The Beginning of the End - Book One

twenty one

Lidia
Despite my discomfort, I dedicate the strength I have left to rowing with my arms, the coolness of the water soothing the irritation and heat on my skin. I move in the direction that feels familiar, hoping it will lead me back to the island. I know I don't have much longer, my intuition is the only chance I have left.

Mateo
"It must be some kind of sick prank." Caleb says in disbelief.
But I know it's not, something is amiss and unsettling about these consistent messages. Every time it feels like the person or people behind the walkie talkie are getting close to their concealed end goal.
    Whatever it is, I don't want us to be a part of it, I don't even know why we are. Nothing makes any sense. Was any of this an accident? Is it all just leading to a bigger tragedy? When will they act upon their promises of our demise?

Caleb
"Should we wake Javier?" Mateo asks.
   "He'll probably get up soon."
He nods in a confused daze before placing his head in his hands. "What do we do now?"
Shaking my head in perplexity, I let out a heavy sigh.
Mateo focuses on the horizon beyond the jungle with a melancholy look on his face. "It kills me that we can't go out there and find them."
"Yeah, I don't even know what I'm going to do if they don't make it back soon."
Mateo doesn't respond straight away, instead he conveys a sense of pondering his next words. Eventually his eyes tear from the beach in the distance. "Do you like her?"
"Who?" Playing around with his lack of context, I pretend that I don't know he's talking about Lidia.
"Lidia." He mumbles with slight hesitation.
"Well I don't know her that well. But from what I know already, yeah I guess." An understatement.
        He says nothing.
        "Did you like her? In high school, I mean."
        "I did, but it was a long time ago." He says under his breath, I can tell it's a touchy subject for him, but relief instills in my chest when Mateo implies he has moved on.
I tread lightly, but underlying curiosity prompts me to infer further. "What happened?"
Mateo sighs. "I guess we both went on different paths after senior year. She went to England and I went to Canada. We never really spoke after that."
Nodding my head, I mutter modestly. "And then somehow, the universe put you back together in the most convoluted of ways."
Mateo smiles suddenly. "I guess so, but only to rip us apart again."

Lidia
I row for what feels like an eternity, my arms inclined to give in to the soreness. After a while, the sun ray's potency seems to reduce, and I believe it's due to perceptible nightfall.
I aim to distract myself with thoughts as the rowing continues, but none of them really stray from pessimism. If I ever get back to the island, how am I going to deliver such tragic news? How am I going to tell everyone that we have lost another life? How am I going to look everyone in the face without breaking down, admitting that it was my fault?
   If I just would have held onto her hand...
  I'm not even the one who's had it the hardest. Maria and Mateo lost their baby, Javier must feel immense guilt for the masses of individuals we lost during the crash, Caleb is alone, and Rosa has lost all of her family members. I'm probably the one who's best off, and yet I feel acutely aware of my own suffering. Maybe I should be grateful. Maybe things could be worse.
   My heart skips a beat at the sight of an island in the distance. A frivolous ecstasy of motivation propels my arms to keep moving toward dry land. The thought of seeing everyone again makes a smile settle on my face. It's only a visible speck from here, but that's all I need to start rowing like my life depends on it, because I guess it does.

Mateo
When Caleb and I return to the shelter, Maria and Javier greet us. I share a short glance with Maria, but she looks away the instant that I do.
    "Good morning." Javier acknowledges us. "Any updates on Lidia and Addison?"
"Not yet." Caleb answers sadly.
    "But there is another thing." I only look at Javier. "There was another message, with the same voice as last time. I don't think this is a game anymore, I think he or they want to get rid of us."
      "What!?" Maria's resentment and stubborn anger dissipates, replaced by panic.
      "They said that we aren't going to survive what's coming, building on the fact that we shouldn't have survived the crash in the first place."
      "Oh, God." Maria covers her mouth.
      "Unless we swim we have no way off of the island, Addison and Lidia took the float." Javier shakes his head in deep contemplation of our next move.
  "Either way, it feels like they're watching our every move." Caleb comments, questioning Javier's methods and insinuating they are needless. If they knew the whereabouts of other victims, like the subjects of the tsunami, they'll know where we are and where we are headed.

Lidia
I am a lot closer to the island now, prepared to scream from the rooftops with relief. I'm so starving, so dehydrated, so ready to be held and comforted, even though, realistically I probably wouldn't allow the group to care for me. We have so much more to worry about. I can see the palm trees and the orange hue of the sunset-sky behind them, the sun slowly disappearing.
I'm so glad I don't have to spend another night lost in the middle of the ocean on nothing more than a float and a vast ocean.
The float approaches the shore and settles on the sand. I lift my head to view the island, taking a deep breath, I get off of the float and begin walking swiftly to the coordinates at which I believe the small conjunction of shelters should be situated.
I wonder how no one has perceived my return, heard or seen me.
As I approach the jungle, there is nothing, only trees and sand. No shelters, no people. Panic and dread settle at the pit of my stomach.
  My pulse thrumming in my head, I realize, this is not the island I left.
  To confirm my inkling, a strange and menacing man steps out into the clearing from the tall trees, as if he was waiting for me all along. He points a gun at my head.