Summary: Suddenly, fighting over the T.V. remote or fighting over the bathroom seemed the least of the MacDonald-Venturi's kids problems. After a terrible boar accident, the kids are stuck in the middle of nowhere-land. Soon, the fight between siblings soon turn to the fight of life or death. Dasey.
Pairings: Dasey, Lizwin? If wanted :)
based from survivor.
Enjoy!
Casey MacDonald woke up with the sound of a little girl who was screaming nonstop: Give it back to me, Edwin! That girl also happened to be her little sister, Lizzie. Casey groaned and turned over. She silently contemplated her options: sleep, or help her poor little sister? Lizzie meant alot to her, but sleep also did. If she had to choose between sleep or Lizzie….
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a very annoying step-brother of hers walked in- Derek Venturi. Even though she wasn't facing him, Casey knew the expression he was holding- a sly grin, his eyes all twinkly, full of mischief 24/7. His hair was long and shaggy, curly and brownish-gold. He was a bit taller than she was, perhaps 5"8. He was probably also wearing a orange t-shirt and checkered white-and-blue bermuda shorts. He was also what her best friend Emily had called "hot" and "cute". It may be true (although Casey would never admit that), but given his personality, it ruined everything. And she meant everything.
They were a blended family. She had to leave her old house and her old school, move in with Derek, Edwin, and their little sister Marti, and despite all her sacrifices, what does Casey get in return? 3-pain-in-the-ass step-siblings.
Casey mentally sighed. She didn't want to deal with Derek right now. She pretended to still be asleep; hoping he would leave her alone. Unfortunately, Casey seemed to forget this was Derek Venturi she was talking about, and she felt a cool, wet liquid hit her square in the face. She really hoped it was water. Fresh water. From the tap. She sat up immediately and screamed.
"Der-ek!" She yelled, fiercely rubbing the liquid solution from her face. She pushed out her hair from her face and glared at him. "You asshole."
Derek snickered, and said sweetly: "Rise and shine, Princess. Another day at sea."
"Don't call me that," Casey mumbled as she pushed past him and onto the deck of the ship. She took a deep breath of the salty air to calm herself. She had nearly forgotten they were at sea- nearly. The rocking of the boat made her somewhat seasick, and Marti was always puking on Casey or Lizzie's belongings. How she ended up from Canada to somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic ocean was simple- her mother and step-dad had insisted the blended family had some "bonding time"- as if spending 10 days at sea on a tiny boat was family "bonding" time.
"Casey! Glad to see you're awake." George said as he was on the wheel. "How you feeling?"
"Like punching someone." Casey replied miserably. She sulked her way to the bathroom, sighing as she got ready for tedious, boring day at sea.
~.X.~
"Looks like there's going to be a storm tonight," Nora, Casey and Lizzie's mom, said.
"Great," Edwin mumbled through his food. "Can we go home then? I'm tired of all this-" He stopped suddenly, and ran onto the deck. Most likely to puke again, Casey thought as she heard the wretching of his food coming from above.
"I second that," Derek said as he reached for another helping of scrambled eggs. "There's no cable, no internet, no signal, and most important of all- no hockey. My only source of amusement is Casey." He added while grinning.
"Shut up, Derek." Casey said. He was such an ass. "Oh, and when we get home, don't be surprised if your precious hockey games aren't videotaped."
Derek's eyes widened. "You...You didn't…" His voice held a tone of disbelief, anger, and being taken aback by Casey's bold moves. Usually Casey didn't do anything but complain about Derek, but now she was actually doing something.
"Who knows," Casey added sweetly. Score one for Casey. "Emily always has the spare key...and the T.V. remote.."
Derek sat up suddenly, placed his hand on the table, and glared directly into Casey's blue eyes. She stared bck at him, both of them having a unannounced contest of who could win this fight.
"Now, kids, listen." Nora's voice interrupted. "I want you guys to stay below deck, and not cause any trouble tonight. George and I will manage above. We don't want you to get hurt. Understood?"
