CHAPTER FIFTEEN:
The Gentle Giant.

             LENNON.

Whilst June was gone, I had tried to keep myself occupied. I spoke with the others, asking about their thoughts of moving into the plane. Most of them agreed in the end, after spending the night with shelter, though, there was a lot of work that needed to be done in order to make it better for living in. We would have to find a way to close up the broken windows, and the rear of the plane to keep us warmer at night, especially due to how much the temperature dropped.

In the end, we had decided to band together the parachutes to use as cover. We had tied them around the windows, using vines to keep them in place. They rattled slightly in the hot wind, but it was better than having the cold air of the night blast through whilst we were trying to sleep. We had also used the biggest part of a parachute to drape over the rear of the plane, stabbing it into place through the jagged edges of the metal.

We also decided to clean it up a little bit, and that meant attempting to wash away the dried in blood. It had proven to be a difficult task, and the stains would last forever, but we had managed to use a little water on rags to clean it up slightly. It took a while, but after some time, the stains weren't so noticeable, except for on the white leather seats—especially Rebecca's seat. Even now that her body was gone, I knew exactly which seat had been hers from the brownish stain on the white leather.

The last thing we had to do was clean up the glass from the floor, so that it was safe for us to walk around in. That had been the hardest part, trying to collect all of the fragments. Evie had cut herself, but Hattie had seen to it straight away, wrapping her finger in a cloth after giving it a quick clean. And after a few hours of hard labour, the plane looked ready to be lived in. Of course, it was a shell of what it had once been, but it was better than nothing.

We had moved all of our belongings into the cargo hold, including the food rations we had, keeping them in one of the suitcases we had emptied.

"Man, I am starving," Imani complained, coming to sit beside me at the entrance of the plane. I had been sitting there, catching my breath with the shards of glass wrapped in a rag when she joined me. "Those protein bars are only going so far." She complained, stretching her long legs out. She was wearing a pair of LuLu Lemons and a pink crop top with a white heart on the centre, her dark hair with blonde highlights in a bun on top of her head. And somehow, her skin was still glowing, whilst I had a few bug bites and sunburn on my forehead and cheeks.

I turned to face her, giving a blank stare, "Oh, so you're talking to me again?" I asked in a sarcastic tone. It had been four days since Imani had a proper conversation with me after I had told her to share her belongings. If there was one thing about Imani, it was that she could hold a fucking grudge.

She shrugged, "I can only stay mad at you for so long, Lemon. I love you too much to stay mad at you," She told me, using the old nickname she had called me when we were kids—back when she couldn't pronounce my name properly. She stretched her arm over my shoulder, heaving out a dramatic sigh. "And besides, your cute little face has had a permanent frown since yesterday. So, naturally, as your best friend in the entire world, I had to swallow my pride so that you can smile once again." She told me theatrically, putting her other hand over her heart.

I laughed a little, "You're ridiculous."

Imani rested her head on my shoulder, "But you love me." She sang and I knew she was wearing a shit-eating grin on her face. I felt exactly the same way she did. I couldn't stay mad at her, no matter how much I wanted to.

I faked a sigh, "I suppose so," I told her, as if it were a massive inconvenience. I rested my head against hers, looking out at our camp where Ivy and Ethan had began adding more kindle to the fire, awaiting June's return to light it as she had took her lighter with her. I scrunched up my nose when a sweet smell wafted through the air, "How the fuck do you still smell so good?" I demanded, shoving Imani off of me with a half-hearted glare.

Imani chuckled, "Victoria Secret body mist, baby It's one of my three items you gave me the honour of keeping." She said, being playfully bitter.

"Jeez," I grumbled. "I haven't even given anything like that a single thought. I must smell terrible." I said, suddenly growing very conscious of how I must have smelled. It had been four days in scorching heat without any means to bathe—and sure, each of us had the likes of deodorant and perfumes; I just hadn't given it much thought.

"You do," Imani casually agreed, earning a glare on my behalf. She pulled me closer. "Alright, how about I share it with you? But you only! I am not sharing it with any of those Devils." She compromised, her head resting against mine.

I scoffed, "Are we still doing that shit? Pirates versus Devils? It feels so trivial now." I said, glancing down to my Converse.

"Listen, babe. My bitterness and loathing is the only thing keeping me going right now, otherwise I'd be on the mental breakdown wagon like Coach Stratford over there," She said, glancing across at where Coach Stratford was sitting against his usual tree, alone and staring into space. She screwed her face up. "I mean, talk about fucking depressing." She said with a scoff.

                     "It's weird," I began saying. "It seems like he's taking it worse than everyone else here and I can't figure out why." I told her, watching as Coach Stratford lay there, barely even blinking. He hadn't slept with us in the plane last night, not even when when the Devils tried to convince him to. He had said he would rather be eaten by wolves. I wasn't sure if that was true—I didn't think anyone wanted to go that way. But either way, he seemed to be suffering a lot.

