Holiday In Cambodia

Maggie didn't have a lot of luck finding firewood. Partly because the afternoon's events had left her feeling so stressed that she could barely put one foot in front of the other, let alone focus on the task at hand, and partly because she hadn't gone far before she was faced with something more pressing.

She could hear his labored breathing before she saw him, and she froze, her heart racing. Being alone on the island for so long, they had all grown used to the sounds of the wildlife, and took for granted that they weren't going to encounter anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, alone in the jungle, Maggie felt very vulnerable.

Pushing the branches aside, she crept through the foliage in the direction of the sound, and let out a small gasp of relief at the sight of Billie Joe, which quickly turned to fear when she saw the state he was in.
"Shit..." she muttered, breaking into a run as she forced her way through the trees towards him, "Billie!"

Billie Joe looked up as he saw Maggie approaching, and frantically tried to control his breathing, his embarrassment at Maggie seeing him this way only making it harder. He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling a tear run down his cheek and heaving an intake of breath as Maggie collapsed onto her knees in front of him.

"Oh my God..." Maggie muttered, thoroughly shocked by the sight of him in so much distress. She wished she was better in these situations. "Billie... what's wrong?"
"I... panic..."
"Panic attack?" Maggie asked, taking both of his hands. He nodded. "It's okay, Billie, It'll pass. You just have to realise that, okay? Don't pant so much..."
He nodded, frantically, gripping her hands so tightly that her fingertips went white.
"You have to breathe more slowly. Big breaths not little ones. Right?"

Billie Joe nodded again, attempting to follow her instructions. Maggie watched him with wide-eyed concern. She had had no idea he was feeling under so much pressure. In a way, it was a comfort to know that she wasn't the only one feeling so unsettled. She rubbed her thumb across the knuckles of his right hand as he began to regain some control over his breathing, and he felt his panic level dropping. Neither of them said a word, they just sat on the ground listening to his ragged breathing slowly returning to normal.

"What brought this on?" she asked, eventually, as he took his hands from hers and hurriedly wiped at his eyes. He really, really wished she hadn't had to see his tears.
"Mike..." he whispered, "The pills... the island... Mike... everything. Everything's different here, Maggie. Nothing makes sense anymore."
"It does make sense," she told him, "We just have to keep our heads, okay? It's easy to lose it out here on our own when we're all so tired and hungry. But we can all get through this. What happened with Mike?"
Billie Joe covered his face with his hands.
"We had a fight," he said, his voice cracking, "About the pills. I said any of us could have taken them and he... he got really mad and..."
Billie Joe trailed off as he felt the panic begin to rise in his chest again.
"Bill..." Maggie sighed, "You don't really think Mike would have done it?"
"No... I don't know why I even said that I just... I don't know, Maggie, I didn't think anyone would do this, but I was wrong!"
"You aren't wrong about Mike," Maggie frowned, "You've known him too long to be wrong about him, okay?"
Billie Joe looked down, nodding solemnly.
"I just... I hate how everyone's under suspicion. Nobody trusts anyone else... it's every man for himself here and I can't fucking cope with it any more, Maggie..."

Maggie sighed, taking his hand again and feeling him gratefully squeeze her own.
"Billie," she said, "It isn't every man for himself. It just looks that way right now. But... I know you didn't take the pills."
Billie Joe felt a flicker of surprise as he raised his eyes to hers.
"How?" he asked, quietly, "How can you possibly know that?"
Maggie shrugged, not knowing how to answer.
"... I don't know," she replied, "I just do. I guess I like to think I'm a good judge of character."
"Everyone thinks they're a good judge of character. And you already said it took you three years to figure out you didn't like your fiancé..."
Maggie sighed, rubbing her forehead. Billie Joe felt a flicker of guilt.
"Sorry," he whispered, "I have no idea why I brought that up. I guess I just lost a little faith in mankind today."
"We don't even know someone took them," Maggie suggested, "I mean, I know it looks bad but... I just don't believe anyone would do that, especially with Tre the way he is... maybe an animal took them."
Billie Joe almost laughed at her innocence, but instead he just smiled and pulled her forwards, wrapping his arms around her and sighing into their hug.
"Maggie..." he whispered, "Someone took them... but I don't think it was you any more than you think it was me... okay?"
Maggie nodded, feeling warm, as he pulled away.
"Thanks for rescuing me, okay?"
Maggie smiled, avoiding his eyes.
"That's okay," she said, "I was supposed to be looking for firewood. We should find some and get back to the beach before it gets dark."
Billie Joe nodded, as he pulled Maggie to her feet.
"You have to talk to Mike," she told him.
"I already tried that," he replied, as they began walking back through the trees, "He won't listen to me, he's really mad at me, Mag. Jason won't talk to me either. I've fucked things up royally."
"Just give him a little time to cool off," Maggie assured him, as she picked up a dry branch that was lying across the path. "He's mad right now, but we're all under a lot of pressure. Things will work out okay. Trust me."

