Night Island

The Other

"I'm not seeing any more lines on the trees," Beb says. We've been walking all day, since we left Steve's cave. My feet are killing me, and I'm exhausted. Trekking through the muddy jungle is difficult and I can tell the others are tired too. Over the course of our walk the marks on the trees have been getting fewer and spaced apart more. The last one we saw was an hour back. There's been no other sign that Bob has been through here. The sun is now starting to set again; another day without Bob.
"Let's find a place to rest for the night," Bis says. We all agree. It's another hour of walking until we find a small clearing. We set down our packs and weapons, and sit on the damp jungle floor. I expect more words of encouragement from anyone in the group, but there is none. No encouraging words, that our friend will be found safe and sound, are uttered.
"We'll find her, guys." My words seem to fall on deaf ears, as no one acknowledges my words of hope. Only tired eyes, staring at nothing interesting on the ground. My heart sinks in my chest. I grab the water from my bag and take a long drink, trying to wash the bitter taste from my mouth. It lingers.
"If we don't find her by tomorrow we need to go back to camp," Bismarck says. All eyes turn to him.
"We can't just give up. We can't just leave her out here!" Anon yells.
"Keep your fucking voice down. I don't want to leave her out here as much as any of you, but we need to focus on getting of this island, unless you want to end up dead or crazy." Anon flinches at Bismarck's words. Tears well up in Anon's eyes.
"I don't want to leave her out here," she squeaks out. The tears fall. She shakes with sobs and I move to comfort her, but I'm pushed away. She stands up and marches to a corner of the clearing. While it's only a few feet away, it speaks volumes. She's pissed. She should be pissed. I'm pissed, but it's weird seeing Anon angry. She's never angry, or at least in the time I've known her. No one wants to leave a friend circling in the jungle, but there's not a lot we can do. If we continue like this we'll end up lost along with her.
"Let's just get some sleep, we'll talk in the morning," Beb says, laying down. Bismarck follows his lead and plops down on the ground. A few feet away Anon leans her back against a tree, head buried in her knees. I should give her some pace. We're all just stressed out and tired. Things will be better in the morning.I lay down on the muddy, cool, ground, and fall asleep.
"Badum, wake up." I'm being shaken awake. Standing above me grasping my arm is Bis, a look of concern on his face. "Anon's gone."
"What?" I sit up and look towards the tree Anon sat under. Looking around I see all her stuff is missing. "Fuck."
"Exactly," Bis says. "So, now we have two missing."
"She couldn't have gone far," Beb says, packing everything up quickly. I grab my bag and saw, then jump up to stand on my wobbly, aching feet. We walk in the same direction as before, every so often calling out Anon's name.
"Hey, there are some footprints," Bis says, pointing to the ground. His finger points to the ground, where imprinted in the damp earth, are the footprints. We break into a jog. We crash through leaves, trying to catch up to Anon. I spot pastel between the trees.
"Anon! Wait." She stops, and turns around. This isn't Anon. We get closer and it looks exactly like her, but it's not, it can't be. Her usually cheerful face is twisted into a menacing glare. Her eyes, which were once bright and happy, are dark and hateful. She holds her spear in a death grip, pointed right at us. Held in her other hand is the gun, identical to mine.
"Stay the fuck away from me," she hisses. Even Bismarck looks taken aback.
"Anon, please, calm down, we can talk about this," Beb starts.
"Don't fucking call me that! She's weak! I'm strong! Don't ever call me by her name!" this person yells. "Just stay the hell away from me, unless you want to die."
"We can't do that. Anon's our friend, and, whoever you are, you have her body. So, if you could ask our little ray of sunshine to come on back out that would be great," Bis says. Anon's spear embeds itself deep into the ground, inches from Bismarck's feet. He jumps back after it hits the ground. It was so fast I didn't even realize she threw it. "Ok, she ain't fucking around. Let's go." Bismarck runs in the opposite direction. Beb follows.
"Anon wait!" She turns around.
"You better run if you know what's good for you, Badumb." She walks away, through the trees and vines, until she's out of sight.
"Badum!" I hear a voice behind me. I run to it. Beb and Bis stand together in a clearing. "What the fuck was that?"
"I have no clue," Beb says. They turn to me.
"I didn't think-"
"You didn't think what?" Bis interrupts me.
