A/N: Alright, giving you an update a few hours earlier here because I am quite sick and I need to just cuddle down into my covers and watch series, and sleep some more even though I've practically slept for three days.

Still exhausted, though.

Hopefully, I'll feel better tomorrow.

I'm gonna continue putting the disclaimer here just be sure that everyone are aware of where this story originated.

This story isn't 100 % mine. I have transformed it into a story from an interactive story app called Choices (an app I am completely obsessed with atm) and the creators are Pixelberry Studios.

So here's my disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the plot of this story. All recognizable content belongs to their respective owner. No copyright infringement intended. Names and places have been changed for the purpose of Fanfiction.

But, hey, let's just get into this. We'll have a change of scenario in this chapter :)


{Chapter 8}

The crowd roared as the quarterback with number 5 and the last name 'Gayle' written in bold letters on his back lined up under center for the snap.

"Omaha! Ninety-six-double!"

The school's stadium was packed to the brim for the weekend of freshman orientation. In the stands, I cheered alongside my new dorm mate, Benjamin Santiago.

"Man, if every game around here ends like an inspirational sports movie, I might actually have to keep showing up!" he yelled over the excited crowd.

"Go, team, go!" I shouted deliriously into the sky, drowned out by fifty thousand other voices.

Just seconds remained on the clock. Gayle surveyed the opposing defense and tapped the shoulder of his left tackle, a fellow freshman with the number 68 and 'Chen' on his back.

"Watch the weak-side! Linebacker's on a delayed blitz!"

"I see him!"

"Hut-hut ... hut!"

Massive bodies collided like forces of nature. Gayle sprinted left. The linebacker hurtled toward him for the tackle and so did the free safety.

"Dammit! There's two of them!"

"I can block them both! Follow me!" Chen summoned all of his strength and pancaked the linebacker into the safety.

"Woohoo!"

"Awww, yeah!"

"Ha! Told ya, I— Garrett?" He looked back. Gayle had already run the other way, going totally on his own.

Gayle stiff-armed a cornerback, hurdled a linebacker and leaped toward the goal line. A defender blindsided Gayle in mid-air, cracking his back—

"Come find me, Bella."

"What?" Ilooked to my side. Benjamin was gone. Everyone was gone. The stadium was empty, except for Leah who had taken Benjamin's place.

"Come find me."

I was suddenly in the sprawling rainforests of El Jardín. Vines wrapped around Leah, dragging her back into darkness.

"Leah, wait!"

The ferns swallowed her. An animal's paw came to rest on my shoulder. Something was behind me. I looked back and saw the claws emerging from the massive paw.

I snapped awake, sweating through the bed sheets. I looked at my shoulder and found a paw still there; a tiny, blue one.

"Don't worry, Furball. It was just a bad dream ... That's all it was, right?"

Furball nuzzled his nose into my neck, and I felt a chill emanate from his soft fur. It cooled me down, and I felt my heart slow. Outside, it was still dark. The horizon was only just beginning to tinge orange with the dawn.

Leah had been gone for two days and I really hoped she was okay.

I was positive I wouldn't go back to sleep after the dream I had, so I looked at Furball and smiled. "You up for a walk?"

I wandered the halls, only half-awake. I wasn't sure where my feet were carrying me, but then I heard a rustling coming from a suite door standing ajar. I poked my head inside and saw Garrett with his back to me. He was fully dressed and it puzzled me.

"Garrett?"

Garrett looked up. On the bed was a backpack full of supplies. "Hey ..."

"Where are you going at this hour? I'm guessing you're not hitting the gym."

He hesitated but then sighed. "I'm going to the Observatory, Bella, to see if we can call for help with the satellite uplink. And I'm going alone. I was hoping to head out before anyone could stop me."

I frowned in confusion. "Alone? But why?"

"I don't want anybody else getting hurt out there. Better to just ... get this done myself." He slung his bag over his shoulder and tried to pass me, but I blocked the doorway and looked up to meet his eyes.

"I can't let you do this alone, Garrett. This is too important to rely on one person."

