Current Day
Things got pretty chaotic pretty quickly for the two girls. Leah had launched into a frenzy about her suspicions about the plane crash being fake, while Hunter had found herself lost in the clips on the screen - especially the ones of Hudson and Riley. She didn't want to look at them for too long, afraid that it would make this nightmare feel even more true.
Her hand went up to her jaw, tracing the healing scar as Leah continued to squawk and flap her arms around, the blaring alarms falling on deaf ears. Hunter knew that in another time she'd have pushed Leah off her when the girl started shaking her by the shoulders, but her eyes were too focused on Hudson and how he was slamming his fist repeatedly against Riley's face. A taller blonde boy was wrapping his arms around Hudson's shoulders and pulling him backwards, his muscles clenching as Riley scrambled across the sand away from her brother.
"Hunter, WE NEED TO GO!" Leah yelled, snapping Hunter out of her gaze as she blinked for a moment, aware of Leah's hands gripped tightly on her shoulders. She moved her own hands up, lightly pushing Leah off of her before swallowing the saliva in her mouth and nodding slowly.
Leah took that as confirmation that Hunter was ready to follow her. The brunette took off, with the younger Boyd twin hot on her heels. While Hunter knew she was fit, she hadn't quite realised the speed that Leah could run at until that moment, and had she been in a better mindset, she would have made a mental note to tell the girl to join a sports team if they ever got back to school.
Unfortunately for Hunter, Leah was just too quick and too high off her discovery to notice that Hunter had lost her a few corners back. Leah took a sharp left, and when Hunter came to that same intersection, she took a natural right. She didn't have a keycard the way Leah did and instead found herself pressing her body tightly into an annexe in the wall as she heard one of the doors in this new corridor open.
Peeking her head around the corner, Hunter was quick enough to catch the back of Dr Faber's head disappearing from sight. She had never been a quick thinker but the adrenaline of their discovery and getting caught had begun to set in, and her body moved quicker than her mind. She barrelled towards the door that Faber had just exited out of, noticing that it was slowly closing.
Slamming her shoulder against the door with milliseconds to spare, Hunter gasped in relief as it pushed open. She spun around instantly, slamming her hands against the door and pressing it closed with a force that she didn't even know she possessed. With a small sigh and a lot of heaving to regain her breathing, Hunter placed her head against the cold metal of the back of the door for a moment.
"When I told them I wanted candy, I didn't mean eye candy," a voice called out, causing Hunter to let out a scream of fright and spin around. Her eyes were wide and she was instantly defensive, the red marks on her hands from scraping them along the walls as she ran were noticeable as she raised both hands in front of her face. Her eyes flittered around the room quickly as she tried to assess the situation.
An almost soothing, cooing noise erupted from the owner of the voice. His hands were raised in the air to mimic hers, his eyebrows now furrowed and all humour was gone from his face as he looked at the state of the girl in front of him. He stayed where he had been sat, his back against the metal headboard of the uncomfortable bed that he had been resting on for a while now.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"Me? You're the one who just fucking burst into my room!"
There was a pause in the air as Hunter looked around and took a deep breath. The room mirrored her room - and the fact the boy had similar sunburn marks and cuts on his body to what herself and the girls had sported, made her wonder if he was one of the boys on the screen she had just discovered.
"I'm Hunter," she muttered, nodding as she waited on the boy to reply. "My plane crashed and I was stranded on an island, and I'm going to go ahead and guess that the same happened to you."
The blonde boy gapped at her for a second. He had a lot of thoughts running through his head, but something about the girl made him want to trust her. There was something so familiar about her but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Kirin," he smoothed out, his eyes furrowing for a moment as he looked at the girl for a second before realisation crossed his face. "Wait... as in Boyd? Hunter Boyd?"
"Yeah," Hunter replied. "How did you know that?"
She knew the answer. She just had to hear it fall from his mouth.
"I was with him, on the island. I was with your brother... Hudson," Kirin replied, almost painfully. There was a heavy pause in the air between them as Hunter tried to gauge what the boy's reaction to her brother's name was. "How are you here? What the FUCK is going on?"
