chapter three:
The dollhouse

  Corey couldn't sleep, every time he would close his eyes the nagging ache of his body kept him wide awake. He had given up after he saw the sun in the distance and was now leaning against the side of a tree as he watched everyone dig. He would've helped but given his lack of arm he didn't even attempt.

"Are you feeling alright?" Jackie's tone was soft, she was likely trying to be nicer today in case they got saved. It's not like he was mad at her anymore anyways, he got over it after a few hours yesterday. That's just how it always went with her whenever they'd fight.

"Well, my arm isn't bleeding anymore thanks to Misty literally branding me with an axe. I mean when I said I liked Star Wars, I didn't mean it like this". Jackie chuckled and Corey grinned weakly "but hey, at least I'll have some sick Halloween costumes when we get back home. The options will be endless".

He let himself settle more into the tree as Jackie stood up "I'll bring you something to drink". He watched as she ran off, he could see how miserable she was and he couldn't blame her, this place sucked.

He must've dozed off, he felt his eyes shut and when he opened them he heard crows in the distance. He inhaled slightly as he looked forward and saw everyone gathered in a circle. The holes they dug were covered again and makeshift tombstones stood on top.

"Before we took off, I heard Rachel say that she was going to see Oasis at the Meadowlands next month" Corey would've protested when Jackie helped him stand up but he didn't. He let himself stand upwards and awkwardly stood beside everyone in the line.

"Come on.Let's join hands. We'll pray for them" Corey cringed at the sight of everyone grabbing hands. Due to his lack of one it felt almost awkward. He let his hand grab a hold of Jackie's, while the other was left empty. Lottie scratched at her neck and he looked at her hand that was extended towards him.

"Just put it on my shoulder" he whispers and she does and he lets out a breath of relief when he could feel it. At least he wasn't completely helpless, Lottie's hand was warm. Part of him wished he had a jacket so his shoulder would stop being so tense.

Despite hours of searching he still hasn't found his bag, his lack of cigarettes was making him more pissed off with everyone. "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".

Corey scoffed under his breath as he shifted his foot along the dirt, he could picture himself at home. A warm blanket wrapped around him and the bagging of his mother from his lack of attention. "Anyone else?" Corey looked around, the air felt tense and he could feel Lottie's hand digging into his shoulder.

He would've moved away but he kept still, his hand gripping Jackie's more like a lifeline. He couldn't picture himself standing here without Jackie beside him. What if she was the one underground, that dirt covering her like a thousand wishes. He blinked, maybe he was just being paranoid and this was all one big nightmare. He'd wake up and his arm would still be there, everything would be perfect.

Corey moved away "this is bullshit" he spat out as he walked off into the woods. He didn't really mean it, it was a beautiful moment but his head thought otherwise. He heard Jackie's voice behind him but he ignored it as he walked towards a rock.

Three long nights, he was exhausted from waiting. Part of him feared they'd never be found, the idea of dying out here sounded terrifying. No one would mourn you, your body would seize to exist. "You didn't have to be such a dick back there" he turned as Natalie walked towards him.

"I hate funerals" he sat down on the road, looking down at his arm. No blood but he knew he'd have to attempt to clean it later with a shitty water bottle. "They died and we survived, you could pretend to care" she sat down beside him. He could see the stress hidden beneath her bangs, the way her hands tensed.

"I respectfully walked away, I mean those people I didn't even know. Who gives a fuck, they clearly couldn't control the plane". He huffed annoyed as he undid the belt around his arm "you shouldn't do that without Misty looking at it first".

He grumbled "you sound like Jackie, I thought we were cooler than that Nat". She rolled her eyes "you're still an idiot, look I just came to give you this" he shifted his gaze from his arm. He looked at Nat's hand, the cigarette wasn't much but it was there and he smiled. "Oh thank god, Natalie I could make out with you so hard right now"

He grabbed the cigarette pushing it into his mouth with a loud sigh of relief. He grabbed the lighter from her hand and lit it. Nat stood up "I'm gonna go check on the others, try not to wander off that far".

When she walked off he watched her, he felt himself relaxing as he pushed the lighter into his pocket. He turned and began to walk off, he'd find his suitcase if it was the last thing he did.

—

His cigarette had gone out completely by the time he walked for a good hour, truth be told he was glad to be alone. The others always complained or kept mentioning when the rescuer would come, at this rate he lost all hope of being found. He sat along the rocks, watching as the water moved along the wind.

He sighed as he looked at his arm, well what once was his arm. The bloody shirt and broken skin made him cringe as he took the makeshift bandages off slowly. He looked disgusted as he looked at the wound, it wasn't a sight for sore eyes that's for sure. He tugged off the rest of his shirt, or at least what was left of it.

Given he didn't find his suitcase and everyone else wasn't his size, he took defeat and wore the same shirt for three days. He felt the cold winds and shivered for a second but it felt nice after a few seconds. He could see the scraps and bruises that lingered along his chest and sides. He was at least glad he didn't remember the impact, that would've probably made him more tense.

