[just a short story *cough* 11,000 words *cough* i wrote for my creative writing class :) i would've made it longer/better but i didn't have enough time lol. also, yes, i reused dakota because i was too lazy to make up another character XD ]

         "Hey, Maya. Maya, wake up. Maya!"

A violent shaking woke me, my body being jolted back and forth as my arms rubbed against something rough and gritty. I scrunched up my nose at the uncomfortable feeling, groaning as I peeled my eyes open.

I had to blink several times before my vision cleared, but I was startled at the sight of two big grey eyes peering into mine.. What I saw surprised me, however. My closest friend – Dakota - was hovering over me, a worried expression playing on his features.

"What's up?" I muttered groggily, trying to hide my annoyance from being so aggressively pulled from my slumber. I was in mid-yawn when a realization dawned on me. "Wait, Kody? What are you doing here? Why are you in my bedroom?!" I shrieked, bolting upright into a sitting position. But instead of my hands landing on my plush comforter, they sunk into the ground, bits and pieces of grit getting stuck between my fingers.

Then I looked around, almost refusing to believe what was in front of me.

Was that... water? More specifically, the ocean? And was I sitting on sand?

Rolling waves lapped upon the shore, the liquid mixing with the sand and pulling it out to sea. My head swiveled around, and I wondered for a moment if I was dreaming. The landscape stretched before me, miles and miles of shimmering gold going for as far as the eye could see with a tree-line encroaching on its territory a few feet behind me.

I stood up, gaping at everything around me. I rubbed at my eyes and pinched my armself, trying to dispel the unbelievable mirage. A cool breeze rippled through the beach, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

"Finally, I've been trying to wake you for at least ten minutes. And don't bother – this isn't a dream," he said after witnessing my antics. "It's all real."

I jumped, letting out a slight squeak; I had almost forgotten about Dakota. He was sitting behind me, leaning back on his hands as he stretched out on the sand. His light grey eyes were peering up at the skies – cloudy and overcast despite the bright demeanor of the beach. It was almost as if the weather had no effect on the appearance of the water and sand, for they sparkled and shone as if the sun was beating down upon it.

"What do you mean it's real? This can't be real! I fell asleep in my cabin last night, I know it!" I declared indignantly, fear beginning to creep into me as the images in front of me refused to fade.

"Yeah, and I fell asleep in mine. But when I came to this morning I was lying here, on this beach. And you were next to me," he explained calmly, as if this didn't bother him at all.

"But – what- how—?" I sputtered, heart thrumming loudly against my chest. Is what he says true? But how did we get here? It can't be real... but it has to be...

He gave a shrug, pulling himself to his feet and dusting off his clothes – a pair of blue and white basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Looking down, I realized I was still in my pink and white bunny pajamas that I remember putting on before going to bed.

"I have no idea. Like I said, I woke up like this. My only concern is what happened to the other passengers," he muttered, looking out to sea. My dark brown eyes widened at this, and if it was possible, my heart began to beat faster.

"The cruise ship..." I trailed off, thinking of all the possible things that could have happened to everyone else on the boat. If they aren't here... where are they? What happened to Mom?... Dad? ... Steph?

Just recalling their smiling faces as we had fun on the cruise brought tears to my eyes at the possibility of never seeing them again. I remembered the first night on the boat, in which we watched the stars from the open deck. I remembered the afternoon spent swimming in the pool, and the sushi bar that we had dinner at. I remembered the fight I had with my little sister Stephanie, fighting over who got to control the television in the cabin. I remembered how it ended; with her screaming that she wished I had stayed home instead of infringing on her birthday present – the cruise.

Now I regretted any harsh words I may have uttered to her during that time, and any time before that. Because now I would never get to apologize, never tell any of my family members how sorry I was and how much they really meant to me.

I tried to stay positive and believe that they were okay, but at this point, I could come to no definite conclusions. For all I know, they could be...

I choked back a sniffle, coughing slightly as my eyes began to burn. I'm sorry, I thought silently, praying that one day I'd be able to say those words to them aloud.

"Hey, hey, don't cry, I'm sure they're alright," Dakota said, patting my back as a means of reassurance. "I'm sorry for bringing it up," he said quietly, looking quite guilty.

I shook my head. "No, you have nothing to apologize for," I sighed, knowing that Dakota must be worried out of his mind for his own family. His little sister was Steph's best friend and naturally, the entire family was invited to join us on the cruise. " I'm just... I can't... I don't understand," I finally managed to say, trying to calm myself from the internal emotional turmoil, sighing heavily. "I don't understand how we got to this place, or how we got here without realizing. Someone will be looking for us, though, right? They have to have noticed that something happened to the ship – or at least us. Because by the looks of it, there don't seem to be any other people around."

"Yeah, I hope." He reached up, one hand resting on his hip while the other swept through his messy blonde hair. "In the meantime, we have no idea how long it's going to take for them to find us so we should probably figure out what we're going to do until then." I watched as his eyes scanned the scenery, clearly searching for something.

I, however, just blinked. "What do you mean?"

Dakota turned to me, a slim brow raised. "Like, in terms of food and shelter. We can't expect for it to just fall from the sky like some sort of miracle. I don't think we'll be seeing savior anytime soon so we might as well make the best of what we have and start preparing for the worst. Who knows where we are and what could possibly be on this land mass - we don't even know how big it is or if it's an island or a remote area of a country."

"I guess... you're right," I admitted. I've always known that he was the smarter one between us two, but I never thought I could be so dense as to not realize that we would need things to eat and a place to stay while we awaited help. And at this moment in time, I was immensely grateful for the fact that Dakota had been a boy-scout nearly all his life and that his family was prone to taking several camping trips a year; something about wanting to be 'closer to nature'.

I almost had hope that we could survive this thanks to the skills he'd been building.

"Great, now that we're on the same page, let's go. We should probably gather some materials before dark... whenever that is." The last three words were spoken in such low tones that I struggled to hear him, and his head was turned away from me, looking up at the sky. Huh, now that he mentioned it, it did seem... odd that everything was bathed in a yellow-white glow yet there was no patch of sun to be seen. It was all just mottled gray up there.Frowning, I voiced my agreement with his statement. I didn't understand how everything was bathed in a yellow-white glow despite the fact that there was no source of lighting. It was almost as if the landscape was being illuminated from the inside out. How were we supposed to tell what time it was with no sun or moon to guide us?

Breaking from his stare, he looked back at me and motioned me over as he started to make his way down the beach andthen to the treelinetree line, detailing everything we would need to do.

"First we should find a suitable place to build some sort of shelter - it doesn't need to be anything fancy, just something to shield us from the wind and possibly any rain. We should probably make it either on the beach or near it - that way any rescuers would easily be able to find us. Then we should figure out what we can eat. Hopefully there will be some sort of edible substance here; we might be able to figure out a way to hunt if it really comes down to it."

We crossed the sand quickly, trees looming above us as we ventured deeper into the thicket. It was suddenly very dark; not at all like the sunny scenery from before. It almost seemed as if we were enveloped by shadows; ones , that only appeared to get darker as we continued our ventureway.

Dakota was gathering various sized sticks that had fallen, and I began to copy him. For over thirty minutes, we gathered branches and large leaves to make into a pile at the base of a relatively large tree. Eventually we deemed that we had collected enough to fashion a sort of "roof" by overlapping our materials between two trees and their low-hanging branches that wereas in the shallow part of the jungle.

