Act I, Chapter Two:

We've All Got Secrets

"Where is everybody? I thought this was a luxury resort?" Michelle called, flinging her hands up in exasperation. She hammered at the gold concierge desk bell. "I mean, hellooo!"

Michelle cried out to the deserted foyer, but only echoes responded. The rest of the group stood like an interrupted chain of ants, thrown into confusion.

Thirteen of us stood in the lobby of the majestic Celestial Hotel on the Caribbean island of La Huerta. But instead of a warm and lavish welcome, there was no soul in sight, and the chill of the air conditioning was ever more noticeable.

Sean's brow perked. "So, uh. That'll make for a weird-ass Yelp review."

"The resort staff knew we were arriving this week, right?" asked the bespectacled girl.

"They should know, Grace," assured Quinn. Aha, so the girl with glasses was Grace.

"Hey, come on! We got the hotel to ourselves! That's sick!" Craig exclaimed with the wide grin on his face a stark contrast to the frowns the rest of us wore.

The handle of my suitcase still fastened in my grip when I spoke. "I.. agree with Grace. An abandoned hotel? That's not normal," I cast a glance at Diego. "What if something happened? Like, there should be some logical explanation, right?"

Grace smiled in relief. "I don't want to sound like I'm raining on everyone's parade," she admitted.

"You are. Well, kind of," shrugged Craig. "Don't be going full-on monsoon on our parade."

Raj had dived behind the bar and popped his head out, bottles in hand. "At least the booze is still here! Who's up for a Mai Tai?" He lifted the alcohol high, which drew Craig and Jake to him like moths to a flame, but only rest shuffled about, so on edge, I felt like we stood at the rim of a cliff.

"Max, look," Diego called, beckoning me over with a wave of his hand. He held the glass he'd plucked from a nearby coffee table up to me, half full of wine and a stain of red plastered onto its rim. "Fresh lipstick," he tapped it, eliciting a light clink. "It's like they just up and left.."

"But without their luggage?" Quinn pouted, her features wrinkled in confusion.

"Hey— and no service? What the hell?" Michelle asked, apparently the first to have even bothered to check her phone. The rest of us followed to confirm, and she was right.

"Maybe they don't got those phone towers here," Craig suggested with a shrug, sitting by the counter with Raj and Jake, having already fixed themselves a generous amount of booze.

"Are you an imbecile? Of course the island is equipped with cell phone towers!" Aleister hissed at Craig, who by then had already lost interest.

"And how would you know that?" said the girl with the undercut, who now had a doubting brow raised at Aleister.

"..Er. Well, you— I'm—" Aleister sputtered, unsure what to say in a moment of panic that only encouraged the girl's suspicion. But he soon gathered his composure and straightened his posture, "Perhaps because I pay attention? They were plainly visible in the distance on our approach."

"Max? I'm getting majorly freaked out," I heard Diego murmur to me, angling himself away from Aleister.

"But.. everything that used electricity worked just fine," I said to myself, my brows furrowed. "And there are cellphone towers, so why? Was there an incident?"

"Like a gas leak or something? And everyone had to evacuate," Diego reasoned, but I was unsure how convinced I was.

"Not implausible, actually—" Grace paced over to us. "The island hosts an active volcano, after all."

I turned to scan over the group, in search of the person who might have something close to an answer. But our familiar yellow polo shirt was absent. "Lila?" I called.

"Has anyone seen Lila!?" Diego added.

The students similarly threw around glances. Diego started for the exit with me in tow. The rest soon followed us outside, where we found our tour guide— the one person we could expect to rely on— pacing back and forth repetitively with her gaze downcast and a hand clasped over her mouth.

"Lila? Are you okay?" asked Grace, concern evident. Lila's mouth formed a small 'o', her features rising in a startle. She immediately plastered a smile on her face, one she didn't have the time to put on convincingly.

"Oh, me? I'm doing great! There's nothing to worry about, I'm very sure! No worries, everyone! I bet it was just a fire alarm test, very unfortunately just by the time we arrived here! Or perhaps a surprise picnic elsewhere on the beach! Who knows? So please, everyone, calm down!"

