The next morning...

Finn POV

Philby and Jess were trying to figure out how to make breakfast out of pretzel packages and crackers they had found on the plane wreck, desperately preserving the rest of the food. Willa was sitting by them and chatting, but was absolutely useless with any kind of food. I decided I wasn't needed, so I wandered over to the shore.

The sand bent under my feet as I walked, crunching under my sneakers. Thankfully, Philby managed to find a few travel toothbrushes on the plane, otherwise my breath would reek. And as for showering...well I guess I'll just take a dip in the ocean later.

Two arms wrapped around my stomach, a body pressing against my back. Amanda rested her chin on my shoulder and looked out at the ocean.

"Hey," a smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

"Hey back," she whispered, moving so she was standing beside me. Since most people couldn't stay asleep, it was still early in the morning, and the sun was just rising over the horizon. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I looked over at her and smiled at the sunrise reflecting in her eyes. "Yeah."

She sighed. "People will come for us. Right?"

I shrugged. "Technically, we're in SBS. Our bodies are at home right now."

"Then how is it we aren't in DHI shadow?" she asked, bringing up a very good point. "There's no way there's DHI hologram supporters all the way out here."

"You're going to have to ask Phil about this, Manda," I shrugged again. "I'm not Mr. Science."

Amanda smiled. "I know," she said, wrapping one arm around my waist and pulling me closer to her, resting her head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but smile.

"Remember when we first met?"

Amanda looked at me with surprise. "You asked for my help with looking for the rest of the Keepers at their schools."

I nodded. "You know, you were about a head taller than me," I said, resting my hand on the top of her head and looking down at her. "Now look at you."

Amanda giggled. "You grew. I'm so proud."

I laughed with her, taking my hand off of her head. Amanda chewed on her mint gum she found on the plane, smiling up at me. "We'll get back, Finn."

My smile faltered. "Yeah," I said. "I know."

"We interrupt this deep Famanda moment to bring you this special announcement," a voice from behind us made us jump. We spun around to see Maybeck smirking, one arm around Charlene to keep him stable on his one good leg.

"Phil and Jess say it's breakfast time," Charlene rolled her eyes at Maybeck, bending under his weight.

"We now return to your previously scheduled deep Famanda moment," Maybeck added, earning a smack from Charlene. The two hobbled away from us, whisper-arguing, and I chuckled.

"I'm glad he can still make jokes," I said.

"Kinda helps us get through it, huh?" Amanda chuckled.

"Yeah," I looked up at the two of them. Charlene was helping Maybeck sit down before sitting beside him, joining the circle Philby, Willa, and Jess had started to make. Philby passed around open pretzel bags, with crackers mixed inside them. Jess passed around water bottles, warning everyone to save the water, just in case. I looked back at Amanda.

"We should join them."

Amanda nodded. "Yeah."

I started to walk over when Amanda grabbed my wrist. "Finn."

I glanced over at her. "Hm?"

She quickly rose to her toes, pressing her lips against mine. I jumped, and didn't have any more time to react or kiss back before she pulled away, grinning. It was a fast, gentle kiss, but it left its mark. She smirked at me and sauntered away, plopping down into the circle. I shook my head, chuckling and following her, my lips tingling.

Jess POV

I looked down at the sword beside me. I had washed it off in the ocean, so it was no longer rusty and bloodstained. The metal glinted in the sunlight of the new day as I snacked on pretzels and crackers. The crackers had gone stale, but I ate them anyway. I snorted quietly. Some breakfast.

"So, about getting off this stinkin' place," Maybeck said, with a pretzel hanging out from between his teeth. He leaned back on his hands.

"Obviously, the SOS isn't going to work," Philby motioned to the plane. "But surely there is a boat that will pass by this place. We can set off a signal."

"It could be months before a boat comes in visual distance of the island, though," Willa argued.

"This place doesn't seem like a well discovered island," Philby added.

"What, with the monster running around."

"Which could be monsters."

"Plural"

"Island of the monsters."

"Or maybe it's just some animals that haven't been studied yet. That sounds like the more reasonable explanation."

"In any case, it is best to get off as soon as possible."

"The plane's beyond repair."

"Along with the SOS signal."

"We think that maybe it sets off an emergency signal when the plane crashed."

"But if that's the case a rescue team should have come by now."

"But maybe they'll come today."

"Or tomorrow."

"But it's just a guess. We don't know that for sure."

"The plane has a very high technology base."

"It's hard for us to study."

"So our best bet is to just pray that a boat will come by."

"But we need a way to signal them."

"We found these on the plane," Philby raised a firework in his hand.

"If we could just get a flame started, maybe we can get their attention."

"Luckily, I learned about firework making in science. So I can just take these apart and reconfigure them to say SOS."

