Chapter II "The Island"
"An odd thing happens when we die. Our senses vanish. Taste, touch, smell, and sound become a distant memory. But our sight. Ah. Our sight expands. And we can suddenly see the world we left behind so clearly. Of course, most of what's visible to the dead can also be seen by the living. If they only take time to look..."
Flashback
"…and that is a prominent part of our work in the University," Mr.Hallbruck, the host of the annual Intercultural Conference announced, addressing the formally dressed audience. The waiters were supplying the guests and participants with champagne, while famous specialists and those, who only started their career in scientific research, were giving reports on the work done. "Ladies and Gentlemen, today I'm proud to introduce you one of the professors of our University, who despite her age managed to delve into the concept of World View. Please, meet Professor Margaret Rid."
There were polite applause and a woman in a tailored dark-blue trouser suit, her hair in a high ponytail, handed a blonde man beside her a flute of champagne and made her way to the podium.
"Um, hello everyone," she began awkwardly. "Have you ever thought of what makes us so different? Why sometimes can't we understand each other? Why do we argue even though we are pretty sure in our truth? Maybe because each and every of us has its own World View? Our World View helps us to locate our place and rank in the Universe. Our World View is so deeply embedded in our psyches that we take it completely for granted, and assume automatically that everyone else view the world as we do and these may lead to misunderstanding…" During her performance, Margaret looked at the blond man who was making her some signs. Finally, she came to an end and without waiting for applause, came down to disappear in the crowd.
On her way into the hall she grabbed another flute of champagne, drank it in one gulp and ran down the staircase. In the foyer, where she was awaited by the blond.
"Excellent speech, professor," he smirked.
"Oh, shut up, Will," Margaret rolled her eyes. "Better give me a lift to the airport, I'm terribly late for my flight." They walked toward the black Ford, and as soon as the doors were open, Margaret plopped onto the passenger's seat. Starting the engine will turned to her, a shadow of concern on his face.
"You sure want to do that? Mean, think twice it only can get worse…"
"You too! Look, Will, I know what I'm doing, now, demmit, press the accelerator!" Several minutes they rode in silence.
"You don't want to brake in and say goodbye to Dennis?"
"No, Will, I've already said goodbye to him, my luggage is in the airport and there's nothing you can say to prevent me from doing what I'm about to do." Margaret answered firmly. "I'll call Dennis, when I'll be in Sydney."
The end of flashback
Margaret moaned, suddenly aware of the sharp pain in her left leg and aching head. Her mind was reeling and seemed like covered in thick mist, so that she couldn't concentrate on any thought in particular.
"Welcome back," she heard a male voice through the thickness of whatever was inside her head. She tried to open her eyes, which proved to be an uneasy task. After several moments of blinking, the obscurity vanished and she was able to see.
"Ah, hello, Doc," her voice sound unfamiliar even to her.
"Just Jack," he smiled a little. "How are you feeling?"
"Hope not as I look like. It's just like I've been overrun by a train," Margaret smiled despite of herself.
"You have a deep slash on your leg, so I had to sew it while you blacked out, plus a minor concussion of the brain, so you would suffer some after-effects like nausea, vertigo, headaches…"
"Ok, ok, I've understood," she cut him off, with an uneasy smile. Margaret tried to sit up and immediately regretted this decision: the world around her was plunged in darkness, the bright circles dancing in front of her eyes. She felt Jack's hands steadying her from falling somewhere.
"Hey, you shouldn't do that, I was actually about to say that you need a confinement to bed."
"Really, it's ok," she lied to him shamelessly. "So, how many people survived?"
"About fifty. The tail and the front section broke away and we have no idea of where they are or if they are still alive…" his eyes were dimmed as if he was back there, on the sight of the air crash.
"And the girl…, Lily-May?" Margaret asked quietly. "What of her father?"
"He's still unconscious and bleeding, but I managed to extract the metal piece without any extra damage. We have to wait and see if it gets infected… But it's not as bad as… We have another passenger with the same injury, but he's not so lucky… Um, you should take a rest now," Jack stood up, ready to live. "And remember…"
"Margaret," she prompted.
"Remember, Margaret, try not to fall asleep at least for several hours, it's maybe dangerous with your head injury, and no walking or the stitches will come apart. I'll check you in the morning," he was about to walk away, but turned suddenly to her as a thought crossed his mind unexpectedly.
"You, d'you have any medical certificate?"
"What?" she asked taken aback.
"When you ran to me, you said that no damage had been done to the man's internal organs. How did you know that?" Jack eyed her intently.
"I-I just…guessed…that is, I just supposed it was so. Why d'you ask?"
"Just curious," Jack waved it off, "Good night."
