HAPPY HOLIDAYS! MY GIFT FROM ME TO U IS I UPDATED!! Hope you like! Thanks to all who reviewed!:)
Chapter Three:
"I got us some food." Chad announced, coming back to the main camp, his face smeared with dirt and moisture, and his clothing slightly torn. A large rabbit was in his hands.
"Food?" Tawni gasped, not in relief, but in horror, "Why would I ever eat a cute little bunny rabbit?"
"You will if you want to stay alive." Chad retorted.
"But-," Tawni started to argue.
"There's not enough meat for all three of us." Sonny interjected calmly. Tawni gaped at her.
"You're actually going to eat it?" Tawni asked.
"Yes," Sonny agreed rather regretfully, "Because I'm going to stay alive." She said, without a side-glance at Chad.
Things had been rather rocky since she stormed away. It was dark and everything in the cursed jungle had looked the same. It didn't take her much time to realize she was horribly lost. It had been sheer luck she had stumbled into the nice clearing they were now.
Chad had found her quickly, and although refused to tell her what he knew, had pointed out they needed each other to survive. Sonny had reluctantly agreed. It had been nearly a week maybe? She lost track of days.
All she knew is that it had been awhile. Chad caught the food, Sonny prepared it. It was that simple. They had constructed a rough shelter from two large fallen trees and had done their best to pack leaves and smaller branches to keep the wind out.
They always had someone stay back, they switched off times and days. They had brought back a pretty good stash of things from the ship that had washed up on the beach. Things that Sonny had found unimportant or taken for granted she no longer. They needed everything.
And just that night, Chad had gone out in search of food but he came back empty handed…with Tawni in tow. Turns out, she had been knocked unconscious for the last few days and therefore hadn't been surviving like they had. The rabbit would be her first real outdoors-y meal.
"I know." Chad agreed, referring to Sonny's comment, "I'll go back out and try and bring back another." Chad gave a short laugh, "Who would have thought there were rabbits on a tropical island?" He wondered out loud.
"Surly not us." Sonny murmured, remembering she had almost had a heart attack the first time a rabbit had jumped across her feet. Chad chuckled slightly, turning away and retreating back into the forest.
"I can't believe we're going to eat that!" Tawni wrinkled her nose in disgust, looking at the limp mound of fur.
"You get used to it." Sonny said calmly. It was an odd taste to her tongue, one that she wouldn't want to eat all the time, but it didn't taste horrible.
"Chad caught that?" Tawni asked.
"Yeah, never would have guessed it huh?" Sonny asked, "I guess his dad was a real outdoors men and taught him all about the woods when he was younger." Sonny caught eyes with Tawni, "Pre-fame of course."
"I just never took Chad as one to get his hands dirty." Tawni said rather glumly, and stared down at her own dirt stained hands, "Or me."
"You get used to it." Sonny repeated rather impatiently now. It seemed she had been repeating the same line to Tawni all the while she'd been there.
She went over to the storage tree, a tree with the dirt washed away under its roots, forming a nice storage area for all the stuff they had found useful. It was very neat and tidy, but rather small.
She grabbed a large flat stone, a smaller flat stone, and a knife.
"Can you throw another log on the fire?" Sonny asked Tawni turning back, "We need it bigger to cook this meat right." She said. She watched Tawni pick up a thinner log with her fingers, looking at it and holding it so carefully that it was like it was poisonous. With a yelp, she dropped it into the fire. Sonny clicked her tongue. This was getting annoying.
"Look Tawni," Sonny growled, "If you want to survive, you're going to have to not be afraid of the jungle! Do you want to die because you were stupid enough to be afraid?" She demanded. Tawni's face-hardened.
"I'm sorry Sonny, I'm just not used to it." Tawni murmured, "You know what I'm used to."
"Then get used to it." Sonny snapped, and threw two more logs on the fire. Tawni watched the flames devour the logs hungrily.
Sonny gave a huff and pulled the larger flat stone in front of her, laying the rabbit down on it. She grabbed the knife, and started to cut the stomach of it open, but stopped, looking at Tawni.
"You might want to look away." Sonny warned, "It's not a pleasant thing." Tawni shook her head, her wild unkempt dancing.
"No, I'll learn. I have to know how to survive out here." Tawni insisted. Sonny shrugged and started skimming, gutting, and preparing the rabbit. She had just begun gutting the rabbit, blood soaking her hands, when she saw Tawni's face turn slightly green. It wasn't until Sonny chopped off the head of the rabbit when Tawni ran out into the forest, probably barfing.
Sonny was unfazed with all of it. Being from Wisconsin, she had learned all the skills early. By the age of ten, she could prepare game her father caught better than any of her boy cousins. She took pride in that.
Carefully, she skinned the rabbit, putting its fur on the second flat stone. It was of course just as wanted as the meat.
All she'd been eating lately was rabbits, the occasional berry, and water she had purified by boiling it. She had an impressive collection of usable rabbit fur, which she was thinking about making herself some mittens from.
She doubted it would snow here; it was a tropical island after all. But still, obviously this wasn't a normal island seeing there was rabbits and wolves here and Chad had swore he had seen a moose, so Sonny didn't put it past the island to snow. She would be ready, if it did.
Her fingers worked as her mind wandered. She only was interrupted when Tawni staggered back into the clearing.
"How can you that without vomiting?" She asked, her voice hollow. Sonny shrugged.
"You're just over thinking it. You look at this and see a cute little rabbit meeting its death to the blade of a knife," Tawni's face turned slightly green again, "And I see food."
"Still." Tawni whispered. She sat down, resting her chin on her knees and watched Sonny finish, and didn't leave again. Just as Sonny was putting the meat on a speared, smooth piece of wood to hang over the fire, Chad appeared.
