Holiday In Cambodia

Nobody slept well that night. Partly because they were all worried about their lack of water as they entered what was to be their fifth day on the island, and partly because the pained groans coming from Tre were enough to keep any of them from dropping off.

Amber sat up with him early the next morning, sleepily rubbing her eyes with one hand as she held a wet T-shirt against his forehead with her other, in an attempt to reduce his fever.
"You have to eat something now, Tre," she sighed, holding out a bowl of rice.
He shook his head.
"No fucking way."
"I know it's boring, Hon, but-"
"Amber, you could hold a fucking double hamburger with cheese under my nose right now and I'd still tell you to get it the fuck outta my sight."
Amber smirked a little. At least he still showed signs of a sense of humour.
"Have you taken a malaria pill yet today?"
He shook his head.
"I don't have malaria... do I?"

Amber hesitated, which made the fear in Tre's eyes double.
"No," she said, reassuringly, picking up his hand and examining his swollen finger, "I'm ninety-nine percent sure you caught something from that caterpillar that you were cuddling."
"Son of a bitch."
"I know."
"If anyone sees it, let me know. It's getting an ass kicking."
"Okay," Amber smiled, "I'll let you know. Jack and I are going fishing now, okay? Shout one of the others if you need anything."
"Sure... Good luck."

"You worried about him?"

Jack let out a breath as he plunged his spear into nothing for what felt like the fiftieth time.
"Yep," he said, matter-of-factly.
He wouldn't admit that to any of the others, but he knew there was no point in lying to Amber. She could read him like a book.
"You think it's malaria?"
He shook his head, pushing his wet hair back from his face and leaning against his spear. Amber couldn't help but smirk a little. Despite the serious topic of conversation, he did look sexy as hell.
"You get a cough with malaria," Jack said, firmly, bringing her back to Earth.
"Always?"
"I'd like to think so. I think it was the caterpillar. Not that it makes it any less worrying. The insects you get around these parts could give you all sorts. He needs to be in a tropical disease centre as soon as possible."
Amber bit her lip.
"What if he gets worse?"
Jack shrugged.
"We just have to hope that he doesn't. There's more nothing we can do. Keep him cool, keep him tanked up with anti-malarial shit, hope for the best... fuck!"
Amber sighed as he missed another fish.
"I think they're wising up to our methods," she said.
"They have a three second memory, Amber. We're just shite at fishing."
"I think the three second memory thing is an urban legend," Amber considered, taking a break and leaning on her spear, "Remember the goldfish we had at Uni? The way they used to come up to the glass when they saw us? They knew us."
Jack laughed.
"Sure they did," he said, throwing an arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head, "They must be wising up to our methods, then. But I can't think of a better way."

Amber smiled, as Jack wrapped his other arm around her and pressed his nose into her hair.
"You know... we're going to be alright," he murmured, "I can tell people are starting to lose their cool now... I don't want that happening to you. You and me... we're been through shit together before. I'll make sure you're okay."
Amber sighed, leaning into him.
"Yeah... I know. If Tre wasn't sick, I wouldn't be so scared."
"Same here. This is scary. And the water situation... I'm not gonna lie. There isn't enough. If a boat doesn't get here in the next two days... "
He trailed off, as Amber felt her heart rate quicken.
"This is probably the scariest thing that's ever happened to me," he finished.
"Me too."

