~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm going to find her," said Sawyer a couple days after she'd met Tiger Lily.

"Who?" Eura frowned.

"Tiger Lily."

"Oh yeah. Your imaginary friend."

"Eura..."

"We still don't know our way around the island so how do you propose we find her?"

Sawyer thought for a moment and shrugged. "Think of it as an adventure."

"I'd rather just stay here and try to come up with ways to get off this island."

"We're starting to run low on food again," said Sawyer, looking down at the basket Tiger Lily had given them. Eura's appetite continued to increase. The result was them going through the food a lot quicker than Sawyer had anticipated. "We probably have enough for a couple days more, even with your sudden change in appetite."

"It must be the heat," said Eura, as she shoved some cherries in her mouth.

"Heat and overeating usually aren't closely related."

"Shut up."

"I'm going to look for Tiger Lily with or without you," Sawyer said as she stood.

Eura let out an annoyed sigh. "Fine. I'll go with you. But I want to be back here before sunset."

"Deal," Sawyer nodded.

She filled a backpack with snacks and water bottles then they began their journey into the unknown. They walked in silence with Eura leading the way. The plants seemed to shift around them. A tree or a bush never quite stayed in the same spot. Even the vines seemed to move. They passed by some berry bushes that smelled delicious. Sawyer made a mental note to try them later. Eventually they found the beach. By then, the sun was high in the sky and sweat was dripping down both their faces. Eura stripped off her clothes to reveal her swimsuit underneath.

"Time for a swim break," she said, running towards the clear blue waters.

Sawyer found a palm tree and laid down with her hands behind her head. She wondered what happened to Tiger Lily and was determined to find her. Perhaps Tiger Lily could help them figure out a way off this island. Sawyer stared up at the sky and wondered if anyone back home had noticed they were missing. She heard Eura's frantic voice, but kept trying to block her out. It became harder to when the screams got louder.

"Sawyer! Help! Sawyer!"

She sat up and was horrified to find Eura being restrained by a hooded figure while another one poked at her with a sword. There was blood coming out of a gash at the top of her head as well as several cuts along her arms and legs. Jumping up, Sawyer pulled out a pocket knife and started running towards them. An arrow came from out of nowhere nicking her arm. She whirled around to find two hooded culprits taking aim at her. She dodged their arrows, but another one landed in her thigh. She cried out in pain as she tumbled onto the sand. Eura had somehow escaped her captors and even managed to get a sword, which she was swinging around wildly.

Sawyer's hands trembled as she looked at the arrow sticking out of her leg. The pain was indescribable. She took a deep breath and managed to break off part of the arrow in an attempt to completely remove it. Another hooded figure who was taller than the rest came at her swinging a wooden bat. She scrambled backwards and barely dodged him. But another blow came to the side of her head. She was dizzy and reached up with her hand where she felt something wet and sticky. Sure enough, there was blood on her fingers.

She looked up in horror at her new assailant. He removed his hood. Scraggly blonde hair fell around his angular face and cold blue eyes watched her. There was a glaring scar that ran from one side of his face, over the bridge of his nose and down the other side almost to his neck. He smirked as he swung at her again. This time, Sawyer was able to move out of the way despite the throbbing pain in her leg and the massive headache.

From the shadows of the jungle, Peter watched the drama unfolding with a triumphant smile on his face. They had followed the girls on their quest to find Tiger Lily. In fact, they had listened to them as they discussed their plans for the day. He found it amusing that they thought they'd succeed in tracking Tiger Lily down on an island that he controlled. Peter waited for the right moment for an ambush. That moment happened when Eura went into the water alone while Sawyer laid under a palm tree. The boys hadn't trained with live targets in a while and were itching to do so again. There was only one rule - nobody dies.

Sawyer found herself cornered. The pain in her thigh was unbearable as was the pounding headache. Two hooded figures pointed swords directly at her from both sides while the blonde walked slowly over to her with an evil grin on his face, swinging his bat carelessly. He paused a few feet away and pulled a sword out from under his cloak.

