Autumn woke to silence. She groaned and sat up. Her blonde hair fell in front of her eyes, and she pushed it away impatiently. She looked around the room to see the other three were still sleeping. Blinking the sleep away, she stood up and walked outside.

It had stopped raining, and the sun was helping to dry up the land. Autumn looked toward the jungle and saw that a few trees fell in the night. She heard footsteps and looked back toward the hut. It was Jessica.

"So it wasn't just a bad dream," Jessica said groggily. "The ship really wrecked."

Autumn nodded. She wished she could say something reassuring, but nothing she thought of was uplifting, so she remained silent. There was only one thought in her mind, and it swam in her head over and over again. They were stranded, and they were all going to die.

Noah and Dimitri stepped outside. Autumn had heard them coming and turned to see them. "Now that we're all up, I think we should start exploring," she said.

"I was about to say the exact same thing," Dimitri said.

"Oh really?"

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "You think I'm lying." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah."

Dimitri chuckled. "Yeah, well we should probably be going. Who knows what could happen if we stay?" As if on cue, the ground started shaking.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Autumn cried. "Hit the deck!"

There were no objections as everyone dropped to the ground. Autumn felt like the violent shaking would never end. It seemed to drag on for hours. She didn't know how the others were reacting, but as for her, she was curled up in a little ball with her eyes squeezed shut. There was a roaring in her ears, and it was so loud that she thought she might go deaf. All she could think about was home. She missed her family with all her heart, and the idea that she may never see them again was unbearable. As the ground shook, she kept muttering the same words over and over again: "Please God. Please let me live. Please let my family be alright. Please." Then there was silence, and the earth stood still.

Autumn shakily got to her feet and looked around. The hut that had taken so many hours to build was completely destroyed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone stand up. Noah.

"Well," Noah groaned, "now there's absolutely no reason to stay here."

Autumn gave a bitter laugh. "Yeah. We should go." She saw Dimitri stand and help Jessica get to her feet. "Come on." She started walking towards the jungle.

The others followed behind her. She smiled. She's never been the leader before. Not even at home. It felt nice. She stopped in her tracks when she reached the first tree. The smile disappeared. "Hey Dimitri," she said. "Remember last night, when you said that there could be food in the jungle?"

"Yeah," Dimitri replied. "What about it?"

"You were definitely right," she said.

Dimitri walked up to her. "Oh. I see."

"What should we do?" Autumn asked.

"What are you guys looking at?" Noah called. Clearly, he didn't like to be kept waiting.

"A jaguar," Dimitri answered. "I recommend we avoid it. We have no weapons."

"I thought jaguars lived in the Amazon," Jessica said. "Why would one be here?"

"I don't know," Dimitri said. "Let's just keep away from it."

Right after he said that, the jaguar turned its head and looked right at them. It started growling as it got ready for a chase. Autumn inhaled sharply. She couldn't stop looking at it. Its golden eyes seemed to bore into her soul, as though it could learn every last one of her secrets by simply looking at her. She shivered. The jaguar lunged.

Out of nowhere, an arrow sunk into the animal's side. Red quickly stained the yellow and black fur. The jaguar fell with a yowl. Autumn gasped and covered her mouth. She scanned the trees and her eyes landed on a humanoid figure nearly invisible in the foliage. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the jaguar start to stand back up. Another arrow was quickly embedded in its eye. The jaguar crumpled and didn't move.

The figure in the trees started to climb down. Autumn watched as the person jumped from the lowest branch to the ground without making a sound. How is that even possible? she thought. She stiffened as the figure started to walk towards them. The person stepped into the light. He had long, black, messy hair. His silver eyes glinted in the sunlight. He was absolutely stunning. She shook her head. He was a threat. Who knows if this man will attack them? Then he spoke.

"Hello," he said with a thick British accent. "I am sorry if I startled you. It has been so long since I have seen another person."

"N-no," Autumn replied. "You saved us, actually."

The man smiled. "How did you four get here?" he asked.

Dimitri was the one to answer. "We were on a ship. It crashed. We don't exactly know anything else."

The man nodded. "That is how I got here," he said. "Although I suppose you do not know where you are? I can tell you."

"Please do," Jessica replied. "Our phones won't work, so we can't pinpoint our location."

The stranger laughed. "Welcome to the Bermuda Triangle," he said. "Your cell phones will not work here, nor will any other electronic devices."

Noah scoffed. "The Bermuda Triangle? Come on! Stop playing with us and just tell us where we are!"

"I speak the truth," the man said. "I have no reason to lie to you."

"Guys," Dimitri said. "I don't think he's joking."

Noah looked at him like he had gone crazy. "Seriously?!" he exclaimed. "Why on earth would you believe him?"

"Think about it," Dimitri replied calmly. "There was no island on the map, yet here we are. Ships and planes have been reported to mysteriously disappear in this area before. Did you even notice how the waves from the ocean never even touched the ship? Does none of this strike you as odd? Do you not feel the chill in the air? This island is full of onda andar. Evil spirits. I can feel them."

Noah was silent. He didn't speak for a while. Then he said, "I just don't want this to be real. If this really is the Bermuda Triangle, how are we supposed to get back? And this stranger, well, we don't even know his name!"

"Quinn," the man said. "My name is Quinn." He looked at the castaways with sad eyes. "I have been looking for a way off this island for six years. All the other survivors of my ship have long since died. I understand if you do not wish to believe me. If I were you, I would not believe me either, but you may be trapped here for the rest of your lives."

Silence fell on the group. Autumn couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't want to believe it was true, but deep down, she knew that they were all going to die. The thought scared her to death. She prayed that it wasn't true. She prayed that her feeling was wrong, that she'd see her family again. That she'd be there when her father finally returned. For the first time in a long time, she prayed.