By the time we were finished, I was covered in scratches and bleeding slightly from places where thorns had pierced my pajamas. Dakota faredwas no better - I saw him rubbing his arm off on the side of his t-shirt, leaving small a small smudges of red.

"Now what?" I asked him, looking around. To my right, I could faintly see the waves pulsing back and forth onto the shore, but to my left, ominous shadows danced and shifted as little creatures scurried around in the underbrush and a cool breeze wafted through the tree trunks. If I noticed anything during our search, it was that this appeared to be more like a jungle-type setting than a forest. I had found myself constantly running into drooping vines and the large leaves looked more like the tropical variety.

Dakota gave a shrug. "Now we find something to eat, and we're probably going to need a fire. I'll try and find some food, while you dig a little pit in the sand to hold the fire. We can use some of our spare sticks to start it."

I gave a curt nod, squatting down and sticking my hands into the sand as Dakota wandered off. I could hear him crashing through the forest as he fought through the thick overgrowth, and I hoped that he would find something to eat soon - I could already feel myself growing hungry due to the fact I hadn't eaten since last night. My stomach growled at the prospect of potential food.

Sighing, I pushed my hunger to the back of my mind as I began to dig, making a medium-sized pit before laying sticks down criss-crossingcrisscrossing each other through the middle. Stuffing some dry leaves I found at the edge of the treelinetree line into the middle of the ramshackle pile, I gently layered some on top too. Then I stood up proudly, admiring my work.

I had tried to imitate what the fire-pits looked like on all those survival TVtv shows, and admittedly, I thought I did a pretty splendid job. Although Dakota would have to be the real judge of that - he was the camping expert after all.

I had just sat back down under the makeshift canopy, when I saw something red floating in the water. I stood back up and squinted, trying to get a clearer look at it.

It was... square. No, it was rectangular and had some sort of black lining on it.

Wandering closer, the waves lapped at my toes, and the object slowly bobbed closer to shore. I felt my excitement rise as I realized what it was – a piece of luggage!

Without thinking, I waded into the water, swimming a short distance to reach it. When my hand grasped around the black handle, I began to haul it back to the sand, mind whizzing with the idea of what this could contain.

Ignoring my sopping clothes and chilled skin, I zipped open the luggage to find piles of clothes – all soaked. Digging deeper, I found some toiletries, wires and batteries, a razor for shaving, and a few glass jars filled with cologne.

I carried the luggage over to our shelter and began to hang up the clothes on a branch to dry. It looked as if a man owned the luggage – there were a lot of khakis and polo tops, as well as hair gel that had the words 'for men'.

Although the clothes would be a tad too big on me, I was still happy to have found them because anything would be better than these drenched pajamas. I would just have to wait til they dried. Dakota would also be pleased with what I had found.

Speaking of whom, twigs snapped and leaves crunched as I heard him approaching. He burst out of the shadows moments later, and I greeted him with a smile, almost giddy to show him the progress I made since he left. fire pit I dug.

However, my smile soon faltered and disappeared as I took in his ghastly appearance. His face was pale, eyes wide as he heaved in big breaths.

"Woah, Dakota, what happened? You look awful," I commented, half-expecting a witty comeback. It was one of his characteristics that I had always admired: the ability to stay calm and collected even in the most stressful situations. It alarmed me to see him had never seen him look so terrified.

He shook his head quickly, still gulping in air as if he could die at any moment.

"Are you okay? You should probably sit down," I said slowly, moving towards him. His eyes were wildly darting around, and when I tried to ease him onto the sand, he resisted.

"No!" he shouted, and I jumped back, startled. "I- I can't sit down. The.. the bunny."

That caught my attention. "Bunny? You mean there are living animals here? We could probably catch it, and we won't starve to death! You know how to make traps, right? What do you need for it? I could go gather materials while you build it, and we actually might be able to survive!" My voice was raised in excitement, and I could feel relief seeping into every cell of my being. I didn't want to die yet; I was too young.

Dakota's hand latched onto my shoulders, rather roughly, as he stared into my eyes.

"No, Maya, you don't understand. It wasn't a bunny, it was... morphed. Deformed. Mutated. Whatever that thing was, it certainly was not a regular bunny. It had.. it had.." He let go of my shoulders, only to stare down at his hands as if he was picturing himself holding the abnormal bunny. "... five legs, and seven really long tails, almost likeeach tail looked like those what you'd see on a lion. Then that eye." Dakota shuttered, and I stared at him.

He looked entirely serious, but I couldn't believe such an absurd thing could exist.

I nearly called him out on it, for trying to pull a cruel joke on me, when I decided against it. Something in me was urging me to believe him; whether that be due to his strange behavior or the fact that I had been squashing down my hysteria since waking up in this place and it was now resurfacing.

Instead, I prompted more about this weird bunny, studying him carefully. "So what about its eyes?"

He seemed truly shaken up as he answered. "Not eyes. Just an eye. Smack dab on top of its head, it was ten times bigger than it's supposed to be and where its normal eyes were supposed to go... there were just holes."

Having been best friends for several years, I knew Dakota's tell like the back of my hand. And when he didn't shove his hands into his pockets and scuff the ground with his foot, my internal panic system began to engageI became alarmed. He wasn't lying. He really did see something, but I still had a hard time believing that it was a mutant bunny with a giant eye and seven tails.

I frowned. "Kody..." I trailed, unsure of how to phrase it. "Are you sure you're not just, uhm, .. seeing things? I mean, what you're saying is kinda... a little, uh, hard to believe." My voice was quiet and hesitant, but I watched as his facial expression morphed into one of anger.

"Maya, are you calling me crazy? I know what I saw, okay! It was some sort of creature," he declared adamantly, and I bit down on my lip, unsure of what to do.

"I..." I paused, unable to form any thoughts. "...can you show me?" I finally asked after several beats of silence. I decided against arguing with the only other person in this place, opting for the better option of asking for real proof. At least that way, I could believe him. determine if there was truth to his words.

His frown deepened, and he hesitated before saying, "Fine. If that's what it takes for you to be convinced, then so be it. But i'mI'm not going back there without a weapon." He marched over to where a few leftover sticks were scattered, picking up the heftiest one. He inspected it for a moment, banging it against the ground a few times, presumably to make sure it wouldn't snap in a time of crisis.

Once he was satisfied, he handed me a similar looking stick, and I just gave him a questioning look.

"You're going to want protection too," he stated, and I nodded. Then he motioned me over, and we both embarked on the trek back into the dense jungle, and I followed closely behind Dakota as he fought his way through the vegetation.

After about five or so minutes of walking through twisted routes, Dakota stopped suddenly, causing me to crash into his back and fall onto the filthy ground.

"Ouch," I muttered out of reflex, standing up and making a face at the dirt that now stained my pajama bottoms.

"Shh," Dakota hissed at me, giving me a slight glare. He made a pointing gesture at an area in front of us, and I had to peer around his shoulder, only to glimpse something small and furry scuffling along the ground.

My eyes widened, and I let out a gasp at the sight of seven long tails waving back and forth, like tall grass stalks in the breeze.

The animal turned to face us after hearing the noise, and I had to stifle the urge to scream.

Its eyes were empty, just as Dakota had said. Just two small, darkened indents where normal eyeballs should have been.

Then it lowered its head to nose the ground[A4] , and I really did scream when I saw the huge eye sitting atop its head.

Unable to contain my horror, I dropped the stick and ran. Ran as far and as fast as my legs could carry me across the uneven terrain, resulting in me tripping and stumbling over roots and vines that were draped across the ground.

