Paradox

It Revolves Around You

Safia and I trudged back to the beach after the findings from the plane. When we got back, Finley and Scott were already there. For once they seemed to be getting along as they playfully talked to each other. It was as if they had been friends forever or something, it was weird.

"You won't believe what we found in that jungle!" Safia says as she runs over to the newly found friends.

"More like what I found, you just stood there." I say in response rolling my eyes, it rubbed me the wrong way back there when Safia was treating me like I was crazy or something. I had to admit though I did sound crazy, if it was her I would have believed her in the drop of a dime.

"Someone is as salty as the 70% of ocean water that surrounds us," Scott says as he got up from his spot in the sand playfully bumping into me.

"Scott, that saying needs to be left in 2016 as well as viners and catchy electronic music." Finley says almost offended.

As if to join our little reunion Elle and Akira emerge from the jungle looking a little bit closer than they had been when they left.

"Did you two hook up or something?" Finely asks while smirking.

"If anything that ship should sail," Scott says joining in on the teasing of the shy pair.

Elle and Akira blush ferociously together as if on cue while avoiding eye contact with the rest of us.

"Oh, you adorable nerds kill me," Scott says.

Bringing the group back to reality I say: " I don't know about you all but I found some pretty important things in that jungle. Safia and I found this abandoned helicopter with 712 written on it, that's not all though I found a worn out journal and a handgun in a leather bag. My guess is that it may have belonged to a soldier from whatever war Lanuola kept talking about. It could give us another point of view on what happened."

"If I didn't know any better I would say you picked up on Elles habits of long-winded explanations," Safia says laughing, leave it to her to lighten the mood of the tense atmosphere.

As if it was a competition Elle hurry's to tell us what they had found. "Akira and I climbed the mountain of a waterfall to find this but that's a story for another day. Show them the picture Aki!"

Leaving us all astonished we all just look around at each other in confusion.

Pulling out his camera that Akira was known to carry he showed us the picture of a bunch of drawings that seemed to be carved into a giant piece of rock. The carvings resembled people performing actions on a certain order but something stood out to me far more.

The familiar words at the bottom: "Ah shall con bah to, Neb le roy mal con Thetheus a newt, le pie."

Apparently, I wasn't the only that noticed because Scott yells: "holy shit Finley and I found the same words carved on the walls of a cave we found! It also had carvings surrounding it similar to those in the picture."

"Hey, maybe it's the cycle or ritual thingy that we are supposed to form that y'all said the lady was talking about!" Safia exclaims.

"Yeah, maybe but we should clarify it first with Lanuola." Elle says a little frustrated.

I couldn't blame her though. It was like it didn't matter how much information we found it just opened up more questions to be answered.

"Hey, where's Butthead and Beavis at? It's getting pretty dark." Scott says, bringing Milo and Colby's absence to our attention.

"Maybe they are on their way back, they probably know better than to stay out any later." Akira says, being reassuring as ever.

"We might as well start getting ready for tonight then. Akira and I can go fetch the fish from the traps in the sea while you all get the fire going." Elle orders.

"Sounds like a plan boss lady," Safia says in response.

The others scramble all over the place getting things ready but this was an opportunity for me. I needed to go see Lanuola, alone. I had so many questions but the main thing was she wanted me. This needed to be done.

I sneaked away from everyone's sight back into the jungle headed for her house. It took me little time to navigate the path. I was getting used to the jungle, which was a tad bit surprising. As if she could sense me coming like a predator to its prey the door was cracked open.

I walk into the cottage with a sense of caution. There she was sitting in a chair staring off at the entrance in which I had just entered.

"So you finally decided to pay me a visit did you?" Lanuola says in a condescending way.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to make the trip, its been very hard for..."

"You to be alone." She says finishing my sentence.

"How have you been my dear?"

"To be completely honest, not that great. I feel as if I'm losing my mind. No matter how many clues we find there are so many open ends that come along with it. Not to mention I'm..."

"Seeing things that the others aren't," She once again finishes my sentence, this was beyond creepy.

"Beatrice, Beatrice, Beatrice...what don't you get? The sooner you ditch the others everything will come together."

"Wait what do you mean to leave the others behind? They are my friends I could never do that."

"My dear, I never thought you could be this dense. The island wants you, not them. If anyone is supposed to be saved it's you!"

"What makes me so special?"

"That's simple! You have nothing to pay for, your ancestors weren't the ones that destroyed the island and its inhabitants now were they? You're not American!"

"The faster you sacrifice them, the faster you will be off this island and safe. You're the chosen one my dear, you're the girl that's meant to save the island. You have the power to reverse the island's history and restore it and its people back to before all the madness began!"

"What the hell! This makes no sense! I'm just a normal girl and furthermore you're the dense one if you think I will "sacrifice" the others for my own well being!" I was done at that moment, any longer and I feel like I would have lunged at her.

As I stormed out of the tiny cottage Lanuola continues on in her mad ramblings to say:" The future all revolves around you, Beatrice. It's in your hands."

I run as fast as I can to the beach and I made sure to avoid the others I just wanted to be alone. I stood in front of the ocean far from the group and looked ahead as if it would solve all of my problems in the drop of a dime.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes.

"Come on Bea, be strong don't you dare cry!" I repeated this line in my head over and over again.

For some reason I was angry at myself, I couldn't hold it back.

Tears streamed from eyes as I let out a frustrated scream. At that moment I just wanted it all to be over with. I wanted to smell the polluted air of New York, walk the halls of Maxwell prep, see Ms. Macelli's comforting smile, but most of all I wanted to play my violin in my small apartment above the bakery in which I worked.

I missed the small things in my once normal life that never meant much to me. I took it for granted.

*****

Thanks to @rysa_suha for the hilarious quote that I used for Scott!