Chapter 9

Inhale.

Exhale.

…Inhale once more.

Slowly, Jack was able to comprehend the sight before him.

No. No, this was not the way things were supposed to go. This was not what he wanted. And this was definitely not what he was used to.

Questions, thoughts of utter confusion and betrayal immediately clouded over his mind. As he dashed away back through the trees so he wouldn't be seen, his brows refused to straighten from its deep, perplexed scowl. How was he supposed to believe what he had seen? These things just never happened to him…it just wasn't real.

I should've trusted my gut, he thought as soon as he was back in the forest. I should've known he would…But really, what the hell? How had he let this slip by him? How had he possibly let this happen under his nose? Had he been too preoccupied with the hunters, too busy fooling around with those little idiots to notice? Was he losing his touch?

Mathalina…and Roger.

The sound of it alone made him want to hurl.

Well, there went any chances of having some fun with the hot bitch. All fantasies of what he could do with devious, toying Mathalina with her wickedly tempting smile and dangling, luxurious mane of hair had just flown out the window. Jack wanted to stab the tree standing next to him in frustration-he should be the one sticking his tongue down her throat. He was the chief of the hunters, after all. So wasn't he supposed to be getting the best of the best privileges? Why was it, then, that the backstabbing ROGER was the one screwing around with her?

It was then he thought of something else: maybe it was because he was the leader of the hunters. Only the leader of the hunters. Thinking hard about it, the answer seemed simple: as long as Annabelle was in charge, she would be the one getting everything. They all looked up to her-at least, the blubbering freaks who didn't follow him and the hunters. But even a traitor amongst his own group, Thayr, had questioned his leadership abilities. Jack simply wasn't the head of the ENTIRE group.

That was it. All he needed was more power.

If he could just somehow get everyone to answer to him, if he could run the whole show himself, there would be no choice but for Jack to get what he wanted. That was the great benefit of being a leader: you got the best of everything. He'd always enjoyed sitting on top of a group and watching from above, making sure everything went according to his plans, his ways. And they would always have to listen to you. Give you whatever you demanded.

Decidedly, Jack clomped heavy feet over bushes, heading back to the beach with determination deadly sharp in his mind. Each step he took, each cloud of dirt that exploded under his stomp, reminded him of his goal, what he should've done a long time ago, what he was going to do once and for all: Take out Annabelle.

"Listen up, losers! I'm gonna say this once!" Annabelle's eyes shot towards the boy shouting, shouting above all their heads with feet planted in the sand. His angelic eyes shone darker than the violet sky.. Another rage. Another big empty speech about how he would do something better than Annabelle. She could already see it coming.

Sighing, she walked up to the boy's face this time without hesitation. Everyone already knew there was another brawl brewing, too, of course. It was like daily routine now. The Annabelle vs Jack Show: main entertainment of the island. Was this really how things would, should continue? As the two biggest leaders of the survivors, they sure weren't being great role models. "What now, Jack? Jack the fearless leader, Jack the hunter. Please, speak." Her voice spat with acid, not looking away from the boy's hard, candy blue eyes.

"Oh, trust me, I intend to." His gaze was equally fierce as it bore into the girl inches away from him. Stepping out of the invisible, but heated circle created by their feet, he spoke to the crowd. His voice directed straight towards the hunters, huddled in a group and waiting.

"I'm so sick, of having to listen to your crap all the time, Annabelle. You never get anything done, and you can't even find us food. And worst of all, you never let us have any fun. So," before Annabelle could open her mouth to argue back, he continued determinedly, "I'm making a new camp. One led by me. Me and all the hunters, we're gonna live on the other side of the island, now. We'll find somewhere. I don't care where. We'll go anywhere: into the forest, another beach, anywhere." He spat his words out now viciously. "Just not here. Anywhere's better than here." And suddenly, with that final word, his heels turned and his legs moved swiftly away from the crowd. No one spoke a word, although Annabelle's mouth was gaping open like a fish. A completely unexpected blow. An utterly reckless and ridiculous decision. It tore a hole in what remained of her mind.

