ALONE
Water washes against the white sand beach as the tide rises, dragging pebbles and bits of seashells onto the shoreline. Towering palm trees sway with the soft breeze that offers a small relief against the humidity. On the south side of the island, the sun shines brightly against the rocky cove where scraps of yellow canvas wave like flags in the air.
At the edge of the beach, beneath a cluster of trees, Hanna Marin sleeps soundly. Her hair is splayed out against a makeshift pillow constructed from a damp hoodie. With every breath, her chest rises and falls until her eyes start to flutter open. Caleb Rivers sits across from her, leaning against a tree trunk. He watches earnestly to gauge her reaction, holding his own breath until she finally opens her eyes.
Stirring, she scans her surroundings, taking in the clear blue water and vibrant, lush surroundings. The confusion is almost immediately apparent on her face and she squints her eyes until they finally land on the brooding dark-haired boy sitting in the shadows of a palm tree. Rage sets in when the realization hits her. They are stranded.
"What happened?" she asks, trying to find her bearings. "Last thing I remember we were getting on the plane and now I'm stuck here...with you."
His initial concern is gone as his gruff voice returns. Eyes narrow and he stares off in the distance, honing in far beyond the horizon. Before speaking again he clears his throat loudly.
"The plane malfunctioned," he explains. "I guess the current veered us off course from where the rescue team was."
"What?" she snaps at him. "How could they just leave us? Someone's got to be looking for us. Right?"
"Sure they are," he says with a shrug. "For a couple days, until they decide we're shark bait."
Hanna utters a gasp, clapping her hand over her mouth as if to quash the mere idea of not surviving.
"Don't say things like that," she chides Caleb. "Of course they're sending someone for us. I mean, our families won't give up-"
"Sure Princess," his words are piercing, "for you maybe. They're better off without me."
On that note he stands up, disappearing into the surrounding jungle before Hanna can even react. She's left wondering who he's talking about or why he thinks his family would never come looking for him.
Fed up with his negativity, she shakes her head, trying to rid him from her thoughts, and makes a valiant attempt to explore the island. But her legs are stiff from countless hours of drifting to shore, none of which she remembers. In fact, she's not even quite sure how she ended up on the beach, or how she woke up with her head lying perfectly against her balled up sweatshirt. She wonders for a moment before deciding it must be due to the delirium from lack of sleep.
When she finally regains feeling in her legs, she crawls to the edge of the water in search of hydration, only to spit the salty water back on the beach. She thinks back to her summers at camp, trying to remember any valuable information. She's still shaky and a little bit in denial of the circumstances as she crawls around the beach, slowly rising to her feet when she's finally steady enough. Her limbs are weak so she doesn't make it far but she ventures as deep into the jungle as she can, hoping to avoid Caleb and his grouchiness.
The humidity makes the clothes stick to her skin and she quickly finds herself out of breath and exhausted. The jungle closes around her and she takes refuge on an overturned stone. Wiping the mud and fallen palm fronds from the top, she sits down for a moment.
She listens as the water brushes against the rocks and tropical birds call out to one another. Sun shines through the palm leaves creating delicate patterns against the mossy terrain at her feet. From this part of the island she can see how the waves lap against the beach in the distance. If she wasn't so worried about getting back home and what her poor mother is thinking, this might be paradise.
Slowly fear creeps in and she wonders how long she'll be stuck on an unknown land in the middle of the ocean, if she'll even survive long enough to be rescued, or if she will live out the rest of her life in desolation. For a moment she remembers there's always Caleb, but he's about as receptive as the rock she's sitting on.
Still deep in thought, trying not to dwell on the grim future, she realizes the sound of running water doesn't come from the direction of the beach. Her head turns toward a flock of birds flying into a clearing up ahead. Slowly getting to her feet once again, she inches toward the sound, ears on alert to hear the slow trickle of water crashing against water. As she stumbles toward the sound, it gets louder until she finally sees the way the sunlight reflects against water, shining right into her eyes as she approaches.
When she nears the clearing, a waterfall comes into view, spilling into a sparkling pool of clear blue. A small cove forms behind the fall, likely from erosion, and she watches as the birds fly underneath, emerging drenched before flying up into the sky. Desperate for anything to quench her thirst, she slumps at the edge of the pool and cups her hands beneath the water before scooping it up to her lips.
It's not cool or crisp like she imagined but it's fresh and it does wonders for her cracked lips. Hanna drinks greedily, scooping it into her mouth at once, letting it trickle down her face and cool her skin. It's a small glimmer of hope in this treacherous place and once her thirst is satisfied, she peels off her clothes and jumps into the water to soothe her aching muscles.
That's when she notices the scratches on her legs and bruises on her arms. Still unable to recollect how she made it to the island, she tries to ignore the nagging feeling that something is horribly wrong, and instead focus on scrubbing the grime from her body. She cuts through the water with long strokes, like Emily taught her, until she reaches the waterfall, letting the cascade beat against her back.
