Chapter 5
1 month later
"Hey, hold up you guys," a voice called from behind them and both girls turned around, spotting Turtle running towards them. Once she reached them the girl stopped, breathing in deeply and looked at her two friends. "You don't mind if I come along, right? Unless you two have…other plans," the girl grinned and winked at Bianca.
"Plans? What plans?" Greenlee asked, missing the panicked look that crossed Bianca's face.
Upon seeing the look she received from Bianca, Turtle laughed. None of the others might've believed her that she was psychic, but even without her 'powers' she could've easily seen that there was something going on between Greenlee and Bianca. The two girls were close, always touchy-feely and Turtle knew for a fact Bianca had some sort of feelings for the other girl, after a late night heart-to-heart. But despite her knowledge and her desire for the two to just admit to what was going on, Turtle decided to be nice, "Oh nothing, I just meant that maybe you're not going to our spot and somewhere else."
"Oh," Greenlee shook her head and started walking again, next to the two other girls. It had been a month since the crash now, they knew because the backpack Peter had thankfully held onto during the crash had contained a personal planner and they'd been crossing off days ever since. For the most part everyone got along just fine, Peter had pretty much been declared leader of their little group and the only people that she could do without were Father Abe and Blake. She'd never been very religious and Father Abe's constant preaching and blessing of what little food they had or the fire was really starting to get on her nerves. And Blake, well he just kind of creeped her out. Greenlee had seen the lustful way he looked at Bianca and the way he'd look at Bianca all lovey-dovey one second and then turn to look at Greenlee in disgust.
Sighing softly, she looked over at her friend. At first it had felt weird calling Bianca that, after all their history hadn't quite been peachy, but after the past month Greenlee felt closer to Bianca than she'd probably ever felt to anyone else. Of course, they didn't speak about it, their closeness had arisen out of the need for someone to be there during this whole tragedy, it wasn't something one could label with words. Intense situations tend to bring people together and that was how Greenlee tried to explain away the strange attraction she felt towards Bianca. Out here their lives weren't normal and they didn't know if they'd ever be found and return home. Nobody in their group really liked to talk about it, but Greenlee wondered what would happen to them. At first Peter had assured them rescue crews would surely find them, but nothing had happened. Then Joe and Rachel had vanished and never been found and although so far nothing like it had happened again, everyone was still worried.
One might think that life without civilization was very uncomplicated, but to Greenlee it was nearly pure torture. She'd never worn the same clothes twice in a row, let alone a whole month and not to mention the lack of makeup. Both her and Bianca's jeans had been turned into shorts very soon after the crash, because the heat was just too much for two girls from Pennsylvania to bear. The only positive thing to Greenlee was the fact that right now she sported the best tan she'd ever had in her life, her skin had tanned to a very deep bronze and even Bianca, after weeks of constant sunburn, finally had a dark tan.
The three girls stopped after a few minutes' walk at what the group liked to call 'their spot'. It was an idyllic part of the beach, where a sort of lagoon had formed, with palm trees close to the water's edge and large, flat rocks reaching out into the water, providing perfect tanning spots. The water here was warm and a clear turquoise that, along with the pure white sand, had had them believing many times they were in paradise. The spot was a little ways from their camp and secluded, so the girls felt they could swim and sunbathe in peace.
Greenlee stripped down to her underwear and followed the other girls into the warm water.
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"I thank you all so much for coming here, to remember those lives tragically cut short by a horrible accident, to mourn for the victims of Flight 2133 and keep our love for them alive in our hearts. I'd like to start this service with a short prayer for the souls of those lost and those not yet found."
The minister up front bowed his head and mumbled some prayer, followed by many people sitting in the rows of chairs in front of him. But Erica wasn't paying much attention to the man; here eyes were glued to the marble plaque with the gold lettering engraved on it that stood tall next to the podium. It was a memorial for the victims of Flight 2133 that had just been unveiled in this park, right before the memorial service. Erica was sitting close enough to be able to read the large lettering on the stone and her eyes refused to leave the spot where Bianca's name was.
