Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and forgave me for the cliffhanger. WARNING: Chapter's will not be extravagantly long because I have classes and work so I can't update every night. All typos and errors are mine, if you see anything dramatically life changing then please alert me.
Disclaimer - Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I just like to borrow the characters.
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CHAPTER TWO
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BPOV
I didn't wake again until sunrise that morning. I had no idea what time it was, where I was or where I was heading. All I knew was that this raft was the only thing keeping me alive, afloat and out of danger. That, I was thankful for.
I pried back my crusty eyelids to be met with a calm, blue sky and soft fluffy clouds floating across it. It was a drastic change from last night but did nothing to soothe me.
I was still lost, alone and scared.
I was still clutching the ropes lining the edge of the raft tightly, my fingers cramped and sore from the effort. My clothes were still damp and heavy, weighed down from the water that had soaked into them. The sun was nearing a high point in the sky and I wondered how far I had travelled while I had been unconscious.
I was surprised I had slept through all that had happened. I thought about Charlie as I floated along aimlessly, gazing up at the sky through blurry eyes. My hair stuck to my face uncomfortably but I couldn't be bothered to push it away. My mother, Renee, would be frantic with worry when she found out there had been a plane crash and I had been involved. Rosalie would be phoning me constantly, leaving me an unimaginable number of text messages. I didn't even want to think about how my brother Emmett would react.
My tears ducts had dried up in the heat and I had no more tears left to cry.
I felt the raft bump against something solid and forced myself upwards to peer over the side. I stared at the boulder I had hit in wonder and joy, looking past it to see a long stretch of sand.
An island!
I scrabbled to my feet as quickly as I could manage on my battered legs and hauled myself over the side of the raft and onto the gritty sand beneath. I wriggled my toes, hoping this wasn't a silly illusion and I had accidentally plunged myself into the middle of the sea.
When I was certain I wasn't dreaming, I took a step forward and listened out for any sign of life. There wasn't a sound to be heard, save for the gentle sound of the waves lapping at the shoreline. I took another step forward, surveying the landscape.
There was a dense cluster of palm trees in the near distance, with branches and leaves lined up in front of the it where the waves had come in and left them. I dragged the raft along behind me, stumbling a few times and wincing in pain. I stopped and let out a long, ragged breath, bending over to support my upper body weight with my hands on my knees. I drank in a few more deep breaths and pushed my hair out of my face, tucking the ratty strands behind my ears and sighing heavily.
I walked another few steps along the waterline and eventually made my way up the gentle slope of sand that lead up to the palm tree forest. I didn't know much about the Geography of the Earth, but I knew you didn't get palm trees in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
I figured the plane must have went off course and crashed near West Africa. I nearly cried at the thought, biting them back desperately. I listened to the sound of the water hitting the shore and wondered if there was any wildlife here. So far, I hadn't seen or heard anything other than the sound of my own wheezy breathing and water.
I had heard enough about water for one lifetime.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves and created an eerie atmosphere that made me shudder, despite my damp clothing.
My stomach grumbled uncomfortably and I knew I would need to eat and drink soon, otherwise my chances of staying alive for more than a few hours were very slim. I had no idea what time it was, where I was or how I was going to get home.
I wasn't even going to attempt to swim back out into the unknown as I would only die quicker or get eaten by a shark or something.
"Hello?!" I called out suddenly, thoughtlessly. It was impossible to think there was anyone else here. It was deserted, creepy and dead. Nothing would survive here for very long, including me.
"Hello…? Is there anybody here?!" I yelled weakly, my voice no more than a pathetic croak. The salt water had parched it dry and I felt like a frog.
I flopped down in a shaded part near the trees and hung my head in my hands. I stared at the gritty sand between my legs and frowned sullenly, guilty tears spurting down my cheeks as my face screwed up in silent pain.
I rubbed my eyes scathingly, willing the childish tears to stop. I was an adult, not a child, and I needed to try and summon help, find food and shelter and dry out a bit.
My mind wanted to think logically, but all I could concentrate on was my own misery and guilt for not phoning my dad. I dug the broken cell phone out of my pocket, surprised it had lasted through the storm and uselessly pressed random buttons, hoping and slightly praying it might still just work.
My luck was done in, it remained lifeless and water logged. I stuffed it back into my pocket, sighing heavily.
I heard a rustle in the bushes behind me and whipped my head round to face them, my adrenaline bursting to life once again.
Fight, or flight.
Or so I had been told in many boring Biology lessons.
I turned around, leaning my weight on one of my hands as I sat, listening and watching. I heard no more noises, but thought I saw a large shadow move away from the bush and disappear behind it into the deeper foliage.
"Hello?" I called softly, careful not to damage my throat further. The forest was quiet, the silence almost deafening. I strained my ears, desperate to find some noise to console me. I hated how quiet it was and how I was positive there was something out there in the forest - man or beast.
"Please come out," I begged in a whisper, heaving myself up using a nearby tree for support and stepping forward, careful not to cut my feet on the sharp branches beneath me.
I snapped my head to the right as a single coconut rolled towards me, tumbling along precisely until it came to an abrupt stop at my feet. My eyes widened as I scanned the treeline, seeing nothing but branches, foliage and leaves scattering along the ground.
I stooped to pick up the brown, hairy fruit and stared at it in wonder.
There was a faded rusty red stain imprinted onto one side of it in the distinct shape of a hand. I traced my fingers over the mark, somehow feeling safer. Someone had smeared two eyes, a dotted nose and a wobbly line for a mouth onto the stain.
"Someone's been here," I whispered idiotically to the inanimate object. I was already going mad!
The face stared back at me with a bored expression, unmoving. Not even a twitch came from it's awkwardly shaped lips.
I shook the coconut carefully, not hearing any liquid sloshing about inside and despairing as I realised I wouldn't be able to get a drink from this coconut. I clasped it to my chest and tears welled up in my eyes.
There wasn't anyone here, it was just coincidence. The coconut must have rolled through something and gotten stained and it just happened to come out as something that resembled a face.
I thought about my family again. My dad, who would be worrying endlessly; my mum who would be frantic, her voice becoming hysterical; my brother Emmett, who would most likely be out looking for me fruitlessly, his strong demeanour demolishing as he broke down in tears. He was always a big softie.
I sank to my knees, still grasping the coconut tightly to my heaving chest. I felt a familiar bittersweet taste enter my mouth before I gagged and threw up all over the forest floor.
When I was done I slumped to the side, gasping for air, my exhaustion finally catching up with me.
My clothes were torn and stained, but I couldn't care less. The coconut was cradled in my limp arms, giving me some form of comfort. Hair clung to my face, sticking to my lips. My throat was parched from the sick and I felt disgusting. Tear trails stained my cheeks and my hands shook.
It was still nearing the middle of the day, the sun coming to a high point in the sky.
The warmth made me drowsy in the shade of the trees and my body was gradually shutting down again, fighting the urge to stay awake and look for food. Air left my chapped lips in deeper breaths as I succumbed to sleep and let the coconut roll out of my arms, my head resting on a bed of leaves and twigs.
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End Notes: Poor Bella, my heart goes out to her. Still she has the little coconut. I hope you found the similarity to Castaway there - hehe. If you didn't well, you need to go research a certain volleyball…
Reviews are much appreciated ;)