I blindly kept blundering through the jungle, and I could faintly hear Dakota yelling my name and calling for me to wait. But I ignored him, my heartbeat drumming so hard I could hear it pounding in my ears.

Eventually exhaustion consumed my muscles, and I had to stop; my hands resting on my knees as I doubled over, heaving in big breaths.

It took a bit to recover from my mad dash, but once I had, I straightened up, looking around. Where am I? I thought silently, nothing looking familiar. Listening, I could only hear the quiet undertone of insects buzzing as leaves rustled.

I couldn't hear Dakota at all.

Fear and regret crept into me, and I could feel the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stand up as I became more alert of my surroundings.

"Oh no, what have I done?" I whispered aloud this time, hesitantly taking a step forwards. I couldn't even tell what direction I had come from - everything looked exactly the same. It was all just a mosaic of dappled greens and browns, with no way of differentiating between them.

"Dakota?" I shouted, with no response. Not even an echo. I started moving forwards, figuring that it'd be better to keep moving as opposed to standing still where I was vulnerable. Especially considering the fact that the bunny-mutant was still wandering out there somewhere. I'd rather not be standing where it could potentially eat me, for who knows what it's capable of.

I must've been walking for at least thirty minutes, when I heard a quiet noise; one that resembled human speech. It almost sounded as if it was a distant scream, but at the same time, I had no doubt that it was possible I was imagining it. I had been hearing a lot of strange things since I started my hike.

Then I heard it again, more distinctly this time.

"Maya!"

I sucked in a sharp breath, immediately recognizing the unmistakable voice of my best friend. My pulse began to race again, this time out of excitement as oppose to fear.

"Dakota!" I screamed back, at the top of my lungs. I prayed he could hear me and would respond, so I could pinpoint his location. Moments later, I heard him again, and I began to sprint towards where I thought the voice was coming from. "Dakota!" I called out once more, and this time when he responded, he sounded really close.

So I started to sprint faster. That is, until my foot caught on something heavy and I fell to the ground, a clattering noise heard from behind me.

"Ugh," I grunted, holding onto where my knee crashed into the dirt floor. It was a throbbing sort of pain, and I gingerly rubbed at it, trying to soothe it.

When I looked to see what I had tripped on, my mouth fell open and my breathing began to pick up.

Was that a bone? More importantly, a human skull sitting next to it?

I slowly crawled toward the decayed pile, which appeared to look more and more like a pile of human bones the closer I got. Tattered pieces of fabric were driven into the dirt next to it, and I could only stare at the brittle pile; I couldn't tell if it was more from fascination or horror.

"Maya, there you are!" An exclamation was heard from behind me, and I jumped, swiveling around to find a sweaty Dakota. "Ew, what is that?" He asked, looking at the skeletal remains. "Please don't tell me that's what I think it is."

I shrugged. "If you're thinking it's a long-dead human, then I'd assume you'd be correct." I looked towards it again, but this time I noticed something odd sticking out from what looked like a femur.

I reached towards it, gingerly grasping the thin object between my fingers.

"Maya! What are you doing? Don't touch that!" Dakota scolded, but I ignored him as I picked it up.

"It's a book," I stated dully, inspecting it. "Like a journal of some sort."It had a leather cover, and it was tied shut with a piece of twine. I began to undo the complicated knot, my fingers straining to get the strands loose.

"Hey! Who knows what's in that journal, it could be private!" Dakota was leaning over me now, watching me work. His words may held a moral integrity, but his actions told me he was just as curious as I was.

"Well, he won't be needing it now, will he? As far as I'm concerned he's dead," I said pointedly, still working at the knot. "Aha!" I cried as the string snapped and came undone. I couldn't help my gleeful smile at my success, and I could feel the anticipation at the forefront of my mind.

I thumbed through the pages at first, just skimming through them. I caught bits and pieces of the dead man's journey, and deduced that he was once the sea captain of a ship. Apparently he was sailing with his crew on the S.S. Oasis when he found himself here; no boat, but there were three crew members with him..

I frowned, reading deeper into the pages.

"What does it say?" Dakota asked, leaning farther over my shoulder to get a better look. I shushed him and stared at the book intently, finally grasping the value this book held as I continued to read.

It entailed so many of the observations that Dakota and I had witnessed - such as the strange animal and the weird weather - as well as many other things that we hadn't seen yet. The journal talked about a deadly swamp, and what looked like steam rising up through pits and holes in the ground. Then it went on to explain how he found food and water, and even included a map to a freshwater spring. It detailed what was edible and what was not; what would make you sick or what would heal you. He even included what would kill you.

I slammed the book shut, scrambling to my feet as I lunged at Dakota, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist.

"Dakota! Don't you realize what this is? This is it! The key to our survival, oh my gosh we might actually make it through this!" I cheered, getting teary eyed. It hadn't fully hit me yet that our lives could have potentially ended, and I had been walking around in a state of denial. But now, with this journal, we had a chance. A real chance.

I could practically sense Dakota's elation, and he let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I guess we might just make it." Ten seconds after the hug reached the awkward stage, I released him, taking a couple steps back with a sheepish smile.

Then my frown quickly resurfaced. "How are we gonna get back to our campsite? Or the beach?"

Dakota laughed, giving me a slight noogie as he mussed up my hair. "Be grateful that one of us isn't directionless," he snickered, leading the way.

I stuck my tongue out as his back, the journal gripped tightly in my hand. It was the only valuable thing that we had right now, and we couldn't afford for me to lose it.

I followed him in almost an aimless manner, my mind more occupied with thoughts of the secrets this book could hold. It could even tell us how to get off this blasted island. It seemed like no time had passed before I was seated in the sand, the ramshackle roof over my head.

"Hey, where'd you get these?" Dakota's voice interrupted my train of thoughts, and I looked up to see him inspecting the clothes I had hung earlier.

In all the excitement, I had completely forgotten about the luggage. I shrugged, "I dunno, I found it floating in the water. We have clothes and a few other things now," I replied nonchalantly.

The clothes were gently waving in the breeze, and Dakota grinned. "Nice! Now we have a change of clothes for when the ones we're wearing get too ratty."

I nodded, not really listening. I had started delving into the journal, and I couldn't help but be captured by the writings.

"Alright," I heard Dakota say, "I guess you could stay here while I go look for some food. Could I see that book for a second?" Dakota held out a hand and I hesitantly put the journal in it. I didn't want to let it go. He flipped through it for a few minutes while I pulled my knees up to my chest, watching the ocean waves crash upon the shoreignoring my desire to snatch the journal back and keep reading. I felt possessive over the journal already – all I wanted to do was find out what this person went through on this island.

So I tried to let my surroundings take my mind away, watching the wind whistle through the sand and the waves crash upon the shore. It felt almost serene watching the scenery unfold before my eyeswas almost serene in a way, and I could see a sea bird bobbing up and down atop the water.

A smile slipped onto my face as I watched it, starting to feel content with living in the moment - something that I never used to do.

Then the ground gave a slight tremble and a ring of purple surrounded the white bird, and it opened its beak in a silent squawk beforeas it disappeared beneath the waves.

"Dakota, look!" I shouted, grabbing his arm and pointing wildly at the ocean, where the purple soon faded to red.

"What happened there? Looks nasty," he commented, scrunching up his nose before returning to the book.

