The new day started with songs from the birds in the trees as they chirped excitedly but not everyone on the island at that moment shared their common excitement and or joy. The group yet again had the drained look in their eyes as they gathered round for breakfast which in this situation was grilled fish paired with fruit and coconut water. They ate what they could in silence, no one trying to reanalyze the previous night's interaction.
"When you think there's nothing that could surprise you anymore about the island, there's something new to discover" Owen blurted out standing to his feet and tossing the coconut in his hand, far into the ocean
"You just threw away dinner" Elijah chuckled
"Is this funny to you?" Owen angrily snapped his head in Elijah's direction
"Now's neither the time nor place to fight between ourselves" Lucas said bolting to stand in the large space between them
"Calm the fuck down" Elijah huffed pushing himself off the ground "I didn't crash us into the island"
"No but you're certainly acting like none of what's happening matters to you" Owen glared at him
"You think I'm happy being here? You think I'm not as terrified as the rest of the group, scared shitless that something isn't going to come out from the woods and kill me just cause it feels like it can?" Elijah said, his gaze firm but his voice shaky "I can't help but make jokes to not send my already scared mind into a state of panic cause I'd rather die laughing than with a scared look on my face"
"Sometimes we don't need your stupid jokes" Owen said looking at Elijah dead in the eyes "So just shut it"
Elijah smiled, his eyes burning as he wiped at a tear from his eyes before it fell "Cool" He said walking away from the group heading up the right side of the island.
"What the fuck Owen?" Natalie yelled
"I'm not in the mood Natalie" Owen said pushing Lucas's arm from his shoulder
"And do I look like I give an iota of fuck what mood you're in" She snapped at him "if you want to be an asshole, you can do that at your own leisure time. Keep that energy far away from anyone in this circle and also you can take your pissy mood and shove it up your ass"
She stormed off, running fast enough to catch up to Elijah who was already out of sight from the main campground. The rest of the group, slowly picked their things up dispersing to various parts of the beachfront leaving behind Owen and Lucas
"Are you going to scold me as well?" Owen asked as he ran a hand through his hair
"Zara came up to me yesterday talking about how on edge you seemed when she woke you up yesterday but it didn't seem like it was anything deep but now I'm starting to see some sense in what she was trying to say. Is there something you want to talk about?" Lucas asked searching his eyes as if the answers were there
"I'm fine. I just had a bad dream. That's all" He stated, sitting back down on the sandy floor
"That was yesterday. What about today's outburst?" Lucas asked sitting beside his friend
"I just lost my cool, given the circumstances. Anybody would have reacted that same way" He stated
"But it wasn't just anyone. It was you. You're usually the calm headed one amongst, well anyone in our class so it's rather weird to see you react this way unless something was wrong. I've known you since the first day of uni and even I have never seen you lose your cool" Lucas sighed "Whatever it is man, if you can't talk it out with me then you should sort it out yourself"
Lucas adjusted his sling before pushing himself off the ground. He took one quick look at Owen who had his head bowed down before he walked away to a separate group by the foot of the beach. His eyes met Zara and Mia as they sat down on the sand, their legs stretched out as they watched the wave go back and forth.
"Outside the fact that the island is creepy and it's out to murder each and every one of us, It's actually rather peaceful" Mia said, her eyes shut and her head bent back and she felt peace at the sound of the waves
Zara smiled as she pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her head on her knees "I'm glad you made it" She said turning to look at Mia
A smile crept across Mia's face as she mirrored Zara's stance before looking at her "I'm happy I get to be stranded with you" She said as their eyes met "Not happy that we're stranded but if I had to choose anyone to be lost with, I'd choose you a thousand times over"
Zara chuckled and then blushed at Mia's admittance, before stretching her arms and legs out, falling on her back to lay on the sand
"You are such a child" Mia laughed
"At least before something else happens that might make me hate or be afraid of the beach" She pushed herself up so now she rested her weight on her elbows "allow me to enjoy myself"
"Enjoy away" Mia chuckled "I love seeing you happy anyways"
Another large smile spread across Zara's face. She took a couple deep breaths just to calm herself down before turning to face Mia "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure" Mia responded
Zara pushed up from her elbows bringing herself to sit upright "Is there anything going on between you and Caleb that you're not telling me or did anything happen while I was missing? I've kind of noticed the way he looks at you back in school and now his eyes kind of burns with pain when he looks at you"
Mia's eyes trailed across over to Caleb as he laughed, catching up with Lucas and Evan over only God knows. Their eyes met briefly for a second, as he greeted her with a smile on his face before turning to face Lucas who was talking
"Nothing that you need to worry about" Mia said to Zara with half a smile on her face
***
Caleb walked out of the forest just as the moon reached its peak sitting on the sand by the foot of the beach. His feet buried in the sand as the waves washed over his feet.
