Queen of the Ashes

Shipwrecked

Washing up on the beach of a deserted island was not at all what I had fantasized it to be. I hadn't yet opened my eyes but I could swear that I was going to die. I could feel the ocean lapping at my scraped legs, raw and bloody from running through a ship as the hull was torn apart by rocks in the storm. I could feel the ocean, but I couldn't hear it, not over the deafening ring in my ears. I needed to open my eyes but the thought turned my stomach. Sliding my arms under my chest I gagged hard. The blood in my head screamed as I continued to dry heavy until finally I purged the salt water I had inhaled the night before. I assume it was the night before. How long had I been laying on this beach, afraid to move?

My eyes shot open and crawled onto the dry sand. Where were the others? Surely more of us had to have survived besides me. My stomach lurched as I thought of who didn't survive. Amelia, my roommate. She was in our cabin when the ship had struck the first obstruction. I imagine she was napping and the jolt threw her from the bed, by the time I got to her she was trapped because the bunk had warped blocking the door. I tried to help get her out, but as the water started to gather at my feet, i knew i would leave. She knew it too. When I locked eyes with her that last time, as freezing water puddled to our ankles, she begged me to save her life, and I left.

My only regret in the moment was that I hadn't left her sooner, I narrowly escaped my own death on that ship, if i had left with the others from the dining hall perhaps i would be in better shape. Facing my decision now in the light of day i felt surprisingly numb. We had shared nearly four years of our life together in a dorm and yet I couldn't even shed one tear for the girl I decided to let die.

I was attempting to treat my wounds when I heard it, a loud horn sounding over the tree line, coming from somewhere up the beach to the north. I squinted through the blazing sun and began to limp towards the call, relief washed over me as I realized I was not alone.

It was about a quarter of a mile down the beach when I first saw them. A group of about twenty battered girls huddle together, soaking wet, some of them hugging. Less than half of our senior class. Fifty of us set out in that boat. Jackie, the class president stood in the center of the traumatized group, on the beach beside her was a body covered with a jacket.

"Blair! You're alive!" Rylee exclaimed running towards me. When I embraced her I felt as if everything really would be alright that this was all just a bad dream. I closed my eyes and pulled her tightly close to me, thanking the universe that she wasn't dead. Rylee had been my very best friend since grade school. I should've stayed with her instead of going back to my cabin to look for Amelia, my guilt was starting to weigh on me as I looked beyond Rylee's shoulder at the body covered with a jacket. Was that Amelia? I didn't think I could handle seeing my failure up close. Rylee pulled away and followed my eyes. " It's Mrs. Ellis." She whispered. Relief tinged in sadness rushed through me. "We should join the others..." she trailed off as if she had more to say but couldn't find the words.

"We need to make shelters, and search for supplies, once we have that established we can figure out where we are, and get home." Jackie instructed the group, clearly taking the role as leader. She held a conch shell firmly in her hand, that must have been what I heard. "I don't know if we will find anymore survivors but I do expect more bodies will come ashore, so prepare yourselves for that." She passed a pained look towards Lucy, whose sister was not among this group, meaning she was presumably dead.

Lucy wasn't even facing the inside of the circle, inside she had her back to all of us, staring out at the ocean. I wondered if she was scanning for her sister Megan. I followed Lucy's eyes to the sea. The sea was as calm as glass that stretched as far as the eye could see until it melted into the bright blue, cloudless sky. You would never think a storm had ripped a ship in half.

"We need volunteers to search the island for supplies with Rylee, she has taken botany classes and look for edible and medicinal plants." Jackie's commanding voice snapped me back to reality.

"I'll go." I piped up.

"Good!" Jackie's eyes fell back on Lucy. "Take Lucy as well."

Lucy turned and the mention of her name but didn't look at Jackie, instead she cut through the group, avoiding eye contact with a dead stare ahead, and began walking up the beach towards the tree line. "I guess we're leaving now." I heard Rylee grumble behind me.

"Don't get lost!" Jackie called from behind us as we ran to catch up to Lucy.