Lost

Chapter 4

Drew found me the next morning, my bare feet soaking in the clear water.

"Hey. What'cha doing?" Was all he asked.

"I woke up super early and couldn't fall back asleep." I lied. All I had done since waking up on the beach, was lie. I plastered a fake smile on my face and turned to him, "what about you?"

"Kit-Kat sent me to get water for breakfast. Irene was looking for you." Drew rolled up his pant legs and waded into the water with a large bucket in hand.

"Thanks." I stood up and picked up my converse by the laces, "I'll go find her."

Drew shot me a curious glance over his shoulder, but said no more.

The camp was lively. Irene raced up and grabbed my arm.

"We have to go gather fruit for breakfast! Come on!" Irene didn't seem to even realize that I hadn't slept all night.

Alex trailed behind and gave me an odd look when I handed her her machete.

We could reach the mangos and bananas easily but the coconuts were a different story. The palm trees swayed merrily above all the other trees, long and straight with nothing to grab onto. Alex grasped the tree trunk and began shimmying up it, leaving Irene and I alone at its base.

"I...don't think I can do that." I said, eyeing Alex as she pulled herself higher.

"I know I can't do that." Irene frowned and I got the feeling she spoke from experience.

"So...I remembered my name last night." I clasped my hands behind my back to stop them from trembling.

"That's so cool! What is it?! What's your name?!" Irene grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me, unable to contain her excitement.

"Ava." I found myself stretching a fake smile across my face.

"Ava! That's an awesome name!" Irene still had my shoulders in a vise-like grip, "Alexis, oops...I mean Alex! Did you hear that?! Her name is Ava!" 

"Watch out below!" Cried Alex, not listening to a word Irene had said. Coconuts rained down like bombs from a fighter jet. I dove for cover, yanking Irene down with me. With careless grace, Alex slid down the palm tree and landed softly on the grass. I stood up and dusted myself off. Irene just lay there, pouting. Alex didn't pay any attention. She began picking up the fallen coconut bombs as if nothing had ever happened.

"Ava, huh? Nice name." Plop. A coconut slid into the bag she was carrying.

"People can get concussions from falling coconuts, ya know!" I frowned at her and reached to help Irene up.

"Really? Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!" Alex stopped collecting coconuts and rushed over to Irene, suddenly aware of her crime.

"I'm fine." Irene said as I tried to tug her up. She was a deadweight, still pouting. I dropped her arm and began gathering up coconuts. 

Alex sighed and grabbed the sack of mangos and the bunch of bananas. We started to walk away.

"I'm leeaaving!" I called to the still grumpy Irene. She scrambled after us, her anger forgotten.

Coconuts are heavier than they seem, especially when you're carrying them in a huge sack. I was sweating by the time we reached camp.

"Kit-Kat's mad." Alex whispered in my ear, motioning to Kate.

"Why is she our leader anyway?" I asked, dropping my voice low.

"She's the oldest. In her twenties." Alex heaved the sack of mangos higher on her shoulder.

"You guys are late. Everyone's hungry!" Kate frowned at us, her freckles blending into her tanned face, "whatever. It's fine. Just...bring the food over here." She seemed absentminded.

Everyone dove for the fruit as soon as we set it down. I slowly unpeeled my banana, not very hungry. As I munched on my fruit, I stared at everyone. Rachel was sitting close to the girl named Nadia. They seemed to be having a private conversation. Every once and a while, Nadia would break out in loud giggles, Rachel's quieter laugh echoing hers. Drew, Will, Isaac and Reed all lounged carelessly, taking up more room than seemed possible. The spunky girl named Jewel and the girl with blue hair under her normal hair named Bree, were having a loud discussion. Kate joined in every once and a while, her laugh loud and easy. On either side of me, Alex and Irene were arguing.

Why did they seem so...at home here, eating off of lost plates with lost forks wearing lost clothes? Maybe it was because it was all they had ever known. But I felt, deep down, way down inside, a sense of unrest. This place wasn't right. It wasn't home, wherever home was.

The sun was climbing in the sky by the time Kate told us to explore the beaches. It was a daily thing, Alex had explained, so that if someone washed up on shore, we could take care of them. We marched off through the jungle, single file behind Alex and her trusty machete, like a line of ants marching across a sidewalk. When the beach appeared, I got a better look at it. Things poked up from the white sand. Pencils, pens, socks, books, dolls, bobby pins, necklaces, plates, watches and all manner of other strange things. Further out in the water, dark things protruded, thick as a forest.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing to the shadowy things in the water and squinting against the harsh sunlight.

"Ships lost at sea." Nadia replied grimly from behind me.

"Oh..." I said, my voice suddenly small.

The ships were crushed together in a compact wall around the island. Their sails were worn away, leaving only skeletal frames, dark and rotting. I wondered to myself, why hadn't my new lost friends tried to find a way off of the island? Were they so comfortable here that the thought never crossed their minds? Was I the only one filled with horror at the sight of all those lost ships, crushed together, trapping us? As the others cheerily began combing the beach for new lost things, I held back. Something about all this didn't seem right. Was I just hallucinating from sleep deprivation or were my newfound friends...oblivious to the strangeness in all of this?