"It- the bird- purple - gone," I sputtered, unable to comprehend what I just saw. What was wrong with this place? I mean, I knew it was freaky, but it just got more outlandish the longer I was here.

"Here," Dakota said, handing the journal back to me. He either decided to ignore my useless babble or he didn't hear it at all. Either way, I let out a slightly annoyed huff. "I'm going to try and find some of those plants on the list, and tomorrow we can work on making traps."

I nodded. "Alright, and what should I do? I don't want to just sit here, that'll make me feel useless."

He thought for a second before shrugging. "I dunno, read that book I guess, and try to learn as much as you possibly can. It won't help anyone if you get lost again," he pointed out, and as much as I wanted to argue, I knew he was right. have fun," I murmured dismissively as I tried to forget that horrifying image of the bird vanishing under the water. I had no idea what happened to it, but I was scared to find out. Maybe this book has the answer, I thought silently as Dakota left our campsite and went back into the jungle.

It probably was best if I learned everything that this guy knew before he died, and it might even provide some sort of clue as to what all the strange occurrences were.

LLayingg on my stomach in the sand, I began to read the book from the time he woke up on the island up until the very last entry.

It was almost like some sort of sick and twisted fiction story - with all sorts of fantastical creatures as well as drawings and descriptions of them. Some of them were really grotesque; I really hoped I would never meet the spider monkey that had eight legs and eight eyes. Not to mention a pair of fangs that looked like they belonged in a lion's mouth.

Despite the scary drawings, my attention was still enraptured with his writings and all the things I could possibly see on this island. But as I neared the end of the journal, it was apparent that something went very wrong for him. It was now barely legible, the letters quickly scrawled on the final dirt-smudged page.last few dirt-smudged pages; which seemed to hold an interesting idea.

Apparently the captain began to believe that the island was alive, and in order to escape, he had to kill it somehow. The next few pages talked of the illusion the island surrounded itself with, the dark grey skies hiding it from any outsiders that tried to find it. It seemed too implausible to be true, but I couldn't but be fascinated by his theory – for everything else in his journal seemed to ring true with what I had witnessed so far.

From what I could tell, it said:

Danger! Impossible to --- no escape --- horrifying secret --- Island is -- creature! Swamp --- too many toxins, I have breathed in --- drove my crew and I crazy --- turned against --- death -- inevitable

The last letter was drawn out, a pen scratch creating a darkened line down the paper, and I felt frozen. The island... was a creature? What is he talking about?

I had to think for a moment, before I continued to flip flipped back through the pages, looking for any previousany more references to this new discovery. I started to pick up the subtle clues near the end of his entries that seemed to point to the island being alive - such as every time the island shook, an animal would disappear.

Pausing,Then I flipped back to one of the pages where one of the crew memberscrewmembers died - the one who died from falling into a pool of greenish-yellow waterthe swamp. The captain said that his skin practically disintegrated and was peeling off in clumps as the sailor thrashed in the murky green water.thin liquid, as it started to bubble. They tried to help him, but the water was more like a thick stew - slurping and gurgling as it pulled the sailor under. every time they touched the substance, it burned them.

The first time I had read that, I had chalked it up to some sort of pollution - maybe some large corporation dumping their waste onto what seemed like an uninhabited island? Which would also explain the deformed animals.

But thinking about it now, it was almost plausible that the island was alive. Maybe the swamps were some sort of... digestion pits, like a stomach? And when the ground shook, it could be the island seeking nutrients, hence the disappearing animals.

"That wouldn't explain why so many weird animals are still around. The only normal animal I saw -" I broke off, wondering, what if the animals adapted?

It would make sense in a horrifying way. T- the animalsy were so deformedweird because somehow, they managed to change their genetic makeup through evolution or other means to survive the toxins that killed the captain and his sailors. And maybe that would allow them to survive the swamps, and sense when the mini-earthquakes would happen and avoid getting swallowed. Which would explain why there were no normal animals – they hadn't developed those senses yet.

After gathering my thoughts, I continued reading the journal, completely fascinated and shocked as to the suspicions the captain held. As more and more pages were written, I witnessed the captain forming a theory as to how to get off the island – first you'd have to kill it. That would get rid of the invisible force hiding the island from the outside world. Then, once the skies cleared and everything withered away, outsiders would be able to rescue you.

The only problem with that was if they took too long to get here – then you'd be stuck with little food and water after everything on the island died from lack of nutrients.

I frowned, weighing the options. I think I'd rather take my chances on a desolate island than risk being eaten at any given moment. We could just --

"Boo!" A voice boomed next to my ear, and I let out an ear-splitting shriek. Not even a second later, Dakota's cackling laugh sounded from next to me.

"That wasn't funny!" I growled, glaring at him as he continued to laugh, doubled over.

"But it was; you should've seen your face!"

I opened my mouth to retort, when I noticed a thick green slimesome red spots coating Dakota's calves. "Hey Kody," I called, and he glanced up at me, fighting off the last of the chuckles. "What's that on your legs?" He stopped laughing completely, wiping off a couple stray tears before looking down.

"Oh, that? Some gross green water splashed onto them when I tried to reach some herbs that were described in the book.I had to walk through this swamp to get to some of the medicinal herbs described in the book. Why?"

I could feel the blood draining from my face. "Wait,You did what?" I screeched, and Dakota looked taken aback.

"I told you - in order to get the herbs, I had to wade through a shallow portion of the swamp. It was disgusting in therego near some gross green water to reach them. I was going to actually get into the pond, but it burned my foot," he said, wiggling his toes on a bright red foot, "when I touched it. Not to mentionand there was this weird green gas surrounding it. It smelled awful." He made a face as he said this, but I could only bury my face in my hands, staring at the ground.

"No," I whispered, "No, please don't tell me that was..." I recalled the description of the toxins that the captain and crew had breathed in, remembering that they said it smelled like rotting fish. "Dakota, what exactly did it smell like?"

He gave me a wary look before answering, "It smelled like seafood that had been out for a day too long. Why?"

No. That one thought reverberated within my head, and I immediately walked over to Dakota, hoping he didn't inhale enough of it to cause harm.

"Are you feeling okay? You're not dizzy are you? Nauseous? Do you have a fever?" I held up a hand to his forehead, to which he swatted it away in annoyance.

"I'm fine," he snorted. "Maya, what has gotten into you? Why are you acting so worried?" He snapped, giving me angry eyes.

"That smelly green gas s is actually a poison, and the person who wrote the journal died from it!" I huffed. "I don't even know the full extent of the effects prior to death, but I don't think there's a cure! At least, he didn't find one. And this island? It's alive and trying to eat us! So I'm sorry for being so worried, but we can't exactly mutate so we have zero protection against this island. We need to figure out something fast or we're going to die, and I really don't want to die, not when I just had hope of seeing my family again!" I blurted, sucking in a much neededmuch-needed breath. I had regurgitated all the important information I had learned about the island in a few short seconds, and now I just felt like crying as a sense of gloom overtook me.

Dakota looked guilty once he caught sight of my upset features, his own face reddening slightly. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, I'm fine, I promise. I'll let you know if I do feel sick, okay?" He gave me a small smile, and I reluctantly nodded.

"Okay," I responded, giving him a once-over just to make sure. He really did look fine - perfectly normal aside from the scratches from tramping through the jungle.