Jake leisurely strolled after us with hands tucked into his pockets. "Yeah. Pretty sure Care Bears descended from the heavens and escorted everyone to Happy-Happy Land!" He pulled his lips into a wide, feigned grin for good measure.

"Jake, not helping," Sean hissed through clenched teeth.

"And that's not even how it works.. have you ever even watched an episode of Care Bears?" Raj commented under his breath, frowning.

Jake spared Raj only a brief, unsettled glance before rotating to meet Sean instead and adopting an irked tone. "Oh, pardon me, but I ain't gonna be playin' storytime. Find some goddamned real answers. I'm not here to help y'all live out your dream vacation, nah. I'm here to get paid." He spread his arms, palms to the sky, and gestured around, "And right now, there ain't nobody here to pay me."

"So, you'll have to help. We'll get real answers if we devise a plan, and someone shows initiative— shows leadership," Sean challenged with narrowed eyes. "Looks like you're not up to the task."

"Hah!" Jake gave a short, derisive bark of laughter. "You talkin' about yourself? Throwin' a ball around and that qualifies you to talk to me about leadership? Nah, this ain't elementary school, pretty boy."

They took deliberate steps closer to one another, squaring off.

"Guys, please!" I cried, my brows knitting together in frustration. "We're not here to bicker like little kids in a standoff, much less—"

"Whoa, I don't need you preachin' over here, Princess," Jake snapped back, which put a pause to their dispute long enough for Sean to press his lips into a taut line and back off.

My lips turned to a frown, a flicker of hurt catching my eyes at the crude reply.

"Now that we're all buddy-buddy again," said Diego. "What now?" I saw some quietly hopeful glances fall on me, others on Jake and Sean, who by then had put much distance between each other and looking equally upset.

"Uh? ..Well, we could split up? Search the hotel? Maybe it'll give us a clue as to what happened, right?"

"Yes, good! Good idea, Max!" Lila chimed with renewed energy.

"Hmm.. maybe there's something to find at the pool?" Grace mused aloud.

"The pool, huh? Sounds great. I can already feel the way the lounge chairs and Caribbean sun are calling to me. I'll trust brains over here," then Jake promptly snapped his fingers, fully rotating towards Grace. "Aha. Got it. You're Brain Trust from now on," he said, and I wondered if he'd ever get tired of his own repetitiveness.

"Yo, Craig, if things were normal, what would we be doing right now?"

"Uhh.. eating?"

"Yeah, exactly," Raj grinned. "We'll be taking the restaurant."

"Good, good! And where will you look, Zahra?"

The girl with the undercut, Zahra, gave a terse response. "Don't care."

"Well.. how about the ballroom? Sounds fun, right?" Lila suggested with a perked brow.

"Still don't care."

"Well, in that case," I said. "I'll check out the ballroom with you. Never been to one— not one of those fancy ones, at least," I said as Lila beckoned Zahra and me with her. The rest of the group scattered to form smaller parties and split off.

But a sudden realization grasped me and made me stop in my tracks. I turned back, doing a headcount of the students. Ten. The girl in the blue hoodie had vanished.

I shared a brief look with Diego, who spotted my concerned face. I had to shake off the uneasy feeling. I was here to look for answers, not to be paranoid.

I joined up with Lila, Zahra, and Quinn, who made a last-moment decision to be productive and opt for the ballroom instead of goofing around at the pool.

We entered the lobby and began our search for the ballroom. On our way, we came across Raj and the others scouring the restaurant and passing the pool where Diego bummed around with Jake. I heaved a sigh. The pilot sure talked big while having a macho show-off with Sean about finding 'real' answers, only to join Diego in soaking up the tropical sun.

We finally stumbled across an ornate and important looking entrance somewhere in the hotel. With Lila beside me, we pushed the doors open to what we presumed was the ballroom.

It was as impressive as one would expect from a resort as luxurious as The Celestial. Grand chandeliers of crystal glass were suspended from the ceiling, highlighted by alabaster and cobalt blue wallpaper. Round tables that were cloaked in white table cloths dotted the floor, leaving however a clear pathway towards a dais, upon which stood a wooden archway that was intertwined with flowers. The staff of the hotel had lined chairs before it, most likely for the attendees.

