SS5
It's been a week. A week since we've been on this island and almost a week since Jolie has come back. I have her now in the tree house. She barely eats. She barely drinks. She never talks. She just stares out into the forest as though waiting for something. I don't know what it is but she's just staring. She's just waiting.
“Jolie please...say something,” I state.
I don't know why she was naked in the stream. I don't know where her clothes were or why she isn't speaking. This isn't Jolie. Normally it takes forever to get her shut up. Ever since we found her there is no use.
Jolie doesn't even acknowledge that I'm speaking to her. She just stares out from the wooden sticks that acts as a foundation of the treehouse.
“Jurnee...”
Someone
is knocking against one of the wood planks. I've created a little
corner for Jolie. Privacy is hard to get in the treehouse so we've
segmented the top floor into rooms by hanging up the extra blankets
that the boys pulled out of the airplane crash. I've been sleeping
in a small corner with Jolie since she's come back.
I pull back the sheet that was separating us and see Stoney. He attempts to look past the sheets and towards Jolie but I block him before he gets the chance.
“What is it?” I ask him.
Stoney gives me a suspicious look. I know I'm acting weird by keeping Jolie segregated all the time. Everyday I try to talk to her. Everyday she ignores me.
“Is she doing any better?” he asks me.
I still don't trust Stoney. He is doing better.
“She's fine,”
I respond, “Are you doing any better? I see your standing on
your leg.”
Stoney is wearing some jeans that are a
little too small for him. He must have found someone else’s
suitcase and was wearing their clothes. A couple of the others are
wearing clothes that don't belong to them either. I guess they
figure those other kids are dead, so why not steal their shit.
Stoney stomps on
his legs and stretches his calf muscle showing me how strong it is,
“I thought the wound was infected but luckily Josephine found
me some antibiotics.”
“Josephine?”
Stoney
sighs and rolls his eyes, “Jurnee. There's only 12 of us. You
can at least get to know everyone's name.”
“13...”
I let him know.
He's not
counting my sister for whatever reason.
“That's the problem. Your sister isn't...the same. She's not acting like the rest of us,” he explains.
I don't like how he's coming at me. I know his argument is that he is the only person here that I actually have a friendship with. The others were all closer. These were all Syx's friends. Even now I can hear them at the stream endlessly laughing and carrying on.
I shake my head,
“She just isn't speaking.”
“Jurnee.
Maybe you should let me take a look at her.”
“You
a fucking doctor yo?”
“I'm just trying to
help.”
I roll my eyes at Stoney, “I don't need
your help. Unless in the last week you've been studying medicine
then you are pretty much fucking useless. There's nothing you can do
for me.”
“She's not right man,” Stoney
explains, “Look at her. She just stares...”
I
know it's not right. I know something is wrong with Jolie. I don't
know what it is, but hell...we had just had a plane crash a week ago.
There was nothing normal about any of it. Every night there were
weird noises that came out of the jungle. It kept me up most nights.
The others acted like they didn't hear it. If they did talk about
the noises in the jungle they definitely didn't talk to me about it.
They didn't talk to me about much of anything.
“They sent you?” I ask.
He nods.
Slowly, “Yes.”
“Sevyn?” I ask, “I
know you are her little butt boy. Does Billy know you're in love
with her?”
Stoney grabs me by my hand. I can tell he's
nervous at that moment, “Don't say stuff like that out loud.
Things are already weird enough. I don't need drama with Billy over
Sevyn. Besides. It wasn't even just Sevyn. It's mostly Jessica.
She's telling people that something's wrong with Jolie.”
I
shrug.
“No shit. She is in shock.”
It's so clear with Stoney here now that that he was sent by them. I roll my eyes. His obsession with Sevyn Valentine was so clear. I didn't see how Billy wasn't aware of it.
“They are
concerned,” Stoney explains, “They have a right to be.
