The Marked

Isaiah (8)

I thought my life was over. The night before I woke up in that dark room, everything was off. My mom was trying to get herself killed and nothing felt right. I seriously thought my life was over. I considered ending it just so I didn't have to figure out why it was wrong. I had never been the strong type. My dad was strong, before he died. That was one trait I didn't inherit. I was weak and ran at the first sign of trouble.

But when I woke up in that room, with five others kids whose names I didn't know, and who's faces I'd never seen. . . I never wanted to die more. If there would have been a way to end it all then and there, I would have. I didn't think it was possible to get out. I thought seeing my mom again was impossible. The last glimpse of sunlight I ever had was hours before, and even though I hated the sun, I wished I could've been outside of that damn room. I wanted to spend my birthday with my mom and my friends. Not here, alone. I was with others, but not really.

Here we were, on this beach. A really large beach too. There were six of us, all clueless teenagers. The only one so far that had any sense whatsoever was Erin, which made sense to me. Girls were usually smarter, right? And this Briar kid, whoever he was, I kind of admired him. He seemed hopeful, for some stupid reason. Even though we were out of that room, what the hell were we supposed to do now? We were stranded.

"Isaiah? That's your name, isn't it?" Erin asked, her voice calm compared to my own voice, screaming at me in my mind. Screaming that I'd never get home. I'd never have my life back. I drew in a large breath and let it out. I didn't answer her because I didn't know what might come out of my mouth if I tried. She sat down beside me anyways. "The other guys and I are trying to come up with a plan to get out of here. Do you want to join us?"

"I-I think I'm good," I mumbled, hugging my knees to my chest as I leaned against the trunk of a large tree. I couldn't stop shaking. It felt like the world was crumbling all around me. "I can't do this," I whispered to myself. I completely disregarded the fact that Erin was sitting next to me. "I can't. I can't. I can't do this. No, no, no." This was over. Everything was over for me. I was a mess.

"Isaiah," she said quietly, her hand resting on my shoulder. She leaned closer, her face inches from mine. "Look at me," she whispered. I looked at her. "We're all stuck here until we find a way to get off this island. We need everyone's help for that. I don't know you, but I believe in you. I believe you're strong enough to get through this." She used her thumb to catch my tears as a small smile took over her lips. "Come on. We can do this together." She stood and held out her hand for me to take. Even though I didn't move, she kept standing there, arm outstretched, waiting. She wasn't going to leave me alone, so I gave in and let her small hand envelope mine. She smiled bigger and dragged me off towards the others.

Maybe Erin was right. Maybe there was a way to get home.