Present Day

The morning begins exactly how it had everyday for the past decade. Or so I believed. It was hard to keep track of time with a life like mine. I hardly bothered to acknowledge when the months started and ended. What was the point?

The weather is unbearably humid today, it left every ounce of flesh it touched torrid and drenched with perspiration. I left my cabin mid day as promised and made my way towards the sea. The soldiers came every few months bearing news or prisoners. But they always brought our share of supplies: food, clothes, seeds, a new water pump, whatever we'd need to survive.

I settle down on the banks and plunge my feet into the frigid water. The bitter scent of fish tainted the breeze, but it didn't take away from the luminous ocean waves. The sight put me into a near hypnotic state every time I allowed myself a moment of peace to enjoy it. The soft lap of the water against the sand is one of my first memories.

"Sparrow?" I turn behind me and find a woman standing 2 meters shy of the shore. She wears a soft hearted smile with hair trimmed far above her ears to show it off. Her eyes were like liquid silver, pools of empty glimmering light, completely incapable of seeing anything.

"Oh, hello Jane,"

"You sound especially lethargic today, is it that time of the year again?" She advances towards my perch at a crawl. When she finally arrives, her hands come to cup my cheeks and she runs her slender fingers over the crevices in my face.

"Mmhm, just as I thought," she murmurs, sliding her index finger in between my eyebrows, "you're face always creases right here when you're reminiscing." I manage a tired smile and reach up the grasp her wrist.

"Maybe it is that time of year again, I couldn't tell ya. Checking the time and date wasn't exactly my first priority when I washed up here."

"That hardly matters. The human mind is an incomprehensibly powerful thing, our bodies are built to remember trauma whether our conscience knows it or not." I look up at her curiously. I had never really thought of my arrival here as traumatic. Looking back, it was probably more scarring to Jane and the others than it was for me; I was barely conscious when it happened. They say I was one of the most frail ones they'd ever rescued. All skin and bones, dehydrated, starving, with sand and filth caught in my mouth.

The people who brought us supplies weren't always kind but they kept us alive. We all knew better than to question where they came from or what their intentions were. If they cut off our supplies we were doomed. More than that our island consisted of less than 100 people. With their technology they could reduce our entire village into nothing but a crimson smear on the earth; we were completely at their mercy. Besides, as far as I knew, no one here wanted anything to change. It was peaceful here, everyone was well kept and alive. Who was I to question their way of life after they saved me?

I pat the ground next to me, gesturing for Jane to sit and offer her my assistance as she lowers herself down. I learned very quickly that I wasn't a rare case within the citizens of our village. All of us were unable to recall any event prior to appearing at this island, many of us were crippled upon discovery. It was a terrifying trend, but again, none of us dare question it. Abruptly, Jane perks up, raising a finger to the horizon,

"The waters' shifted, they're coming."