Your sister came out of the water like fucking Beloved. She doesn't
say a word. And you don't communicate with anyone. You've spent the
entire week up here with her. People are concerned.”
I'm
annoyed. We're stranded on a fucking island and these people were
worried about Jolie? Really? It's pissing me off. I've dealt with
this shit before. They were ganging up and bonding by finding the
'other'. Maybe it was boredom causing them to do it. I've heard the
whispers. I've seen the stares when I go to get water and take Jolie
to the stream to bathe. The other survivors were talking about me.
“What are
you gonna do?” I ask, in an aggressive way.
“Whoa.
Relax. No one is threatening Jolie. I wouldn't even let no shit
like that go down,” Stoney responds.
“Then if you
aren't going to do anything I suggest you fuck off.”
“Listen.
If you aren't going to talk to me that's fine. I deserve it for
what I did to you. But if you're still pissed at me then at least
talk to Syx. He is your stepbrother. You guys were cool just a week
ago. I think you need to talk to someone...”
I give
Stoney a look.
It's hard to
talk about it. I honestly do miss talking to Syx. Syx has been
avoiding me ever since the night that Jolie came back. I don't think
it had anything to do with Jolie though. Syx was acting weird
because he felt weird about what happened that night. I was sure
about it.
“I'm fine...” is my answer to Stoney.
Stoney gives me a hurt look. I don't know his motives. I don't trust him. I don't trust anyone on this island. Still. I knew that I couldn't keep making them feel uncomfortable forever. I would have to bring Jolie around people sooner or later.
Two days later I make the trek down to the fire area under the treehouse. The others are gathered around the fire. It's night time. Richie is standing up and imitating Billy Badass. The others are looking on at Richie and laughing.
“Billy walks like he has the biggest dick in the world, doesn't he? Like this. Like his dick is leading and then his body follows. C`mon... how big could your dick honestly be Billy. The fact that your dick carries you and not the other way around is just...”
As I approach with Jolie...things go silent.
The stares are intense. Everyone is staring. The only one I am concerned with is Syx though. I miss him. The one day we spent getting to know each other was amazing. It was back to being awkward though. Syx is the only one who doesn't stare back at me. He's eating some airplane saltines with water. He all of a sudden seems so fucking focused on these saltines.
I sit Jolie on a log away from the others. I let her stare into the forest area past the stream. She likes doing that. It entertains her throughout the day.
I stand there...feeling awkward. Feeling the stares.
“Hey,” Stoney breaks the silence.
The others just stare at me. Fuck. It was a mistake coming down here. I feel so awkward. I didn't want to see all of these people. I honestly just wanted to see how Syx was doing, but it's clear that he's still feeling weird about that night I caught him masturbating.
“Hey,” I respond.
It's the stringy-haired girl Helen that gets up and walks over to me. The stare that Sevyn gives her is sick. The girl hands me a bowl.
“Here, take a seat,” Stoney states.
I am about to stop him from getting up but he does it anyway. He gets up at that moment. I realize the seat is right next to Syx. Syx is seated next to Jessica. He doesn't have a shirt on. He hasn't lost much weight. I can see him kind of glimpsing at me from the corner of his eye. When I sit, he adjusts himself on the log and stares hard into the fire.
“It's not much. I found some mangos and made some mango puree,” Helen explains to me.
“Thank
you,” I state.
“I can get some more for Jolie,” Helen states.
I look over at
Jolie. She is a shell of the person she formally was. It's just odd.
One day we all think she's dead and the next day she's back.
“I
don't think she's hungry.”
There is silence for a minute. The others are watching my sister now. They have turned all their attention to her. It's the longest they've been around her since she came back. Now I remembered why I kept them away from her. I'm tempted to get up and walk away but I think it would be even more awkward if I did that.
Stoney comes out of
nowhere and starts up a conversation, “How's the puree,
Jurnee?”
“It's aight,” I shrug.