"You-you can't...stop, Jack! Wait!" She found herself calling out hoarsely, despite her pride attempting to hold her back. But this was no time to be listening to that. This was a desperate time, and desperate times called for desperate measures. There was no chance of survival if the camp was split up. Two groups would just mean more rivalries and more struggling for food. If they could even get any food, without the hunters.

"Jack, you can't just leave us! I don't know what your problem is, but we need to stay together and figure this out! We're not going to make it split up like this!" She could see Hazell, smirking as she and all the other dutiful hunters began following their leader to the other side of the beach. Maurice was the only hunter who stayed, his feet planted firmly beside Joelle's.

And Roger, she noticed as the dark-haired boy glimpsed out from behind a tree. He climbed onto the beach, with Mathalina just behind him. But even this suspicious sight couldn't take away Annabelle's focus.

"Jack, please! You have to come back! Let's just, work this out, okay?"

"Good luck finding your own food, Annabelle!" was his reply. "You've got, what, a week before the mangos run out?"

"Jack!" She screamed after him. She screamed and screamed, but she was screaming at empty space. Only footsteps dug into the heavy sand were left behind.

The sand was wet. As realization came to Annabelle, the rain began pouring tragically onto her body, drenching her head. The remaining people, the ones who had stayed loyal to her, all stared at her in horrified confusion, their shoulders now dripping as well. They were looking to her, looking for her to find a solution, or to simply decide that they didn't need the hunters, that they could go on without them. But there was nothing that could be said, nothing to be said that was true or reassuring that would make this situation okay. Annabelle was breaking, the one who was supposed to keep the group together falling into pieces, and it was clear to see as her knees gave way, bare legs falling, falling and hitting the grains of muddy sand below. She cried, not even trying to disguise her tears with the rain, knowing she had finally reached her limit.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word."

Lucy's singing was very low. And off-key. It was a good thing she'd never sung in front of Jack. His misguided temper would've probably led him to beat her for it.

She smirked. Jack. The lowly, cowardly creature. No longer a boy, too beastly for that, but it was clear some of the girls on the island were in love with him. One in particular, although she wasn't willing to admit it anytime soon…

Stupid girl. Stupid people. Everyone here was so incredibly stupid.

They didn't like her because they didn't understand her. They didn't get that Lucy was the best chance they had at survival. She was smarter than them, more responsible than them. Jack could get them meat and Annabelle could say some fancy-schmancy words, but the hunter was uncontrollable and the leader had become weak. The people needed someone who could rein herself in, someone who had a clear head and knew what to do. Someone like Lucy.

Only no one would give her a chance. Because she was unattractive. Because she had on a little baby fat. Because all she ever did was try and help out, when no one wanted help. Not because they didn't need it, but because they were too damn foolish to ask for it.

"Momma's gonna buy you a mockingbird." She grinned. It was a lullaby, a song meant for babies. But Lucy's time as a baby was long gone. Her singing was merely a sort of farewell…farewell to the little that remained of her past self. The self that let people like Jack push her around, literally. Just like her babyhood, that Lucy was long gone.

She was done waiting for them to tell her what to do. Done with holding in the pain with clenched teeth every time they hit her, hit her with every attempt to break her down and make her give up, give in to their abuse and humiliation.

"I think I'll go find Caitlin." Lucy got up from her solitary rock. She began to walk, dragging her feet blindly across the grainy sand.

Thayr gulped. Those striking eyes, an exotic mingle of emerald and chestnut brown, all pointing a very sharp gaze towards him-it made his mind boggle. Sometimes, his head got so confused. It was probably because he wasn't very smart. And Hazell, his sadistic and beautiful stepsister, didn't make it better.

Her words bore right through him, his mind cloudy as he stared back blankly at her glaring face. "Thayr?! Thayr, are you listening to me? I swear to god, you are the biggest idiot I've ever met. How can you possibly think about going back to them? You belong with us, Thayr, you belong with the hunters."

