Two female soccer teams. One deserted island. Twins, Lennon and June have no choice but to adjust to the elements of the wild when their plane crashes on the way to Nationals, leaving them stranded with their rival team. Friendships are tested, rela...
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LENNON.
We didn't dare move an inch the entire night. No one uttered a word or made a move to head back to camp. We were all frozen to the spot, the realisation of what had happened looming over us like a dark cloud. Nora and Hailey were dead—they had died right in front of us and there was nothing any of us could have done to stop it. But I couldn't help but feel guilty. Maybe, just maybe, if I had gotten there sooner I could have saved them—maybe they would still be alive if only I had been quicker.
I was sitting on my knees, my bloodied hands gripping Hailey's as I stared into space, trying to wrap my head around all that had happened. The sun was coming up beneath the trees, bringing the dawn of a new day—one where Hailey and Nora didn't exist. How could a person be alive and breathing? And then just be nothing but bloodied remains? It didn't make sense to me.
"Lennon?" The voice startled me, making me jump slightly. When I realised it was June, I relaxed slightly. But I didn't dare move. June had left me some time into the early morning to comfort Maggie who had been crying hysterically—she had been the closest to Hailey, despite them being total opposites. And she was taking it real hard.
June lowered herself beside me, "Len, we've got to go. It's not safe to stay out here." She said, her voice sounding drained, tired—like there was no life left.
"I'm not leaving her." I refused, clutching tighter to Hailey's hand.
"We'll bury them with the others," The words came from Ethan who was standing behind me. He crouched down behind me, his hand landing on my shoulder. "Please, Lennon. It's not safe out here for any of us." He pleaded, giving my shoulder a squeeze. He knew those were the words that would get me moving. I wouldn't allow those creatures to come back and take any more of us.
I stared at Hailey, my eyes feeling heavy and swollen. After a moment, I nodded. I placed a lingering kiss on the back of Hailey's hand I had been clutching before I untangled my fingers from hers—which was difficult since her hand had gone stiff around mine, only reminding me that she was truly gone. That was the moment my stomach flipped.
I jumped from my feet, stumbling forward a few paces before I threw up. Barely anything came up except for bile. It made my eyes burn and my chest clench as I gasped for air, bending over slightly. My eyes were watering as I straightened myself out, looking up at the sky from above, inhaling as much as I could.
How had things turned out so badly? It was one thing where we were simply stranded on a deserted island, but the last twenty-four hours had changed everything drastically. I was convinced we were on the same island as the Island Witches, even more so after what had happened. My mom used to write about the monsters that hunted them. Back then, I assumed it was some wild animal, but those creatures weren't animals. They were something else entirely—something sadistically vile. They were monsters.
