SupernaturalKnight88: Thank you :)

TotallyLost: Thank you very much! I haven't decided yet on whether they're going to meet the original castaways… If they do it will be a lot further on into the story. Thanks again :)

A Leader

Amelia raised her eyes to Emma, who was sitting in front of her. Emma was still shaking; the incident with the Island Monster had left her terrified. Amelia let out a breath in a somewhat frustrated manner. She was not happy with herself for showing such cowardice and simply fleeing after they'd heard the Island Monster. Her arrogant, proud mind couldn't comprehend that she could have been killed, had she not fled.

However, when she looked over and saw Cliff and Collin, this shame vanished and reality stepped in. Collin frowned when he saw them. He hadn't expected to see them on the beach before they got there. "So what did you find?" he asked, almost disappointedly, for he thought she had found something and had hoped she wouldn't find anything at all.

Amelia faltered but, defeated, sighed and said, "Nothing." The back of Collin's mind was laughing with joy, but Collin's face contorted in anger.

"Nothing?" he repeated.

"What, do I have to spell it out for you?"

"How could you find nothing?" Collin cried, while Cliff tried to calm him down. "I don't even think you tried." Amelia shook her head and scoffed.

"Contradictory to your thoughts, we did try. But as soon as we started trying, we were almost killed." At this, Collin's face fell and his anger quickly vanished. Cliff suddenly looked concerned.

"What happened?" Cliff inquired.

"We were nearly eaten by a monster is what happened," Amelia spat, and as she recalled the terrifying event, her eyes flickered with a child-like fear that only Cliff could see. He had seen it many times before in his patients. Cliff shuffled a little uncertainly, unsure of whether Amelia had imagined it or not. But then Collin abruptly burst out laughing.

"You've got to be bloody joking!" he said. "That or completely out of your mind."

"Look, I'm not the only one who saw it," Amelia said defensively. "Emma saw it too. I have never believed in monsters, no, not even when I was a child. But this… there's no other way of describing this." Collin stared with frustration, unsure of whether he believed her or not. Cliff was looking at Emma for some sort of sign, but she just remained in her shocked, terrified state.

"Emma, is this true?" Collin asked before Cliff could utter even a word.

"Oh, shut up, Collin," Amelia snarled. "You know she won't say anything."

"Well she has to at some point!"

"And who gets to decide that? You? You talk to everyone around here like some dictator. I mean, I know I'm a bitch, but at least I'm not going around trying to screw with people's lives. But you… You expect people to follow in your footsteps."

Collin just stared as Amelia marched off, gesturing for Emma to follow. As Collin watched them walk off, Cliff stared at him. "Are you alright?" Cliff asked him. Collin didn't answer for a moment, but then turned his head slightly in Cliff's direction.

"In a situation like this, shouldn't you be asking Amelia that?" he said quietly.

"Perhaps in some cases," Cliff replied. "But you seem the most upset right now." Collin looked away.

Barely audible, he mumbled, "I'm fine."

"Are you alright, Collin?" a young woman asked. Collin looked up. He sat at the far end of a bench outside a church. He blinked slowly for a moment.

Then he replied, "What a funny question to ask at a funeral." The young woman sighed and sat beside him.

"You're not the only one that lost a brother, Collin," she said. "William was my brother too."

"Rebecca-!" Collin interrupted.

"What do you need, Collin?" Rebecca demanded, her voice rising above his. "Some time alone? Tell me what you need and I'll do my best."

"I need another brother," Collin grumbled solemnly.

"Collin…"

"Fine, you're right. I don't need another brother, I need another father."

"Collin, what are you-"

"You know as well as I that our father expects me to live up to William!" Collin cried. "But I'm not like William. I can't lead businesses or take charge of people or be the 'perfect son' that our father wants. That was William's job." Rebecca was silent for some time.

Then she said, "Collin… I think people will begin to follow you because William is gone. Even if you are nothing like William. And I'll try and speak with our father and see if I can have him talk to you. I mean, he's your father, perhaps you misunderstand his wishes."

"Don't," Collin said quickly. "Don't you say a word to him about me." Again, Rebecca was silent. When it was evident that Collin wasn't going to say anything further, she sighed, got to her feet and began to walk away. Then she stopped and glanced back at Collin.

"Take care, Collin," she said, giving him a firm nod. He watched her walk away, his eyes becoming both remorseful and bitter.

"Amelia!" a voice cried. Amelia looked up and saw Beth walking towards her, Mathew at her side. Glancing behind her to make sure Emma was still following, she approached Beth. "Back already, I see. Did you find anyone?"

