Seven Survivors

Quatorze

Quiet. Everyone was quiet. I think it was the shock of it all. Elian's last moments would stay with me forever. It had started to rain, as if to cover the evidence of her death, but I hadn't moved, stuck staring at the space Elian had slipped from the grip of life. I think Matias and James had taken the initiative to place her body in the river, her final resting place with her soul mate.

I just couldn't believe they were gone, just like everybody else. It made me realise it was foolish of us ever to think we could escape out of here alive. One by one, the forest would hunt us until we were no more. What was the point? The grief of losing more of my friends was too much to bear as I crumbled into a mess of sobs yet again, mostly disguised by the soldiering rain. I could still hear their screams; see the terrified look on Mason's face before he was dragged under for the last time. It would haunt me forever more.

"We should think about moving on soon." Matias said softly, a story of heartbreak written in his eyes.

"Move on? Move on? You can't just... dismiss this Matias! Our friends are dead. Who's going to be next? We may as well just give up." Abi-Mae venomously sprouted.

"Abi, please. I know how, how terrible and, and hard this is on everyone but we can't give up now." Paisley pleaded with her mournfully.

"Why shouldn't we give up? We're going to die sooner or later." She shrugged carelessly, but we could all hear the fear, the terror of death creeping closer in her voice.

"It's ok to be scared Abi, we all are. But if we give up that's it. Do you really want to die?" James asked her.

"N-no. It – it's just they're gone. They are all gone. We're going to be gone soon too. What hope do we have that anyone will find us?"

"You know what Abi, we don't have any hope. So if you want to sit here and wait for death to claim you then maybe you should." I snapped, having had enough of her moaning.

I was cold, tired, hungry, and mourning the death of my friends who were supposed to grow old together.

I moodily stood up, ignoring our insignificant group of seven survivors and made my way further into the forest. As the leaves were wet, they glossier then usual, and stuck and clawed at my skin, but I didn't bother to push them away. I just kept going. I needed the toilet anyways. Finding a bush thick enough to conceal me, I quickly relieved myself and then stopped to think. I did have hope I would make it out alive, that the deaths had stopped, but now I realised how naïve I was. Nothing was certain. A jaguar could have been hiding in the shadows right then, just waiting to pounce on me and the group would never know anything different. With a shiver and quick glance around, I decided I should head back. I wanted to survive to see my family again, even if that was a stretch to ask.

Climbing over the slippery roots of an ancient tree, I suddenly bumped into James, who was worriedly looking around – perhaps trying to spot me. In the rain, James' hair had become one with his face, wetly draped over the perfect bone structure that never ceased to make me wonder if he had been carved by god himself. His hair had started to curl because of the rain, making it an obsidian black colour, giving him a cute, boyish look, and there were a few freckles dotted on his nose like star constellations. He had been so different these past few days, caring for me and making sure I was safe. It made me wonder if maybe he had suppressed feelings for me like I did for him. A sad yet honest smile stretched upon his pink lips as he realised it was me, and he reached out to tuck a stray piece of wet red hair behind my ear. My cheeks burned in response.

"Are you ok Juniper?" He whispered through the splattering rain, one hand coming up to rest against the soft wet bark of the tree and the other rubbing light circles on my shoulder.

"Well... not really. I just can't believe they're... they're... gone. It happened so fast. We should have pulled him in quicker; I should have held her back and been stronger..." I mumbled before a surge of tears came rushing forth again.

"Juniper, listen to me. It's not your fault. It was a horrible tragedy which no one could have stopped apart from Mason and Elian their selves."

"How are we ever going to make it out of here alive? We're going to starve or be snatched by some creature..." I panicked through my tears.

"I don't know what's going to happen Juniper, I really don't. But I do know that I will always be here for you. Nothing will happen to you whilst I'm around, I promise." He said earnestly.

I couldn't help but crack a broken smile at his words, wondering how he could be so strong throughout all of this. He was now wearing a baggy gray top, sticking to the curves of his muscles because of the rain, faint speckles of blood still staining his skin. This close to him I could see the raindrops beading in his eyelashes and dripping from his nose, straight onto me as he stood a good few inches taller. The rain ran down my face to where my lips met, my tongue darting out to clear them, tasting the cold drops. James' eyes darted down to watch the action.

"Thank you James... But if something does happen to me, you might not always be there... or it might be out of your control, so don't blame-." But the words died in my throat as James pressed his soft lips against mine.

Stood toe to toe in a rainforest with the heavens opening up around us, I wasn't sure if he had the best timing or the worst. However, after I got over the shock that James White was kissing me, I allowed myself to melt into him. The forest melted away, the painful memories too, and the moment was ours. It was as if we had been transported somewhere heavenly, and if it wasn't for the cold jungle rain maybe I might have truly believed we had. James pushed his lips more firmly against my own, and the wave that ran through me was intoxicating, making my head swim as I pulled back to take in his angelic face.

"You talk too much." He whispered right against my lips, causing me to giggle like a five year old.

"Juniper? James!" Paisley's worried voice called out, breaking the moment.

As I stepped away from James, he smiled at me as if he'd just won a million dollars, before taking my hand and leading me back to the others. I was in a daze, wondering if that had really happened, but the thudding in my chest and heat against my cheeks told me it had. He had managed to fight some of the darkness away, and planted a little bit of hope that maybe, just maybe things would turn out all right.

Nobody said anything as we entered back into camp, everyone waiting quietly for us. Matias was crying as he mourned the death of his close friend, and Paisley looked as though she were a heartbroken ghost. The silence continued as we went the opposite way to where Matias and Abi-Mae went the previous day, hoping to find someone to help... to help. James and I were pulling along Liam, who was surprisingly heavy, and James' sprained ankle made it twice as hard. After walking for over an hour, the rain started to lessen to a drizzle, which was a relief, and we found a cluster of trees with squash dangling from their vines, looking similar to avocados. We snacked on them and then decided to carry on until it got dark.

I had no doubt I would be experiencing many nightmares tonight.

Somehow it transpired that James was holding my hand again, which Abi-Mae raised her eyebrows at. It certainly was a weird feeling, and I wondered if my hand felt clammy, but James had seen me at my very worst these past few days, so I was hoping he wouldn't find the need to judge.

With every step I took, I had the urge to look behind and see Elian and Mason snuggled up together walking along, but I kept my head trained down because I knew I would find nothing but green. Green, green, green. The heartache of losing them throbbed in my chest as I tried desperately to keep the tears in. The mood was sombre enough. I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard Chip and Matias shouting up ahead. At first, I didn't register their words – too preoccupied with trying to pull the sleeping Liam through a particularly tight passage of woodland, but when I did, I froze in shock.

"Guys! Quickly! There's a hut!"

Edited