FoR (On Hold)

Chapter 1.2

A small drop of water hit my sunglasses, startling me from my relaxation. Looking up, I saw a dark cloud forming, with swirling winds and rain coming down like bullets.

"Hey, guys? It looks like it's going to rain, so we'd better head inside." Daichi, who had been recklessly sitting on the very edge of the boat, texting with one hand and fishing with the other, looked over his shoulder at me. "What makes you say that," he inquired. I pointed up at the sky.

Peering up into the sky, his expression changed quickly. "Oh. Yeah. Right. Giant swirly gray cloud. That's probably a sign." When he said this, Alex, who had been making drinks for all of us at the bar, looked up as well. I couldn't read his face, but as soon as he looked back down, he started to quickly put everything under lock and key, carrying it to the storage room.

"Can someone go tell Theo and Leo that there's a storm coming? They'll probably want to know," I asked. Then, I stood up, brushing off the sunglasses. "Actually never mind, I'll do it myself." I walked down the deck towards the door to the cabins and storage. As I opened the door, Alex had just pushed it open and we collided in a mess of empty boxes.

"Oh, sorry, man! Here, I'll help you pick then up." I bent down to start gathering the boxes when Alex crouched down and grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me close so he could whisper.

"Listen very closely, Joshua. I didn't mention this before, but that storm has a 89% chance of becoming a hurricane, which, even if we changed course back then, would have hit us straight through the middle. Don't tell the others, or we'll have panic. Just pray that the other 11% percent is in our favor."

Letting go of my shirt, he grabbed all the boxes and went back on the deck to gather the things. Sitting there in a daze of sorts, I thought about what Alex said. A hurricane... And we're out in the middle of nowhere with no land in sight... Standing back up, I continued to walk down the stairs, gripping the bars on the walls on both sides of me.

Sending a little prayer to every religion I had ever heard of, I descended into the dark corridors. Theo and Leo turned out to be watching TV and reading in the living room. I told them that there was a storm brewing and they should prepare for a bit of a bumpy ride.

After I announced this to the twins, I headed back upstairs to help with the packing, hoping that it would be alright.

An hour later, all of us were sitting in our cabins as rain and waves crashed against the boat, rocking it from side to side. Leo, who had never really been a sea-faring person, was doubled over in the bathroom, being rubbed on the back by his brother. Alex was sitting by the window, anxiously rubbing his hands together.

Sighing, I sat up a checked my phone. No service. Well, why would there be service, anyway. For one, we're in the middle of nowhere. Two, there's a raging storm outside. Daichi seemed to have the same idea, glancing at the dark screen every now and then.

A sudden crash of thunder and flash of lightning caused all of us to jump. Then, Alex's eyes widened and he silently prodded me in the shoulder. Irritated, I turned to him. "What?" His face silenced my complaint, for it was covered with fear. Looking out the window to where he was pointing, I saw a deadly sight.

A dark, foaming, swirling cone was making it's lethal way towards us, causing enormous waves to form. Oh no... That can't be good. Turning away from the window, I faced the others, who were all huddled in their own spot. I really didn't want to tell them this, but it had to be done. "Okay, don't panic, but we have a problem."

Their faces became grim and fearful, listening closely. "Outside that window, in the storm, there... There's a hurricane forming. There isn't a spot of land near here on the entire map, so there's a slight chance we might, um, drown."

They stared at me with horror-stricken faces. Leo's face paled and he turned back to go to the restrooom, followed by his brother. Daichi moaned and buried his head in his hands, mumbling something intangible. Alex looked guilty and started to mess with his hair nervously.

As for me, hiding somewhere seemed like a good idea right about now. Gathering up my personal things and putting them in my suitcases, I slid the cases into my drawer and fell onto my bed, worried about what was about to happen.

Outside, I could hear the foaming waves ramming the yacht, tossing it about. After a while, I noticed it had become quiet and still, although it was still raining. Standing up and peering out the window, I looked around. I couldn't see anything past the thick rain. Peering through the darkness, I tried to spot anything other than water.

Suddenly, out of the gloom, a huge pointed rock appeared, directly in our path. I yelped, and jumped back just before the collision. As soon as I got out of the way, our boat crashed against the rock and shattered the window, parts of the wall, and water started pouring in. A chunk of wood spun from the debris, colliding with my head.

The others shouted my name and ran into the room, where I was crouched, stunned by the jolt of the blow, on the bed. Theo dashed over to the hole and tried to plug up the water, as it was flooding in. The water had just reached over our feet when the storm bashed our boat, spinning us around and rocking us from side to side.

I couldn't hear anything over the sounds of the storm, as Daichi grabbed my shoulders and shook me, yelling something. I dazedly stared back at him, feeling the room spinning in the huricane. Why is he so worried, I thought sluggishly, it's just a draft. Brushing past him and shuffling towards the window, I went to close it.

Someone must've left it open, there's rain and wind coming in. For some reason, they grabbed my wrists and tried to pull me back. Outside of the window, I saw a huge, dark blue wave come hurling towards us.

"Oh. Look at that, guys..." Peering over my shoulder, they looked to where I was gesturing. Gasping, they dove for cover. Me, I just stood there, waiting for the wave to hit. As it hurdled toward us, I closed my eyes and passed out.

A slight pinching on my nose caused me to open my eyes. All around me, the brightness caused my pupils to adjust. In front of me was a small scarlet crab, skittering about.

The smell of the ocean woke me up, and I looked around. Flecks of sand scratched at my pupils as I lifted my suddenly-heavy body from the sand. Coughing out seawater, I mustered the strength to look around. Stretched far and near to both sides was white, bright sand, and further up the beach was the edge of a dense jungle.

Nothing was familiar, with strange animal sounds coming from the jungle ahead. Thoughts buzzed in my head like a swarm of angry bees. What... Where am I?

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Chapter 1.3 Preview

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Reunited and traipsing through the dense underbrush, we started looking for food or fresh water, anything helpful. Suddenly, farther ahead, we heard a crack of a branch and a stifled whisper.

We froze in our tracks. On this supposedly uninhabited island, we were not alone.