For a month now they'd clung to the sliver of hope they'd had, but to no avail. Rescue crews had yet to find any of the missing passengers and according to William Carter they doubted they still would. Somewhere deep inside she knew her daughter was gone, but Erica just couldn't let go, she didn't want to face the truth. Jackson and even Kendall had tried to help over the past few weeks, but Bianca's loss seemed to be more than Erica could handle. If it hadn't been for her very capable employees, she was sure Enchantment would have suffered great losses by now. But somehow she just couldn't bring herself to care.
Another set of eyes was staring at the memorial intently, as if a mere look could erase the name up there. Mary Smythe had dealt with the tragedy much differently than Erica had - she'd accepted that her only daughter was gone. Mary knew she'd never been a good mother to Greenlee, she'd never been there for the girl and now she'd missed her chance to make it up to her daughter. Greenlee was gone and now would never know that her mother did love her, that Mary would do anything in her power to get her daughter back and make things right. And for once, the tears she shed weren't for herself, but for the daughter that never knew her love.
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Father Abraham dunked his cupped hands into the clear water and splashed his face. They'd just recently discovered this pond, the only body of water around that wasn't salty and finally had a way to fill up their fresh water reserves without having to wait for rain. He turned to Jan, who'd been partnered with him to go fill their water reserves. Jan mostly ignored him and they rarely exchanged more than a few words. He figured it might've had something to do with the way he'd tried to get her to accept God's word, he had to do anything he could to get the children out of the devil's grasp.
Jan threw the old man a look that told him not to say a word and bent down to the water, cupping her hands to get a drink. She leaned back up, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and looked around. Narrowing her eyes she glanced to both her sides and stood up. Abraham was gone. He'd been sitting at the edge of the pond just a few feet to her right and now he was nowhere to be seen.
Worried, the blonde girl turned 180 degrees, looking intently at the trees and bushes around her. She could see nothing and surely no sign of Abraham. Thinking that maybe he'd just gone to relieve himself, she walked to pick up their stuff. Within a split-second she felt herself hoisted upward by strong hands around her arms and as she looked up the tree branches were coming closer to her. About to scream bloody-murder a dark hand clamped over her mouth and Jan watched, frightened, as another figure crept closer to her up in the tree branches. Yellow eyes glowed at her as the dark figure raised its hand. Jan tried to get away from the tight grip, but failed and then the figure's hand came rushing towards her head.
The last thing she felt before everything went dark was the piercing pain in the side of her skull.
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"This is starting to get ridiculous," Amelia shook her head and watched as Peter paced along the side of the fire. Neither Father Abe nor Jan had returned from their water run and when Peter, Blake and she had gone to the pond to see what had happened, they'd only found their water containers left behind.
"Something must be out there, I mean, maybe both Joe and Rachel could've gotten lost, but Jan and Abe at the same time?" Peter was ranting and the other five watched him, hoping he'd come up with a solution.
"Maybe there's wild animals or something? I mean, we've even seen some monkeys, what if there's something out there that…likes people?" Bianca grimaced at the thought, but she could see that she wasn't the only one who'd given the idea a thought.
"Well, I think for now we should just be aware that something might be out there and be careful. I suggest everyone stay together as much as possible. Hopefully we can come up with a solution and explanation for this," Peter finally answered and although it hadn't exactly been a satisfying answer, everyone took it for granted and dropped the topic.
However, the mysterious disappearance of two more of their group hung heavy over everyone's head and an uneasiness had settled in among them.
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"Jack, I don't understand what you're trying to tell me," Erica Kane shook her head and walked away from her fiancé and daughter to stand over by the sofa, her arms crossed.
Jack and Kendall looked at each other, silently figuring out who should try to delicately broach the subject. After a few seconds Jack walked over to Erica, his hands on her upper arms.
"Erica, we just think that this…this clinging to every last hope…isn't doing you any good. I mean, look at you…half the time that you're at work you do nothing but sit at your desk and stare, and the other half you overwork yourself to extremes. I never see you happy anymore, Erica," he stated, his voice soft.
Erica looked at him, bewildered and pulled away from his hands, "Jack, how can you suggest I be happy? Bianca is gone; my baby is gone. How can I even think about being happy?"
"No one thinks you should be happy, Erica. It's just…we're worried about you. You haven't been yourself. You need to let go, move on. It's been over a month now," Kendall explained, hoping not to unleash the wrath of Erica Kane with her words. But she and Jackson had decided it was time for her mother to move on, Bianca wasn't going to come back and Erica only suffered by not accepting that fact.