Right. The hunters. Like a charm, the words brought him back to reality.

"No." Shaking his head, he went on, "No, Hazell, I…I have to go back. I really, really don't belong here. It's not like anyone will miss me, or you even. This isn't right. Annabelle will know what to do."
"Annabelle doesn't know you," Hazell said. Was he imagining it, or had a hazy, dreamlike quality wrapped around her words? "I know you, Thayr. And I know you definitely belong with me." Astonishingly, he could feel her hand moving across his bare chest, distracting him, forcing his eyes to look at her face. In a matter of seconds, her tone had shifted completely.

Everything changed. She was not his stepsister anymore, no longer the terrorizing, cruel girl he had always known. He had seen her face before, her tousled hair and sharp features, all of the details that now captivated his sight. She was just a girl. Just a beautiful girl, smiling with wide eyes at him. No. No, what was he doing? Hazell was his stepsister, and on top of that, someone who had treated him horribly since the day his mother re-married. Someone who definitely hated him…

"Thayr," her voice whispered as dainty fingers quickly wrapped around him, caressing his neck and back. "You know you belong with us. You belong with me…you know that, don't you?" Her signature hazel eyes looked up longingly at him, seeming to almost sparkle beneath long, flickering lashes. And then, he could no longer resist. Thayr received with welcoming lips as she pressed hers onto them, kissing him roughly. Everything was always rough with Hazell. Even now, as they kissed, letting some linger and some come and go, it was with fierce passion. He wasn't sure he liked it-but it was better to just accept Hazell than to oppose. He couldn't even try to. There was nothing, he felt, he could do as his stepsister's grasp moved down to his shorts, dropping them at the speed of light. There was nothing he could do to keep her from removing her own filthy shirt, nothing he could do as she pushed him backwards into a tree, still kissing him as his back slammed painfully against it. They went on for what seemed like for a very long time; and when it did end, all Thayr could feel was complete and utter surprise-shock, really, at what had just happened. As they slipped their discarded clothes back on, he still couldn't believe Hazell (Hazell!), his stepsister, had made out with him. And took off her shirt. And his pants. It had gone by in a flash. But the only thing he could remember was the way her breasts had looked beneath her dirtied, white satin bra. He couldn't think, or even breath before, but now he wanted to touch them. Oh well, he thought. Too late for that. And too late for him to go back to Annabelle's camp, not that he wanted to any longer. But he figured sticking around Hazell and the hunters she adored so much would be best, IF he wanted more. From what he'd heard of her stories with her past boyfriends, she'd given them so much more. Did he want more…?

Yes, he decided as he followed her back to their new camp. Yes he did.

"Oh, god…oh, god, Annabelle…what do we do now?"

But Joelle's frantic words of concern barely touched the girl. After her knees had given way, she had needed both Joelle and Maurice to help her sit down on the dampened log. Night was falling fast, and she knew she had to think of something before the sky grew completely dark. The remaining kids who had now been waiting for over an hour, waiting for her to make a decision, or tell them what to do, were already food-deprived and thirsty.

Finally, Annabelle stood up. She stood up to count the kids who had chosen to stay behind in her camp. More than half seemed to have left-surrounding her on the beach were only Caitlin, Mathalina, Roger, Joelle, Maurice, Rosaline, and Tessarose. It was a surprise, but a good one, to see that Tessarose, whom Annabelle had been watching carefully over since she was the youngest, had survived the gruesome 4th Week. Twelve-year old Tess seemed to be uncannily clever with her knowledge of which plants and berries were safe to eat. It calmed Annabelle just a little to know one of the most helpful people on the island was still alive.