Just as Hunter went to reply, the door slamming open behind her caused the girl to jump on the spot and spin around in instant worry.
Dr Faber stood at the entrance with one of her nurses, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the girl. She noticed the needle in the nurse's hand and spun back around to look at Kirin, knowing that she was too malnourished to fight off Faber and a nurse. She had seconds to ask the one question she needed to know the answer to before she was inevitably sedated.
"Is Hudson okay??"
Kirin almost teared up at the question, and Hunter assumed that was the answer. She'd seen that look before. She'd seen it more often than she ever expected to in just the past 50 days alone. It was the look Dot had given her when she asked where Nora was, the look Leah had given them all when Jeanette had stopped breathing, the look that Fatin had given them when Martha had become unresponsive. Hudson wasn't okay. Her twin, her brother, wasn't okay.
She felt her body slump a little, the energy almost being zapped from her as she fell to her knees. Kirin scrambled on the bed a little, unsure of whether or not he should reach out for the girl or leave her to the nurse and doctor.
Hunter wasn't sure what had really made her collapse: the needle that had been rammed into her neck, or the belief that her brother hadn't made it off the island.
Either way, she no longer cared.
_________
Day 34 - The Girls
"Shift's up. Can I tag you in?"
Dot looked up as Toni sat down beside her. They'd been keeping an eye on her ever since Hunter had found her during her overdose attempt. She'd not spoken a word to any of them since, and Hunter had spent most of her time actively watching Leah. The girl had taken it more personally than the rest of them since she was the one to find Leah, and had insisted on taking watch the entire night since.
"Yeah. Did she sleep at all?" Dot questioned as she looked over her shoulder at where Leah was lying on her side and just staring into oblivion. Toni shook her head at the question, also getting a little concerned about the girls insomnia. "Shit, that's four days."
"Yeah, can't tell where her mind is, you know, or what made her want to take her own life," Toni admitted, not really knowing the feeling.
"I wouldn't waste your time wondering."
Dot and Toni looked up as Fatin appraoched them, sitting down on the other side of the fire from them. They were aware that the girl had been angry with Leah after her outburst to Rachel previously, but they had expected that she would lay off her since she had literally tried to kill herself the day after.
"Maybe her head's in the clouds. Maybe she's fantasizing about her geriatric boyfriend. What matters is, she's alive and she's finally fucking quiet," Fatin continued before noticing that Toni and Dot were looking at her appalled. She threw her hands up before continuing, her voice not wavering for a second. "Deepest apologies, but I'm not gonna be pressed over her sad little case of insomnia. You know what would have helped? A benzo. But she hoovered them all before we made her puke 'em out, so it looks like she dug her own grave on that one."
"Yeah, Fatin. She almost did!" Dot replied without hesitation, a little disappointed in how Fatin was behaving. Her eyes flickered over Fatin's shoulder to look at a sleeping Hunter, worried that they were speaking too loudly and would wake her up. She hadn't been sleeping well since Nora's death and now that she was taking the nightshifts of watching Leah, the girls had an unspoken agreement that no one was to wake her.
"I'm sorry. But I'm done with her."
Toni shook her head at Fatin, having heard a lot of that in the past. "I don't think you mean that."
"I don't?" Fatin almost challenged. Had she been an animal, Dot was sure that heckles would have raised on Fatin's back at the tone that Toni had used with her. The reservation girl was much more relaxed and calm these days - which they all put down to Hunter - but there was a clear edge to her voice.
"No, I know shit talk when I hear it, and you don't mean that."
"All right!" Dot interuptted, motioning a little to Hunter who had stirred in her sleep for a second before settling and drifting back off. The two girls nodded in understanding, realising they'd maybe spoke too loudly. "Well, we had you scheduled to watch her later, but maybe I'll just pull a double shift."
"Thank you," Fatin replied, before remembering the other body that was sitting in the camp area. "Hey, happy to play nurse to Rachel, you know, if you need me to. I got all the time in the world for that one."
