I screamed.

Because at first, that was all I could think of doing.

I was in a life threatening situation in the air, plummeting towards the ground at top speed - and all I could do was scream.

It felt like my heart was in my throat and I was frozen stiff - worried that if I made one slight movement, something bad might happen. My eyes were shut tight as my fingers gripped on tightly to the straps that were holding me in. I held on so tight, that I felt my fingers bruising. I was terrified of what might happen if for some reason, I slipped out of the straps or they undid themselves.

It didn't even feel like it was real. Falling from the sky like that. The feeling of the wind on my face almost as if it was being stabbed by a thousand sharp needles. The wind howling so loud in my ears that I felt like I was about to lose my hearing.

I squeezed my eyes together so tight that I thought I could see tiny stars imprinting on the blackness. But even the pain and hallucination was better than opening them.

I didn't want to open them, I didn't want to think about anything as it felt like I was on the verge of a heart attack. I could barely process what was happen yet alone whatever was about to.

But of course, there's only so long you can fall out of the sky and before I knew it, I felt Mackenzie's arms reach above me and pull down on what must have been a cord.

As the parachute deployed, I felt us pull back with its strong force as we finally slowed down. The sound of the wind calmed and I felt a huge amount of relief.

"Brace yourself for water," Mackenzie called out.

I snapped my eyes open to hear the sound of ocean waves below. And as if I wasn't feeling ill enough, I felt myself grow sicker.

I sucked in a huge breath as I slowly lowered my eyes to look down.

The only thing I saw was blue glistening water that reflected the bright rays of the sun.

I gasped in shock as I realized what was happening. I felt my blood run cold as I froze.

We were going to land in water.

In the middle of the ocean.

I felt myself grow more shakier as we lowered, realizing that we were only moments away from reaching its surface. The parachute continued to gently float us down as I braced myself for contact with the water.

Suddenly, Mackenzie's arms wrapped around my stomach where the straps that kept me attached to her were. She fumbled about as I sucked in my stomach, confused by her actions.

"What are you doing?" I called out.

Before I had another moment to question her sudden movements, she unclipped the harness and I immediately felt myself slip away as I fell, dropping a few meters below her.

I was completely submerged under the water, it's warmth shocking my body, waking me up from any numbness I had felt from the fall. I was in shock from my sudden contact with the ocean as I felt my body sink lower and lower, accidentally inhaling some of the salty water as I struggled for air.

After I regained movement, I quickly began swimming to the surface of the water, my arms and legs flailing desperately as I rose higher and higher to the light above me.

As my head rose above water level, I inhaled a huge breath, coughing out the water in my lungs. I continued moving my limbs to keep my face above the surface, as I felt the water lap against my chin.

I looked up as Mackenzie gently floated down above me, her feet landing in the water first, before she sunk more and more, unclipping the parachute from herself.

"What the fuck was that?" I coughed at her, filled with a mixture of shock and anger at her as I tried to regain a normal breathing pattern.

The black parachute hit the water, floating gently as it spread out taking up more of the water's surface, bobbing up and down with the small waves.

Mackenzie swam in the water with ease, a few meters away from me like she was completely weightless. "I had to remove you from me while we were still in the air because it would have been harder to do it submerged in water," she called out, a tone of anger in her voice as if offended by me questioning her methods.

"A bit of a warning would have been nice," I called back, shooting a glare towards her. I was beginning to like her less and less than I already did. That was when I remembered, Eric.

I looked up, the sun's glare hitting my eyes as I squinted. I immediately tilted my head back, floating on my back as my eyes adjusted to the bright light. The water rocked my body back and forth as I tried to stay completely still, looking for any sign of him above.

The plane was nowhere in sight - only the fluffy white clouds and with every glance at the sky, I took, I felt myself grow more worried.

"Where is he?" I called out to Mackenzie as I returned my position to treading through the water. I looked at her with desperation, wanting answers. I needed to know that he was okay.

She peered up at the sky, her eyes drifting around briefly, taking in her surroundings.

I looked at around at the blue water that surrounded us, looking like it continued for miles and miles.

Where the hell were we? Where the hell was the land?

"There!" I heard her voice call out as I turned my head around in an instant, filled with hope.