"Sure," All four kids mused. Of course they would stay below deck- there was food, electricity, and heating.
"Alright," Nora said. "Now help me with the dishes."
~.X.~
Several hours later: Casey looked up from her book on the deck, and onto the sky. It was starting to get to be a dark grey, with even darker clouds hanging around. She hastily flipped her book shut when she felt raindrops starting to land on the pages- she savoured every story she bought. Books were not meant to be ruined; but to be cherished and cared for. Casey climbed below deck, her feet banging against the wooden staircases. She found Nora, Lizzie, Edwin, and Marti seated on the tiny couch watching a movie. It was Titanic.
"You sure you wanna be watching that?" Casey asked as she stood beside them, peering at the screen. "That won't jinx our luck, right?"
"Nonsense, Casey. It's just a movie. Don't be ridiculous." Nora added lightly, still looking at the screen. Then she glanced at Casey. "What're you doing below decks anyways; weren't you reading a book?"
"Yeah." Casey answered, looking up above as if to double-check the storm was still coming. "It's starting to rain, and I think there's a storm coming."
"I'd better go help George then," Nora said hastily, plucking out Marti, who was protesting between her arms. "I'll probably have to make sure we're safe and such."
"Isn't Derek doing that?" Lizzie said, her eyes still glued to the screen.
"Since when have you trusted Derek with anything?"Edwin asked, popping another handful of popcorn in his mouth.
"True," Everyone in the room replied.
~.X.~
"Well, yes, ma'am, I do... I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or, who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count."
Casey leaned in closer, contemplating the next line. This movie never got old to her. It was so sad and romantic, she cried every single time it ended. Suddenly, a snort cut across the room.
"Edwin," The voice followed. "You watch that crap?"
The MacDonald-Venturi kids whipped their heads around, looking for the source of the voice, finding none other than Derek Venturi himself.
"Uh, no, I mean, uh, Nora told me to!" Edwin said, raising his hands above his head, feigning innocence. "I mean, you've watched it too, with your girlfriend- Sally- before, right?!"
"Yeah. I've watched lots of chick flicks with lots of girls before. But I've never watched them willingly."
"Oh, grow up Derek." Casey said, irritated. "Wouldn't kill you to let Edwin watch what he wants to watch, right?"
"Whatever," Derek said, heaving himself off the kitchen counter. "I'm watching Blonde Chicks. Anyone wanna join?"
"Oh, love that movie!" Edwin said as he jumped off the couch, spilling popcorn all over the floor. "I'm in!"
"Me too," Lizzie said as she got up. She looked sheepishly at Casey. "Sorry, Case, but I'd rather watch a comedy. This movie's kind of scaring me. It's making me paranoid we'll drown."
"Me tree!" Marti said, pronouncing the world 'three' wrong. "I-wanna-watch-too!"
Casey stared in disbelief as she watched all her siblings- full and step- walk away from the living room to one of the bedrooms installed with a T.V.
"Fine!" Casey called after them. "I'm perfectly fine here by myself!"
~.X.~
Two hours later~
Casey leaned forward eagerly as she hit the climax of the movie. Her whole body shook with anticipation. She leaned forwards, her eyes glued to the screen. She waited so long for this scene, it brought tears to her eyes.
"Jack..."
BAM.
Casey sat there, stunned, staring at the empty screen. The lights around her had also dimmed. Casey scowled. The electricity must've been cut off. There was only one explanation for this.
"Der-ek!"
Casey stormed off the couch, walked down the kitchen/living room/hallway/boat-thingy and slammed open the door. Surprisingly, Derek's T.V. was also turned off.
"Ummm, what's the meaning of this." Casey asked, huffing.
"The electricity's off, genius." Derek retorted. "Let's go check it."
Out of nowhere, the boat slammed to the side, taking Casey on top of Derek, Lizzie on top of Marti, and Edwin onto the side of the wall.
"What's going on?!" Lizzie cried as they heaved the other way, slamming on the opposite wall.