In his hands were two rabbits, and his jacket was slung over his shoulder in the manner you would see Santa Clause carrying gifts. Sonny could make out roundish lumps.
"Two rabbits?" Sonny said, impressed but kept her voice level. She was still angry with him, "Looks like some one had some good luck." He handed the rabbits to her.
"Good luck? I had more than just good luck!" He announced and opened his jacket. An array of apples, oranges, and lemons rolled out.
"Fruit?" Sonny gasped, "How?"
"I found a field full of fruit…plants," Chad hesitated, "But these were the only ones I could identify. I don't want to get poisoned from some bad fruit." He said. Sonny nodded.
"Well I'm glad we have these!" She said, forgetting her anger toward him. His eyes glimmered.
"Chad Dylan Cooper found 'em easy." He boasted, using a tone and face Sonny had barely seen since the day on the beach. Honestly, nice Chad was starting to worry her. She was glad he was back to his old self. Sonny dismissed his obnoxious behavior and gleefully grabbed up the fruit.
She went back and carved up the rabbits. By the time she was done, the first rabbit she'd been cooking was done. She wiped the knife on her stained shirt, the blood gone. She cut up the apples.
"Here's a bit of food." She said, handing out a third of the rabbit and fruit supply to Chad and Tawni, "There's more coming." Chad scarfed down his full, while Tawni picked at her food. After awhile, Sonny saw her close her eyes, plug her nose and chock down the meat.
The rest came later, warm rabbit meat with oranges and lemons. Sonny, as she squirted lemon juice on her meat to make it taste more interesting, watched the sun sink.
"How are we going to sleep?" Chad spoke up when it was completely dark outside.
"What do you mean?" Tawni asked.
"The shelter we've been sleeping in narrowly fits two, and couldn't possibly fit three." Chad said, speaking the unspoken worry that Sonny had been mulling over since Tawni appeared into the clearing.
"Yeah, it would be awful with three having to squish." Sonny agreed, shuddering. Her and Chad had been trying to keep a good distance away from each other, and it was hard enough in the tent. There were a lot of awkward moments when they accidently brushed hands and such already.
Sonny looked up at the sky. "I'm no weatherperson, but I don't think it's going to rain tonight. It think it would be safe for one of us to sleep outside tonight." She said. She instinctively looked at Chad who had been slurping them with helpful outdoor hints.
"Hey, don't look at me!" He held up his hands defensively, "I don't know that kind of stuff!"
"So one of us sleeps outside." Sonny decided, "But they will get the majority of blankets and stuff." She warned. They had been pretty lucky with finding stuff from the boat. Half of comforters witch Sonny had sewn together to the best of her ability. Shards of warm fleece blankets. Pillows. Pillow cases. A quarter of a mattress. Altogether, split between her and Chad, it had been fairly comfortable.
"I get to sleep outside!" Chad quickly called, "I mean, if any of us gets to good stuff, it ought to be me. I do the hunting and the heavy lifting y'know." He said and flashed a perfectly white smile, "Plus, I'm Chad Dylan Cooper."
Sonny and Tawni groaned in unison. "Fine. I'll split the bedding though!" Sonny decided and jumped up before Chad could object.
The inside of their makeshift bed space was moist and cool, nothing compared to the hot jungle sun that beat down on them. It wasn't very big; in fact if Sonny had it her way, she would have fit nicely in it. But there were two more people to worry about…
Sonny sighed and picked up a list they had made of their bedding supplies. Chad had suggested making lists to keep track of everything. Obviously, no paper was found… at least not on it's own.
A backpack had washed up on the beach, and they had salvaged at least one notebook full of paper. The pencils hadn't been damaged much, but they were very careful of what they used. Sonny read the list out loud to her.
*Two Comforter Blanket
*Three semi warm blankets
*Five thin blankets
*Two and a half pillows
*One part of a king mattress
*A large cashmere sweater converted into a pillow (Sonny had roughly sewn it together, and they thought it belonged to a rather large passenger on the ship)
Sonny stared at their materials and sighed. She grabbed the mattress, one of the comforters, one semi warm blanket, two thin blankets and a pillow and lugged them from the shelter.
"Yes the mattress!" Chad cheered as she dragged it out and laid it on the ground, making the bed.
"You're just lucky I'm being fair!" Sonny snapped when she saw his gloating expression. She stormed back into the shelter, arranging her's and Tawni's bed.
Honestly, she was glad to be sharing with Tawni. Girls had sleepovers and slept in the same bed. There was nothing weird about that. So that made it possible for Sonny to combine what they had into one soft bed. Plus, she had gone to a few of the diva's sleepovers and knew that Tawni didn't thrash in her sleep. Or snore, or talk…so much better than Chad. He actually didn't do any of those except sometimes talked in his sleep.
But his words were inaudible and if she could pick up the sentences, they made little to no sense at all.
When she came back into the main clearing, she saw Tawni watching the last lights of the fire burn down to after embers. She saw Chad already in his bed, a peaceful expression on his face.
Sonny took their jug of un-purified water and poured it over the fire, stomping it to make sure it was out.
"The bed's ready." Sonny said wearily. Tawni nodded getting up. She stopped and looks at Chad.
"Jerk." She muttered, "I feel like slapping him."
"It feels good." Sonny commented, and when Tawni looked at her strangely, "He was being more than a total jerk so I slapped him."
"You go girl." She snorted, shoving past her and into the shelter, "So…" Tawni said thoughtfully as she got under the covers. Sonny sat down on the bed...if you could even call it that.