He struggled to take his shoes off, but when they fell off he let out a breath of relief as his feet dipped into the water. The sun felt warm which helped with the coldness of the water hitting his skin. Given his arm was all fucked up, he couldn't go much further.

He watched the sky, his body slowly relaxing as he walked more into the water. He let it stop at his thighs before he stopped, he closed his eyes. He wished he could sink away, let himself drift until he was completely gone from anyone's mind.

Jackie would move on far more than he could if she ever died. She was stronger and a lot more brave than he ever was. He wiped at his face letting the water sink into his hair as he awkwardly bent it downwards. It wasn't much good since he only had one hand to use, he gave up and just relaxed.

Jackie hated this, every second of walking made her entire body wanna just stop moving. Her skin was itchy and her clothes felt gross from sleeping on the ground. No amount of picking at her fingernails helped either, the dirt engraved itself there.

"Hey, did anyone think to find Corey?" at the sound of Natalie's question Jackie huffed. "He's probably wondering off, he'll find his way back when he's ready". Jackie kept walking and she could see the glares that went her way "okay, what?".

She was annoyed, and her leg was on fire from the poison ivy. "Well he's your brother, you should be way more concerned for where he is, what if he's hurt or passed out on a random rock". Jackie rolled her eyes "as if I asked for your opinion Natalie".

Natalie scoffed "well sorry for giving a shit, something you clearly don't care about". The girls bickering was interrupted by the others all cheering and sprinting off past some trees. Jackie glared at Natalie before she followed after the girls. "Bitch" Natalie whispered as she rolled her eyes and took her jacket off. She spotted Corey right away when she took her shoes off, the boy looked annoyed when the other girls all jumped into the lake.

Corey hissed when water splashed at his face "hey, fucking watch it!". The girls giggled as he angrily stormed out of the lake, his body drenched and his arm aching. "Corey" he turned, his face immediately relaxing at the sight of Lottie "uh hey, you not getting into the lake? Would've thought you'd go crazy like everyone else". Lottie shrugged "I figured I'd talk with you first, did you need help washing your hair?".

He frowned "washing my hair?" He sounded confused and it made Lottie chuckle. "Well you just seem like you need the help. Given your arm..." she paused almost as if it offended him. "It's fine, I have a bunch of arm jokes brewing as we speak. I'm just gonna wrap my arm and probably try to dry off". Lottie nodded and walked off near the lake, his gaze lingered on her frame for a moment as she took her shoes off. He looked away, and grabbed his shirt off the ground "need help?" Misty gleamed happily.

Corey looked at her "just trying to cover it, but I mean it's already wet so not much good it'll do". Misty didn't say anything, just grabbed the shirt and began wrapping his arm. He winced at the tightness of it as she tied it in place, he's never wanted a drink more.

"Guys, there's something on the hill!" Corey frowned deeply as he watched everyone run around like headless chickens. He looked at the hill with a sense of unease, the thought of someone else being here felt dreadful. How could live out here in the middle of nowhere, he was miserable and it's only been three days. After a few minutes he grabbed clothes and decided to follow after the girls.

The cabin looked creepy, he hadn't even walked inside yet and he felt himself getting anxious as he approached the steps. He could hear chatter inside and the slight hint of arguing, which didn't surprise him. He sat down on the steps, putting his shoes back on, or at least attempting. Tying them was nearly impossible with just one hand and he kept getting more frustrated, he gave up after ten minutes.

The door burst open and Jackie ran out angrily "who pissed in your cereal" she scoffed "don't even start". She sat down and he shook his head slightly "you gotta toughen up if we're gonna be stuck out here. You gotta stop acting like a big baby all the time".

"Big baby? Wow, that's really mature for you Corey" she put lotion on her leg and he huffed "just saying, I told you it was poison ivy". She smacked his shoulder, it was that hard which made him chuckle. "We're gonna be found, I'm tired of everyone saying otherwise. We should've just stayed with the plane".

He could see the anxiety and it made him anxious "we don't know what could happen. They're just trying to survive, can you blame them?". She sighed "no, but everything's just so messed up and I can't take it anymore. We're gonna run out of food, and this cabin.... Don't even get me started on this cabin".

He looked at it "I dunno, seems nice. But I'm more concerned about who the hell decided to live out here in the woods like this. It's not even a good location to just settle down. I don't trust it here".

"Lottie said the same thing, she actually refused to go inside. Something about sensing a bad vibe" Corey frowned "then where did she go?". Jackie looked at Corey "she's just down there by some trees. Creepy or not, it'll get us off of the ground. It'll be safe". Corey scoffed "yeah, all of us cramped inside a small ass cabin, that'll be a disaster waiting to happen".

—
authors notes: todays not valentines! it's Yellowjacket day, I don't care what anyone says.

okay so I only made it like 13 minutes into the new season and then I literally turned it off, idk the vibes just aren't it yet. I'm gonna attempt to watch it again tomorrow after I do my homework. Also who tf are these new characters? I hate when they do that, cause they sure as hell weren't here before. Anyways here's another update (everyone clap), trust I'm still working on more chapters, just might be a minute since I'll be busy today and tomorrow. Regardless, trust that this is my current obsession. Happy late Valentine's Day lol