Stoney smiles,
“It's the best we can do now. We're running out of food. Most
of the food from the airplanes is gone. The boys and I are thinking
about going hunting tomorrow. Maybe you should join us...”
Billy
gives Stoney a hard stare, “The hunting thing was my idea.
Don't you think I should have a say in who come and who goes
Stoney?”
He glares at Stoney.
“I just assumed an extra man wouldn't hurt,” Stoney argues.
“Does he even
want to go?” Syx asks Stoney, “You barely got the invite
man. I wouldn't be pushing it...”
I give Syx a hard
look. I wasn't expecting that. He's basically dogging out Stoney
because Stoney is reaching out to invite me. I expect that from the
others. I expect that from Billy and hell even Richie. I expect
that from the other boys who are following in their footsteps. I
don't expect that from Syx for some reason. Then again he was a part
of the Dollhouse. These guys stuck together no matter what. I've
seen it in high school.
Why did I expect any
different here?
Stoney seems to realize he's outnumbered.
He backs down, “Sorry. I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes
or anything yo.”
I get up, “It's fine. I have to
watch my sister anyway.”
“You can go. I'll watch
her...” someone says out of nowhere...
I turn and
realize that it's Sevyn who says that.
I'm struggling with the idea when Sevyn suggests it at that moment.
“That
won't be necessary,” I respond.
I don't trust
Sevyn at all. She looks innocent when she says it. She has this
cute little smile on her face. I think that's what bothers me the
most.
The others seem just as concerned as I am.
“Sevyn no.
There's something wrong with that girl,” Jessica says,
“Something is wrong here. Something is horribly wrong
here...”
“Can you stop being a fucking pussy for
once?” Sevyn tells Jessica.
The others start
laughing. Syx gives his sister a hard look clearly jumping to
Jessica's defense, “Jessica...”
“This isn't
right!” Jessica screams out of nowhere.
Her voice is loud. She's very loud. She jumps to her feet at that moment. She's panicking. She runs away back towards the treehouse in the normal frantic, over dramatic way that I've noticed Jessica acts. She seems so emotional for whatever reason. No one seems to pay her any attention except for her boyfriend Syx.
He gets up. All
I see is abs and his sexy face twisting up a little bit.
“Thanks a lot
Sevyn,” he tells his sister sarcastically, “What the fuck
is your problem?”
“Your girlfriend has been acting
really emotional. You need to control her. She's been acting like a
selfish bitch Syx,” she says, “Jolie is our stepsister
remember? Jurnee is our stepbrother. They both need our support.
You need to choose between your girlfriend and your family at some
point.”
I thought I was in the twilight zone at this
moment. Sevyn being nice. Sevyn defending me. Sevyn considering
Jolie and I her family. She tosses her salt and pepper hair over
her shoulders when it's clear that Syx is annoyed with her. She
dismisses him because it's clear that Syx is chasing after
Jessica...again.
Everyone seems a little confused by her.
“Thanks for
that,” I tell Sevyn, “But I can watch my sister.”
The
others aren't interfering.
“You don't trust me?” Sevyn asks.
“My sister is acting a little weird. I know it can be...uncomfortable... for some of you. So I think it's up to me to look after her”.
Sevyn nods over at
me, “Listen. It isn't just about you. Joey and Maria have
beach duty tomorrow. Josephine, Jessica and Helen are gathering
fruits tomorrow. The guys are going hunting. Everyone is playing a
part here. If we are going to survive we all need to chip in. We
all need to work. That includes you. You can't expect to eat our
food while you spend all your time babysitting your sister right?
You're not above the rest of us, are you?”
I hesitate.
Maybe Sevyn did have a point. I haven't been contributing at all since Jolie came back. It was clear that we weren't doing too well. We were eating fucking mango puree for dinner for god sakes.
“No of course
I'm not saying I'm better than you guys,” I respond, “I'm
just not a hunter.”
“That's fine. Aaron can teach
you. He used to hunt all the time with his parents up north. Isn't
that right Aaron.”
