One Way Ticket
Night Watch
The night was quiet. The small group decided to take turns watching the fire while the others slept. Rachel had the second watch, giving her a couple of hours to sleep but sleep wouldn't come. She sat by the fire with her arms wrapped around her knees, trying not to think about how empty her stomach was.
It was Cian's turn to watch the fire for the first two hours. He'd disappeared shortly after everyone had gone to sleep but had returned occasionally with armfuls of wood. About an hour had passed before he returned once more, dumping an armful of dead branches onto the ground and tossing some on the fire before sitting down and glancing at Rachel.
"You can get some sleep," he said with a slight smirk. "I can handle watching the fire myself." He spoke quietly as to not wake the others.
"I'm not tired," Rachel replied, her voice cracking slightly from the lack of use. That was a lie; she felt exhausted but couldn't seem to fall asleep whenever she tried. "It shouldn't be taking this long for rescue to come."
Cian was silent for a moment as he sat down, leaning back on his hands as he watched the fire. Taylor rolled over on her stomach from where she slept nearby, mumbling something in her sleep.
"I don't know why we haven't been rescued yet," he said, shrugging. "Poor system of search and rescue I guess. If there was civilization on this island, someone would've come by now."
Rachel shifted slightly on the ground, wishing she was back in her apartment in her nice comfy bed. Her stomach growled again but she tried to ignore it. They had collected some fruit they found further on through the trees, but no one felt safe eating it quiet yet. They collected a fair bit of plum type of fruit that looked too ripe to eat. No one wanted to risk getting sick just to see if it was eatable.
"So what now? We just sit here, keep a fire going and wait?" Rachel asked, as if assuming Cian had all the answers. She moved back a bit away from the fire as more of the dead branches caught flame.
"Nothing else we can do. We'll have to find food, I'm assuming, and fresh water. Unless someone wants to climb back down and bring water up every day," Cian sighed, reaching over and tossing another stick on the fire before glancing sideways at Rachel.
Rachel bit her lip. She wouldn't be the one volunteering to get fresh water; she'd rather be given the task to hike through the rest of the island to find another source. She was already dreading the climb back down, whenever that climb might take place. Food was a bigger problem as they only had two granola bars and a little bit of trail mix left. Rachel wasn't sure about the others, but she tended to have an extremely short temper whenever she didn't have enough to eat, and she didn't think anyone would want to be around her when that time came.
After a few minutes she laid back down on her back and stared up at the sky. She felt sweaty and grungy from the hike and now smelled of smoke of the fire. Now that she thought about it, she wouldn't be able to wash herself off unless they found water nearby that didn't involve climbing down to get to. After awhile Rachel slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when she felt someone gently shaking her awake. "Rachel," Cian muttered as she opened her eyes, grumbling. "Your turn."
Rachel sat up; Cian's face was just visible by the firelight. He looked as if he could barely keep his eyes open himself. Rubbing her eyes she nodded to him so he knew she was fully awake as he settled down himself. It looked like he'd just added more wood to the fire so she simply sat and watched it, hoping she wouldn't doze off.
She struggled to stay awake as she wrapped her arms around her knees, staring into the flames. She had no idea what time it was but didn't want to get up and look for the packs for a watch or other electronic object that might have the time. It was dark and she shuddered at the thought of stepping too close to the edge of the cliff.
Rachel was staring into the flames, thinking about what she could be eating if the plane had arrived safely when she heard the bushes rustle. She looked up, blinking as she looked around and saw nothing. She shrugged to herself, assuming she was just hearing things when she heard the bushes move again. Startled, she jumped to her feet. She couldn't see into the trees but she could definitely hear something was there. A few of the bushes were shaking as if an animal was walking through them, sniffing around.
Heart pounding, Rachel stepped closer to the fire and grabbed a rather thick branch where the end was burning. She held it up as if it was a torch, although as soon as she swung it through the air to use it for light as they always did in the movies, the flames nearly went out. She stood frozen, holding the now smoking branch that had nothing but ashes on the end of it, but could no longer see or hear anything.
"Rach?" a voice suddenly asked sleepily. Rachel nearly jumped a foot in the air as she swung around, almost hitting Paige in the head with the smoldering stick. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Rachel felt slightly stupid as she tossed the stick back onto the fire and sat down, her heart still pounding. She didn't want to worry anyone else when she could have easily imagined seeing or hearing something. She would look around the area the next day and see if there were any prints in the ground that would give a clue to what was there.
"I'll take over, if you want," Paige sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her curly blond hair was filled with dirt and sticks, but she looked awake. "You look like you're about to collapse."
