Jordyn
When Sam's finished washing leaves and sticks off my burns, he sits back in the sand and doctors his own wounds. I glance behind us to see Neil and Kaia arguing some distance away.
"When did Neil come back?" I ask, wincing as I reposition myself.
"He's the one that pulled you out of the woods, according to Kaia," Sam says without glancing up. "It was before I woke up."
"Did he find any food?"
Sam looks up at that and squints in their direction. Despite how much pain I'm in, the hunger overpowers it all. How many days have we been here? Four? And I'm surviving on fumes and water. I need sustenance.
"I don't know," he answers, lifting an arm to wave them over. "I really hope so."
Kaia's face lights up as she jogs across the sand towards us. With every step, it changes- happiness, then anger, then relief, and back to happiness. She hovers over me for a minute, her expression a mix of anger and sadness.
"Look, I'm sorry about the fire," I say as I meet her eyes. "I didn't mean- I just was- I never should have-"
"Oh, shut up, idiot." She finally cuts my stuttering off, falls down on her knees, and wraps her arms around me. I wince in pain, but the sound doesn't faze her. I clench my eyes shut against the dull jolts spiralling up my back and pat hers.
"Kaia, let me go," I whisper feebly as stars dance in the edges of my vision. "Please."
She pulls away, then, and glares at me.
"You almost got us all killed! What were you thinking?"
I open and close my mouth a few times, but no solid explanation comes to mind. I was cold? I like fire? I didn't listen to the little voice that told me to stop? I'm stupid? Anything I have feels like an excuse or sheer insanity.
"Whatever, fish girl," she says. "Good news is Neil saved your little butt and brought us food."
I glance over at the taller boy who has his hands shoved in his jumpsuit pockets. For someone who ran into a fire to drag me out, he looks untouched other than a smear of ash across his nose.
"He did?" I ask, glancing back at Kaia.
"Yup. We've already divided it into two equal piles. Want me to bring yours over?"
I nod, and she jumps out of the sand, runs across the beach, and scoops up a handful of colorful, round objects. She walks it back over and dumps the pile in front of me.
"Are you're sure it's all safe?" I ask, picking up one of the fruits. They're mostly different shades of yellow and green, but a pile of deep purple berries and a brighter purple, fist-sized fruit give the mix variety.
I turn the yellow, oblong fruit over in my hand, careful that the dull spikes covering the skin don't lodge themselves into my flesh.
"They're all edible," Neil says, and I see his shadow nod in front of me.
"Where did you get them from, though?" I ask.
"The woods."
"Okay.... But where in the woods?" I turn back around to look up at him. He shrugs.
"Other side of the mountain. Lots of fruit trees there."
"Then shouldn't we move onto that side and stay?" Sam asks.
It's a valid question. If there's food over there, then that's where we need to be.
"No," Neil says quickly. "The food attracts predators. We have to stay here."
YOU ARE READING
The Island
Science Fiction"This is The Island, a prison designed for minors like me- too young to be executed, too old to be reformed, and too much of a stain on humanity to let exist. It was 'the answer' to the growing crime rate resulting from a world that was falling apar...