"I didn't think she meant this. She told me she was having blackouts, and losing time. I didn't think she meant this."
"Oh, this is just fucking great! She's fucking mental, and you didn't think maybe to tell us about this little detail?"
"I-"
"'I didn't think'. That's what you were gonna say, right? 'Cause that's right! You don't fucking think, do you?!" And that's the last straw. I throw my hand back, make a fist, and let it fly straight to his face. My knuckles connect with his jaw and damn, it is fucking hard. Beb was right. My punch does very little to him, only knocking his head a fraction of an inch to the left. It only pisses me off more, that he can say all that shit and I can't even hit him hard enough to count. He looks shocked, but mostly for the act of me punching him, not the force of the blow.
"Fuck you," I say walking off, totally defeated. Because, that's what we are though, defeated. We've lost Bob, we've lost Anon, and there's nothing we can do. Someone runs up besides me. I can't find it in myself to care.
"Badum? Listen, I get it, Bis is a total jerkface. We know that. He had no right to say that to you. He's just under a lot of stress. We all are," Beb says.
"No, he did have the right. I mean he's right. I should have done something about Anon when she told me."
"Like what? She's our friend. We can't just throw her away, when she needs our help the most. It probably would have happened no matter what you did. Nothing would have changed. It's in the past. Right now, though, we need to find her, and help her." I consider his words. He's right. It doesn't even matter right now. What matters is finding Anon, getting her help. Then finding Bob and getting the fuck off the island.
"Let's go find her then," I say. We turn around and catch up with Bismarck, who's leaning against a tree.
"Hey, Badum about what I said-"
"Forget it. We're all stressed about this. I know you didn't really mean it," I interrupt.
"Oh, no, I meant it. I'm just sorry for saying it out loud," he says. I ignore that.
"Ok so, what's the plan for saving Anon?" I ask.
"Well, the first step is finding her. Then, we should probably immobilize her in some way. After that I'm not sure, we cou- What the fuck is that?" Beb says, pointing to something behind Bis and me. I turn around to spot a flash of yellow through the vines and leaves. It swiftly flashes between the green of the jungle, moving right and left in a sporadic movement. It stops its movement, hanging in the air, then surges towards us. It breaks through the leaves and vines and crashes into the clearing.
"Oh, fuck this." The buzzing vibrates through my chest, drowning out my words. The stinger is the size of a railway spike. It's antenna sway as it moves around the clearing. The huge bug eyes hone in on us. Yeah, fuck that thing. I take off in the opposite direction. My legs beat fast against the jungle floor. I hurdle over roots and other shit in between me and getting the fuck out of there. I hear the beating of two pairs of feet behind me, but also the buzzing. I keep my eyes forward, glued to the ground, because I am not tripping, not this time. A shot rings out. I stop dead in my tracks.
"Honestly, it's just a wasp. No biggie. Just shoot it before it starts following you and you'll be fine." Standing over the giant wasp is a man. The first thing I notice are the scars. They look like burns, that cover his arms and some of his face. He has brown hair and eyes, but I've never seen him before, which isn't surprising since we've only met two people while on this island, and one of them is dead. "What you really need to watch out for are the giant spiders."
"And who the fuck are you?" Bis asks.
"Someone who just saved your life. You should be thankful," the guy says.
"We are thankful! Don't mind him. He's naturally just an asshole," Beb says. The man nods.
"Well, I should be off," he says, walking away.
"Wait! We could really use some help. We have two friends missing, and, well, we're kinda lost now ourselves," I explain. He smiles.
"I see. Not to worry! Follow me," he says, waving us to follow him. We walk behind him through the leaves for a few minutes, until we reach a large clearing. In the middle of the clearing are the remains of what looks like a helicopter. Surrounding it are vines and leaves overtaking the foreign object, and intertwining it with nature.
"This is home." He gestures to the destroyed helicopter. Parts have been taken out and refurbished for different uses. The seats are turned into a makeshift bed. The door and metal used to make a wall and roof.
"Wow. This is really cool. Did you use to fly this?" Beb asks.
"Yup, I flew it here, with a gang of other people, but they took a boat. I tried flying it again. I only made it about a hundred feet off the ground and something happened. I crashed down here in the middle of the jungle. Luckily, I survived with only a few burns. It could have been worse," he said smiling.
"What did you say your name was?" Bis asks.
