Survival

Alex and Isis were walking back to the camp when they saw the smoke and the flames coming off the treetop shelters. They took off toward the camp as fast as they could, Isis getting there mere seconds before Alex, but she was wishing she had let him go in front at the sight in front of them.



Vicky had a branch alight with fire pointing it at Gabe and he was holding the gun at her, yelling for her to put the branch down, but she moved to set him on fire and he shot her in the leg. She fell over and he put the safety on the gun before running for the rope ladder that led to their retreat.



Nate dropped Abby from their ladder the last few feet and then fell to the ground himself, running away just as their house fell to the ground with a crash. Gabe back away as the rope ladder caught fire, yelling for Ryley and Clara at the top of his lungs.



Ryley appeared out the door with Clara on his back and, like the monkey he was, began to climb down the tree. He lost his grip as some of the flames licked his skin, but he turned and landed on the bottom of the pile. “I broke my fucking leg!”



He rolled onto his back and his eyes went wide as he rolled on top of Clara just as a timber from their retreat fell to the ground. It hit him in the head and Clara started to scream as Isis and Alex pulled her out from under Ryley’s headless corpse.



Gabe, Isis, and Alex, always the ones to keep their calm in hectic situations, began to put the fire out as best they could, preventing it from spreading. They had to keep a constant watch on it, but were glad when the morning brought the rains they had once dreaded, dousing the flames at last.



Clara had seen to the gunshot wound to Vicky’s leg, though it was barely a graze, and then left her alone, not wanting to go near her. They all remained away from her, afraid that she would do something stupid again.



By lunch the following day, the rains had stopped and they buried Ryley’s body just above the high tide line, where he had jokingly told them the first week he wanted to buried if they didn’t get off this island. Now, sadly, it wasn’t a joke.



Isis, using all the skill she possessed as a woodcarver’s daughter, found a small sapling and turned it into a cross with his name, date of birth, and date of death on it, as well as the tagline ‘Loving friend to the bitter end.’



“A little morbid, don’t you think?”



“Shut up, Vicky. He died saving those he cared most about. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? You tried to kill your friends and managed to kill Ryley because of what? Because the guy you’ve been cheating on for the last fourteen years finally tells you that he doesn’t want you? A piss poor excuse for murdering an innocent.” Isis looked at Vicky, inching to pull out a gun and finish what Gabe couldn’t. She could do it and feel no remorse. She had done it before.



“I didn’t murder him.”



Isis laughed and it was the laugh of a mad scientist just before he went completely crazy and brutally murdered an entire village with his monster. “Didn’t murder him? DIDN’T MURDER HIM?!?! You set the FUCKING shelters on fire with Nate, Abby, Clara, and Ryley in them! How is that not FUCKING MURDERING HIM?!”



Gabe and Alex moved to Isis as her voice began to grow in anger. Gabe reached for the guns and Isis turned her gaze to him. “Don’t. When I take her life, I won’t be shooting her.” She felt Alex’s hand on the blade at her thigh and then looked at him. “And I won’t be stabbing her either.”



The two boys backed away, but Vicky’s frantic voice stopped them from going too far. “Stop! You’re just going to let her keep her weapons? What if she tries to shoot me in my sleep?”



“Don’t worry about that, Vicky. When I kill you, I’ll make sure it’s my hands around your neck.” Isis stood and walked off on that, heading towards the waterfall. She needed a moment to think about where they could build the new shelters, though she knew that Vicky would be staying alone from now on.



She turned as she heard feet approaching her and sighed as she realized it was just Alex. He walked over to her and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. “I’m sorry, Isis. I was starting to like Ryley. I wish I had known him a little better.”



Isis nodded, afraid to say anything. She didn’t cry in front of people and she wasn’t about to start now. She had to get to the waterfall so that she could burst into tears alone, mourn alone.



He touched her arm and she knew what was coming next, but if he hugged her, she wasn’t going to be able to hold it in. She stepped back, but his arms were already around. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head into his shoulder, letting the tears flow.



Her legs came out from under her and he caught her, moving to the ground where he held her in his lap as she cried. She had lost her older brother, for that was what Ryley was. Few knew that they were half-siblings. Even Clara and Gabe didn’t know. She wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and continued to cry.



She heard a cough and felt Gabe move up behind her, hugging both him and Alex, he was crying as well. Clara joined the little huddle with Isis pulling her into her lap so that the two girls were between the two guys. Nate came and laid a hand on both Isis and Clara’s shoulders, letting him know just how sorry he was for the death of their friend. Abby stood off to the side, sobbing on her own.



