Island of the Slaughtered One-Shots

The Depths

He remembered that day clearly.

The day his body was removed from the lake.

He'd been dead for three days at that point. His ghostly form, soaking wet and dripping, couldn't move far from his watery grave. So he'd sat on the end of the dock in a puddle of murky water, gently kicking the toes of his sodden shoes against the surface of the lake. His body, not yet decomposing, had finally floated to the surface from the depths before his clouded eyes. He knew why that would happen, but the persistent cloud of cotton in his brain wouldn't allow him to recall why. He'd glanced over his shoulder at the sound of hurried footsteps on the wood, his blood-stained lips curling into a frown at the boy running towards him. Or rather, towards his now visible body.

Cody....

He remembered his teammate screaming. He hadn't known the other boy's voice ever sounding quite like it had in that moment. "NOAH!!! Oh god!! I'll get you out of there!! Hold on!!" His voice had been afraid but hopeful, though muffled to Noah's waterlogged ears. He'd wished to speak, to tell him not to bother. It was too late for him, but Cody could still be spared. All that left his mouth, however, was not words but more ghostly lake water.

He'd watched impassively as the brunette had dragged his lifeless body from the water. He'd reached out uselessly, translucent fingers never making contact, at Cody's desperate pleas upon seeing the state of him. Clouded eyes partially open, blood staining his lips and chin, evidence of rope burn around his neck, and a knife stabbed deep into his shoulder. Again, he'd tried to speak as Cody had attempted desperate CPR on a waterlogged body already showing signs of rigor mortis.

He wasn't sure what he'd intended to say. As sharp as his tongue had been, words of comfort had always been a weak point for him. Not exactly his strong suit. In fact, he could recall several accusations of being too blunt being hurled his way at different points of his life. His friend's pleas had quickly turned to agonized screams as he'd clutched Noah's corpse to his chest. That sound would be one he would never forget. He'd carry it with him into oblivion.

Not long after it was all over, he'd learn that Duncan had survived. Duncan, the one who had purposefully left him behind to die, had lived. Of course he had. Life wasn't fair...was it?

●●●●●●●●●●

Present day once again found Noah on the end of the dock. Not even an hour ago, he'd helped his fellow victims drag Chris McLean to his demise under Homeschool's vengeful guidance. From what he'd seen before and after his own death, Ezekiel Miller was sweet and unassuming. It had been startling to see him so angry, so against his nature, but Noah didn't blame him in the slightest. They were all angry. Came with the territory.

Surprisingly, the cowardly host's death brought him zero relief. He didn't know why it didn't make him feel better. It was all over. The killer had vanished, leaving behind the dead. They'd started with Zeke and ended with Heather. They'd found the remains of Heather's body finally a week ago. She was the last one. Now, they had their revenge on the coward that had left them behind after they'd found Zeke's decapitated head under Geoff's bunk. It was all over. Noah had been the first to accept the new hand he'd been dealt, accepting his death and his ghostly status. This was something that couldn't be reversed. Not even killing Chris would fix it and he knew it.

He lifted his head at familiar footsteps coming down the dock, silently watching as Cody sat beside him. The brunette seemed restless, blue eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. He had the urge to wipe those ugly bags under the other boy's eyes away, but kept both hands firmly in his lap. It was too late for such gestures. Him and Cody vibrated on different wavelengths now. Different planes of existence. Forever separated by choices outside their control. He startled as Cody started speaking, dark eyes widening in surprise.

"Hey, Noah. Um....the girl Chris brought with him, Sierra I think, said she thought you were still here. She said...she felt a presence on the dock when they arrived. You...um....you died here...so..", he sighed, "So I figured it was you.." Noah watched silently, a little confused, but listening. "Well, if it is you, I just wanted to let you know that we're heading home soon. Chef doesn't want to waste anymore time looking for Chris. Something must have happened to him."

Cody swallowed. "We...the guy, Alejandro, found the rest of Ezekiel's body parts about an hour ago. It was almost like something or someone was trying to help him. Heck, if you're here, it was probably Ezekiel himself.", he gave a weak laugh, rubbing his eyes. "Gwen and Duncan are trying to convince Chef to let us stay and give you all proper burials somewhere on the island. I think the story they're going with is you all disappeared, but I don't know how we'd pull that off."

Noah dared not move from his puddle, but he reached out to touch the other boy's arm. He tried not to let Cody's lack of a reaction both him too much. He'd have to ask Zeke later how he'd managed to communicate with this Alejandro guy. He hung his head as Cody finished his goodbyes, standing to leave.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

"Oh, before I forget. I found something of your's in your bunk. A book by Shakespeare. Hamlet, I think?" Cody looked at the end of the dock, feeling a familiar presence nearby. Maybe Sierra was right, after all. It was a presence he knew quite well, despite the short time they'd had together. A soft monotone voice that had woken him from nightmare after nightmare while they hid. Cold brown eyes that would come alive when Cody made eye contact.

Noah....

He could remember the indescribable fury he'd felt when Duncan had told them he'd left Noah behind. In the woods! He'd abandoned him in the woods all by himself. Gwen hadn't even tried to stop him! Who cares if Noah was being disagreeable? They're all afraid! How many of their teammates had they found dead already by that point? Zeke, Lindsay, Sadie..

How could he just leave him behind like that??

Then, when he'd finally found Noah....he was already dead...
He'd been strangled, stabbed, and then drowned in lake Wawanakwa. His source of comfort, his light, in this horrible ordeal of being hunted was dead. He'd never felt grief like this. Grief so vast, so endless, it threatened to swallow you whole. He'd held Noah's body close like his life depended on it. He hadn't wanted to let go.

As quickly as it had come over him, the grief had quickly transformed into horrible rage. Rage that had settled hot into his gut, leaving him trembling and gritting his teeth. Noah's death was all Duncan's fault. Noah would've lived if Duncan hadn't left him behind! He could just barely remember hunting the punk teen down and breaking his stupid nose.

Now, though, he was just ready for this all to be over. Noah was dead. Chris was missing. There was nothing left on this island for him. Once the little graveyard Eva had started building with LeShawna was finished, they could finally leave. For now, he had one last thing to do. He gave the puddle on the end of the dock a tearful, bittersweet, smile.

"Goodbye, Noah! We'll meet again some day, I promise!"

He turned at Katie yelling his name. It was time to go. He gave the lake one last look before running to catch up with her.

See you later, Cody.