Isa , Parker , Alani , Wren | 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟲
somewhere in the wilderness

Misty finished covering the dead with dirt as Van placed the last makeshift headstone. The girls stepped back into the circle the rest of the Yellowjackets had formed.

"Before we took off, I heard Rachel say that she was going to see Oasis at the Meadowlands next month," Van said, her voice shaking. "She was really excited. And she's never gonna hear Wonderwall again."

"Come on," Laura Lee said gently, "let's join hands. We'll pray for them."

"No, fuck this." Isa balled her fists and stormed off.

Isa and Laura Lee were the only openly religious ones on the team, so Isa walking away before the prayer took everyone by surprise. Natalie glanced back at Isa, then looked at Laura Lee, who shook her head as if to say, not yet.

The Yellowjackets all joined hands.

"Rachel, you just moved up from JV, so we didn't really know you. But in trig, you never confused your secants and your cosecants. You seemed really smart. Anyone else?"

"I saw her carrying a flute case once," Van added, her voice breaking.

"Oh, Lord," Laura Lee began, "please accept Rachel Goldman into your arms so that she may fill your kingdom with music. Please accept Coach Martinez into your glory too, and flight attendant Janet, pilot Robert, pilot Fred."

"I'm going for a walk," Taissa said abruptly, stepping away from the group.

"Uh, me too," Natalie said, following Taissa's lead and heading in the direction Isa had gone. She soon found her leaning against a tree, staring at the ground.

"Are you okay?" Natalie asked cautiously.

"Does it look like I'm fucking okay?" Isa snapped, lifting her head to reveal tear-streaked cheeks and red eyes. "I can't just stand there and pray to some god that would let this shit happen."

"Isa—"

"No," Isa interrupted, her voice breaking. "It's complete bullshit. So God loves me but not enough to stop our goddamn plane from crashing into the middle of fucking nowhere?"

Natalie stepped forward, her expression softening. "Isa—"

Before she could finish, Isa rushed into her arms, burying her face in Natalie's shoulder. Sobs wracked her body as she clung tightly to the blonde. Natalie hesitated, then wrapped her arms around Isa, holding her close.

"I just—" Isa choked out, her voice muffled against Natalie's shoulder, "I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't want to lose you."

"You won't lose me," Natalie said firmly, pulling back slightly to look at her. She reached up and removed the bullet necklace from around her neck, slipping it onto Isa's where her gold cross necklace sat.

"Why?" Isa asked, looking down at the necklace, her voice still trembling.

Natalie shrugged. "It's like a promise. I'm not going anywhere. You won't lose me."

Isa ran her fingers over the bullet and managed a small, genuine smile. "I don't think I've ever seen you without it."

"It looks better on you," Natalie said with a soft grin.

———

The girls had regrouped at the plane, rationing what little food they had left. Natalie and Isa sat shoulder to shoulder, while the rest of the girls spaced themselves out, staring blankly at the dirt.

"Close your eyes and pretend it's bacon," Shauna said, handing Jackie and Alani each half of a donut hole.

"Fuck my life," Alani muttered under her breath.

"Hey, Misty said don't scratch," Shauna reminded Jackie, who had been itching her leg. "It can get infected."

"If poison ivy's what kills me out here, then I deserve to die," Jackie replied, her tone flat and uncaring.

Travis, who had been sitting apart from the group, suddenly stood and walked over to the food stash. Without a word, he grabbed a pack of donut holes.

"Dude!" Van shouted. "Travis, what are you doing?"

"Uh, maybe you didn't notice, but we're kind of in a situation here, Flex," Lottie said, her irritation clear.

"Don't," Wren said flatly, her voice carrying a warning tone.

"Who died and made him king of snacks?" Lottie groaned.

"Our fucking dad, Lottie," Isa snapped. Lottie glanced away, her face softening into an apologetic expression.

"Just cut him some slack," Wren said, her tone even but firm.

"I guess it's fine if we all starve to death as long as Travis' feelings are okay," Mari muttered sarcastically.

Jackie quickly cut in, shutting down Mari's sarcasm. "We're not gonna starve, okay? When the rescue team gets here—"

"If it gets here," Van interrupted.

"Don't say that," Jackie protested, her voice tinged with desperation.

Alani let out a dry, humorless laugh from beside Jackie. "Face it, Jackie. Nobody's coming to save us. We're on our own."

The group fell into a heavy silence, the weight of their situation settling over them like a dark cloud.

"Guys, guys! There's a lake," Taissa shouted, panting as she ran back to the wreckage. "There's a lake. I saw it from that hill. It looks about four or five miles away."

