The Black Arrow

Shado and Lian Yu

April 15, 2017

Island

It's been about a week since we got ourselves stranded on this island. The good part is the ship's wing where the missile hit is almost repaired the bad news is we haven't been able to repair it lately because we are being hunted.

________________________________________

April 13, 2017

I was watching Jacob work on the plane when we heard rustling in the forest behind us. At first we thought it was LJ and JJ coming back from foraging than we thought differently when we heard the voices. They weren't LJ or JJ's voices. They were gruff and creepy and they spoke in Japanese, my dad made me learn the language because he said I should know as many languages as possible. They spoke of a young woman named Shado who had ties with the Yakuza and might be with the group that was shot down. I told Jacob what I heard and he helped me get into the plane.

We heard footsteps. They were coming near the plane. I held onto Jacob and we sat silently as we heard them get closer to and closer, then all of a sudden the footsteps fell silent and that's when we heard Nyssa yelling for them to get away from the plane and then we heard someone trying to get on. We panicked and Jacob go in front of me and then I heard "Jacob it's me your mother" Sara said as she walked into view. Jacob hugged his mother tightly. I told Sara what I had overheard. She listened and said she was just glad that we were safe. Nyssa came back out of breath but unharmed. "They got away but they'll be back. I say we move camp somewhere but right by the plane" Nyssa said as she picked me up, not wanting me to walk on my leg, and we headed for a wooded area far from the plane. I knew this would slow down my parents rescue but it couldn't be helped.

________________________________________

Back to April 15, 2017

I was laying in the shelter when I heard noises outside. The others wouldn't be back for hours and I started to shake. I still couldn't stand on my own. I got ready to scream when I heard the voice of a young woman asking for help in Japanese. "Is that you Shado?" I asked remembering the girl the men talked about. "That's my name but how do you know it?" She responded. "I heard those men talking about you. Please come in so we can talk less awkwardly" I said knowing I could be being baited but my gut said otherwise.

I shined a light so Shado knew where to find me. It didn't take her long. Damn she was gorgeous. Her dark eyes matched with her long black hair. I felt very small near her with my funny pink hair and green eyes. She probably thought I looked like some wannabe anime girl or something.

"I love your hair" Shado said in Japanese. I smiled. "Thank you, it's my natural color, my name is Maryse by the way" I said back. "Nice to meet you Maryse, i'm Shado" She said and smiled. "You know the language well" she said sounding happy. "Ya my parents made me learn a lot of languages" I said blushing. She laughed. "That's a great thing to know" she said smiling, her cheeks getting rosy themselves. "How old are you?" I asked trying to stay casual. "I'm twenty one and you?" Shado asked smiling. "I just turned twenty. So, are you alone here? And why are those men after you?" I asked being a bit nosy quickly.

She looked down. "I was here with my father and a family friend on vacation when we were ambushed. They were after my father due to his yakuza ties. He told me to run. His friend, Slade made sure I got away and then he went back for him. I am so scared" she said starting to cry. I scooted over to her and held her. "Don't worry Shado, you're safe here" I said and we talked until the others got back.

________________________________________

That night

Nyssa and Sara watched Shado like a hawk. I felt bad for her. The others sort of stayed neutral on the matter. Felicity helped her brush her hair. It seemed to make Shado a little more relaxed. She knew English really well. She told the others her story making Ray looked like he was going to cry. She told the story of the island as well. "The island is known to the people of China as Lian Yu which in English would roughly translate into Purgatory. My father and Slade thought it would make an interesting vacation going to an island nicknamed purgatory. They were wrong" Shado said quietly. The others were talking about the island and I  just liked listening to Shado talk.

Jacob sat close and whispered, "you like her don't you"? I flushed and nodded. Jacob laughed. "Tomorrow when we head back to finish fixing the wing you should tell her how you feel" Jacob said going back over with his parents. Shado looked at me and smiled and I almost keeled over. Jacob snorted out a laugh he was trying to hide and I glared at him. It was the first time I had ever had interest in anyone and it caught me completely off guard.

That night as everyone was getting ready for bed Shado came over and laid her mat next to mine. I couldn't have been happier. "Tomorrow I will use a healing technique my mother taught me to heal your leg" Shado said yawning. "Thank you" I said and closed my eyes and the last thing I felt as I fell asleep was Shado's arms wrap around me. I smelled the beautiful fragrance of a summer rain and sweet summer strawberries. With Shado's arms around me plus that beautiful smell I had another wonderful night of comfortable sleep.