He nodded. "I know it's important ... but it's risky too. I can do this. There's no reason for more of us to be in danger." He tried to pass again, but I stepped with him.

"Just yesterday, you were pissed off because nobody was doing their part. And now you're trying to take on the whole load by yourself? Why not let people help if they want?"

Garrett looked back through the window. In the distance, the massive volcanic cone of Mount Suerte was silhouetted by the warming sky. Somewhere high in the shadows, the El Jardín Observatory waited.

Garrett sighed. "Okay, Bella. You can call the play."

The sun was up by the time I had gathered everyone outside the hotel's grand entrance. Many of them were rubbing their eyes tiredly.

Peter yawned big. "This is way too early to wake up after a meal like last night."

Emmett rubbed his eyes. "Seriously. I need at least fourteen to eighteen more hours of sleep before I'm out of this food coma."

Rosalie groaned. "So either I'm incredibly hungover, or I'm dying. One of the two. Total coin toss."

I reined in any kind of chipper tone, because I knew that it would only annoy the others if I appeared too awake. "Sure, it's early, guys, but we've got a big day ahead. Last night, we pieced together that the El Jardín Observatory has a satellite uplink."

Garrett joined me. "One that's strong enough to get through whatever interference is keeping us from calling for rescue."

"I know we voted to stay put on the resort instead of looking around aimlessly for a way off the island," I continued. "But now we've got a destination. And it's not far."

Alice interjected. "Well, it's about seven miles away through the rainforest, over a mountain pass, and then up the side of the volcano. So about four or five hours."

I nodded. "Honestly, this is going to be extremely dangerous. We've been over the risks. Anybody who goes should know what they're getting into."

Alice gasped at me. "Bella! Are you trying to frighten everyone?"

I shrugged and nodded. "Yeah. Basically. I'm not gonna lie to my friends."

"Bella's right," Garrett said, and I instantly knew he was going to use it to make his case on going alone. He did not disappoint. "It's safer for everyone to stay here. If I go now, I can get back well before nightfall. We really don't need more than one person to go."

Rosalie scoffed. "Do you even know how to operate a satellite uplink?"

He turned to her. "Uh, do you?"

She smiled. "I'll let the FBI Answer that for ya. I'm coming. Otherwise, it's a waste of damn time."

"I'll go, too," Tanya said which caused Alistair to stare at her in shock.

"You will?"

"I interned at a Hawaiian observatory sophomore year. I might be able to help you find your way around."

Garrett watched Tanya in a way that said he did not want her to come along. "Tanya, are you sure?"

Peter didn't allow her to reply. "Yeah, she's sure. And I'm coming too."

"Since when do you want to help us get out of here?" Benji asked him.

"Since my bro Garrett decided on this craziness. If you're putting your life on the line, I'll be there clearing the way. Always, dude."

"Thanks, man."

"Well, then I guess I'm going," Kate said, and I whipped around in surprise.

"Oh, really? What for?" I couldn't come up with anything that she would contribute with by coming along.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I happen to be a straight A student who's been accepted into medical school and I can contribute, thank you very much!"

Garrett put a hand on her shoulder. "You sure you don't wanna hang back? I'm not sure there's much you could do to help."

"Why don't you believe in me, Garrett?"

Alice spoke up to move the attention over to her. "It looks like we have our group. Excellent. Everyone, gather your things! We'll leave in five minutes!"

As Alice walked away, Rosalie approached me and nodded toward the guide. "Yo. Ditch the hummingbird."

"Who?" I asked.

"Alice. I don't want her to come with us. I don't trust her. She worships Cullen and his whole company. Whatever happened here, it's bad news for them. If she has to choose between us and him, guess who she picks. Besides ... she's so ... happy."

"So?"

She looked at me seriously. "No one's that happy naturally, Bella. No one."

Alice skipped back toward us, carrying a bag.

"What do I tell her?"

"As if I care."

Alice reached us and grinned. "Hiya, guys! All set?"

"Alice ... I need you to stay here with the others."