"Anyway, why don't you tell me everything you learned from the journal slowly," he paused to give me a pointed look, "and I can start a fire and we can eat the food I found. I don't know about you, but I'm starving and it has to be late afternoon at the very least - who knows what time we actually woke up. Nothing has changed." I gave a quick glance around the beachy area, noting that Dakota was correct. It was as bright and sparkly as it was when I first opened my eyes in this blasted place.

He moved towards the fire, revealing two piles sitting behind him. Just the sight of the various berries and nuts in each made my stomach growl.

As if he knew exactly what I was thinking, Dakota called over his shoulder, "Food on left, medicine on right. Careful not to mix them up, if you eat too many of the medicinal herbs it will make you sick. Oh, and try not to eat as fast as you normally do; you'll get a stomach ache."

I couldn't help the silly grin that appeared at the fact that he knew me so well. Being careful to remember his words, I grabbed a handful from the pile on the left, popping a gleaming red berry into my mouth.

I squished it between my teeth, and it exploded in a blast of sweetness, with a hint of tartness.

"Mmm," I moaned, eating another and another. Soon all that was left in my hand were a few dirty-looking nuts and some leaves, which I gratefully ate also. I wasn't exactly in the best position to be picky.

By the time I was halfway through my second handful, Dakota had successfully started a spark, and was gently tending to the small fire. I watched as he fanned it slowly, trying to shield it from other outside elements, and soon it blossomed into a roaring flame that consumed the mass of sticks it sat on.

Then he joined me under our makeshift-roof, swiping a handful of food for himself. Since he was little, he had always had a fondness for almonds - which the nuts he collected closely resembled. I never understood his liking for them, but it made me happy to see that he still hadn't changed because of the island. That everything was almost normal.

I told him of everything I discovered, and he nodded with interest at every other sentence.

"That's so weird," he muttered after I was done. "So we're going to die here?" He looked forlorn now, and devoid of hope.

"Maybe, but maybe not. You remember the captain's theory I was telling you about? The one where the island has to die?" Dakota nodded. "Well, I think I have an idea. If I'm correct and those cesspools are used for digestion, they must have high concentrations of hydrochloric acid, right? I mean, that's assuming they're like a normal human's stomach. But I was thinking we could make a super concentrated dose of hydrochloric acid by combining that, some salt, and the sulfuric acid in the batteries in the luggage I found. The sulfuric acid should completely dissociate in water, and if we combine it with the sodium chloride in the ocean—"

Dakota held up a hand to stop me, chuckling. "Hey, don't go nerd on me now. Just because you took AP Chemistry doesn't mean I understand what you're saying. I'll leave you to all the science-y stuff and I'll just help with whatever I can."

I blushed lightly for rambling so much, then I nodded. "Okay," I chirped.

"We'll make and set traps tomorrow," he said, and I nodded, yawning a bit as I continued to watch the flickering flames. "For now though, why don't you get some rest? I'll keep watch for now, and wake you in a few hours. You seem exhausted."

I shook my head. "No, I'm -" a yawn stopped me mid-sentence, "-fine." He let out a light laugh, nudging his shoulder with mine.

"Come on, go to sleep. We need to conserve our strength and I'm used to late nights. Just lie down and sleep, and I promise I won't let anything happen."

I was still hesitant, but I could feel the fatigue tugging at the corners of my mind. "Alright," I conceded. "But if you feel tired, please do wake me up. You've worked so hard today and all I've done is get us into trouble," I admitted, somewhat shamefully. And it's true - without Dakota, there would be no shelter, no food, and no fire. I'd probably already be dead.

"Are you kidding? You have the daunting task of killing the island – so don't sweat it. Just rest and if I need you I'll let you know,Don't worry, I will," he assured me, and I briefly looked at him before putting my arm behind my head and laying down.

Soon enough, a calming darkness flooded into me and I was out like a light.

* * * * *

I shot upright.

"Mom!" I shouted immediately, my body shaking all over. I had a terrible nightmare; I was trapped on an island that was alive and --

"Your Mom isn't here, or are you just that forgetful?" A cold voice sounded from beside me, and I turned my head to see Dakota sitting next to the fire, knees pulled to his chest as his chin rested on top of them. He stared blankly into the fire, unmoving, and unblinking. Dark circles encased his eyes, and there was a gash on his cheek with dried blood crusted onto it.

I ignored his verbal jab at me, telling myself that he was overtired and not himself. Instead, I moved onto more pressing matters, such as why he looked like he just got into a fight. "Kody, what happened? Why are you bleeding? And wWhy didn't you wake me?" I fired question after question at him, butand the entire time he simply continued to gaze into the flames that licked towards the ever-gray sky. "Kody, answer me!" I demanded.

"I tried," he whispered eventually, voice so quietly I had to strained to hear him.

"What?" I asked, confused. "You tried? Tried to what?"

He whipped his head towards me, features darkening and his mouth transforming into a snarl.

"I tried to wake you up! I screamed your name, shook your body, but you never opened your eyes, never got up to help me!" Dakota was standing now, towering over me as dark and looming as the forest behind us. He leaned over, getting close to my face; close enough that I could see the storm swirling within the depths of his gray eyes. "Didn't you hear my screams? The awful screeching of those monstrous lemurs? My cries for help as they battered and beat me with their massive claws? I only survived because I managed to chase them off with a torch, all the while protecting you! I thought you were dead at one point; you were so still, like a corpse." He let out an uneasy laugh, almost maniacal. His appearance instilled a sense of dread into me, and suddenly he didn't look like my best friend anymore. I cleared that thought away, knowing that he just went through something traumatizing. Nobody would be themselves after something like that.

"I.. I..." My thoughts failed me, I just didn't understand. How could all of that happen within the course of a few hours, and how could I not hear it? Judging by the fresh wounds scarring Dakota's body, he was definitely telling the truth, and now I felt like a terrible person - no, friend - for leaving him to face it alone. "I'm sorry," I croaked, my voice breaking slightly from the remorse that overwhelmed me. "I'm so so sorry, Dakota, I don't know what happened. I should have taken the first watch, I shouldn't have made you go through that alone, I'll never do it again. From now on, you can rest first, okay?" I said, trying to sound strong while simultaneously wiping tears away. "And you can sleep now while I go and build traps so you don't have to do anything except relax, alright?"

His expression softened, and he let out a groan, collapsing backwards onto the sand with one arm draped over his eyes as he lay on his back. "Ugh, what am I doing? Don't apologize Maya, it's not your fault. You can't help it that you were asleep, and I shouldn't have yelled at you. I have no idea what came over me." He pulled himself up to a sitting position, letting out a slight yawn. "And besides, if I let you make the traps, then it'll probably take all day and we won't catch anything." My lips tilted downwards at his insult in disguise, but decided that it wasn't worth fighting over. He had already been through enough and if I wasn't so physically and mentally weak, then these quarrels wouldn't keep happening. A smirk arose on his features, his eyes returning back to their normal light dancing shadows. Then a smirk arose on his features, his eyes returning back to their normal light dancing shadows. I rolled my eyes at his attempt at a joke.

"Oh, shush. Not everyone is a camping expert like you are," I stated indignantly, sticking my nose up and crossing my arms for effect.

He laughed, laying back down in the sand, closing his eyes. "I'll start on them soon, but first I need to get some shut-eye. If you really want to make it up to me for last night, then it'd be great if you could find some decently sized sticks that are sort of pliable, and a few strong vines."

I nodded, eager to help. I haven't been pulling my weight since we got here, and it was about time I started. I had just stood up and brushed myself off, when I cocked my head to the side. "Wait, what if the lemurs return?"

