eighteen

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------ eighteen ------

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------ eighteen ------

The mood stayed down as the girls sat around the small fire. Grace's head rested on Toni's lap whose fingers ran through the blonde's hair. They drowned in sorrow. Nobody wanted to die on that island, not without saying goodbye to the world. Never again would get to order tacos, go to prom or walk through the streets of her town. She wouldn't see her mother again.

All she wanted to do was cry, but she couldn't. Grace was numb. At that moment, she was trapped in a nothingness that she couldn't escape from. She solely felt the brunette's touch. However that didn't calm her down like usually. Something troubled her too and it wasn't Dot's prior speech. Grace believed it was related to the quiet glances she casted in Shelby's direction.

"Here," she spoke to Shelby, catching the other blonde's attention. "Boiled and cooled if you're thirsty." She offered the girl a bottle of water. It was a strange sight. Toni had never shown any kindness to the Texan until now. But Shelby only declined. "Okay. Change your mind..." The deafening silence returned.

"All right, now, it's just too fucking quiet," Dot commented. "Hey, uh, it might be the apocalypse talking, but aren't you gonna suggest some..."never would I rather" shit?" she asked Shelby. However the girl remained frozen in place, only slightly shaking her head. This place had even killed the blonde's optimism.

"God. We're really gonna die here," it dawned on Rachel. The group remained silent. Each girl wanted to be alone with their thoughts. It made the distant humming appear louder than it actually was. Grace suddenly sat up, startling Toni in process. Her gaze drifted towards the sky. When she couldn't immediately find the source of the sound, she believed it to be only a product of her imagination.

"Does anybody else hear that?" Fatin queried.

"So I didn't make it up," the blonde realised, giving the other girl a nod.

"Hear what?" When Dot spoke those words, the humming became louder. It sounded like it came from an engine. Fatin stood up looking at the sky like Grace had before her, but it was Rachel who first saw the plane. Every single one of them jumped up and waved the pilot. Screams and shouts erupted from the group.

Their shouts only increased when the pilot took notice of them. They would see their home again. He would take them home.

------ eighteen ------

"Here they are, the brave young women whose tale of struggle and survival has gripped the nation. The Unsinkable Nine, we have come to know them," the host began. "Ladies, you must have dreamed of coming home for so long. Now that you're here, what do you want to do most?" She asked the group.

"Honestly, smoke about a hundred cigs, you know. Like really rip through a carton or two." Dot was the first one to speak up. Her answer was followed by light chuckles.

Suffocating // Toni ShalifoeWhere stories live. Discover now