The Lost One

Chapter 1

Scarlet tossed and turned before she let out a scream. Sitting bolt upright she realised something.

She had no idea where she was. Her mind was filled with things, random puzzle pieces that made little sense. She was Scarlet but deep inside she was also Kyler. Looking around, she tried to make sense of her surrounding. Trying to find anything to give herself an identifying feature that would tell her were she was.

The sea stretched as far as her eye could see, meeting the horizon seamlessly. The beach spanded for miles either side of her and several metres behind too. Behind her a tall cliff face stared back at her. To one side, the cliff sloped upwards in what appeared to be some makeshift steps.

The longer Scarlet stood looking around on the beach, the warmer she could feel herself getting. Taking one final glance again the beach, Scarlet took a metaphorical leap of faith and headed towards the slope in the cliff face.

____________

In a clearing deep on the island, a conversation was occurring between two members of the island.

"Someone's on the island." The smaller of the two stated, staring out at the distance.

"What shall we do?" The taller one asked, looking at the other.

"Bring them to me," He ordered. "Alive." He added as the taller walked away.

___________

Walking through the dense forest proved more taxing than Scarlet originally thought it would be, with beads of sweat forming on her brow. The sun was blocked by the leaves on the trees but they did nothing about the increasing humidity. Every footstep has heard, every crunch of leaves, every snap of a twig.

Everything.

Scarlet was on high alert listening for anything at all that indicated she wasn't alone. It didn't take long for her to hear something.

Quiet muttering.

Whispering in the trees.

A twig snapping.

Cursing.

Before Scarlet saw anyone she took off running, hearing someone curse louder. It wasn't long before Scarlet found she wasn't the only one on the run and that there were multiple pairs of feet following her.

So focused on what was infront of her, Scarlet wasn't aware of someone running up to her from the side. She only realised when she was tackled to the floor.

Using all her strength she shoved the boy away from her but not before he manged to stab her arm. Scarlet hissed in pain but continued onwards, scrabbling to her feet. Not getting very far, an arrow landed in a nearby tree causing Scarlet to pause.

Before another arrow could find itself lodged in her back, Scarlet took of running once more. A shout was heard before pain.

Hot, searing pain in her shoulder.

An arrow.

An arrow in her shoulder.

The pain and shock caused Scarlet to stop long enough for whoever was chasing her to catch up. By the time she realised, it was too late. Moments later she found herself surrounded by the looks of teenage boys. The tallest and most likely the oldest approached her before swiftly pinning her arms behind her back.

She hissed in pain but gained nothing as she was forced forward. The walk seemed to take an age, especially with Scarlet unable to reach the arrow in her shoulder. With every attempt at freeing her arms resulting in the grip tightening, she soon gave up trying.

Soon the teenage boys around her started to slow down and break off as Scarlet approached a archway of some sort. Trying to stall for time, Scarlet planted her feet and refused to move. Despite her efforts, it was futile. She was just too weak.

In a matter of seconds Scarlet was overpowered and shoved through the archway before being shoved forward once more. This time Scarlet stumbled on the uneven flooring. Just before she thought she wouldn't fall, the teenaged boy let go of her wrists and watched her fall to the ground.

Before she could think about getting up he placed a hand on the shoulder that didn't have an arrow in, pinning her in place. Once more she tried to fight but light pressure on the arrow in her shoulder stilled her instantly.

Stood a few feet away from Scarlet was a yet another teenage boy, different though. The way he held himself, the way the others behaved in his presence. Scarlets memories may have been a mess but she knew enough to know he was the leader. If she had to guess she'd also say the one pinning her to the ground was the second in command.

He turned around and faced Scarlet, taking a long hard look at her before walking forwards. Kneeling down infront of her, he watched her as she turned her head away from his. There was a quiet sigh before a hand roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

There was curiosity written all over his face, along with something else Scarlet couldn't quite name. He continued to study Scarlet, watching for anything thay might give him clues as to who she was and how she arrived on the island.

"Who are you?" He asked when he couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Why should I tell you." Scarlet spat, not appreciating the welcome she was getting.

Something snapped behind the boys eye, a spark ignited. His expression grew cold, eyes narrowed slightly before glancing to the boy behind Scarlet. In an instance pain consumed her shoulder.

The arrow was being pushed deeper into her shoulder while simultaneously being twisted. She screamed, unable to help it. After what felt like an eternity to Scarlet most of the pain stopped, leaving a stinging sensation behind.

Her face was once more tugged to face the leader, a slight satisfied smile on his lips before it disappeared.

"Who. The. Hell. Are. You? He asked once more this time slower, way more threateningly.

Scarlet hesitated for a moment trying to work out what she wanted to tell him.

"Scarlet." She answered in a low voice, deciding against telling him everything she knew.

Satisfied with her answer for the time being he removed the arrow from her shoulder, smirking slightly as she tried not to make a sound, before walking away.

"You know where to put her." He told the second in command as he walked past...