Jack looked down at the ripples on the clear water for a moment, before raising his eyes back to Amber's.
"I've been thinking... . When we get off the island... I think... I want to go home."
Amber looked up at him, biting her lip. Even the mention of home brought a lump to her throat. Jack continued.
"I just feel like... this whole trip has been the most amazing adventure, Amber... But this... this island... I've never felt so homesick. I'm ready to feel safe again. I'm just craving the comfort of home so much right now. I think it's the uncertainty about... how bad things are going to get here and if... "
"... If we're going make it off," Amber finished, her voice cracking.
"Yeah... " Jack murmured, "It's made me realise how much we have back home and how much we have left to do. I miss my parents. I miss my brothers and my friends. Right now, I just want nothing more than to be sitting around with them eating a Sunday roast, or lying on the sofa watching Eastenders."
Amber smiled a little, wiping at her eyes.
"When have you ever done that?"
Jack kissed her again.
"I was trying to think of something English," he explained.
Amber sighed, as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"You're right," she said, "I love being out in this part of the world... but right now... I have never missed mum and dad this much. I guess you just take for granted that everything's gonna be okay and that they're gonna be there whenever you decide to turn up on their doorstep again. But faced with the prospect of not turning up at all... "
Amber swallowed, looking up at Jack.
"I know we're playing it down to the others," she said, "Everyone's saying over and over that it'll be okay, that we don't have to worry. And I think it's the best way, cause I don't want them panicking. But I want us to be honest with each other. I know it's bad. You don't have to protect me. I know how much danger we're in. I know that rice can go longer without water than people can. I know that we don't have any guarantee that anyone will come this week."
Jack felt his breath shake as he rested his chin on Amber's head.
"I know it too," he said, "But if don't focus on getting off this fucking island I'll go crazy. So... when we get off... and we get back home... I was thinking, maybe it's time we got our own place."
Amber looked up in surprise, a smile suddenly making its way onto her lips.
"Really?"
"Yeah... d'you want to?"
"I'd love to!"
Jack smiled, broadly.
"Cool," he said, before bringing a wet hand up to her cheek and kissing her softly.

"How are you doing, man?" Mike asked Tre as he sat down next to him with his breakfast, which consisted of a handful of rice that had been left over from the night before.
"Not so hot," said Tre, weakly, curling his knees up to his chest. Mike looked at him sympathetically.
"You do look like shit."
"Thanks," Tre muttered, then he groaned.
"Ugh... fuck. I don't think I've ever felt as sick as this."
"I know, man. We really hope you get better soon. You should really try and eat something. You need energy to fight the infection."
"I'm not hungry."
"I know, dude, but-"
Tre didn't let him finish.
"Mike... what did you put in your rice."
"Huh? Nothing... It's just rice."
"So... why is it pink?"
Mike raised an eyebrow.
"Tre... it's white, man... "

The confusion on Tre's face only caused Mike to worry more, and he quickly covered it over.
"It's probably just the sun. Try and go back to sleep for a while, okay?"
"... Okay... " Tre nodded, closing his eyes, as Mike bit his lip and stood up.

"Tre's vision's going funny."

Jack looked up into Mike's nervous blue eyes, watching as he stooped down next to him, where he was gutting the only fish he had finally managed to catch. Mike was momentarily distracted by his disgust, before he averted his eyes.
"Funny how?" Jack questioned.
"Like... he's seeing colours... "
"It'll be the fever."
"Are you sure?"
Jack shrugged, with mild irritation.
"I'm not a doctor, Mike. But it's probably just the fever."

The group had relied on he and Amber to take control and know what to do since they first arrived and he was starting to feel the pressure. From hereon in, he didn't know what to do. He was out of ideas. And he didn't want to be responsible for the panic that was going to ensue when people started to realise that.

"What is wrong with him?" Mia asked, wide eyed, from a few feet away.
She had been lying out on the sand in the sun, distracting Jason from his breakfast, until she had overheard Jack and Mike's conversation.
"He's just hallucinating a little," Mike told her.
"Does he have malaria, Jack?" she asked, worriedly.
"I don't know, Mia," Jack replied, through gritted teeth, "Let me just go and dig out that tropical disease testing kit I've been keeping in my back pack."
Mia stared at him.
"You have... a test..?"