She looked surprised. "What? Why?"

I tried to come up with an excuse and improvised. "Because I heard a few talk about getting into Cullen's computer last night, but that they couldn't figure out the password. I need you to figure that out."

"Cullen's password?"

"At the desk in his office. Nobody has any idea what it is. You're the only resort employee here. You might be the only one who can figure it out."

She thought about it and then nodded. "Hey ... hey, yeah! Maybe I can! I'll go work on that!" She turned and scurried inside excitedly.

Rosalie shuddered at her manners. "You really think she can guess the password?"

I shook my head. "I don't think anybody's figuring that out anytime soon, but it will keep her occupied."

I headed over to where the others were gathering. The ones staying behind said their goodbyes.

Emmett offered a backpack to Garrett. "I packed a bag of lunches. It's leftovers from the feast. Something to remember me by."

"We're gonna be gone for ten hours, dude."

"Exactly."

Alistair was looking down at the ground and shuffled his feet. "Er, ahem, Tanya ... don't, uh ... don't perish."

"Okay, Alistair. I'll try not to perish." Shehugged him, her head only coming halfway up the tall man's chest.

"I, hrm ... appreciate the embrace."

A hand touched my arm. I turned around and saw Victoria. "Be careful out there, okay, Bella?"

I smiled reassuringly at her. "I'll try."

Edward was lying on an outdoor bench, nursing a hangover with a black coffee. He raised it in a salute. "Yeah, good luck not getting yourselves killed."

A sparkle of ice shot out from Furball and froze Edward's coffee solid just as he was about to sip it.

"Hey! Joke's on you, ya little smurf! I like my coffee iced."

I noticed Garrett surveying the group; Peter, Kate, Rosalie, and Tanya. I walked up to him. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be glad. They're trying to help, just like you wanted."

"I wanted them to help each other out, yeah, but this is different. This is lives on the line, Bella."

"Don't you trust us to take care of ourselves?" It was meant as teasing, but Garrett took my words seriously.

"Honestly? No. Maybe it's overconfidence, but I wasn't worried about me going alone. But a group this big? Maybe if we had someone with a few more ... survival skills to get us through ..."

Garrett's eyes fell on Edward, who was now in a tug-of-war over the coffee mug with Furball.

"You're talking about Edward?" I asked, shocked.

"Can't stand the guy, but he's got more training than the rest of us combined. He won't listen to me ... but maybe he'll listen to you."

"I can try, but don't get your hopes up too much. Edward only does what he wants."

I walked over to him, just as Furball wrestled the coffee mug away from him and scampered off.

"Dammit, you little—Oh. Howdy, Princess. Lemme guess. You want me to sign up for your little Suicide Squad."

I shrugged. "More or less."

He smirked. "Does Captain America know you're asking me to crash his party?"

"Actually ... he's the one who wanted me to ask you."

"Ha! Right! You're a bad liar, ya know that? You could've just said you were gonna miss me," he said teasingly.

I nodded, still remembering his rejection from the previous day. "Yeah, I could have ... but I'm a bad liar."

His smile widened. "Guess I walked into that one. Fine. Why the hell not? As if this place wasn't dangerous enough. Let's go climb an active volcano!"

A couple of hours later our little expedition trudged through the sweltering rainforest, passing by the emergency shelter on our way toward the mountains.

Edward wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "Whew! Hotter than a Turkish bath out here."

I glanced at him sideways. "You hang out at Turkish baths a lot, Top Gun?"

He winked at me. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"If you're hot, you could always just take off your shirt," I told him flirtatiously. Despite his rejection, he was still encouraging my flirting.

"You bring me out here just to ogle me?" he asked and his expression told me that he invited me to continue.

I bit my lip innocently. "Maybe."

He chuckled. "I'm not that easy. You gotta wine and dine me first."

I leaned closer. "I can do that," I said in a whisper, and he placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me tightly against his side while smiling wide.

Garrett called out for us and distracted me from continuing my flirty conversation. "How's everybody holding up? We should probably break to eat."

