Red

2

I sit there for a few more minutes and watch as a few people get up and help the people lift dead bodies up and bring them outside. It feels like an endless stream of people were walking outside, every few people carrying a body.

I'm still sitting on the floor of the plane and holding Annabelle's hand. "Please, wake up," I whisper, so quiet that I could barely hear. It was no use, though, and I knew it.

Eventually the people stopped walking off the plane. That must've been everyone. It was just me now. Just me and Annabelle.

I sit there quietly until I hear someone walk up the steps. He walks to the first row of seats and places his hands on the top of seats. It was the same man that spoke up earlier.

He gazes up and down the rows of seats, starting at the front of the right side and ending on me on the left side, sitting on the floor, three rows from the front.

"Come on," he says. "Everyone else is out." He motions with his hand for me to get up, but I don't. I feel like I can't. I shake my head.

He chuckles quietly and shakes his head. "No?" He says, looking slightly amused.

I don't say anything.

"Fine, stay here," he says, walking toward me. "But we need to get the body out of here. People are going to be sleeping in here tonight and we can't have a rotting body next to them."

It puzzled me to think that this was the same guy who was goofing off with his friends prior to the crash. He seemed so immature at the time, but he seems so assertive and serious now.

I look down at Annabelle again and then look down at the man's shoes. He had black boots on and I saw black jeans as well. It was the middle of summer; why is he wearing pants?

The man bent down and began lifting Annabelle up. "No, stop!" I yell. I didn't want him touching Annabelle. He dropped her back in the seat.

"What?" He asked, his voice sounding a little agitated. "We're not leaving the body on here, and you don't seem to be doing much to get it off."

"I'll... I'll do it," I say, my voice returning to its normal volume. I begin to stand up, wincing at a pain in my leg. Looking down, I notice that I have a big cut on my calf. I'm not even sure what hit my leg.

"It's just a cut, now, isn't it?" The man says. "You'll be fine."

I ignore him and step into the isle of the plane and try to lift Annabelle up with no success. I felt my cheeks heat up as I knew he was watching.

"Need a hand?" He asks.

I look up and see a smirk on his face. Why was he like this? Why couldn't he just have even a tiny bit of compassion? I roll my eyes and look back down at Annabelle, trying again to lift her up. I hate cocky boys.

"Come on, don't roll your eyes. I'm trying to help you, if you hadn't noticed," he says coldly. He reaches down again to help lift up Annabelle, and this time I don't tell him to stop. I hated having him help me, but I couldn't deny that I needed help.

I held Annabelle's legs and the man held under her back as we carry her off the plane. We reach the pile of bodies, making me cringe, and the man immediately drops my sister in the sand. I control myself and don't lash out, despite his lack of thought for me and my sister.

He sighs and looks around before looking back at me and then down at my leg. He groans and takes his shirt off. "Wrap this around your leg. Don't want you to lose any more blood. Make sure it's tight," he says, tossing his shirt to me. "My name is Van," he adds before walking off.

I catch the black T-shirt and watch as he walks away. Why did he care if I bled to death? He didn't seem to care about me at all.

I sit down next to Annabelle who was placed about ten feet away from the other bodies and wrap the shirt around my leg. "I love you," I whisper to Annabelle. "So much." A few tears form in my eyes and I let them spill out.

//————

"Hey!" A voice yells from further up on the shore of the island we were on. I turn around and notice it was the man, or Van. He still had no shirt on.

He continues speaking once he realizes that I'm paying attention. "We're having a meeting... I'd recommend coming," he says.

It was the first one that I'd actually took in the island we were stranded on. There were palm trees everywhere, a jungle, and, far away, a mountain. It was beautiful, I'll admit, but I was in no mood to enjoy any scenery.

I'm not going to the meeting. I'm staying with Annabelle. I'll wait here for a rescue plane or something. I turn away from Van and look back at the clear water.

I watch the sun as it slowly sets. I must have sat here for hours because it was almost pitch dark when Van came back to me.

"Come on, you're coming with me," Van says loudly as he jogs over to me.

"W-what?" I stutter. I didn't feel comfortable around Van. He was mean and I didn't like it at all.

"I said, you're coming with me," he repeats again. "Now, let's go." He holds his hand out for me to grab, but I don't.

"Why?" I question again. I could tell he was getting annoyed at my questions, but I had every right to ask.

"Because, I said so. Get up," he says, running a hand through his hair.

"That's not a good answer," I mumble, remaining seated on the ground. I turn away from Van, not wanting anything to do with him.