                      "I haven't even saw him eat or drink any water. It's like the dudes slipped into a depression coma." Imani said, scrunching her face up in disgust. Imani was never empathetic towards people in pain, she didn't quite understand it. Her life had been perfect, so why couldn't others? She really suffered from main character syndrome, thinking the world spun around her and that other peoples problems couldn't possibly exist. It made her really oblivious to how people were hurting.

                     I stood up, "I'm gonna check on him. See if I can make him eat." I said, hopping off the ledge of the plane and to the ground.

                   Imani sucked in air through her teeth, "Good luck, girl." She said as I reached into the cargo hole, unzipping the food suitcase and grabbing a protein bar.

                   I crossed the clearing, approaching Coach Stratford as if he was some kind of wild animal, making sure to be careful with each step I took as not to startle him. I remembered how he had acted with Evie, one of his own girls, and then how he had treated the rest of them. I was nothing to him and I was sure he wouldn't hesitate to lash out. But I really wanted him to eat, I couldn't stand the idea of watching someone waste away before my very eyes.

                    "Coach Stratford," I called out softly, crouching down in front of him, resting my elbows against my knees. I made sure to keep him at arms length. "Hey, it's Lennon—Captain of the Pirates... Do you want something to eat?" I asked him and then held the bar out towards him, waving it slightly. But he didn't even do so much as look at me.

                    I let out a sigh, "Coach, please, eat something. There's no point in starving yourself. We all need to be healthy—"

                    "Who gives a fuck," Coach Stratford grumbled over me, staring at the ground. "We're all gonna die anyway." He said, his voice low, eyes half shut.

                    I stared at him, "I'm trying to do everything I can to stop that, but you have to—"

                    "And what the fuck would you know, huh?" He snapped at me, his wild gaze finally meeting mine, his voice raising, catching some attention. He leaned forward. "You're like, what, seventeen? You're a child. You don't have the capability to save anyone out here—no one could save her. Not me, not fucking you." He growled and I stared at her in confusion, wondering who the 'her' he was referring to was.

                      "Her? Who—"

"Carla," He spoke over me, his eyes wide, growing tearful. I blinked back in surprise. That was Coach Grayson's name. He shook his head. "No one fucking saved her. She's gone—she's fucking gone, do you hear me? She's dead, and it's all because of you, because of you stupid girls and your stupid soccer. We wouldn't have even been on the plane if it weren't for you! She's dead because of each and every single one of you!" He was yelling at me, so loud that everyone was staring as I sat there, gawking back at him with confusion written all over my face.

"She was going to leave her husband, after Nationals. We were going to be together. Everything was going to work out and we were going to be happy! And now that's destroyed, because of you! The woman that I love is—" Coach Stratford didn't have the chance to finish screaming his words when Ethan was suddenly ramming into him, sending a punch so brutal across his face that I heard bones crack.

Ethan had Coach Stratford on his back, rattling punches into his face whilst the man didn't attempt to defend himself. I quickly flew to my feet after being knocked backwards from the shock, "Ethan! Ethan, stop!" I exclaimed in horror at the sound of bone crunching against bone. Blood was flying everywhere, splatters landing on my bare thighs.

"You bastard!" Ethan was screaming as he pummelled into Coach Stratford's face. He pulled back for a brief moment, grabbing onto the scruff of his collar and hauling him upwards. "You were having an affair with her? You were having a fucking affair with my mom?!" He yelled in his face, giving him a shake.

"I loved your mom!" That earned another punch across the jaw, knocking Coach Stratford into the ground where he rolled around, groaning in pain.

Just before Ethan could swing another punch, I ran in front of him, holding my hands out. He raised his hand, ready to punch and I flinched, shrinking back and preparing myself for the hit. But it never came.

I slowly looked up at him, my heart hammering in my chest. He was standing there, his head hung low and his fist in the air. His hair was covering his eyes, so I couldn't see the look on his face as he breathed heavily, his shoulders heaving with every deep and ragged breath he took.

I inhaled sharply, aware of all the eyes on him, "Ethan..." I whispered, reaching out for him but he stepped away from me and retreated, marching off into the plane.

I stood there, not quite knowing what to do. Everything had happened so suddenly and I was in shock. Ethan had never been a violent type of person—we had all nicknamed him the Gentle Giant a few years back. But it showed me how anyone could snap given certain circumstances. Even the kindest people could lose it.

I took in a deep breath, looking around the faces that stared back at me, "Hattie..." I managed to say, catching her attention.

"On it." She said, understanding what I was asking of her.

She rushed to Coach Stratford's side, crouching down in front of him. For once, he accepted the help, allowing her to sit him up against the tree, examining his beaten face. His nose and lip was burst and his cheek was already bruising along with the underneath of his eye. Ethan had really worked a number on him.