As for the missing girls…Ruby and Lucy, she knew, wouldn't go with Jack, but they seemed to have disappeared to somewhere. For now, it was just the 8 of them left. She already knew who had joined the hunters' group. A small stab of betrayal pained her as she thought of even Austen, who had once shown the slightest of interest in Annabelle, was now a savage, rowdy beast like the rest of them. Sure, she had never really liked him. Sure, he was a bit arrogant and too confident for his own good, but he had never been evil. That was Jack-he was the worst of them all. He truly possessed a sick, twisted mind where he had clearly plotted to manipulate all of his so-called followers. How else could he get anyone in their right mind to chase after him, like he was some great king or something? Of course Hazell, who was obsessed with Jack, wasn't exactly in her right mind. And what about her poor stepbrother, Thayr, who was too confused to find his own way to where he belonged?

Raving about Jack, even just inside her own head, made Annabelle feel a little bit better. As those who had stayed loyal to her stood around her, still waiting, she found the strength to speak. It was what she had done best, after all, since she'd arrived on the island, and she knew it was what she should keep doing.

"Alright…it's been a rough day." She chuckled darkly. "That's a pretty big understatement. I know we've lost a lot of people today. More than half of the group's gone to the other side of the beach." Taking in another deep breath, she continued, "It shouldn't be like this. We shouldn't be splitting apart and taking sides. We should be working together…we should be using everything we've got to help each other-to stay alive…because-" Annabelle held in a tear fighting its way to her eyes, with as much composure as she could muster. "I'm sorry," she sniffled quietly, hating how weak it made her sound. "I'm sorry." Clearing her throat, she stood taller now, her voice bigger and projecting more clearly. They were all waiting for her, waiting patiently, those people whom Annabelle realized had now become her friends. The people who had supported her from the beginning were waiting for her to take the lead again, and the simple thought that they would let her gave her the courage she'd had when she'd first stood in front of them. Only now, this time, it was crystal clear who had taken her seriously. It was clear who her real friends were now.

"But we'll be fine." Her voice rang out loud and ringing. "We'll be fine…without them. We'll be just fine. Because if they think they can live without us, we can certainly live without them. Look at the plentiful fruits and plants around us! And the fish, we could always catch the fish. I've never been a big fan of pork anyways-my dad's Muslim. And look, we've even got a doctor on our side." Here she pointed towards Roger, who wordlessly nodded. "Look, I know it seems bad right now. I thought it was all over, too. You've all seen me…I've been a total mess these last few days. But I promise, I'll try my best to set an example, and take care of things around here. I'm promising you guys, that I'll really try. I guess I just want to say thanks…for all the support. You know, since the beginning. I mean, you guys are the ones who's stayed on my side the whole time. And I just want you to know how grateful I am for that. So thanks, again…okay, now I'm really done."

She finished her disoriented and messy "speech" with the most authentic, reassuring smile she could produce. It was her first smile in the last week. It might not have been entirely genuine, but it was the best Annabelle could do for right now.

Even from this distance, Caitlin could make out the silhouette of the young girl sitting on the rock by the riverbed, her blonde head dipping low as she bent down to touch the surface of the still water. It didn't please Caitlin, how her finger had disrupted the silky, motionless flow of the river, as the cluttered rings formed around Lucy's fingertip. She didn't like touching things that were part of nature, things that should just be left alone.

Climbing over boulders and fallen branches, she made her way towards her friend, Lucy, who was now merely looking across the water with unusually calm, thoughtful eyes. She didn't turn her body as she sat down next to her, only tilting her head slightly and smiling to acknowledge her.

"You should've come to the meeting. Everyone was there. When Annabelle wants to talk to us, you should listen."

"I was busy," Lucy replied casually. "I was busy...thinking. It's not easy to do anymore, not out there where there's so many people." She suddenly looked at Caitlin, a corner of her lips lifting up into a small smirk. "How long did you have to wait for Annabelle to stop snivelling and get her act together?"