When Billie Joe and Maggie returned to the beach, you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Billie Joe avoided the eyes of his band mates as he sat down on the sand, thankful for the rest after the walk back through the jungle. Nobody was saying very much. Mike and Jason were sitting up in the shade of the trees next to Tre, who he assumed had been made aware of the disaster that was unfolding around him, because he was looking even more pissed off than he had before he went to sleep.

Lara and Mia had stopped arguing and taken to ignoring each other, save the odd glances that were being thrown back and forth with enough venom to turn each other to stone and Jack seemed to be eyeing the entire group with contempt, so Billie Joe supposed he was a guilty until proven innocent man, and that didn't surprise him.

The cold silence prevailed for what felt like hours, before another argument flared up between Rick and Jack over the best way to light the fire, and Amber snapped.

"Will you guys shut the hell up?!" she yelled, standing up so fast that she showered Rick with sand. He made a face, wiping his tongue on the back of his hand.
"He started it!" Jack protested angrily, "Thinking he's fucking Steve Irwin!"
"How old are you?" Amber asked him, angrily, "I don't give a shit who started it, but it has to stop! Right now! Am I the only person who thinks all this is ridiculous?!"
She looked at the group, who remained quiet, before Tre raised his hand.
"I think it's kinda ridiculous," he volunteered.
Amber glowered.
"Yeah, well, apparently we're the only ones," she muttered, bitterly.
"There is nothing ridiculous about the fact we aren't getting along!" Mike shouted, "We've just found out that one of us is a fucking asshole with no regard for the rest of the group, and my friends are suspecting it's me!"
"Everyone's a suspect!" Jack argued.
"With no proof, everyone's innocent," Maggie frowned.
"That's total bullshit, and you know it," Jack scowled, "Stop trying to be everyone's friend."
Maggie gaped at him.
"I'm not trying to be anyone's friend, I thought we were friends here!"
"Yeah well, we were obviously wrong about that," Lara muttered, with a dark glance in Mia's direction.
"Don't fucking look at me like that," she growled back, "Stop making out that I'm responsible for-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Amber yelled again.
Everyone did as they were told.
"I can't cope with this anymore!" Amber continued, "You guys aren't talking to Billie, Jack and Rick are sniping at each other, Mia isn't talking to Lara, Lara isn't talking to Jason-"
"Lara never talks to me!" Jason yelled, all his anger bubbling out onto the surface, "That's nothing to do with the fucking malaria pills it's to do with her fucking bitchy attitude and I'm fucking sick of it cause I haven't done anything wrong!"

Lara's heart started racing as Jason's eyes met hers in a cold stare and, all of a sudden, she felt sick. Her eyes blurred with tears before she turned her head away, and then before she really realised it she was running across the sand.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Tre muttered, laying his head back on the sand as Rick took off after her.
"Well, that solved everything," said Jack, sarcastically, "Well done, babe."
Amber fixed Jack with a glare before picking her spear up from the sand.
"I'm going fishing."

"Lara!" Rick yelled, chasing her across the sand, "Stop!"