Rachel, who had been pretending to not listen to the conversation, stood up immediatley as the words left Fatin's mouth. She stomped straight over to Leah, ignoring the others eyes on her. Reaching out and grasping Leah's hand, she hauled the almost comatose like girl to her feet.
"Let's go. I'm not gonna sit here being pitied. Let's go!"
The three around the fire watched in slight disbelief as Rachel and Leah - who they all were sure hated each others guts at this point - disappeared past the tree line. There was a moment of pause before Dot broke the silence.
"Are we, uh... are we feeling optimistic about that?"
"Absolutely fucking not," Fatin muttered before Toni brushed her hands against her knees as she stared across at the sleeping blonde. The bandages wrapped around her leg were looking dirty, and Toni knew that Dot was due to have a look at the shark wound she had sustained. It wasn't as bad as Rachel's lost limb, but it was clear that it had been still giving Hunter a little pain almost two weeks on.
"What's our update on the Hunter front? She doing okay still?" Toni asked, mostly directing the question at Dot.
"She's okay, I think," Dot replied, about to inform Toni that even though it had looked pretty nasty for a while, she was sure that Hunter's leg was healing up nicely. Just before she could however, an angry Fatin interuppted again.
"You wouldn't know, since you spend all your time with Shelby."
"Look, Fatin, I know you're hurting with the Leah situation... but Shelby is going through some things too," Toni replied, fighting down her anger as she didn't want to wake up Hunter when the girl had spent all night watching Leah while the others had slept. She knew that, deep down, the reason she wasn't flipping a switch at Fatin's words were because she was seeing a truth to them and it hurt.
"Maybe I am hurting about Leah, but surely you can see Hunter is hurting too? I'm not going to get into an argument with you Toni about how to manage your relationship but for Hunter's sake I hope you start to remember she's going through shit too," Fatin spat, looking between them for a moment before rolling her eyes and standing up. She stormed past them and past where Hunter was curled in on herself on the leaf bed that Toni had made for her.
Fatin paused for a second, turning around to take off her caridgan and throw it across Hunter's body. She looked back at Dot and Toni, noticing they were avoiding her glare before spinning around and storming off in search of Shelby and Martha.
____
Day 12 - The Boys
"We've been here almost 2 weeks and you've not said a word to him unless its aggressive," Kirin pointed out to Hudson, as the two boys sat down next to each other around the fire that they all had made that day. Seth and Raf had discovered an abandoned bunker containing a multitude of food, and Hudson would be lying if he said he was mad about the development. "I know you've got a history, but the other boys have picked up on the tension, bro."
Hudson looked at Kirin for a moment, running his fingers through the sand that they sat on before nodding slowly. He understood the point that the blonde boy was making without having to say it - the other boys were going to oust him if he didn't start making more of an effort to speak to them. If even emo Henry was getting along better with the rest of them, Hudson had to make an effort.
He didn't know how to explain the sick feeling in his stomach that he got every time he looked at Riley, but it was eating him up inside. He wanted to yell at the boy, to tell them all what he had done to his sister but the words felt too real if they were said out loud.
"Whatever it is," Kirin continued, "I say you air it in the open, throw a couple of punches and move on with it."
"If I might," Josh spoke up, having been listening in on the boys conversation. "I think Kirin's right."
"Kirin's right about what?"
Hudson felt the blood rush in his ears for a second as he realised the whole camp had stopped talking as Riley joined their conversation. The boy had been wise enough to stay clear of Hudson's path, but it seemed as if he was finally ready to put their issues in the past. Hudson was sure that would be a massively appreciated gesture, and if things had been different he'd have smiled and shook hands.
But Hudson didn't want to forgive and he certainly didn't want to forget. He knew who Riley Black was - and regardless of how he had been portraying himself on the island, he knew deep down the boy was a fucked up vile creature.
"Okay," Hudson spoke, standing up from the sand as he brushed the sleeves of his sweater.
"Okay?" Riley asked, his face breaking out into a smile as he thought Hudson was agreeing to move past their issues.
"Let's air our issues then, shall we?"
"Hudson..." Seth spoke, his voice low with a warning as he took in the boy's stance and realised he wasn't about to shake hands and form a truce with the boy in front of him.