"I don't know!" Casey cried desperately as Derek slammed on top of her. She winced.
"Smerek!" Marti called out. "Water's leaking from below!"
Surely enough, water was soaking the carpet flooring of the boat. Frantically, the MacDonald-Venturi kids tried to stop the flow of water without much success.
"Let's get above deck!" Edwin cried as he raced out the door, finding the kitchen/living room area also flooding with water. They raced up the stairs and crashed open the door, finding themselves in the middle of an Atlantic storm.
"Where's mom?!" Casey cried out, searching through the rain and water. Wind whipped her hair around her face, creating a mini hurricane.
"Where's dad?!" Marti said, her voice full of fear. "Are we dying?!" She asked.
"No Marti," Derek and Casey mused, although their expressions told a different story. They both turned to their younger siblings.
"All of you- get your life jackets. Now."
Whenever Casey and Derek spoke in tune, the younger children knew exactly what was happening-something extremely, really, terribly bad. Without further question, they raced below deck again and searched around for their life jackets.
Meanwhile, Casey and Derek ran on the deck, gripping the railings for their lives. They found George, wearing a life jacket, at the wheel, desperately trying to turn the boat. But there was nowhere to turn.
They were in a horrible storm.
Nora stood behind him, her knuckles white on his shoulder. Her expression showed fear. She also wore a life jacket. She seemed to not notice Casey and Derek until she heard them screaming.
"Mom?! What's happening?!" Casey yelled, as the boat churned and she almost fell into the sea. "MOM?!"
"CASEY!" Nora cried in reply. "GET BELOW THE DECK! IT'S DANGEROUS! WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKET! SAME WITH YOU DEREK!"
"IT'S LEAKING DOWN BELOW!"
"GEORGE?!"
George turned around, his face contoured with fear and anxiety. "Help me with the life raft, Nora. We have to get off this boat!" The two adults raced off to the other side of the ship, leaving Derek and Casey to manage the wheel. They both raced to it, desperate to somehow manage the ship. Casey grabbed ahold of it first, turning it to the right. Derek came right after, and tried veering left.
"No, Derek!" Casey yelled, but her voice was lost in the storm. "The giant wave is there!"
"What?" Derek said, squinting his eyes through the rain and saltwater. "Can't hear you?"
A sudden jolt sent Casey flailing over the edge. She screamed as she felt her hands in front of her hit the icy, cold water. She felt something grab ahold of her foot, and tried not to move too much in case she fell. In which she would die. It turns out it was Derek gripping her leg, and he fiercely tried to haul her up. It took all his energy to fight against the waves and the rocking of the boat, but eventually Casey came up, her face and hair dripping with rain and seawater, and coughing and crying. Derek was breathless, but he grabbed ahold of her hand.
"Don't let go," he said. He ran to the other side of the ship, a death grip on Casey's hands. They found George and Nora still trying to unhook the emergency floatie. Another wave knocked the boat to the right side.
Everything happened in slow motion, it seemed. Casey and Derek watched their parents fall overboard on the floatie, their bodies tangled together, and the floatie came off the ship.
Before they could react, another tidal wave struck and soon the orange floatie was in the distance. Casey didn't even have the time to scream. She was again tossed, as if she were dressing in a salad, and she fell through a window. She screamed as she fell, her back falling on glass shards on top of the dining table.
She found Marti, Edwin and Lizzie huddled on the stairs, water filling up the entire bottom deck. Casey scrambled off, and tried to run to them. The water was up to her chest. She climbed up the stairs, and joined them. She heard someone crying, but it wasn't Lizzie, Edwin or Marti. It was her. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Lizzie took Casey into her arms and also cried. Their misery seemed contagious, as soon enough, Marti was also wailing.
Sometimes during their sob fest, Derek had found them and joined. Although he and Edwin did not cry, they hugged the girls. It was a source of warmth not only physically, but perhaps also emotionally.
They were the only family they had left.