Margaret took a time to observe her surroundings. She was sitting in front of the bright fire, that she supposed was made by Jack, but as she looked around she saw several such fires, spread out across the beach, groups of those who survived huddle around them, trying not to give in the panic and despair everyone felt. Far apart from the others sat those who had lost someone, someone dear to their hart, but the sense of loss was mutual, as today they had suffer the loss of something very important but what? What was missing?
The one fire was particularly big, and Margaret assumed that was a signal fire. The question she dared not to ask was… The shadow fell on her face and Margaret looked up to see the girl, Lily-May, wrapped into one of the blankets from the plane. She was extremely pale, but her eyes were red conveying that she had been crying.
"Hello, I, um, just thought you might be hungry," She said hesitantly, handing Margaret an airplane meal.
"Wow, thanks a lot! I don't even realize how hungry I am! Do sit down," the girl set next to Mags obediently. "So, how's your father?"
"He's… Doctor says he'll be ok, but…" her lower lip began to tremble, but Lily-May didn't allow herself to cry anymore. "He's still unconscious and here, with no medical treatment…I'm scared for him. It's just…he's the only relative I have…"
"It's gonna be alright," Mags put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We've survived the Hell today, what can be worse? Look at this from the other side, it's not that every day you are given a chance to spend a romantic evening by the fire with a perfect view of the ocean. If not for my health condition I would have a swim," Lily-May laughed out involuntary. So absurd, such a tragedy in a heavenly place like these.
"Do you think they will come soon?" Lily-May asked quietly.
"They?"
"The rescuers. Do you think they will come soon?" She looked at Margaret and her eyes were praying to give her at lest a ray of hope. Something Margaret was not able to give her.
"I don't know…Let's just hope they will find us…soon," there was a silence between them. "And you, you're speaking with this accent, I can't make it out. What is it?"
"German. My father is German, I'm a half-blood," Lily-May smiled sweetly. "It seems we hadn't a proper introduction. Lily-May Blatter," she extended her petite hand.
"Margaret Rid," Mags smiled, taking it and shaking warmly.
"Your leg, how is it?" Lily-May asked looking at the tight bandage that was still bleeding slightly.
"Hope, I will survive, though it hurts like Hell," the very thought of accurate stitches made by ordinary threads from the knitting kit made the pain ten times worse. "Well, as I blacked out for most of the day you should tell me what was happening. D'you got to know all of these people?" Margaret asked half-jokingly, trying to distract the girl from the events of the day.
"Not all, of course, but some," she confessed, happy to be distracted. "Over there, that big guy – it's Hurley, he brought the meals, and close to him a pregnant woman – it's Claire…"
"Dear God! How could she make it? Poor thing, how many months is she pregnant, I wonder?"
"About eight, I assume. And that woman, that seats alone, she has lost her husband, he was seating in the tail…" Margaret was astounded that Lily-May, despite her own problems had learned so much about others, the things they obviously didn't tell her. "And that blond woman, the one who's painting toenails, is Shannon, Boone's sister…"
"Wait, who's Boone?" It was hard for Mags to follow the girl's speculations, partially due to her shaken up brain, but moreover, because she really didn't give a damn.
"It's the man who help us with dad, you known, the one you brought just before the explosion."
"Oh, that man," Margaret smiled at the memory, "The one who was running around the beach asking everyone for a pen, of all things!"
"And I hear it from a girl who was flying in an evening dress!" As ill luck would have it, he was passing by and heard the whole conversation. Moreover he was smirking. Since Margaret still was wearing that dress and her hair was a mess mixed with blood, and her leg was a sight, she felt strangely stupid. Despite her best judgments, she smiled sheepishly, watching him walk by towards the blond girl. However she noticed the way Lily-May looked at him, the one who saved her father. Margaret shook her head. Of course Boon was handsome, but too much for her taste.
"By the way," Mags muttered in defense, "I had my own reasons."
"I'm gonna go," Lily-May stood up, "I have to…"
Whatever she was about to say was cut short by the terrible blood-freezing sound. It was something indescribable, unlike anything else heard before, both terrifying primitive and greatly disturbing.
"Wh-what was it?" Lily-May whispered, alarmed.
"I don't know," Margaret answered in a whisper, holding onto her to get up, which was not easy with her injured leg. Struggling with tears and gritting teeth in pain she finally managed to pull her up. The same moment the sound repeated only this time it was much louder and more horrifying. Margaret tried to catch the direction the sound was coming from, and as if hypnotized started to move towards it, with Lily-May following. There were thirteen of them, thirteen people starring into darkness trying to see and to understand what mystery the island was hiding from them. There were gasps as all their heads simultaneously turned to another part of the jungle. Something big, enormous was moving with great speed… And then everything became quiet…
"But even then everyone understood that something was terribly wrong with that island and that no matter what, there life will never be the same. Whether they want it or not the island started to change them, giving a chance to start over, testing them, sorting out. They have died only to find a new life, but what awaits them on the way, what the fate has for them is unknown…"
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