"Can we hike it?" Wren asked.

"It's pretty rocky, but yeah," Taissa replied.

"Uh, we can't just leave," Jackie objected, crossing her arms.

"We've got two days of water, tops," Taissa pointed out. "And then what? Just sit around and die?"

"What if the rescue team comes?" Jackie countered.

"Do you think they're taking their time on purpose? If they knew where we were, they'd be here already," Taissa shot back.

"You don't know that," Jackie insisted.

Laura Lee turned to Ben. "What do you think, coach?"

"I don't—I don't know," Ben stammered, looking flustered. "I mean, you'd have to leave me behind, I guess, but whatever."

"We could make you a stretcher," Taissa suggested.

"Oh, okay," Jackie laughed bitterly.

"Seriously, if we take turns carrying it—"

"No, this—this is bullshit," Jackie snapped. "I say no, okay? No way."

"Let's put it to a vote," Taissa proposed. "All in favor of waiting here?"

Jackie shot her hand up immediately and looked to Shauna and Alani. To her dismay, neither raised their hands. Jackie felt a pang of betrayal. But slowly, a few others raised their hands, but it wasn't even half the group.

"All in favor of the lake?" Taissa asked.

This time, hands went up quickly. Parker's was the second to rise, followed by Travis, Isa, Wren, and the rest of the group. Finally, Shauna and Alani raised their hands.

Unlike Shauna, Alani didn't shy away from making direct eye contact with Jackie.

"Then it's settled," Taissa said. "Grab your shit."

The girls gathered what they could and followed Taissa toward the lake. Alani walked ahead of Jackie, her posture stiff and angry, still upset about Jackie's comment about Jeff on the first night. Meanwhile, Parker walked hand in hand with Mari, not caring if anyone saw them. Parker stared at the ground as they walked, her thoughts distant.

"Parker," Mari said softly, squeezing her hand to pull her from her trance. "Are you okay?"

Parker shrugged. "I feel weird."

"Weird how?" Mari asked, her brow furrowing.

"I don't know, just weird," Parker replied vaguely.

Mari gave Parker's hand another reassuring squeeze, unsure how else to help. In their two years of dating, Parker had never experienced an episode around Mari, and the possibility scared her. She had no idea what to expect or how to be there for Parker when it finally happened.

Jackie suddenly brushed past the couple, heading straight for Alani, though Alani barely glanced her way.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?" Jackie demanded. "You've been acting weird for days."

Alani didn't respond, keeping her eyes fixed ahead.

"Seriously?" Jackie scoffed. "You're just not gonna talk to me?"

Alani remained silent, quickening her pace to leave Jackie behind.

Jackie slowed, utterly baffled. Things between them had been fine until the first night.

"Was it the Jeff thing?" she wondered, feeling a pang of guilt. But as much as she tried to shake it off, she couldn't. Alani being mad at her was unbearable. Jackie hated it more than anything.

"What's that smell?" Lottie asked, wrinkling her nose.

"I don't know," Natalie replied with a shrug.

"Holy shit," Parker muttered under her breath.

All the girls turned to see a dead bear lying beside them, its guts spilled out while a vulture tore small pieces from its carcass. The sight made several of them gag.

"Oh, God, I'm gonna puke," Jackie said, quickly averting her eyes.

"Woah, sick," Travis commented as he walked past, glancing briefly at the bear.

"What could've done that?" Shauna asked, her voice tinged with unease.

"A wolf, probably," Ben answered.

"They can kill a fucking bear?" Natalie asked, looking at him in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ben replied. "Wolves can kill anything if the pack's big enough."

"Let's keep moving," Natalie said abruptly, brushing past the scene.

Isa hurried to catch up with her, noticing how tense Natalie seemed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Natalie said curtly.

"Nat—"

"Isa," Natalie cut her off, her tone sharper now. "I'm fine."

Isa didn't believe her for a second, but she decided to let it go and kept walking beside her.

The group moved on in silence until Jackie broke it with an annoyed scoff. "This shit is way longer than four miles. What if we missed it?"

"From the angle of the sun, it looked just left of due North," Taissa said.

"Oh, great," Jackie panted sarcastically. "Left. That's a precise way of doing it."

"I'm not a fucking cartographer," Taissa snapped back.

"Or maybe you saw a mirage," Jackie muttered.

Van suddenly stopped in her tracks, her face lighting up in awe. "Oh, shit. Oh, hell yeah, bitches!"

"What—" Isa began, but stopped short when she followed Van's gaze. There it was—the lake. It was real.

