Okay this'll be the last time I update until Sunday! I'm just trying to get traction with the story going! Hopefully you guys are enjoying it!


Chapter Three

Six Months Earlier

"My sweet Bella," My father said as he gently stroked my cheek, "You look so beautiful."

I smiled, leaning against his hand, "You're looking pretty good yourself."

He chuckled, then winced and coughed. His little cough turned into hard wheezing. I rubbed his arm, waiting for the coughing fit to pass. When it finally did, he leaned back against the pillows. I got him a cup of water. He smiled and took a sip.

"Thank you," he said, handing me the cup.

"So, the doctor said the cancer seems to be calming down," I smiled, "I bet you'll kick it and be out of here in a week or two."

He smiled, but the smile was sad. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"I think you're going to be just fine," I said, trying to keep his hope strong. He had to beat this. I knew he could beat this.

"Bella, did that science program get back to you?" He asked.

"Oh yeah," I dismissively waved my hand, "Don't worry about it. I'm not doing it."

He slowly shook his head, "No, Bella, you need to do it."

"Dad, it's a nine-month program, I can't be away from you for nine months."

"You've been wanting to do this since you were sixteen. I don't want to hold you up Bells."

"I'd rather be here with you dad," I said, "I need to make sure you're getting better. That science program can wait."

"Didn't you tell me they only select five high school graduates to participate in the program? I remember how hard you worked for the program. The late nights you spent studying, the events you skipped, the volunteer programs. You worked so damn hard for this. Don't miss it on my account."

"Dad, I can't leave you like this," I said, "It's not worth it."

"Don't say that." He said, "It is worth it. I want you to go."

"It'll open up again next year. I'll do it then."

"Bella," He said, narrowing his eyes, "You need to go do this now. I know you won't be able to apply again until after you finish your bachelor's degree."

He must've read the confused expression on my face. His hand squeezed mine.

"I decided to read up on the program. They only take about twenty college students, but they have to have their bachelor's degree. It's an honor to be invited into the program now. I want you to do it."

"Dad I can't."

"I'm dying Bella," he said. I opened my mouth to argue but he stopped me, "You can't stop your life to watch me die. I want you to get out there and explore. I want you to have amazing adventures and meet wonderful people. Go discover something for me. Go live for me."

Present

I jumped awake, my heart beating quickly, and my eyes filled with tears. I placed my hand over my sweaty forehead, trying to calm down. Looking around my surroundings, I was momentarily confused about where I was. Then it suddenly hit me.

I groaned as I remembered I was on a stranded on an island with very strange things. I listed to the sounds of the island for a moment. I could hear, what I assumed, were birds chirping, but I could be wrong. Everything on this island was so strange.

I slowly pulled the blanket off from over me and looked around. The sun was very slowly creeping up from the horizon. The two moons were sinking down behind it. The waves were calmly lapping the shore as they were being pulled by the moons.

I took off my wet suit and laid in the boat underneath the blanket. As I was stretching, the hair on the back of my neck stood. I got that same feeling that someone was watching me again, a feeling that never went away until I had gone to sleep.

I decided to ignore the feeling. I wasn't entirely sure if my feeling was correct, and my main goal was survival. There were things I had to do in order to survive. I figured if there was someone watching me, hopefully they'd make themselves known.

I walked to the water and submerged my lower half. It felt good to relieve myself, but it was also nerve wracking as I went. I'd seen so many creatures in the water, lord only knew what hung out in the shallower parts of the sea.

As soon as I was finished I ran out of the water. The first thing I needed to do today was gather fresh water and bring it back here. Then I needed to find some sort of food.

I placed the two water bottles into the bag and began towards the freshwater spot. I looked at the trees I had marked yesterday with the knife. There was no mark. I stood by a very familiar tree that I was certain I had marked and looked at the spot.

I wondered why the marks had disappeared. I gently pressed my hand against the spot. It was very soft where I had marked. And when I pressed, it felt as though there was some kind of liquid running through it.

I took the knife and cut a little line into the spot. Immediately a clear, milky substance leaked out. It covered the line then began to bubble. I watched as the line slowly started to close.

"Wow," I said, "That's incredible."

Since the trees seemed to have some sort of self-healing adaptation, I put a mark into the dirt right in front of it. I made a deep arrow that pointed me in the direction of the watering hole. I did this to every fifth tree, to ensure I wouldn't get lost. It took me about an hour and a half to get to the freshwater, but at least I wouldn't get lost.

I first took a few sips with my hands. Once my throat was no longer dry, I dipped my water bottles in and filled them. I placed them into the bag and sat on the ground for a moment.

I leaned towards the flower closest to me and inhaled deeply. It smelt so amazing. Gently my finger stroked one of its petals. It was soft, like velvet.

I took a few deep breaths before getting up to look for food. I was only guessing, but typically, if there was a freshwater source, that usually meant there was some kind of edible plant around.

As I walked carefully through the jungle, I made sure to mark my route. I definitely didn't want to get lost so deep in this jungle.

I was walking for about twenty minutes when I came across a grove of like trees with hanging fruit. These were the only trees I had found with things growing from them.

I looked around before walking to the shortest one. The tree was still extremely tall, there was no way I could reach the fruit.

"How do I get to you," I muttered to myself. I looked around on the ground for a few moments before I spotted some pretty good-sized rocks.

I sighed softly. I wasn't really a good pitcher, but I was hungry. I could make it work.