"Thanks," Rachel replied gratefully. She sat back down, hoping she didn't wake up anyone else. It took her awhile to fall asleep again, now unsure if there had been anything there or if she was imagining things.
It was Cian's turn to watch the fire for the first two hours. He'd disappeared shortly after everyone had gone to sleep but had returned occasionally with armfuls of wood. About an hour had passed before he returned once more, dumping an armful of dead branches onto the ground and tossing some on the fire before sitting down and glancing at Rachel.
"You can get some sleep," he said with a slight smirk. "I can handle watching the fire myself." He spoke quietly as to not wake the others.
"I'm not tired," Rachel replied, her voice cracking slightly from the lack of use. That was a lie; she felt exhausted but couldn't seem to fall asleep whenever she tried. "It shouldn't be taking this long for rescue to come."
Cian was silent for a moment as he sat down, leaning back on his hands as he watched the fire. Taylor rolled over on her stomach from where she slept nearby, mumbling something in her sleep.
"I don't know why we haven't been rescued yet," he said, shrugging. "Poor system of search and rescue I guess. If there was civilization on this island, someone would've come by now."
Rachel shifted slightly on the ground, wishing she was back in her apartment in her nice comfy bed. Her stomach growled again but she tried to ignore it. They had collected some fruit they found further on through the trees, but no one felt safe eating it quiet yet. They collected a fair bit of plum type of fruit that looked too ripe to eat. No one wanted to risk getting sick just to see if it was eatable.
"So what now? We just sit here, keep a fire going and wait?" Rachel asked, as if assuming Cian had all the answers. She moved back a bit away from the fire as more of the dead branches caught flame.
"Nothing else we can do. We'll have to find food, I'm assuming, and fresh water. Unless someone wants to climb back down and bring water up every day," Cian sighed, reaching over and tossing another stick on the fire before glancing sideways at Rachel.
Rachel bit her lip. She wouldn't be the one volunteering to get fresh water; she'd rather be given the task to hike through the rest of the island to find another source. She was already dreading the climb back down, whenever that climb might take place. Food was a bigger problem as they only had two granola bars and a little bit of trail mix left. Rachel wasn't sure about the others, but she tended to have an extremely short temper whenever she didn't have enough to eat, and she didn't think anyone would want to be around her when that time came.
After a few minutes she laid back down on her back and stared up at the sky. She felt sweaty and grungy from the hike and now smelled of smoke of the fire. Now that she thought about it, she wouldn't be able to wash herself off unless they found water nearby that didn't involve climbing down to get to. After awhile Rachel slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
It seemed like she had just closed her eyes when she felt someone gently shaking her awake. "Rachel," Cian muttered as she opened her eyes, grumbling. "Your turn."
Rachel sat up; Cian's face was just visible by the firelight. He looked as if he could barely keep his eyes open himself. Rubbing her eyes she nodded to him so he knew she was fully awake as he settled down himself. It looked like he'd just added more wood to the fire so she simply sat and watched it, hoping she wouldn't doze off.
She struggled to stay awake as she wrapped her arms around her knees, staring into the flames. She had no idea what time it was but didn't want to get up and look for the packs for a watch or other electronic object that might have the time. It was dark and she shuddered at the thought of stepping too close to the edge of the cliff.
Rachel was staring into the flames, thinking about what she could be eating if the plane had arrived safely when she heard the bushes rustle. She looked up, blinking as she looked around and saw nothing. She shrugged to herself, assuming she was just hearing things when she heard the bushes move again. Startled, she jumped to her feet. She couldn't see into the trees but she could definitely hear something was there. A few of the bushes were shaking as if an animal was walking through them, sniffing around.
Heart pounding, Rachel stepped closer to the fire and grabbed a rather thick branch where the end was burning. She held it up as if it was a torch, although as soon as she swung it through the air to use it for light as they always did in the movies, the flames nearly went out. She stood frozen, holding the now smoking branch that had nothing but ashes on the end of it, but could no longer see or hear anything.
"Rach?" a voice suddenly asked sleepily. Rachel nearly jumped a foot in the air as she swung around, almost hitting Paige in the head with the smoldering stick. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Rachel felt slightly stupid as she tossed the stick back onto the fire and sat down, her heart still pounding. She didn't want to worry anyone else when she could have easily imagined seeing or hearing something. She would look around the area the next day and see if there were any prints in the ground that would give a clue to what was there.
"I'll take over, if you want," Paige sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her curly blond hair was filled with dirt and sticks, but she looked awake. "You look like you're about to collapse."
"Thanks," Rachel replied gratefully. She sat back down, hoping she didn't wake up anyone else. It took her awhile to fall asleep again, now unsure if there had been anything there or if she was imagining things.