I bit my lip, looking towards the plane. I couldn't understand how Ethan must have felt. He had just lost his mom and then found out by simply overhearing that she had been having an affair and that the man she was having that affair with stood right in front of him. All rationality had gone out of the window and he had turned all of his anger towards the one person—the person he thought deserved it the most. But I thought the truth of it all was that he was hurting and that he really missed his mom, and he just needed someone else to suffer.

What I was sure to be a nervous chuckle escaped Hailey's lips, "Didn't know Ethan had that in him." She said, more to herself than anyone else as she took a quick glance at Coach Stratford's bloody face.

I swallowed hard, "Everyone just give him some time. Try and stay out of the plane for a while," I said, glancing around them. I looked down at Hattie. "Do you need anything?" I asked.

She looked up at me, "Um, some bandages and rags to clean up the blood. It's gonna hurt like a bitch later on though, what he really needs is some painkillers." She said and I gnawed on my bottom lip. We hadn't been lucky enough to find a First Aid kit, however, when going through our belongings thoroughly, we had found some painkillers we had stuffed away. But it wasn't a lot. We didn't have many medical supplies, all we had found was; a few boxes of painkillers, Ivy's EpiPen and some allergy medication.

                     "We'll have to have another look in the forest, see if we've missed anything. But right now, I think we have a few painkillers we can spare." I said before approaching the cargo hold of the plane to find the painkillers. It took a moment of rummaging before I found them in the baggie we had put together.

After giving Coach Stratford the pills, the camp went quiet. I sat myself down on a log, staring at the plane. I wanted to check on Ethan, but I didn't want to push any boundaries, so I chose not to. And instead, chose to wait for when my sister would return, which ended up not being too long because soon, I was hearing the sound of her voice bellowing through the clearing.

"Guess what, bitches!" She exclaimed upon her arrival, perhaps the most chipper I had seen her since the crash. She had a massive grin on her face and sweat lining her forehead. Everyone gathered around as she stopped in front of the fire, Eden in tow. She unzipped her backpack and began pouring out the empty bottles she had took with her—only, they were full. "We found a stream. It's only about twenty minutes from here, going downhill." She said, beaming hugely as everyone's eyes lit up as if it was their birthdays.

Everyone scrambled, trying to grab a bottle but Ivy snatched the one Kitty grabbed from her hand, "Wait, we can't just drink it. There might be parasites. We have to clean it before it's safe to drink." She said with urgency, holding the bottle at an arms length from Kitty.

                     "And how exactly do we do that?" Brooke humphed out, looking annoyed at the fact there was more steps before we could drink water. There were still some bottles left over, but now that we had a supply, we wouldn't have to worry too much about getting dehydrated.

                     "We have to boil it for at least a minute to kill any bacteria and parasites," Ivy responded before taking a look around. "Brooke, was there anything in the plane for cooking? Like a pot?" She asked, turning to face the blonde. I think it was the first time Ivy had interacted with any of my teammates without sneering at them.

                     "Sure, in the catering section where we found the snacks. There should be pots and stuff in the cupboards." Brooke told her.

                   "Alright, I'll grab them." Ivy said before heading inside the plane whilst I watched her go. I was somewhat grateful for Ivy—she seemed to know a lot that would be helpful for us. Of course, I had known we couldn't just drink the water straight from the bottle, but I hadn't known a thing about how to make it any cleaner.

                    I approached June, feeling a smile on my lips, "The stream? Does it look like it runs to open water?" I asked her, hoping that it did. If it did, we would at least have somewhere to bathe and cool down—and I was so desperate for both things.

                     "Yeah, maybe, but it could just go to the ocean, who knows. But we should probably find out, maybe head out tomorrow first thing to see—whoa, the fuck happened to Coach Stratford?" June's attention quickly changed to Coach Stratford, having just caught the sight of him as Hattie stayed by his side, continuing to clean his wounds.

                      I sighed, putting my hand to my head, "Ethan," I said, much to her surprise. "He found out that he was having an affair with his mom and beat the shit out of him." I explained, a frown working it's way onto my face.

                       "Very sad," She chirped. "Anyway, wipe that frown off of your face, we finally found water! This is a good thing. Don't bother worrying about Coach Stratford, he's a grown man that's been nothing but a dickhead since the crash." I couldn't help but smile at my sister. She seemed to be on some kind of high after finding the water, and I didn't want to ruin her good mood—not when it didn't come around often.

                      "Okay, Boss, good idea. We'll head out tomorrow and see if we can find open water," I agreed, earning an even bigger smile. I put my hand on June's shoulder and then pulled her in for hug. "Good job today." I said, giving her back a rub as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

                      Ivy returned, her voice breaking our hug apart, "Alright, fuckers, gather around. Today's the day you learn how to purify water."

               AUTHORS NOTE.

                Limme know your thoughts on this chapter!

                 — taylor xx