Isis was the first to pull back. She shook her head as she ran to Ryley grave and pulled her knife back out, carving the words ‘Loving Brother’ below everything else. They had all followed her back to the grave and watched as she carved it, but the words seemed to shock everyone.



“Brother? He was your brother?” Gabe fell to his knees beside Isis and frowned before laughing and shaking his head. “That explains so much of high school.”



Isis nodded as Gabe wrapped his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. “He was my half-brother. We had the same mother, but different fathers. She died just before we started kindergarten together.”



“He was a year older than you, Isis, how is that possible that you were in the same grade?”



“You’re very quickly starting to piss me off, Vicky. My IQ is a lot greater than his. His K-4 teacher didn’t think he was ready for kindergarten. She held him back and we ended up in the same class. It was great that we were siblings and in school together, but we found that if the teachers knew, then we wouldn’t be together. Hence why we never told anyone. Happy?” Isis glared at Vicky before standing again. “I have to … be alone for a few minutes.”



She turned to walk back to the waterfall in search of shelter as she had been before when Alex grabbed her arm gently. “I don’t think you should be alone right now, I.”



Isis smiled and stood on tiptoes to kiss Alex gently. She heard Gabe making noises, but ignored them. “I’ll be fine. I promise. I’m not going to shoot myself or anything. I’m saving that for Vicky.”



She kissed him again as she headed back to the waterfall. She took off her outer clothes and dove into the water, looking behind the fall for somewhere they could use as a shelter that wouldn’t catch on fire. She remembered a little alcove by near where she hid her bags and swam to it, crawling through it and finding a rather large cavern. There was nothing there, so she had found their new shelter.



She swam out of the cave and built a small hut close to the burnt remains of their treetop homes. She made sure it was a shoddy hut and barely livable before she headed back to the others where they had remained on the beach, keeping look for ships in the distance.



“I have found us a new place to stay.” Everyone turned their attention to her, almost like they hadn’t heard her, and maybe they hadn’t.



They moved as one and started to her. She led the way to the small hut and gestured to it. “For Vicky. I don’t want her to be anywhere near me while I sleep.”



She gestured for the others to continue as they deposited Vicky into the hut. They continued toward the waterfall and followed Isis along the back wall of the falls. She walked up the alcove and into the large cavern. “There are three exits to this cavern, in case Vicky tries to do something again.”



She took them through the cave and showed them the exits. They used one of the forest exits to bring in stuff to make bedding for them. After an hour, they had enough beds for all of them with more than enough leaf-made blankets to keep them warm in the coldest of weather.



They built a fire in the middle of the cavern, glad it had a hole in the roof for the excess smoke, and sat around it. The silence was thick until Clara broke it with a smile. “Do you remember Prom and that ridiculous blue tux Ryley wore?”



Everyone laughed and nodded. “And the paint for the Prom King and Queen? I had blue in my hair for a month. Vicky bitched and griped for two weeks about it, but I merely laughed it off. It was a great prank. And, looking back, I’m beginning to think I agree with Ryley that the B-List rules. Mind if I join up now?” Alex smiled as he looked at Gabe, Isis, and Clara.



Isis held up and finger and leaned into Gabe and Clara. “I think we should let him in. He’s actually nothing like what Vicky portrayed him as in high school.”



“That and you’re fucking him.” Gabe smiled at Isis, letting her know he was joking. She hit him and he feigned pain. “Oh, woe is me!”



“I like him too, Gabe. He’s not that bad. Neither is Nate. Abby has always been an A-List wannabe, even when we kids, so I’m thinking no on her though.” Gabe and Isis were looking at her weird so she shrugged. “She’s my cousin. I’ve never liked her.”



Gabe shrugged. “So Alex and Nate? OK. As president of this chapter of the B-List, it’s my job to ask them, but they must be initiated, just like we were.” He sat up and smiled at Alex. “Alex Santos and Nate Nelson, you have been tapped for the B-List. We have some simple rushes you must complete to be a full member, but then you’re in for life. Do you accept the challenge?”



Nate and Alex looked at each other before nodding. “We’re in.”



“Good. Our first rush task for you is … Sleep. I’m beat.” Gabe stood and went to his pad, flopping into it.



Nate and Clara moved to their pads beside Gabe’s. Abby went to hers on the far side of the room. Alex looked at Isis and shrugged before pulling her to her feet. She doused the fire and then went with him to the pads they had made side by side.



She sighed as she lay onto the pad, her back to everyone else. She was hoping tomorrow would be a better day, but with Vicky still on the island and no sign of rescue, she doubted that was going to happen.



She felt an arm around her waist and moved closer to Alex’s body for the warmth. She yawned, feeling the day finally hit her, and began to doze softly in his arms. At least she had him to keep her sane for now. Alex and Gabe … her rocks.