Mackenzie pointed behind me, her arm sticking out above the water, slightly above eye level.

I turned around anxiously, looking up as I saw the black parachute and figure floating down meters away from us.

I peered forward as I tried to swim towards to the falling object. Upon closer inspection, I could see his dark brown hair and figure float lower and lower. I swam forward quicker as he landed in the water meters away.

He landed gently, sinking in the water until the waves reached around his shoulders. He unclipped his parachute immediately.

"Eric!" I called out, flooded with relief. I continued bobbing up and down in the dark blue sea, stretching my neck out to try and get a better view of him.

The sound of water and wind almost drowned out his reply as he looked over at us yet, I managed to hear him. "Are you okay?"

I turned to look at Mackenzie behind me who was no longer paying attention but rather, looking around urgently.

"We're fine!" I called back with whatever voice I could muster up, hoping the wind would carry my message.

"There's land, a few miles East!" he shouted back, his arm reaching out as he pointed behind me. I turned around, squinting forward as I tried to look for anything other than the blue glistening water.

"I saw it from the sky," he explained briefly, swimming over to his parachute as his hands fumbled with the clips. He was too far for me to work out what he was actually doing. After a moment, he began swimming in the direction of Mackenzie and me, a black object floating next to him that he dragged along, leaving his parachute behind.

As he got closer, I noticed the small cut on his forehead that must have been given to him by one of the Russian spies he'd fought. I suddenly remembered them and how we'd abandoned them in mid-air. I wondered what was happening there. Were they still alive? Had they been sucked out the door when we'd left? I hadn't seen anything else fall from the sky so I doubted it. There still had to be at least one more person flying the plane who was able to keep things in check. Then I wondered what had happened to the pilot and crew members that worked for the RUA - were they okay?

My thoughts continued to run wild until they were interrupted by Eric's voice, giving instruction.

"Unclip that backpack from the parachute," Eric called out to Mackenzie who immediately followed instruction without question, it was then I realized that was what Eric had down with his own, the black object being the backpack that was looped around his arm, following his every tug and pull. "They contain supplies that we're going to need once we get to land."

"How long till we get to land exactly?" I asked, my voice shaking, still recovering from the events that had unfolded. Eric finally reached me, swimming only a few inches apart.

"Not sure. But we better get a move on before it gets dark. I'm not sure exactly where we are but judging from the sun's position, we won't have light for much longer," he informed me, the small waves resting below his chin.

I nodded as I turned away from him, watching as Mackenzie had already grabbed the backpack and began swimming a few meters in front of us in the same direction Eric had pointed in earlier. I sucked in a huge breath as the realization hit me that we needed to start swimming now.

Eric moved alongside me as we began trailing after the stubborn agent who was swimming impressively far in front. As much as it pained me to admit anything good about her, she was a fast swimmer.

I moved my limbs around, pushing myself through the water with the sight of her black curls bouncing ahead of me.

I tried not to focus on anything but her swimming in front. I didn't want to think about what we were doing or how long it would take. Being in the ocean scared me. The ocean had always scared me. I tried not to think of all the different kinds of man-eating monsters that were probably swimming only a few hundred meters below us. I also tried no think about the fact that I'd watched all the Jaws movies with my Mom's boyfriend Michael only weeks earlier out of boredom. And with my Mom brought into my mind suddenly, I tried not to think about her either.

Sure, ending up with stab wounds from drug dealers at a prom was hard enough to explain to her but...how the hell was I going to explain this one?

The longer we swam on, the more I started to feel an aching feeling in my limbs. How long had we been swimming? Five minutes? Ten? Maybe more. It definitely felt like more than that.

I shifted my eyes to Eric who was still swimming near me, only a few centimeters ahead with ease and Mackenzie who still maintained her seven-meter distance. I searched beyond her, looking for any sign of land that would indicate that we were almost there - but there was still nothing.

I couldn't help but notice the weight of my shoes dragging me down as I swam behind the two of them but knew I couldn't kick them off. Chances were I was going to need them on land, especially if the sand was going to be hot. I wouldn't last a minute with my burning feet struggling to step anywhere.