Jack let out a loud groan, tossing his penknife to the sand.
"They should teach people a fucking sense of sarcasm in foreign English classes."
"We don't think he has malaria," said Mike, reassuringly, as he turned to a confused-looking Mia, "But it's always possible."
"But... we took pills!"
"Yeah, but not enough," sighed Jack, "And they don't protect you completely anyway."
"Can we catch it from him?"
"We don't even know that he has it!" Jack exclaimed, "But if he does, then we probably could, yes. Hell, Mia, how the fuck should I know? We'll bring a doctor on our next holiday."
Mia bit her lip.
"If anyone catches malaria from Tre... it will be me," she said.
"Really. And how do you figure that?" Jack asked, picking up his penknife again and scraping it through the inside of the fish, letting the guts drop onto the sand. He was beginning to find Mia's drama tiresome.
"Because she's been fucking him," Mike replied, simply.
Jack smirked as Mia scowled.
"Right," he said, "Well, I wouldn't worry, Mia. You'd probably be sick by now if you'd caught anything."

He scraped the knife against the inside of the fish once more before resting it on a flat stone that he had set beside him and beginning to saw through the tough flesh behind it's gills, removing it's head.
"Jesus," Mike grimaced, "I can't watch this anymore."
"We need rice," Jack hinted, lightly.
"Okay," Mike nodded, "I'll go find a buddy to go with."

He wasn't in the mood to listen to any more of Mia's fretting, so he bypassed her and headed straight for Lara, deciding that now would be a good opportunity to talk to her about Jason.

He wasn't sure how to bring it up. He couldn't very well just launch right into it, or it would look like he was attacking her, and he felt sure there was nothing to attack. Lara had never seemed to be malicious in any way and Mike was convinced that either their isolation was causing Jason to be paranoid and oversensitive, or it was all just one huge misunderstanding.

"Ever thought Billie did it?"

Mike raised an eyebrow at Lara's back as he followed her through the undergrowth. Having spent the past ten minutes talking about the stolen mastercopy of their last album, he had listened to her thoughtful silence and had not been expecting that to mark the end of it.
"Billie?" Mike repeated, amused, "Can't say I have."
"It hasn't ever even crossed your mind to suspect him or Tre? I mean, it had to be an inside job, right?"
"A ton of people work for that record label. A ton of people work at that studio. A ton of people could have got their hands on those recordings if they really wanted to. We were pretty slack on security back then."
"I'm not sure that answers my question."
"Why d'you ask in the first place?"

Lara smirked to herself as he evaded her line of questioning, before she spoke.
"I was just thinking," she said, "You already said the three of you guys weren't getting along back then, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Sounds to me like there was a lot of anger there. Especially in Billie Joe. I mean, you and Tre didn't like anything he was writing."
"I know," said Mike, guiltily.
"He must have been feeling pretty shitty."
"We were all feeling shitty."
"And you didn't like what you had recorded already, right?"
"Well... not particularly, no."
"And whose idea was it to start something new after it was taken?"
"... Billie's, but-"
"And you did. And now the three of you are best friends again. And you call the theft a blessing in disguise, right?"
Mike sighed.
"Right..."
"So, if it had all been an elaborate plan by Billie Joe, it would all have worked out quite well, don't you think? I don't know, Mike, it just all sounds a little too convenient to me."
Mike smiled.
"Well, that's a very interesting little theory you have there, Lara. But it wasn't Billie."
"How do you know?"
"Cause... he's too honest for that. And I know him too well. I'd have known, believe me."
"If you found out it had been him all along, would you be mad?"
Mike rubbed his nose, thoughtfully.
"Yeah," he said, eventually, "I'd be mad that he had lied to us. And that would be no white lie. I mean, the cops got involved and everything..."
"Yeah... It would have been a pretty tricky job. I think he'd have looked cool in a balaclava and black gloves, though."
Mike laughed.
"Lara. Drop it. It wasn't Billie Joe. I've known the guy since he was ten years old. Sometimes, you just have to trust people without question. You know?"
Lara smiled, giving in.
"Okay," she said, "I believe you. He's innocent."
"Well, I wouldn't go that far..."
Lara grinned.
"I just find it funny that so much success could come from such a fuck-up. I mean, you must have been so depressed when you lost the recordings and now you must be having a blast."
Mike shrugged.
"Life's crazy like that," he said, "And yeah, we are having a blast right now. It's the best tour we've ever been on. And the crew is the best we've ever toured with."
"Really?"
"Yeah... those guys are awesome. Especially Jason. He feels like part of the band now."

