Trees.
Rocks.
Dirt.
The scenery raced by in the dim, early morning light as the four figures ran. The branches flicking at their arms were ignored, as were the sharp stones beneath their feet. Humidity permeated the air, saturating their ragged clothes with sweat, sticking them to their skin.
This did not bother them. They were used to it. More than that, they had somewhere they needed to be.
Picking their routes carefully, they came to a sudden, sheer rock, about fifteen feet in height. Such an obstacle did nothing to deter them however, and one sprinted ahead, a man in a dark blue hood with a dark beard, sliding to a perfect stop in a crouched position at its base.
Working in perfect harmony, another – a man in a green hood with a shaggy beard poking out of it – upped his pace and leapt onto the man's back, vaulting off it and latching the top of the rock with his fingertips.
With incredible strength, he hauled himself effortlessly up, before reaching down and grabbing the wrist of a blonde woman in tattered clothes – the third of the foursome – and pulled her up too.
The blonde woman purposely left one of her legs hanging down, just low enough for a brunette woman to jump up and grab it. The brunette woman held out a hand to the man in blue and they all climbed up the cliff. Then the four found themselves on top of the cliff.
And there they saw it.
In the distance, about seven hundred feet off shore, was their salvation: a small fishing boat, patrolling the shallow coastal inlet for the day's catch.
After glancing at each other quickly, the four wasted no time running after it. They leapt over small boulders and tree stumps with ease, weaving back and forth in the undergrowth, ascending higher and higher all the way, until eventually, they came to what they were looking for:
A clearing, high above the nearby shore of the island they were on.
The man in green crouched low, unfurled a protective tarp and pulled from within it an ornate recurve bow. Holding the bow firmly in his left hand, he retrieved an arrow from the ground, before turning to his right and facing the man next to him.
"You ready?"
"As I'll ever be." He said
The man in green nodded, and took a deep breath before striking the arrow against a rock, igniting the material around its head in an instant.
Calmly, with a steely gaze, he drew the bow tight and took aim at a pile of wood strategically placed on the shore, in full sight of the boat.
The brunette woman stood on her toes and placed a feather light kiss on his cheek.
"You've got this…" She whispered
The faintest of smiles formed in the corner of his mouth. He closed his eyes. Felt the wind on his face. Heard the bowstring tighten.
Then he released.
He never broke eye contact as the arrow sailed through the air, impacting perfectly with the kerosene soaked wood pile on the beach, and the next instant it erupted in a fireball, lighting up the sky in a furious ball of light and heat.
The four shielded their eyes from the glare, and when it cleared, all that was left in its midst was the boat that was now changing its course.
It was now moving towards them.
The man lowered his bow, his eyes lingering on the approaching boat.
"Come on guys. We're going home." The blonde said
The four turned away and began making their way down from the lookout, towards the beach that the boat was now approaching.
They stopped along the way to retrieve one thing: a large green crate marked with Chinese symbols before continuing on, eventually emerging from the trees onto the sandy shoreline. They stood side by side holding hands as the boat made it ashore.
The Chinese fishermen looked astonished. And so they should have been. It did not seem believable that anyone would be able to survive on one of these islands in such desolate conditions, let alone four, yet here they were.
The men collapsed on their knees and removed their hoods, while the two girls remained standing and stared the fishermen down defiantly.
The fishermen quickly ushered the four castaways onto their vessel, wrapping them in blankets and offering them hot tea, which they all accepted gratefully.
Huddled closely together, the four locked eyes, silently conveying a message. A promise, one that was their duty to fulfill.
They watched the Island disappeared into the distance behind them. Five years worth of memories flooded their minds. Five years that was about to come to an end.
But as one journey finished, another was just beginning.
The name of the island they found us on is Lian Yu. It's mandarin for "purgatory". We've been stranded here for 5 years. We've dreamt of our rescue every cold black night since then. For 5 years, we have had only one thought, one goal... survive... survive and one day return home. The island held many dangers. To live, we had to make ourselves more than what we were, to forge ourselves into weapons. We are returning not the boys and girls who were shipwrecked but the men and women who will bring justice to those who have poisoned our city. Our names are Oliver Queen, Tommy Merlyn, Laurel Lance, and Sara Lance.