The Island

Part 10 - 3

Three:

Sara held her scratched arm as she left the rubble of the hallway. Emma and JT ran to her, seeing that she too was struggling to breathe and stand. Emma picked up her t-shirt on the way, making sure that more dust couldn't enter her lungs like everyone else. JT got to Sara and held her shoulders. JT looked down at her eyes, noticing they were bloodshot and darting quickly from thing to thing. Her hair was adulterated with small fragments of branches and dust. "Andie..." She whispered, looking back into the smashed hall. "Shush." JT said to Sara's fading consciousness. "Save your strength." Without any given consent from her, JT picked up Sara and began to carry her off to the library. Being up close to the dusty hallway made JT feel strangely drowsy; but he could fight the effects. For now. Across the foyer JT went with Sara, who somewhat struggled to look back into the hall. JT guided her head away and tried to focus on getting her to a safe place. JT popped the library open once again to find Emma next to Wyatt. With one arm gripped around his back, Emma supported his weak body. She had a cloth to his mouth and was wiping away blood. "Hang in there." She whispered. JT nodded to Emma and tiptoed past her with Sara still in arms. He went to the chairs by the bay window, seeking to set Sara down there. Once he got to the chair, JT let Sara's body find the back of it. JT lowered her legs and left her in the chair slightly slumped over. She had enough strength to readjust, but she looked like she was in a lot of pain. "Sara," JT looked in Sara's eyes. "Do not leave. Emma will get you ibuprofen soon. I'm going for Andie." Sara nodded and then looked down at her arm. JT saw it was still bleeding, but it was nothing major. "Emma, Sara's going to need a few bandages." He said. He stepped back and away from Sara, who just stared at JT as he left. This Sara sitting in the bay window chair wasn't a Sara no one thought they'd see. She looked like hell, and JT couldn't imagine what Andie's gonna look like. "Remember your collar!" Emma said as JT walked out the door. "Alright!" He brought up his collar and went for the foyer again. Entering the foyer again felt haunting; the cloud of dust had somewhat parted the foyer, but an erie quiet hung over everything that was left of the cabin. JT went past the lounge room and right up to the rubble. For the first time, JT saw the oak tree. It looked stripped of branches, like the cabin had clipped them all off on the way down. It was either that or the branches were higher up on the tree to begin with. Either way, no branches or leaves could be seen. There was one thing he could see though; through the darkness, a shadow. It was cast slightly on the tree trunk near Sara and Andie's room, but it faded too far into the darkness to recognize it further. "Hello?" JT called. Silence. The rubble stayed quiet; too quiet for anything to be normal. JT disobeyed Emma's request and took one step into the disrepaired hallway. As soon as he did, the shadow moved. It scared JT; he knew he was not alone. JT took another step in, observing the damage around him. To the left, the wall closest to the tree's impact, was marked, cracked, and crushed into millions of pieces thoroughly. To his right, similar cracks and marks ran across the once rich walls. He looked up above, seeing the tree had gone through the ceiling and into a room above. It must have been the bathroom next door. Little did JT know his one night stand and the Drama Queen where up there. He looked back down in front of him, carefully traversing the dust, debris, and fallen ceiling. As JT approached Sara and Andie's room, near actual tree itself, JT smelt something. It smelt like a dentist or a new car almost. The smell came light at first, but then started hitting JT much harder. He started to cough; he started coughing so much he had to stop his slow pace and bend over to cough in his sleeve. As he uttered his final cough, he caught movement again out of the corner of his eye. He now knew where it was coming from; right above him. From the upstairs bathroom, one of the girls awoke. She wasn't sure what knocked her out, but she awoke from the floor. She got to her feet, rubbing her pounding forehead. She worked her way over to the sink, or what used to be the sink in the bathroom. Since the entire wall was gone, she could see clearly into the night sky and the bedroom hallway one floor below. She heard movement in the hallway, so she took a look down, eager to see who it was. As JT looked up and saw her moonlight face, she suddenly became petrified. It was JT. Her legs became very weak, making her wobbly. Out of nowhere, she slipped over the edge and plummeted straight to the ground below.