"Holy fuck," Isa breathed, staring in disbelief.

They all took off running toward the lake, breaking into sprints and taking off their clothes as they went. Isa waded into the freezing water, stopping when it reached just above her knees. She was relieved she'd chosen to wear shorts—taking off her pants with only one fully functioning arm would've been a nightmare. Suddenly, water splashed against her, and Isa turned to see Natalie grinning beside her.

"This isn't a fair fight," Isa teased, laughing. "I only have one arm."

Natalie smirked, tucking one arm behind her back. "Better now?" she asked before splashing Isa again.

"Bitch!" Isa shouted playfully, retaliating with a splash of her own.

Nearby, Travis sent water flying as he splashed Wren on his way to dive into the lake.

"Asshole!" Wren yelled after him, though she couldn't help but smile.

Travis surfaced moments later, brushing his wet hair back from his face. Wren watched him, her smile lingering. "Travis is hot," she said casually, earning a disgusted look from Jackie.

"It's been three days," Jackie said. "You can't be that desperate."

Wren shrugged unapologetically. "I am who I am."

Jackie narrowed her eyes. "What about Ryder?"

"What about him?" Wren shot back. "I think a plane crash counts as a breakup."

Meanwhile, Parker perched on Van's shoulders, locked in a chicken fight against Shauna and Alani. Mari stood at the shore, watching. Parker kept glancing past Shauna, her eyes fixed on Mari. She wanted to kiss Mari—right there, in the open, without needing to sneak off. But Parker's thoughts were cut short when Shauna shoved her and Van backwards into the water. They resurfaced sputtering as Shauna raised her hands in victory, laughing and cheering.

"Guys!" Lottie suddenly called out. "Look!"

The group stilled, turning to where Lottie was pointing. Above the trees, a faint light shimmered.

"What is that?" Alani asked, squinting.

"It looks like a reflection," Shauna suggested.

Van squinted harder before her eyes widened. "Guys, there's something on the hill!" she shouted, already running out of the water.

The group scrambled back to the shore, rushing to pull their clothes on as quickly as possible.

———

"Guys, it's here!" Shauna exclaimed.

The girls ran up to the cabin, knocking on the door and peering through the dusty windows, hoping someone might be inside. When no one answered, Wren and Akilah pushed the door open.

"Is anybody here?" Wren called out, her voice echoing through the empty space.

"Maybe they just went on a hike?" Laura Lee suggested, ever the optimist.

"Yeah, like a decade ago," Jackie shot back, wrinkling her nose. "It reeks in here."

Parker lingered in the doorway, unease creeping over her as she took in the cobweb covered interior and the smell of decay that hung heavy in the air.

"Parker," Mari said softly, reaching for her hand and pulling her inside. "It's just a cabin. It's not gonna kill us."

"You guys check the pantry," Taissa directed Jackie and Alani. "See if there's any food."

Alani groaned but followed Jackie without protest.

"Everyone else, look around for stuff we can use. First aid, flashlights, tools—anything."

As Jackie rummaged through dusty shelves, she turned to Alani. "You realize you're gonna have to talk to me eventually, right? Why are you so pissed at me?"

"Because," Alani muttered, not meeting her eyes.

"What did I do?" Jackie pressed, turning to face her. "Was it the Jeff thing?"

Alani sighed, crossing her arms as she finally looked at Jackie. "Yeah, maybe."

"I don't care about Jeff," Jackie said, her tone softening. "And looking back on it now, I'm pretty sure I only watched Color of Night just so I could stare at Jane March."

Alani smiled, her shoulders relaxing. "Well, now I feel like an idiot."

"You are an idiot," Jackie teased, chuckling. "You're the only person I love."

Alani's heart skipped at those words. "You love me?"

Jackie froze for a moment, realizing what she'd said, but then nodded. "I do."

Before Alani could respond, Jackie's eyes landed on a can sitting on the shelf near Alani's head. She grabbed it, opened it as she stepped out of the pantry. "Food, hell yeah!"

"What the hell?" Taissa snapped. "Jackie, this isn't your personal buffet!"

Alani followed Jackie out as she groaned and looked into the can before dropping it. "See? This is why we should've stayed in the plane."

"Yeah, well, we didn't," Van chimed in. "So this is helping how exactly?"

"This is a fucking nightmare," Jackie muttered, storming out of the cabin and onto the side porch. Alani was quick to follow.

"This place is super creepy," Isa remarked, glancing around.

"You're creepy," Travis retorted. "I think it's kind of cool."