"Whaaat?" Sonny asked in the same tone.
"You and Chad?" Tawni's eyes glittered.
"What about me and Chad?" Sonny asked, shifting a bit.
"What's going on between you two? I mean, being stranded on an island for a few days alone…sharing a tent-," Sonny cut her off.
"Ohmigosh, I can't believe you would even suggest that! Ewe…excuse me while I barf!" Sonny stuck out her tongue.
"I thought so." Tawni said with a relieved sigh, "But y'know, we couldn't have been stuck with a hotter guy than him." She pointed out.
"I know…but his attitude. Ugg!" Sonny shook her head. She felt her confidence growing; being back with a good friend and bantering like this.
"I know." Tawni agreed with a sharp nod, then her face feel, "I miss my parents." She said slowly. It felt like a kick in the chest. Sonny had done all she could to not think about it but…
"I do two." She agreed and then hesitated, "Do you think Chad misses his parents." She asked hesitantly.
"He barely talks about them. He never did before you came. All I know is that his dad disowned him early on because he wanted to be an actor instead of marrying a girl his parents set up for him and not wanting to run the family business." Tawni whispered.
"Pre-arranged marriage? But he's only sixteen!" Sonny gasped.
"It was for later…I think twenty would be the age." Tawni explained and then her face turned sorrowful, "I don't think Chad has any family really. I think he's all alone."
"Must be hard." Sonny sighed. Tawni gave a little giggle, "What are you laughing at?" Sonny demanded, a bit insulted for her to be laughing.
"Nothing going on between you and Chad huh? And here you are, worrying about him!" She laughed. Sonny felt herself stiffen.
"I'm nice to everyone." She murmured, "Even jerks like Chad. And besides, before you showed up, we made a pact to protect one another to stay alive."
"Like that has to do with anything." Tawni snorted. Sonny lay down.
"You know what? I'm going to sleep." She muttered. She tried to push out the sounds of the forest around her, well certain ones. Over thinking the tiniest crackle of a leaf could make you go mad.
But the certain sounds, like a cricket chirping, or the wind snaking through vines soothed her to sleep. In seconds, she was asleep.
Her dreams, which had usually consisted of being back on the main land with her family, came in a different way. She was wandering through a jungle, probably the one they were on right now, and she seemed lost. She was hungry. Tired. Thirsty.
Where were her friends? A twig cracked. She wiped her head around to see a terrifying creature that at first she thought was a tiger. The fur was ginger and black; it's face looking slightly cat-like. But then it stepped all the way into the open.
Dark black wings were on it's back, and the claws on it's feet were long and silver and stained red at the end. It smiled at her, and there were two yellow rows of teeth, the sharpest ones tipped in red as well. The smile wasn't a welcoming one. It was a mocking one, an evil one.
The eyes of the beast that had been amber, but as it took a step forward, they turned dark red.
"Food…" The beast's words were straggly and came out almost chocked. Sonny couldn't feel her legs. She couldn't run. That thing was going to kill her, she figured as it took two more, more eager, steps toward her.
Then out of the woods, there was a white flash. Sonny didn't realize it was the wolf that had tried to eat her body until it was on top of the creature, snarling in its face. The tiger thing claws desperately, but it was over before it began. The wolf tore its shoulder open, deep purplish blood pouring out onto the mossy ground.
The creature shuddered and then lay still. A deep wind blew down and like the thing was made of dust, evaporated almost, disappearing with the wind. She looked, terrified at the wolf.
Had it killed the thing so he could have Sonny all to himself? Well, Sonny thought it was a he. It looked like a he. The wolf looked up, licking the blood from around its mouth.
Then it spoke. "You have no need to fear me. I am a friend." Its voice was terrifyingly familiar, but in the morning Sonny would forgot whom the voice belonged to, "It's not safe, where you are now. You need to leave."
"Leave?" Sonny hissed, "Where can we go?" She snorted.
"Head into the middle of the island. You will find a large waterfall. It will protect you from creatures like you just encountered now. There is a boundary of safety. Travel during the day. Have someone keep watch. Make it there, or die."
The wolf's words sent shivers down Sonny's spine.
"You're friends are being told the same thing." The wolf added, as if knowing Sonny's hesitation. The wolf looked at the sky above, them, which was turning pink with the dawn of a new day.
"Day is near. I must go. Travel swiftly, Sonny. The creature you saw is nothing compared to what is lurking." And then, he gave a long howl, and sprinted off into the forest.
"Wait!" Sonny called desperately, and tried to follow the wolf. She burst through a curtain of vines, and she found herself blinking awake in the shelter. Sunlight streamed through the cracks they hadn't been able to fill.
Tawni's space was empty. Rubbing the grogginess of the dream from her eyes she stumbled out into the clearing. Tawni sat on the ground, combing her fingers though her hair. Chad was squatting beside the fire, a rabbit roasting over it.
"Look who's up." Chad sneered, looking up. Tawni swat him on the shoulder.
"You looked so peaceful. I didn't want to wake you." Tawni explained quietly, a certain strain to her voice. The words from the dream came flooding back to Sonny. She could no longer tack a voice to the words, but they were embedded in her head all the same.
She knew Tawni had the dream. Her gaze switched to Chad. Although just getting up, his face was washed out and his eyes looked hollow almost. His face was twisted into a hard-set expression. He had the dream as well.
"Food's done." He announced, and Sonny sat down beside Tawni. Chad handed out the food, and they munched in silence. Sonny took the rabbit fur and added it to a pouch for the rabbit fur that hung over her shoulder like a hand bag.
When they finished, it was more than an awkward silence. Sonny grunted.
"To the middle of the forest?" She asked.
