The Survivors

Chapter 9-Good Morning

I stare at the ocean waves that constantly crash together making a swoosh sound. I hear the distant calls of the jungle behind me, mixed with birds and bugs. The island is alive, truly alive. And we're not the only ones anymore. My mother is somewhere on the island being kept by mutated men. I get a sick feeling that there's more secrets this island holds from us.

It's constantly stressing me. Now I'm worried for my mom's safety and our group now. I can't slip up, more lives are at stake now. And we're being hunted. I think back to last night when Teren spoke for the first time in years. His voice was deep but not like a bass, smooth and almost calming. The moment he said those words to me when he came back, I flipped out.

I made everyone come back to make sure I wasn't getting drunk after effects. Turns out, he really was speaking. Everyone was shocked he could talk and asked a million questions. Then he explained his little adventure into the jungle. He confirmed that my mom was alive and he chased her inside.

Then he was attacked by three large men. He told us one had literal snake eyes and fangs sticking out of his mouth. Another had glowing brown eyes and all of them had wolf tails. They growled like real wolves and were the ones howling. He told us that they were going to take him like they took Leigh.

He tripped once and they managed to get him but then he bit one of their arms and made a run for it. Then he was tackled and then pinned down. Then he tells us they poured water down his mouth, tipping his head back. That got mixed reactions from everyone. Ayden cursed, Jennifer gasped, Samuel stared in shock, Sarah glared, and I was the only one with civilized words and asked why they did that.

He said he was screaming when he was tackled, that's what we heard. One of the guys actually asked, not doing anything and his captor answered that Teren is probably dehydrated. So apparently that was the solution. They finally stopped and Teren paused for a moment. Then continued, "Then I insulted them, talking normally for the first time in years."

"Oh my God," Bree whispers stunned. We stand in a circle near the giant bonfire. Teren nods at them, "I don't know how, or what happened to my voice but that's all I know. But then after they started talking and said they should be looking for Leigh instead and to let me go. They know we're here and said there's no way off the island. They'll come for us soon, saying they need time to 'prepare'."

"That's not possible," Sarah mumbles, "mutations like that can't happen to humans."

"Well apparently it can," Ayden sneers shooting her a look.

"This is crazy, it's just crazy," Jennifer shakes her head, staring down at her bare feet.

"So night watches for sure," Samuel comments crossing his arms in front of him.

"Yeah," I say numbly, watching the jungle warily.

"This is-, what are we going to do?" Shane asks looking at the jungle fearfully as well.

I see everyone look at me and I take my cue. I open my mouth but no words come. What do we do? If Mom couldn't escape... no, we have a plane filled with machines to contact the mainland. But most of it melted. Shoot we should have raided the plane first! Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! What else can I do? We could... build a raft...

"We can build a raft," Teren says, taking my idea. I give him a curious look feeling a bit weird not making the orders.

Jennifer nods, "That sounds good."

I feel a surge of jealousy finding myself wanting her praise. Shut up Levi, it's fine. You don't even want to lead them. Or do I?

"We should start gathering the plane parts." I cut in, feeling a little odd trying to take charge, "Pile them up and start trying to put them together. We can use sticks and light the tops on fire to melt the metal on the sides of the metal pieces, then we can meld them together. It that works then we'll have a raft. We should also use clothes, blankets, and luggage to sew together a sail. Anyone extra can try finding more phones and maybe attempt getting into the cockpit," I say confidently, now knowing what to do.