Replacements2- Part7

I felt like I was moving in slow motion as I swam frantically away from the sub. A thundering boom exploded from behind us, and I found myself underwater, surrounded by debris, desperately reaching for the surface.

Finally, I burst out of the water, sputtering and coughing, and grabbed a piece of foam floating nearby.

I scanned the surface for Jason.

Panic set in as I continued scanning, and shouting his name, only to hear the loud ringing in my ears caused by the explosion. I instantly dove back under the water, grasping in the murky water for him.

Finally, I felt a gloved hand, and pulled with all of my might, getting my companion to the surface.

To add to my horror, he wasn't breathing.

My eyes shifted to the island we had left behind in the distance.

"Hang on, Jason." I begged, as I wrapped my arm around him and tugged. I thought I could hear him coughing a response, but I wasn't sure if it was only my imagination.

I struggled for hours, pulling Jason's seemingly lifeless body along with me, until I crawled up and collapsed on top of him in the sand.

I was exhausted, but I couldn't stop. I had to get Jason breathing.

I tried not to panic as I pushed on his chest several times, and then sealed my lips around his, breathing air to fill up his lungs.

To my surprise, I felt his arms wrap around my back, pinning me in place, while he pressed his lips against mine. I was so relieved that Jason was alive, I didn't pull away immediately.

"I don't believe it. I leave for a few hours, and this is what I come back to?" An irritated voice called out from behind us.

I pushed myself back from Jason and looked up to locate the source of the voice.

"Mark?" I replied. I didn't know what else to say.

"Hey there, Skip. Long time, no see." Jason smirked.

I then realized that Jason had been playing me for a fool. I smacked him across the cheek and crawled off of him.

"You idiot!" I cried. "I thought you were dead! How long were you pretending to be unconscious?"

"Not long, Prin." Jason chuckled. "I was awake when you pulled me onto the beach."

"Jason, that was uncalled for!" Mark growled.

"Take it easy, Cap, I was just paying her back for her little shenanigans by the lake." Jason defended his actions as he sat up and brushed off the sand from his cape.

"And the kiss?" Mark's eyes narrowed.

"Well, her lips were already there, and you can't blame a guy for…"

"Jason, you had no right to worry me like that!" I interrupted, balling up my fists. Then, I turned my attention to Mark. "And you…running off without us…like you're a one man show or something. You could have been killed!"

It was all too much for me to bear. I turned away from them as tears began to form in my eyes, and ran down the beach to be alone for a while.

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I found a large boulder to sit on and gather my thoughts.

My lungs were sore from struggling through the water, and my muscles were tense and achy. I rubbed at the back of my neck.

How could Jason play a trick on me like that? I thought. I was so worried. I thought I had lost both Mark and Jason. They have no idea how much they've hurt me.

Then I thought about it from their point of view for a moment. I must've really scared them by the lake. I guess it's a bad idea to play dead like that. Now I know how it feels.

I looked out over the water and spotted something white being carried by the waves onto the shore. I walked over to investigate.

My wings… I thought, as I reached down and scooped it up. It had been shredded by the blast. They must've protected me.

I looked down at the rest of my birdstyle, and a blush rose to my face as I realized that it, too had been tattered, exposing more of me than I would like. I hastily tied what was left of my wings around me and tried to cover up as best as I could. Then, I decided to go back and face my comrades.

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I found Jason building a small shelter out of leaves and saplings.

"Here," Jason handed me some large palm fronds. "Make yourself useful."

I propped my hands on my hips in defiance. "You have some nerve, Jason!"

"Look, I'm sorry, ok?" He scowled. "I was only trying to teach you a lesson. I know I was kidding around at the lake, but you really had me worried. Don't do that again, alright?"

He dropped the palm fronds and hugged me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. "As long as you won't pull another stunt like that, Jase. I'm sorry, too, I've learned my lesson." I giggled softly.

I couldn't believe the hardened shell that was Jason had cracked that easily. He really cared about me.

Just then, Mark returned with an arm load of small saplings. "Getting into trouble again, Jase? I thought we had talked about that?"

"We're just calling a truce, Mark." Jason grinned, as we released each other and got to work on the shelter.

"Why do we need a shelter?" I asked. "Didn't you contact Tiny to come and pick us up?"

Mark shook his head. "I can't get through. I'm not sure if he's flying out of range, or if something is blocking the signal. We're building the shelter just in case."

"What about a signal fire?" I asked.

"It's been raining, everything's too wet." Jason stated matter-of-factly. "We'll have to let the wood dry out a bit."

I nodded and began weaving palm fronds together to make a roof for our little house. It looked like this island would be home, sweet home for a while.