Isa Martínez , Wren Scatorccio | 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟲
somewhere in the wilderness

"Tai, everyone thinks this is a bad idea," Van says.

Taissa looks around at the group. "Well, we have to do something. We're starving. There's nothing left to hunt."

"Animals could be migrating," Misty suggests.

"Exactly. That's probably why the only game we've seen for weeks was that one sick deer. And it's just gonna keep getting colder, and not 'I better put on a coat' cold. We're talking 'dying feels like falling asleep' cold," Taissa tells them.

Laura Lee glances at Lottie. "What do you think Lottie?"

Everyone turns to Lottie, who pulls her knees closer to her chest. "I don't know."

"Guys, anyone who wants to come with me is welcome, but I'm going," Taissa states firmly.

"You're gonna want to take stuff with you, right? Like food and supplies?" Akilah asks. "That's not up to you."

"Well, you can't just send her out there with nothing," Shauna argues.

"This is insane," Van says. "We don't know where we are, just that we're surrounded by big ass mountains. What are you now, Edmund fucking Hillary?"

"Like I said," Taissa continues, "we're not on an island. If we go south, we've got to run into something eventually. A road, a town, anything."

Natalie shakes her head. "No. You can't take the rifle. I'm all for what you're trying to do, Tai, but the gun has to stay."

"Okay," Taissa agrees. "I could bring some of the stuff we don't use every day. One of the axes, the compass."

"There's a flare gun in the dead guy's plane," Jackie chimes in.

Van looks at her in disbelief. "Do not tell me that you of all people are on board with this."

"What she's saying makes sense," Jackie responds.

"What if you're wrong? What if there's nothing?" Laura Lee asks.

"I don't know," Taissa admits.

"You do know," Lottie says, looking directly at her, her tone slightly sharp.

Taissa sighs. "Yeah. If I'm wrong, I'll die out there."

Silence falls over the group.

"I'm leaving in an hour," Taissa announces before walking away.

Wren stepped into the cabin and started packing a bag. She shoved a flask of whiskey to use as a disinfectant and some extra clothes into a backpack before slinging it over her shoulders. As she turned to leave, she nearly jumped when she saw Travis standing in the doorway.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Wren muttered, startled.

"Yeah, that's who you'll be seeing if you go," Travis deadpanned.

Wren sighed. "Travis, I can't do this. Not right now."

Travis stood in the doorway, blocking her path. "Thought you weren't going."

"Yeah, well, I lied," Wren said. "If we have a shot at getting out of this shit hole, I want to help."

"Fine," he muttered, his voice sharp with irritation. Then he turned and stormed out, heading toward the others to see them off.

Wren let out a sigh before stepping outside to join the group which consisted of Taissa, Van, Akilah, and Mari. They'd been given some food and supplies, though there wasn't much to spare. Travis shot Wren a glare, arms crossed tightly over his chest. For a second, it almost made Wren want to stay. She glanced over at Natalie, who met her eyes briefly before shifting uncomfortably and looking away.

"Wait! Wait for me!" Misty's voice rang out as she sprinted from the cabin. Everyone turned as she made a beeline for coach Ben.

"Ben—I, um—coach, please don't try to talk me out of this, okay? I've given it a lot of thought and I just—I feel like my team really needs me right now," Misty said, her voice full of conviction.

Isa, watching from the sidelines, furrowed her brows as she caught the discomfort growing on Ben's face.

"Oh, well, that's, uh—you know what? That's really brave, Misty. I'll do the best I can without you," Ben said awkwardly.

"I'll come back for you. I promise." Misty smiled before hugging him.

Parker walked straight over to Mari. In that moment, she didn't care who was watching. She wrapped her arms around Mari's neck and kissed her.

"Please stay safe."

Mari nodded, smiling. "I will."

As the group set off, Mari stole one last glance at Parker over her shoulder before following Taissa into the woods.

Natalie had gone back inside the cabin, clearly in a mood. Isa considered checking in on her but ultimately decided against it. Natalie and Wren's relationship was more complicated than most sibling bonds, and Isa figured it was best to let her have space. Instead, she left toward the lake with Javi.

As they walked, Isa chuckled. "Did you see the look on his face? Coach looked horrified!"

Javi tried to suppress a smile but failed. "Come on, you don't have to be an asshole about it."

Isa nudged him lightly. "You're smiling!"

Javi sighed in defeat. "Okay, it was kind of funny."

When they reached the shore, they sat down. Isa noticed a folded piece of paper sticking out of Javi's pocket.

"What's this?" She asked, pulling it and unfolding it.

"Um, just some drawings," Javi answered nervously. "Shauna lent me some paper and a pencil. She said it'd take my mind off all of this."

Isa scanned the sketches. They weren't bad actually, they were really good. Javi had never mentioned drawing before, and she hadn't even known he had this kind of skill.

"These actually aren't bad," she admitted, sounding more surprised than she meant to. "Did you draw back at home?"

