This Is Your Captain Crashing

And When I Smile

Merida frowned as she came up empty handed once again. She had been searching for Izzy for almost three hours, and at this point the sun was getting lower in the sky. not enough for the sky to become the warm orange typical of a sunset, but it was a long time. The princess pulled out her phone, and frowned at the time reading an upsetting 3:30 PM.

With nothing else to do, and no way to actually track the Psycho Hose Beast, the princess gave up her search. She stood up, brushing the loose bit of dirt and grass that stuck to her joggers and began to make her way back towards the plane. As she exited the thick greenery, she looked over at the still crashed plane.

The princess saw a smaller plane leave a while ago, and assumed that was Beth being picked up and sent to wherever the Aftermath was being held. When the small plane flew away, the princess internally hoped Izzy didn't stowaway on board.

Merida sighed and made her way over to the jumbo jet, Courtney and Gwen outside looking around the beach. As Merida approached them, they both looked over and ran over to her.

"Did you find her yet?" The Ex-CIT asked.

The princess shook her head. "I don't even know where to start. She could be anywhere on this blasted island, for all we know."

"We overheard Chris earlier", Gwen said. "And he said that Izzy wasn't on the plane that picked Beth up. He also sent interns to find her, because the producers were getting on his case for letting her run off."

"Good", Merida growled. "That bastard deserves it after everything."

Courtney pursed her lips. "Owen also got discharged from the infirmary. Turns out he was fine for a while, but didn't want to leave after... everything."

"He told you all, didn't he?"

Courtney nodded. "At least what he felt was appropriate. He told us about Izzy lashing out, even going as far as to scream at Chris."

"We did hear it... kinda", Gwen muttered. "We were confused about the screaming and yelling, but after what Owen said..."

"Izzy told Chris to 'fuck off'", the princess said bluntly, making the two other girls look at her in shock. "Twice. Then she ran off."

"Oh my gosh..." Gwen whispered in shock. "That explains why Chris was so quiet after the challenge."

"I just hope we find her before the Aftermath ends", Merida said in worry and sadness. "I feel like if I don't get a chance to talk to her before we're back into the chaos, then she's just going to throw herself out of the plane the first chance she gets."

That made Courtney and Gwen look outright horrified. "Okay, yeah, we need to find her now."

The two girls made a move to resume their search, but were stopped when the princess put a hand on their shoulders. They both faced her, and she gave them a curious look. "Why are you two helping me?"

Courtney sighed. "We just... We like you, Merida. You're a bit of a hothead, like Heather-"

"And us", Gwen added.

"...yes. And us. But you're more in control. You don't let Heather get to you as bad as she gets to us. You even told us that we needed to be more like a team, rather than a bunch of squabbling chickens."

Merida smiled. "Thanks. That means a lot."

"Then let's find our favourite crazy girl", Gwen said with a smile. The Ex-CIT to and goth ran off, leaving the princess all on her own. Her grateful smile slowly fell off her face as she stood on the beach, the sound of the ocean waves splashing on the sand the only thing grounding her. It was... Almost sombre. Like the water was calling for something more.