"Lucy," Caitlin began gently. "She's trying her best. You know that, right? You're still with her, right?"
"I am with myself," said Lucy. "Annabelle's becoming weak. She might've been a good leader in the beginning, but you have to admit the truth, she's been completely breaking down in the last few weeks. We both know we can't afford to follow behind anyone who's weak, Caitlin. Not if we want to live." Caitlin felt the girl's right hand sliding comfortingly onto her shoulder, then her arm. "We're in this together now."

"Yes," she argued, "But we can be in this together with Annabelle's help. She's older than us, and I believe she knows how to get us off this island."

Lucy shook her head, chuckling. "There is no getting off this island, Caitlin. This is it for us. This is our life from now on."

"I won't believe that," said Caitlin softly. Lucy did not reply. She didn't seem to want to press on. Instead, she picked up a small twig, and began picking the dirt-encrusted bark off of it, taking her time digging her now long and sharp fingernails into the wood. Still fiddling with it, she stood up without warning.

"Come walk with me, Caitlin." Lucy gestured to her, wagging her fingers in invitation, and Caitlin accepted by following the young girl's lead. Only looking at the back of her bobbing yellow ponytail, she followed her deep into the forest, wandering behind the girl seemingly wary of her surroundings. Twists and turns they took between trees and rocks, giant boulders so tall they blocked the sunlight right out of their view. The walk went on for a very long time, and Caitlin could see it was getting dark; the sun was beginning to set behind them as they ventured further and further. They were now beyond anywhere even Caitlin had explored in all her pastime.

"Lucy, it's getting dark. They're probably looking for us. I think we should head back now."

"We are going back," Lucy replied. "We've been walking in a circle." At Caitlin's curiously puzzled face, she added, "This forest, this whole island is a perfect circle, from what I've perceived. And right now, we're approaching the very centre of it."

"I remember, the leaders went to the centre before. They said there was something dangerous living in it. They didn't say it to everyone, but I heard...you must have explore a lot more of this place."

"I did indeed," said Lucy, giving a small, pink-cheeked grin. "I've seen more of this island than any of them. Even the hunters."

"Not Mathalina, though," Caitlin mused. "She's been here longer than us. She was here before us."

"Was she really? I mean...I had my suspicions, but I thought, how could she have possibly gotten on this secluded island, all alone without leaving any hints of a crash, or a wreck? Like I said, I've searched this whole place thoroughly, and there's no sign anywhere of her having come to this island by accident."

"So...so you think she's not here by accident?"

"I didn't say that." Lucy bit her thumb. "Logically, it doesn't quite make sense. Why would anyone, especially a teenager, come to a deserted island alone? And that's what got me questioning, what purpose does Mathalina really have here?"

The two girls were silent for a moment. After the silence, still chewing on the tip of her finger like a baby, Lucy spoke. "It gives me enough reason to not trust her. To not trust anybody here." Her eyes looked straight into Caitlin's, a cool grey staring into blue. "Who knows what the others' real intentions are?"

Letting her question hang in the air, the girls walked further into the very centre of the forest, only to find it concealed almost entirely by a wall of tangled vines and trees, all intertwined to create a web blocking their way. Lucy was about to lift up a single, thick vine and attempt to get under it when something glimmering in the dirt caught her eye.

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That." Lucy pointed, already making her way towards a small, barely noticeable bump in the soft soil beneath a very large tree. It looked almost overgrown to Caitlin, with its branches flying in all directions, its gigantic trunk dwindling down into several moss-layered shallow roots. The lump in the ground would've been almost impossible to spot, but in Lucy's sharp eyes, even the tiniest hint of a dark glint poking out of the dirt could be seen. She didn't hesitate to bend down to the ground and begin scooping with her bare fingers the dirt away from the bump. When she was finished, her curiously gleaming eyes had morphed into two, giant round saucers. Even her mouth parted slightly in amazement as she pulled the once buried object out of the ground, and brushed away the last remains of soil.

Caitlin's curiosity hadn't failed to get to her, either. "What is it?"

"It's...perfect," was Lucy's answer.

Turning around, in her chubby hands was a shiny black pistol.