THRIVE: Book One

Chapter 69- Uncomplicate It

"I don't know what else you want to know, I feel like we've gone over this four times already." Justin sighs irritatedly.

"You said nothing was out of the ordinary until the rain started, but what about subtle things?" Chloe asks "Were any of you having a weird day, maybe having strange urges or hallucinations?" she presses.

"Seriously, what does that have to do with anything?" Alice asks frustratedly "We got caught in a storm, what more is there to it?" she slumps back in her chair.

"And you said you have no idea how you ended up in the ocean? Doesn't that stick out as odd to you?" Carmen adds. They all look at each other confused for a minute, thinking harder about what she had said.

"How the hell did we end up in the ocean?" Cameron asks, not expecting an answer "It's not like we had a boat or anything, how is it even possible that we all just floated along for miles without even knowing it?" he starts trailing off. Suddenly, they all look nervous and confused. I can't blame them for feeling this way, it's just as crazy as it sounds.

"Cam, what are you implying?" Alice asks nervously.

"I'm honestly not sure, it's just... there's too much that doesn't add up right now." Cameron sighs "Under no circumstances should we have washed up here, but here we are." He looks around the room, staring at the details carved into the stone walls.

"Honestly, we felt the same way when we got here." I sigh "I remember being thrown overboard, but the rest of that night is a complete blur." I lean back and stare at the ceiling.

"Do any of you remember the rest of the night?" Justin asks, suddenly sounding curious. We all look at each other, but we all already knew the truth. It was like our memories had been completely wiped. We all shake our heads in unison, and the four of them look worried.

"Wait, Chloe, you got here separately from everyone else, right? What happened there?" Alice asks curiously. Chloe suddenly looks sad, Alice quickly notices and immediately has a guilty look on her face.

"It was a plane crash, it killed my parents and I was the only survivor. Honestly, after I climbed out of the plane and nearly drowned, I don't remember anything until I woke up on the shore the next morning." Chloe explains.

"What the actual fuck is happening in this place..." Alice asks in disbelief.

"It's...really complicated." Victoria sighs.

"Then uncomplicate it." Lily speaks up "Please." We all want to tell them everything, but we were going to sound crazy if we even tried. It may have gone better if we were all able to discuss how to talk to them first, but this was all happening so suddenly. Unfortunately, they are scared and confused, and we are out of time to think.

"You all look like you know something that we don't," Cameron sighs "please, just tell us what you know," he asks politely, almost as if he read my mind. Everyone suddenly turns their attention to me, and at that moment I know that I am going to have to pick up the torch on this one.

"You all have to understand, this is going to sound crazy," I say, looking over their faces. Alice and Lily look even more nervous.

"We're not going to judge, right guys?" Justin looks at them, hoping for some reassurance. The girls nod hesitantly as Lily starts scooting closer to Alice.

"Just start from the beginning," Cameron says calmly. I sit there thinking to myself for a moment, realizing just how difficult of a question that is to answer.

"That depends on what you consider the beginning."I sigh.

"What?" Alice asks, confused.

"I got this." Chloe sits up "And just to make things easier, save any questions you have for the end, otherwise, this is going to take all night." The others nod in agreement and she begins "When I first arrived on the island, I was scared and alone, but what got me through those years was exploring every inch of this place, learning about the people that came before me. There were a ton of old relics everywhere and I slowly started collecting things. While researching, I started to learn about the hierarchy of this empire. Slowly, I started having strange visions in my sleep, seeing things from hundreds of years ago. I honestly thought I was going crazy after being alone for so long, but then a miracle happened." Chloe starts to smile at Carmen "I realized I wasn't alone anymore."

"After we met Chloe," Carmen begins, "she and I eventually got to talking and realized that we were both having similar visions. Once we started talking about it in more detail, we started putting pieces together about this place as well as we could, but as many answers as we got, twice as many questions started to come up." she explains, motioning to me to continue.

"I had a massively detailed vision while poking around upstairs and after that, we were determined to learn the truth. After a while, we discovered the truth of this place and why we were all brought here. The original empire that existed here was led by three families. After tragedy struck the youngest member, a powerful priestess performed a ritual that ensured they would always return here. And in doing so, the legend of the reincarnated gods of the Metzia Empire began." I explain.

"There is a really complicated history about that that we can get back to in a little while, but the main thing to take away so far is the purpose of that ritual." Victoria explains "The priestess Mahina had ensured that they would always find their way back to each other, and since the original islanders have long passed, that succession is... us now." she glances around at them, and I have to say, their faces were priceless. Combine every emotion you've ever seen before, and that's how they look all at once.

"Are you saying... reincarnation is real?" Cameron asks nervously.

"We weren't done, no questions yet." Carmen jumps in, speaking rapidly "After finding out that truth, Chloe learned how to tap into the mind to be able to see the past, and one by one, she awoke us all. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy for all of us, but in the end, it was worth it." she explains. "Now you can ask questions." She opens the floor, but they all seem speechless.

"Well, um..." Justin starts nervously "I hate to sound like I don't believe you because I honestly have no idea when it comes to anything that has happened today, but, is there any way you can prove that what you're saying is true?" he asks. That's a good question, we honestly know everything at this point, but showing someone else is going to be difficult.

"Honestly, we basically can't," Amy states.

"Are you kidding me?"Alice asks, sounding nervous and frustrated "We're on a goddamn island in the middle of nowhere and you're telling ridiculous stories and you can't even prove it?" she suddenly stands up and starts angrily pacing "I feel like I'm losing my mind."

"Join the club, sister." Victoria jokes.

"Scara, not helping." Chloe jumps in "But, you know, there is technically a way to show you, but it's not a good idea." she explains. I stare at her worriedly, trying to think of another way.

"Hina, it's too risky. They just got here." I state. Chloe sighs and tries to think.

"I don't see the harm." Victoria states, crossing her arms and leaning back, frustrated "Why wait? So they can have life-threatening nightmares first? Cause that clearly ended well last time." she explains sarcastically.

"I hate to admit it, but she has a point." Brian sighs.

"I'm sorry, but I'm literally freaking out over here, what the hell do you want to do to us?" Alice asks nervously as she leans against the wall.

"Nothing you aren't okay with," Chloe tries to calm her down "You all need to take it easy, we're just making this worse."

"Alice," Cameron gets up and goes to her, trying to get her to relax. "Just try and hear them out and we'll go from there, okay? We're all on edge right now." He leads her back to the table and they both sit back down. "Just slow down and explain exactly what you want to do."

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?" Lily states nervously.