Mia took her place beside him, as they both sat in silence, staring into the endless body of water in front of them
"Do you think the others made it?" Mia asked, not turning her gaze to face Caleb
"It'll be rather weird to think that they didn't" Caleb responded turning to face her but her eyes didn't meet his "But then if they did, we would've found them by now"
She turned to look at him, under the dimly lit sky, he could still see her face so clearly. Her green eyes wet from the tears she was shedding. Her brown hair, messy with sand and twine.
He stretched out his hand to brush off the dust and leaves from her hair as she wiped her eyes with her top, trying to stop the tears from falling but failing horribly before she buried her face into her palms letting grief consume her.
It was the first time he had ever seen her cry and he didn't know how else to comfort her besides wrapping her in his arms, waiting for the wave of grief to pass. When she was done, she slowly pushed herself from his hold, wiping at the tears in her eyes
"I'm sorry" she said between shuddered breaths
"It's only natural to be afraid and assume the worst" He said to her "You helped me out with my panic attack earlier, I'm glad I could help you out as well"
She snickered as she remembered how she found him earlier. His hand on his chest like his heart was about to give out and his breathing running faster than his heart beats "You were crying like a little baby" She teased
"Need I remind you that you were balling in my chest up until a couple seconds ago" He laughed
"Well it's funnier when it happens to someone else" She chuckled, staring back out into the sea "Do you think we'd get out of here in one piece?" She asked
"I doubt the university wouldn't notice that we've been gone longer than the time we were supposed to be away. Neither would our parents when they can't reach us" He responded
"I wonder what my mom would be doing by now. If we were back home, her and I would've been talking on phone, while I tell her about my day and how many guys made a move on me" She chuckled as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands
"Have you ever told her about me making a move on you as well?" Caleb laughed as he asked
"For some weird reason she keeps asking after you. She thinks you and I would've made a cute couple" She answered "She said she likes your resilience"
"Well I'll be sure to send a fruit basket when we get out of here" Caleb smiled
"There's enough fruit on the island to fill a basket or two" Mia turned to look at him and for the first time she started to see him differently
"What?" Caleb asked studying her expression
"You've got really nice eyes" She said, staring at him as if trying to read his soul. Her eyes searched his face till they landed right on his lips
"Likewise" He whispered, leaning in close to her
His hand stretched out, cupping her check as their faces gradually got closer. The tips of their nose grazed each other's as they got close enough to feel each other's breath on their skin.
He inched forward, his lips barely a few centimeters from hers before she turned away to the side "I'm sorry" She said
"There's no one here. No one would know" He said in a short exhale
"But I'll know" She said, pushing herself off the ground "And I won't be able to forgive myself if she turns up alive and she finds out"
Mia turned on her heels and walked back into the woods towards the camp they've made for themselves from leaves and vines
Caleb said nothing as he watched her disappear into the forest, before turning to stare at the ocean letting out a deep exhale, with his hands running through his hair.
***
"Do you promise there's nothing you're keeping from me?" Zara asked searching her eyes
Mia hesitated, her lips parted like she wanted to speak but chose not to. She nodded her head then smiled at Zara
"I'll take your word for it, or in this case your nod" Zara smiled back at her, laying back on the sand before Mia dropped on her back as well
"Remember when we all drew on Elijah's face when he slept off in class?" Lucas asked as Caleb burst out laughing
"Dude didn't even know he was walking around with a dick drawn on his forehead" Caleb held his stomach as he tried to stop himself from laughing
"I can remember how much he threatened to get his revenge on all of us if he ever caught us sleeping" Evan added as he wiped the tear from his eye still laughing
"Speaking of Elijah, do you think he's going to be okay?" Elijah asked, clearing his throat as his laugh finally subsided
"Natalie is with him" Lucas said looking in the direction Elijah stormed off to "She'll calm him down. In the meantime, there's something we need to do now" He said looking at Evan "Get everyone"
"Wait up Elijah" Natalie called out to him as she raced to reach him
"Just leave me alone Nat. I'm really not in the mood" Elijah said from over his shoulder
"I said wait up. I'm not gonna say it again" She yelled
He stopped on his track and turned to look at Natalie who stopped a few feet in front of him, crouched down, trying to catch her breath
"This is not the place to just storm off" She raised her voice at him as she stood to look at him
"I just needed some space. That's all" He said not looking her in the eyes
"And what part of "time works differently on the island" didn't you get? And what if you suddenly grew old and died and turned to bones as you angrily stormed off?" She yelled
"I don't think that's how it works" He responded
"Oh really? And when did you become the expert on all things magic island? Last time I checked you're just as clueless about this whole island mystery as any one of us here" She folded her arms over her chest
"You're one to talk. You're here with me" He said
"And why do you think I did that?" She asked
"I don't know" He sighed