He gasped from exhaustion as she finally stopped running and turned to him, tears running fast down her face.
"Leave me alone, Rick," she pleaded, "I need to be... I can't... "

"Hey," he frowned, as she choked on her tears, "Lara, c'mon... it's gonna be okay... "

Lara sobbed into Rick's shoulder as his arms wrapped around her. Part of her felt more glad of his company than she ever could have imagined feeling of anyone, but part of her only wished that she had the energy to run in the other direction before he made her explain anything.
"Look," said Rick, soothingly, "I know it looks bad right now, Lara, and I hate the atmosphere too, but don't take it personally, alright? Soon enough, whichever ratbag that did this is going to get found out, and I've got a pretty good idea who it's going to be."
"So do I," said Lara, darkly, as the pair sat down on the sand. She wiped her eyes and rested her hed on her knees. "Mia... right?"
Rick shrugged.
"She's the only one I don't trust," he said, simply, "I trust you."
"Not everyone feels that way."
"Ignore Jason," Rick told her, "He's just upset, we all are. We're just handling it in different ways, that's all."

Lara nodded, closing her eyes and covering her face with her hands at the weight of what she was feeling.
"It isn't that," she almost whispered, "I... I deserved it. Since we arrived here... Jason and I... ."

She trailed off, her heart beating fast. She couldn't believe she was on the verge of explaining this to Rick.
"Look, I know you guys don't get on," Rick told her, with a shrug, "And that's okay. We were all thrown together, we weren't ever supposed to be friends. You don't have to like everybody, you just have to get through it."
Lara nodded, biting her lip, as a fresh tear rolled down her cheek. Rick out an arm around her shoulders.
"You don't understand," she whispered, "It isn't that I don't like Jason... "
Rick frowned.
"So, what's the big problem?"

Lara tried to control her tears before she spoke again.
"I do like him," she cried, "I do. And that's the problem. I haven't been ignoring him because I hate him. I just... I can't talk to him because I like him so damn much I haven't been able to think about anything else since I met him!"
Rick stared at Lara, his eyes wide.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes! Yes, I'm fucking serious! And don't tell me what an idiot I am, cause I know already! It's just, I always thought Jason was awesome, before I even met the band. I guess... I was just star struck, that's all. And then time went on.. and it got harder and harder because I only got to like him more and more until there was no point in starting to talk to him because I knew that he hated me already!"
"Lara... " Rick muttered, wrapping his arms around her as she cried into his shoulder, "I can't believe this. You are a fucking idiot!"
"I know, I know... " she sobbed.
"So what are you going to do?"
"What can I do? Wait until we get off the island and shoot myself in the head... "
Rick smirked.
"Good to see you're keeping everything in perspective at least," he said, "You have to talk to Jason."
Lara's eyes widened.
"Are you crazy? I can't just start talking to him!"
"Yeah, you can. You have to. You don't have to tell him how you feel, if you don't want. You just have to apologise, so that we can get rid of some of the tension around here. He thinks you hate him."
Lara nodded. Rick smiled and hugged her again.
"This is minor," he told her, "Don't worry about it, Lara. Seriously."
Lara nodded.
"Thanks Rick," she whispered.
"Any time," he smiled, giving her hand a squeeze, "Hey, I think Amber just got back from fishing. You hungry?"
"That's the dumbest thing I've heard all day," Lara replied, laughing a little as she wiped her eyes.
"Yeah," Rick grinned, "And it had some contenders. Come on. Let's go see what the catch is."

Amber turned the skewer of fish over on the fire, listening to the crackling of the flames fill the silence. She glanced over to where Jason and Mike were talking quietly. Their voices were low, as if what they were saying wasn't meant for anyone else to hear, and she wondered if that was the case. On the other side of the fire, Maggie and Billie Joe were sitting side by side, playing noughts and crosses in the sand, apparently unaware of the venomous looks that were being sent in their direction. Amber sighed in frustration. She hated the way that the group was forming these little bonds, separating off into teams and playing against each other. What she hated most was that she wasn't in any team at all. It was almost as if she was expected to remain impartial, and put up with their bickering without taking sides. Which was difficult, when certain people were behaving like three-year-olds.