WOWP
Justin sat on the beach, watching the day turn into night. The sounds of waves breaking and crashing rocked him in a comforting way. He couldn't stop thinking. Once thinking was like second nature, but now thinking was like toxic to his brain.
Harper was tending to Alex's mangled arm above him on the beach, right next to the edge of the jungle. It was nearly useless- Alex's arm. It hung there, limp and flat. Dead. But he wasn't giving up hope on it. He had a feeling she'd pull through with both her arms.
He didn't turn back as he heard Alex moan in pain. It was a constant thing, and he felt terrible he had nothing to ease the pain. But it would just tear him apart looking, so he didn't.
His mind was confused enough as it was. There was always general worry lingering on the sane part, but his mind was far from sane. At the moment, all that swarm around him was incredible guilt. That and emotional pain. He was a wreck.
The girl on the boat…for a fleeting second he had thought it was Juliet. Even thinking the name made him almost buckle over in agony. He felt awful- he had promise to find her and break her from the curse of the mummy. But he couldn't now.
He had been feeling terrible from the moment he watched her disappear. Alex had to literally drag him back home. He was almost lifeless. His parents assured him that he had saved her, and it was her own choice to go. If she didn't, she would have died though. But it was her choice to go searching with him. But he let her go.
It was a constant battle in his mind, and it all came back to it being Justin's fault. Gosh, he loved her. And he had let her slip through her fingers.
His parents had tried to fix it with the family vacation. But that hadn't helped. They had thought the cruise would help. It did…partially. It took his mind off of her, but after seeing that girl…
And now, he tried to focus on their survival. That pushed all thoughts of Juliet to the back of his mind. Made him forget. For the time being.
And then he was alone again. And it was all he could do not to cry when he thought. He thought of her whenever he was alone. And that seemed more often than not these days.
"Hungry?" Justin turned to see Max with a handful of berries. Justin wordlessly held out his hand. Max gave him the berries. They were mashed and warm, but food all the same.
"Has Alex been fed?" Justin asked.
"Sounds like you're referring to a dog." Max laughed and then turned serious, "Yeah, but it's hard to find things that stay down. That arm makes her sick to her stomach every time she looks at it."
"I wish I could find something to cease the pain." Justin muttered between eating the berries.
"You don't know anything that could help?" Max sounded surprised, and surprised he should be. Justin let out a long sigh.
"I know herbal reminds, yes, but the problem is finding them out in the jungle. I don't think I want to risk it." Justin said slowly.
"You seem different." Max said slowly. Justin didn't blink.
"Wouldn't be surprised. The crash was hard on me." He lied on the last part. He knew what was eating him. Juliet.
"No…It's something else," Max creased his forehead in thought, "I noticed before."
"Really? I didn't feel different." Justin said.
"It's her, isn't it?" Max knew better than to say her name, but Justin winched all the same, "I knew it." Max said softly.
"So what?" Justin huffed.
"You couldn't do anything different! You did the right thing, saving her." Max said desperately, and Justin frowned.
"Why does everyone keep telling me that!" He spat.
"It's because it true!" Max said loudly, "Justin you're an idiot if you think its' you're fault. And I know idiots!" He smiled, "Takes one to know one!" He said proudly.
Justin snorted, "Yeah, only and idiot insults himself." That made him laugh but it didn't help anything else. Max's smile faded.
"Look, Justin, you promised that you'd save her, right?" He didn't give his older brother time to answer, "Right. So you will. Maybe not now, but you will. We all know you will. So just don't think it to much."
"It's not that, so much, it's just I can't stop thinking about her. Anytime I'm alone, she's there. It's killing me!" Justin seethed angrily; grabbing a handful of sand and watching each tiny fragment fall through his fingers.
"If you need something to get you're mind off her, I have a suggestion," Harper said irritably from above them, and Justin jumped a bit, "Blue birds seem to be the only thing, Alex can hold down, so why don't you make yourself useful and catch some!"
"Who gave her a grumpy pill this morning?" Max whispered to Justin as Harper waded into the water to wash the sand from her feet.
"She's right;" Justin said, getting up abruptly, "We should be finding blue bird." Max made a face.
"Yuck!" He said with full disgust, "They taste horrible." Justin grimaced.
"I know, but we'll catch Alex some, and then we'll find something for ourselves." He promised. Max gave a relived smile.
"Much better." Justin heard Max murmur as they stepped into the steamy jungle.
When they returned with the bluebird for Alex, and a squirrel for themselves, they found Harper's worried expression.
"Justin!" She whispered urgently, "I really think Alex needs some medicine!" She cried.
"Harper, we're on a island. There is no medicine!" Max rolled his eyes with a sigh.
"No! I mean, like herbs and stuff!" She corrected herself, "Please! Alex isn't getting better. In fact, she's gotten much worse…." She looked back at Alex. Justin followed her gaze. She didn't look all that different, but he could somehow tell.
"We'd have to all leave the beach." He warned.
"I don't like moving her, but it's only her am. I don't think it would be too horrible." She paused, "Would it?"
"No. But…we'd have to go way into the forest. I have a horrible feeling what we're looking for is not anywhere close." He mulled over it, looking at Harper for her consent.
"We'll I'm in." Max said gleefully, "It's an adventure!"
"I don't' like it…" Harper repeated, "But we have to. " She agreed rather hesitantly, "For Alex."
"We leave after we eat." Justin decided. "It's best we get into a safe place before sunset."
"And if we don't?" Max asked, rather eagerly in the prospect of leaving the boring beach. Justin grimaced.
"I honestly don't know." He sighed, and knelt down beside his limp sister, " I guess we have to hope for the best."
