In Times Of Struggle

She continued up the rock, making sure that she moved fast enough to not slow him down. She got to the top and lifted herself up, turning her body so she could sit on the edge while she waited for him. She waited until he made it to the top, before turning and standing. They ended up in the center of a rock formation that looks like it had been a small volcano. It had long since closed up, but she saw steam coming from the other side of one of the peaks.

"Come on, I want to see whats over there," She said to him. She knew if it was volcanic, that was something they would need to watch out for, and it would add another problem to their list. She walked a bit ahead of him, seeing a deep drop several feet below, with several pools in an area below. It was just a bit away from the beach, she could see the cabana and several people below, the walk around the mountain would take longer, but it would be easier for those who couldnt climb the rocks.

"Are those hot springs?" She asked him, walking forward down the hill to get closer to them. "Look," She said, gesturing to the steam. "What do you think, do you think they might be to hot to use? People could bathe in them, and they'd be really nice since they would already be hot. Too hot for anything to live in it too," She added.

---

He nodded a little, wondering why she was so intent on going back to the plane. He had noticed she had been leaving the group often, but he didn't think much of it. "What did you need off the plane anyway?" He asked curiously. "I mean we can always come back for it, but I'm curious," He said to her. "If you don't mind telling me of course."

Talia sighed a little as she looked at him, a part of her just wanted to be out with it but she wasn't so sure he'd like that. "It's just... it's nothing important," she said to him as she shrugged a little then continued to walk, "It can wait till tomorrow, but it'll just be a pain in the ass till then, like you said it's not safe and I'd rather not risk our lives especially for something as simple as that,"

---

He stood up and walked over to the hot springs, he put his hand over it then dropped a leaf in it before pulling it out to touch it quickly, when it didnt burn too pad he touched it again. "It doesnt feel too bad," he said to her with a shrug then catiously dippped his pinky in the water.

He looked at her strangely, not quite understanding. He knew it was something she wanted otherwise she wouldn't have suggested going in. "Talia, what was it?" He asked her. Sometimes he had a habit of being annoying, but he didn't always know he was being annoying until it was too late. "If it'll bother you, its important," He said to her. "You can tell me, it's okay."

---

She stuck her fingers in slowly and grinned. "This is great, we should come back here. It would be way better than bathing in the ocean. We should tell people about it." She said with a shrug. "Plus, it'll be far away from where we drink, so it's even better."

She looked down a little, "I started yesterday," she said to him lightly," It's why I've gone off a bit from everyone so often, to wash up and change out the cloth I'm usin'," she said to him sheepishly as she chewed on her bottom lip.

---

He nodded a little, "It'll be nice for us all to get a good soak in, who said we're suffering again?" he asked her curiously.

"The older people," She replied, going to sit down by the water. She pulled off her shoes and hesitantly stuck her feet in before sighing. "This is wonderful," She murmured. "I need to come back here with my bathing suit."

---

He looked at her for a second, before it clicked in his head. He wasn't entirely sure about it, but he knew enough that it would probably be uncomfortable to not have things she was used to using. "Alright, come on. Lets see if we can get to your bag." He said, kicking off his shoes and pulling off his shirt. "What's your bag look like?"

She grabbed his arm, "Jackson I don't want you or me to get hurt for.. that stuff it's fine, I can wait," she said to him lightly as she looked at him. He was right it would be hard to get into the plane but getting in by the wing wouldnt be too hard to use the hatch in the main cabin area, but she was positive it didn't smell that great with the dead bodies.

---

He smiled, "I think we're doing alright, we've only went one day without a lot of food every day since then we've had more than enough to keep us fed, we're not running out of water, we have hot springs and simple enough beds,"

"True," She said as she sat down. "I have a question for about you though. Do you think it's a bit weird we spend so much time together? I mean, I am nearly 5 years older than you. And you have friends you're own age." She shrugged. "Doesn't that bother you a bit?"

---

He looked at her and shrugged. "I'll go and climb through the wing. I'll open the main cabin hatch. If there's no hole, I'll get your stuff. If it's filled with water, the bags sunk anyway and I'll just get out." He said, pulling off his bandana. "I'll be back."

He looked at her and tilted his head, "Why would it be weird?" he asked her confused as he looked at her then furrowed his brow. Did she think he was weird for wanting to be around her? "Do you want me to stop?" he asked her.

---

She sighed a little, "The bag is red, it should have a bright pink bow tied to it," she sad as she followed him to the edge of the water, "are you a good swimmer? I can go, it's no big deal,"

She shook her head quickly. "No no, of course not. I like being around you, it just... I don't know- You are a lot younger than me, I'm surprised you spend more time by me than the friends that are your age. I don't want you to stop though, despite your age, you are a lot more mature than most people my age." She explained, hoping she didn't upset him.

---

He smiled widely and pointed at her. "You owe me," He said jokingly, before wading into the water and swimming out. He swam with the current until he got closer to the plane, grabbing hold of the side and pulling himself in. He did his best to breathe through his mouth, looking around and pulling the main cabin hatch open. Some water had gotten in, but not so much as he would have thought. It was dim and he could barely see but he saw what looked to be a pink bow and he pulled it out and pushed it over his head before climbing out himself. He held onto the handle with one hand and wrapped his arm around the bag and used it to doggy paddle his way back to shore.