But every single item of clothing on me felt like it was weighing me down. Suddenly the idea of swimming naked seemed desirable, at least it would be more freeing and I would feel lighter. I silently cursed myself for the black cotton sweater I had put on over my normal black uniform this morning. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. I had been cold when I left the house and I felt like it would be even colder once we got to Russia. But we weren't in Russia. We in the middle of the ocean and where god knows how far away from civilization, and all the sweater was doing was weighing me down.

As the long journey continued, I tried not to focus on it too much, distracting myself with any thoughts. Yet, it was hard not to think about what was happening when there were waves of water splashing me in the face every few minutes to remind me. It was like they were trying to wake me up from whatever daydreams I was having and make me remember the situation I was in - which I wasn't too thankful for.

By that point, my limbs were aching, even worse than before. When I'd first noticed the pain, it had been like more of an annoying feeling, now it was like a screeching noise in my head that found it unbearable as I struggled to keep moving forward. It was like my limbs were acting as anchors, making me want to give up and sink to the bottom of the ocean where the Loch Ness monster could happily devour me. By that point, I almost wanted it to.

Yet I powered on, doing my best to keep up with Eric who was yet to mutter a single word to me since we'd began our swim to land. I could see the determination in his eyes as the were still looking in front, like he knew exactly where we were going and wasn't going to let anything interfere with his plan.

"There!" I heard a voice call out in front of us.

For a moment, I thought I'd heard it in my head because I was so tired that the idea of a hallucination totally seemed possible at that point.

But when I looked over to Mackenzie, I knew straight away it had been a real voice - hers. Because further ahead, I could see land. It was distant but definitely visible. The greenery stood out among the water and sky.

The sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I exhaled a deep breath. "Thank God." I muttered to myself.

We continued onwards, the land seeming to take forever to reach, but as it grew bigger and bigger, my hopes lifted dramatically.

I never took my eyes away from the island. I was desperate to reach it. To reach actual ground that I could collapse on. I longed to actually rest. I had not stopped moving since our departure to find it and I was facing physical exhaustion.

When I finally felt my feet hit the surface, a let out a huge sigh of relief.

Thank god.

However, the swim over had drained all the energy from me, making it even more of a struggle just to push forward and make it through the water. My thighs burned as I put all my pressure on them, relying on their last ounce of strength to pull me forward.

I could feel seaweed wrap itself around my legs, holding me back as I broke free from its grasp with every step. I was too tired to even worry about it's sliminess or what other things could possibly be hiding among it.

I dropped down to my knees as the water level grew lower, resting just above my thighs. The beach from what I could see seemed to be deserted as not a person was in sight, rushing to our side to help. However, I was too concerned with getting out of the water to care.

I didn't even bother fully dragging myself to shore before collapsing on the ground, my back against the sand, staring up at the sky. I tried to catch my breath as I let the air into my lungs, relaxing all my sore muscles. The water was up to the edge of my ears, as the tide pulled back and forth. White foam surrounded me as I closed my eyes, taking in the signs around me. I could hear the waves gently crashing against the shore as Eric and Mackenzie also breathed in heavily.

Neither of us exchanged a word as we recovered from everything that had just happened to us. It didn't seem real to me.

I heard the sound of squawking birds above so I opened my eyes, watching the seagulls fly until the bright glaring sun took my eyes away causing me to squint from its light.

I took another moment to recover until I heard movement around me and realized that both Mackenzie and Eric were getting up. I gathered my strength to sit up, lifting my body off the sand as I pushed myself upright.

I turned to Eric, who was looking tired. Bruises on his temple and hands were clearly visible as he looked around, searching for something.

"Where the hell are we?" Mackenzie coughed out as she brushed the seaweed off her legs, her dark brown skin glistening in the sun.

Eric reached into his jacket, pulling out his spy device that had been hidden in a pocket. "Thank god these things are waterproof," he muttered as he began pressing buttons on the thing.

He stared at the screen as his fingers stopped moving before letting out a sigh of annoyance, dropping his arms to his side. "No signal."

Mackenzie and I both immediately grabbed for our own. Mine had been clipped onto the belt of my pants, and I had completely forgotten it was there since the moment I had put it on earlier that morning.