"Okay," she said, "Fish is almost ready. Bill, pass me that coconut and I'll stick some on top of your rice."
"Woah," he said, raising an eyebrow, "We don't eat fish."
Amber gritted her teeth. We don't eat fish. The way he said it made it sound like it was some kind of gang rule.
"You do now," she said, "We're all getting weak, and we need the protein. You have to take what you can get."
Maggie bit her lip.
"I think I'd rather get weak."
"So the rest of us have to look after you?" Amber asked, "Please, guys. We've all lost a lot of weight. We need to eat something with some substance. Just have a little bit, okay?"
"I'm not sure I can," said Billie Joe, grimacing slightly, "But... I might give it a go... only if you char it so much that I can't tell what it is, though."
"Great," breathed Amber, "Thank you."

When everyone was settled around the fire, albeit with slightly more space in between them than usual, Amber handed around the food, and Billie Joe poked it around inside the coconut for a while before working himself up to putting it in his mouth. Maggie watched him, nervously.
"What's it like?" she asked, with caution.
"Um... it's... kind of weird..." he said, "It tastes okay... it just freaks me out that a half hour ago, it was swimming."
Jack rolled his eyes.
"For fuck's sake, you two are dramatic. I don't know what you'll be like when it comes down to eating each other."
Tre was the only one that laughed.
"Good to see someone still has their sense of humour," Jack muttered, "And from the guy who's worst off of all, I'm impressed Tre."
"My sense of humour fights to the death," Tre sighed.

"Hey, Amber," said Maggie, "This isn't too bad..."
Amber smiled.
"Told ya. I'm proud of you guys. I know it's really tough for you to eat it."
"What kind of fish is it?" Mia asked, with an air of suspicion.
Amber shrugged.
"I don't know... something small and tropical. It was orange and white."

Billie Joe's fish stopped half way to his mouth.
"Are you serious..."
"Yeah... why?"
He dropped the fish back into the coconut.
"You could have told me I've been eating fucking Nemo. That is not the same as just eating some crappy little fish..."
Amber laughed, along with a few of the others. It was definitely the only time they'd laughed together all day.
"Does that seriously make a difference to you, Billie Joe?" Lara grinned.
"Yes, it makes a fucking difference! I was trying to detach myself from the idea it was living and now I can just picture his fucking face right there and ... Oh my God, Amber, that's sick... Can you imagine if the movie had ended with his Dad finding out he'd been speared and torched by a bunch of idiots on an island?... Oh my... What the hell is so funny, Lara?"
Lara coughed up the rice that had gone down the wrong way, and tried to compose herself.
"I'm sorry," he grinned, "I just find it amusing that Green Day watch Disney movies, that's all."
"Yeah, don't go writing about this in your magazine," Billie Joe smiled, picking the remnants of the fish out of his rice and dropping them into hers.

"There's some left over, you know," Amber told them, "Does anyone want any more?"
"Over here," said Jack, holding out his coconut.
"Okay... Mike, will you just try some?"
"No," Mike told her, shaking his head.
"I swear it doesn't taste bad, even Billie Joe liked it before he pictured it with big cartoon eyes and-"
"I said no, Amber!" Mike shouted, startling the others a little as he stood up, and shot an angry glance in Billie Joe's direction, "Some of us stick to our fucking principles!"

Amber's mouth dropped open as Mike stalked off across the sand, and Jason started to follow. She held up her hand.
"Jase... don't," she told him. She'd had enough of their little buddy system. "I'll go this time."

Jason shrugged, sitting back down and picking up his rice again, and the others watched as Amber jogged across the sand, chasing Mike into the darkness.