Tanya opened up the bag of leftovers Emmett gave us and screamed while throwing it on the ground.

"What is it?" I asked, worried about what she could possibly have found in the bag. Maybe Emmett had tried to be funny and slipped something scary into the bag as well.

Tanya stared at the bag in horror. "Everything's all ... moldy!"

"Aw, gross!" Peter grimaced.

Furball sniffed at the plastic-wrapped food and backed away in disgust.

I examined the completely destroyed food closer. "What the ... we just left! The food's not even a day old! How did it get so moldy?"

"I know it's humid as hell out here, but ... that doesn't seem possible," Garrett said and poked at a piece of what I think used to be bread with a stick.

Peter shook his head. "Hell naw. No way am I making it another eight hours of hiking without lunch, bro!"

I tried to stay positive because we couldn't stop now, and it was very unfortunate about the food, but we had to continue in order to get away from this godforsaken place. "Maybe we'll find something at the Observatory. I wouldn't risk eating any berries or fruits we find. This island is too weird."

Groaning, the group pushed on. The sounds of birds, mammals, and insects formed a lively chorus in the jungle.

Garrett slowed down his walk and sidled up to me. "Hey, Bella, listen ... thanks for backing me up and getting this team together ... but you gotta understand I wasn't doing this to be the hero. I hope you know that."

I nodded because while I believed Garrett had a hero complex, I just doubted this time had anything to do with that. "I do know."

He smiled, relieved. "Good."

"Besides, you don't need to do anything to be a hero. From what I hear, you already are."

He shook his head. "Newspapers need a narrative. But that's not me," he groaned. I had only been teasing him, but it was obvious he didn't like how the papers portrayed him.

"So what's the real reason you wanted to go alone?"

"It's just how I've always been. My whole life, I've been taught the only person you can really count on is yourself. It's the way I play too. I have great teammates, but when things go bad, I scramble. I improvise. And when it's just me, that's when I feel most at ease. I don't have to worry about getting anyone else hurt."

Peter appeared on my other side. "Yeah, that's Garrett Gayle for ya ... always going it alone. Even to the draft."

Garrett frowned. "What are you talking about, Peter? You're a top prospect. We're gonna get drafted by the same team and live it up."

"You almost sound like you believe that."

I looked at Peter. "And you don't?"

Kate had apparently also listened to our conversation because she was the next to join. "Why would he? Why would he trust anything Garrett says? He just ends up leaving everyone behind."

Garrett glared at Kate angrily. "I hope you're not talking about yourself, Kate. Because I really don't think you're qualified to talk about trust."

An awkward silence fell over the group. Even the forest seemed to grow still, and I wondered what had caused Garrett and Kate to split up since he was obviously still upset about it.

Rosalie broke the silence when it became too oppressing. "Ha! That's what you losers get for believing in human beings. Rosalie's first rule: Trust nobody. They only end up betraying you."

"I think trust is great, so long as it's other people's. You just gotta be the one doing the betraying." When Edward said that, I stared down at my feet and just kept on walking. I didn't like what he was implying, and it would be naive of me to believe he wouldn't break my trust if I gave it to him when that was his view on it. A part of me wanted to believe that was his old ways though.

"Real healthy outlook there, Edward," Garrett said, and I was glad he did.

Edward just grinned. "Ain't it?"

"That's so sad," Tanya interjected quietly. "Being so scared of getting hurt that you never open up to anyone?"

"What are you talking about?" Rosalie asked and looked at Tanya questioningly. "Emmett burped last night, and you screamed. You're scared of everything!"

Tanya nodded. "Of heights and snakes and clowns and crustaceans, maybe. But not of being vulnerable with someone. Not that I ... ever really have. But I want to."

"Believe me, Tanya. You don't want to put your faith in other people," Kate told her patronizingly.

"I mean, I know it's a statistical inevitability that one day I'll get hurt. But I won't let that stop me from searching for love," Tanya said steadfast.

I smiled at the girl who was so innocent but intellectual. "That's very brave, Tanya."