I've seen the guy Aaron around in
school a lot. He's a cute white boy who hangs out with Syx a lot. I
think they are good friends, but he is usually quiet compared to Joey
and Richie who are laughing all of the time. Aaron nods confidently
towards them.
“No
doubt,” he responds.
“We'll be glad to have you,” Billy states.
I hesitate.
I look over at Stoney. He nods his head as though trying to convince me of to go with it.
“Fine. I'll go,” I respond.
~
The next day it rains and I hope that would be an excuse for them to change their minds about this whole hunting thing. It isn't something that I necessarily want to do. The jungle scares me. I'm not Jessica or anything like that but I'm a little freaked out. It's hard not to be, especially when you aren't sure where we are.
The guys are more than confident.
“Here,” Aaron states.
He throws me a spear. It's a wooden stick that he's sharpened. Aaron has made spears for all of us. I'm standing there sticking out like a sore thumb. I look up at the treehouse one last time. I can see Sevyn standing up in the treehouse. She is watching us.
“Hey. Pay
attention,” Billy snaps, “I'm not responsible if anything
happens to you out there.”
“He'll be fine,”
Stoney tells Billy, “I'll watch him.”
“I
don't need anyone to watch me,” I respond.
I know it sounds like I'm snapping on Stoney. Maybe I am. The others laugh when I respond to Stoney. I know I'm embarrassing him. I don't care. I kind of want to make him feel bad in front of these people. He destroyed our friendship to be a part of their little group. I wanted to make sure he worked for it.
“I know that's right. Take off your shirt,” Billy states.
“What?”
I ask.
“Everyone. Take off your shirts. We're going out there as men. As hunters,” Billy states.
This is stupid. It is stupid as fuck. I roll my eyes ready to say something against Billy but then I realize everyone else is doing it. Hell. The majority of them have bodies like gods or something. Joey is the skinniest guy besides me and he is on beach duty and not going on the hunt. The rest of them are shaped like fucking boulders. It ranges from Richie who is big and beefy like a quarterback, to Syx who is just this muscled Adonis, to the leaner solid guys like Stoney and Billy.
I take my shirt off. I'm skinnier than I'd like to admit. I have a bird chest. I'm standing next to Syx and he catches a glimpse of my chest. I wonder if he's laughing inside. This is so fucking embarrassing. I should be fucking picking fruit with the ladies not hunting.
“What are we
hunting anyway?” Richie asks, “I need something big.
I'm starting to see my ribcage. If I have to eat that ugly bitch's
mango puree one more fucking time I'll kill myself.”
“The boar,” Aaron says.
“Yo that's what I'm talking bout,” Richie says.
Stoney rolls his
eyes, “There are no boars out here...”
“There
are boars. I can hear them at night,” Aaron states, “They
squeal. Trust me I know. I know the squealing sound.”
Stoney
looks like he is about to argue with Aaron but Syx steps up.
“Let's just get this over with,” Syx states.
“What's wrong
with you?” Billy asks him, “You're acting weird
today.”
Syx shakes his head, “I just want to get
back. Hanging with a bunch of dudes all day isn't my idea of a good
time.”
“At least you GOT some pussy out here,”
Richie laughs, “I might fuck the Mango Soup girl just for the
hell of it.”
I am staring at Syx. He seems heavily
annoyed to be here. I can see him staring at me from the corner of
his eyes. When Richie says what he says a couple of the guys agree
with him. Is this what the popular guys in my high school talked
about when the girls are not around? Helen was the Mango Soup girl
and they were all agreeing they'd fuck her just for the sake of
getting some pussy.
Syx and Billy clearly didn't have that problem though.
“Ain't nothing like some good pussy,” Syx agrees with Richie.
He is staring at me when he says that. It's almost as though he's letting me know something. This has to be in response to what happened a week ago. He couldn't make it any clear if he'd tattooed the words “I'm straight” on his forehead.