Javi nodded.

"Why didn't you ever show me?"

Javi shrugged. "I don't know. You were always dealing with your own things. I didn't think you'd be interested."

Isa handed the papers back. "I'll always be interested."

Javi smiled, and Isa felt a pang of protectiveness settle in her chest. Her little brother was innocent and pure, and she was going to do whatever it took to keep him that way.

Their moment was interrupted by laughter in the distance. The girls had set their stuff down and waded into the water.

Isa stood, glancing down at Javi. "You wanna come in?"

Javi shook his head. "I'm okay."

"Javi, no one cares if you have your shirt off. You're like twelve."

"Fourteen," he corrected.

"Same thing."

Javi chuckled, shaking his head. "You go ahead. I'll be there in a minute."

Isa shrugged, stripping off her t-shirt and shorts before running toward the water. As she splashed in, she glanced around and noticed Natalie wasn't there. Before she could dwell on it, a wave of water hit her square in the face.

"Fuck you," Isa groaned, turning to see Travis laughing.

"You looking for Natalie?" he asked.

Isa nodded. "What are you even doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be moping like Nat?"

Travis raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be moping?"

"Because your girlfriend left," Isa said.

Rolling his eyes, Travis retaliated with an absurdly large splash, drenching her.

Isa gasped, then splashed back, though her attempt was pathetic in comparison. "You dick!"

"Hey!" Javi called out, wading further into the water toward his siblings.

"Wow," Travis said. "You finally decided to stop being a loner."

"Aw, look at us," Isa teased. "We're spending quality time together."

"More like being forced to," Javi muttered.

"You little shit!" Isa chuckled, splashing water in his face. "Are you saying you don't want to spend time with me?"

———

They hadn't found anything. No food, no sign of civilization, not even clean water. The journey was turning into one massive disappointment, and it showed on the girls faces. Hope was slipping away. Wren wished she'd listened to Travis and stayed at the cabin. She'd called him a dumbass for wanting to go, but now she realized that she was the dumbass.

On their second night, Wren was jolted awake by Mari violently shaking her. She scrambled to her feet, backing up against a tree with Mari, Akilah, and Misty as wolves closed in around them.

"Where the fuck are Van and Tai?!" Wren yelled.

"Van went to go look for Tai!" Akilah shouted over the growls.

"What do you mean look for?!" Wren snapped.

"I don't know!" Akilah answered. "Tai was just gone when we woke up!"

The others were fending off the wolves with makeshift torches, but Wren was empty handed so she tried to stay close. She didn't want to die out here, especially not by being ripped apart. That sounded like an awful way to die. Then, a sudden searing pain shot through her leg. A wolf had sunk its teeth into her shin. Wren screamed as it tore her flesh and tried to drag her away, but Misty reacted fast, throwing her torch at the wolf. The wolf's fur caught in fire, and it released Wren with a yelp.

Taissa suddenly appeared, breathless. "Where's Van?"

"She's over there! Go!" Misty shouted, pointing.

Without hesitation, Taissa took off. Mari and Akilah kept the wolves at bay, but after a minute, the pack suddenly turned and disappeared into the night. The girls exchanged wary glances but didn't question their luck.

"We should check on Tai and Van," Akilah said. The others nodded in agreement and hurried after Taissa.

Misty slung Wren's arm over her shoulder and helped her limp toward the others. When they got there, Taissa was kneeling over Van, whose cheek was ripped open. A gut wrenching scream tore from her throat as she sobbed, her grief raw and unrelenting.

Wren's stomach twisted at the gruesome sight. She had never seen someone die—at least, not someone she cared about, not like this. Not like Van.

For what felt like an eternity, no one spoke. Finally, Misty broke the silence. "What should we do now?"

Taissa wiped her eyes but didn't lift her gaze from Van. "We should burn her."

The others nodded solemnly. Misty eased Wren down against a tree, wrapping her wounded leg as best she could before helping the rest of the girls gather sticks for the pyre. Wren couldn't help but steal glances at Van's body. Van lying so still on the dirt, blood covering her face, made Wren's stomach twist. It felt too quiet without Van cracking a joke or throwing out one of her random movie references or bragging about her goalie skills. Now, instead of hearing her laugh, Wren could only see her body lying nearby, her clothes stained deep red with blood.

"You could never put yourself to much use," a voice sneered. "You're just like fucking mother."

Wren's breath hitched. She snapped her head in the direction of the voice, and her blood ran cold. Standing just feet away, half his head blown off, was her father.

"My leg," she said, barely breathing. "I can barely stand."

"Look at Taissa over there," he said, but Wren couldn't take her eyes off him. He stepped closer. "I said fucking look!"

She flinched out of habit, tears welling in her eyes. Slowly, she turned to Taissa. Even drowning in grief, she was still forcing herself to move, to act.