"If a boat passes by here."

"Which, as Willa said, could take months."

The both finished their little speech, catching their breath.

"Once more, in English?" Maybeck said after a long pause, earning a slap on the arm from Charlene.

"We have fireworks to get attention to be saved," Philby said, really slowly. Then, he moved his hands in a firework-like motion. "Boom boom brings boat."

"Oh shut up," Maybeck rolled his eyes.

"And if any more monsters DO show up?" I asked, interrupting their little nerd-fest.

"One: undiscovered animal specimens. Two: we have no choice but to fight them off," Philby said, motioning to my sword.

"Alright," Finn rubbed his palms together, assuming his leader role. "No one is to go into the forest without a partner. Number one rule of a Keeper."

"I think we should make it no one goes into the forest, period," Philby challenged Finn's leadership with logic. People nodded, agreeing with Philby.

Finn sighed. "Okay, no one goes at all. But on the shore, you still need someone else with you. Got it?" Another circle of nods was his response.

Hours Later

Maybeck POV

"I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry. You'll never last on this island," Philby said from behind me. I hobbled in front of him, leaning on my one crutch. We walked along the border of the forest and the shore. The fact that I couldn't see five feet into the forest even in this daylight irked me. I got bored so I said I was going to go exploring, but Philbo decided it wasn't safe and came with me, leaving everyone else by the plane.

"Yeah, well, maybe you could have snuck a few extra crackers there for me," I grumbled.

"I did."

I stopped walking -limping- and turned to Philby in surprise. "You did?"

"I did. I gave you half of my crackers."

My heart thumped. Philby actually sacrificed his breakfast for me? It was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me, but I wasn't about to go all weak and vulnerable. I turned my back to him before he could see my grateful expression. "Thanks, I guess," I said, monotone.

Philby chuckled from behind me. "No problem, man," I could practically hear his smile. Dang. He must have noticed my grateful-ness. I straightened my back and cleared my throat proudly.

"Whatever. Doesn't change the fact that I'm still hungry."

"Of course," if Philby knew how thankful I was, he sure wasn't showing it. "Doesn't change the fact that you're not getting anything."

"Ha-ha," I said, very sarcastically. "You're just hilarious." Something red at the edge of the forest caught my attention. Is it blood?!

I sighed with relief. No, it was just berries. Hey, BERRIES! Berries are food! I reached out for one and plucked it off of the plant with ease.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Philby smacked the berry out of my hand. "Even YOU are not that stupid! Berries can be poisonous!"

"But-"

"NO BUTS! I don't know what you think you were doing, but some berries are even poisonous to the touch-"

"But-"

"MAYBECK!"

"PHILBY!" I yelled. "LOOK AT THE BERRY!"

We both looked down at the berry, sitting in the sand. It was now twice the size it was before, so now it's like the size of a grape. Philby slowly bent down to examine it without touching it. "How does your hand feel?"

I raised my hand to look at it. "It feels fine?"

"No burning?"

"None."

"Huh."

I looked back down at Philby, staring at the berry as if waiting for it to grow again. "A berry that grows while it's not on the plant..." he muttered. "And it grows that big that quickly?" He looked away from the berry, standing up and looking at me. "It's impossible!"

"I dunno, dude. We both saw it with our own eyes," I shrugged before looking down at the berry and gasping. It was now the size of an apple. We both turned back to the plant the berry came off of. The rest of the berries were the same size they were before. When we looked back down at the berry I picked, it was now the size of a pumpkin.

"It only grows when it's off the plant, and when no one's looking at it!" Philby stared wide-eyed at the berry. It was smooth and shiny red, but other than its size it wasn't suspicious-looking. "We can't risk taking our eyes off of it. Who knows what could happen."

"Are you kidding?! Look at this thing!" I motioned to the pumpkin-sized berry. "It's big enough to share with everyone!"

"WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POISONOUS!" Philby yelled at me, still refusing to look away from the fruit. "We aren't feeding it to them."

"If we aren't taking it, let's just leave it," I shrugged. "What's the point of caring about it so much? We're going to get out of here soon, right?"

Philby sighed, then nodded, still staring at the berry. "I guess. And I still have to worry about changing the pattern of the firework."

"That's right!" I said, smacking him on the back. "Let's get going."

"I thought you wanted to explore."

"You don't know. The others may need me right now."

Philby finally looked back up at me, smiling. "Or me. I'm important."

"I beg to differ, Philbo."

"Maydork."

"Philharmonic."

"Macbeth."

Our name-calling continued all the way back to the plane wreck.

Well there's some Philby+Maybeck friendship for you. Is it obvious that they are my two favoritest best friend couple in this? I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH THE LITTLE BABIES!

Alright, remember to review or I won't write and everything will be sad :'(

ENJOY!