Survivor

12| First Night

Once I was dressed and waiting for Derek to come wrap my ankle, I decided to busy myself by flipping my hair into its natural side part and finger combing the ends. I was sure I looked like a complete mess.

Most of the guys had come in from the water by now and went into the cave to find clothes. A couple minutes later, Derek came out dressed in a tight black t-shirt and red athletic sweatpants. It really showed off his muscled physique.

"Ready?" He asked as he held up my foot wrap and knelt down beside me.

"As I'll ever be," I replied, lifting my leg to him and allowing him to set it across his knee.

"I have to make sure it's wrapped tight enough, so this will probably hurt a little bit. After this I need you to keep it elevated for a while."

"Okay. Thank you Derek," I forced a smile as he began wrapping my foot. I didn't do a good job at hiding my wince as he hit a sore spot.

"No need to thank me. Thank you for doing my stitches," he smiled up at me. He continued to wrap it as he spoke and was done in no time. "Okay. All done. Where do you want to sit?" He asked as he held out a hand to me.

"I don't care, just somewhere closer to the fire maybe?" I placed my hand in his and let him ease me off the rock.

"Okay, how 'bout I sit you down next to Luke?"

Luke was sitting down by the fire. He was wearing a red hoodie and black athletic shorts. He looked handsome as the fire lit up his dimpled smile. I nodded in agreement and allowed Derek to pick me up again.

"You know when the distance is short like this, you don't need to carry me right? I can hop," I said.

"Yes well, this is quicker," he smirked as he set me down on the ground beside Luke. He then grabbed a large stick and began poking at the fire to keep it going.

"Hey Cass," Luke greeted with a yawn.

"Hey Luke. How is your arm?"

"Oh it'll be fine. Honestly, I can barely feel it right now. How are all of your injuries?"

"I've been better, but I'll be okay. My ankle's the biggest problem," I said with a shrug.

Jake emerged from the cave wearing a tight navy t-shirt and black athletic sweatpants, and Cam followed after wearing navy athletic shorts and a white hoodie. Jake grabbed a piece of firewood and placed it on the fire before sitting down next to Luke, and Cam sat beside me. Nathan and Adam came out of the cave wearing matching black zip-ups and different colored athletic shorts, and Wes followed behind them wearing black sweatpants and a baby blue t-shirt that made his eyes pop. Everyone had a seat around the fire, and it was quiet for a moment.

Since most of the day we were pre-occupied with finding shelter and getting set up around camp, nobody really took the time to soak in the events that had happened today. Now that we knew everyone was going to be okay, and that we had a safe place to stay, it seemed that the gravity of our situation was weighing on everyone. Finally, it was Jake who spoke first.

"I know we've kind of all been "on the go" all day... but is everyone okay? Did anyone lose a loved one or friend on that plane today?" He asked and looked around the campfire.

Everyone shook their heads.

"I think most of us signed up for this trip alone, but everyone on that plane was someone to somebody. When we make it out of here, we need to make sure that each of their families get closure," Nathan said.

The sun was almost set now and the wind whipped around us. I scooted closer to the fire as I spoke. "I didn't get the chance to meet a lot of the people on that plane, but I did meet one, and she was a nice, outgoing, good person. I'm sure the others were too, and they didn't deserve what they got," my eyes filled with tears but I continued, "I can't thank you all enough for everything you've done for me today. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have made it off of that plane, and I want to do everything I can to repay you."