A bright light that was the first thing I saw when I awoke on the island. I sat up, my skin roasting in the morning sun, and began taking in my surroundings. The ocean breeze flooded my nostrils, it was a familiar scent, yet different. Something about it was raw, as if untainted from the years of abuse it received by humanity. I finally stood up and noticed the large coastline that drifted along endlessly in either direction.
"Where am I?" I finally wondered aloud.
At least that's what I meant to say, before I realized how parched my throat was. The ocean water was tempting, but ultimately I knew well enough it would just make me thirstier; I needed fresh water. I figured I wouldn't get it just standing around so I looked in both directions before deciding.
"Right is right, I guess." I mumbled to myself before staggering down the beach.
I walked for a while, taking care to avoid the dense jungle on my right. I could be anywhere right now, meaning anything could be in those jungles, and frankly I didn't want to know. After a few more minutes of following the ocean, I noticed a change of scenery. The coast began to head inward and it seemed there was what looked like the mouth to a river further in. I don't know if it was my thirst or if I was eager to just get away from the ocean, but I got reckless and began a mad dash for the river.
I scrambled up to the river, almost falling in the sand, immediately dropped to my knees and began scooping water into my mouth. I didn't even care about the potential hazards; I just wanted fresh water to course through my body again. My happiness didn't last for long however, as soon after taking a few gulps a sharp pain hit the back of my head and everything went black.
When I came to again, there was a sharp pounding in the back of my head; I was hit with something hard.
"Ugh" I moaned as I sat up rubbing the back of my head.
"So he finally wakes up."
I opened my eyes to see the source of the mysterious voice and much to my surprise, it was a kid. Likely in his late teens, he sat in a chair smirking at me.
"Wow, did I knock out some of your brain cells when I hit you? Or are you just too stupid to speak?" joked the boy.
"I'm perfectly capable, thanks. Now why am I here?" I asked getting straight to the point.
"Wow getting straight to the point, I see. I can't answer that though, let me grab the one who can." Said the kid as he got up. "I'll be right back."
After he left the room I took a chance to look around the room I was sitting in. It's what looked like a nice wooden cabin, with a window peering out into the jungle. I was sitting on the floor on what felt like a sleeping bag, around me there were various amenities such as some a table, various chairs and even a bed. Even I was wearing some primitive clothes; the place would've almost been homey if not for the fact that I was stuck on an unknown island in some kind of house. Then the door creaked open.
"Well hello there, new blood." Her voice was firm, but I could still sense the fear behind her words.
"What's going on here? Where are we? Who are you?" I felt bad for the barrage of questions, but I needed answers.
Her face quickly became disgruntled.
"My name's Rachel, as for the other two questions, I wish I could tell you. We all woke up on this island the same as you."
I stood up.
"Okaaay, then why did you bring me here?" I was getting mad at this point.
"We need your help…" her voice became sad, almost distressed "This island is different, the creatures that live here… Well let's just say they shouldn't even exist."
"What do you mean? They shouldn't be alive?" I stuttered.
She turned around and gestured for me to follow, before walking out the door. I followed with caution, we walked through a short hallway before exiting the building altogether. Which is when I realized how long I was out; the sun had started setting at this point and the air started getting cooler. That's not what immediately caught my attention though, along with the handful of people and similar wooden buildings; there were what looked like little chickens walking around. Except they weren't chickens they were slightly fatter and their beaks were bigger. It's like they were dodo birds, then it clicked. As if she could read my mind she replied.
"Yes those are dodo birds, and yes, other prehistoric creatures live on this island."
It was a lot to take in, while I knew it had to be true at this point, I still didn't believe it. Almost like my brain couldn't comprehend it. Regardless of whether or not I believed it, that was my life now and I needed to adapt, to survive.
"Ok, so you said you needed my help earlier? What was that about?" I reminded her with a newfound confidence.
"Huh? Oh yeah, well as you can tell, most of the people living here aren't exactly capable of self-defense, a lot of these people have never seen combat or have any survival experience. We had a few that helped get this place together and build the shelter, but most of them died, due to wildlife, disease or just left. I've tried to take control of our little tribe of people, but its tough work. We're low on food, morale is low and there's always some new creature wondering in here attacking our people. So pretty much I need your help supporting this little town we have going on. Gathering food, fighting the wildlife, etcetera. I know we didn't do the best job of recruiting you, but Dylan's methods are a bit on the excessive side. So sorry about that, but can you please stay here and help us survive?"
It was an easy decision, I didn't have anywhere else to go and these people needed help. Not to mention, I would never want to be responsible for someone else's death, let alone an entire tribe of people.
"Yeah I'll do it, no problem." I sounded confident, even if my brain disagreed.
"Thank you so much!" she seemed relieved. "Oh yeah, you never told me what your name is."
"Name's Joe, nice to meet you."
"Well Joe, you better get some rest, because tomorrow morning we've got an early start."