A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Tay's POV

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

I had endlessly combed the island to no avail. By nightfall, I felt physically and mentally exhausted. I wanted to give up but something was telling me not to. 

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Newwie has got to be here somewhere. Perhaps there are still other places that I haven't searched. Perhaps I just missed Newwie by a minute or an hour. Was he even searching for me too?

I gratefully accepted the blanket that was handed to me by the staff. He said his name was Gulf. Gulf had a nice and kind smile. If I hadn't met Newwie before now, I would probably feel attracted to Gulf.

I looked for a place under the makeshift shelter that had the grassiest area. I found one close to where a young man was already spreading his blanket.

"Would you mind if I settle on this spot beside you?" I asked him.

He shook his head with a shy smile. Here was another good looking young man. Funny how this island doesn't seem to have a shortage of attractive looking guys.

I held out my hand to him.

"My name is Tay."

"Nice to meet you, Tay," the young man said, taking my hand, "and mine is Tytan."

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

"My pleasure," I responded, shaking his hand that was in mine. His hand was tiny compared to mine.

"It's a good thing that we were able to find a spot beside the wall," I remarked, "when the rains come back, those at the edge of the shelter that doesn't have a wall will surely get drenched."

"Yeah, we are lucky to find this space," Tytan replied.

Although he had wrapped the blanket around him, he still seemed to feel cold.

"If it won't make you feel comfortable, I can move up closer to you so that my body can keep you warm," I offered.

He smiled shyly.

"I would appreciate that," he said.

Did I imagine the pink tinge on his cheeks?

It took me a while before I dozed off. My thoughts kept going back to Newwie. It had taken me some time to get really close to him, and then the disaster had to happen.

When morning came, I noticed that Tytan was no longer beside me.

I could tell by how it was just a little after daybreak, that Tytan was an early riser.

The smell of coffee reached my nose. There were several people gathered by the edge of the shelter. I had guessed that they were huddled by the fire to keep themselves warm. Then I noticed that White was handing out styropore cups to them. I assumed that the cups contained coffee. So that was the reason they were all gathered over there.

I decided to make my way to that area. A cup of hot brew would help me to keep warm. The morning sea air was chilly and the wind was making the environment colder.

After I got my coffee, I looked around for Tytan. I couldn't find him in the sea of faces.

I tried to go back to my spot by the wall but it was gone. Someone had taken over my space. I resigned myself to go somewhere else and find a place to sit and drink my coffee.

I started walking towards a grassy area where I noticed that some tiny makeshift shelters had been built. Each mini shelter looked like one or two people could fit inside it.

I told myself that I should build one for myself so that I don't have to compete with the other survivors for a space beside the wall. Then when and if, no, I shook my head at the word 'if'. There was no 'if' for me. I was going to find Newwie. When I do, I could share the shelter that I built, with him.

I sat under a tree close to where the third mini shelter had been put up. I sipped slowly while staring at the horizon up ahead. Although the rain had stopped and the wind had slowed down, I could see the huge waves crashing against the shore and making loud ominous sounds.

I got startled by the sound of moaning from the nearby mini shelter.

My first instinct was to run and check inside it, in case someone was in pain or in trouble or whatever. Wait, the whatever part could be......

I listened closely.

The moaning was followed by someone's name being mumbled and the 'uhh uhh' sounds were unmistakably not sounds of pain.

I stood up and decided to walk to the sandy area closer to the water's edge.

I sat down again and continued to sip my coffee.

As I sipped my coffee, I debated with myself what to do first, build my own shelter or search for Newwie.

I decided to search for Newwie first. Having Newwie by my side was more important than having my own shelter. Newwie and I could always build our own shelter together later.

I suddenly realized how much I missed him. I combed my hair with unsteady fingers. I lifted my head to drink in the last drop of coffee from my cup.

I stood up and turned around to walk back to the main shelter.

Just at that moment two guys stepped out of the mini shelter from where I heard the moaning sounds.

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

For those who don't know him, his name is Benjamin Brasier, a Thai actor.

I did not recognize the first guy that came out. The second guy was Newwie.

Newwie's eyes grew wide at the sight of me. I could tell that several emotions were going through him as I watched his face changing from one expression to another in quick succession.

"Tay......" his voice was no more than a whisper as he made a few steps towards me.

I walked quickly away from him.

When he tried to follow me, I broke into a run.

I ran into a small opening in the thick foliage away from the main shelter. I kept running, not minding some rough leaves and branches that scratched my skin. I just kept on running to wherever my feet would take me.

Then I stumbled upon the river. From farther away, there were already other people who had discovered the river as well.

I walked farther away from the group of people, needing some peace and quiet.

Even though my chest was tight with pain, my tears would not fall. I wasn't the kind of person who cried easily. In fact the deeper the pain was, the harder it was for me to let the tears fall.

Somehow I preferred to bottle up my emotions. Later on I would find other means to comfort myself. Crying my eyes out was not one of them.

I stopped where there was a huge tree with wide low lying branches overshadowing the water's edge. I stood and watched the river water flowing smoothly over the stones and the soil. The rushing sound of the water seemed to beckon me.

I stripped down to my boxer briefs, leaving my shirt and pants on the ground and then I started wading in the water, and then waded farther into the deeper part of the river.

Just before I sliced into the water, I heard the rustling of the branches by the water's edge and the sound of footsteps.

There were two guys who appeared to have the same idea as myself.

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

I hoped that they would swim farther away from me.