"Huh.. were they in the middle of a wedding?"

"Oh, great, Max here to state the obvious," Zahra commented as she blew black locks of hair out her face, hands still safely tucked in her pockets. I could spot the beginnings of a smile forming, however, "Dunno how we would'a survived without her commentary."

"You enjoy being the jerk?" I said.

Zahra smirked back, raising a brow. "Two in a row. Look at you, you're on a roll!"

"What happened here?" Lila guided her hand over the back of the chairs. "Everything's perfectly intact. Champagne poured, the flowers arranged.. Did the alarm go off in the middle of the ceremony, perhaps?"

I stepped up the dais. "The flowers are real, too, I think, which means the personnel can't have been gone for long. They would've dried up otherwise."

Zahra scoffed. "Bride 'prolly realized that marriage is a joke. Hightailed it right outta there."

"Marriage isn't a joke," I defended. "And they mean nothing without love, anyway." My mind raced towards Sean, but I quickly shook it off. The thought colored my cheeks pink, though I hoped to pass it off as overheating. I was a bit of a hopeless romantic, I properly realized, even if Diego had told me many times before.

"You really think?" Quinn laced her fingers together, her expectant look bringing me back to the present. She looked relieved to see someone agree.

"Thought you were only a captive of the marital-industrial complex, but you're much more of a sap than I could possibly imagine," Zahra shuddered as she reached for a lonesome bottle of white wine. She popped off the cork, prompting Lila to speak up. "Zahra!" She reprimanded, "Don't do that! That's not ours!"

"Can't report me to anyone, now, can you? Psh. Gimme a break," Zahra drawled, moving to pour herself a glass. "Last I checked, this was still a vacation, and that calls for alcohol."

By the time I sauntered over, Zahra had filled another glass, plucking it up and presenting it to me, "Here, sap."

I accepted, taking a sip of wine after clinking glasses with her. Soon, a sweet fruitiness tingled my taste buds and left the familiar burning of alcohol in its wake. "That's.. great. I'm not usually one for wine, but they went all out on this."

"True. This really is some good stuff. Must'a spent a fortune on these."

"Quinn? Do you want a sip?" I offered when I spotted her lingering by our table.

She pondered a moment, before reaching for the glass. "Ah, what the hell! You only live once, right? Here's my chance!" Quinn grinned, pouring a heavy gulp down her throat like a madwoman. I culled the bottle off the table, my eyes falling upon its label. "Whoa. Wait a moment— this is from 1922!"

"Oh, no, no!" Lila cried, frantically making her way over. "Zahra, you just uncorked an eight-hundred-dollar bottle of wine! Oh, my boss will kill me!"

Zahra let out a hearty burp, telling us precisely the amount she cared. "Meh, it wasn't that good."

"Wait— all of them are from around that year! See? 1919.. 1924.." Quinn exclaimed, who had paced back and forth to examine all the bottles individually. "Who in the world would spend that much on wine?"

Zahra pinched her chin between index finger and thumb in feigned contemplation. "And the answer to that, my friends, is 'crazy rich people who have little else to spend their billions on'."

We soon began making our way back, leaving only as confused as we entered. Zahra had the wine bottle still in hand, having said 'Whatever, but I'm bringing the booze', before stealing some rich dude's fancy alcohol.

We arrived at the foyer, the restaurant, and pool group already there, idling about after a fruitless search. I noticed Jake and Grace were curiously absent. I waved Diego off as I wound my way through the labyrinthine halls of The Celestial and headed towards the swimming pool to fetch them.

I pushed past the glass doors and brought a hand up to shield my eyes from the descending sun, peering around. A warm breeze tickled my skin and the sunlight hit just right, giving our surroundings a tropical air.

With the rest gone, I couldn't help but let my attention fall on lone someone that unapologetically lounged about. I strode purposefully towards the hammock in which the figure of our pilot lay collapsed in. Awfully comfortably, might I add.