SLOD
"So are we going to find food now?" Zach asked expectantly, but his question was tense.
"We just ate like an hour ago." Cody pointed out, stopping to sit on a mossy log.
"Yes, an hour ago! I've never been away from food for such a long time!" Zach whined.
"Yes, let's get food! The chef has been terrible!" London agreed, "And we need to call the manicurist! My nail polish is chipping!"
Zach, Cody, and Bailey exchanged looks. Before they had let London believe she'd been in her own little world because they had hope they would be found. But they had talked, and because they most likely were thought dead, they had agreed things would be different this time.
"London…" Bailey started calmly, "We've told you before that this isn't a hote-," But London cut her off.
"Don't try to fool me with you're smarty talk! I know you just want to get the best hotel service. But I won't have it!" London cried.
"London!" Zach was more forceful, "Look! Bailey and Cody have been nice about this! But I'm sick of it! London! WE ARE NOT BY AN HOTEL! NO ONE IS GOING TO OBEY YOU! NO ONE IS GOING TO RESCUE US! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?!" He bellowed. Everyone looked taken back, but no one more surprised than London.
"I…I…" London tripped over her words, "I understand…" She murmured gently. Zach, who had been looking right up in her face, eased back on his soles.
"Good." He growled with a satisfied nod. London's eyes flashed angrily.
"I understand…" Her voice turned sharp, "That you are the worst, absolute WORST, hotel service person ever! And trust me, I will never be coming here again!"
Just as Zach tried leaping at London, Bailey stood in front of him, holding him back. She grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.
"ZACH!" She scolded, "The last thing we want to do is kill each other! Can you please act your age?" She spat, shaking her head.
Zach's fire in his eyes dimmed slightly, but he kept his gaze fixed on London. "I'll act my age if she," He nodded to London, "acts hers."
"Well, you're going about it the wrong way." Bailey said, and shoved him at Cody. Cody grabbed his brother stiffly around his neck.
"You know I could take you down if I wanted to." Cody murmured, but didn't struggle.
"If you want something, I have no choice but to use the 'island hotel' way…" She grimaced, "Zach, why don't you use those skills of yours and catch a fish."
"What skills?" Zach asked, shrugging Cody off.
"You caught all those fish and told us you were in that troop…and you won that award for saving someone's life! You were saying you were a hero!" Bailey said.
" We've heard this already! He pushed me off the dock, and then threw me a life circle!" Cody muttered, " That is not a hero!"
"That's not what the president said when he shook my hand." Zach brushed the sand from his clothing, a bight smile appearing across his face.
"I thought it was the mayor…" Bailey said. Zach's face blushed.
"Well they both shook my hand and called me a hero!" Zach said quickly.
"Well, you know what kind of hero I need now? A hero sandwich." Cody said loudly.
"I can't get you that," Zach said, "But I'm sure there's berries and fish here. I'd be GLAD to go and find some food."
"In that case, I say we find a place to rest until Zach comes back with food." Bailey proposed. Cody looked around.
"If we uproot those plants, this could be a nice clearing." Cody said, pointing to a line of small leafy plants.
"I'll start on that." Bailey instantly offered, and grabbed hold of the leaves, tugging them. London meandered around the small area, no direction her steps. Cody tried to clear some of the larger rocks from the sand.
"I'm going now." Zach said, and no one answered. He paused, scowling before stomping off into the foliage.
About an hour later, Cody stood up, wiping away beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead.
"I'm thirsty," He commented, "I think I'm going to go and try to find us some water."
"Good idea, I could drink a pond right now!" Bailey agreed, and plopped herself down in the sand.
"Mkay, I'll be back." He said and went the opposite direction that his twin had gone. He shoved himself through the endless trees and vines, taking certain things to memory to help him get back. A rock cut in half, a tree with a red mark, a vine twining around two trees…he surly didn't want to get lost.
If not for his great photographic memory, he knew he would have gotten lost easily. He paused. He hoped Zach didn't get lost. He wondered…what would they do if Zach didn't come back?
He brushed the thought aside, and kept moving forward. There seemed to be no stopping of the plants growing so thickly around that he feared he might just be going in circles.
He looked up in the sky and his heart skipped a beat. He had been walking far longer than he had thought. Judging by the way the sun was sinking, he'd been gone an hour or two.
"Please, just give me some water!" He begged out loud. He closed his eyes, half wishing he'd open them and there'd be a pool of water before him. But no such luck.
He looked back. Did he want to try a bit farther, or should he head back? No, keep going forward….he was so parched at the moment.
He sighed, and closed his eyes, using his arms to swat the away the vegetation. He kept going, and soon he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a small puddle of clear water. At first he thought he was dreaming, but as he sank to his knees and lapped, he knew it was real.
It tasted like the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted, slurping the water gleefully; a bit giddy actually, and suddenly he had an uncontrollable fit of laughter. He dunked his hands in, taking some in his palms and then pouring it over his head.
Cool water trickled into his clothing, soaking them, but Cody could care less at the moment. After his giggles ceased, he looked around for something to carry the water in. He wished he had his trusty canteen…but he suspected it was at the bottom of the ocean.
He got up, and carefully stumbled around the edge of the water. He found nothing he could use for a water carrier. As he reached the edge of a sheer cliff dropping down to a patch of thorny bushes, he turned to head back…but he stubbed his toe on something.
He picked it up. "A coconut?" He said, looking it over. It was hollowed out, a small crack in one part. His eyes lit up.
