Desolation, J. B. Everett [reading a book txt] 📗

The thirst that I am feeling is becoming unbearable. Must. Stop. Thinking. About. Cold. Water.

"Well today was a success" Ian says caustically.

"Hey, at least we found something. The security camera"

"Well would you rather have a security camera or fresh water?" Ian says, glancing at me.

"What do you think?" I reply, rolling my eyes again.

We continue to walk, in silence until I say, "What if there's no fresh water on this island?"

Ian looks at me, then replies, "There's always fresh water somewhere on an island of this size. There has to be a river or a lake or something. I know it"

I hope so. Because if there isn't, we are all going to slowly and painfully die of thirst.

A few minutes later, I ask Ian if he knows where he is going. He immeadiately snaps back that he is good with directions and knows the exact path back to the beach. I have no clue how he knows where we are going because every inch of the jungle looks exactly the same to me.

We finally arrive back to the beach just when it is dark. The group is still at the same spot and they have lit a bonfire. When they see us walking towards them, they all look up.

"Did you find any water?" A boy asks eagerly.

We both shake our heads no. Everyone looks utterly defeated.

Tristan walks towards us.

"Did you find anything out there in the jungle?"

I am about to open my mouth and mention the security camera that we found when Ian abruptly says "Nope"

I turn and look at Ian and he looks at me. He has a look in his eyes that says "Don't say it" I immediately close my mouth.

"What were you going to say?" Tristan asks, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Uh...um...just that there are a lot of trees"

Smooth.

Tristan stares at me for a second, then nods. My cheeks burn bright red and I swear that I hear Ian snicker.

"Well we'll have to keep looking tomorrow. For now, we should all get some sleep" Tristan says.

We walk back to the rest of them. I know that I won't sleep at all tonight. There is just too much on my mind and I feel so out of place. People are already sprawled out, laying down around the fire to go to sleep. I sit down on the sand then lay down. Exhaustion creeps into my sore and aching body. I see Ian walking away towards the water and I call out, "Where are you going?"

He turns around, then says, "Away from you all. I want to sleep alone by the water"

I don't respond, but I don't blame him though. He turns around and continues to walk away.

I try closing my eyes, but crackling of the fire is too loud. And although my body is exhausted, my mind is wide awake, trying to sort out of the questions in my head that are exploding like fireworks. An hour goes by, and I am still laying there, wide awake. I sit up and look around at everyone else, who all appear to be sleeping. I then turn and look down at the water, seeing the dark silhouette of Ian. I guess I'm not the only one awake because Ian is sitting up. Since I have given up on trying to fall asleep, I stand up and find myself walking down the beach towards Ian. Once I reach him, I sit down next to him.

"Can't sleep?" He asks.

"No, of course not. I don't know how anyone can" I reply.

The waves break against the shore, creating a soothing sound to fill the silence between us.

Finally, I say, "Sorry for coming down here. I know you wanted to be alone and all but..."

Ian breaks me off.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind"

We sit there, staring out into the endless abyss of the dark ocean for what seems like an eternity. Somehow, I feel calm. Maybe it's the water, or maybe it's being with someone who isn't asleep like the others. Whatever it is, I want it to stay.

"We're going to feel like shit tomorrow" Ian says, breaking the silence.

I laugh slightly, but then realize that we are really going to feel like shit tomorrow if we go another day without food or water.

"I'm going to try to rest for a little" I say, laying down. If I can at least get one hour of sleep, I might feel slightly better. I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind. Now that I feel a bit more calm, the firework show of questions and thoughts that was exploding in my head before has died down. Finally, I feel sleep beginning to come on, and before I know it, I drift off into a dreamless void. Chapter Six

I am laying down on a hard bed. Bright white fluorescent lights shine from the ceiling, not helping the dull throbbing in my head. I feel lightheaded and dazed, as if I have just woken up from a deep sleep. Suddenly, someone is leaning over me, wearing a surgical mask and a white lab coat.

"Hello?" I say, my voice ragged.

The person doesn't respond and continues to scrutinize me with dark, beady eyes. Suddenly, another person appears, also wearing a mask and lab coat.

"She's ready to be put out" one of them says in a muffled voice.

"What do you mean?" I ask, panic rising in my voice.

All of a sudden, I see a long, sharp needle coming right towards me. Coming closer and closer towards my neck until...


"AHHH!"

I wake with a start, jolting up. I am panting, and Ian is staring at me.

"What the hell just happened?" he asks.