After dropping Jason's name, Mike watched Lara's reaction closely, but it was difficult to tell what she was thinking when he was looking at the back of her head. She was quiet for a moment before she spoke again.
"I'll have to come see one of your shows some time. Coming back to Canada?"
"I'm sure we will," Mike sighed, annoyed that his attempt to steer the conversation toward Jason had fallen flat. It was clear that he would have to be more direct.
"Okay Lara," he said, "I need to talk to you."
"Aren't we talking?"
"I mean about something specific. About Jason."

At his words, Lara's stomach did a somersault and her heart began to race.
"Wh- What about him?" she stammered, nervously, tripping on a tree root as her concentration wavered.
"He says you're ignoring him," Mike explained, "I thought he probably had a touch of ocean madness or something, but I told him I'd check with you anyway, that he hadn't offended you or something."
"How would he have offended me?"
"I don't know... that's why I'm asking. So is he just imagining it?"
"I... yes! Why would I ignore him?"
"That's what I told him. I think the isolation is making him a little paranoid. Maybe you could just talk to him and set things straight, though."
"There's nothing to set straight," Lara scowled irritably, desperate to end the conversation before she had to explain herself further. She couldn't justify her behaviour in her own mind, so how was she going to be able to justify it to Mike?
Mike raised his eyebrows at the tone of her voice.
"Okay, okay," he said, "I didn't mean to-"
"Just forget it," she said, thankful that the trees were thinning out towards the edge of the plantation. She chucked a bag at a confused-looking Mike and turned away again.
"You go that way, I'll go this way. I'll meet you back here when we're done."

Mike and Lara didn't talk much on the way back to the beach. It was clear that he had crossed some kind of line, but he didn't have any idea how he had done it. The situation with Jason suddenly made a lot more sense to him. If it was this easy to piss Lara off, it was likely that Jason had managed to offend her without even realising.

When they got back to the beach, Jack, Amber and Billie Joe were huddled around Tre, and it was clear he had taken a turn for the worse. Teeth chattering, he was wrapped in what looked like every piece of clothing that had been discarded by the rest of the group as the tropical climate had become too much for them.
"Fuck, man..." Mike frowned, "Are you alright?"
Tre shook his head, shivering in Billie Joe's arms, who exchanged a worried glance with Mike as Amber mopped the sweat from Tre's forehead.
"Jack, can you get him some water?" she asked.
Jack nodded, wordlessly, before getting to his feet and running to the other side of the beach, where the small amount of water that remained was being kept cool under a tree.
"He needs to take another malaria pill," Amber muttered, "Anyone know where they are?"
"I put them back in your backpack earlier," Billie Joe told her, moving Tre's damp hair out of his eyes. He looked up at Mike, "It's over there by Jason."
"Sure, I'll go get them," Mike nodded, turning and walking over to where Jason was lying on the sand, propped up on his elbows as he looked out at the ocean.

"Hey, man," he said, as Mike approached and picked up Amber's backpack from the sand beside him, "How was the rice hunt?"
"Eh, kinda weird," Mike replied, without looking up as he rummaged through Amber's things, "I talked to Lara."
"You did?" Jason asked, sitting up straighter, "And?"
"And I didn't really get anywhere. She says she isn't ignoring you. But now she appears to be ignoring me as well so I think she might just be one of those people. Shit, do you have the malaria pills?"
"Nope, they're in there somewhere. Dig deep. What did she say about me?"
"Nothing, really. She just changed the subject. But she completely dismissed any suggestion that you guys weren't getting on perfectly normally."
"But that's insane. She's never spoken to me. She's barely looked at me."
"I know, man. I think she has some issues. Best to leave her be."
Mike sighed in frustration, dropping the backpack to the ground again.
"They aren't there. Did you see anyone with them?"
"No... but someone probably has them in their pocket or something. Mia, Maggie and Rick are down in the water. I bet one of them has them. Want me to go and ask?"
"That'd be great," Mike replied.