"Well, well, well!"

Jake pried open one eye. "Ah! If it isn't the princess!" And he lazily closed it again, his hands folded behind the back of his head. "See, bein' stuck here a while.. maybe it ain't so bad, after all!"

I pressed my lips together thoughtfully. I hopped closer and grabbed the ends of the hammock. Before he had time to react, I gave it a good tug upwards, and Jake came rolling right off the other side with a big 'oof'.

"Come on and get out, the rest is waiting on you."

"Oi! Let's start with a kind 'please', next time?!" He demanded, obviously irked. I only ushered Jake towards the exit, when my eye caught Grace, sunk to her knees by a damaged part of the fence enclosing the pool. "Grace?" I called, "Are you coming? Everyone's already at the lobby."

"Oh, sorry! Yes, I'll be right there," she said, rising to her feet and deftly tucking an object under her cantaloupe sweater before hurrying to catch up.

We were the last to return to the foyer. The group was occupied with sharing their finds with one another. Or lack thereof.

"At the restaurant, there was this thing up on the volcano, right? Like a light. It was there, then disappeared the next second!" Craig wildly gestured with his hands, Sean having to translate. "It was most likely a lighthouse."

"And in the ballroom, we stumbled onto a wedding straight out of the Roaring Twenties! The wine was all from that period," Quinn finished.

As everyone chatted on, I noticed Aleister loitering by his lonesome in front of a towering painting of a goateed man. I curiously tipped my head to the side as I approached. He looked awfully familiar, but I had trouble pinning where I'd seen him before.

You don't understand, do you? No, how could you? But just give it time..

"Who is that?"

"Hrn? Oh, Max." Aleister threw a dazed look at me before it shifted to indifference and rotated back towards the man. "Everett Rourke. C.E.O. of Rourke International, owner of The Celestial. Et cetera, et cetera."

"Rourke? He looks familiar.. I think I've seen him before."

"Hmph. Yes, Max, who hasn't?" Aleister huffed, rolling his eyes back. "Visionary, genius, conqueror of every industry," he said, a hint of embitterment in his tone. He sneered up at Rourke's portrait, which portrayed him holding a sword of gleaming emerald. "I still think he looks like a fool." Aleister marched off, only to collide with Grace on his way.

I saw his features shift. "Grace, I— " For a second, just a second, Aleister looked remorseful, until he plastered on the pompous facade again. "Watch where you're going, fool." He brushed past her, and Grace's face fell.

"Hello, Max. Do you have a moment to talk, maybe? I need to tell you something. You seem like someone I can trust."

"Yes, what is it? Look, Grace— if it's about Aleister, please don't take it personally, he's always like this."

We walked over to an unoccupied corner of the lobby.

"No, no, not that— it's not that." She fiddled with her thumbs.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and she looked at me hesitantly. "Hey, if you have a secret, you don't need to share it if you don't want to."

"Really?"

"Of course. I just hope you'll do the right thing. And you'll tell us when you're ready, right?"

Grade bit down on her lip and shifted her weight. She then pulled the object out from under her sweater, showing it to me. "See, Max, I found this by the fence at the pool. The bars there were, well.." She paused, unsure of how to word it. "Twisted. And they're metal."

It was an abnormally large, sharp tooth, withered from the days it lay outside. I felt my jaw drop. It was something I'd never seen on any animal before. Hell, it could have easily fit into the mouth of a predatory dinosaur. Grace struggled to hold it up, seeing her jitter, but perhaps they were from the nerves.

"Hold up. Grace, this is like a foot long! What?" And I wondered if it was connected to the empty tranquilizer dart Diego and I found.

"Hmhm. It may be prehistoric, but whatever animal it came from, it's big. I didn't want to show it. I was afraid to put everyone on edge. Scare them.. The way it scared me when I found it." Grace sucked in a deep breath. "But I realized we're all in this together. Everyone should know."

Grace was right. But when we presented it to the rest, it left them just as alarmed as I was.

"Nah, no way. This is a fossil. Nothin' alive these days with teeth that size." Jake said, sounding unsure if he even convinced himself. Everyone else fidgeted, unsure what to make of it.

