Very quickly; I wanted to thank everyone for being patient with this story. Although I was really gunning for doing this everyday, I came home late and didn't have energy to edit and upload on day 12, and after that I had a really difficult few days where I couldn't post. A lot of viewers had come since day 12 and I thank you all for reading and being patient! I feel a little better now, and I'll do my best to upload daily/get back to the actual days, though I can't make promises. Thank you again, and enjoy, and I apologize if I miss any future dates!

Word: Surviving

Death description, injuries, mild blood, 2.4k

It was a dark and stormy night.

Okay, well, not really. It wasn't stormy. Windy, yes. Dark? Definitely. At least it wasn't stormy. That would've been a nightmare to deal with.

Dakota sighed, looking out at the dark blue sea all around him. A gentle but firm blanket of fog hid anything further than a mile away. Maybe even less. He wasn't good at distance.

It was sort of peaceful, in a strange way. Even though he was leaving pretty much everything he knew behind, it was oddly peaceful sort of pain. At least he knew there was still some safety back there. He made sure of it.

The boat he was in jostled a little bit, and Dakota pitched to the side, grabbing onto the railing for help. He cast a nervous glance at the captain, who waved back at him apologetically. Though he didn't exactly seem like the most capable of boat drivers, he was the cheapest, and pretty much the only one who would willingly take Dakota out to the middle of the sea, in the middle of the night.

"Sorry for that, chap. We be hittin' a few rough waves now. Just for a bit, so hold on, aye?"

He hummed in response, and gripped the sides of the boat tighter. At this point, he was just hoping to get to his destination without drowning too much.

And what would he do when he got there? Dakota honestly wasn't sure.

Everything had happened so fast, he barely even realized that he was here, on the boat. Travelling to some abandoned island in the middle of nowhere.

He wasn't even sure what had happened. One moment, he'd been talking to Cavendish, waving him off as he went to get them some ice cream, the next, he was being tackled by himself.

Not just himself, either. The him that had tackled him looked devastated. His hair was a mess, as well as his clothes. He was a little dirty, and some blood marred the edges of his sleeves, and a bit of his jacket. Little lines of tears cleaned whatever dirt had resided on his cheeks.

To say Dakota was in shock was an understatement.

And hearing his story was even crazier. Hearing how their car had been hit, flipping multiple times until it rested on the edge of a cliff teasingly. Listening as he describes their fear, their careful movements not to topple the car too much. Shocked as Dakota hung his head, whispering how the car fell anyways, with Cavendish still in it. How he ran down, hoping that it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

And realizing it was.

"So...you went back in time?" He'd whispered to his past self.

"Look, it was the only thing I could do!"

"You do realize that doing this is illegal?" He hissed, pulling on his other selves' sleeve.

Past Dakota shook his head, pulling his arm back. He rested himself on the balls of his heels, rocking lightly. "Yeah, no shit. I know that."

"So why did you do it?!"

Past Dakota looked up at him. He was shocked to see defeat and what he could only describe as agony in the heterochromatic eyes hidden by tinted glasses.

"I did it because I can't take it anymore. The crash happened weeks ago. Nothing's right anymore. Nothing. Not just me either," He quickly added as present Dakota tried to speak up. "Just...trust me, things aren't right. Me, the life, everything. He's worth doing this for. I don't regret anything. Besides, it's just this one time! There's no way he'll die a death as stupid as this again, right? So, just help me out this once!"

Dakota sighed, something in the water catching his eye. He couldn't believe he said yes. He couldn't believe that he switched clothes with his past self, watched as he prevented the death (with a simple warning beforehand, but he saw how, without knowing that he should've said something, the horrible chain of reactions could occur. The truck came out of literally nowhere.)

He couldn't believe it when they figured out that they were both staying in this timeline. You'd think that one of them (probably past Dakota) should be gone, but no. They decided that the original Dakota, though tainted with Death's vision, would be better to stay, just in case. And they found him somewhere else to go.