"Thanks, Bella. But it's probably just foolish."

Suddenly, Edward stopped, rooted to his spot. He raised his fist.

"Uh, what is he doing?" Rosalie asked.

"Is this some sorta protest?" Peter was frozen on the spot in a ridiculous mid-step pose and stared at Edward's neck.

"No!" Edward said underneath his breath. "It's the 'stop moving' signal! Someone's here. Watching us."

"Wait, what?!" Kate asked too loudly, and I wanted to hit her. If there was one thing about Edward that I trusted, it was his military abilities, and if he said someone was close and that we should stop and probably hide, I was going to listen to that.

"Get down!" I stage-whispered to everyone and forcefully dragged Kate by her sweater so that she would do the same.

"Damn right we do," Edward agreed. He was carefully looking through the bushes while I searched for somewhere to hide.

"Hurry, behind those ferns over there," I told them when I saw it.

Everyone hesitated, panicked.

Edward gritted his teeth. "The hell are you waiting for? You heard the lady!"

All of us ducked down and scurried behind the large ferns alongside the path.

I was closest to Edward, and I kept my voice low when I spoke. "Edward, where is it?"

"There."

I followed his gaze and saw it; eyes of glowing gold. They blinked. My heart pounded in my chest.

Suddenly, I felt like I could see myself and the whole group, cowering where we were, from an outside view, obvious as day.

"Edward, it can still see us—" I said, still whispering.

"No way, it's too—" Edward disagreed, but I didn't let him finish.

"I'm serious. I just know. It can see us."

Edward looked at me strangely, and then Garrett spoke.

"Is it some kinda animal?"

"Maybe it's just curious," Tanya suggested in a small, trembling voice.

"Yeah. Curious what we taste like," Edward said. "I'm gonna loop around behind it and get the drop on it."

I straightened out and walked up to him. "I'm coming with you."

"Suit yourself."

Edward and I moved through the jungle, hiding behind one tree before darting to the next one.

"You seem like you've done this before," I observed, still making sure I was speaking quietly.

"You could say that," he replied seriously.

"How'd you learn?" I asked, always curious to know more about him. Despite the fact that I had spent quite a lot of time with him already, Edward was still kind of a mystery to me. I knew there was stuff he kept secret about himself, but I was inevitably drawn to him anyway.

"By watching the people hunting me." There was a cold detachment in his voice as he said it.

"When were you being hunted?" I was worried now. What if everything he'd told me was a lie? What if Edward was a criminal of some sort and I had no idea what I had gotten myself into?

"It was back during my service. Everything hit the fan, and suddenly I was on my own..." he said, still with that cold detachment in his voice, but it changed as he sighed. "Well, not at first, I wasn't. Point is, if you don't learn how the people tracking you are doing it then it's only a matter of time before they get you."

Finally, we reached the spot where I had seen the golden eyes.

"Where the hell is it? I don't see it anymore." Edward was beyond frustrated.

I looked around, sensing danger in every shadow, and then that feeling came back; that I was watching myself. In my mind, I saw my left side. "Edward, I think it's somewhere to our left," I whispered to him, barely moving my lips.

"You sure?"

"I think so."

Edward lunged in that direction, pulling apart the ferns and a flash of pale blue blurred into the treetops.

"What the—"

In a split second, it was gone.

"Yeah, you better run!" Edward yelled after whatever that was. "You okay, Bella? Whatever that was, I don't think it wants any part of us."

"But what was that thing? I've never seen any animal move that fast," I said, still in shock over the rapid speed with which the creature had moved.

"I'm not so sure it was an animal. Take a look." Edward knelt down beside a clear impression in the earth.

My eyes widened when I saw what it looked like. "Is that?"

"Yeah. A human footprint. Maybe we're not alone here after all."

We looked around, but didn't see anything else, so we made our way back, linking up with the rest of the group. The slope of the forest increased, and we rose higher and higher. The tree canopy thinned until finally, we broke through the greenery onto a cliff edge with a spectacular view.