"So, the whole search was for nothing?" Sean frowned and passed us all a glance. "We still have no idea where everyone went? We only have more questions, and this is the only clue we got?"

"So, what we gonna do now?" Zahra said.

"Go to bed and get some rest." A voice materialized just behind me. I wheeled around to find the girl in the blue hoodie standing by us. Seems like no one else had seen her enter, either, judging by their equally surprised looks. "Night's upon us. Get some rest," she repeated.

"Ah, Estela! There you are! I was getting worried."

Estela? Lila knew her? Was she not the extra passenger, then? I couldn't stop myself from throwing everyone an apprehensive look.

"Where have you been all this time?" Lila asked.

"Looking around. Same as you lot," Estela answered in her dull voice, one very monotone.

"And? Did you find anything?" Michelle spoke up impatiently.

"Nothing that matters to you people."

"Hey, at least let us decide that?" I frowned, folding my arms over my chest.

"..We've all got secrets." Estela gave me a pointed look. She then turned to bound over the check-in desk and snatched a room key off the wall. "I won't say it again. Night is falling. Get some rest. You're going to need it." With that, she paced off and disappeared from sight, leaving our group in confused silence.

"Okay, and what's that supposed to mean?" Sean was the one to break it.

"Think she meant it's nighttime, bro," Craig replied.

"Well.. it is getting late. We need to be ready to greet everyone when they return from.. wherever they are.. So!" Lila put on the artificial smile Rourke International taught her. "Everyone, please take the key to your assigned room from behind the desk!"

"Assigned?" Zahra snickered, her lips askew in a smirk. "Heh. Good one."

She then nimbly reached up and jerked a key off its hook, one that looked like a queen chess piece. "Taking a penthouse suite. Hotel's empty, right? Later, suckers!" She then quickly sped off with her trunk carting behind her.

"I call dibs on that one!" I seized the opportunity to briskly vault the counter and similarly plucked a key off the wall that was looped into a heart. The others soon followed in ensuing chaos to get the best rooms.

"Don't mind if I do!" Jake smiled slyly, the third to steal one of the decorative keys. I was already making my way towards the elevator with my luggage.

I mashed the 'close door' button right as Jake came jogging after me, hoping to catch the one still at ground level. "Oi! Princess!" But the doors shut, and I saw him off with a two-fingered salute off the top of my head. "Adios, amigo!"

The elevator rose at a leisurely pace and offered soothing music for company. The doors expanded to reveal a long, generously decorated hallway with everything money could buy. I felt myself sink into the carpet slightly as I wandered down the corridor. "Six hundred and seventy.. Six hundred and seventy-one.. Ah!"

I jolted the key into its lock and turned. The door swung open, and I was met with a heavy breeze that smelled strongly of the sea. It revealed a sprawling, multi-bedroom suite with a balcony overlooking a moonlit beach. The room was decorated with a beige and red color theme and a duo of inviting couches beckoned me towards them. Between two armchairs sat a coffee table with a pair of glasses and its accompanying wine bottle. From the entrance, I could spot an unnecessarily large jacuzzi in another room. But hey, I wouldn't be complaining. Rose petals and wavering scented candles lead all the way to the bed. I let go of my suitcase handle. "Whoa."

Then, after I thoroughly admired the room, a knock at the door woke me from my amazement. My heart thumped in my chest. Sean?

I hastened towards a nearby mirror and smoothed the wrinkles out of my shirt, but I figured it did little for the sweat stains lined beneath my armpits. I brushed some hair out of my face and opened the door.

"'Sup," Diego greeted me dryly.

"..Oh. Hey, Diego."

"And? Expecting someone else?" He wandered past me after giving me a nudge with his elbow.

"What? Pf— No!"

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure. I know you too well, Maxie."

"Almost thought you were gonna say 'Maxine'."

"No, I value my life, thank you very much! It's fancy to use in formal situations, though, isn't it?" he grinned. "But! If you're crushing on someone here, I'm gonna figure out who it is." He strolled in and whistled when he surveyed my room.