The Island wasn't very central. No one used it, and he doubted anyone's even heard of it in this era. He had to guide the captain a little with how remote it was. At least it would do to keep their secret. It was too dangerous to allow him to roam around, in case they were in that century for some mission or another.

And to be honest, he didn't really want to wander around by himself either. Now he was starting to understand why his past self couldn't simply deal with Cavendish being gone, why he couldn't just get some therapy like anyone else.

Even though Cavendish was very much still alive, it was painful to think that he couldn't see him again.

They've only been partners for a little while, but still. Dakota still missed him. He was the reason he got passionate about- well, everything again. His job, his friends- hell, he even got him excited about his own living again.

He was going to miss Cavendish.

"We're-a-here, chap." Dakota startled at the voice, muffled slightly by the fog that was closing in dangerously. "Though, yer gonna hafta take the side raft to the actual island- I can't take this old thing too close or the reef'll tear her a new one. Are ya alright with that?"

He sighed and stood, swaying as the boat rocked lightly. "Yeah, no worries. Thank you so much for taking me out here. Here-" He took out a few crumpled bills from this year. "This is for the raft. I uh, I don't think I'll be able to get it back."

The captain took the bills, moving to the side to prepare his raft. "Aw, I appreciate it lad. I had thought so, so I got ya somethin' that'll be just enough ta get ya to the Isle and back out to water if ya ever need ta'. Do ya have all yer belongin's?"

Dakota hefted his newly bought duffel bag over his shoulder. He'd gotten some snacks and survival items, should he need it. He wasn't really expecting to return to society for a while, if ever. "Yeah, I do. Thanks."

The captain nodded, letting the raft drop into the water with a quiet sound. Dakota threw in his duffel bag, then himself. He turned as he felt a hand on his shoulder, the captain looking at him worryingly.

"Are ya sure ya want to do this lad? I really don't think you'll be able to get out of there once you enter."

Dakota smiled, thankful for the kind gesture, even if it was by a stranger. "I'm sure. Thanks so much for helping me get out here Captain. Travel back safely!"

With those final words, Dakota pushed off, carefully rowing away. The captain shook his head as the fog quickly engulfed the man, turning back to his wheel. "Poor kid. Hope he'll be alright."

Dakota heard the engine rev up again, before slowly disappearing, leaving him in total silence. He bit his lip, trying to focus in the heavy fog. What had been a light fog that danced beautifully over the surface of the water a mere hour ago has turned into something from a horror movie. Was the captain sure they were at the island? Dakota didn't see-

"WOAH!"

He yelped as his boat dipped down dangerously, before being spat back up. His oars waved wildly before one smacked into something violently. It jostled him enough that he fell on his back, gasping as the boat rocked dangerously.

Quickly, Dakota tried to lift himself up again, throwing the oars into the boat. At that moment, something heavy scraped the bottom of his boat, and he yelped as it tipped dangerously. He threw himself to the other side, managing to fix the boat's tip-

Before he overturned, and splashed into the water.

For a second, he wasn't sure where was up and where was down. With a brief second of geniosity that he was sure he'd never recreate again, he let out a little air bubble, and followed it in whichever way he felt it go up. He almost hissed as something scratched at his legs as he tried to swim, but forced himself to keep in the now burning air.

For a second, his fingers clawed at cold air before splashing back down, and he used the last of his breath and energy to kick upwards, his head breaking the surface of the water. Something scratched a line into his skin as the water threw him around, and he choked as a little got into his mouth. Splashing to keep himself above the twirling waves, Dakota glanced around him for a quick second, flinching as salt water stung his eyes.

From his brief glimpse though, he spotted the boat and- the Island! There it was! He just needed to paddle-

"Shit!" He yelled out as something slashed into his skin, much more violent than the previous times. Something else cut into his leg, and he kicked out, using his arms to swim towards the shore, adrenaline acting as a buoy as he choked on the raging water.

