gold rush [the wilds, toni shalifoe]

chapter 24

"Gone," Dot confirmed, the words barely rolling off her tongue.

"She was gone," Shelby whispered. "Nora was gone."

"It was Dot, who saw Rachel first," Fatin informed them, her eyes flickering between the agents. "Leah saw Hunter first."

"Some of us froze."

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As Dot rushed over to Rachel, Toni stared out at the water for a moment longer as she prayed to a God she didn't believe in that Hunter was going to pop out of the water at any given second. Dot's screams about Rachel casued Toni to push the unconfirmed loss of Hunter back for a moment as she took a deep breath and rushed to help Dot carry Rachel out of the water.

Toni almost gagged once she caught sight of Rachel's bitten off arm, the blood still pouring out and coating the sand below them. She held Rachel down tightly as Fatin passed a belt over for the diver to bite into, Dot heading straight to the fire with no hesitation to sterilise their axe to quarterise the bleeding of Rachel's arm.

Shelby looked up at where Leah had been standing, noticing that the girl had turned and started taking off towards the edge of the water slightly along the beach. Her eyes narrowed for a second as she tried to see what Leah was running towards before they focused on the shape lying face down in the wet sand.

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"But some of us just sort of knew what to do."

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"DOT!" Leah screamed as she turned Hunter over, trying to check the girl for a pulse but her shaky hands were able to press down in one spot. Dot looked up from where they were crowed around Rachel, noticing Leah on her knees in the sand as water gently splashed around her knees and Hunter's sides. She looked to Martha and Shelby who nodded, reassuring her that they would stay with Rachel.

Toni had already left Rachel's side, sprinting across the beach and sliding to her knees across from Leah as she pressed her hands on either side of Hunter's face, shouting her name as if she was expecting the girl to open her eyes and say it was all a joke, that she was fine. Dot reached her seconds after, immediatley hovering over Hunter and beginning CPR. 

Leah's reeling mind immediatley thought back to their first day on the island when they realised that they all knew CPR, and as she watched Dot pound on Hunter's chest she wondered if this was all just a part of some master plan that Nora and whoever she was working with had came up with. Fatin joined them, falling to her knees next to Toni as they all watched with baited breath for the girl to even react, to do something at all.

Dot paused for a moment, causing Toni to think that the Texan was giving up on her classmate.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? KEEP GOING!" Toni yelled, getting shoved back by Dot when she got too close to the other girl. Fatin sprung forward and wrapped her arms around Toni again as she motioned to why Dot had stopped, trying to get Toni to calm down and look at the situation.

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"Some of us took it harder than others, who let the whole thing... shatter them."

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Hunter flinched ever so slightly for a moment before turning her head and coughing up the salty sea water that she had swallowed. Toni felt tears spring to her eyes as she scrambled on the sand to pull Hunter closer to her, the clothes she wore now tainted with the blood of Nora, Rachel and Hunter and her face stained with the tears that were now freely flowing down her face.

"Don't you DARE leave me," Toni muttered to Hunter as she held her shaking body. Fatin smiled at Hunter with relief, and Hunter managed a half smile back. Her eyes trailed over Toni's shoulder as she noticed Rachel lying on the ground with Shelby and Martha before looking back to Dot.