A/N: I expect this to be a longer chapter, as you'll get a lot happening…hopefully. I wasn't gonna update this for a while, but I have nothing to do and thought 'why not?'
Also, I have to laugh at the fact that there wasn't one curse word in the last chapter! Ha! That's very rare for me! Anyway, here we go!
Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
No answer.
"Hello there! You have reached the voicemail of an Erwin Sikowitz! If you would be so kind, please leave a message and I'll call you back when I've finished drinking my coconut!"
Beep.
"Erm, hey, Sikowitz. It's me – Felicia; I was just, um, wondering how you were and… Oh, forget the small talk. Erwin, I miss you! I'm so sorry and I want you home! I regret all the things I've said, and for calling your coconuts stupid, and for burning your stuff; I was just mad and having a moment! Please, please come home to me. I –"
"We're sorry; you have reached your maximum time. If you would like to hear your message, press one; if you would like delete this message and leave a new one, press two; if –"
Dial tone.
Erwin Sikowitz sits in a run-down studio apartment, stirring a straw slowly through his coconut and contemplating the phone call he's just ignored purposefully. He's been fading, he can tell, and rarely leaves the comfort of his own 'home' now. Everywhere he goes, he sees her; he can't escape the face of his ex-girlfriend, who's just left a message proclaiming her love for him again.
He closes his eyes in frustration. It's only been two months since that fateful day, where she had burned his most prized possessions and kicked him out of his house. No matter how hard he had tried for two weeks, there was no convincing Felicia to let him stay, so he called the bank and told them he was moving to England – that way he would have access to his accounts and not have them suspect fraud.
But he had made the mistake in letting Felicia have entrance to his accounts when she moved in with him, and she quickly drained him of all his funds when she found out he fled the country.
So, he lives in a one room apartment in London, having barely enough money to get by, and sulks in his loneliness every night. Now, Felicia has called to confess her mistakes and wants him home. That means that he can have his house back (in which she so rudely kicked him out of and continued to live in without him), his job back, and basically his whole life back.
But he stops himself; what if she does this all again in the future? Is he willing to forgive her now only for him to lose everything a second time?
He loves her, there's no doubt about that. And he was certainly happier when they were together and spreading awareness for parades. So he makes a decision:
He's going to move back to Los Angeles, give her a second chance, and make life enjoyable again.
But he swears on his life, if she tries to throw him out one more time, he's putting up a fight.
Erwin Sikowitz could really use a coconut right about now.
He doesn't really like his situation, either. His head is pounding and bleeding from his suitcase strike on the plane; his chest is heaving from when a panicking passenger stepped on it when fleeing the burning aircraft; and there's a teenage boy accusing him of running off with the turtleneck sweater-wearing weirdo.
He's having a rough day. So when he takes a seat in the sand, the four by-standing teenagers leave him alone and trudge toward the seared airplane. He runs his fingers through the golden grains and pretends to be at Venice Beach in California; not some mysterious island that could take his life at any minute.
Sikowitz turns to look over his shoulder and check on the kids searching the plane. Andre seems to be following Tori's instructions, because he's placing blankets, tarps, and buckets into piles where she points. The small red-headed girl helps lower Robbie to the ground and they slowly begin to sort through food and first-aid.
He reaches the conclusion that he's the only living adult on this landmass and must, therefore, take on the role as guardian for these kids. Sikowitz sighs and directs his attention to the jungle on his right.
However, he's surprised to discover a lanky teenage boy struggling to carry a bloody teenage girl in his arms while desperately calling for help.
Though he's skeptical about following Jade West, Beck is almost positive that she's had enough and is heading back toward the beach. So, he quickly moves aside the vines from his feet and stands, brushing off some loose dirt from his pants.
By the time he's walking, he's lost sight of the girl who just saved his life, and hopes that sooner or later he'll catch up to her. For about five minutes of being on his own, he starts to worry that he's moving in the wrong direction, and tries to find something around him that might look familiar. However, there's another rustle coming from behind, so he naturally freezes.
He prays that it's not another boar – or worse – because he's really not in the mood to go through that again. But instead, a figure stalks up and shouts, "BOO!" right into his left ear, causing him to stumble forward in shock.
Beck whirls on his heel to find Jade laughing so hard that she's nearly crying. "Oh my God. I'm fucking hilarious!"
He resists the urge to wrap his large hands around her neck and squeeze. "That's not even close to being funny! Did you already forget what just happened, like, ten minutes ago?!"
"Damn, cool your chizz, Beck," she says icily, scraping some mud from the bottom of her boot onto a nearby tree trunk.
Beck scoffs. "I will not 'cool my chizz' because you're being super immature!"
Jade rolls her eyes, which Beck has already picked up to be her favorite gesture. She readies herself to start walking once more, but as she takes her first step, she cringes and unconsciously grasps her ribs. She hisses in pain and her knees buckle against one another as her free hand reaches out for anything to use as support.
Beck steps in so her arm wraps around his shoulders. "Jade, are you okay?"
"Obviously not, idiot," Jade snaps through another jolt of pain. "I need to get back to the beach."
"Okay, can you walk, or do I need to carry you?" She lifts a foot before gently resting it on the ground ahead of her, but her body responds negatively by crumbling into Beck's embrace. "Alright, up you go, then!" And Beck settles his open arm beneath her bent knees and swings her up into a cradled position, ignoring her screeches of discomfort.