It took me several tries, but finally, I struck the fruit hard enough for it to fall. I pumped my fist victoriously in the air as the fruit fell at my feet.

The fruit was soft, like a peach, but it was white with bright purple spots. I cut the fruit open with my knife. The inside was yellow.

I gave it a little sniff, then rubbed the inside against my arm. When everything looked as though it were okay, I took a little bite.

The texture was very interesting. It looked soft and mushy, but it had a soft hardness, kind of like cheese. Its flavor was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. It was both sweet and tangy. My stomach wheezed, begging me to take another bite.

I resisted the urge to gobble it down quickly. I ate slowly, making sure it didn't make me sick. I couldn't help the smile upon my face as I ate. It felt so good. Once I finished it, my stomach demanded more.

I ate three more before I was finally satisfied. Once I finished eating, I got a few more of them to fall off the tree and stuck them in my bag. I would ration these out, that way I didn't have to go into the forest every day.

I followed my path back out of the jungle. I knew I was getting close when I heard the waves. I was going to put my items into the cooler, I found a blue flower from the freshwater hole sitting on the bench of the boat. My eyebrows furrowed as I picked it up.

How did it get here? The watering hole was forty-five minutes away from here. I looked around; there weren't any footsteps in the sand, except for mine. I looked at the rest of my things. It did seem as though things had been moved around, as if someone was checking things out.

"Hello?" I called out, hoping someone would answer.

Not surprising, no one answered. There had to be someone on this island, but perhaps they were shy. I guess shyness was better than being hostile. Hopefully soon they'd reveal themselves and help me.

There was really nothing I could do, so I simply put my items away and grabbed my art supplies. I leaned against the boat as I flipped through my previous pictures. Yesterday I had started the sketch on the horned animal I had seen. I was nearly done, today I was just adding in some color.

Aside from biology, art was my second favorite hobby. I'd been drawing since I was a young child and I had gotten pretty good at it. Since I didn't have my camera, the second-best option was to draw everything I see. I thanked God I had enough sense to put my art supplies in the cooler with Eric's stuff.

Once I finished the horned animal, I thought of a name for it. I remember the animal being very graceful when it ran away, sort of like a gazelle. But it had those big, interesting antlers. It needed a name that was both delicate and powerful.

After several moments, I decided on the name Charlie. Kind of silly, naming the animal after my father, but in some strange way, it did remind me of my father.

The animal was big and powerful, yet also somehow gentle and delicate. All the qualities my dad had. I grabbed the locket that was hanging around my neck and smiled. I didn't bring myself to open it though, seeing his face would make me cry.

Once I finished Charlie, I began sketching the freshwater and the flowers surrounding it. As I was drawing, I could've sworn I heard the sound of soft footsteps against the sand. I turned my head quickly towards the jungle.

The footsteps were suddenly gone. I got to my feet and scanned the jungle, looking for whatever made that noise.

The footsteps sounded like they were made by two feet instead of four. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean it was human, but it was a good indication that it was human.

"H-hello?" I called gently, "Is someone out there?"

No one answered, but I did hear a strange sort of clicking sound. It was so faint; I wasn't sure if I really heard it.

"If someone is there, I really need some help," I said, "I'm not dangerous. I'm the farthest thing from dangerous," I added.

When nothing answered me, I felt pretty silly. I sighed and turned to the ocean. As I looked around, I spotted something black being pushed against the sand. I watched it for a moment, then realize what it was and excitedly ran towards it.

It was a large trunk that was as high as my waist. I recognized the trunk, it was from the boat I had been on, but I had only seen it once. It was the captain's trunk that had been in his room. I wondered how it got here. I didn't see it fall when I fell.

I grabbed the trunk and started dragging it to my boat. It was heavy and dragging it across the sand was truly a task.

I got it about halfway to my boat before I collapsed. I started coughing and trying very hard not to throw up. I took a moment to let my body relax. I wondered what was in this trunk to make it so heavy.

Once I had calmed down, I tried to pull it the rest of the way, but it had sunken down in the sand. It wasn't moving anymore. I groaned but moved onto removing the lock.

I took the knife and tried to pry it off, but when the blade started to bend, I decided to try another tactic.

I needed to find a rock so I could smash the damn lock. I ran into the jungle, searching for a rock that I could carry but was also big enough to break the lock.

I remembered seeing a bunch of rocks on my way to the freshwater hole. I found the large patch of rocks and started digging through them to find a rock that would work.

I finally found one that would work and ran back to the beach. I hit the lock until sparks were flying from it. I screeched loudly when it refused to break. I'll admit I lost it a bit and started wildly hitting the lock.

I cried out and fell backwards into the sand, huffing. I can't believe the damn lock didn't even budge. What the hell kind of metal was that lock anyway?

I wasn't exactly sure what was in the trunk, but anything would help. The one thing I knew that was in there was a radio. I distinctly remember the captain saying he kept a satellite radio if he knew he was going to die. It was able to reach his wife and kids, he said that if he knew he was going to die, the last thing he wanted to hear was his wife's voice.

I wasn't sure if the radio would work here, but I had to try something.


Hopefully this'll be enough to keep you guys happy until Sunday! Don't forget to leave me a little review and let me know how I've done. Of course, I did try to read back and catch any mistakes, but please let me know if I've missed any. Have a wonderful day! Check in on Sunday for a new update! (Please keep in mind, I might not be able to update every Sunday, but I'll try!)