"Perfect!" He laughed. He examined it. It was on the small side…he wondered…he spun around, and spotted the coconut tree just by the edge. A wide grin crossed his face. He could use the hollowed ones for water, and he was sure Bailey, Zach, and London wouldn't mind some coconut to eat. He ran, really skipped, over to the tree, setting the first empty coconut down.
He collected four other empty ones and then looked at the tree and groaned. The bigger ones, and most likely the better ones, were higher up and even the smaller ones were out of his reach.
It took him awhile, but he figures how to grasp the tree and shimmy up it. Heaving, he reached a higher part of the tree, and was slightly afraid to let his arms go of the tree to reach out and grab a coconut. Carefully, he grabbed for one. The closest one was just out of reach of his fingers.
"Eeee…mmmh…" He grunted as he stretched farther. Reeling back, no coconut, he frowned. What else? He was just about to sacrifice his shoe to knock it down, when he heard a particular sound.
He strained his ears…no…it couldn't be. He swore he heard people…talking? But…it wasn't Bailey or London or Zach's voice. He shook his head, and started kicking his shoe off.
But then he heard it louder.
"How much longer? I don't think Alex can take much longer?" A voice asked.
"No…" Cody breathed, "No..no…" He was imagining things…his mind was playing a cruel joke on him.
"I'm fine Justin!" A sharp voice spat back, "You don't need to stop for me!"
"Yes…you can barley walk! And you broke your arm, not your leg! That's not a good sign!" A worried voice came from.
"Maybe her arm is affecting her leg?" An oh so blank voice wondered. Cody couldn't believe it. Leaning over the branch, he peered down the steep slope. Squinting, he could just see four figures cutting their way through the bush.
Cody ran his fingers through his hair. It couldn't be…his mind was playing a trick! But yet, he saw the figures more and more detailed. He sucked in a breath…it was them!
But…he had heard and read multiple times that the jungle can play tricks on you. Mirages…images that aren't really there. He knew only one way to find out. Swiftly, he grabbed a smaller coconut and drew back his arm.
Now Cody knew he was no good in sports, but from the angle of where he was sitting on the cliff and how fast they were walking…he adjusted his arm just right. Then he threw the coconut down the slope.
He held his breath, watching it fly. If it went right through them then they were fake…if it hit them then they were real and…well he'd explain the whole throw-a-coconut-at-you thing to them later.
His coconut in fact did hit one and he almost fell off the tree with relief. They were real. He had also hit Max who he saw pick it up, rubbing his head.
"A coconut? IT'S RAINING COCONUTS!" Max yelled, "SHOWER US WITH YOUR COCONUTTY GOODNEESS OH GOD OF THE SKY!"
Cody watched Justin grab the fruit, and tuck it into a bag; "I think this hit you a bit to hard on the head." He said sarcastically. Cody didn't hear anymore. He had already jumped down and was running through the forest, only stopping once when he thought he had gotten lost.
Long before he reached camp, the sweet smell of food greeted him. He burst into the clearing to see Zach roasting some meaty substance over the fire. London was watching the flame, her eyes blank and mouth open with a happy grin like a four year old. Bailey was lying down, and looked up when he came closer.
"Oh, thank goodness you're back!" She breathed, "We were starting to worry!"
She glanced over his mud smeared appearance, and a few tears in his clothing from climbing the coconut tree.
"Are you okay?" She asked the same time Zach asked.
"Where's the water?"
Cody ignored both of their questions.
"They are here!" He breathed. Bailey stood up, walking over to him.
"Who's here?" She asked, cocking her head.
"Justin…Harper…Max…" He paused; looking pointedly at Zach whose face had turned white, "And Alex Russo." He finished. Zach's face turned a deep beet red color.
"Y…your probably just s…s…seeing things." Zach stuttered.
"I know I saw them! I hit Max on the head with a coconut!" Cody countered.
"Is he okay?" Bailey gasped.
"Of course, it's Max." Cody said dryly.
"Well what did they say when they saw you?" Zach asked, "Did Alex say anything…" He bit his lip, his face turning even more red, 'Or Like Justin…or Harper?" He covered quickly.
"No…well you see, they were down this really sharp pointy slope, and so I couldn't reach them. But I bet we could catch them!" Cody said excitedly.
"I'm in!" Bailey agreed at once, "Alex was really nice," Bailey eyes narrowed, sparkling mischievously, "And I bet a certain someone, ahem Zach, would be happy to see her too."
"Yeah!" Zach said quickly, "I mean, I'm in too. Not the part I want to Alex….no…because she's just a chick and I'm a guy that needs lots of girls and-," Cody cut him off.
"Then it's settled. We eat on the way!" Cody said and Bailey kissed him. Zach turned around, trying to lower his face to a normal color. He couldn't believe it. He bit his lip. She was here…
He closed his eyes, "Alex…" He whispered.
iCarly
Carly let the booming sound of the waterfall mask out her worries. The cool water crawled down her body, and she lifted her face to meet the cool spray. After a few seconds of standing under the pounding waterfall, she stepped out, wringing out her hair.
She looked to the jungle. How embarrassed she'd be if Freddie caught her with only her bra and underwear on. Her clothing was folded neatly on the dry bank. She shivered. Even with the warm temperature of the island, her skin prickled still from the numbness of the falls. She looked above, her feet shuffling the smooth rock she was standing on.
The waterfall she was under now was in no way anything compared to the one her and Freddie had found. This was a smaller part on the far western side, and it was like a utopia. The waterfall was forceful, perfect to wash the grit and sand from her hair and refresh her.
There was a flattened bolder starting at the dry bank and going right under and through the waterfall. Two feet under the rock was a clear pool with little fish and no algae or muck.