By some absolute miracle, his feet touched soft sand and hard rocks, and he managed to wade through the water, finally gulping in air that didn't include a side of salt water. Making his way up, he collapsed a few feet from the ocean, coughing to try to expel the burning in his throat. His scratches stung like hell, but he was too tired to care about them right now. Right now, he would be more than happy to just sleep.

Something lapped at his feet. His wounds burned. The sun blazed down.

Dakota groaned.

He opened his eyes, only to immediately close them again, cursing as the sun momentarily blinded him. Finally though, he managed to sit up, only to moan as he stretched out his wounds unwillingly. He glanced at them, flinching as he saw dried blood on his clothes from some of them. Whoops. He'll have to take care of that.

Looking around, he sighed as he spotted his boat. It was mostly destroyed and in splinters but...he could see his duffel bag in it. Thank god- he had some clean water and first aid supplies in there to treat him.

What the hell had even happened? One moment he was rowing along just fine, the next he was bleeding and swimming for his life?

He looked out at the sea. "Oh."

The water close to the shore was fairly clean and see through. Closest to him he could see sand and little rocks that glistened in the water. Further away, he could see the head of some coral poking through the darker areas of the water. He must've hit the reef.

"Shit, sorry coral. I know you're enduh- endangered? Didn't mean ta' hit ya." He mumbled, before limping his way to the boat. It was completely smashed and destroyed, but it looked like his bag was perfectly fine, minus some water damage. Hopefully he could still use some wood for shelter or fire.

He took out a water bottle he'd brought, gulping the whole thing desperately, his throat raw and in pain from the yelling and salt water. Thank god he'd packed so much food and water. And first aid.

He got right to it, sitting on a destroyed plank and setting out his tools. He took off his shirt and pants, convinced that there was no one around that would see him. He'd received a few minor scratches from just about skimming the coral, which was lucky. The two deeper scratches from his direct hit with the coral wasn't as lucky. As he disinfected his wounds with gritted teeth, he debated what to do next.

A shelter was probably most ideal. Though he doubted he'd survive in the wild for long, he still wanted to try. It might be fun, too. A good distraction from what he'll no longer have.

He had enough food and water to last him a little bit, but he would probably want to get on that as well. That would become really important later. He supposes he'll need a fire for that too.

Well, he'll get to it once he wraps his wounds. Then the real 'fun' can start.

And to be honest, Dakota did a pretty good job. He easily made a shelter from what he had, then improved it once he found an easy way to get wood. Though he didn't yet have a reliable fishing pole (they were harder to make than the movies made it look like), the island was loaded with coconuts and bananas and fruits of all kinds. He was good on that front, as well as water. His injuries weren't looking all that well but with a bit of care, he managed to keep worse from happening.

He was doing pretty well on his own. He doubted he really needed anyone.

So he couldn't even express his surprise as he spotted another Dakota that had crashed into the reef. Thankfully he seemed to fare better than he, since he crashed in the day, but Dakota couldn't believe it.

After taking care of his few injuries, the original asked, "Why are you here? I thought you were taking care of Cavendish?"

He was surprised when the new Dakota looked up at him, equally as confused. "I thought I was. But the original Dakota came back and told me that Cavendish had died again. So, he took my place to save him...and sent me here."

The first Dakota looked at him in shock. "But...I thought it was only once?"

The newcomer shrugged. "So did I. But, he's Cavendish. Whatcha gonna do?"

He snorted, applying the final bandage. "Yeah, I guess so. Anyways. Want to help me build this place up?"

"Heck yeah!"

After all, surviving an island in the middle of nowhere was easier when it was two. Or more.

Reviews and constructive criticism are always handy! Thank you for reading and being so patient with me, I appreciate it! Hope you all have a lovely morning/afternoon/evening/night and write down how you feel or draw a picture!