"I didn't, but it's Bolbi, or Shower. Whichever you prefer. It doesn't matter to me."
"Well, this is Beb, Badum, and my name is Bis. Can my group talk for second alone?" Bis asks.
"Sure thing! I'll just go get you all some food," Bolbi says, walking away. Bis leads us away to the edge of the clearing, far away from Bolbi.
"Ok. Now I'm not one for trusting a nutjob with a bagel fetish, but maybe we should take his warning into consideration," he says.
"Listen Bis, we need all the help we can get at this point. We'll just keep our guard up. He doesn't seem like that bad of a person. Maybe Steve's just as paranoid as you are," Beb says.
"I'm paranoid for good reasons!"
"Beb's right, we need the help," I add.
"Ok then, two against one. We ask for help, and get on our way as soon as possible." Beb walks back over to the helicopter.
"Hey, I have some drinks all ready for you!" Bolbi walks out from the shack carrying a metal tray with three halved coconuts balanced on top.
"Thank you so much Bolbi, but we were wondering if you could help us find our friends?" Beb asks. A flash of disappointment crosses Bolbi's face but it's instantly replaced with another smile.
"I'd love to help in any way I can," he says.
"All we really need is some directions and information," Bis says, coming up from behind Beb.
Bolbi returns the tray and we all stand together in a circle. He tells us of the surrounding area. He tells us of a crazy man in a cave to the west. We say nothing. He carries on about the wild animals, which are mainly just larger versions of regular animals.
"Your best bet to finding your friends is this large clearing in the middle of the jungle. It's maybe a few miles in the direction your friends were heading. This clearing is very large. It might have been a farm at one point. Now it's just a field," he explains.
"We'll try there then. Thank you for all your help!" Beb says. Bolbi smiles and shakes Beb's hand.
"Please stay the night! The sun is almost going to set and it's dangerous walking around at night," Bolbi says. The sky was turning darker, but the more we waited the further we would be from finding our friends.
"Thank you, we'd love to stay. But we leave as soon as the sun comes up," Beb says. Bolbi nods and agrees. He fetches blankets made of fur. After the mangoes and coconut water are eaten we lie down for an early sleep. My eyes drift close.
I see Anon, her eyes are pitch black. Horns protrude out from her forehead. Her spear aimed at me. She smiles an impossibly wide smile, showing off rows of sharp teeth. Her spear draws back and is launched straight at me.
My eyes blink open. I'm drenched in sweat and peel off the thick fur, letting the cool air kit my skin. My heart is beating out of my chest. The jungle is softly glowing from the moonlight shining through the clearing of trees. Beside me, I hear the soft snoring, of my friends. My heart rate slows at the sound. Then, I hear the muffled whispering. Not like the kind I heard in the jungle that chased after us. This was one voice. I couldn't make out words, only the rushed whispering voice, coming from inside the helicopter. In the helicopter I see the silhouette of Bolbi, talking to a small box. After a few minutes of him whispering on and off. He sets the box down and exits and jumps out of the helicopter. I duck my head down, pretending to sleep, but he just lays down on a pile of fur. Who was he talking to? Was he sending a message for help? Does that mean there's no hope for help coming to us? I push those thoughts aside, and settle back into a more peaceful sleep.
I wake up to the dim glow of dawn. The air is cool and fresh. Bodies still lay next to me, their chests rising and falling in slow rhythm. I shake Beb and Bis awake, leaving Bolbi to sleep. We silently grab our things, and head towards the clearing. Our walk is silent, we have nothing to say. The occasional "Watch your step" followed by someone tripping. Soon enough, we make it to the large open clearing. It is huge, maybe the size of ten football fields. However, looking past the field we don't see either Anon or Bob.
"Let's cross the field. Maybe they're on the other side," Beb suggests. We walk onward. Halfway across the field Bis starts laughing.
"Hey do ya'll know that one song? Soulja Boy? You know how it all goes, right?" Bis starts the long "Ah" it starts low and slowly climbs higher, but it's mixed with something that gets louder and louder. Like a buzzing sound, similar to the wasp, but further away, coming from the sky. "YOU!"
Now the buzzing is deafening almost like it's on top of me. Then, out of the corner of my eye, is a plane. I hit the ground. An explosion rips through my ears, heat burns my hands and arms, as they cover my face. The ground underneath me shakes from the shock. I list my head and am greeted with an inferno wrapped around the warped metal of a plane.