"Okay, no fair. How come you get your own private hot tub? Is it too late to trade?"

"You snooze, you lose," I stuck out my tongue.

Diego launched himself into the air and belly-flopped onto the neatly done bed, huffing with exhaustion. I plopped down beside him with a deep sigh and ruffled his hair.

"What a day..!"

"What youthink's going on here, munchkin?" I asked.

"I only know this because, as you know, I watch an unhealthy amount of movies— but remember how I was saying I wanted this week to be an adventure? One that'll stay with us forever?" Diego closed his eyes. "Maybe.. just maybe.. the universe is finally listening?" He snorted at himself not a second later. "Though, given my luck with the universe, I'll probably be back in reality come morning— Getting bullied again by the world. The usual."

The self-deprecating comment made my heart pang with hurt. Diego had a target painted on his back from the moment he entered elementary school, so some kids naturally threw derogatory names and slurs at him. He was Hispanic, into guys, came from a conservative family, came to school with hand-me-downs, you name it. The checkered shirt he wore was a gift from me, one of the few clothing articles that weren't secondhand. Bullies always found something to tease him about, and it destroyed his self-esteem. But I was always there to comfort him.

"Sometimes.. You just gotta force the universe to listen. Whether it wants to or not."

Diego laughed. "And you say I'm the ridiculous one?" and grabs a pillow from the bed, lightly whacking me with it. I fell onto the bed, submerging into the blanket.

The sound of something falling to the floor silenced us. "Huh?" I rolled onto my stomach and found an object fluttering to the floor. I unfurled an old, yellowed slip with notably worn edges. It looked decades old. Someone had written on it in beautiful looping ink.

"I must see you one last time before tomorrow.. Meet me at our spot in Neptune Cove. Midnight," I turned the paper around. "..It was sealed with a kiss. Here, see the lipstick?"

"There's more, look. But in different handwriting," Diego leaned over. "I'll be there. Huh. Steamy rendezvous if I've ever heard one. Neptune Cove's on the other side of the island, I believe. Real secluded. Could that be where everyone went?"

"I don't think so. This looks years old."

Just then, more pounding at the door drew our attention away. I hopped to my feet and opened it. This time, half the group had somehow found the penthouse I stayed in. Well, everyone saw me pick one of the fanciest keys, so I guess it wasn't much of a secret.

"'Sup, Max!" Raj greeted me with some others grouped behind him.

"What up, what up!" Craig hollered, holding a bottle of alcohol high in the air.

"We're heading to the pool to rage. Yeah, that's right. It's a Raj Rage!" Raj grinned.

"Weren't you all going to sleep?" Though, honestly, it didn't surprise me much that college kids stayed up to party instead.

"Pfft. We got all the time in the world to sleep," said Zahra.

"Shots up!" Raj uncorked a bottle and started pouring out drinks for everyone who conveniently traveled with their own stolen fancy wine glass. I felt Diego nudge my side again, jerking a thumb over his shoulder, where some colorful lights reached the balcony. I sidled over to the railing and went to peer down, where I spotted several of the group lazing around the pool area and setting up party lights.

"I was hoping this would happen," Diego whispered to me.

"Well, I don't know, it's late. And I wanted to take an early morning stroll," I wavered, as I always did. Diego knew I avoided wild parties.

"Come on, Max. You'll always have time to feed your morning stroll cravings. But we promised we would make the most out of this trip. I know you're not too fond of parties, but these are all people we know! Perhaps this one is different."

"So, Max, you're coming, right?" Sean peeked into my room. Suddenly, I felt much more inclined to accept. "Alright, fine," I said.

We headed down to the pool level, where Grace and Quinn were busy stringing up party lights. "Oh! There they are!" Grace grinned when she spotted Diego and me.

"Love what you've done with the place."

"We found all these in the supply shed by the towels!" Quinn hopped off the stool they stood on to hang up the lights, and her eyes lit up with mirth. "Grace rewired the circuits to make the lights sync with the music!"

"Not bad!" I said with a thumbs up before following Diego over to the poolside bar, where he leaned into the counter. We found Jake shaking up cocktails. "How'd they rope you into tending the bar, Jake? You lose a bet?" Diego asked.

