5 days in Hell (part 1)

Nightfall

Lucas's blonde hair glimmered in the sun. I noticed his eyes were green. The forest made it a little hard to see him before. For everyone it was a little hard to see. I walked over to him. "Sun is going down." I observed. He stood there looking down at his feet. Sand was being kicked into the air. It was a soft kick, but Lucas is weak. If he was stronger, I'm sure he would have kicked harder. Clearly he was mad, but what about? "What's wrong?" I asked him with a concerning tone. He looked at me, anger in his green eyes. His whole body was shaking. "Leave me!" He barked. I jumped in shock. Lucas seemed a lot like Alex. Now, I see the difference. Alex would not yell like that. Lucas seemed soft, which explains the anger. He has anger issues.

I saw David talking to Kayla and Orion. David, in turn, saw me talking to Lucas. He came over after Lucas yelled at me. "What just happened?" He asked me. I turned my head to face him. "I don't know, David. Something is bothering him." I informed. David looked at him then turned back to me. "Let's just leave him alone for the time being. We need to set up camp." His voice drifted. I saw his head turn. He seemed worried, so I turned too.

A towering wave was approaching. We could see it in the distance of the ocean. "Tidal wave! We need to go, now!" Kayla screamed. I looked around the island. "There is nowhere we can go!" David pointed out. I turned desperate as soon as I noticed how big the wave was. Alex was still out cold and there was no way out. Oh no.

I turned to David. He was, like me, trying to figure something out. To think, this was his only way out. No family, no house, no nothing, he doesn't have anything to live for. 'Michael, they can't just take us from our families. We should rebel. I mean, you can't just stand there! Are you going to stand there and let them kill you? Let them kill you like Sarah?' All he can do is rebel. His parents are dead. If that happened to my mom.

Time was running out. The wave grew into a building. It seemed all over, until I remembered. "Everyone, grab some wood. Make sure it's a big piece!" My voice trailed as the sound of rushing water flooded my words. Still, we all did what I said and got ready. David grabbed Alex. I looked at him with doubt. "Are you sure you can carry him?" I asked doubtfully. He nodded and continued. The wave was nearly inches away from my face. I stood prepared, yet I gripped my board in terror. Wisconsin didn't have oceans. Then again, Wisconsin didn't have life threatening environments. Well, depends on which sector you are from. My sector was in between rural and urban life. So my family didn't have that "southern accent" We lived in a small town that was so close together, we were almost family. I meant we were family. Now I see my family die, just before I do. Finding a silver lining in this mess is impossible. All you can find in this place is death.

You also find an enormous wave in your face. I saw Kayla before the wave hit me. She had no board. "Kayla get a board, now!" I yelled, quickly regretting using my breath. The sound wave reached Kayla, but the other wave reached first. "Nooooo-" I was flung back, losing my grip on the board. The impact nearly took the rest of my breath away. It felt as if someone had shot me. I opened my eyes to see where I was. Another feeling of regret shot up me as I found my eyes burning from the salt. My intelligence level must have gone down because I: lost my board, lost my breath, and lost my sight. With my vision blurry and the light dimming, I lay suspended. Slowly the water dragged me down.

Maybe I was hallucinating, but I saw a shadowy figure. The figure brought me up. I found myself not breathing anymore. Yet I wasn't dying, I didn't need to breath. Light broke through the darkness of the deep ocean, and I could see the figure. I had to have been hallucinating, because I recognized that figure. It had almost brought me up completely, and then she said, "I will come back if you promise me, you have to come back too." Then blood started to surround her. Slowly, she faded away. I brought myself up the rest of the way. The feeling of breathing again was like being raised from the dead. "Sarah!" I cried, but she did not return. My hopes of getting out of here alive faded, like the light of the day.

I heard another voice. This one was also someone I knew. "Michael!" David called, his voice was soft. It was loud enough for me to know how far away he is. My sense of direction wasn't always that great, but some miracle allowed me to find him. Plus, I could see him in the distance. "I'm here!" I yelled back, wondering how I was here. After all, I did just hallucinate. Or did I? Sarah did whisper something under her breath. It was something like "miss blood"

I swam towards David, who seemed alone. "Where...is Alex?" I asked out of breath. He looked at me with a hurt face. My eyebrow rose in question. "I couldn't hold him." He answered. The board was big enough for both of us, so I got on. Maybe I was wrong about Sarah, it might have been "blood" not "miss blood". The reason I thought she said that was because of David. His leg was bleeding. I started to cry. Kayla had no board, Alex is unconsciously drowning, and David is injured. He looked at me with water in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Michael-I couldn't hold on. Alex is go-" Tears broke out before he could finish. Seeing him cry made me cry too. We are his only family. Now he just lost his family, again.

Crying turned to screaming. His leg was still bleeding. The armor can heal the wound, but not for now. I took out my shirt through my armor and tied a knot on his leg. He had a big gash that was the size of my palm. The armor locked up, after I tied the knot. This armor is very complex and tricky. Yet, the armor is simple. It made it harder to stay above water with the armor on. David had passed out from blood loss. "Oh no...Not David. I promise you I will make it, if you make it too. You have to make it." I said, but that didn't change things. My hope was almost gone, but I found the silver lining.

I have to make it for David, Alex, Kayla, and Sarah. Most of all, I have to make it for my mom. She is my goal in life. Get done with tests, go to war for 4 years, and then come home to take care of her. Still, I don't think she will live that long. In this world, who can live that long? All we can do is live to die. If I do make it through this, why would I want kids? Why would I put kids into a world like this? David thought of rebelling, now I think it is a good idea. What else is there to do? Training to fight for others who are good? I read a book about history, and we are just like the rest of the world. The United States of America was the land of the free, but it turned sour. No one can help us anymore, not even my father. All we can do now is sit here and wait. Wait for the clock to run out of time. Then, death will take you. The board was big, and the water calmed down enough for me to be able to sleep. I looked in the distance to see if anything was there, but there wasn't. No one called for us. It seemed okay to sleep, so I did. I laid there waiting for the clock to strike. Only then can I truly find peace.

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