"If you jumped off a bridge, I'm jumping with you" She said taking a step forward "If you walked into certain doom, I'm walking into it with you" She added "If you walked off on the group and end up aging and turning to dust and bones, I'm turning into dust and bones right beside your particles"
"That's a bold declaration" Elijah said wide eyed and shocked
"It is. Because I like you so don't let me turn to bones and dust just yet" Natalie said standing just in front of him
His jaw dropped as he fumbled through words
"It's a weird place to say that but I need you to know that I mean it" She said
"I don't know what to say about that"
"You don't have to say anything just yet" She smiled at him
"They all think I'm a joke" Elijah said, his head bent down
"They don't" Her hands cupping his cheeks and lifting his head so he's now looking at her "Everyone is just on edge now so tempers are flying easily. Don't let Owens' words get to you. You're more than what you think you are" She smiled at him as his eyes met hers
"Thanks" Elijah managed to say
She stroked his cheek gently before her smile dropped, slapping him gently across the face "Make me run after you again and that slap would hurt a whole lot more"
"Message received" Elijah said placing a hand over his cheek, where he just got slapped
"Now can we head back to the group before we age and turn to bones" She said turning on her heels in the direction of the camp
"I thought you didn't mind turning into bones with me" Elijah chuckled as he walked beside her
"I never said I wanted to turn to bones right this very second" She said walking increasing the speed in her step
They both walked back to the camp to see the group gathered around the extinguished campfire
"Oh good, you're back. I was about to send someone else to call you back" Lucas said as they rejoined the group "You good Elijah?"
"Yeah. Just needed to blow off some steam" He responded
"Now before we move forward" Lucas started as he turned to look at Owen "Is there something you'd like to say?"
Owen sighed before turning to look at Elijah "I'm sorry I took out my frustration on you. That was uncalled for and I apologize. In the future I'll try to keep my shit together"
"All good man" Elijah said nodding at Owen who returned the gesture
"Okay… now that that's out of the way we have to figure out a lot of shit about the island" Lucas said looking over the group as they listened, their gaze fixed solely on him "We've been on this island for a while now, some strangely longer than others but we've all experienced some level of craziness here and until we understand what we're working with, we would never be able to conquer it and get back home"
There was a collective nod amongst the group as Lucas spoke
"Now we have three different theories that we need to properly confirm and we're going to do that as a team" Lucas said turning to look at Emma
"We believe the islands currents goes round the island" Emma began to speak
"And also pulls things into it" Max added
"And alters time within it" Evan stated
"We need to be sure how much of that is true and how we can counter it" Emma finished looking over the group "Now we're gonna test these theories and see which ones are true and how deep it goes"
"And how are we going to test these theories?" Isabel asked
"I sometimes forget that you're here Isabel" Elijah said turning to look at Isabel who's speaking for the first time today
"Like I said on the plane, there's really nothing to say" Isabel rolled her eyes at him
"So there are three hypotheses before us so we're gonna test them out simultaneously" Emma said nodding at Max who nodded back.
Max walked over to the stack of clothes and boxes, grabbing a hand bag from the mix "What's he doing with that bag?" Avery asked as she could now clearly see her purple handbag in his hand
Not waiting for another signal or having to explain his intentions Max tossed the bag as far as he could from the island as Avery watched him in pure horror
"Why did you do that?" Avery yelled storming over to Max
"That-" Emma spoke, pointing to the bag flying in the air before crashing into the ocean "was experiment number one. Checking to see if the islands ``magnetic field" would pull back the bag into the Islands currents, given that it doesn't want us to leave or want the outside world to know we're trapped her"
"A little warning next time would be nice" Avery sniffled as she walked back to the group
"Would you let us toss your bag away if we told you we wanted to?" Emma asked sternly
She said nothing but huffed air from her mouth, folding her arms across her chest "There you have it" Emma said
"Now for the next experiment" Evan said from beside Emma turning to look at Max again, giving him a nod
Max smiled, walking over to the stack of clothes and boxes, picking up a bag filled with clothes
"The island's currents are said to go around the island which is why we all woke up on different parts of the island. We believe we were all carried around the island before washed onto shore" Emma said looking at Evan and Max
They both walked away from the group, heading up the left side of the island, where Lucas found the first missing part of the group, disappearing out of sight only to reappear again about half an hour later, with no bag in hand as they nodded over to Emma
"If we see that bag here by morning or sometime later if we're still here then that proves our second hypothesis" Emma said as Evan and Max rejoined the group
"That's two statements tested" Elijah said looking at Emma lifting two fingers in front of him
"With the last been time moving differently on the island we're going to need volunteers" Emma said looking over at the group
"Volunteers for what exactly?" Mia asked looking rather confused
"We're going inside the forest behind us" Emma said pointing at the forest over her shoulders