“Well the sooner we get back the sooner you can go fuck your girlfriend,” Aaron laughs, “So let’s move out.”
Billy and Aaron walk up ahead with Syx for the most part. The others have scattered around attempting to find the tracks of the boar. I am a few feet behind them realizing they are making small talk but feeling like maybe I should attempt to talk to Syx.
I stare at him from the back. Syx's back muscles are sharp and defined. He's the best shaped guy on this island and that's saying a lot. The way he walks. The way he looks. There is something so beautiful about this guy and I can't help but to stare at him.
I don't know what comes over me but I catch up to the group.
“Hey Syx...” I start off.
It's Billy and Aaron that actually look my way first. Syx is the last one to look my way. When he turns to me his eyes sink in. He glares at me with those sharp eyes of his. He's perfect in every way. He's such an ideal specimen really. When our eyes connect he doesn't smile or anything. He just seems surprised that I'm not scattering around with the other guys and that I'm talking to him.
“Yeah...” he asks.
“How have you been?” I ask.
I want to smack
myself. How have you been? Really? That's the best I can do. I
have my chance to talk to Syx and the best I can come up with is “How
have you been?” Syx gives me a look. I'm being awkward as
fuck.
“Uh. Did you want anything?” Syx asks me.
“No. I
just...I...”
Syx squints. He's been avoiding me since that day we clicked. It was almost like he was going out of his way to act as though I didn't exist. It burns almost at that moment. His two friends look at me and then look at him. I am speechless.
“You forget how to speak like your sister?” Billy asks me.
Aaron and Billy start to laugh. I don't expect anything less from them. What I don't expect is Syx to join in as well. He starts to laugh on my behalf as well. My heart is racing at that moment. I don't see what's so funny about my sister not speaking. I don't see what's so funny about the fact that she was still recovering from shock from the plane crash.
I'm annoyed by Billy, but I'm disappointed in Syx. For some reason I expected a little more out of him. I expected him to be a little different.
“Syx you better watch out. I saw him staring at you the whole time,” a voice says from behind us.
I notice a few of the other guys come up. It's Richie who says that I was staring. My face blushes red at that moment. I'm a little annoyed. All of a sudden I regret going on this thing in the first place.
“Staring?” Syx asks.
Richie laughs, “Yup.
Staring.”
“No he wasn't,” Stoney responds,
“Stop starting shit Richie.”
“I'm not
starting shit. Swear to God!” Richie responds.
All the boys look at me at that moment.
“He wasn't staring,” Stoney responds.
“Why the
fuck are you talking for him Stoney?” Billy asks him, “We
all saw what happened on the plane. We all saw him admit that he was
some sort of faggot. Isn't that right? You some sort of faggot
Jurnee?”
My heart is racing. Syx is quiet. He crosses
his arms. He doesn't come to my defense. Stoney is defending me but
hell even right now when he's being called out Stoney kind of fades
to the back of Billy. It's clear that no one really wants to get on
Billy's bad side.
“That's none of your business,” I respond.
They laugh as though I'm making some sort of joke. I want to take it back. Me being so defensive is me basically admitting my sexuality to them. What was the point of denying it though? They all knew I was gay. Richie laughs the hardest but Billy's laugh is what bothers me the most. He stares hard at me. He almost pierces through me with those eyes of his. They are cold and calculating. He's giving me the hardest stare I could imagine. He wants to bully me. He wants to see me cower. A part of me thinks he's doing this because he knows his girlfriend Sevyn hates me, but the majority of me thinks that he is doing this because he is just as evil as she is.
“You want to fuck Syx...don't you,” he responds.
“This is enough,” Stoney responds, “We came out here to hunt, not to interrogate Jurnee on his sexuality.”
“Was I fucking
talking to you?” Billy asks Stoney and before he responds he
says, “I didn't think so. You need to learn your place Stoney.