He waved off the idea with the flick of his wrist, mumbling, "They won't. There's a fire here and from what I've seen, most of the animals tend to stay in the jungle. Just try to be back in no later than an hour." After he finished talking, he promptly fell asleep, chest rising and sinking with each breath.

Deciding to leave him be, I ventured into the jungle to gather the items Dakota told me to get. I quickly collected the materials, returning back to the campsite to see that Dakota was still sleeping. Giving a shrug, I decided to let him get as much sleep as he needed as I continued looking through the journal to get a better picture of where the heart would be. My plan to kill the island involved dosing it with highly concentrated hydrochloric acid, which would theoretically eat away at the insides of the island and circulate throughout its 'bloodstream'. As I collected the materials, I thought about the strange island and how we could escape it. If it really was alive... where did it get its energy from? I knew that it digested animals by opening holes into the ground, but there had to be a something that pumped energy throughout the island; like a heart.

I leaned against a tree, thinking heavily about this. And organisms have other organs too - like a stomach for digestion and lungs to breathe. Then again, fish had gills which allowed them to breath underwater... Did the island have 'organs' like those?

"I suppose the swamps could be something like trenches of digestive fluids, and maybe when the ground trembles, it means that the island needs extra nutrients." At that moment, the ground rumbled, and I felt momentary panic discard all thoughts except those of safety. Then the tremor left just as soon as it came, and I had no doubt that it had taken another victim.

I hope Dakota is okay, I prayed silently, biting my lip as I began to quickly retrace my steps to get back to the campsite.

I let out an audible sigh of relief once I saw he was still lying there, sleeping peacefully as if he didn't feel the quake at all. I set down all the materials beside him, then grabbed the journal and sat at the base of a nearby tree.

I wondered if the sea captain held any of the same notions that I did now - that if the island was truly alive, then it must have organs and weak points, right? As my mind explored the idea further, I came to the conclusion that we might be able to kill the island. At least that way, all the tremors would stop.

I wasn't sure what would happen to the land mass yet, but not getting spontaneously eaten was a start to surviving. Flipping through the journal, I looked for anything that could be helpful in determining what the heart could be. The most interesting page was the day where the captain had spent scaling large mountains located near the center of the island. He wrote that they formed a ring, but he wasn't able to see what was in the center - although he did catch glimpses of smoke rising from it from where he had taken shelter in a cave. I studied the picture of the map the sea captain he drew, looking closely at the mountains and the big question mark in the middle.

"What are those mountains hiding? Could that be the heart?" I murmured.

"What are you talking about, a heart?" Dakota was groggily rubbing at his eyes, and he took a moment to raise his arms overhead and stretch. "How long have I been out?"

I shrugged. "Maybe an hour or two. Not too long," I answered absentmindedly, still sifting through the book for the hundredth time, memorizing where the swamps are. The first step was to collect some hydrochloric acid from those pools. . There had to be something I was missing, something that would help me figure out how to get us out of here.

"You're still reading that? How about you come over here and help me with these traps so we can eat," he said pointedly, staring at me with his mouth in a straight line.."

I gave Dakota a questioning look, my puzzled eyes meeting his, which shone with annoyance. "Uh, yeah. This book is what's going to keep us alive," I reminded him. "Not to mention I think I have an idea of how not to get eaten." I flashed him a grin, proud of myself for coming up with such an ingenious plan., sure." Putting down the book, I went over to where Dakota squatted near the materials I had gathered, handing him whatever he needed. If I handed him the wrong size stick or length vine, he would yell at me. I bit my tongue, trying not to snap back at him. Fighting would get us nowhere. Soon we had three or four traps built.

"Alright, I'm going to go set these up in the jungle. Go make yourself useful." He stood up, and I puffed out my cheeks in anger.

"Fine, I'll go get the acid we'll need to kill the island," I muttered, standing up also. I had just turned away, when Dakota's words stopped me.

"Can you stop with that?!" he exploded, "I've played your games long enough; the island is not alive and we don't have to 'kill' it!" He used air-quotes to surround the word 'kill'. "You need to get your act together and actually do something that will help us survive, especially when all the animals on this island are freaks!"

"What are you talking about?!" I yelled back, "I am doing something to help us survive! Have you forgotten all the captain's theories? All his stories, all the things he'd seen on this island? If anyone's gone insane, it's you! All you do is scream at me over the most trivial things and I'm sick of it!" I exclaimed, throwing up my hands in frustration. "We even decided last night that you would get us something to eat while I prevented us from getting eaten, remember?"

"Eaten? By what? Those monkeys from last night? I'm pretty sure I can protect us." He rolled his dark eyes, and I shoved his shoulder with the palm of my hand.

"No, not the monkeys. The island," I stressed. "Don't you remember? I told you last night about the island being alive, and how it ate all the 'normal' animals, which includes us."

His expression turned stony. "Oh, that. Yeah, I remember. I don't think it's relevant as to how we're going to survive.""I only went along with it because I thought you would come to your senses about how ridiculous that theory is, but it seems like I was wrong. You need to come back to reality."

"I have to come back to reality?" I gave a bark of laughter.

My jaw dropped and I stared at him. "Not relevant? What are you talking about, it has everything to do with how we're going to survive! If we don't kill the island, then we're going to be swallowed whole!" I huffed, my irritation levels rising quickly. While I'm sure I looked as if there should be steam coming out of my ears, Dakota still looked as nonchalant as ever.

"No, what is relevant is getting these traps set up and making sure we have enough food to live off of until rescue arrives." He went back to fiddling with the vines and sticks, fashioning them into some sort of noose.

I, on the other hand, could only throw up my hands in frustration, flabbergasted with his words. "You saw the bird, you felt the ground shake, and you're still denying that we're in mortal danger? It could happen at any moment in time, yet you're more concerned with finding food? How about you start worrying about being the food!" I screamed, fists clenching and unclenching.

"I saw nothing," he stated simply, and that sent my blood boiling.

"I saw nothing," I mocked childishly in a high-pitched voice, crossing my arms. "Yeah, well I know that you saw that mutated bunny, how do you explain that, huh?" I sneered, and he didn't respond, only frowned. "That's what I thought. Now I'm going to go kill this island and when you regain your senses, you can apologize." With that I turned on my heel and stormed off, snatching a bottle of cologne from the luggage and tramping through the jungle. I let out a cry of rage, pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what I was going to do with him. Obviously he wasn't going to help me, so it looks like it'll become a solo mission.

"Fine," I said, attempting to be logical. "Go catch us some food, and I'll kill the island. At least that way we both win."

"Whatever," he grunted. "Just don't die, I might need you to actually help me keep watch tonight."I dumped the cologne out as I saw the green smog drifting through the trees, knowing that I was near the pool of digestive fluids.

After collecting some acid from the murky acid, I returned to the campsite to find that Dakota had disappeared – along with the traps. I presumed he went to go set them up, but I shook my head in annoyance as I went about my own work. After that, I had no words. I didn't know what got into him, but he was acting so much colder than the Dakota I knew; maybe being on this island has driven him mad. I know for a fact that I'm getting to that point, and the only thing that's keeping me upright is the thought of escape. He almost seemed convinced that we'll be staying here for quite some time.

I shook my head as I crossed the threshold into the jungle. Regardless of how long our stay will be, we will forever be in danger so long as this island has the power to swallow us.

