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I will be leaving as soon as I can. I’ll find out what we are dealing with, and I’ll go alone for all I care.

Chapter Eight

Day Two

Day Two

We lost Madison and Matthew last night to the mass grave, which brings our death toll to thirty-four. Colton, Jess, and James are still fighting for their lives. I can’t see how they will survive, although we are doing our best to make them comfortable. At least James is holding strong. Micah, Thomas, Ollie, and Nathan came back exhausted and utterly defeated. Micah vanished into the forest and hasn’t come back. Maison doesn’t seem too worried about him and says he will come back when he’s ready.

We have supplies on this island. The crates were fire resistant, and once we figured out how to open them, we found them full of items we can use to keep us alive. Unfortunately, even though they were fire resistant, we still lost five crates to the explosion—the five at the front and back were intact. I documented what we have, and Maison says we aren’t allowed to touch anything till Micah gets back. Although he snuck us some bottled water and food from the airplane, just a small bag of pretzels. I’m curious about when Micah was declared the king of the jungle, because I don’t remember taking part in any voting process.

Last night was the closet to hell I’ve experienced. Long, grueling, and cold reminding me how far north we are. Even though the day’s are still warm, the nights are bone chillingly cold. I thought I was going to die, at one point. I lost all feeling in my fingers and toes. Nigel and Jade found a spot together, and since Micah never came back, Naomi cuddled up to Ezra, which I thought was interesting. Maison watched me most of the night after they got the supplies off the plane, but I avoided eye contact with him. I found Ezra and Naomi rooting through my stuff when they found my luggage. They pulled out a pair of my lacy underwear and chuckled between themselves. I snatched it from their hands and told them to fuck off, and they told me to relax—that they were just taking inventory. I didn’t speak to anyone for the rest of the day. I slept in the forest alone a few feet away. It was the worst night of my life.

Supply list:

Crate one: fresh fruits and vegetables, canned goods, pasta, lard.

Crate two: More food and wellness items. Tampons, toothpaste, shampoo, soaps.

Crate three: Fuel.

Crate four: Medical Supplies—first aid kit, pharmaceuticals.

Crate five: Blankets, wire, flashlights, two knives—a large hunting knife, a Swiss army knife—one tarp, a water purifier, a fire starter, flares, a sharpening stone.

With the resources we have, we should survive out here for a while. However, I must remind myself of the secrets these people keep, and the reason I embarked on this journey to begin with. No one here is truly trustworthy, almost like everyone is harboring some sort of secret, and I don’t know what they are capable of.

“I’m coming with you,” Maison declares, rummaging through the clothes and food piled in front of us. I’ve just informed Micah of my intention to go exploring, although this shouldn’t come as a surprise. What shocks me is that no one besides Maison wants to. I find it hard to believe anyone desires to stay here.

Maison arches a brow at Micah, who standing next to him, as if daring him to object as he repeats, “I’m going with her.”

I approached them as they were huddled around the supplies, while Thomas, as usual, stands right next to Micah with Ezra close by. Micah was making a mental checklist of what’s available to us. Now that we have resources, I can’t stay here for one more minute. There has to be somewhere better.

Maison looks at his brother, waiting for a response, as if he needs his permission to leave. Micah came back a few hours ago, hardly saying a word. The dark gleam in his eye had everyone avoiding him, even Maison, although we are a quiet group today, lost in our own thoughts.

Micah nods and shifts his focus to me, then reverts to Maison. “Fine. You’re probably the only one I trust out there, anyway. I think someone else should go, too.”

Maison shakes his head. “It’s easier if it’s just the two of us. Any more will slow us down.”

I stand quietly and watch as they interact without even asking for my opinion, though I couldn’t care less who comes with me. I need to get away from this airplane and the stench we can’t seem to get rid of. I know the bodies aren’t too far away, and one more second here might destroy me.

Micah flexes his jaw as Jade and Nigel and the others join us, catching on that something is going on. Serena objects when she finds out Maison’s leaving her, and I can’t help the little feeling of gratification that he wants to come with me.

Asking no one, Nigel walks up and grabs an apple—it’s only one of twelve as part of the fresh produce container.

“Hey.” Ezra lunges at him when he notices what Nigel is doing. “You can’t just steal fucking food. If I don’t get any, you don’t fucking get any.”

Nigel takes a juicy bite and smiles at him, and I salivate, watching him eat it. Nigel looks the most disheveled out of everyone, his usual thick, sticky hair limp around his sunken eyes and face. Ezra jolts forward but Maison is there, holding his rabid dog back from ripping the shit out of Nigel.

Nigel merely laughs, then saunters off to the woods where he’s been hiding.

Micah looks around the group. “This food needs to last us until we’re found. Otherwise, we need to go hunting, and I don’t think any of you know how to fucking do that.”

Maison looks at his brother. “People are hungry, dude.”

Micah scoffs and gestures toward the barren woods. “There’s plenty of food out here. I saw three muskrats this morning.”

The thought makes me gag, especially since he’s serious.