Much to my dismay, my device came up with the same icon, alerting me that there, in fact, was no signal. The cursing next to me let me know that Mackenzie's also read the same.

"Great," she growled, angrily shoving the device back into her pocket. "What are we going to do now? We have no way of contacting for help and no clue where we are."

I got up off the ground, after having taken enough time to gain back some energy. I looked around at the empty beach. The place was completely deserted. The only thing in sight was the sand and trees that were behind it.

Eric pointed to the mountain, that was almost hidden behind the many trees in what must have been some kind of jungle. "We'll head for higher ground," he said, grabbing the backpack that was lying on the sand. "We should be able to get a signal up there. If not, we'll at least be able to send a good signal." He swung the pack around his shoulder, already making his way to the trees. "By tomorrow, the RUA would have noticed something's wrong. They'll come looking for us soon enough."

"Soon enough," Mackenzie repeated, in a mocking tone. "Like the RFI won't come for us sooner than then. We're screwed."

I glared at her, rolling my eyes. "A little bit of optimism would probably be a great idea right now."

She shot me back a death stare that made my skin crawl. "Optimism?" she scoffed. "More like delusion. We're pretty much already dead. They'll be coming back for us by morning and won't hesitate to kill us all right then and there. Hope you told your family you loved them before you left. You won't be seeing them again."

Her words stung me, causing the rage inside me, to build up. "Okay, I know that you probably have the emotional range of a watercress sandwich, but can you pull yourself together for two seconds and realize what kind of situation we're in right now?"

"You think I don't know what kind of situation we're in right now?" She countered back immediately. "I just told you. Honey, I know more about this shit than you're tiny teenage brain could even comprehend. This is my life."

"Mackenzie, stop it," Eric spoke up, the sound of irritation clear in his voice.

"Tell your little pet to stop it. I don't get intimidated by girls who are still going through puberty," she yelled back.

I let out a laugh at her pathetic attempt to make me feel intimidated. "At least that would give me an excuse to act like a crazy lunatic bitch. What's yours?"

"BOTH OF YOU STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" Eric's voice boomed, causing both our heads to snap in his direction. He looked angry and impatient which was enough to silence us both. "We only have each other right now and the last thing we need is to be at each other's throats. See that?" He pointed at the sky, the orange tone setting over it.

"We don't have much sunlight left and we'll need to make camp for the night." He continued. "But we need to get a move on right now if we want to get far enough from the beach so we aren't spotted. So the last thing we need right now is to be fighting each other. Know the real enemy."

I didn't reply because I knew he was right. As much as I wanted to tear out Mackenzie's throat, we had to work together to get out of this mess. Survival was essential.

I pursed my lips, turning to look at the dark green trees we would soon be venturing through. Mackenzie sighed, grabbing the other backpack that was swaying back and forth with the movement of the shallow tide and swinging it against her own back.

We didn't say a single word to each other as we began walking through the sand. It was soft and I felt my feet sink into it as I stepped forward. The sun had been beating down all day and had likely made it very hot to walk on. I was suddenly thankful that I was still wearing my shoes, even if they were filled with water.

The sound of insects buzzing became louder as we made our way into the jungle, almost drowning out the sound of the distant ocean. I took in the greenery that surrounded us. Trees, vines, plants, rocks, dirt and sticks were everywhere, making me cautious to watch my step.

The dim light that peeked through the gaps in the trees above us was the only light we had as we walked deeper and deeper into the humid environment. I hoped we wouldn't be walking for much longer as the exhaustion overcame me.

I had no idea where we were and what was going to happen. The only thing that kept me going was the adrenaline I still had pulsing through me from the moment I'd jumped off that plane. Again, the thought of my Mom came into my head and I continued trying to ignore it. I didn't know what was going to happen and it was too painful to think about her at the moment.

As we ventured on through the trees, we came across a small area of open space which to my relief, Eric stopped at.

"Here should be good," he muttered as he removed the backpack from his back. Mackenzie brushed past him, dumping her own bag a few meters away. Eric ignored her coldness and began unzipping the bag.