You barely made the cut. You're on the bottom of the totem pole You
need to learn to fall in line Stoney. You are either on the inside
with us or you’re on the outside with this faggot ass friend of
yours.”
“He's not a faggot!” Stoney says.
Billy gives Stoney a hard push. Stoney is about to push him back but big ass Richie stands in his way. Richie punches Stoney hard in his stomach. Stoney hits the ground hard. It's Aaron that follows up and gives Stoney a swift kick to the gut while he's down.
I attempt to help Stoney. I grab at the spear Aaron made me. For the second I forget the fact that he sold his soul to these people at some point. For a time, I forget that I have all this resentment to Stoney. Right now I just want to help him. Running forward is a mistake though.
It's Billy who grabs me, breaks my spear, picks me up off my feet and pins me up against a tree.
He's so fucking
strong. I struggle to get free. I kick and try to push him off.
Nothing works. I'm pinned hard up against that tree.
“Admit it,”
Billy says, “Admit that you are in love with Syx you fucking
faggot.”
I don't respond. Not responding seems almost
as incriminating as agreeing. I just stay silent and stare at Billy.
I notice in the corner of my eye that Syx hasn't moved not even a
little bit. He is studying me. He doesn't have any facial
expression on his face. He hasn't moved a step. He watched as
Stoney got attacked by his friend and he didn't help Stoney. Now he
was watching as Billy Badass had me pinned up against a tree.
Aaron starts
laughing, “He isn't even denying it...”
“Guys
enough,” Syx says.
“You protecting him too?” Billy turns to Syx.
Syx stares at me. He stares at me hard. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. Not only am I being manhandled but I am being manhandled in front of Syx Valentine of all people. I feel sick to my stomach.
Syx shakes his head
at Billy, “Naw man. I hear the boar. We're going to lose it
if we stay around here and fuck around.”
The boar is one
thing that Billy and his friends are interested in more than me. I
watch as the boys all of a sudden gain interest in what Syx is
saying. Billy drops me in a matter of seconds.
“Fuck yeah.
My stomach can taste it now,” Billy says, “Which way
yo?”
Syx points into the forest, “It was that
way.”
“Let's go...”
Billy and friends
take off in the forest. I stay behind. I find myself going over to
Stoney and seeing if he is OK. Stoney is curled up in a little ball.
It's clear that he is in a lot of pain right now. I realize though
that Syx is the only one who hasn't run off yet. He has his spear in
one hand and is staring at me. He stares at me for a few minutes.
He looks like he is going to say something but he doesn't say
anything.
He just stares.
I feel so irritated by the fact that he just let his friends do that.
“Did I do something to you?” I ask.
Syx opens his mouth like he is about to say something. He even exhales. He doesn't speak though. He just turns towards where Billy, Aaron and Richie are and he runs off after them. The four shirtless muscular jocks are off before I notice.
I turn to the ground and see Stoney lying there. He's still sore clearly.
I help him up.
“Why the hell did you do that?” I ask him, “Aren't those your friends now?”
“No, you're my friend,” he responds.
I roll my eyes at
Stoney, “No I'm not. You wanted to be their friend. Didn't
you? You set me up on the plane just so you can be a part of their
little group.”
Stoney sold me out to be a part of the Dollhouse. Now all of a sudden he was turning on them for me? I didn't get it.
Stoney shakes
his head, “That was then. This is now. After the plane crash
I realized what was really important. You're a friend of mine. I
see that now even though I know I just can't take back what I did to
you on the plane.”
When Stoney is standing up right I
stop holding him. I let Stoney stand on his own. Knowing that I was
betrayed by my best friend still hurt. Him telling me that he wanted
to still be my friend and he all of a sudden came to an epiphany
didn't cut it for me anymore. I didn't trust Stoney. Not anymore.
Right now I just wanted to get past this. I just wanted to get past
him. This wasn't working and I knew it.
“I'm glad you
see that now, but I just can't forgive you.”
“Where
are you going?”
