doomsday. [ yellowjackets ]

six.

xxx.

chapter six.
six.

xxx.

          Hours seemed to go by as the passengers of flight 2525 crashed into the Canadian wilderness. The smoke continued to billow up through the trees like a chimney, releasing gray puffs into the bright blue sky while the forest floor was covered in leaves, branches, dirt, and the belongings of the Wiskayok Yellowjackets. Above their loose heads and eyes of trauma, the leaves of the trees danced in the gentle breeze that blew along the air; they seemed to move about in an unnatural way though, as if something were parting them to make a path for an invisible force.

         Something laid in the whistle of the wind and the depths of the roots deep in the ground, holding the entire forest by its mere presence. Something greedy, something lonely, something hungry.

         Or Sam was staring far too long at the trees, more than a normal person would.

        She winced when the fingers pressing a piece of a ripped up shirt against her forehead and let her eyes lower back down from the sky. Akilah murmured a soft apology with a halfhearted smile. It faded quickly as she finished cleaning up  the small gash on Sam's skull, sticking a small bandaid on it.

    After they had began to recuperate, the team kicked into survival mode; they looked through the wreckage and debris for their luggage and supplies, gathering their clothes and things that they could use to treat injuries. There happened to be an unscathed first aid kit in the pilot's cabin, in between the pilot and his co-pilot's dead bodies. Taissa and Alex had volunteered to climb in and look in the cabin, and had come back out without a word about the two pilots. Sam had watched for a slouch in their shoulders, or any smear of disgust on their faces.

     They must've died on impact. Sam hoped it was quick.

     She then became aware of the paper still stuck in her closed fist. Her knuckles were paling, whitened blotches surrounded by her brown skin, accompanied by minor scratches, something like oil or ash, and dirt beneath her nails. Sam tried not to move her head until Akilah backed a step away from her to indicate she was done. Sam pressed her lips together in a thin line of a smile to thank her, to which the underclassman nodded in return before she was called away by someone else.

    Sam continued to stare at the plane despite feeling a pair of eyes strangling her from behind. She was sure he would've rather it have been his hands, though. Normally, she wouldn't acknowledge it in hopes that the person staring would just stop so she didn't have to draw any more attention to herself, but in this case she felt as though she had a reason to be stared at. The curly haired girl turned her head to meet Travis' daggers, and, surprisingly, when they locked eyes, he didn't look away. He held his dark glare, and Sam found herself having to be the one to break it after a few seconds; while his anger was obviously painted on his face, she could also see the replay of Coach Martinez being flung out of the plane winding over and over in his head. Her stomach felt like rocks as she imagined it herself, lowering her head to look at the rocks gathered by her foot.

     " No, you have to tie it tighter to stop the bleeding. " Misty called as she blinded over to Travis and Tara, who had been tying a shred of fabric around a large cut along his arm and to not get freaked out by his heavy glaring at the Yellowjackets' strategist.

    " I tried, he keeps getting pissed if I— " Tara cut her excuse short when Travis' scowl turned to her. She pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes before she stepped to the side to make room for Misty, who promptly stepped up and yanked the knot tighter. Travis exclaimed in surprise, but Misty wasn't fazed as she looked to Tara instead.