The Islanders

Where it all Begins

The voice disappeared. Silence reigned, until Lunabelle decided to break it.

“What?! This, t-this, is it, like, a joke?!” She let out a cry that sounded very animal-like and broke down into tears. “I want to go home! Why am I here? This is so not fair. Like, wha-“

“Shut up, Lunabelle.” Ivy interrupted.

Lunabelle looked stunned, standing there with her mouth hanging wide open. “Excuse me?! My beloved boyfriend Josh-Josh is, like, totally going to rip them apart! Why are they doing this?! And who do you think you are!?”

“Josh-Josh?” Jay blurted out. He then started laughing so hard that he had to bend over and clutch his stomach. I couldn’t help but smile, too.

But then my senses pulled me back to reality. Fear radiated throughout me. The blood in my veins turned ice cold. Was this some kind of prank? Will guys come out with cameras and tell us, “Say hi! You’re on TV!”?  But looking around, my hopes sunk into the depths of my anxiety. No prankster would ever be able to build such a realistic, unnatural island, or to get us there without us knowing it.

I glanced at Ivy, wondering what was going on in that secretive mind of hers. “Hey, Ivy, did you look around the whole island?”

Her dark eyes remained fixed on the blazing fire. “Of course not. It’s huge.” She said it in such a matter-of-fact tone that I felt really dumb. She then pointed at the woods behind. “Not to mention some unfriendly things might be lurking in there.”

I stared at the thick cluster of trees and wondered, for the first time, if someone concealed by the darkness was staring back.

***

About ten minutes had passed since anyone last spoke. All of a sudden I felt a pricking sensation in the back of my neck that sent icy waves along my backbone. And then, there was the voice again.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, more glee coating his thick voice now, echoing in my ears. “On your feet! Your first test will begin shortly. It will be quite simple actually, no need to fret.  All you have to do is, well, survive for a day.” He broke into high-pitched giggles as if someone was poking his armpit. He then stopped as abruptly as he began. “Good luck,” he whispered.

It was only when the voice faded that I noticed all of us were standing up. Even Ivy seemed to have lost her composure. A bead of sweat was running down her forehead, and her eyes were wide with fear.

Quiet, calm Ivy was scared. That spelt trouble, right?

Suddenly the ground beneath us started to tremble. A tiny beam of light pierced through the ever dark sky. I felt a cool breeze blow across my shoulder. The fire flickered.

The ground’s trembles suddenly turned into tremors, causing me to fall onto my knees. The radiant beam of white light advanced towards me, growing bigger and brighter by the second. My heart was slamming against my chest. I glanced around and spotted Jay staring in awe at empty air. Before I could make out what exactly he was looking at, I was engulfed in whiteness so intense that I had to shut my eyes.

I hugged myself as a chilly gust of wind raced past me, sending my black hair wildly into the air. The ringing in my ears grew so loud. Enough! I wanted to scream.

And suddenly it all stopped.

Silence was replaced by noise and cold by warmth. The piercing white light was gone.

Immediately, I opened my eyes.

I gasped in shock and confusion as I took in the view. I have been whisked away to the middle of a sunlight-bathed town.

Wooden stands selling things I did not recognize lined the edges of the busy street. A musty, sour smell hung in the air and pricked my nostrils. The noisy clattering of shoes on the brick-paved ground soon came to an end, along with the buzzing of all sorts of voices.

What’s going on?

People, all dressed in silk robes, started gathering around me, pointing, staring, whispering.

“Everybody, give the poor girl some air!” came a voice thick with a foreign accent. The whispers stopped. A middle aged woman, who I presumed must be the speaker, stepped gracefully through the crowd. It was as if she had an aura of force around her, gently pushing everybody out of her way. She approached me, then slightly grimaced; I was still on my knees probably looking like a circus freak.

She cleared her throat and wore a creepy smile.

“Welcome to the town of Raef,” she said.