She stays there for a long moment, refreshed by the running water, before she realizes darkness will fall soon and she needs to find shelter. Gathering her strength, she crawls out of the pool and makes a futile attempt at drying off before she changes back into the sticky, damp clothes.
But now, deep in the jungle she faces the harsh reality that she doesn't know her way back, so using the only trick she knows, she listens for the sound of rolling waves, little by little making her way back to the sandy beach. From there she can see the sun setting above the horizon, prompting her to search everywhere for shelter. It doesn't take long to realize options are limited and there is virtually no cover. A quick scan along the shore tells her bugs are starting to emerge along the shoreline but she doesn't know what lies beyond the jungle besides tropical birds.
For a moment she considers risking it, lying down amongst the leathery leaves and calling it a night, but the great unknown is more terrifying than a few gnats, so she balls up the damp sweater to use as a pillow and makes a space beneath the palm trees at the edge of the shore. Her wet hair clings to her skin and she pulls her knees up to her chest in an attempt to recreate some semblance of comfort but it's no use and she spends most of the night awake, ears tuned to pick up every sound, in fear of the creatures that hide in the shadows.
In the morning the blinding sun coaxes her eyes open. Her dry skin is cracked and itchy where the mosquitoes have bitten her in the night. She swats them away with her hand and struggles to sit up, a gnawing ache in the pit of her stomach reminds her she hasn't eaten in days. Her lips are dry again and thirst burns at the back of her mouth. Feeling sick, she lunges forward, heaving over the sand.
A curse escapes her lips and she pulls her hair behind her head, spitting the last bit of sick onto the beach before crawling to her feet. Her body is weak from lack of food and it takes every last ounce of energy to walk back toward the waterfall deep in the jungle.
When her feet finally hit the damp rocks at the edge of the water, she collapses to her knees and leans down to drink greedily. The warm liquid quenches her thirst and slowly eases her pounding headache but it does nothing to satiate the debilitating hunger in the pit of her stomach. The next step is finding food.
If her muscles are sore, her head is in even worse shape. It takes every effort just to think straight and even six straight summers of camp never prepared her for this. She sits down exhausted, scanning every direction for a source of food, but despite the lush greenery, the island doesn't provide much sustenance unless she expects to live off of leaves and wet bark. Finally, she looks up and squinting her eyes, hones in a bunch of peculiar looking leaves fanning out from the top of a tree.
"Bananas," she mutters when she finally makes out the shape.
Hanna looks up, it's not a tall tree but they are barely out of reach. Wrapping her arms around the trunk, she slowly shimmies up toward the peak. But it's hard work and she nearly falls right off a few times, cursing herself for always skipping the rope climb in gym.
After what feels like an eternity, she finally reaches the top, hoisting herself up to get some leverage. With her ankles locked around the trunk, she grabs ahold of the banana bunch and tugs hard, ripping them off in a clean sweep. The motion causes her to lose balance and she slides down landing painfully on her tailbone.
Hanna winces, biting down hard on her lip as every nerve in her body rebels. When the pain finally subsides, she turns to the stack of fruit next to her before greedily diving in. The bananas are nowhere near ripe, still green and on the small side, but it's food and familiar so she scarfs down three in a row until her stomach finally stops growling.
As her strength returns, she wanders the island for any glimpse of survival, careful not to press to deep into the jungle for fear of what dangers might lie ahead. When darkness starts to set, she makes her way back toward the beach and as she settles down on the bank she sees him.
Standing knee deep in the waves, Caleb uses a makeshift spear to stab at the water, presumably trying to catch a fish. With his back toward her, she scoots behind a tangle of trees, still unsure of whether he's an ally or a threat.
She wonders how he spends his days, where he goes since they never seem to cross paths. He doesn't sleep on the beach like she does so there must be shelter somewhere else. And he's got enough strength to be fishing. She thinks about the waterfall. Has he been there too? Does he know there's a fresh source of water on the island?
Her thoughts are racing, still trying to figure Caleb out, when she watches him finally land onto the shore in defeat. Frustrated, he chucks the spear down the beach and buries his face in his hands. For a moment she considers offering him some bananas, but he hasn't been particularly kind to her nor forthcoming with his own salvaged provisions. Plus, she saw the way he lashed out at the spear. She definitely doesn't want to be on the other side of that anger.
So she stays hidden behind the trees, watching his silhouette as the sun dips beneath the horizon. Eventually he gets up, brushing off the sand, and grabs the spear that landed ten yards down the beach. Leaning on the staff for support, Caleb slips into the jungle as the last dregs of sunshine fade away.
AN: I know this story starts a little slow but I promise it picks up soon and moves at light speed. Thanks for reading!