"CELTY! SHIZUKA! KANRA!" She gasped for breath, but kept running. She made the mistake of glancing back into the forest, eyes widening as a flash of red passed by her again. She was in a frenzy now, screaming for her classmates, for someone, anyone to come and take her away from here. She stumbled, so caught up in her fear that she hadn't seen the rock that seemingly appeared in front of her. She fell, grazing her hands and knees as they came in contact with a rock shelf that had been hidden under the sand. Darkness seemed to consume her, night had come without her even noticing it. She scrambled back onto her feet, only to trip again on the trap riddled rocks. She froze when she heard the sound of sand shifting behind her. Not wanting to turn around, yet needing to. She screamed.
Did you guys notice where Nariko went? Celty typed quickly, worriedly. It wasn't like Nariko to just disappear, especially now. They both shook their heads. She rubbed her hands together and inched closer to the fire that Kanra had expertly made. Guess there was some benefit to doing Girl Scouts. She sighed and decided that they would look for Nariko in the morning. Besides, it wasn't like they could see anything in the dark anyway. Never the less, they decided to take turns on watch throughout the night, occasionally calling for Nariko in case she stumbled past them. And although Celty couldn't actually shout for her, Shizuka had shouted into her phone, so every now and then she could just play the recording.
The night passed uneventfully, leaving all three girls decidedly nervous. Celty and Shizuka huddled around the burnt out fire and sat in silence as the sun rose, making the clouds appear a rosy pink and the forest light up. Kanra had woken up early and supposedly gone for a walk, leaving a message in the sand. The tension slowly grew as the sun rose higher and higher, Kanra hadn't come back yet and although Shizuka was happy about this development, Celty was on the verge of a breakdown. She was very protective of her friends and loved them all dearly, even if sometimes they didn't particularly like each other. Celty was shaken out of her thoughts when Shizuka stood up, "Damnit, damnit, damnit! That stupid flea is plotting something, I know it! She just disappears and Nariko's gone and. . .and I HATE THIS STUPID ISLAND!" Her voice was filled with rage, rage at the island, at Kanra, and at Nariko for wandering off alone. Celty was suddenly filled with determination after Shizuka's speech and stood up, quickly typed out on her phone, I'm going looking for Nariko. She has to be here somewhere. You stay here and wait for Kanra to come back, she'll be worried if no one is here when she gets back. "You're going alone?" Shizuka asked in a quiet voice, calming down a little after she had vented some of her anger. Yes. "DUMBASS. Anyone who calls you a dumbass is a bigger dumbass, but since I already know I'm a dumbass, I'll say it again. DUMBASS. You really think that you can do this alone? What if there are animals on this island? Don't risk your life when it isn't needed!' ShIzuka was in Celty's face now, positively fuming.
"Ah, I'm going to find the flea. Are you coming?" Shizuka turned away, hands in pockets and just shoulders slightly hunched. Celty just stood there for a moment, shame evident in her eyes after Shizuka's rant. She stood for a minute longer, before slightly tilting her head in a nod. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. "Damn right you weren't thinking." Shizuka mumbled. They trudged on in silence for a few minutes, the tension finally broken, before they finally saw Kanra sitting on a rock looking out to sea. Celty breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could go up and say hello, Shizuka strode up to Kanra, leaning over in front of her so that they were face to face.
"What up? Kanra buddy. Why don't you get up and play?"
"Tell me, to what do I owe this pleasure, Shizu-chan?"
"I'm obviously here to kick your smarmy ass." Shizuka replied, annoyed.
"And why do I deserve to get my ass kicked?"
"Because I'm pissed off and this is all your fault!"
"Now, don't you think that you're a little too old to act the part of the playground bully. . .Shizu-chan?"
"Shut the hell up!" Kanra was standing now, poking her finger in Shizuka's general direction. "What makes you think this is my fault anyway?" Kanra asked, beginning to get annoyed.
"Because 99% of the time, whenever bad crap happens, it seems you're somehow involved!" "And you can't have a little faith in that last 1%?" Shizuka's clenched fists shook, itching to punch the annoying flea in front of her, but before she could, Kanra turned and jumped over the rock behind her, greeting Celty and asking if there had been any sign of Nariko or any of the other girls that they supposed had crashed on the opposite side of the island. Shizuka just stood there, shaking with anger, her blond fringe hiding her eyes, I'm gonna kill that stupid flea. . . she thought. She was brought out of her thoughts when Celty gave a breathy scream, stumbling away from the forest in terror. Shizuka looked up. Kanra was as pale as death, also slowly backing away from the trees. Shizuka glanced around before suddenly catching sight of what had caused such panic and terror. She turned to the sea and vomited that morning's meagre breakfast onto the sand. In front of them, just on the edge of the forest, was Nariko's head. It sat upon a wooden pike, dried blood staining the crude spear. Her eyes were open, bloodshot pupils rolled back in her head to look unseeingly up into the blue sky. A thin trail of blood ran from her nostril and her chin and teeth were covered in blood, blood that dripped down her neck. Her short brown hair was matted with blood, loose strands sticking up every which way. Her skin was an ashen grey, devoid of life. In front of it was a message written on a piece of bark in what looked like dried blood. DO NOT DISTURB.