Paradise

Under the Coral Reef

After Holly calmed herself down I handed her a tiny coconut. She took it and added a small 'thank you' before sipping it cautiously as if it were a foreign drink. Holly's faced scrunched together in distaste and she placed the coconut next to her.

"Ok," she brushed the tiny husk particles from her hands," What's the plan?"

I mulled the thought over in my mind. We need a plan.

"Ok, a plan. The plan is to find everyone else. You were just a mile away from where I washed up so the others must be close by right?"

"I hope so." Holly looked at me with concern in her eyes. "This was supposed to be our graduation trip and now we're-" she stopped herself and looked out onto the crashing waves.

I picked up a broken sea shell and began drawing a mini map of the shore.

"Here's where we are now," I circled the tiny X, "You were there," I enclosed her X with a square, "That means the plane must have crashed somewhere between us." I pointed to the tiny plane doodle. "So we should go check the water for any floating luggage-"

"Or people." Holly whispered and quickly placed a hand over her mouth. "I-I'm sorry." Her emerald green eyes were puffy and looked hopeless. The plane crash and almost near death experience almost wiped the sweet Holly I once knew away.

"Holly, we'll find them. I know Steph is alive I...I can feel it. She used to be into he whole outdoors and she's a great swimmer, I just know it. She must have found Jace or Seth by now. There's still the other passengers too." Yet, even I had a hint of doubt deep within me. Surviving a plane crash in the ocean and washing up on shore alive is slim to none. I pushed the thought out of my head and stood up wincing a bit at the pain on my foot. Holly's eyes quickly scanned my foot.

"Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yeah. Let's get going." I walked towards the shore. The tide picked up and the waves crashed even closer than I last saw them.

"Was the pilot here?" She pointed into the ocean. I nodded in response and she shuddered.

The sun was warming everything up; even my hair had dried and clothes. Holly's hair was damp and rested on her collar bone. Her clothes began to stick to her body. I placed a hand over my eyes to shield the sun's brightness. I wish I had my sunglasses right now, but they probably got swept away.

"Do you see anything?" She asked from a few feet behind me. I figured she wouldn't come near the water.

"Um.. not really." I called back to her. This is absolutely nuts. No sign of the plane crashing, the mysterious storm, luggage or anyone else? I ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

"Wait what's that?" Holly pointed out passed the shallow end. I squinted my eyes and looked over the surface of the waves. Once my eyes adjusted I focused on a tiny floating white bubble hovered over a shadowed figure bobbing up and down. Was it a plastic bag?

"Hey!" a male's voice sounded alarmed. The white bubble wasn't a bag but a shirt and the voice came directly from it. 

"Anybody?!" it hollered out.    

Wait, I knew that voice. It was-

"It's Jace!" Holly exclaimed.

Before I knew it, I was in the ocean splashing salty water all around me. When I reached the drop off point where the shallow water ended I dived in and began swimming as fast as I could towards his body. By the time I reached him, confusion, fear and joy lit his face.

"Jace it's me Cleo." I tried saying around the water gushing into my mouth from his arm movement.

"My foot's stuck." He said in distress. He propped himself on top of a shiny black suitcase. I immediately dived under the surface. There was a colorful coral reef; shades of pink, green, yellow, and blue with tiny orange and yellow fish swimming about. Jace's left foot was wedged between two green reefs. A tiny cloud of red puffed out at his movement. I resurfaced to catch my breath.