⤜---⤛ 𝔽𝕀𝕊𝕊𝕌ℝ𝔼 ⤜---⤛ ▬▬ 𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕜𝕤 ∗ 𝕛𝕛 ▬▬

⤛ 𝕟𝕠 𝕡𝕠𝕘𝕦𝕖 𝕝𝕖𝕗𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕕 ⤜

Talia's senses slowly came back to her, and she was greeted with a blur of colours and sounds. The chirping of birds and rustling of leaves filled her ears, and as she pushed herself up onto her elbows, she realised that she had been unconscious for who knew how long. The light filtering through the trees was dim, and pain radiated throughout her body, aching and throbbing in time with her heartbeats.

With a groan, Talia pushed herself up to a sitting position, wincing as she surveyed the scrapes and bruises that now covered her skin. Though she felt battered and bruised, she was relieved that nothing felt broken. Despite her trembling limbs, she managed to stand up, swaying unsteadily as she took in their surroundings. The forest stretched out in all directions, thick with tangled underbrush and gnarled trees that reached towards the sky like bony fingers. There was no sign of Noa, nor the smuggler from the beach.

"Shit," she whispered, realising she had no clue which direction to take to rejoin the group. Suddenly, she heard a faint voice calling out from within the trees. She widened her eyes and quickly scrambled over to a nearby tree, pressing herself against its bark to hide herself. The distressed voice sounded again, and she held her breath as she realised it was getting closer. Once more, it rang out, louder this time, and she recognised it instantly. "Pope?" she called out, her voice hoarse.

Then, a different voice came from her right. "Pope, I got her!" She spun around to see JJ crashing through the bushes, coming to a clumsy stop as he caught sight of her.

She felt a wave of relief sweep through her as he jogged over and enfolded her in his arms. "I—" her words caught in her throat, and tears began streaming down her face. Now that she was no longer in immediate danger, the shock of what had just happened hit her like a ton of bricks.

"You're okay, it's okay," JJ panted, his chest heaving as he held her. She could feel his heart racing beneath his shirt before he released her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he looked at her with a mixture of relief, panic, and concern. "Are you alright? What happened?"

The leaves rustled again as Pope stumbled through, and he stopped, bending over for a moment to catch his breath. "We heard a gunshot," he said, his eyes wide.

Talia nodded in response, blinking through her tears. "There was someone with a gun and..." she said, her voice trembling, unable to get the words out.

JJ's eyes widened in panic. "The smugglers?" He swore under his breath.

Pope shook his head nervously, his gaze darting around the clearing before he frowned. "Where's Noa?"

Talia looked over at him for a moment before bursting into tears again, prompting JJ to pull her back into his arms once more. "Hey, uh..." he began, his was voice gentle but somewhat awkward as he attempted to reassure her, "It's fine. I'm sure he'll... turn up."

With her head against his chest, she could practically hear his racing heart. It was clear that he was trying his best to seem calm for her sake. He bowed his head slightly, looking down at her with a pained expression, adding, "But we should really get moving."

"Yeah," Pope agreed, his voice urgent. "We need to tell the others. Like, now."

She felt JJ nod before he pulled away, glancing up and down at the bruises and cuts through her dirt covered clothes. "Can you walk?"

Talia hesitated, unsure of the answer herself, but JJ didn't wait for a response. Instead, he draped her arm around his shoulder for support, and the two of them followed Pope through the maze of trees, back to the boat.

When they finally emerged from the bush, the sun was setting, washing the island in a cool golden glow. Her brother, Sarah, and Kiara were there waiting for them, their eyes widening as soon as they spotted the group coming towards them.