B A R I N

1 - Arrival

Chapter 1 - Arrival

           A loud ringing woke me. My eyes flying open as I stared up at the gloomy dark sky. Sitting up quickly as I felt the need to throw up. I watched as water poured out, leaving a salty and dry feeling in my mouth.

Where the hell was I?

I slowly got up, struggling as my legs started to wobble, my soaked clothes sticking to me as if they were second skin.
Looking around there wasn't much. Just the ocean and not far off, there was a forest.
I closed my eyes as I tried recalling exactly what happened.
Flashes of the plane crashing pounded its way into my head. The ocean engulfing the huge piece of metal and with me in it. I remember boarding the private jet, I was headed towards Landon. After that everything besides the crash became a huge blur.
I looked towards the ocean, trying to find any signs of the jet. But there was nothing, besides a few small waves the ocean looked calm, no signs of heavy metal could be seen anywhere. Perhaps I was knocked out longer then I had originally thought and everything was already sunken deep underwater.

With that thought in mind I didn't hesitate to jump into the icy water and began swimming. Diving under when I felt I had swam far enough.

Nothing.

Everywhere I looked , there wasn't a single sign of the jet. None of this made any sense, at most there should be floating debris.
Feeling exhausted I slowly swam back towards the shore. My mind was a jumbled mess, where the hell could the jet be? Had anyone else survived the crash? The pilot? The flight attendant? Was I the only one? I tried recalling if anyone else was on board, but I'm pretty sure it was just us three.

I settled my tired out body on the sand, shivering from the cold. Only them did I realize the ache in my left arm and thigh. My black jeans had a small tear in them, as big as a coin. Inside was a chunk of metal imbedded deep into my thigh, I flexed and watched as blood slowly seeped out, dripping onto the sand. I sucked in a deep breath as the pain made itself more prominent.

Fuck.

My arm wasn't as bad, it was a gash, most likely caused by something slicing it open. Deciding to fix up my thigh first I ripped off a part of my sweater, folding it nicely, before shoving it into my mouth, afraid that I might bite off my tongue when removing the metal.
I took a deep breath before gripping the part that sticked out. I pulled until half was out, my forehead was covered in sweat and my jaw hurt from clenching so hard. Blood was flowing more freely now, it dripped heavily onto the sand making everything look like a bloody mess. Once the piece of metal was completely removed, I shoved my finger into the wound, making sure no fragments were left. Removing the pice of clothing from my mouth, I refolded it before using it to wrap around my wound. I couldn't do much for my arm, so I left it as is.
I needed to find a way to sow up my arm and thigh, if not It won't take long before both would infected. I couldn't afford that, the risk of them getting infected was high, making the risk of getting sick high as well. I could end up dying here if my wounds don't get treated quickly, my thigh had somewhat stopped bleeding so heavily but I knew I had two days max before the possibility of bleeding out.

I sighed, as exhaustion finally took over, I flopped onto the sand, not carrying about the blood that had my lower body drenched. Closing my eyes as I listened to the sound of the waves. I wanted so badly to sleep there and then, but I knew I couldn't. I had to make the best out of my situation while there was still daylight out. I cracked an eye open, staring at the stack of rocks that weren't far. I sat up quickly as a strip of orange caught my attention. It contrasted against the darkness of the rocks. I couldn't see it very well when sitting up but I knew something was there. I struggled to stand up, my thigh resisting. When I was able to stand on both feet I made sure to put most of my weight on my uninjured leg. I limped over, my thigh leaving a trail of blood.
When I finally reached the large rocks I could clearly see the black and orange bag. A feeling of happiness rushed forward as I detached the bag from the rocks and checked inside. It contained medical equipment as well as a flare gun and two large knives. Deciding to try my luck I looked around, hoping to find something else. My heart made a small thump as I spotted a similar bag floating on the other end of the rocks. I quickly limped my way around, snatching the bag up as soon as I got close enough. The bag was similar to the other, only this one had red instead of orange. Checking inside, it contained food and survival essentials. I felt overjoyed as I made my way towards the forest. Sitting on dry land felt wonderful compared to the wet sand. I decided not to venture to far in when entering the forest. I could still see the sand and ocean from where I was.

•••

I built a fire first, using the tools provided in the red bag. After, I removed my vans which were soaked with water and stained with blood, I placed them by the fire, letting them dry along with my socks. I did the same for my jeans and sweater, hanging them up on a branch. I was left in only my undergarments which was a simple black sports bra and boys shorts underwear.
The fire quickly warmed my body, making me feel more at ease. I then got to work on my injuries, I washed away the salt with clean water, then used alcohol to disinfect. I bit down on gauze as I sowed up the hole in my thigh, making sure it was well stitched. I washed away the blood with more alcohol then applied a cream that will help with the healing process. I repeated these steps when stitching up my arm, finishing off by securely wrapping them in gauze. By the time I was done the sun was slowly going down, making the cold day into a colder night. I huddled close to the fire, munching on food that was in the red bag and drinking the provided bottled water. Soon exhaustion took over, and I finally allowed myself some rest.

•••

I jumped awake at the sound of crunching leaves. Something or someone was approaching. They were far, but close enough to hear. Deciding not to take any chances I moved quickly to hide. The fire was almost completely out so I didn't bother with it. I changed into my clothes as quickly as possible, feeling relived that they were somewhat dry. I slipped on my shoes, stuffing my socks into my pockets. I couldn't head out towards the beach, anyone with eyes would be able to spot me, but I couldn't hide deeper into the forest, the thing headed my way was in that direction. I decided to climb a tree, in the dark, no one would be able to see me. I slipped on one of the bags on my back while the other in the front. Quickly with my injured arm and thigh I climbed up two branches, being as quite as I possibly could. It wasn't long until my arm and thigh started protesting, preventing me from climbing anymore. The rustling got loader, it didn't take long for me to realize that there were serval things head this way.
Perhaps a bear and its cubs? Campers?
I sat comfortably on the thick branch, watching down below. From a distance I could make out four small lights, that got bigger as they approached. Fire? Maybe they were campers.
As they got closer I could make out that they were all men. They were dressed strangely, it looked almost like...armor? Were they cosplaying? I noticed that they even had swords on their sides.
I watched as they stopped were my dying fire was at.
"Sir, there was someone here"
His accent was English, had I woken up on United Kingdom soil? It made sense, I was headed towards Landon. 
"Look around, they couldn't have gotten far"
Were they looking for someone? From their way of speaking, I doubted it was a friend.
I debated whether or not I should make myself known. I had no idea were I was and these strange people were probably going to be my only option. With my mind made, I sat quietly on the branch, watching and wondering how things were going to play out.
I waited a while, three out of the four disappeared into different directions while the one that seemed to be in charge remained. He roamed around, stopping when he spotted specs of blood. My blood. It didn't take long until he found the small puddle of blood that was caused when I was dealing with my injuries. He dipped his index and middle finger in, swirling his fingers around.
I watched with curiosity as he quickly stood up from his crouching position, his head darting into the sky. Well more specificly the trees.
A strip of panic made itself known, had this man figure out where I was hiding?