"Well, hello!" Van grinned, slamming a stack of magazines onto the table. "Don't worry, guys. We might be stuck in the middle of nowhere, but hey," she held up one of the magazines and turned it around, "at least there's porn."

The girls gathered around Van, picking up magazines and flipping through them.

"Woah," Parker laughed. "Oh my God."

"Hey, this guy kind of looks like you, Flex," Mari said, nudging Travis.

"If only any of you actually looked like her," Travis shot back, nodding toward one of the magazine covers.

"Do guys actually jerk off to this stuff?" Akilah asked, holding up a photo of a naked woman.

"Nah," Travis said sarcastically. "We hate that shit. You know, you can't even tell what her favorite book is."

He grabbed a magazine, twisting it in his hands as he walked out of the cabin, with Javi trailing behind.

Natalie flipped through a magazine, landing on a page featuring a beautiful Latina woman who slightly resembled Isa.

"Isa, come over here," Natalie laughed, motioning for her.

Isa rounded the table, leaning over as Natalie tilted the magazine toward her.

"You kind of look like her," Natalie teased.

Isa shoved her playfully, laughing. "Shut up, no I don't."

Natalie leaned closer, lowering her voice so only Isa could hear. "There's only one way to find out."

"Natalie!" Isa shouted, laughing harder.

Meanwhile, Wren heard shouting from outside that none of the others seemed to notice. She stepped onto the porch and froze when she saw Javi on the ground, Travis standing over him.

Travis caught sight of her, and after a brief moment of awkward eye contact, he walked away, leaving Javi on the ground.

———

"Fuck! God!" Ben yelled.

The girls ran out of the cabin to see that Ben had fallen off the porch and onto the dirt.

"Why?" He sobbed, "Goddamn it. Fuck you. Fuck you!"

"What the fuck do you want?!" He yelled at the group.

Misty approached him cautiously, "Hey, hey, it's okay—"

"Get the fuck away from me Misty!" Ben slapped, sending her tumbling back a bit.

But despite that, Misty sat on the porch and hugged Ben from behind, comforting him. "Come here, come here. It's alright."

"I can't just be like this now," Ben cried, "Why couldn't I have died?"

"Because we needed you," Misty said softly, "And I'm here for you, Ben. I'm here for you."

Parker and Mari shared a glance. They felt bad for their coach but were also weirded out by Misty slightly.

———

Parker woke up in the middle of the night and noticed the cabin door was opened slightly. Curious and uneasy, she gently slipped out of Mari's arms and stepped outside.

"What the fuck are you doing out here?" Parker asked, spotting her sister standing in the darkness. "Come inside."

Lottie turned to face her, her expression tight with worry. "I just have a bad feeling about this place."

Parker sighed, understanding the unease but unwilling to entertain it. "I know, I do too. But standing out here isn't gonna solve anything. And after that bear we saw, I'm not letting you stay out here. Let's go."

She began to walk back toward the cabin but stopped when she realized Lottie wasn't following. "For fuck's sake, Lottie." Parker groaned, turning back to her. "We're off our meds, so every uneasy feeling we get is just our crazy minds playing tricks on us. Nothing more."

Lottie hesitated but eventually nodded. "Yeah, I guess.

"So get your ass inside," Parker insisted.

Lottie nodded again and trailed after her sister, both of them stepping back into the cabin. Lottie laid down beside Laura Lee, while Parker crawled back under the blanket with Mari, snuggling into her arms.

Parker quickly fell asleep again. The day's hiking, paired with the constant effort of trying to separate reality from hallucination, had drained her. Every sound she heard lately seemed like her mind playing tricks on her. She hated the idea of going crazy and worked tirelessly to keep herself grounded, not wanting to burden anyone else with the task of managing her mental illness.

But her sleep didn't last long. Parker woke up again, groggy and disoriented. She sat up, her eyes adjusting to the darkness and realized Lottie's spot was empty again. This time, the pantry door was wide open.

Parker left Mari's side once again and climbed the ladder to the attic, drawn by an unsettling feeling.

"Lottie?" she whispered.

Her sister was huddled against the wall, her knees pulled to her chest. She didn't turn to Parker but instead stared straight ahead, her voice calm but chilling. "I told you."

Parker followed Lottie's gaze and froze. Sitting in a chair, illuminated by a sliver of moonlight coming through the window, was a skeleton. The decayed remains sat upright, its hollow sockets seemingly staring back at them.

Parker's eyes widened in horror. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Her heart raced as she squeezed her eyes shut, praying it was just another cruel trick of her mind. But when she opened them again, the skeleton was still there, silent and unmoving, yet impossibly real.