She walked over to him when he got back to shore, "are you okay?" she asked him as she looked at him making sure he wasn't injured, she'd never forgive herself if he got hurt because of her period. "Thank you so much," she said to him as she looked at him, he would never know how much this meant to her. "whatever you need I'll see what I can do to make it happen,"

---

He shrugged a little, "They're all kind of cranky, and complain a lot really puts a damper on the mood but this will make everyone happy.. well except the old people how are we gonna get them up here?" he asked her curioously.

"We can walk around, see if we can find a way down that's easier than how we did." She said with a sigh. "There has to be a way, even if it's a longer walk." She said, looking around. "But if you think that, then I guess there's no reason to worry."

---

He shook out his hair, standing up the bag and catching his breath. Getting the bag back was harder than he thought it would be. "Don't worry about it," He shrugged. "I don't need anything," He smiled a little. He was happy to have helped her, he didn't know much but he knew it was probably easier to bear with everything she needed.

Talia shook her head,"I'm going to worry about it," she told him honestly as she dragged the bag more onto the beach then laid it out so she could open it up. There were things they could definitely use in here, nail clippers, and hair ties being one. There was a multitude of skin care products and creams for dry patches when she had a break out but since they'd gotten here she hadn't had one zit break through, she chalked it up to the salt water. She pulled out the black baggie and the cleaning solution for the cup before sighing, "There is a granola bar in here if you want it? Its still sealed, probably good to eat," she said as she waved it at him with a small smile.

---

He nodded a little,"Maybe make ourselves a path with some branches or something, make it easy to spot so people can go when they have time or energy," he said as he looked around then sighed, "Maybe this way?"

He looked at it and pouted, but took it anyway before shaking his head. "I'm gonna save it. One day you're really going to want it," He said, handing it back to her. "Then you can offer it to me again." He grinned widely, sitting down and laying back onto the beach.

---

She laid back and yawned, closing her eyes. "Yeah, we can make a way in on the way back to camp," She murmured, stretching her arms over her head. "Tell me something, anything at all." She said, covering her eyes from the sun as she looked at him.

"I'll be right back," she said to him as she stood up and walked into the woods the best thing was she didn't have to worry about this for twelve hours, it would give her a peace of mind she wouldn't have otherwise. Just another thing to stress about. She walked out of the wooded area then walked to the water cleaning her hands with soak then sighed a little, it felt awkward but she wasn't going to act like it, "thank you though, most guys would have been like oh god you're diseased," she said acting petrified.

---

He nodded a little as he looked at her, "I hope that we get found and that when we do we can all still see one another on a regular basis," he said to her smiling a little.

She sighed a little. "That would be hard, you're a celebrity aren't you? In South Korea too. It would be hard to keep in contact with you with time differences and your schedule. It would be nice though."

---

He turned away from her, pretending to be entirely engrossed in the sand. When she finished, he turned shrugging his shoulders. "They're immature. My mother would have stranded me herself if I hadn't done what I did. I'm glad to help. If it made things easier, I did something good."

"I'm thinking of taking a long break once we get back, to spend time with family to find my place again... after this... the survival mode and having to do things I'm not used to... after everything I've seen... I just need to be for a while," he said to her lightly then let out a long breath, "Of course I'd absolutely love to be able to get back to work but maybe after a year,"

---

She smiled a little and nodded as she sat next to him, "you made my life so much easier, I didn't think it would happen, between stress and the varied diet I really thought it'd just not happen for a couple months....us women are finicky that way," she admitted with a laugh then chewed on her lips, "Least now we can cut our nails, mine were getting so long," she whined playfully.

"I understand that," She murmured. "I'll probably go home, take some time off school. Spend a little time with my family but mostly hang out alone. I think that's the one thing I'd love is alone time in my bed. But not too long, I don't like being alone often."

---

He laughed. "I didn't even look at my toes," He said, shaking his head. "By the way, we should get everything off the plane and sink it or bury those on it. We shouldn't just leave them like that, they need a burial of some kind," He said seriously.

"We're going to need stuff from the plane, be it the seats or the wires within the plane," she said to him lightly, "Maybe burial at sea? Yugeyeom took their ID's so they could be accounted for once we're found. I'm sure their families will understand why we couldn't keep them buried here on the beach,"

---

He nodded a little as he looked at her,"Me either, but I'd need time to heal, even if I'm not hurt the adjustment period from being on an island to eating normal food wouldn't be easy,"

"Yeah," She murmured. "It'll be hard. Especially being used to the people here it'll be hard. A serious culture shock," She sighed. "I would love a huge piece of cake, and one of those giant teddy bears. To just lay on. I'll feel like I'm on a cloud."

---

"Whatever we decide on it needs to be quick, it's been a few days and the longer we wait the harder they will be to move." He murmured. "Especially if we need the plane," He added.

"It'll be beached tomorrow so we'll make a decision then with everyone," she said to him lightly as she rubbed her legs then sighed a bit before rubbing her neck.

---

He smiled a little,"I want korean bbq," he said to her sighing, "and pork belly, korean bacon is the best no one can convince me otherwise," he said to her laughing a little as he thought about it. "and ice cream,"