"You touched her," Hudson started, causing the rest of the boys to share glances. Only Kirin knew about Hudson's sister, and the rest were surprised to find out the boys issues stemmed from what appeared to be girl drama.
"She's my girlfriend, Hudson. I love her," Riley said, raising his hands and looking around at the group as if the blonde haired boy in front of him was being irrational.
"STOP!" Hudson roared, a few of the boys scrambling to their feet at the instant shift of vibe. "You don't get to do that to me anymore. You don't get to gaslight me - or her!"
"Bro, I don't know what she told you..."
"You hit her."
There was silence. Only the crackle of the fire interrupted the heavy breathing from all of the boys. Kirin raised his eyebrow in surprise, not having expected that to be the issue surrounding the female Boyd.
"It was an accident!" Riley spoke, his hands in the air as he tried to appear like the victim of the situation. "I didn't mean to! She knew that!"
"Hudson, bro," Seth mused, motioning to where Riley was slowly moving backwards a little. It was clear the taller boy was scared of Hudson. "He said he was sorry."
Ivan and Kirin both turned to look at Seth, before sharing a look of unease. His words didn't sit right with them.
"Stay out of this," Hudson growled at Seth before turning back on Riley. "What, all 37 times you hurt her were accidents?"
Even Seth bristled at the bomb Hudson had just dropped. Riley had been trying to frame the conversation as if it was a one off incident and Hudson had immediately put a stop to that.
"Was it an accident when you sprained her ankle? Was it an accident when you left her ribcage littered with cigarette burn scars? Was it an accident when you poured warm water over her because she slept in? Was it an accident when you slammed her head against your car door? When you grabbed her wrist so hard it left bruises that lasted for weeks? When you gave her a black eye? WERE THEY ALL ACCIDENTS WHEN YOU BEAT UP MY TWIN SISTER?"
Hudson heaved for a moment, looking around at the group of boys who didn't know what to say. He heaved for a moment, feeling the instant silence too uncomfortable. It was like his skin was crawling, his breathing was quicker and his head started to hurt.
He'd felt rage like this three times in his life before, and he knew what would come next if he didn't walk away.
Hudson turned, beginning to walk away through the campsite and towards the water. He needed to calm down. He needed to get away from it all. He needed Hunter. He needed his baby sister.
He wasn't more than five feet away from the camp when Riley let out an excruciating yell of anger, shoving Seth out of the way and tackling Hudson from behind.
The boys all jumped to their feet as Riley swung at Hudson on the ground. Kirin went to jump in, but Hudson almost immediately got the upper hand on the boy.
Thirty seven hits, Hudson told himself. Thirty seven hits and then he'd move on with a life that meant living civilly with Riley Black. He needed to survive for Hunter, to see Hunter. He needed to make it out of here for her. He wouldn't manage that if he killed Riley - he'd read lord of the flies. He'd watched literally every survival movie ever.
Killing Riley would turn the boys against him. Tolerating Riley until they were rescued would keep the boys on his side. Being the better person would keep the boys favouring him.
Killing Riley was the easy option, but staying alive to get back to Hunter was his only option.
So after thirty seven hits, Hudson stood up. He looked down at Riley for a moment as his chest heaved. He spat out the blood that poured from his lip into his mouth onto the sand beside the boy.
And then Hudson did the unthinkable.
He reached down and held out his hand to Riley. He had done the one thing he never thought he would do.
He offered Riley a truce.
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How do we all feel about me not including the boys as much and rather adding in more content between the girls on the island? I'll have a few scenes of the boys here and there to show the Riley / Hudson / boys dynamic but I don't think I'll write about every day they showed us of the boys - how does that sound?
I feel like we didn't get tons of girls content this season and as this is a Toni x OC book I kinda want to make more scenes of Hunter / Toni and just all of the girls in general!
Thoughts?
UPDATE: I decided to make a wee tiktok edit type thing after seeing the incredible one that @fairysxhoesss did for the story!! check theirs out on their tiktok!!!!
here is my one: