"Psst... Charlene! Wake up! Wakey Wakey!" she heard a persistent cooing coming from her right side, and having been on two national tours with that voice, she knew this it's owner immediately.
Maybe if i ignore her, she will go away.
"Is she up yet?", she heard a second voice whisper-yell a few feet from her left, this also was a voice she could easily identify.
"No!" the first voice called back, "Maybe we should get some water and we coul-"
"I'm up! I'm up" Charlene Kaye shot up to a sitting position, and watched as a wide-eyed and shocked Lauren fell from a crouched stance to flat on her bum.
"Do you wanna go exploring with us?" Brian whispered mischievously, his gray-blue eyes twinkling with prospective adventure.
The young musician nodded. She smiled to herself; even when thrust into uncertainty and danger, her friends always found a way to keep things fun.
Picking herself up off the beach and dusting of countless tiny grains of sand from her rumpled attire, Charlene followed Brian off towards the treeline.
"It smells really good in here!" Lauren murmured to herself, Charlene watched Brian smirk at her attics from the very front of their little line.
But she was right, it did smell nice. The tropical forest was filled with brightly colored flowers and vibrant green leaves, there was a coating of water over everything because of the thick humidity. It smelled fresh. There was a hint of saltiness from the beach which only gave the illusion that their group was on vacation as opposed to being stranded.
"Let's go this way!" Brian called out from the front, he gestured slightly right of their current path. Veering off in that direction, the three walked in silence; each thinking over all that has happened, still in relative shock by the events of the past 24 hours. Eventually Brian and Lauren got to discussing various unimportant events, however, Charlene chose not to participate, enjoying the soothing sounds of the jungle and peacefulness of her body.
"Wait guys..." Charlene stopped suddenly. Blue and brown eyes whipped around to face her.
"Do you hear that?" she asked them.
"Yea..." Lauren listened, her face concentrated on the sound, "This way!" Suddenly the tiny brunette was in charge of the exploration. Leading her two friends further inland, and further right, the rushing sound grew stronger. Lauren's face quickened, Brian tripped over a branch, and Charlene placed a hand on his shoulder to straighten him out.
By the time they had looked up again, Lauren had disappeared through the dense foliage and hilly turf.
"Lo!" Brian called to her.
"Guys! Come here I found something important!" The two looked to each other for a split second, judging if either of them knew what it'd be. When they were met with the same look of uncertainty, the duo scrambled towards their small friend's voice.
When they reached her she was standing ankle deep in cool running water, upstream there was a fantastic waterfall, standing about 20 feet tall.
"Woah..." the man's eyes grew wide as he surveyed their beacon of hope, "It's freshwater right?" He asked the smallest who was still splashing along the muddy banks.
Without facing the rest of the exploration party, she bent over and scooped some of the crystal liquid into her palm and brought it up to her lips. She smiled as the cool taste flowed over her tongue before running smoothly down her dry throat. She nodded back to them and smiled a smile that never quite reached her eyes.
-
Ripped from dreamland, Jaime scrunched her eyes even tighter. Even with her baby-blue's closed, the sun's powerful beams were shockingly bright. Blinking a few times she eased herself into an upright position. She surveyed the area around her; a lot of her friends were still encased in a deep slumber, though some of them seemed to be out and about. Where Brian, Charlene, Julia, Lauren, and Darren were there was now emptiness. She slowly forced her sore body to its feet, and was delicately stretching her back when she heard Joe stir down and to her left.
He, like herself, had squeezed his eyes shut tight against the sun. She saw his right arm shoot out to the right, and feel around for the small body that should have been there. Jaime smirked but remained silent. When his fingers found nothing but the sandy blanket, he jumped into a sitting position and his sleep-laced eyes were suddenly wide-awake.
Noticing Jaime, and her bemused expression, he dropped his previously panicked expression and ran his fingers through his light brown hair, trying to play it cool. He cleared his throat, "Morning, Jaims."
She laughed softly, "Morning, Joe", she smiled sweetly down at him, "Wanna take a walk with me?"
"Sure!" The two walking in companionable silence down to the water's edge. The stood for a few minutes, each deep breathing the salty air. Both pairs of blue eyes scanned the horizon, trying their best to look beyond the turquoise waves. The warm water lapped around their bare feet, and dragged the slushy sand beneath them out to its depths, causing the pair to grew shorter and shorter with each passing crash.
"Where-?" Joe broke the silence, beginning to ask the question that had been plaguing his mind.
"I don't know where Lauren is, if that's what you're asking." The corners of her lips twitched as he scoffed at her for making such an accusation, though, the pink tips of his ears, told her it wasn't as ridiculous as he wanted her to believe.
"I don't know where, Brian and Charlene are either. I saw Darren and Juls talking to some people further down that way." Her gaze had returned to the ocean, and she limply raised her right arm in the direction she had seen their other friends.
Just then a young woman of about 17 or 18 approached them. She looked a bit hesitant to interrupt.
"Erm... Hi!"She approached the two slowly, raising a hand to brush her bangs out of her blue-green eyes with her pointer finger, she shifted her feet nervously, "I, um, found this on the beach last night, and I know Darren plays, and I have asked a few people, and they say it isn't theirs and so I was thinking it might be his or Clark's, and even if it isn't I was wondering if you guys might want it." She began babbling uncontrollably, releasing a string of words in one breath, and holding out a black guitar case, that they presumed held the string instrument.
The two friends smiled at the girl, "Thanks! I think this is his, actually!" Joe took the hold of the handle, "You sat across the aisle from us, didn't you, on the plane?" He asked her.
Her eyes shone, and her lips curved into a small smile as she nodded, "I'm Kelsey," She stuck out her small hand in greeting, "Sorry for being so weird, I am a huge fan!"
Jaime shook the girls hand with a smile, as Joe chuckled at her excitement.
"It's nice to meet you Kelsey."
-
The sun was beginning to sink on their second day on the island. Where was their rescue? Why was it taking them so long to find them? The survivors of the crash once again were sitting together around a giant fire. It had been a long day. Seemingly longer that the day before, which they thought, was the longest any of them had ever or would ever have. But there had to be something about 100 degree heat, little food or water, and about 50 strangers all recovering from a traumatic experience that seemed to add to the 24 hours.
But there was some good that came out of the day. A freshwater source was discovered as well as a mango tree, and new friends were made. All usable supplies and luggage from the crash was swapped around so people could find clothes in their size, or tools a group needed. For the most part, people seemed to come together and to put aside differences so they could all survive until help came.
When Charlene, Lauren, and Brian had returned, with their discovery of fresh water, the survivors had made their decision to move camp down the beach, closer to the waterfall, the next day. Then they could cut a path into the jungle for easier access to drinking water.
James, the elderly man with the thick gray moustache who sat next to Joe the night previous, had become a sort of agreed upon leader. Julia, not to her friend's surprise, also stepped forward to help organize the people of the crash.
"How's my favorite girl doing?" Joey stepped over the log, and plopped his rear-end down beside Jaime, crooked grin fully intact.
"Fine, I guess..." She sighed, though her heart was a flutter at his words.
"Just fine?" His once playful tone, turned to one of mild concern. But the question was never answered.
"Hey guys, can I sit with you?" Lauren's usual cheeriness was replaced with one of defeat and exhaustion. Sitting herself down in the sand at their feet she rested against Joey's long legs, and stared blankly into the fire.
"Hey... what's wrong?" Jaime asked her, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.
"Nothing, I am just tired is all."She mumbled, toying with her fingers. Jaime and Joey both looked at each other, 'Do you know what's wrong?' 'No'.
"Okay then..." Jaime gave a weak attempt at starting a conversation, "Joey, whatever hap-"
"Excuse me, could I please get your attention?" James stood in a small gap of the circle, he had a slight accent that told them he was probably from a southern state in the US.
The circle seemed to quiet down, and Lauren and Julia exchanged looks from across the flames, asking silently what was going on.
"Thank you, thank you", he smiled as he looked around the circle, and although they could tell it was a genuine smile, there was lingering sadness in his hazel eyes, "Now, I was thinking it might be nice if we all go around and introduce ourselves. None of us know how long we will be here, but I think we should take the chance and get to know each other." As cheesy as the idea was, it was a good one. These people were like new neighbors and I would be great to learn some things about them.
James looked expectantly around the group, and when all was silent, he spoke again. "I will go ahead and start, then... My name is James Moran. I owned a very small farm in Missouri for most of my life, and I was on my way to Australia with my wife, as it was on both of our Bucket Lists." His voice had started strong, but grew faint as it drew to an end. Clearing his throat, he gave an indication for the next person to start.
"I'm Jackson McKay... I, uh, am an aspiring filmmaker and was heading down-under for my next project." Jackson was a good looking man of about 27, with a decided jaw and dark wavy hair. He wore a simple faded red t shirt and black shorts, and smiled around the circle of people as he spoke.
Next was a middle-aged couple going to visit their son, then a single parent and their 12 year old son, a pair of newly-weds going on their honeymoon.
"Elinor Horning, I was on my way home from a vacation with my children. My twins; Vera and Trevor, are asleep right now, but they are quite the masters of comedy!" The australian mother smiled to herself when thinking of her little angels, "My husband luckily took a plane back home on Tuesday for work." The smile was gone and her pretty face was mared in anxiousness, she ran a hand through her blonde hair, and turned expectantly to the next person.
It was another blonde, but she didn't seem to be nearly as nice. "Hey! My name is Robyn Wormley." It was the flight attendant who Lauren had accidentally bumped into before the crash. She was taller, about 5'9" and only seemed able to smile when she was being flirtatious. She had sharp eyes, and a slightly hooked nose. " I am a flight attendant, and was captain of the cheerleading squad in high school!" She grinned broadly, expecting everyone to be impressed. Joey felt Lauren stifling a laugh against his shins.
"Joe Walker," Joe was next, he raised his hand a bit in introduction, "Me and my best friends formed a small theater company out of college, and we were flying to Australia as part of a national tour..." He drifted off when Robyn let out a high pitched, and quite fake, giggle.
The next few people took their turns; Julia, Clark, Liam, Meredith, Brian, and Dylan among them. Each said things simliar to Joe's.
"I'm am Kelsey Kort... She glanced around nervously, but brightened considerably when she noticed Jaime and Joe smiling her way. "I was going to visit my grandma... She, um, well, she is really sick and I am really close to her." She finished awkwardly. She looked even younger now. Kelsey had pale skin, and long brown hair that turned almost gold in the light. She had large blue-green eyes and a pointed chin. She was average height, maybe 5'5", but had naturally small bones that made her appear more petite. She had a cute impish smile and had each of her fingernails painted a different color.
Next was Darren, whom a lot of the survivors had recognized, followed by Charlene. There was a man on his way to a business convention, a pregnant woman going to meet a couple who was to adopt her baby, and a group of friends taking a trip together.
The game continued; each person spoke, and everyone listened. They were still trapped, and scared, and lost. But now they were no longer among strangers. Now, they were no longer alone.