Freddie was no doubt trying to make a more permanent camp somewhere a few feet into the jungle. They had decided that they would stay here. They had washed up into a cave and traveled until finding the grand waterfall with mountains behind them. They felt instantly safe and comforted here…it was a good feeling. This is where they would stay.
Now that Carly was alone, she could be with her own thoughts as she sat into the small cave created by the curtain of the waterfall over the smooth rock and the rounded part of a cave over it. He looked at her feet.
They were hardening from countless rocks and thorns that she had pulled out. She rubbed them, wincing as her hand caressed blemishes and wounds that was in the healing process.
She looked around, spotting some moss. She stripped it from the side of the cave. Carefully, she washed it in the roar of the waterfall and crawled back to her clothing. She stuffed the now clean moss into her shoes and stuck her foot in. It felt so much more comforting.
As she pulled her ripped tee-shirt back on, she wondered quite a few things. First, what was everyone back home thinking? Did they hold a funeral for her? What about iCarly? Did someone go on and report their tragic accident? What would they say?
And those weren't even the biggest worries. Food, safety, and shelter- their health too. That was a wide margin of her thoughts. And then there was Freddie.
Carly had never spent any night alone with him…there was always some adult there. And even after a week of being alone, she still felt so awkward. Freddie made it better by sleeping far away. That eased her a bit, but not enough.
And the thought that circulated her mind the most was Sam. Even the thought brought tears to Carly's eyes. Carly doubted she had the slim chance of being alive….she had been knocked off the boat. Now Carly was finally facing it.
Sam wasn't coming back.
The thought of Sam somewhere on the bottom of the ocean…helpless to the ocean currents…food of the fishes.
"That's not how it's supposed to be!" Carly said loudly, "Sam eats fish, not the other way around!" She kicked a stone with the top of her shoe. She would give anything for her best friend to be with her and make sense of all this…to help her.
Fully dressed, Carly leaned down on the bank and splashed some water in her face.
"Snap out of it, Carles…you'll be fine." She fakley tried to assure herself.
She looked back, and followed the path of trampled grass her and Freddie had made. She arrived to see a very basic skeleton of a large hut.
"Hey, Carles." Freddie said, looking up from the two twigs he was tying together, "This will be your…house." He grinned at the use of the word 'house'.
"What about yours?" Carly asked, meandering over to the skeleton of the house, "It gets cold at night."
"We still have a lot of time." Freddie said, "The sun just rose. And besides, if we don't get done, I'm a man- I'll be fine."
Carly could almost hear Sam's cynical voice- A man? Really…and all this time I thought you were a girl. This is news to me.
Carly sniffed, trying to delay the tears.
"Are you okay?" Freddie asked.
"Yeah, yeah…I just got something in my eye. I'm fine now." She lied, quickly she changed the subject, "Can I help in any way?"
"That would be great…we're running out of vines to tie the logs together." Freddie frowned and bit a foot long vine off. He stood up and walked over to Carly, handing it to her.
"If you could, try to find some like this." He requested, "The thin, sturdy ones with not a lot of leaves."
"I'll find them." Carly agreed. She tugged at the thin vine. It stretched, but it held well. Freddie had already turned around. As Carly started into the forest, she heard Freddie's voice.
"Oh and Carly?" He called. She turned around.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful." His eyes were dull with worry. Carly laughed.
"Aren't I always?" She asked.
For the rest of the morning, she searched the jungle, finding an impressive catch of the vines. After heaving a particularly long one over her shoulder, she rubbed her neck. The weight was getting to her.
"Just a few more." She said, wincing as a sharp branch prodded her arm.
She looked down and jumped back. All around her, up to her ankles, the dirt and foliage was splattered with blood.
She was so shocked, she couldn't move or talk. The tree behind her was uncomfortable, but the images reeling through her mind was much more scary and harmful.
After two minuets or so, she slumped the vines off her arm and crept forward. She nudged the bush with her foot. Nothing. She crouched down. She couldn't see anything, and so she pushed the branches back.
Not even three feet in front of her was an edge…and the blood leading right off the cliff. She peered down and screamed.
It was Sam. She was laying on a jutting rock twenty feet below Carly, her forehead caked with dry blood. There was more cuts and bruise but none compared to the one on her face.
Thinking quickly, she grabbed the vines knotted them together. Then she tied one end around her waist and tethered the other end to a large tree. She tugged on it.
"Sturdy." She grinned. She had never climbed a wall like this before. Sure, the safe way, but like this? She was afraid. But it was Sam. She had risked her life when she was hanging from a building…she owed it to Sam.
She was barley aware of herself until her feet touched the rock Sam was on. Gasping, she fell to her knees. Sam was breathing…but just barley.
Standing up, she found a problem. She couldn't get back up the cliff. She didn't have anyone to pull her up, nor did she have the strength to carry Sam back up it. Maybe she could get off the other side. Carefully, she looked over.
The effect was dizzying. She took a step back. Nope, that idea flew right out the window as well. It was a suicide mission to even try going down that way.
She had one last idea. "FREDDIE!" Of course, she doubted he'd hear her, but she knew out here she could scream as loud as she pleased because no one could scold her for it.
She yelled her head off for as long as she could, surprised Sam didn't wake up from her yowling. After awhile, she knew it was a loss cause. She was stuck. She plopped down beside her unconscious friend.
"Well, at least when I die here, I'm with my best friend." She murmured, but she felt her stomach clench of dying without Freddie beside her. She couldn't call it an absolutely horrible feeling- maybe even hurting in a way she couldn't understand.
The sun beat down on her, making her feel faint. She thought she saw Freddie peering over the side of the cliff.
