THE ISLAND.

one: nightfall.

I laid there motionless in the brown shell-filled sand as the pungent smell of burning fumes filled my nose and the screams and cries burst through my eardrums waking me up.

"Ouch," I moaned from the deep gash on the right side of my head as I raised myself from the ground, leaning on the stone near me as I slowly started to open my eyes.

"This can't be happening," I recited to myself, this time my eyes were fully open and I was completely awake.

Death.

All I could see was death. Bodies hanging from trees, bodies in the ocean and some dispersed along the beach.  What was left of the plane was laid out along the shoreline and the remainder was lost to the sea. A group of three girls and three guys were hauling luggage or anything they could their hands on before the current swept it away.

"Hey! She's up!" One of the girl's voices called out to the group as their attention turned towards me.

"Where are we? What the fuck happened?" I cried out nervously as I attempted to recollect what had happened.

"Man, just help us get the fuckin bags!" One of the men yelled before proceeding to hurriedly seize more stuff from the plane.

Dismissing his reaction one of the girls ran over to talk to me.

"Ouch, that cut still looks pretty bad." She spoke softly as she examined the cut. Turning back around she gave a sign for the rest of the group to come over.

"But don't worry about him. That's Soren and he's an ass." She spoke letting out a small chuckle.

"I'm Tamia"

"What happened!?" I asked again.

"You've been out for two days. Something went wrong with the engine mid-flight. I don't know if you remember but we were headed to Saint Lucia but I have no idea where we are now."

"What?" I responded, not believing anything that she was saying. "What is that smell-"I began before the sound of an explosion ran through my eyes and what was left of the plane blew up in flames.

"Help me!" One of the girls who was last to go inside screamed and the flames began to burn her body. Unable to get her to the water. The guy who went in before her rushed through multiple suitcases to find something big enough to cover her and save her.

"I'm coming, baby!" He shouted over her screams and cries as he luckily received a small throw-over blanket and attempted to rush to her aid but before he got there. It was too late.

It grew silent.

Tami and I just stood there and froze. We all froze in terror as Soren fell to his knees gripping the blanket.

"It should've been me!" He cried out in pain.

Not knowing what to do or say. We all just sat there.
A few hours went by before the reality of the situation began to settle and the flames from the destroyed plane began to dim.

We sat around a campfire made from a few pieces of fabric and a bit little of wood that was nearby. As the sun grew darker Tami and the others began to stand up and walk away, maybe to disorient themselves from the reality of our situation. The only one left at the campfire was Soren and I.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I spoke with hesitation, genuinely feeling sorry for him. The last thing I would want is for someone to lose a person that they love when they're already in a bad situation.

"I-I don't even know what the fuck to say." He spoke as his fingers fiddled with the throwover blanket that sat on his knees as he looked into the small fire in front of us.

The space between us grew back silent for a few moments and the people who stepped away began to return. It was now pitch back and the only light around belonged to the skies and fires.

"What are we going to do?" One of the other girls asked as she and her friend huddled up together in a swimsuit cover.

"The same shit we did yesterday. Bury, find, and survive." A familiar voice spoke from behind. I swiftly looked over my shoulder only to meet eyes with the guy who sat next to me on the plane.

"Here," he spoke hanging me a grey fleece jacket and a random pair of pants.

It would be a 1 and a million chance that two passengers in the same row survive.

"I'm hungry and thirsty, Dante. There's water right there" she spoke again, this time with an irritated tone.

"It's not going to help," Dante stated blankly. "You'll just get dehydrated."

"And die? Yeah, I fucking know that!"

"Yeah, just like everyone else." I snapped back making all eyes turn to me.

That was the last thing said that night.

As I laid near the fire, turning my back against the others, I just couldn't stop believing that this was real.
My eyes focused on the ocean currents and I listened and prayed to hear a helicopter only to be met with silence. There was no movement. No sign of life.

Looking over my shoulder to look at the group I realized. We aren't leaving anytime soon. There will be no savior. Just a bunch of hurt, lost, and empty souls.