlos and Sam crouching beside her.
It was too late, though. She heard a bone chilling roar, directly above her. She held her breath as one of the creatures came out of the forest. He walked around for a bit, turning his attention to the treetops. Riley slowly started creeping out. Carlos whispered fiercely, "What are you doing?" but she ignored him. She slowly started to walk back to the field when the shadowy creature turned around, and Riley saw those eerie blue eyes staring at her again. He stepped toward her, growling. Riley immediately started running toward the wheat field, and she heard Carlos and Sam running behind her. They stopped at a clearing next to the grass field. Carlos gasped for breath, his hands on his knees. He stood up when he had enough air, and looked around. He breathed a sigh of relief. "We're safe. No creatures around."
The ground once again shook. Riley wanted to scream, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth. A growl came from behind her, and Carlos's eyes widened. Turning around, for the first time since at home, she fully saw the creature in broad daylight.