"Stop," she commanded, grabbing his shoulder as she caught up with him. He turned around.
"Why?" he asked, angrily, "It's not like I can fucking go anywhere!"
"I want to talk to you."
"There's nothing to say."
"I think there is. I can tell you're upset and... it's upsetting the others too."
"I don't care anymore, Amber! It's obvious we don't care a whole lot about each other anyway."
"Look," said Amber, pulling him down so that they were both sitting on the sand, "One person has betrayed us here, okay? And they've fucked it up for the rest of the group. I don't want that to happen. This is hard enough as it is, without everyone turning against each other. Especially old friends."
Mike looked down.
"He really hurt me today, Amber."
"I know he did, but he didn't mean to. He didn't mean what he said. And I know he regrets it. I just wish you could put it behind you."
"I can't!" Mike protested, "I can't forget it, Amber. I can't believe he would think that of me."
Amber sighed, pulling a little at her hair.
"If you were back in the real world, and Billie Joe had let slip something like that, you'd probably have forgotten it in ten minutes. But everyone's wound so tightly here, because we're all so worried... "
"Are you worried?" Mike cut in, turning to look at her straight in the eye for the first time.
Amber rested her head in her hand.
"Yeah," she said, quietly, "Of course I am. We all are, Mike."
"Tomorrow," Mike swallowed, "We will have been here a week. Jack said on the first day that's how long we'd be here for, right? What if no boat comes tomorrow... does that mean... that no boat will come at all?"
Amber bit her lip.
"I really don't know," she replied, "I don't know any more than you know, Mike. People just seem to assume that I know everything and I'm fine. When really, I'm going crazy too, and I can't sleep at night either, because I've got my own problems just like everyone else."
Mike reached out and slid his hand into Amber's, before giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Sorry, babe," he said, "I guess the rest of us have been expecting a lot of you and Jack, right?"
Amber shrugged.
"I don't mind taking control. I've handled it well up till now but today.. I just... it's all got too much."
Mike frowned.
"Are you and Jack okay?"

Amber looked down.
"We are now... I mean... today he said that when we get off the island... he wants us to move in together."
"That's awesome... right?"
Amber nodded.
"Of course... it's great but..."

Amber turned to look at Mike's enquiring eyes, and bit her lip. She had been bottling her worries up inside for so long that just the prospect of getting them off her chest was relieving, and there was something about Mike that made him seem like exactly the person she wanted to confide in.

"I have a problem," she whispered.
Mike leaned forward.
"What is it?" he asked.
Amber was quiet for a moment, staring at the sand in front of her, before she let out a shaky breath and answered him.
"I think I'm pregnant," she replied.
Mike stared at her.
"Really? What- Are you sure? Since when?"
"Since a few days ago really," Amber shrugged, "I mean, obviously, I can't be certain but... I feel pretty... certain..."
"But... how do you know?" Mike asked, wide-eyed.
Amber couldn't help but smile.
"We have our ways, Mike. Weren't you listening in biology?"
Mike smirked.
"I was stoned throughout High School," he told her, and she laughed, before putting her head in her hands again.
"I just have no idea what to do."
"Why? Why is this such a bad thing? I mean... you and Jack are happy, right? Don't you want kids?"
"Of course I do... I just didn't plan on any yet and I know for a fact that Jack didn't. I mean, the whole reason we came out here was because we had a pregancy scare and decided to celebrate having no responsibilities while we had the chance. I just... he isn't going to want this Mike... and I'm afraid of what's going to happen..."
"Hey," Mike frowned, putting an arm around Amber and holding her close to him, "You guys will be okay. Sometimes you just have to adapt to stuff. We can't plan out everything. I think Jack's a lot more responsible than he makes out."
Amber nodded.
"I'm just scared... when I think of how relieved he was last time... when we found out it was a false alarm..."
"But you've done your travelling now," Mike pointed out, "Jeez, isn't this enough adventure for one lifetime?"
Amber smiled.
"I guess we'll find out, right? Look, Mike... don't mention this to anyone, okay?"
"Aren't you going to tell Jack?"
"There's no point. I can't be a hundred percent sure about it and he doesn't need anything else to worry about."
"Okay," Mike nodded.
"Thanks, Mike."
"That's alright. Sorry I got all pissy. I'll try and stay calm."
"Thanks."
"Just one question."
"Shoot."
"Have you and Jack ever heard of this thing called contraception?"
Mike laughed as Amber swiped his head, before pulling her up from the sand. As they headed back across the beach to join the others, they both felt a little lighter.