I walked over to him, curious to see its inside contents. He pulled out a large bottle of water as well as numerous other large packets that must have been some sort of food. To my surprise, I watched as he pulled out a sleeping bag that had been wrapped up tightly into a small ball. As he unrolled it, it became clear to me that it was very damp from the ocean.

"We'll have to hang it up for the night to dry," he said, as he hung it on a nearby branch. "We can start a fire to keep warm."

"Isn't that a little risky?" I asked, thinking about the chances of the wrong person seeing the light coming from our camp.

"Trust me, you'd rather risk that than freezing to death," he replied as he reached back into the bag pulling out what appeared to be some kind of metal tube.

I peered forward, almost leaning against him as I tried to look at it.

"What's that?" I asked, causing him to turn around and look at me. Our close proximity threw me off as I took a step back. After I'd seen him so angry earlier, I didn't know what he was going to be like now. I hoped he wasn't mad at me for what happened with Mackenzie. It was just as much immature of me as it was of her to argue like that.

To my surprise and comfort, he seemed to have returned to normal and more relaxed. "Flares." He replied, holding the tube intently. "This will help a lot once we reach higher ground."

"When will that be exactly?" Mackenzie piped up, hanging up the other sleeping bag on the tree branch nearest to her.

Eric's brows furrowed. "Maybe a day or two."

She groaned and even I couldn't help but release a sigh. That long?

"Great." she mumbled.

By the time that sunlight had completely left the sky, we had managed to start a fire. It sat in the middle of the open area with Mackenzie on one side, already asleep, while I sat there awake on the other, staring into the flames.

I didn't understand how she could have just gone to sleep that quickly. Sure, I was tired. But there were a million things keeping me awake as I sat there with my chin resting on my knees, wrapping my arms around myself for extra warmth.

The rustling noise of leaves in the bush caught my attention causing me to turn around in fright but was relieved to see it was only Eric- who had returned from collecting firewood.

He carried large branches in his arms, bringing them over to the fire before dumping them in a pile next to it. I looked back into the flames, watching the flickering of its light and listening to its crackling sound.

I tried not to shake but could feel my feet tapping against the dirt ground rapidly as I continued trying to distance myself from my thoughts.

I saw a bottle of water being held in front of my face and snapped back to reality.

"Thanks," I muttered, taking the bottle from Eric's hand before taking a sip. I hadn't even realized how thirsty I'd been until I felt the water run down my throat. It cooled me and relieved the dry feeling that had been there for hours. As I sipped away, I remembered that whatever water we had would need to last us a few days. I reluctantly stopped after a few more sips, handing the bottle back to Eric.

He placed it down next to me, before joining me on the ground. "Do you want anything to eat? There were packets of some dried food in the bag."

I thought about it but wasn't feeling that hungry so I shook my head in reply. My stomach had been flipped upside down after falling from the sky so food had been the last thing on my mind. If I'd eaten anything today, I was sure I would have thrown it up, so I'd been thankful for skipping breakfast.

"How are you?" Eric asked, his voice sounding soft and full of concern.

I stayed silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer his question. "Okay," I replied after a moment. "You?"

"Fine," he sighed as I watched his shoulders relax.

"Those guys...from the plane.." I began, trying to find a way to ask. "Your friends, do you think they're okay?"

"Honestly?" he asked, his head tilting up towards the sky. "They're probably dead."

His words confirmed what I'd already feared to be true. I looked at him with concern, hoping to catch his eyes but he kept them away from me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I know you knew them well."

He let out a sort of choked laugh. "You don't really get to know anyone that well in this line of work." He lost the look of sadness that had been in his eyes that were once again replaced by his look of no emotion.

I decided not to press him on it anymore. It seemed very apparent to me that he didn't take death well or at least, didn't grieve it in a normal way. He must have seen it so often.

His words ran over and over again in my head as we sat in silence. You don't really get to know anyone that well in this line of work. He was kind of right. I mean, I felt like I knew some stuff about him, yet still not enough. Maybe at least more than any of the other agents.

"You know what I've been thinking about the past few months?" I asked, turning my head to him.

He looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"I don't even know your last name."

He raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

I gave him a confused look, my forehead crinkling. "Is it some sort of secret?"

