The Islanders

Marooned: Chapter Five

Chapter 5

 I ran as fast as I could to Lilith and hugged her. "Am I ever glad to see you." She said as she hugged me back. I could hear Jack, Nathan, and Brandon chattering loudly as they all greeted each other.

"I didn't think anyone else made it to the island. Good to know I was wrong."

"Me too." Replied Lilith pulling apart from our hug and smiling. "Where'd you come from?"

"The beach." And I pointed towards where I came. "What about you?"

"A long row of rocks on the shore. Not much sand. We were all thrown off course by a few large waves but luckily it wasn't by much."

"Is this everybody?" I asked, hoping to God it wasn't.

"Sadly, yes." Lilith noticed the grin on my face fade to a frown. "But I'm sure more people will turn up." She has to be right.

There's no way Clarice would have . . . well, you know. She's too strong for that. I know her and she wouldn't of given up without a tough fight. Anybody who knew her knew that. And Bobby too; he's like an impenetrable wall, a force to be reckoned with. Neither of them would have stopped trying until they achieved what they were wanting. It's crazy how alike they are but at times they but heads out of their stubbornness. 

                                                                                                 ***

After everyone finished greeting each other we all headed back to the part of the beach Jack and I came from. He still seemed grumpy about what happened but he seemed to perk up a little after I hugged him earlier. Surely he'll get over it, he's not one to hold a grudge as far as I knew. Everyone also seemed more happy once we started walking and their chatter, laughter, and footsteps were the only sounds surrounding me. It honestly amazed me how optimistic their moods were considering what happened only hours ago, but it's probably better that way.

                                                                                                   ***

We were all at the parts of the bush where it started to thin out and turn into sand and immense heat when we heard shouting. Immediately everybody started shooting around different looks at each other. I took a look to my right and saw three unfamiliar figures and one that looked vaguely like - Bobby! I was so overcome with joy that I ran through the small crowd of people in my way and bolted towards him. I leaped up and gave him a hug and he partially accepted it and then another part of him was still focused on the argument being played out in front. 

Two of the men had crews outfits on and the third looked like a typical passenger except the strange pendant at the end of the chain hung around his neck that swung around with each movement of his. I couldn't even figure out what shapes were in it, it was just disordered and cluttered. At that point I let go of Bobby so that other people could greet him and so that I could get a better look at the strange man. He seemed to catch onto what I was doing and gave me a weird look while not getting too distracted from the conversation so I decided to stop.

But while I was doing so I noticed his shirt was of a rock band that I think Clarice sometimes listens to. Also, there was a watch on his right wrist which means he's probably left handed and their was a slight indentation above his left eyebrow. Other than that and the scar just below his elbow, there wasn't much different about him or offsetting. Same goes for the others, nothing strange about them. 

I took two or three steps back so that I was positioned next to Jack and he leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

"Do you also get a strange vibe from this whole situation?"

"Yeah. What are they even arguing about?" I said leaning back a little.

"I think one of the staff members, who's name I believe is John, is blaming Bobby for something and the other one is disagreeing but the passenger is backing up the John guy."

"You do realize how confusing that sounds, right?" I said snickering a little.

"Yup. Maybe we should just let - " It was too late, I was already getting myself into an argument I had no business being in. I heard one side of the story and then another until I had conjured up my theory of what happened. Long story short, everyone's good - I think. They still seem a little upset but nothing that won't eventually blow over and dissipate. 

It was late afternoon when I gathered everybody. I did a head count and there was a total of 36 people, a quarter of which were my classmates. I scattered one part of the group along the beach to collect material items that washed up on the shore or that weren't too far out in the water. Then another part went to set up shelter while the rest built a fire. I was kind of proud of myself and a little surprised at the fact that they all followed my instructions. I managed to find my way to the group along the beach after checking on the others.

There was one suitcase that had nothing useful inside except for some clothes and a bottle of sunscreen. Another had a slightly emptied lighter lying next to a box of cigarettes that were severely water damaged. I kept picking through the wreckage that managed to find its way to shore when I laid my eyes upon a multicoloured piece of luggage that had a rip along one side and I realized it was mine. Everything was soaked and smelt of saltwater except for the things I put in a Ziploc bag. There was my mp3 player, a calculator (I did have a bit of math homework to catch up on), and lastly, the photo of my family I placed there knowing I'd occasionally be homesick and now I really was. I kneeled down in the sand and scanned over everyone's faces but ended up on Scott's. 

We had our differences but he occasionally was like my closest friend and therapist. My parents sometimes put a lot of pressure on me for things like grades and being as close to perfect as possible, but Scott never cared. I'd also help him out with soccer sometimes by assisting him during his practices. I wonder if they know I'm not coming home? I let one teardrop roll down my cheek until I heard the sound of sand grains being pushed and rolled against each other and quickly hid the photo and wiped the tear away. 

It was just Jack. "We got the fire going and found something to boil water in." I could feel him look me over. "Are you okay, Ivy?"

All I could do was shake my head and start to cry as he put his arms around me. I pulled the photo out and he completely understood and held me tighter. "It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." He kept repeating it in a soft whisper until I calmed down enough and we just sat there clasping onto each other.