"Bad dream" I respond quickly.

He nods, still looking at me.

"It felt so real, I almost thought that..."

No, it couldn't have been a memory. I still can't remember anything except my name.

"What was it about?" he asks.

"I...I was on this bed, in some sort of hospital room or something. And...there were these two doctors. And then..."

"Then what?" Ian asks, looking at me intently.

"They...injected a needle into my neck" I immediately reach up and rub my neck, cringing at the thought of a needle stabbing into it.

Ian is silent for a moment, thinking. By the look of the dim, hazy grey sky, it is just about dawn. Turning around, I see that all of the others are still sleeping.

"Do you think that's it's a memory?" Ian asks.

"I thought it might be, just because of how real it felt. But I guess I can never be sure" I say.

A few moments later him if he slept at all. He says no. I tell him that he should get some sleep, and he says no again. Well at least I can say that I tried to help him.

I lay there for another hour or so, until it's morning. Today, thank god, the sun is not beating down on us. The sky is filled with dark, ominous looking clouds. I pray that it will rain because rain means fresh water.

I turn around and see that the others have just woken up. I see Tristan look around, then spot me down by the water with Ian. I can't tell, but I almost see a look of jealousy flint across Tristan's face for a moment when he looks at us.

"We should probably go back to them" I say.

"Why?" Ian asks.

"Because, we can't just sit here excluded from everyone else. We all have to figure out what to do together"

He sighs, then stands up, stretching. When he stretches, his T-shirt lifts up, revealing his rock-hard, perfectly toned abs. I find myself staring at them, then I quickly look away, blushing.

"What?" he asks when he sees me turn away.

"Nothing. C'mon let's go" I blurt out.

When I stand up, I immediately feel dizzy and a wave of nausea passes over me. It must be the lack of sleep and dehydration combined that is making me feel like I got hit by a bus.

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We walk back towards the others, who are now all up.

"What were you two doing over there?" Jessica asks in her high-pitched, obnoxious voice.

"None of your business" Ian snaps at her.

Jessica eyes the two of us, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey, why did you leave?" Tristan asks me.

I really don't feel like talking at all right now. If I speak, I might vomit. My head is now spinning, so I sit down on the sand.

"Are you okay?" Tristan asks, kneeling down next to me.

No. I feel like absolute shit and I'm pretty sure that I am going to die of dehydration if I don't get water within the next hour.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I lie.

Suddenly, a there is a low rumbling sound that reverberates through the air. Thunder. A storm. Rain.

"It's going to rain!" someone shouts excitedly.

Then, there is another rumble of thunder, this time much louder. The rain should be here any minute now. The thought of water in my mouth makes me giddy with excitement.

A drop of water lands on my shoulder. Then another. And another. Until suddenly the sky opens up and rains pours down. I stand up, looking up to the sky and opening my mouth wide. Rain cascades into my mouth, replacing the sandpapery feeling on my tongue. Water has never ever felt this good before.

Everyone else does the same, trying to drink as much water as they can before the storm passes. A few minutes pass, and then the rain begins to lighten until it is nothing more than a slight drizzle. I lower my head back down. Even though it wasn't enough water, it was still sufficient. I am soaked from head to toe, but I don't care at all.

Finally, the rain completely stops, but the sky is still cloudy.

"Well that was awesome" a boy named Peter says.

"Yeah but I still don't have any food. And I'm starving" Jessica says, crossing her arms.

"We're all starving Jessica, it's not all about you" Tristan says.

"Fine! I can't take it anymore, so I'm going to look for food by myself!" Jessica says, storming off towards the jungle.

"Damn that girl is a handful" Ian whispers into my ear. When he leans in, his lips graze my ear ever so slightly, sending shivers throughout my body.

"Tell me about it" I reply.

"Jessica! You shouldn't go into the jungle by yourself! Come back" Tristan yells. He begins to chase after her, but Jessica begins to run. Tristan stops when Jessica disappears into the depths of the jungle. He then returns, sighing.

"Okay, we've got to have at least a few rules here. First, no one should go into the jungle by themselves. We don't know what's out there, so if you do go into the jungle, make sure that you go with someone" Tristan says.

"Rules? What are you, the leader or something?" a boy named Daniel asks, crossing his arms.

"No, no one is the leader here. But since we all don't know what is going on or where we are, we have to make some rules and have some sort of plan" Tristan responds.

"Well what is our plan?" Daniel asks.

"Look, I don't have a plan right now. But we've got to find out why