"Pssh, as if I've ever lost a bet." He stood laggardly but pulled his lips into an amused grin. "You should'a seen the kinds of drinks these maniacs were pourin'," Jake pointed an accusatory finger at Craig. "For example, Drax over here just filled his to the brim with cinnamon whiskey."

"What? I call it the Aggro-Craig! That's my go-to!" Craig called indignantly from the seat beside Diego, finishing a gulp from his drink

Jake finished pouring the cocktail in a frosted glass and slid it down the bar into Craig's hand. "Try that."

Craig pushed the whiskey aside and slurped some of Jake's cocktail down. I guess it was pretty impressive since it left him with a bewildered expression. Or perhaps Craig was just easy to impress. "..Whoa. That just blew my mind."

"It's called a Sazerac. Consider yourself enlightened," Jake bent down into a bow.

"Can I get something?" I slipped onto a barstool.

"I'm gonna be pourin' drinks all night, aren't I? Okay, Princess, what's your poison?"

"Make a new drink! Inspired by me," I cracked a brief smile, lacing my fingers together on the counter.

"Inspired by you, huh? Hmm.." He held my gaze for a long moment, the beginnings of a smile forming. Before I returned it, he got to mixing. Having no knowledge of mixology, I could hardly accurately describe what the hell he was doing. All I knew is that soon enough, I had a fresh, strangely colorful drink gliding towards me. I put it to my lips and..

"Huh.. hard to describe. Salty and sweet, tangy and bitter, dry and fruity," I furrowed my brows, smacking my lips like a faux-alcohol aficionado.

"Yeah. It doesn't know what it wants t'be just yet.. but I think it has the potential to be anything."

I pulled a pleasantly surprised face. "That's.. surprisingly thoughtful, Jake."

"Y'had to go and qualify that with 'surprisingly', huh? I can't be 'typically' thoughtful?" He put a hand to his chest, feigning hurt.

"Nope! Thanks for the drink, Aragorn!" I walked off to mingle with the others with my new drink in hand.

I joined Diego, who'd moved over to the barbecue where Raj stood with a white apron hanging over his protruding belly. He was busy grilling what looked to be various skewers. "Behold the deliciousness that is shrimp and veggies skewers, Max!" He held out one of them.

"Bon appétit," I chowed down and immediately hummed in satisfaction, nodding to Raj approvingly, who grinned back.

"Seems like you're having a good night," Diego said as I took another sip of my drink, which I decided to name Maxa colada.

"It's nice getting to know everyone, actually," I replied, but Diego was busy peering past me over my shoulder.

"Max," Diego motioned for me to lean in.

"Look who showed up," he said, nudging his head towards the silhouette illuminated by the moonlight, almost ethereally so. "Estela?"

He nodded. She sat high on the hill that overlooked the party, watching it from a distance and framed by the starry sky. We coincidentally met eyes, but this time, it was she who looked away.

"Please watch my drink, will you?"

I hopped off my seat and plucked a blanket folded over a nearby lounge chair. I draped it over my shoulders and soon made my way towards her.

She sat perched at the sheer edge with her legs limply dangling over. I huffed cold breaths of air when I scaled up the hill. The rustling of footsteps behind her made Estela's attention veer over to me. "What is it?"

The monotony prompted a moment of silence. "Just thought you might want some company."

She gave no response besides releasing her fixed look and rotating it back towards the night sky.

"..Sorry to have bothered you," I gave in, getting ready to leave.

"No. Stay." Sincerity dripped from the curt words. I lowered myself down beside her, allowing my legs to hang over the cliff face. Far below, the Caribbean rolled soothingly against the jagged rocks. Estela's hair fell gently across her face in a way that still showed the reflection of the shimmering stars overhead in her dark eyes.

"I brought you something, if you're cold," holding out the fuzzy blanket to her, she instinctively recoiled.

"Why?"

"I.. don't know." I barely concealed the hurt on my face. "To be nice?"

