{Book 1/3 of The Quarantine Series}
8 teenagers. One abandoned island.
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An unknown calamity leaves eight teenagers stranded on a mysterious and remote island. Confused and distraught, they must find a way to work together, in order get off the is...
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"So do you remember where you heard the girl screaming?" I ask Ryan.
He stops walking for a moment and looks around. "Not exactly. I just remember her scream. It sounded close, but I'm not sure what direction," he answers.
I nod. "Just keep your ears pricked," I say. The jungle is alive with noises, and it feels like eyes are on me, watching me as I walk. It sends shivers up and down my spine. Pure, liquidated, unadulterated fear pours through my veins, but I try and not show my fear on my face.
Pools of shadows form under the trees as we walk, quickly, but carefully, our senses alert.
"Wait, wait," Saige suddenly whispers. "Do you hear that?"
"I can hear a lot," I say.
She scowls at me. "Listen, idiot," she hisses.
I stop and look around. Within the sounds of the trees rustling, the breeze, and the sounds of monkeys chattering, gibbering and screeching, I hear a faint cry.
A shrill female cry, brimming with perturbation.
"Where is that coming from?" I ask, keeping my voice quiet.
Ryan shrugs.
"North, maybe?" Saige nods.
"He's right." She points to the right of us. "Let's head that way."
I raise an eyebrow. "How do you know that's North?" I ask.
"I just know," she says, glancing at me.
I know I shouldn't trust her, seeing as I have just met her, but it wasn't like I had another choice.
"Do you not think we should call back to her?" Ryan asks.
"No," I say. "We might attract something."
Saige nods in agreement. "Come on," she says, and we begin walking in the direction that we heard the cry.
The humidity is pushing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Sweat clings to my face like an extra layer of clothing and beads of it fall down my face and onto my lips. My breaths come out, in short, quick pants, and I can hear the same breathing coming from my two companions beside me.
The colors in this part of the jungle are bright, vivid. The emerald greens of the leafy plants; the cerulean and amber of the flowers, intercepting each other; the chartreuse green of the grass under our feet, long and thick and soft like a blanket. The vibrant, deep colors are strange to me, unfamiliar. Like I've never seen them before.
I have a dubious feeling to reach out and touch the colors, to make sure that they are real. They seem surreal in the tenebrosity of the forest. My eyes have not yet adjusted from the darkness in the other part of the jungle.