"I just need to get some toxic sludge from that swamp and dump it into whatever was releasing that steam. It probably has to be a decent amount to do any damage though... not to mention I need some sort of protection against the poisonous gas." Deciding to head to the swamp to see what was resistant against its deadly goop, I spent the next half-hour following the map the captain had drawn, taking care to mark down what trees I passed by scratching off some bark with a sharp stick.

Eventually I began to see green smog drifting through the dense trees, and I had to plug my nose because of the horrid stench. Using my teeth, I ripped a section of my sleeve off, tying it around my nose and mouth to lessen the amount of toxins entering my body. Then I stuck to the edges of the swamp, looking for anything that might be able to hold a decent amount of the disgusting liquid. I frowned as I passed more and more animal carcasses - some of them still half stuck in the murky green muck. Mutated or not, it still seemed like a horrible way to die.

As I traveled the perimeter of the swamp, I remembered something I saw in a nature documentary once – how someone who had gotten lost in the wilderness had found water by splicing open a vine. Apparently they had hollowed insides, and if they can hold water, why not other substances? Now the only problem was finding one big enough and strong enough to withstand the poison and how to obtain it.

I walked the outskirts of the smelly cesspool once more, this time my eyes searching for any vines that may be lying around. Finally I came across several long, thick vines stretching down from a nearby tree and into the swamp. Unlike many of the other vines in the jungle, these were browning at the edges, namely where they touched the dark waters. Other than that, they seemed to show some resistance to the toxins surrounding them.

I studied the tree and its vines for a moment, calculating exactly how to get them down without cutting them too short. To kill an island this big, it can be assumed that a lot of poison must be used.

"I'm probably going to need at least three or four of them," I murmured aloud to try and organize my ramshackle thoughts. "But how long do they need to be? And I can't exactly reach high enough from where I stand," I huffed, cursing my short stature. Crossing my arms, I glared at the tree, hoping my sharp gaze would be enough to cut them. Obviously this strategy didn't work, and I resigned to finding some other way, leaning against the base of the tree that the vines hung from.

But as I leaned my head back, an idea hit me. Literally – my head smashed into a low-hanging branch and after crying out in pain, I grinned.

"I could probably climb this tree," I said, looking up at the plethora of branches that looked as if they would make great footholds.

With a plan in mind, I reached up to firmly grasp the first branch, my hands in a vice-like grip. Then with all my strength I hauled myself up, the bottom of my feet scraping against the trunk of the tree in an attempt to alleviate some of the pressure off my upper body to pull myself up. Once I was standing on the first branch – one hand pressed against the trunk of the tree and the other holding onto the second branch – I heaved a breath. Wildly out of shape, just getting to the first branch was a struggle, but from here on out it appeared easier with the branches forming a tangle of mismatched steps.

The rest was easy, and soon I found myself near the uppermost part of the tree, leaves brushing against my face as I continued to ascend. The climb was exhilarating, my adrenaline levels rising with every step I took, the rush of knowing I could fall at any moment making me want to push the limits and climb faster and higher. Yet mere moments later, my head popped out of the web of leaves, and I found that from this height, I was able to see everything on the island. From the mountains to the beach, the only thing that was shrouded from view was the jungle floor, being shielded by other trees and their leaves. If I focused, I thought I could detect wisps of steam rising from the mountains – which did appear to form a ring of rocky terrain.

Admiring the view for a few more seconds, I waited for my adrenaline high to calm down before descending slowly, being careful not to misstep as my eyes trained on the branches below. Soon I was crouching down next to where a vine wove its way around a branch, and I dug my – thankfully – long nails into the pliable flesh of the plant, using my nails as a saw. It was slow going, but eventually the vine began to sag as the thin strands holding it together were being cut one by one.

Whatever, he can do what he wants while I keep us alive, I thought as I emptied another bottle of cologne and struggled slightly to extract the sulfuric acid. What I managed to get from the tiny batteries wasn't much, but hopefully added to the already potent-hydrochloric acid would yield a high enough concentration to kill the island.

Next I gathered some sea water using one of the last two bottles, and gently heated it over the fire, waiting to evaporate all the water so I could use the sodium chloride precipitate.

It was during this step that Dakota arrived, and I was on my third bottle of sea water. I had gathered a decent amount of sodium chloride already, but I needed to make sure I had excess to fully react with the sulfuric acid.

"Move," he commanded gruffly, shoving me away from the fire as he began to singe the fur off of a mutated bunny.

My jaw ached as I gnashed my teeth together, holding in my comments. I silently turned away from him, deciding that what I had will do for now. I mixed together the sulfuric acid and sodium chloride, gently swirling the bottle as the hydrochloric acid began to form and rise up in the form of a gas. I collected the gas in a second bottle and soon it condensed back into a liquid. Then I mixed the new hydrochloric acid with the one I collected, and resolved to fill the rest of the bottles up with more from the digestive pools. The one I made was probably the most concentrated, and would be essential in ensuring that the island would die.

After the reaction had completed, I carefully set down the bottles where they couldn't be accidentally knocked over. Then I looked over to where Dakota was sitting, messily tearing into his catch.

"What? No sharing?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Get your own food," he said between bites.

Figures. Huffing, I grabbed a handful of food from the pile he collected yesterday, the smell of cooking meat making my mouth water. Turning my back to him, I shoveled the food into my mouth before lying down on the sand.

Might as well sleep before I go on my journey to the heart tomorrow.

***

I woke with a start.

Above me a patchy grey still covered the skies, and I let out a groan. I guess I really did have to face the fact that this was indeed real – no matter how fantasy-like it felt.

Standing up, I yawned as I lightly stretched, my arms reaching overhead. I looked around to see that the fire had dwindled down to a few embers, Dakota nowhere to be seen.

I could feel my eyebrows knit together and my lips tilting downwards at the thought of him. I just couldn't get over how rude he had been yesterday – he never used to be like that.

Heaving a sigh, I figured that it was just the stress that was getting to him and everything would be back to normal soon; hopefully. In the meantime, I might as well accomplish my mission; it was at least a day of travel to reach the center of the mountainous ring. But with my directionless self, it was probably a day and a half.

"Ugh, Dakota, I could've really used your help," I muttered, mentally cursing him. I felt as if it'd be easier to carry everything as well as find my way through the jungle. The longer I waited to do this, the more danger we were in.

With that mentality, I changed out of my filthy bunny pajamas into a t-shirt and shorts, using an extra shirt to fashion a little bag for food. I scooped about half of the remaining pile of berries and nuts into it, tying it together to secure it. I then stuck the jars into the pockets of one of the pants, bundling it up and tucking it under my arm.

After what seemed like forever, I finally reached the base of one of the mountains. It was a long trek, and I was a little bruised and cut from where I ran into particularly thorny areas, but now the only obstacle was to scale the mountains then go down them.

Biting my lip, I looked up at the tall structure, starting on the incline up. With the map in my pocket and the makeshift bags secured around my hip with a vine, I had to use two hands to scale some of the steeper parts. It took a while, but eventually I saw the mouth of the cave that the captain had stayed in when he climbed the mountain.

I recognized it by the rock formation he had described in the journal – the face in the stony surface creepily peering out into the island.

Walking into the dark cavern, I stretched out on the cold ground, muscles aching. Not being physically fit made this excursion just that much harder, and I had to take more breaks than I originally planned. Not to mention that most of the food I packed was long gone, and I had to eat the rest sparingly if I wanted to make it last until I got back to the campsite.

