Safe Harbor

| 23 |

Days pass, and the sun crosses the horizon on its daily voyage through the sky. In the free time that we have, games of football run nonstop, with everyone coming out to watch, even if they're not playing. We eat our supper, a mixed diet of freshly grown tomatoes and other vegetables along with the fish that Damien always manages to catch, without fail. We do our parts, we co-exist peacefully for the most part; excluding Bianca and Pierre, of course. 

They can't seem to go a minute without glaring at each other, so the rest of us do our best to keep them away from each other, which works for the most part. It's an uneasy peace, but it'll do for now.

Marco and I spend our days a variety of ways. Some days we're fishing with Damien, helping catch the supper Moni prepares every now and then. ("I got one! I got one!" "Marco, that's an old boot.") Some days we're sitting on the logs by Keda's hut, learning French or Maths, the latter of which, Marco detests. ("Now really, Keda, when will I ever need to calculate the angle of anything?" ) Other days we're by Jack's hut, trying to get him to tell us more about himself, usually to no avail. ("I dunno, mate, you seem like a bloke whose favourite colour is blue. Is it blue? I think it's blue.") 

When Marco's off doing something silly, I spend time with others, like Jean-Luc, or, as Eva insists we call him, "J-L! It's much easier to say, Xander!". We talk about just about everything, and it's always fun to poke fun at strange words in each other's languages. ("Now, allow me to see if I understand you correctly... You think 'embouteillage' is a funny word, but 'gobbledygook' is completely normal? I'll never truly understand the English language.") Oftentimes, we're joined by our original companions, Bianca, Nico, Eva, and Indy, and we play tag or hide and seek; sometimes, when there's no one watching, we swim around and race in the water until our fingers begin to prune. 

Some days I try to come out of my shell even more and talk to the new kids who've just arrived. Since I surely know how disoriented they feel, having been in their places, I talk to them, befriend them, and make them feel comfortable on the island. Amelia and I have become fast friends; two of the same kind, it seemed. She seems very quiet, but in reality, she's a wild one-- always running around, full of life. But there's more to her than just her vibrancy. ("My brother, you see, he's in the Air Force. He volunteered right before I left...") We have more in common than I ever thought.

Everything seems to fall into place here; it feels like nothing can go wrong. It's as if we're standing in a light that will never fade; tomorrow is surely coming, but it doesn't feel like this will ever change. 

Some days stay golden, forever. 

"Hey Marco, do you want to play another game of football with--" I start, only to be cut off by the sound of something zooming through the skies overhead. 

We stop where we are, still in the forest, frozen to our feet. 

"What... What was that?" He asks slowly, turning to look at me. There's no disguising the obvious fear in his eyes, which no doubt mirror mine. 

"I don't know," I reply quickly, already feeling adrenaline beginning to course through my veins. "We need to find the others, find out what's going--"

BOOM.

Suddenly we're thrown off our feet, propelled backwards by a force neither of us can explain. I find myself fifteen feet away from where we just stood, 2 seconds ago, my body wracked with pain. All around me, the ground continues to shake, the trees overhead swaying slightly as well. 

"Marco?" I groan, calling for my best friend. "Marco, mate, where are you?" I call, my voice hoarse; I'm covered in dirt. 

There's no response.