Night Skies (Chapter 2)

After days of hiking through our unexpected destination, we were unable to find any more survivors. Those days dragged on longer than normal. We had finally given up on searching and found a clearing near the choppy water. The first order of business was food. I was positive that the sounds radiating from beasts inside our stomachs could be heard from across the world. We were able to discover a small cove that contrasted the terrific open ocean we had seen before us. The abundance of fish became our food supply. Next, was shelter. The canopy of tree branches served as our protection during our search for more survivors, but now we were brutally exposed to whatever mother nature wanted to throw at us.

“Can we all stop staring at each other and do something. You are all useless.” The disdain in every word Bryce exclaimed rang in my mind. “How are we ever supposed to get out of this place by you guys sitting on your rocks over there.”

We all promptly stood up and began gathering whatever was visible. At that moment our actions were propelled by fear. In contrast to me, Caleb sat coolly tranquil on his rock, neglecting to let Bryce’s words sway his actions. Bryce was visibly annoyed by the resistance and Caleb took pleasure in his aggravation. The friction between the two continued, adding heat to the already suffocating day.

Soon, the sun had left us, and the moon was not there to take its place. The night sky seemed as hopeless and uninhabited as this island. My restless mind forced my eyes open for the night. I would say I was woken up by the roaring crunch of Bryce devouring his breakfast, but I never got to sleep.

The early morning soon turned to an afternoon of brutal tasks. We had decided that the men would traverse the island in search of any supplies or fish in the cove while the women would remain at the clearing working on creating suitable living quarters.

Bryce felt compelled to enforce this decision. “Caleb you better get by that cove I’m starving, and Liam go find more branches, I can't tolerate this heat.”

Liam continued his silence and obeyed Bryce’s command swiftly. Bryce remained motionless, sprawled out, soaking up the radiance on the island, leaving none for the rest of the survivors. I followed Caleb on his trail to fish. The cove served as an outlet of tranquility, contradicting the hostile sun at camp. My conversation with Caleb began with small talk, but the pressing issue was soon addressed.

“We will never be productive with Bryce on this island.”

My response remained stuck in my parched throat trying to find its way out, “Yeah.”

“I’m sure there are many other places we can set up camp. Bryce’s focus is on himself, we haven’t even figured out how we are getting out of this place, and all he wants is to stuff his face."

We suddenly were startled by a rustling in the trees nearby. Liam bolted out of the foliage, gasping for breath. His labored breaths were the loudest thing I had ever heard come out of him.

“Liam! What’s up? What’s wrong?”

Each word escaped his mouth in between gasps. “I just came from Bryce. He… he’s crazy. I came back to camp with all I could find. He was in the same place as where I left him, just relaxing, and when he saw what I had brought back he went off.” Liam’s breaths remained strained, but he was able to communicate clearly. The first words I heard come out of the frail boy were by far the most concerning I heard during our detour. “He sprung from his seat and chased me out of the clearing, yelling at me to stay with you two and never return.”

Worry swept across our faces like a tidal wave. Turning to each other, our expressions seemed vacant along with our idea of what to do next. We sent Liam back to Bryce’s camp to try and reason with him, though the outcome would most likely not change.

Communication between the two groups became sparse. Bryce had continued to threaten our lives, especially Katie’s. Caleb and I worked, determined to find a way off the island. The nearby trees served as our only shelter. We established a fire to illuminate the nights.