“I'm going boar hunting,” I
respond.
I am walking deeper into the woods. I don't know where I'm going. I have no idea. All I know is that I'm out here anyway. I wasn't going the same direction that Syx and the others went. I was going on my own way. I went deeper into the tropics. The trees were getting dense. Sweat was dripping down my back before I know it. There were footsteps as well behind me and I turn back to see that Stoney has been following me the entire time.
I'm annoyed when I
see Stoney.
“What can I do to fix things?” Stoney asks.
“Nothing...you
made your choice,” I respond, “You should go back and
apologize to your friends. You look like them. You have muscles
like them. You don't pass the paper bag test but they might make an
exception. You're handsome enough.”
Stoney raises an
eyebrow, “You think I'm handsome.”
I try to turn
away. I'm annoyed by him. Stoney doesn't let me go that easy. He
tries to grab me and pull me towards him. I push him away at that
point.
“Get off
me.”
“No. I took a punch for you. I almost got
jumped because of you. I can at least get a smile from you,”
Stoney responds.
I roll my eyes and try to walk away again.
I don't make it
far. Stoney grabs me. I push him hard. He falls backward but he
takes me with him. We hold onto each other and start tumbling down a
hill. It seems like forever as we're falling. Stoney is laughing
the whole time like a fucking idiot while I'm screaming for my
fucking life as we fall down the hill. All these weird nasty plants
and dirt brush up against my hairless chest.
We stop rolling all of a sudden and Stoney is on top of me.
“Get off of me. You play too much,” I tell him.
“You like
it,” he responds.
Stoney has me pinned down. He is
bigger than me. His dark chocolate skin is like a weight on top of
me pinning me down.
“What?
Boy no the fuck I don't. What part of I want nothing to do with you
don't you understand?” I ask Stoney.
“The part
where you keep calling me handsome and not realizing you're doing
it.”
Huh? I'm confused.
“What?”
Stoney
doesn't answer with words. He answers with actions. I'm shocked
when he does it. He leans
He looks me hard in my eyes.
That's when it
happens.
Stoney kisses me. His tongue enters my mouth. I'm shocked when it happens. I don't even kiss him back. I don't stop him though. I let him kiss me. I let him explore my mouth. He kisses me the way I've seen him kiss girls back in high school before. His eyes are closed. His tongue charges in my mouth. He ends it with a soft suck on my lower lip. Then he pulls back to see the expression that I have on my face.
“What the
fuck was that?” I ask him.
“Isn't
that what you wanted?” Stoney asks me in return.
I push him off of me. I'm so confused by him right now. It doesn't feel right. Nothing about the kiss feels right. As soon as I push him off of me my eyes get wide as I notice that we've fallen into some sort of ravine.
High above the tree there is something else that I notice.
“Oh...my fucking god...” I state.
Stoney turns to me,
“What Jurnee? What is it?”
I point. A few feet
away from the ravine along the steep sides of the gorge are parts of
the plane. I'm so confused when I see it.
“The cockpit,” I state breathing heavy.
Stoney looks at me. Our eyes are linking. I wonder what he's thinking but I know what I'm thinking when I see the ruins of the plane cockpit. I don't know how it is possible that the cockpit is deep in the jungle. Maybe when the plane split apart the cockpit was tossed here. That is the only likely scenario. The front part of the fuselage from the plane is not too far away, but the cockpit is my main concern.
Stoney glares hard at me, “It might have a radio...”
Stoney doesn't wait for me before he starts climbing the ravine and the steep sides of the gorge. He makes his way up using vines. He falls a few times until I come from behind to help him up, pushing him by his butt until he is able to get to the top. Once he gets to the top he disappears into the cockpit.
“Stoney be careful!” I scream out.
I can't make it
up the sides of the gorge without help. I see Stoney disappear into
the cockpit. My heart is racing. God. This could be it. What if
the radio was working? What if we could call for help somehow?