Jason stood up, jogging off towards the water's edge as Amber approached.
"Got them?"
"No... they aren't here. I think one of the others must have them, Jason's gone to ask. How long has Tre been like that?"
"Since you and Lara left," Amber replied, biting her lip.
"It's looking serious... right?"
"I'm not sure," Amber replied, nervously, "It could be, or it could just be a little stomach bug. It's impossible to tell. We don't even have a thermometer."
Mike nodded.
"We need to get him off the island."
"We need to get everyone off the island. Soon."

Amber and Mike looked up as Jason jogged back towards them, followed closely by the three others, all wearing confused expressions.
"They don't have them," Jason reported, panting a little.
"What do you mean, you don't have them?" Amber frowned.
"He means... we don't have them," Rick told her, "Come on guys, they must be around. They can't walk off anywhere. Hell, we can't walk off anywhere."

As Amber began rooting through her bag herself, Mike began to feel worried. He knew they weren't there. He turned back to the others.
"You sure none of you have them in your pockets or anything?"
Mia frowned, impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We aren't stupid, Mike," she said, "If we had them, we would know."
"I haven't seen them since this morning," Maggie added, worriedly, "But don't worry... I mean, they have to turn up. They're probably buried under the top layer of sand or something. We just have to hunt everywhere."

Amber bit her lip, dropping her backpack.
"Come on everyone," she said, "Mag's right. We have to hunt everywhere."

They didn't waste any time. Soon the entire group was scouring the beach for the malaria pills, all except Billie Joe, who was still sitting with Tre, watching nervously as the hunt turned up no result.
"What's going on?" Tre asked him, sleepily, his blue eyes half-opening for a moment, before the sunlight hurt them and they slid shut again.
"They're looking for the malaria stuff," Billie Joe explained, "It's disappeared."
"How?"
"I don't know, man... it doesn't really make sense. No one would have left it lying on the sand. It's too valuable."
Tre closed his eyes again, his head resting in Billie Joe's lap, slipping into unconsciousness once more as Billie Joe continued to survey the increasingly frantic search, which seemed to be producing nothing but arguments so far.
"Where's the mermaid..." Tre mumbled, suddenly.

Billie Joe let out a small sigh, running an anxious hand through his tangled hair. Tre was starting to make less and less sense and it was only frightening him more and more.
"What, Tre?"
"The mermaid..."
"There is no mermaid, Tre. You're just dreaming."
"I saw a mermaid."
"No... you're just imagining it, dude. You have a temperature... you know?"
"Her name is Elizabeth."
"Really..." Billie Joe muttered, absently, watching as Mia and Lara began to bicker.
"Yeah... she said she'll take us home."
"Well, that's nice of her."
"I know... so we don't need to worry anymore."
Billie Joe rubbed a hand over his tired face.
"Go back to sleep, Tre. You might see her again that way."
"Why..."
"Cause mermaids are mythical."
"She wasn't mythical, she was hot."
Billie Joe couldn't help but smile.
"She can't be hot and mythical?"
"Her name is Elizabeth."
"I know..."
"She said I was being brave."
"You are. I'd be having a fucking..."
He trailed off. Probably not the best way to keep him from worrying.

He looked up as Jason ran toward him.
"The malaria pills are gone."
Billie Joe frowned.
"'Gone'? What the fuck do you mean, 'gone'? Where can they go?"
Jason shrugged.
"I don't know. But they aren't here."
"Have you looked everywhere?"
"Yeah. Everywhere. We've been through all the bags and sifted through all the sand up here. They've disappeared."
Billie Joe felt his heart begin to pump faster.
"What the hell does this mean?" he asked, nervously.
Jason sighed, covering his face with his hands for a moment before he answered.
"I hate to say this..." he said, quietly, "But it looks like either they did some kind of impossible disappearing act, or somebody took them..."