"She just lost her little girlfriend, and yet she's being more useful than you or your whore sister will ever be," her father spat. His mouth twisted into a cruel grin. "You're going to fucking die." He laughed.

"Shut up," Wren muttered.

"Watch your tone with me, girl!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, hands flying to her ears. "Shut the fuck up!" she screamed.

The girls turned, startled by her outburst. Wren's breath came in shaky gasps as she opened her eyes again. Her father was gone. But now, everyone was staring at her. She turned away, breaking eye contact.

Was she losing it? Would she turn out exactly like her father? The thoughts slammed into her, relentless, refusing to let her go.

"Tai, we have to do it now," Misty urged.

Wren looked up to see the pyre was finished. She forced herself to her feet, limping toward it as Mari and Akilah lifted Van's body onto the pile of wood. Taissa throws one of their makeshift torches into the fire.

"Oh my god, she's alive," Mari mutters, eyes wide. "She's alive! She's alive!"

Van moves her arms weakly, and Taissa immediately pulls her off the fire.

"Really?" Van rasps. "Fire?"

Taissa lets out a relieved laugh, and the other girls smile, the weight of grief lifting just a little.

"I hate to break this touching moment," Wren cuts in, "but we have to go back to the cabin. Van almost fucking died, and I'm down a leg."

"Um, yeah," Taissa agrees, glancing up at the Scatorccio twin.

Misty pulls out more makeshift bandages—torn up strips of fabric—and wraps them around Van's face.

"Van, can you walk?" Taissa asks.

"Maybe."

Taissa helps Van to her feet, but after only a few steps, Van collapses. Wren watches, and though she wouldn't admit it aloud, she's relieved. If Van—who nearly died—wasn't asking to stop, then neither was she.

"Should we take a break?" Misty asks, uncertainty laced in her voice.

"Leave me," Van croaks.

"Don't say that," Taissa tells her, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's...not...safe," Van manages.

"Don't say that!" Taissa snaps. "We're almost there."

"Tai," Van says, her voice weaker now. "L—let them go."

The girls exchange hesitant glances before taking off into the forest as the sun begins to rise. Wren lingers behind, making Misty pause.

"Aren't you coming?" she asks.

Wren shakes her head. "I'll just slow you down. Go."

Misty hesitates before running to catch up with Mari and Akilah. Wren limps over to Taissa and sits beside Van, helping to support her.

Back at the cabin, Misty, Akilah, and Mari stumble onto the porch in horrible condition. Before Mari can take another step, she collapses. Parker rushes forward, catching her before she hits the ground

"Where are Van and Tai?" Shauna asks.

"Where's Wren?" Natalie asks, a hint of panic creeping into her voice.

"She—she told—she told us to leave them," Misty stammers. "We had to get help."

"Show us which way to go," Laura Lee says firmly.

They search the woods until nightfall, exhaustion setting in. Just when it feels like they're going in circles, a flare shoots up into the sky. Without hesitation, they run toward it, finally spotting Taissa, Van, and Wren.

They rush to their side, helping them up and supporting their weight as they make their way back to the cabin. The moment they step inside, the group springs into action. Van is laid down, and the others scramble to find a needle and thread to stitch the wounds on her face. Taissa stays by her side as Akilah carefully begins to stitch her wounds shut.

Van screams through every stitch. Wren grits her teeth, forcing herself to limp into the other room. She can't bear to watch. She lays down on the bed in the other room, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her leg when the door opens. She doesn't have to look to know who it is.

"Aren't you supposed to be pissed at me or something?" she mutters.

Natalie closes the door behind her and sits beside her sister. "You almost died. I'm not pissed, I'm relieved."

Wren slowly sits up. "I'm sorry for what I said. Isa isn't an asshole."

"Apology accepted."

Wren swallows hard, her voice breaking as she says, "Nat, I'm so sorry."

Natalie frowns, taken aback. "For what?"

"For always kind of avoiding you," Wren chokes out. "I thought if I ignored everything about my shitty life, it'd somehow all get better."

"Wren, it's fine," Natalie assures her. "I don't care about that. But while we're apologizing, I'm sorry for getting on your ass about Travis."

A sudden silence falls over the cabin. The screams from the main room stop. Both sisters glance toward the door before looking back at each other.

"My leg is killing me," Wren mutters.

"I'll get Misty," Natalie says, standing up and stepping out of the room.

Wren unwrapped the bandages and nearly gagged at what she saw. Her wound had bruised to a gross purple-green, and somehow, the torn flesh on her shin was still hanging on. She clamped a hand over her mouth, trying not to throw up. She leaned back and banged her head against the old bed frame. She already knew she was going to have to be stitched up just like Van was.

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alex's corner!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! and just as a reminder, I have removed Alani from this fic. I kept stressing myself out with four separate storylines and thought it would be best for myself and the quality of the book to remove her character entirely. maybe she will make a comeback in another yellowjackets fic. rest in peace Alani Beckham. I will do you justice one day