"How are you doing, Tre?" Jack asked, sitting down next to him, after everyone had finished eating.
"Eh...Still alive, I guess..."
"Feeling any better?"
"No."
"Seen your mermaid friend lately?"
"She comes and goes."
Jack smiled.
"Want me to get you some water?"
Tre nodded, and Jack reached over to grab the last remaining water bottle, his guts twisting when he held it up.
"Fuck," he whispered.
"... What?"
"There's only a drop left... is this all we have?"
Tre nodded, miserably.
"Don't worry," he said, "I'll manage without it."
"You need it the most, mate, you have it," Jack insisted, holding it out to him.

Tre took the water gratefully, draining the last drop before tossing the empty bottle aside and laying his aching head back onto the sand.
"... Jack?"
"Yeah."
"... How long can we last?"
"You mean without water? Um... I'm not really sure about that, Tre."
"It's... days... isn't it."

Jack swallowed, his throat dry.
"Yeah," he whispered, "It's days. But... we aren't going to be here any longer than that, Tre. Don't worry."
"Are you sure?"
Jack looked down at his hands.
"Yeah, Tre... I'm sure," he said.

Jack watched as Tre, apparently satisfied, slipped back asleep. He rested his head in his hands and let out a shaky sigh. Now that the water had gone, it was more of a waiting game than ever. They had done well to survive by themselves for this long, and he knew it, but they couldn't do it any longer. A boat was their only hope.

A sudden commotion on the other side of the beach made him look up, and he was startled to see Mia and Lara in another fight, this one bigger than ever. At first he assumed it was nothing out of the ordinary, an argument flaring up from a small disagreement, but as he watched, his eyes widened at the fury with which Lara was screaming, and he jumped up when he saw her lunge at Mia and force her onto the sand.

"I hate you!" Lara screamed, grabbing a struggling Mia by the hair and holding her down by her shoulders, "How could you fucking do this to us you fucking bitch?!"
"Lara!" Jack shouted, running towards them, "What the..."
"I hate her!" Lara screamed, "I knew it was her, I knew it! She's a fucking whore and I knew it!"
Lara managed to throw a couple of punches before a stunned Billie Joe hauled her away, and Jack grabbed Mia, who writhed against his grasp.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Rick shouted, as he appeared on the scene with the others.

"She's a selfish, sadistic little shit!" Lara screamed, crying and shaking with fury as she tried to free herself from Billie Joe, "I knew it, I knew it, I always knew it, I hate you! I hope you're the first one of us to fucking die because I wanna be around to see it!"
"Lara, Jesus!" Mike yelled, "What's got into you?"
"It was her!" Lara yelled, freeing an arm from Billie Joe for long enough to hold up the small bottle that was in her hand, "She was hiding them over in the rocks and I saw her!"

The others were momentarily stunned into silence as Lara threw the bottle hard at Mia, who by now had started to cry.

"How the hell could you do this?" Amber growled, angrily, suddenly feeling so much fury pumping through her veins that she was sure she could have ripped Mia apart then and there.

"I'm sorry!" Mia shouted, "I'm sorry, okay? I was scared! I was scared I would get malaria!"
"We could all get fucking malaria!" Jason yelled, "Weren't you scared about that?! You bitch!"
"I know, I know!" Mia sobbed, "But I couldn't help it, I don't care if you hate me!"
"I have never hated anyone as much as I do right now!" Mike shouted, "How could you fucking do this to us, Mia?"
"I... I..."
"Fuck you!" Jack shouted, as Mia struggled against him.

His grip on her was loosening as his arms became weak. He didn't have the energy to hold her for much longer, and when she gave one final shove, he let go, and she took off across the sand. Lara and Billie Joe started to chase after her, before Amber pulled them back.

"What's the point?" she asked, furiously, "We don't want her around here anyway? It's not like she can go anywhere. I can't believe this."
"I knew it was her the whole time!" shouted Rick, "She's cunning as a fucking shithouse rat!"
"She's gone now," said Jack breathlessly, "And I don't know if she's gonna bother coming back to the beach. She can die in the jungle for all I care."
Lara nodded, as she picked the bottle of pills up from the sand.
"She can die in the jungle," she agreed, icily.