We
could get off this island! We could be saved!
“I think I
see something!” I hear Stoney's voice scream out.
My heart is racing. We could go home. We could be saved. This was it. My heart is racing and tears are flowing down my face faster than I notice. I've never been so emotional. After all we've been through this is all I wanted. I didn't want to be on this island with these fucking people anymore. I wanted to go home. I wanted to get away from here.
A few desperate
minutes pass without Stoney saying anything else.
“Stoney!
Stoney do you see anything!”
“The radio is fried. It's completely fried!” Stoney says.
“Fuck!”
I
fall to my knees. All of a sudden I'm giving up. Just when I
thought there was hope he pulls the rug right out from underneath me.
“I see
something else...the pilot. Jurnee...Jurnee I think he's still
alive. I can't move him. He's impaled. Come up here quick!”
Oh
fuck. I don't waste any time. Stoney reappears and help me up the
sides of the gorge. I'm struggling to get up there. Together we
make our way to the cockpit. It's completely dark in there but
Stoney is showing me where he sees the guy. All I see is wires
hanging from every which direction. The smell of the broken cockpit
smells like death. I'm struggling to keep control of myself. Out of
nowhere I see a body lying there rotting.
I scream. My heart races.
“FUCK!” I say.
It must be the co-pilot. The body just dangles there lifeless...
“It's OK.
I got you...there. There he is...”
Sure enough the
pilot is laying there. The pilot is alive. He's been impaled with a
metal piece of the exterior of the pain. It has gone through his
abdomen completely. It's a shock that he's still alive at all.
“Wa...water...” the pilot is saying.
Stoney pulls
water out of his cargo pants and hands it to the pilot. Luckily he
had the bottle with him. The pilot barely wets his mouth. He just
lays there.
“Can we move him?” I ask.
Stoney looks at the
wound, “I don't think so. Look how bad it is. That piece is
keeping him alive.”
“We have to try...” I state.
Stoney is hesitating but he listens to me. We can either let this man die here or we can try to save him. So we attempt to try to save him. Pulling the metal out of his torso is the hardest thing I've ever done before. He screams the entire time. I'll never forget the scream. I'll never forget the way the pilot grabs onto my hand. He's so desperate.
We get him to the ground. Stoney struggles to stop the blood but it's not stopping. The blood is gushing out of him. I look up at Stoney. He's shaking his head. Neither of us are doctors. Neither of us can help this man.
We are watching him die right in front of my eyes.
Stoney keeps shaking
his head, “Nothing can be done. Nothing can be done.”
The
pilot is slipping in and out of consciousness.
“Where are
we?” I ask him.
“What are you doing? He's dying,” Stoney asks.
I realize that. I know that. I can't let him die without at least giving us something though. I find myself shaking the man, smacking him and trying to keep him from passing out.
“Please...where
are we?”
The pilot's eyes barely open. His mouth
whispers something. I lean in closer to hear what he says.
“I don't
know...”
“You were flying. What do you mean you
don't know? We were going to Bermuda. Weren't we? Where are we?
How far off course were we?”
That's when the man shakes
his head at that moment.
“No
Bermuda.”
“What?” I ask.
“She gave us a change...last minute...last minute...” the man is saying.
“Last minute what?” Stoney asks the pilot.
“Sevyn Valentine. Last minute she gave us a new coordinate. She wanted us to fly somewhere different...somewhere not on the map,” The pilot says.
Oh fuck.
“You've got to be kidding me,” Stoney says, “Sevyn changed our course? She sent us into the storm that took the plane down?”
My mouth drops
open. Stoney is so shocked that he releases the pressure off of the
pilot in shock. Blood comes out of everywhere. I struggle to put
the pressure back on but it's too late. It's clear the man is gone.
The pilots last words are, “We were never headed to Bermuda. The storm didn't take the plane down. The plane was tampered with...”
To read the next chapter in advance go to www.crushedcrown.com