Frankly, I felt guilty for having doubted her so. Judging by the look in Estela's eyes, she really did seem to be hurting. And apparently, she'd rather be in her own company than the company of the rest of the students, who I was sure would offer her a sense of togetherness she needed if she just asked.

Her shoulders sagged, and I noticed some tension dissolve. She accepted the blanket and put it over her shoulders.

"..Thank you."

Estela threw her head back to gaze longingly at the sky, where countless stars glittered across the dark. I felt myself copy the pining in my expression as we both stargazed, not wanting to break the spell that hung over the air— the photographic stillness with only the sounds of nature keeping us company.

But after a while, it was Estela who broke it. "Where I'm from, people don't do things for you without expecting something in return."

"Well.. maybe people just want to be liked in return?"

She gave a dull laugh. "Isn't that pathetic? How lonely we all are?" She turned to me. "But at least you're honest about it." And for the first time, I saw a smile treading Estela's lips.

Perhaps I was naïve, but I felt the way I doubted her before ebbing away like the waters below us.

We sat together in silence once more, letting the infinite field of the stars engulf us. It felt like I belonged there, strangely enough. A certain sense of longing after something you can't have. My chest shrunk as I gave a gravelly exhale and my breath coming as a cloud in the cold night air.

"You're cold, too," She noted, and before I knew it, she scooted over and wrapped the blanket over my back. Together, we huddled under it. "Thank you," I smiled, and she returned it.

Suddenly, a pair of shooting stars streaked across the sky. They vanished seconds later.

My hand shot out from under the blanket, index pointed. "Did you see that?" Never had I ever seen something so fairytale-like. The aurora, the shooting stars.. The island was as beautiful as it was strange.

But it was as if I offended her, since Estela abruptly shot up to her feet and yanked the blanket off. "I have to go," she paused for a moment. "Look, Max. The people in my life usually end up getting hurt. And I don't mean their feelings."

"Estela, wait—"

"You seem like a good person, see. Don't want that to happen to you."

She then turned and marched off, fading into the dark, leaving me alone. I waited a few minutes, hopeful she'd return. But it was a futile thought to begin with. After a short while, sloped down the hill back to the party, my feet dragging behind me.

Just then, I heard Craig bellow, "Watch this, everyone!" He clambered up the nearby gazebo and perched at the edge, readying himself to plunge in.

"Craig, that's clearly against pool regulations!" Aleister yelled.

"Oh, yeah? I see nothing that says 'No badasses allowed'!" With that, Craig launched himself into a cannonball and slammed into the pool. A tsunami of water hit and drenched anyone unlucky enough to stand by the poolside. Diego was one of them. "Pfffhfh..!" He sputtered.

"Don't worry, I'll get you some towels!" I volunteered, leaving the blanket somewhere and heading past the pool toward the supply shed on the beach.

As I treaded on, the overhead lights that flanked the path to the supply storage flickered, leaving wide pools of darkness. I idly kicked at some wacky-looking seashells, making a mental note to myself to collect some tomorrow. I pushed the creaky door open and began scooping a heap of towels into my arms until a strange rustling from outside the shed stopped me.

"Huh?" I waddled out with a stack of towels in hand and peered past the fence that divided the beach and rainforest, my eyes gradually adjusting to the dark. The moonlight didn't seem to penetrate the thick canopy, leaving whatever crinkled below the trees in the dark. I stepped closer.

A gasp got caught in my throat, and I threatened to choke on it. A sinewy silhouette with rippling muscles trotted closer. Its inhuman eyes glowed maliciously.

It came so suddenly, I couldn't stop myself from screaming. I instinctively dropped the towels and twisted my feet to bolt out of there. But in my haste, I failed to take into account the fact sand significantly slowed down my movements, so I instead lost balance and fell. It pushed the breath out of my lungs, leaving me gulping for air.

"Max!" My name rang in my ears. "Are you okay!?"

It was Sean and several others that came sprinting over and kneeled by my side. They followed my gaze into the dark rainforest. I stared, but the reflective eyes were gone.

"Max! What happened? Did you see something?" Quinn panted, evidently worried.

"What was it?" Jake demanded.

"I— I don't know.."

15