Billie Joe stared at Jason for a moment in disbelief before he spoke again.
"Wait, wait, wait," he said, holding up a hand, "Jason, who is going to take them? There is nobody here but us."
"I know," Jason frowned, impatiently, "Which means it had to be one of us."

Billie Joe raised a hand to his forehead as he attempted to digest this new information.
"Why would anyone do that?" he asked, finally.
He sounded dazed. Jason shrugged.
"We've been on this fucking island five days," he replied, "We're all tired. We're all hungry. We're all scared. Obviously... someone has been pushed too far..."
"You sound like you're fucking justifying it!" Billie Joe replied, angrily.
"I'm not!" Jason retorted, "I'm trying to find an explanation why someone would decide to stab everyone else in the fucking back!"
"There is no explanation!" Billie Joe explained, "This has to be a mistake!"
"Oh, wake the fuck up, Billie Joe! This isn't a mistake. The pills are gone, and somebody here knows where they are. And it isn't me."
"It isn't me either!" Billie Joe responded, raising his voice.
"I didn't say it was!"
"You sounded like you were implying it!"
"I wasn't implying anything! For fuck's sake, Billie! Why d'you always have to get so fucking... fired up?"

Billie Joe slid out from underneath Tre as he stood up, facing Jason just as Jack arrived next to them, sensing the tension and standing between them.
"Guys... we all need to talk," he said, seriously.
"No fucking shit," Billie Joe scowled, "What the hell is going on?"
""I don't know," Jack admitted, wearily, "But none of it's good."

They turned as the others approached, all of them talking animatedly, Mia and Lara the loudest of all.
"I can't fucking believe you're accusing me of this," Mia was saying.
"I'm not accusing you, I'm not accusing anyone. I was just suggesting that you were the one that was obsessive about catching malaria!"
"And you think I'd do this? You obviously do not know me at all, Lara!"
"I've known you for a fucking week. What do you expect?"
"I would never do this!"
"I didn't think any of us would ever do this! But obviously I was wrong!"

"Okay, okay!" Amber exclaimed in exasperation, "Look, everyone shut it for a minute. We need to talk about this."
"What's to talk about?" Mike frowned, "Unless anyone's going to own up to this, talking isn't going to get us anywhere."
Jack put a hand to his head.
"Would anyone like to own up to this?" he asked.

The group fell silent, the only sound amongst them being Tre's delirious mumblings coming from where he was laid out on the sand a few feet away. They stared between each other for a few moments, each of them looking equally defensive and indignant, before Rick let out a groan.
"Obviously not," he said, "Look, whoever did this... this was a fucking scumbag thing to do, okay? Tre's really fucking crook over there, and if he gets malaria on top of what he has already... I don't even want to think about what might happen. So, let's say that whoever has the pills has to return them to Amber's bag by tomorrow morning."
Amber nodded.
"I can't think of a better idea," she sighed.
"But then whichever asshole that did this will have got away with it!" Billie Joe protested, furiously.
"There's nothing else we can do," said Maggie, breaking her nervous silence as she turned to him.
"Exactly," Rick agreed, "It's obvious that nobody is going to fess up to this, and the main thing is that we get the pills back. Agreed?"
Everyone murmured an agreement, before separating off in different directions amongst a flurry of angry and accusing glances.

Billie Joe stormed off down the beach, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his shorts and kicking angrily at the sand as he walked. He couldn't believe it. After all they'd been through, and all they were yet to face, all the talk of pulling together, and how much worse this would be if they were alone... it had all been bullshit. It turned out that when it came down to it, when you were stripped of all your material possessions and superficial problems and left to face nature head on, it really was every man for himself. No realisation had ever frightened him more than that one.