"Did you really expect us to?" Sheer annoyance drove Amelia to say it, though she knew that it must be natural for Beth to be hopeful.

"So that's a 'no' then?" Beth confirmed, the hope draining from her face.

"Yes, but I think we may have found a friend. He's over one hundred feet tall and feeds on humans, but hell, I don't discriminate against height-challenged relationships." Amelia glanced down and noticed Mathew. "Speaking of height-challenged…"

Beth, who didn't approve of Amelia's comment, but didn't want to start an argument said, "The poor little guy hasn't said a word all day."

"Oh, is that so?" Amelia said, making the funniest face and turning to Emma. "It's a match made in heaven, Kid!" The shock had finally worn off and Emma gave Amelia an indignant glare. Amelia grinned before turning back to Beth. Then she frowned. "Where's Giles?"

"Oh, he went off to find Todd. You see, we hadn't seen Todd all morning and we were afraid something might have happened to him. So Giles went off to find him."

"Well he shouldn't have," Amelia responded. "We'll be lucky if something happens to Todd."

"Amelia!" Beth reprimanded quietly, unable to hold it back.

"Oh, come on. We both know that there are some people on the island that we just don't need."

"Like you!" Mathew cried suddenly.

"He speaks!" Amelia glanced back at Emma and with a shrug said, "Sorry 'bout your luck." Emma sighed and rolled her eyes. Amelia smiled for a brief second before she saw Cliff approaching.

"Hello, Beth," Cliff greeted, smiling pleasantly.

"So where's Hitler?" Amelia interrupted.

"Collin's spending some time on his own for a bit. He's a bit upset." At this, Amelia became enraged.

"He's upset?" she cried. "The last time I checked, he wasn't the one who was chased by a monster!"

"So what exactly happened when you encountered this… monster?" Cliff inquired. Amelia's eyes grew dark.

"You don't believe us."

"I do believe you. It's just hard for me to tell what went on when all you say is that it chased you."

"Well, that's basically all it did," Amelia insisted. "The ground started shaking and there was some kind of mechanical roar… And then Kid ran off and I chased after her and then the trees started moving and when it all died down, we ran back to the beach."

"Then how do you know it wanted to eat you?" Cliff chuckled. Amelia's face was as serious as death.

With grave conviction, she said, "If you were there, you would know."

Collin stormed through the jungle. "A monster," he said to himself angrily. "What rubbish! She's only trying to cover up for her own uselessness!" As Collin thought of the word "uselessness" he was struck with a painful memory…
"Collin! Get back here!" Collin glanced back and scowled when he saw it was his father.

"What do you want?"

"God damn it, Collin, you are a bloody fool, aren't you?" his father shouted. Collin stopped as his father caught up. "Well, that was a terrific riot you started, wasn't it!" His father's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"I told you not to make me lead that meeting!" Collin cried.

"Oh, please! You didn't even try!"

"I did try! I just can't do things like this, alright?! I'm not-"

"William?" his father interrupted. "Yes, your sister told me about your concerns about living up to his name."

"Damn it, I told her not to!"

"Well, I'm glad she did because you're wrong. I do not expect you to live up to William." This took Collin by surprise. He stared for a moment.

"You don't?"

"Of course not. The simple fact of the matter is that William was the successor and you are the failure. You could never be him, and you're not going to do anything here. You're for show." Collin felt numb. He mentally slapped himself for not expecting the insult. "You aren't here to do anything but keep the bloodline running in this company."

Collin suddenly felt a rage in his heart that he had never felt before. "Why does this company need your bloodline?!" he cried. "Why couldn't you have just let me do what I've wanted to do all these years? I was never in to business or politics! I wanted to go into the medical field like Rebecca! I work well with animals; I could have become a vet!"

"A vet is no living, Collin."

"Say that to the bills I'm paying for my hound."

"Collin, you're here now, so there really is no turning back," his father insisted.

"And I wish I'd never gone this far!" Collin shouted. Then they were both silent. Collin's father was regarding him and Collin was stubbornly trying to avoid his gaze.

Then his father said, "Collin… You will live a life of luxury while in this company and you won't have to do a bloody thing. All you have to do, really, is come to these meetings and act as though you are in these corporate affairs."

"And I don't even know how to do that," Collin grumbled.

