Lost

Chapter 5

The beach was covered in hidden treasure. Everyone ran about, collecting coins, laughing and gloating about their finds. But I wasn't impressed. The lost ships still haunted me, their skeletal masts reaching to the sky. I silently broke away from my mix of strange friends and wandered down the beach, my feet splashing in the waves. Lost in my thoughts, I didn't realize how far I had gone. Suddenly, I noticed that I didn't hear my friend's laughter or voices. It was eerily quiet. The beach, still glinting with lost things, was completely empty. Against my will, my eyes strayed back to the ships lost at sea and I shuddered. Who knew how many horrors were hidden in those dark holds? Images flew through my mind, a result of my overactive imagination. Grinning skeletons, Pirates treasure dripping with blood, the remains of a crew, condemned to a watery grave. I shook my head, trying to dislodge the disturbing ideas. This was stupid. They were probably empty anyway. I found myself taking a step towards the ships anyway. Curiosity drove me against my will, propelling me forward, through the warm waves and out to sea. It only took a little while to slog to the ships, but when I reached them, I wished there was no such thing as curiosity. Barnacles clung to the hull of the nearest ship, waterlogged from the lapping waves. It was an old ship, with antique cannons lying dormant in its sides, the wood rotten and black. An old rope ladder hung limply from the side and I contemplated climbing it.

"...help..."

I froze, my hand halfway to grabbing the ladder.

"...help...me..."

I wasn't imagining things. That was a person's voice.

"H-hello?" I asked timidly, my hand still poised, ready to grab the rope ladder.

"...over here..." The person fell into a fit of coughing and I followed the sound.

The wheezing led me to what looked like a lump of clothes floating by the prow of the rotting ship. Upon further inspection, it was a guy with red hair and eyes that weren't quite green and weren't quite brown. He was blue around the mouth, gasping for breath.

"...uh..." I opened and closed my mouth, unsure of what to do. Obviously, I'm great in emergency situations. Sarcasm. That was sarcasm.

Finally, I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and towed him to shore. There he lay, retching and coughing up seawater.

"Uh..." I said again and awkwardly patted him on the back.

"...thanks..." He tried to dry his face on his soaking wet shirt.

"I'm Ava." I said, helping him to his feet.

"I'm Bradley." The boy looked down at his bare feet.

I gaped at him for a second. He had his memories?

"You have your memories?" I asked him, wringing out my hair.

"Yeah...why wouldn't I?" Bradley's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Everyone who finds themselves here, loses their memories," I lowered my voice, "this is the island where all lost things go."

"Is there a girl named Rachel here? Please! You have to tell me!" Bradley's eyes widened, urgency spreading across his face.

"...yeah...why?" I lifted an eyebrow, suspicious.

"Where is she?! I know her!" Bradley didn't seem to notice my hesitation.

Just then, my group of bedraggled friends rounded the point of the island. Before I could say another word, Bradley was sprinting down the beach, sand flying up from his feet. The treasure hunters stopped dead in their tracks as Bradley barreled past them. He rushed by, grabbing Rachel in a hug.

An awkward silence ensued. Rachel stood there, her arms limp at her sides, shock written all over her face. After a long silence, she gently pushed Bradley away and looked him in the face.

"Who...are you?!" she asked quietly.

"Rach! It's me! Bradley!" His face fell as he realized she didn't remember him, "I-I know you."

Rachel stared back at him, clearly trying hard to remember him.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I...everyone here has amnesia." Rachel whispered.

Bradley laughed a short, bitter laugh, "but...you should remember me. I mean...its me!"

"Let's go back to camp. You can explain everything there." Kate said gently.

***

"I saw Rachel in town one day and started running over to say hi...but she stepped into the street and disappeared. Just...vanished." Bradley was sitting by the fire, wrapped in a lost blanket, his teeth chattering, "I tried following her. I tried walking to where she had vanished but...nothing happened. I reported the incident to the police and told my family and friends but they thought I was a lunatic. They all said that there never was a Rachel. Even her family said that she never existed. She disappeared from photos and her contact disappeared from my phone. It was like...she had vanished not only from the world...but from people's minds. I was the only one who remembered her." He paused, staring into the dancing flames, "I felt so...lost. When I went back to the place she had vanished, I blacked out and found myself pinned under the water. I managed to escape but I almost drowned. Thankfully she was there to save me." He motioned to me and I could tell he had already forgotten my name. I smiled anyway.

Rachel was sitting as far away from Bradley as possible, obviously wary of her clouded past.

"Why did you feel so lost when Rachel disappeared?" Reed asked.

"Because she was my girlfriend." He said simply.

"I'm in love with her."