"Huh…wow I must really be faint." She laughed dryly. Then she felt a tug on her vine around her waist and before she knew it, a waterfall of ice-cold water was splashing down on her. The faintness disappeared.
"Freddie!" She screamed, "What was that for?" She demanded hotly.
"Oh, good," He answered back nonchalantly, "You're alive."
"Yeah, and I have Sam down here with me. But she's all bloody and bruised and I can't bring her back up!" Carly stated her problem.
"I'm not strong enough for both of you at once." Freddie admitted, "So tie the rope around Sam. I'll pull her up, and then I'll throw it back down for you." He said. Carly smiled, unknotting the vines.
"You're so smart. I would have never thought of that!" She laughed. Freddie's face blushed.
"Thanks.." He mumbled. It took while for Freddie to haul Sam up, and then it was easier for Carly but still extremely difficult. As Freddie was looping the vines over his shoulder, Carly bent down.
"Do you think it's safe to move her?" She whispered, as if afraid to wake Sam up.
"Watta I look like? A doctor?" Freddie asked, and then paused, "Yeah, I think it's safe."
They began to lift Sam up when she stirred. "Wait! She's moving!" Carly pushed Freddie back, "Sam? Sam! Wake up!" She begged. Sam blinked, her eyes unfocused as she groaned.
Suddenly, Sam bolt upward, her eyes wild and afraid. "They are coming!" She cried, "They're coming to get us all!"
HANNAHMONTANA
"So what's the plan?" Lilly whispered. Oliver frowned.
"What plan?"
"The one you braniacts said you'd have by the time the guard left." Miley hissed, her eyes flickering nervously to the entrance to the den. Jackson gulped.
"That plan… well you see with that brute here, we couldn't really-," He started.
"I bet I could get us out- what about that plan? I mean, I'm Jake Ryan." Jake said, standing up. Miley pulled him back down.
"Sure, maybe in the USA and perhaps a few other places- it would work on humans, but the thing is, Jakey…We are not there, and they aren't human- so I doubt they've seen the show."
"Their loss." Jake muttered, sitting down in a corner. Lilly sighed, placing her hands on the cold stone bars of their imprisonment.
"Well, I'm sure I could slip past them!" Rico suggested, "But I'll need a flame thrower, two pliers, a bucket of feathers, and a piece of bubble gum."
"Where do you think we're going to get that exactly?" Jackson sneered.
"Well, you work for me, so I guess it's going to be up to you to find it." Rico shrugged.
"You're sadly mistaken, because here, I do not work for you." Jackson chuckled.
"Oh yeah? How would you not only like to be off your job here, but also back home- permanently!" Rico questioned, his dark eyes glimmering.
"We'll be dead before we get back home." Lilly whispered. Oliver shook his head.
"We have to stay positive about this, Lils or else-," Lilly's hand curled harder around the bar, and she spun around.
"Positive? How is that even possible! First, we wash up on this stupid island with no food- just me and you- and I start to believe the rest of you are dead! Then we get snatched away by those brutes with wings and pulled to here, only to be thrown into this impossible prison- only to see the rest of you! What's there to be positive about?" Lilly screamed.
"Shh…they'll hear you!" Jake whispered urgently.
"Maybe the positive thing is that we're alive." Miley suggested, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. Lilly shook it off.
"How long, though?" She spat angrily, "I doubt they locked us in here so we could have a little tea party with them."
"Come on! We'll get out of this- we always do." Oliver said. Lilly gulped.
"Somehow, I know this time is different." She murmured. Slumping down beside the bars, she stuck her hand through it. All she could fit through was up to her shoulder. After that, she was too wide.
She had no choice but to believe in magic. The cage was a cave tunnel that ended, thick, closely packed stone bars boarding them off. But there was no door. Instead, whenever the beasts came near, they said something in a foreign language none could copy, and a hole appeared. Then it vanished.
And the creatures…they were like nothing she'd ever seen before. They, at first, looked like a bear. But they had fangs all the way down to their chins. And huge black wings. Their eyes were blood red, and their claws were splattered in dried red liquid….blood. And they could talk.
"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear." Lilly hissed as she spotted two more muscular ones come near her. She, after four days of being in this stink hole, knew them all by know. Not by name, but by look.
One of them was carrying a bag, probably their food. He threw it into the cage, and dark unfamiliar meat and rotting fruit spilled out.
"Dinner, eat up now." The one that had been carrying the food sneered. The other laughed.
"Yeah, we have big plans for you in days to come!" His companion laughed. Lilly smelled the thick scent of blood and she looked back. Jake's arm was dripping with blood.
The creatures noted too, "You there! What happened!" One called.
"You…stup- I mean you threw the food and me and I fell into this stupid pointed rock!" Jake growled through gritted teeth.
The two things exchanged looks. "That isn't good…Master will be displeased if we bring him a wounded pale fur." One said slowly.
"Agreed." He said and then quickly, so they couldn't recite it, said the 'magic words' and the door opened. But the second one quickly ran into the room, blocking everyone but Jake.
"Jake!" Miley cried desperately as she watched her boy friend be dragged away by the second creature. He looked back, his face full of pain.
"You'll see your lover boy soon enough, darlin." The bear laughed and leaped out of the cage. Within a second the door was gone. Lilly watched them drag Jake away.
She turned back, her eyes glimmering. "I have a plan."
A/N: Ohh…wat's gunna happen? Review to find out but first- please read this.
Okay, I have decided to completely ax the other shows. So the five shows featured here will be the only shows. But now the character number is down, so you can request and character from those five shows to put on- BUT NO ADULTS! Because to me, the theory 'less is more' dosen't work. I am a more is more person, so obiously I want more charactes. So you can help me decide which from each I should put in.