"And so I'll teach you… Collin, I have everyone I could possibly need and more to make it look like you're doing a fine job leading this company. Perhaps even better than your brother, for he left with some excellent, unsaid ideas that he has now passed on to me. You just need to act the role of the leader."

"And what if I fail?" Collin demanded. His father stepped closer to him, now with a somewhat threatening air.

"Then prepare to fall like great Caesar fell when he was betrayed," his father warned. Collin watched as his father swiftly turned and walked into the elevator. He gave Collin a slow and firm nod… which Collin reluctantly sent back…

Collin let a bitter sigh escape his lips. However, when a sudden rumble was both heard and felt, Collin froze. Without moving an inch, his eyes scanned the dense jungle. His whole body tensed; every muscle from head to toe clenching up. Breaths coming out short and quick from his flaring nostrils, he warily and hesitantly inched a foot forward. And then…

BOOM! The sound came so abruptly that Collin flinched and nearly cried out in surprise. Then he threw himself forward, adrenaline pounding in his ears. The ground began shaking and the trees around Collin began to shake as well. Collin skidded to a halt and looked around him helplessly.

And before Collin could make sense of what it was, trail of black smoke suddenly shot towards him. He ducked just in time as it passed. But the smoke continued on, as if unaware that it had nearly struck Collin. Collin stared after it in wide-eyed horror.

It was nightfall, and Todd and Giles still hadn't returned. Everyone seemed very worried. Everyone except for Amelia, that is. Cliff eventually gave up watching for them and sat across from Amelia, the crackling fire sitting between them. "Aren't you even a little worried?" Cliff questioned.

"Nope. They'll be fine. At least, Giles will."

"How do you know?"

"Giles is one of those guys… He's the kind of guy that everyone knows will survive. He's very nonchalant, but he's strong and can be assertive when he needs to be. Trust me, I can read people like books."

"Sometimes they're more complex than you think," Cliff pointed out.

"Sometimes," Amelia replied simply. The air outside the proximity of the fire was becoming cooler as the night progressed. The waves were low and calming. Beth and Mathew had gone to bed, exhausted from the heat and sun that they had received throughout the day. Emma sat off on her own, reading a book she had found from the wreckage.

Eventually, becoming bored, Cliff asked, "So, do you have any family? You know… back home."

"Well, my parents are dead. Mom got cancer and dad was shot on duty; he was a cop. Who knows where my older brother went off to and my younger brother still contacts me from time to time."

"What about a husband? Kids?" Cliff pressed on, trying to start a conversation. Amelia hesitated and was reluctant to answer. But she had a strange feeling that Cliff was a good-listener, and was used to listening to people's problems.

"I had a fiancé at one point… He died in a car crash. And… and I almost had a child. But it died while inside me. It never got to see the world, not even once." There was a bitter remorse in Amelia's voice. But, remembering herself, she cleared her throat and cast the memories away. "What about you?"

"No," Cliff answered. "No, I never had a wife. Or kids."

In a situation like this, one would normally say something like, "That must have been so lonely." But Amelia had been faced with loneliness a lot in her life, and so to her it was a natural feeling. Therefore, she did nothing but give him a nod. Exhaustion seemed to get the best of them, for their shoulders slumped and they were silent for quite a while.

But when they heard something in the jungle, coming their way, they immediately sprang to their feet, preparing for yet another conflict. "Giles?" Cliff called. "Todd?" To their surprise it was Collin that stepped out from the trees, breathing heavily. "Collin! I had been wondering when you would come back."

Collin numbly nodded, his eyes wide. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. "I think I've had enough time on my own," he stated.

"Well what happened while you were out there? Cliff inquired.

"What happened?" Collin repeated, obviously in shock.

"Yes, Collin," Cliff persisted. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Collin suddenly turned to Amelia.

"I saw your monster!" he cried. A grin full of satisfaction spread upon her lips.

"Are you sure?" she asked him sarcastically. "I may have been hallucinating, you know."

"Enough!" Collin cried. "I get it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry to both you and Emma. So it is real. So we live on a god-forsaken island with a monster! Now what?"

"Now we know what we're up against," Amelia said. "Now we can try to find our feet and live on this damn island."

"Speaking of which," Cliff spoke up, remembering what he and Collin had found earlier, "we found a stream. It's not too far from here and it will be a perfect place to live. We'll need all the fresh water we can get."

"Good," Amelia said with a nod, and for what seemed to be the first time since they'd arrived on the island, Amelia wasn't being sarcastic. She gave a small smile. "That's very good."

Yay!! Another chapter done .. :)

Review please!