"Damn! I missed!" I turn my head back towards the sky. Bis and Beb do the same. Floating down gracefully with a parachute is a man dressed head to toe in red. A costume looking exactly like Deadpool. "Now I have to kill you all the hard way."
From behind his back he pulls out a pistol and starts firing at us. We talk off running away from the flames and deranged man. We're wide open in the field, no cover given to us whatsoever. We sprint towards the trees. Bullets whiz by my ear, but I keep running. Only a few yards from the dense jungle. I look behind me to see the man running only meters away. Leaves hit my face. I jump over roots, hurdle streams, duck under branches. I run until my legs burn. I never look back. I only keep my eyes forward. The bullets stop flying and the gunshots are faint, but I keep running. After minutes of running and hearing no more gunshots, I let myself collapse against a tree. I take in my surroundings. I look for Bis and Beb.
They aren't with me. Oh no. They're dead. I left them. Deadpool must have shot them without me realizing it. I have to go back. I break into another run, retracing my steps. I push my way through the jungle. There's no sign of Bis and Beb, but there's also no blood. I can hear the roaring of fire though the trees. I turn around again going back into the jungle. I weave my way through the trees. Looking for either of them. My head whips back and forth, as I run. My heart beats a mile a minute. My hands are sweaty and don't help when I wipe my forehead. Where are they? My mind is buzzing. I can't focus. I'm still running despite the lack of air in my lungs. I'm dizzy, and the world is spinning. 'Where are they? Where am I?' It's like a metronome in my head.
I hit something. I'm on the ground. It wasn't a tree; it had clothes. Deadpool. My feet scramble on the ground, as I try to get my footing, but I'm being pulled back, by strong hands. I kick and punch, but it does nothing to him. I hear him yelling, but I can't focus on the words. I'm thinking only of escape. I'm being shaken back and forth quickly. My eyes focus on a face. Bismarck, with his sunglasses blocking his eyes. He's telling me to breathe. His words sound far away, but I listen. I gasp in a breath. Sweet oxygen fills my lungs. In and out. The world gets clearer. In and out. The jungle noises start sounding closer. My heart slows down. I see my reflection in Bismarck's black lenses. My hair is a tangled mess, pressed down by the goggles still around my head. Dirt covers my face besides the streaks running down from my eyes.
"Calm down," Bis says softly. "Everything will be alright."
"Beb?" I rasp.
"He ran off too, I don't know where he is," he says. "Probably still running from that guy, but he's a good runner. I'm sure he's going fine. Fuck, we're losing everybody huh?"
He pulls me up to my feet. I grab my saw and we walk. The ground starts inclining. Our path is getting steeper.
"Hey, tracks. Two sets." Bis points to the ground. He follows them. The footprints lead us a few meters until we leave the shadows of the trees, where the grass grows. We continue walking until we're met with the edge of the cliff. Bis continues onward walking along the edge. I peek over the side. Fifty feet below are a bunch of bushes, hugging the rocky cliff wall. In between the dark green of the leaves, is a spot of bright green.
I slide down the steep slope of the cliff, using rocks to grab on to. Rocks underneath my feet slide out and tumble to the ground. Once, my feet hit solid ground, I rush to the bushes, fearing the worst. I push the leaves out of the way. I turn around and vomit on the ground. The bile in my stomach burns my throat as I heave out everything in my stomach. My hands shake as I move the leaves and branches again, this time pulling them completely out of my way.
First I see the red, pooling the ground and spotting the leaves and his skin. His face is scrunched in pain, but his eyes are closed, unconscious. His breath is fast but shallow. It's the bones. The bones, covered in blood, not where they should be. His flesh pulled tight in weird places. His legs bent at wrong angles, because the bones should be inside, not jutting out of his legs.
"Bis! I-It's Beb! I found him!" I yell up to Bis. A few seconds pass and I see his head poking out from the cliff. He shimmies his way down, until he's beside me, looking at Beb's mangled legs.
"Oh Jesus fucking Christ," he says, before emptying his stomach too.

Author's note: To those who have left (you know who you are) I speak for everyone when I say we really miss having you guys around. When you all talk it gives me inspiration to write. Steve promised to be good. We understand if you don't wish to return anytime soon for whatever reason, but if you do return we will greet you again with open arms. It would mean a lot to me if you all resumed chatting.