He tries to run, but grows tired rapidly, and realizes that she's not in any position to be bounced around like that. So he resorts back to walking at a steady pace, hoping that she can hang in there for just a few more minutes.
Sikowitz jumps to his feet, much to his head and chest's disapproval, and sprints over to the exhausted teenager. "What happened, boy?"
"S-she fought off this giant boar and then started grabbing her side! I know it was bothering her before the attack, then she wasn't able to walk so I brought her the rest of the way, but she passed out only about a minute ago. Maybe from the pain, I don't know!" he rambles while out of breath, all the while still supporting the unconscious girl.
Sikowitz takes Jade from Beck and jogs toward the direction of the plane. "Tori! We need you, stat!"
Tori's eyes widen at the sight of an unmoving Jade. "Cat, open up a blanket for her!" Cat does as she's ordered, and Sikowitz lies jade down on her back onto the opened blanket. He then back pedals to make room for Tori. "What's wrong, Beck?"
Beck motions to Jade's ribcage. "She kept grabbing onto it and flinching."
"That's the same injury she wouldn't let me look at earlier," Tori states. "Well, now she has no choice." The brunette lifts the bottom of Jade's black shirt up in order to check the wound, poking and prodding at the sensitive area with the tips of her fingers.
Tori then grabs Jade's wrist and places a finger to her artery. "Okay, she has a weak pulse and some discoloration around her ribs. My best bet is that she either fractured or bruised multiple ribs; we won't know how many or whether it is a fracture or a bruise without an x-ray, so we're out of luck there. If it is a fracture, we'd hope it be a simple nondisplaced fracture with only one rib because she can heal from that quickly. We don't want it to be a multiple displaced fracture because that can put her other organs in danger, proving it to be life threatening."
The others stare at her blankly, amazed at the knowledge they've just received. Tori smiles, "I also want to be a doctor, so I took a few courses while travelling." This comment allows her fellow castaways to nod in approval.
"So what do we do now?" Beck asks anxiously.
Tori bites down on her bottom lip. "We need to sit her up immediately so the other organs don't get crushed, and as soon as she comes back to consciousness, we'll want to give her some Ibuprofen to ease the pain. There's not much we can do at this point; the best way for ribs to heal is relaxation…"
With the help of Andre and Sikowitz, Beck is able to maneuver Jade's body against a several pieces of stacked luggage and to rest her head on a few small pillows from the plane's cabin. He grants himself the first shift of watching over Jade as the others continue setting up some sort of a camp site. The girls gather trash, wood, and scraps to build a fire, as the guys tie tarps from the plane's storage around some trees with rope and neighboring vines.
Luckily, the plane's supply of blankets and pillows had been kept in the front and weren't lost with the tail, and are able to serve as walls for the makeshift 'cabins' beneath the trees.
Within two hours of waiting, Jade still isn't awake, but the beach is transformed into somewhat of a little colony. Four tarp huts have been set up for sleeping, and four more for supplies. One is for food, water, and first aid; another for clothes and toiletries; a third holding more supplies for future shelters; and a small one for miscellaneous.
Beck is impressed as he watches the others transfer items from piles by the plane to their respected huts. He decides to help in order to give Robbie a break, who's been wanting to unstiffen his leg but is now beginning to limp badly. The boys trade shifts and Beck marches through the sand to start a fire since a chill has suddenly appeared.
As the sun sets, all the necessary objects have been appropriately organized and sheltered, allowing the survivors to rest around the fire. They move Jade's suitcase tower over with them, feeling it wouldn't be right to leave her alone for one second.
When the sun has finally said goodbye, the seven exiles are each beneath a blanket and staring at the flames before them. They're quietly munching on snacks found from the plane, as no one is extremely in the mood to eat a lot after their first day. They make small talk about what needs to be done within the following days and where everyone will sleep (roommates consisting of: Cat and Robbie, Beck and Andre, Tori and Jade – so she can be there if Jade wakes up – and Sikowitz by himself).
The fire begins to dim, but no one is ready to fall asleep just yet, so Tori reaches behind her and grabs an object from their scrap pile.
But before she can toss it into the fire, Robbie yells, "Wait, what are you doing?!"
Tori quirks an eyebrow in confusion. "Um, keeping the fire going…"
Robbie throws the blanket off of himself and reaches out to take the item from Tori.
"Why would you burn Rex?!"
A/N: Whoa, long chapter! But, I'm pleased with it! :) As for the ending, Jade is still unconscious, but she'll wake up next chapter! Also, Rex has now been introduced – yay! He's gonna make things really interesting! ;)
Thanks for the 14 reviews on the last chapter! Classes start next week, so I hope that doesn't interfere with my updating, but I would still like 13 reviews before the next chapter is posted!
Plus, I just posted a new oneshot called "I Didn't Say That!" If you review that oneshot and include the words "Rex Lives!" at the end of the review, I will PM you a hint for the next chapter of "Survival of the Fittest"! BUT, you can't be on guest because there's no way for me to send you the hint. PLEASE be logged in and have PMs enabled!
Thank you guys so much for being such an awesome fandom! Keep being awesome by reviewing and letting me know what you'd like to see happen soon!
BUTTERNUT.
XxLadyStrengthxX
