Lost

Chapter 11

The jungle reached out, grabbing at my ankles, trying to kill me. As the snarls continued behind me, I felt that sense of panic you have when you are being chased in a nightmare.

But this wasn't a nightmare.

This was real life.

We burst into camp, the monsters just a yard behind, their claws leaving deep gashes in the dirt. Reed, Rachel, Nadia, Kate, Jewel and Bree looked up, terror instantly blooming on their faces as they saw what was coming behind us. Reed pulled a handgun out of nowhere and aimed at the beasts. Alex was pulling Irene up into a tree and the others were scrambling up as well. I grabbed a low branch, hoisting myself up. I climbed as high as I could, not daring to look down until I couldn't climb any further. And that's when I finally saw what had been hunting us.

Black as night, bristling fur. Yellow teeth as long and gleaming as the tusks of an elephant, but razor sharp. Hollows where eyes should have been. Long, ape-like arms with two inch long claws pawing the ground. Two tails waved, one covered in thorny spikes, the other a tentacle, it's grotesque suction cups covered in dark slime.

I clung to the tree like it was a life preserver and I was in the largest stormy ocean in the world with sharks cutting through the water next to me. Reed was still aiming at the horrors, his hands visibly shaking, ready to pull the trigger. A resounding bang echoed through the island and for a moment, the beasts paused in their infernal snarling. Black blood oozed from the nearest monster and it sank down, hissing with rage. Then the other two leapt, their claws raking across Reed's back, his red blood mixing with the monster's black blood.

Suddenly I found myself stumbling down from the tree, branches grazing my face and arms. Alex and Irene were beside me, their faces pale with fear. I heard everyone else gathering behind us, but my ears were filled with Reed's cries of pain.

"Go away!" I screamed at the beasts, my voice rough with rage, fear and sadness. I pulled the compass out of my pocket, the clue falling out and fluttering to my feet, soaking in Reed's crimson blood.

"Stop!" Alex grabbed my arm as I was about to fling the compass at the monsters.

"Why?! He's dying! This isn't worth it!" I screamed at her, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding before me.

Will had grabbed the beast's shoulders, trying to wrench the thing off of Reed. He was crying but his face was filled with absolute rage. Drew had taken Alex's machete and was hacking at the other monster's neck, the blade flashing in the air. Isaac was trying to drag Reed's limp body away, his face grim. Bradley had a pocket knife and was stabbing the empty hollows where eyes should have been.

"We're in too far to stop now. We all want our lives back, no matter how lost they were." Kate said, stepping up beside me, her hand covering her mouth, her words muffled.

"But-but he's dying! Can't you see that?!" I screamed again.

"Yes. But...he's dying for the rest of our lives. This is a sacrifice for us." Jewel choked out the words beside me, tears streaming down her face.

"Run!" Bree screamed behind us.

The monsters had turned their eyeless heads toward us, thinking about chasing us. Drew dragged Will off of one of the beasts and pulled him after us. Isaac had his arms under Reed's and started dragging him away.

"Leave him." Irene's voice was soft, her eyes filled with tears and immense sadness.

Isaac had a long moment of indecision before dropping Reed's limp arms. He walked a few steps away before turning and saluting Reed's broken body. We all stopped and saluted him as well. Everyone was crying silently, their tears tracing rivers through their dirty faces. All of them were crying...except for me. I felt pain and sadness, greater than I'd ever known...but I didn't cry. I...couldn't.

So I just stood there, feeling

Incredibly, immensely, astoundingly

Lost.

And then we ran, Reed's sacrifice branded on our minds, our legs pumping hard, splitting through the jungle. We wouldn't let his death be in vain. We would survive. All of us. No matter what it took. At least...that's what I decided.

But sometimes life has other ideas.

***

It was past noon by the time we finally stopped running, our hearts in our throats and panic stamped across our faces. Jewel sank to the ground, sobs wracking her body.

"He's...really gone...isn't he?" Irene said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"Yeah..." I never got to know Reed very well. He was quiet and only talked a lot when he was in the group of guys. When he did speak to me, he was random. He was laid back and easy going, his sense of humor slightly sarcastic. I would miss him.

Bradley stood off to one side, visibly uncomfortable, his eyes straying to Rachel. Bree had sunk down beside Jewel and was rubbing her back trying to comfort her. Still not comfortable, I turned the compass over and over in my hands, watching the red needle stay pointed toward where we were supposed to go. It was pointing back from where we came.

"...uh..." I whispered, my voice faltering. I knew that once I asked this, everyone would turn to me. That didn't matter though. I pushed down my irrational fear of attention and soldiered on, "...how many monsters chased you before?"

"Three. Both times that they chased us there were only three." Drew spoke up.

"These...beasts. They're not very smart. They live to kill. So...someone must be giving them orders." I took a deep breath, my fingers twisting together behind my back, "someone doesn't want us to leave."

That got everyone's attention, even Jewel's.

"Go on." Alex said, leaning forward.

"I have no idea who it could be but there must be a mastermind to this madness. Someone doesn't want us to return to our lost lives. Maybe...they want us to have better lives here. But...then why force us? And this person must know that everyone eventually gets tired of an island, especially one as small as this one. Also, why make a way to leave? Why not just make it absolutely impossible? Why are there clues as to how to get off this wretched place?" I paused, my ears heating up as everyone stared at me, "if Amelia Earhart knew how to leave, why did she bother to leave clues for other people? How could she even know more people would show up? Why didn't she just leave? My guess is that there were other people on the island that she wanted to save. But maybe they hated her. Or maybe if she told them, the monsters would chase her. At any rate, she left clues specifically designed to lead that person off of the island. However, she died before she could escape. Who knows who was with her but hopefully they made it off the island alive. The mastermind who is controlling the monsters, must be able to tell where we are at all times. The trick to being safe from the monsters while escaping, is to keep our whereabouts hidden from this all-seeing person." I finished, surprising myself at how boldly I spoke.

"How? How do we stay hidden?" Nadia asked, her long hair swaying.

"...I...have no idea." I dropped my head, defeated.

I was, however, sure of my theory. There must be an antagonist to every story. I just...didn't know who the antagonist was in my story.