Fighting for Life

Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN:

Anger welled up inside of me. They can't do this! I burst into rage of tears and angry screams as I collapsed on the sandy ground. I just wanted to scream at everyone. I was mad at the whole world right now and all I wanted to do was go home. Then I thought about my parents. I would never see them again. I would never see my house again. I would never see the United Land ever again. Between my sobs, I noticed a black lump laying in the sand a few yards away.

"My bag!" I gasped. They had dropped off my bag! I darted towards the bag as if someone was going to steal it. I unzipped it and was relieved to find a few items from home; my peanut butter sandwich, a sweatshirt, a contact sized picture of mom and dad, and a cup of water that I had snagged from the Great Hall during dinner. My moment of happiness and pure relief was interrupted by my thoughts. Although I had these items, how was I to find a way to survive more than two days? I slung my bag over my shoulder and trudged onward through the terrain of the barren land.

When you hear stories about desserted islands and how there is nothing there except trees, it's wrong. Where I was, it was sand. All sand. It was huge. It stretched out longer than the coastlines of the United Land, and seemed a lot wider than I had pictured. It was like a beach, except the ocen wasn't anywhere nearby. I had been literally dropped in the middle of this weird place, with no means of survival except what was in my bag. I continued to go on, famished by the heat, but not wanting to waste the few drops of water left. Then I saw smoke. A fire. I knew I wasn't alone. Someone else was on this island, but I couldn't decide if it was a good idea to approach them or not. My curiosity took over, as I got closer and closer to the flames.

I then saw the source of the smoke. A huge bonfire sat a few feet infront of me, along with a tent made out of palm leaves. Someone emerged from the tent. A woman with long , dirty blonde hair. I was examining her for a few minutes, until she turned around. I felt like an animal in the wild, and she was the hunter. I just stood there staring at her, unable to mover or speak. She stared back, her eyes wild at first but then began to calm down. She then smiled a huge grin. I wasn't sure if she was accepting me, or planning to eat me. Either way, I stepped forward a little bit, intrigued by her little camp-like set up. She stuck out her dirt covered hand that I shook in return.

"Hello" she said, her voice loud but comforting in a way.

"H-hi" I stammered, feelng quiet shy and nervous.

"Welcome to the Island of the Unknown!" she said in an almost cheery voice

"It's where they drop innocent people like you and I once they fail all the tasks. It's quite unfair if you ask me! I've been here for 2 years now... almost 21 years old. I reckon you're still 18?" she asked.

I nodded, still taken back a little by her kindness.

"I see. You are welcome to stay with me. I see you brought a few things from home... always a smart choice. You gotta name kid?"

"Um yeah- um Jessica" I replied, almost questioning myself

"Well Jessica, you are in for the long haul! It's a lot of work around here if you want to stay alive. For now, it's just you and me. That is until next year when they have the tasks again... if you survive that long."

She sent a chill through my spine with that last sentence. I followed her into her tent, which was a lot bigger on the inside. It was split in half with a palm leaf curtain, as if she was expecting company to settle-in on the opposite side. She probably had a lot of company. The thing that bothered me was that none of her company had survived more than a year.