"Let go? Are you suggesting I forget about Bianca?!" Erica's voice rose and the other two people in her company cringed, having feared an outburst like that.
"Nobody wants you to forget her, honey. We all loved Bianca very dearly; this isn't an easy time for any of us. But our lives have to go on, Bianca wouldn't want us to dwell in our misery like this."
Erica brought a hand to her forehead and sighed. Somewhere deep inside her brain Jack and Kendall's words were making sense, but she didn't know if she wanted them to. The pain of losing Bianca had hung over her like a constant rain cloud for the past six weeks; she knew it wasn't healthy to keep holding onto false hope.
"So, what're you suggesting?" she finally asked, her voice small.
"We think that…maybe we should have a funeral. A funeral is final and it would allow us to have some closure over this, as well as let us deal with our grief and feelings. A lot of people loved Bianca, we should celebrate that and let her move on," Jack answered, hoping Erica wouldn't blow up at them. Kendall and he had spent some time discussing this and they both felt that it seemed to be the only way Erica could possibly move on. If only she'd accept the suggestion, of course.
But to both their surprise, the older woman turned around and then nodded at them, smiling teary-eyed, "Yes, maybe you're right and it's for the best. Bianca would want all the people that loved her to be able to move on. We'll honor her the way she deserves and she'll know she was loved."
Jack smiled and took his fiancée's hands in his own, before turning to look at Kendall, who only nodded sadly.
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Bianca dove into the water from a rock to the side of their lagoon. With quick strokes she swam through the warm water to the large, flat rock that her friend was sunbathing on. Grinning wickedly, the brunette girl slowly lifted herself out of the water, trying to be as quiet as possible as she hoisted herself onto the rock. Greenlee was asleep and Bianca shook her head, thinking that the older girl definitely did not need to be any tanner than she was now. She stood over her friend and then, slowly, shook herself so tiny water droplets rained down on the other girl.
Greenlee shot up with a gasp, feeling the cold water land on her overheated skin. She shot a look at Bianca, who was laughing unashamed at what she had done. Grumbling, Greenlee stood as well and got in the other girl's face; she even stood on her tiptoes to be closer to Bianca's height, but still fell short.
"You are so going to regret that, little girl!" Greenlee poked her finger into Bianca's chest, making the younger girl laugh even harder.
"Oh yeah? What're you gonna do to me? Huh, shorty?" Bianca responded, but instantly regretted it when she saw the look that crossed Greenlee's face.
"Oh that's it!" the older girl growled and before Bianca could react, Greenlee's arms were around her waist, shoving her into the water. But Bianca, not wanting to be outdone, refused to let the other girl let go of her and so in the end they both ended up falling into the refreshing water, squealing.
Bianca's head popped up above the water's surface and she stood; the water here was shallow and only reached to about her elbow. She looked around, but couldn't see her friend anywhere. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Greenlee burst through the surface in front of her and Bianca jumped.
"Gotcha!" Greenlee grinned and ducked as Bianca reached for her to dunk her. But Bianca's longer arms gave her the advantage and she wrapped them around her friend's waist, trying to pull the shorter girl under. They both held onto each other as they toppled over, their heads sinking under the water surface and quickly came back up.
Greenlee opened her eyes, blinking the water droplets away and looked at Bianca's face. The younger girl's arms were still around her waist and Greenlee's own were holding onto Bianca. Water drops cascaded down Bianca's tanned, smooth skin and some clung to her lashes, making her eyes seem to sparkle. Greenlee held her breath, trying to get the tingling feeling in her body under control. Bianca was looking at her, her mouth slightly open and the older girl breathed out slowly.
Greenlee leaned closer, slowly, watching Bianca's eyes intently. Their lips touched a split-second later and her eyes closed automatically. Bianca's lips were softer than anyone else's had ever been and Greenlee involuntarily groaned into the other girl's mouth. Her spine was tingling, her whole body felt as if it were on fire and she only reluctantly pulled back from the lack of air. Their eyes opened and met again, gazing into each other intently for the next couple of seconds.
This time it was Bianca who leaned closer, bringing their lips together.
To be continued….tell me what you think!