One Way Ticket

Waiting

Rachel sat next to the fire, watching the flames flicker up to the sky. She occasionally prodded the fire with a thicker stick, moving some logs over to keep the fire going better as the flames occasionally went out as the embers burned red.

She was somewhat relieved to have some time to herself, having volunteered to watch the fire. She wasn't sure what Taylor was doing, but the girl had muttered something about finding some branches or something to make a bit of a bed on. Sleeping on the ground wasn't very comfortable, especially the area they were in. The ground was dry and hard, to the point of being impossible to dig in if they had a shovel. Cian had stormed off earlier, angry with Taylor and hoping to see if Turner and Paige were heading back.

Drawing her knees up, she wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin on her knees. It was all becoming real; the shock of crashing and hope of seeing rescue come seemed hopeless now. They couldn't hope to survive off fruit; what about the rest of the passengers? They would have to leave the crash site and venture further across the island for fresh water, and Rachel was sure there were several survivors who were unable to move that far due to injuries.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel tried to force herself to think of other things. Immediately her thoughts turned to her family. Surely by now they would suspect everyone on the plane to be dead. Unexpected tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of her family, surely waiting at the airport for her plane to land. She wondered how long they were waiting there for, or how long it took for anyone to realize the plane must have crashed. She could imagine the panic that would follow.

Hearing some footsteps and bushes rustling Rachel sat up, wiping the tears from her face. She took another deep breath, trying to focus her attention on something else so the other survivors wouldn't see how upset she was at the moment. She moved back a few inches from the fire so her face would be in shadows.

Cian appeared out of the trees, a couple of branches in one hand and half dragging a log in the other. Rachel glanced up, noting his scowling expression and didn't say anything as he threw the branches on the fire.

Within seconds there was a wave of heat from the fire as it ignited more from the branches. Cringing away from the sudden heat, Rachel backed away from the fire before sitting cross legged, taking her stick with her as she watched Cian put the heavier log on.

"Did you see Taylor?" Rachel asked after a few moments as Cian finally stepped back, brushing his hands off on his pants as he watched the fire burn. She wondered where the girl had gone; it was quite late at night and it would be easy to get lost if she couldn't see the fire.

"No. No sign of Turner or Paige, either," Cian scowled. "This fire isn't going to last much longer, there isn't enough fuel around here."

"Maybe it would be better for us to head back to the crash site," Rachel suggested. It wasn't what she was originally thinking, but it seemed to make sense. It would be better if they knew what was happening with the survivors at the crash site, knowing several of them were injured badly in the crash.

"Maybe, but it was a complete waste of time if we do now," Cian snapped. "We need to wait at least a week with the fire. If no help comes, then we'll know we're screwed."

"Either way, we need food and water. This island is kind of big, we might have better luck if we go around it, find higher ground and keep a fire going there if there's water nearby. We can't stay here," Rachel rambled hopelessly, feeling frustrated. She wasn't going to be the one to make the decisions, she was rambling on without much thought of what she was saying. If anything, she hated waiting.

"We can't do anything until the others show up," Cian mumbled. A silence fell between them as they stared at the fire. Rachel was listening to the silence of the night, hoping to hear footsteps or even bushes rustling that would alert them to someone approaching.

"Do you think something happened to them?" Rachel asked, rubbing her eyes. Sleep wouldn't come now, no matter how tired she felt. She was worried for her friend; she didn't know what the terrain was like where they were headed but it was likely that it was steep.

"How would I know." Cian replied harshly. "You might as well get some sleep, I'll watch the fire."

It was obvious to Rachel he didn't want to talk anymore. She fell silent, wishing more than anything Paige was there. Paige was one of her friends that was always there to listen to her when she was upset or just needed someone to talk to. Then again, Rachel wasn't entirely sure if Paige always listened whenever Rachel wanted to have a lengthy conversation, but it was better than nothing.

Rachel moved a few smaller rocks off the ground before laying on her back on the dead grass that surrounded the areas. She stared up at the dark sky; she was able to see a lot of stars from where they were on the cliffs although the thick column of smoke was beginning to make it difficult to see.
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It's been awhile since I've updated, but I'm planning on working more on this story. Not a lot happened in this chapter, just getting back into writing it. More events to follow though.