FOCUS: Hidden Strengths

Day One (Afternoon)

 Henry

Phillip and I woke up in the middle of a forest. Totally normal, right? NO. What the hell is up with that? I can’t even remember much of what happened yesterday. Why did Phillip wake up right next to me? I mean, he's my best friend and everything, but still... it's a bit creepy and stalker-ish. To make things more awkward, he was holding my hand when I woke up! And no, I did not put it there.

Did I mention that this forest is fucking huge?

 Phillip – being the amazing genius he is – wanted to start a fire for help. What a dumbass. We need a clearing for that. He’d probably burn down the whole freaking forest – and us with it. So now, Phillip was looking for wood – which I still think is useless, but since when does Phillip listen to me? – while I was doing something more productive: following the river we found to see if it lead anywhere.

I also periodically searched the river for some food, and I found some pretty weird looking fish. There were silver and purple fish that looked like mini-sharks, except they had long, barbed tails like stingrays. Also, I saw these bright, almost neon yellow creatures, polka-dotted crimson,  that had fins shaped like batwings, which they used to navigate around the water. Right now, all I can think about is how wondeful the fish would taste as fresh sushi. It'd be good sushi, too, without all those preservatives and fake coloring that the stores add.

The forest changed as I got further from where we originally were, becoming more tropical. The trees became shorter, more colorful, and housed louder birds. All the trees – which I am calling oaks and pines and mistletoes because I don't know too many types of trees – didn’t shrink all at once, though. Somehow they just became more and more deformed as I walked on. They became all curvy and flappy, getting in my way more often, but easier to push past. Especially those tall, bright sapphire ones with thornes all over. I got pricked multiple times by those annoying thornes, leaving scratches all over my bare arms and legs. I really hope those aren't poisonous.

 Now, it was more like a jungle than a forest. Somehow, there were vibrant trees in colors I’ve never seen before, golds and purples and pinks and blues intermixed with the dull green of the past. I wonder what kind of weird genetic disorder they have. No natural plant has those bright colors. The sun peeked through the tropical tree tops, leaving intricate designs of sunlight on the jungle floor. My eyes traced the patterns for a bit before moving on to scan the trees again.

Then, I saw this light ahead of me, a gap in this seemingly endless jungle of vibrancy. Finally! I’m fucking sick of all these colors. They were giving me a headache. I called out for Phillip as loud as I could –  because I'm pretty sure he has been following me, although he’d never admit it out loud – and ran to the gap, which lead straight to the beach and to someone who I was definitely not expecting.

 Savannah

I turned towards the forest upon hearing something stumbling. I saw Henry. I was so shocked I dropped the wood I was carrying. Another person on this island? And someone that my mind recognized unconsciously? Coincidence?  I highly doubt it. 

Well, at least someone will be overly happy. Cough Lizzie cough. She really likes him.

I wonder how we all got here anyways. Oh, look! Phillip, a kid from my AP European history class, is here too. That makes a total of four people on this island! Four people I know. Definitely not a coincidence. Interesting...

“Hey dudes, what are you doing here?” I said, trying to sound as if the situation we were in was completely normal. And this technically was the most normal thing that's happened ever since I woke up on this island. Sorta. Well, at least more normal than waking up on an island or trying to survive the old-fashioned way.

“We have no idea. W-what are you doing here?” Henry turned beet red. Ok, that's not so normal. He's usually the cool, composed guy. Maybe the heat is getting to him.

I replied, “Just tryin’ to survive. The usual. Why are you blushing?”

Lizzie blushed too and shied away from conversation. Everything just got more interesting.

“No reason! Well if you’re trying to survive, let’s get some food. I’m starving.”

Phillip took something out of his pocket. “What about this pill thing…? We don't have any 음식[food]."

“Lizzie had one of those pills too. Wait… was that Korean? You said 'We don't have any food' right?” My best friend speaks Korean, so I picked up the basics and a couple of words. At least, that's what my brain is telling me right now.

Phillip looked like he was considering what he was going to say next. He must not be used to speaking only in English. “Ya. Sorry, I sometimes say things in Korean without realizing it.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“I have one of those pills too,” Henry said, pulling a pink pill out of the back pocket of his pants. I raised my eyebrows. Nice topic change, Henry.

I checked to see if I had a pill too. Hey, why don’t I have one? I don’t have any pockets, either, but still…. It can’t be a coincidence that all three of them have a pill. Wait, what was Henry doing? “Dude, don’t eat it!”

“Why not? I mean, we all have one.”

I didn’t. But I’m not going to tell them that.

“But still….”

“Well, if we are going to take it, I’m going to take it first to prove to you that it won’t kill me.” He popped it into his mouth, accidentally chewed it, and made a face. “Damn, that tasted like shit.”

“Nooo. It was a pill…. They aren’t meant to be chewed or to taste good.” I seriously question the intelligence of my friends sometimes.

Lizzie, looking worried for Henry, was the first to ask the obvious question. “Do you feel any different?”

“We should 찾아 some 물… in case he, you know, barfs….”

“Uhh, in English please.” Sadly, I don't know that much Korean.

Henry thankfully translated, “Find water. There should be a stream nearby. I was following it up here.”

He pointed back over his shoulder and started moving that way. We all followed him, but, curiously, he didn’t throw up or appear to have changed at all.