Letting my eyelids flutter shut, I tried to sleep as the wind caused a chill to wrack my spine. But eventually darkness captured my senses and I fell into an uneasy slumber.

* * *

Waking the next morning was the worst feeling I had ever experienced in my seventeen years of life.

My muscles were stiff and sore, a sharp pain in my lower back from the less-than-desirable sleeping settings. My eyes felt like someone had poured ten pounds of sand into them, and my stomach was trying to eat itself.

Needless to say, I felt miserable.

Popping a few berries into my mouth to hold off the hunger, I mentally prepared myself for the brutal day ahead. I was almost done with my daunting task, and then all we would have to do is await rescue. I wish I could've warned Dakota to collect a lot of nuts and berries from the jungle before I went through with my plan, because I had no idea how the wildlife would be affected once the island was dead. My thought was that the trees would wither away first – taking away any edible vegetation. Then the animals would die from lack of nutrients, and of course that included Dakota and I.

My only hope was that someone would find us before then.

Shaking my head to clear the thoughts, I emerged from the cave, looking at the short climb before I reached the summit. The air had been growing thinner every step I took upwards, but luckily I didn't feel the need for an oxygen tank. It was a tad uncomfortable, but not impossible to breathe yet.

I ate a few more nuts and berries before beginning to ascend, and it wasn't long until I had reached the top.

"Wow," I murmured, eyes wide as I took in the view. It was so.. magical. That was the only word to describe the scenery below me. From where I stood, wisps of green fog rose up from between the treetops – which formed a cover for the ground below. Winged animals were gliding gently above the trees, some with two heads, others with one. Their tails were magnificent – shades of all different colors in a plume similar to that of a peacock's. I should have been disgusted, knowing that the fog was poisonous and the winged animals most likely dangerous, but instead I was just in awe.

I almost didn't want to kill the island.

Almost.

Coming back to my senses, I made my way to the other side, curiosity eating away at me as to what the question mark was. Squinting, I thought I could make out a little pool at the very bottom, but it was too hard to tell from this elevation. If anything, I'd say it looked shiny.

Starting my descent, I made faster progress than when I was going up, gravity on my side this time. I had to be careful of any loose rocks or thin ledges though, which slowed my progress considerably.

But after an eternity, I was standing on solid ground again. Several hours must have passed, but there was no real way for me to tell. Hopefully the gray above would dispel once this mission is complete.

Speaking of which, I neared the pool that I spotted from above, which was practically pulsating. There were numerous small rivulets that flowed from the reflective water, and with every pulse, a small wave would ripple through each rivulet.

Its appearance was highly unusual, just like everything else on the island. It was a silvery color, and if I concentrated hard enough, I could make out bits of blues and purples.

I let it beat for a few more moments before unrolling the shorts, pulling out the jars. I had just popped open the cap of the first bottle when it was roughly slapped from my hand, shattering against the ground next to me.

Gaping, I turned towards my attacker.

"Dakota! What are you doing?!" I hissed as he stood next to me, stance rigid with his fists by his side.

"I can't let you do that," he stated, voice deeper than usual.

"What are you talking about?! Where'd you come from and why'd you just destroy one of the samples of hydrochloric acid?!" I screamed, making wild gestures at the strewn glass.

"I can't let you do that," he reiterated, almost robotically. "You can't kill this island."

"Oh, so now you believe it's alive?" I sneered, crossing my arms as I tried to rein in my flaring anger. "Look, I don't have time for this. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you're not being yourself. Go take a nap or something and this'll be done by the time you wake up," I commanded, grabbing the second bottle.

"I said, I can't let you destroy the island!" He snatched the second bottle, hand poised to throw it.

"Dakota, no!" I shrieked, tackling him. Who knew how much acid I would need to kill the island, and I couldn't let him keep wasting it.

We clattered to the ground, his body acting as a buffer between the rocks and I. Prying the jar out of his tightly clenched hand, I scrambled back, cradling both samples close to me.

I was breathing hard, both my head and heart pounding. Never in my life would I have thought that I would have to fight Dakota. But as he stood back up, I knew it was inevitable.

As I looked into his eyes, I knew that the Dakota I knew from before was gone. No longer were they a light, happy gray; they were now a dark shade comparable to the skies above.

Dakota took a threatening step towards me, and I whimpered, taking a step back, closer to the silver pool.

"Please, Kody, you don't want to do this," I begged, knowing full well that he was stronger than me in every aspect.

"You can't destroy the island," he said, as if that was the only phrase he knew.

"Why, Kody, why can't I? We'll die if I don't!" I tried to reason with him, but my words fell on deaf ears.

"Island is home. Island protect us." He swiftly advanced, and I let out a scream, dodging his attack at the last moment. Arms swinging, he managed to land a punch on my shoulder, and I winced.

Then from my position from the ground, I grabbed his ankle, yanking as hard as I could. He crashed to the ground, but seemed unaffected as he stood right back up and kicked me in the jaw.

The metallic taste of blood sprung into my mouth, but I ignored it as I rushed to escape from him. Attempting to get back to my feet, I was roughly shoved back down and dragged back towards him, arms getting scraped in the process.

I kicked and flailed my limbs, trying to hurt him in any way possible. But it was as if all his pain receptors were turned off, and he flipped me over onto my back like I weighed nothing. I felt like a defenseless turtle.

Dakota turned to pick something up, and fear froze me in place. When he stood over me again, he was holding something large in his hands, and tears poured from my eyes as I realized that it was a rock.

He held it over his head, pausing for a split second as he gazed down at my pitiful state. It was in that split second that a glint of silver flashed in the corner of my eye from behind him, and I knew what I had to do.

"I'm so sorry Dakota," I whispered, tossing the contents of the jar onto his face and arms.

He let out a scream, dropping the rock as it landed heavily on my stomach. I let out a hiss of pain, but opened my eyes just in time to see him stumble over the edge of the silver water and slip.

Falling into the pool, I heard his muffled shouts as he sank deeper, arms and legs thrashing as he struggled to get out. But the water was thick and it slurped and gurgled as it continued to pull him under. The more he struggled, the faster he sank.

And soon he was gone, last few fingers disappearing beneath the surface.

* * *

"I- I remember feeling numb after he died, but I remember that I had dumped the rest of the hydrochloric acid into the pool. T-then I went back to the campsite, and by that point the sky was b-blue again," I stuttered, lip trembling as I recounted my story.

"T-that's when the p-people on the fishing boat found me on the beach, and they brought me h-here," I said, my voice low and small. I didn't remember specific details about how long I was stranded on the island after I had killed my best friend, but I presumed a few days had passed by that point. All the vegetation was wilting and the animals were beginning to emerge when a boat appeared just off shore. I flagged them down using a few colorful features I found, and soon enough we were back out to sea headed towards civilization.

Although one of the last strange things I remembered was any animal I encountered no longer looked deformed – it was as if after the island was killed they reverted back to their normal states.

Now I was in a blindingly white room, unfamiliar faces surrounding me. Some wore white lab coats, and others dressed in blue nurses' uniforms. They whispered to each other, sneaking glances at me every so often. The one sitting on my bedside grasped my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," he said, before stepping out of the door. A nice lady gave me some more water to drink as the man left, and I saw his shadow through the door window as he talked to someone else.

"I'm sorry Mr. Kels, but it seems as if Miss Vincetti won't be recovering for a while." The man's muffled voice floated through the door as footsteps clacked in the tiled halls.

Huh, that's interesting. Kels is Dakota's last name.