He hadn't walked very far before he became exhausted, collapsing onto the sand and resting his head on his knees. He felt an overwhelming urge to cry, but he held it back. He had to be strong now. It was him against the world now.

He barely noticed Mike bearing down on him, until he felt his shadow looming over him, and he looked up as he sat down on his left.
"Doing this ain't gonna help, Billie."
"Doing what?" Billie Joe replied, bitterly.
"Getting in a funk."
"I'm not fucking..."
Billie Joe scowled and punched the sand with his balled up fist.
"I'm pissed off."
"So am I but... doing this... it's only gonna...
Mike trailed off, and Billie Joe snapped his head toward him.
"It's only gonna what Mike? Only gonna make them think I fucking did it?!"
Mike groaned, covering his face with his hands.
"I wasn't suggesting that you did it, I was saying it might make people think that-"
"I don't give a flying fuck what they think anymore!" Billie Joe exclaimed, angrily, "I thought I was getting to know those guys by now but apparently I was wrong, huh?"
"Apparently..."
"I mean, fuck... I'm stuck on this Godforsaken island with a bunch of people I barely know, Tre look's like he's at fucking death's door, we have no protection against this fucking deadly disease that all these bastard mosquitos are trying to unleash on me, and any one of us could be the reason for it!"
"I know, but-"

Mike stopped suddenly, his heart going cold.
"What did you just say?"
"Huh?"
"Any one of us?" Mike repeated, angrily, "Are you fucking shitting me?"
"What?" Billie Joe scowled.
"You're including me in your fucking list of suspects? Are you fucking kidding?"
"I- Mike, I was just saying..." Billie Joe groaned, in exasperation, "Look, I don't want to think any of us would have done it!"

Mike stood up abruptly, hurt and anger pulsing through his veins.
"Nor would I!" he yelled, "But you've known me for fucking twenty-three years! I can't believe you would even consider that I had it in me to do this!"
"Mike..." Billie Joe protested, standing up and taking a step toward him.
"No!" Mike yelled, shoving Billie Joe back so hard that he fell to the sand again, letting out a small groan.

Billie Joe stood up again.
"What the fuck Mike?!"
"Don't fucking bullshit me now!" Mike shouted, his eyes wild, "You can't fucking backtrack now, Billie Joe. I heard what you said, and I know what you meant, and you can never fucking take that back. I am never going to forget this!"
"Mike, please!" Billie Joe yelled, his heart beating furiously as he became more and more desperate. He really didn't have the energy for this. This was the last thing that he needed.

"Fuck you, Billie," Mike glared, coldly, before turning his back on him and storming off up the beach, "Fuck you..."

Billie Joe dropped back onto the sand, staring blankly ahead in complete disbelief at what had just happened. It had been a long time since he and Mike had argued, properly argued. A year? More? He couldn't even remember the last time that wild anger in Mike's eyes had been meant for him. It had been a long time since he had felt what it made him feel when it was directed at him. There was nothing worse. Even Adrienne's anger couldn't make him feel this bad about himself, and that was saying something.

He tugged on his hair as he stared down at the sand for a few minutes longer, before turning his head to look up the beach. The group were dotted around on the sand, instead of grouped together around the fire where they would usually be at this time of day, when the sun began to lower in the sky. Soon, it would be time for someone to start cooking, and someone would light the fire, while the others talked about nothing in particular and waited for the small amount of food that was on offer to be handed around. Tre was still asleep, and for a moment Billie Joe almost envied him for not having any part in all of this, and being so completely unaware of the way everything was falling apart around him. He hoped that in his dreams he was having fun with his new friend, the mermaid.