"I want this to be a fair fight," he said, as he tossed it to the ground beside her.

The other two figures backed away and Sawyer grabbed the sword. Her shaking hands were trying hard to grasp the handle. She tried to blink away the pain she was feeling. They walked in a slow circle with their weapons pointed at each other. He jumped forward, swinging at her. Sawyer rolled to the side and glanced in Eura's direction. Eura was still fighting like an amateur knight swinging at anyone who dared get within a few feet of her. Sawyer felt pain in her thigh as the rest of the arrow was ripped out by the tall blonde. She fell to the ground as blood started gushing out.

"Why the hell did you do that?" she yelled.

"You might want to bandage that. Stop the bleeding," the blonde taunted.

"I'm fine," Sawyer lied.

He lowered his bat and tossed a bottle onto the sand.

"I said I wanted a fair fight," he frowned. "Drink half of that. Give the other half to your sister."

"I don't think -"

"Or bleed out. Your choice."

Sawyer looked at the bottle curiously. It was a purple liquid that swirled around. She didn't know what it was or why he was offering help. Then again, this could be part of his game. This could be how they died since the plane crash didn't kill them. But one thing was for sure. The pain in her leg was only getting worse and it would only be a matter of time before she fainted and most likely died from blood loss. She snatched the bottle up, dropping the sword in the process, and drank greedily. Almost instantly, the pain faded away. She looked down at her leg and watched as the wound disappeared completely as if it were never there. Her headache also went away.

"How -"

"Don't ask questions," the blonde said, kicking the sword to her. "Now where were we?"

Sawyer grabbed the sword as he swung at her again. She wasn't sure what it was he had given her, but it made her feel stronger than before. Perhaps it was some sort of drug? By now, nobody else was fighting. They were all watching them. He lunged at Sawyer and she ducked low so he hit her shin instead. She fell to the ground and he took her sword.

"Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed, as a bruise quickly formed.

He pulled her up roughly by the arm and whirled her around so that her back was up against him. She cringed when she felt his hot breath on her ear. He held the blade of the sword across her throat.

"Give up?" he said.

"Hell no."

Sawyer elbowed him in the rib cage while simultaneously kicking back with her foot into his groin. He cried out and doubled over in pain. Sawyer knocked him to the ground and pointed the sword at his throat.

"Who are you?" Sawyer demanded.

"No one that should concern you."

"You attacked us. It concerns me."

"We were following orders."

"Who's orders?"

He laughed a little. It wasn't light hearted. It was a dark kind of laugh that sent bad chills down her spine.

"Not yet," he smirked. "But you'll know soon enough."

Someone whistled from the jungle and caught everyone's attention.

"I would love to stay and continue our conversation," the blonde said, standing carefully so as not to get stabbed. "But it's time to go."

He snatched the sword from her and walked backwards towards the jungle.

"Don't bother following us or you'll regret it."

He disappeared quickly along with the rest of them. Sawyer raced over to Eura.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing I can't handle. Are you alright? You took quite a beating."

"Yeah I'm fine. He gave me some medicine or something. It completely healed me. Here. Drink it."

Eura frowned but did as she was told. Immediately the wound on her head disappeared along with the blood that had been dripping down her face. Her arms and legs had also been cleared of any cuts.

"The more I learn about this place, the more ready I am to leave it," said Eura, dropping the empty bottle onto the sand. "We have got to find a way off this island Sawyer. It's been far too long."

Sawyer nodded in agreement. It was a beautiful place no question. But it had now proven to be very dangerous like Tiger Lily had told her. And she definitely was telling the truth about how they couldn't trust anyone. They'd almost gotten killed.

"Let's get back to the plane," said Sawyer.

Eura nodded, as they gathered up their things then began the trek back through the jungle.

~*~*~*~*~*~