What was strange, though, was the fact that the sky was dark and cluttered with stars.

"Okay, how is it nighttime? We left at the ass-crack of dawn and we've only been gone for, like, three hours," Kate said and frowned up at the sky.

I took my phone out of my pocket to check the time. "My phone says it's 9 PM right now ... but it should only be about 9 AM."

Edward also looked up at the stars in confusion. "I am not nearly drunk enough to have just lost twelve hours."

Garrett tried to shift our attention from the strange nighttime phenomena by reminding us of our mission. "We have to stay focused. What matters is getting to the Observatory. We call for help. We get rescued. We go home. This must be the mountain pass. Once we get past this, we should be at the volcano."

Rosalie kicked a small rock over the edge of the cliff and watched it drop down into a churning river far below. She whistled. "Hey, Tanya, didn't you just say you were scared of heights? Come check this out."

Tanya trembled. "What? N-n-n-no way!"

Rosalie laughed as she leaned over the edge, wind blowing through her hair. "Ha, ha, come on! Best way to overcome your fears is to face th—"

Suddenly, a massive, red claw appeared from behind the cliff, its sharp pincers moving toward Rosalie's head.

"Look out!" I called to her.

Rosalie looked and saw the claw about to close on her. She scrambled back just before it snapped shut, nearly decapitating her. "Holy shit!"

"Wh-wh-what is that?!" Tanya stammered badly.

An enormous red shell, four feet across, rose over the cliff's edge, carried by spindly armored legs. Several pairs of dead, black eyes gazed upon us and a grotesque mouth gnashed its fangs.

Kate started to back away. "That is too big! I've eaten crab before, and crabs are not that big!"

"Honestly, right now I miss the sabertooth!" Peter exclaimed.

The crab's legs clicked as it drew closer, snapping its colossal pincers.

"Tanya, get back!"

Tanya was frozen in terror, staring up as the crab lifted itself high on its legs. It swung an open claw toward her and recoiled as a rock struck it in one of its eight eyes.

Edward picked up another rock and threw it, his aim perfect once more. "Hey, Seafood Special! There's more where that came from!"

Distracted, the crab snapped at Edward and gave Garrett time to pull Tanya back, out of harm's way. Furball leaped forward and fired a blast of ice at the crab. A thick ice crystal formed around one of the crab's mighty pincers, but the crab easily shattered it to nothingness as it opened its claw once more.

Edward hurled another rock but the crab blocked it, using a pincer as a shield. "Aw, crap, it's achieved sentience!"

"That's not what that means!" Tanya called, not being able to keep herself from correcting his mistake.

The titan crab loomed closer. I could see my reflection many times over in its eyes.

"What the hell do we do?" Kate asked desperately.

Garrett stepped forward, arms wide to attract the creature's attention. "Run! Go! I'll lead it away from you!"

"No, dude! What are you doing?" Peter took a step forward toward Garrett to stop him.

"I'm scrambling!"

"Why do you always have to be the hero, you idiot?!" Kate called for him, but she didn't dare to get closer to Garrett like Peter had.

"Because someone has to do something, and I don't have any better ideas!" Garrett told them both through gritted teeth.

"Looks like she does!" Rosalie pointed toward ashadow that passed across the moon. Leah leaped from high up and drove a rudimentary spear down into the base of one of the crab's legs. She twisted the spearhead and snapped the leg from the carapace. The crab staggered back in obvious pain.

"Leah!" I exclaimed in shock.

"Get out of here!" Tanya called to her, but Leah ignored us, squaring off against the monster. She whirled the spear in her hands, the shaft blurring with speed. The crab scuttled toward her, claws raised.

"Let's dance."


A/N: So, Garrett doesn't have a hero complex, huh? Somehow, I doubt that :-P But how did their food get moldy so fast? How could they possibly lose twelve hours just like that? And what the hell is that crab?

Let me know all of your thoughts. Wish I could promise you a teaser this time. Maybe this weekend. We'll see how I feel, okay?

Good!

But until then,

Stay Awesome!