Up at the beach, there wasn't much in the way of conversation. Maggie sat between Lara and Amber, her stomach twisting with anxiety as she felt the tension in the atmosphere grow, before Lara finally broke the silence.
"You think the pills are going to have turned up in the morning?"
Amber shrugged.
"We can only hope," she replied.
"You know that nobody is going to sleep, don't you?" Lara continued, "I mean, I'm going to be lying awake watching that bag like a hawk and anyone who says they won't be doing the same, well, I don't believe them."
"I wouldn't throw that around too much," Maggie advised Lara, "Because the entire point of that plan was to make it an anonymous drop off. If whoever did it knows that everyone is gonna be watching, the pills aren't gonna show up."
Lara shrugged.
"It doesn't matter what anyone says. We all know that we're going to be watching. And I don't want to be the person who gets caught red-handed tonight. And another thing, I don't get why the pills have to be returned to Amber's bag."
Amber frowned.
"Why not?"
"I don't know... but they were Maggie's in the first place. Shouldn't they be returned to Maggie?"
Maggie sighed.
"I don't care. They aren't mine now, they belong to all of us. And it doesn't matter where they get returned to, as long as they get returned. Right?"
Amber nodded.
"Right," she said, "What difference does it make, Lara?"
"None. I was just saying. Calm down."
Amber scowled.
"I am calm. You're the one making pointless comments that are only stirring everything up!"
"I'm not stirring anything! I was just saying!"
"Well, don't!"
"Amber, what's your problem?"
"Stop making it look like I'm the one with the problem!"
"I wasn't! Fucking hell!"

Maggie groaned.
"Can both of you guys shut the hell up, please? Lara, you've already fallen out with Mia, don't fall out with Amber too. Jase and Mike seem to have fallen out with Billie Joe as well and I just can't cope with any more arguing right now."
"Sorry..." Lara mumbled.
Amber said nothing. Maggie sighed.
"Look, we need some more firewood. Someone has to start cooking soon, we need to hold things together, alright? I'll go and find some."
"Thanks," Lara muttered, "I'll help Jack with the food."
Maggie nodded, glancing between them one last time, before heading off into the trees.

When Billie Joe ambled back up the beach, he found he was met with cold stares from both Mike and Jason. What the hell was Jason's problem with him? He sighed, as he stood in front of them.
"Mike... I'm sorry about before, okay?"
Mike glared at him.
"Not good enough."
"Mike!"
"I think it's best if you give him some space, Billie," said Jason, coldly.
"Jase..."
"No, Billie..." Jason interrupted, angrily, "You fucking hurt him, okay? Just leave."
"But-"
"Go, Billie Joe!" Mike yelled.

Billie Joe stumbled backwards. His eyes prickled with tears, but they didn't seem able to leave his eyes. He took one last look at his band mates' hateful expressions, and felt like they had driven a stake right through his heart. He had never needed them more than he did right now, and he had never felt so alone.

He couldn't stand being under their furious gaze anymore, and he couldn't stand the curious glances that the girls were throwing his way either. He turned on his heel and stormed back off across the beach, his vision becoming blurry as he forced his way into the undergrowth and pushed his way through the trees. Had he really thought that Mike had taken the pills? He forced a branch out of his way so hard that it snapped. Mike wouldn't do that. Jason wouldn't do that. None of them would do that. But somebody had. His breathing quickened. Twenty-three years. That meant something, right? He knew Mike. He trusted Mike. He had always trusted Mike. What was it about this place that had somehow made him doubt him? He never would have doubted him back home in the real world. His breathing became faster, and more shallow. Everything was different here. Nobody understood him here, and he didn't understand anybody else. Nothing made sense anymore. He tried to picture Adrienne's face. He tried to feel her arms around him, but it was no use. If Adrienne couldn't get to him here... did she even exist at all?

Suddenly, his foot caught underneath a tree root and he fell forward. He put his arms out to stop himself, but it wasn't enough, and he hit the hard ground with a dull thud. He felt panic surge through him as all his breath left his lungs. He tried to groan as he hauled himself into a sitting position.He could feel his tears flowing freely now, and he gripped the slim trunk of the tree next to him as he struggled to catch his breath. It had been a long time since he had felt like this. He was supposed to have gotten over this. What was it about this place that made him feel so backwards? He gasped for breath a few more times as his vision clouded with purple and black.

"Fuck..."