He chuckled. "No, I'm sure you could find it out if you really wanted to. I just don't like connecting myself to my previous life."

"Why not?" I asked. I didn't want to pry too much but I was still desperate for him to tell me more about his life.

I saw the same painful look return to his eyes that I'd seen once before.

"Right, your family. Sorry, my bad." I apologized when I realized. He probably didn't like talking about what had happened to them. I couldn't even begin what it would be like losing everyone I loved. It had changed his life and made him become a completely different person.

His chest rose up and down and he took in a deep breath. "It's fine," he replied.

I didn't know what else to say after that. I felt terrible for reminding him about his terrible past and wanted to bury the conversation immediately. However, I couldn't think of anything happy to talk about considering what was happening.

The insects chirping and buzzing, the crackling of the fire along with Mackenzie's occasional snores were the only sounds we heard as we stayed in that awkward silence.

I saw him move from the corner of my eye as he reached into his jacket, pulling something out of his pocket.

He handed it to me. I reached my hand out curiously, feeling the light item land in my hand.

It was a necklace with a heart shaped pendant. I held it up to study it with the light of the fire. It must have been the personal item Eric had chosen to bring with him. I suddenly remembered my necklace, which was still around my neck.

"I didn't take you for someone who liked wearing women's jewelry." I joked, studying the necklace. It was beautiful though it had appeared to be slightly worn out and dirty - and I'm sure the exposure to salt water hadn't helped its condition.

"It was my sisters," he muttered.

I looked at him in surprise. He grabbed the bottle of water that sat between us, unscrewing the cap before taking a small sip.

"I thought you didn't like to think about what happened." I pointed out as I made sure to hold the item with more caution.

"It's the only thing I have left of her. Of any of them, really. I couldn't bring myself to throw it out, so I kept it." he explained.

I nodded my head in understanding. "I get it. It's really nice that you held onto it."

He let out a small smile. "She used to wear it all the time. Didn't even take it off when she went to sleep or anything. Every time I saw her, it was always around her neck."

"She must have loved it," I said, clinging on to every word he spoke in anticipation. He'd never opened up to me like this before.

His smile faded as a sad look came upon his face. "It's how they were able to identify her body after the crash."

I gasped softly. "Oh god, Eric." I felt my own eyes tear up yet his stayed dry, though they still looked sad.

I didn't even want to think about what he'd been through and apparently, neither did he as he sighed, before lying down on the ground.

His eyes stared up at the sky, closing for a moment before opening again.

There was another minute of silence. The moment alone with my thoughts only made my anxiety worse.

"How are we going to get out of this?" I asked out loud. I felt myself losing hope with every second as the reality of our situation sunk in. Would we be able to survive this?

"Come here," he motioned to me.

I looked at him lying there and then followed his instructions, tilting back to lie on the ground.

To my surprise, before my back could reach the ground, I felt his hands grip me and drag me closer to him.

At first, I was too shocked to move as I realized that he was letting me rest on him. I tried to calm down the rapid beating of my heart but it was a struggle. Being this close to him only made me think of how much I wanted him. I tried to remind myself that he was only doing this to comfort me.

I finally calmed down a little as I rested my head against his chest. I could hear his heart beating and for a moment, it relaxed me.

"Look up," he told me. I could feel the vibrations in his chest as he spoke.

I obeyed and lifted my head to stare at the night sky. There were many stars, so many that it would be impossible to count. Each one letting off its own little bright light, filling the sky with beauty.

"You know, I once read that as long as the stars come out at night- there is always hope," he told me, his voice calm.

I continued staring at the sky, taking in his words.

I couldn't help myself. "You don't just think that's a load of bullshit?" I asked after a few seconds later.

I felt his chest shake as he laughed. "Maybe," he replied.

And for a moment, even in that situation of complete despair, I laughed too.

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 A/N: I hit 1k followers holy obi one canolli that's cool. Thanks so much you guys!

ALSO LOOK AT THIS NEW MEDIA FEATURE:

AHH ITS SO COOL. I like to write my stories like actual books so I won't be including them in the chapters themselves, but I can definitely use them in my author's notes. IT'S SO COOL AHHH What do you guys think? #TreatYoSelf