Speak Up (TONI X OC) -The Wilds

Chapter 3

Toni's POV 

We woke up to rain. A terrible ruthless downpour of it. I had to shake Parker awake because she was knocked out so hard from the pills. There was no cover for us to run into. It was moments like these on the island that I realized the basic necessities I took for granted before. Like shelter. Even when I had nowhere to stay...there was still somewhere to stay, you know? Here, we're just on the same fucking beach. Forever exposed to the forces of nature. 

"Please make it stop!" Marty pleads. 

Shelby ran to her with a blanket, "Here I got you"

Meanwhile, I sat alone, nearby Leah and Parker who were holding onto each other tight. 

"I used to think thunderstorms were, like, majestic." Leah yells through the storm. 

"That still your take!?" Rachel fires. 

"No." Leah cries out while Parker stays latched on to her. 

Part of me wishes I could be the one to hold Parker, but just because she said goodnight to me, doesn't mean she's ready for anyone else to be close with her. 

Parker's POV

I never thought I could feel like I was drowning while on land until day 3 on the island. The rain was merciless. My head still pounded from hitting it the day before and the yelling and thunder was not helping. 

Finally, we caught a break as Dot thought to use the deflated raft as a cover. "All right! Come on! Everybody, grab an end! Get under!" She dragged it over through the sand. 

Everyone began their stumble to the raft while I practically had to drag Leah for a moment. She seemed to zone out again. 

"Leah, come on. Grab an end!" Dot calls out. Leah finally snapped back to reality and we ran to crouch underneath the raft with everyone else. Leah was on my right, holding the end, while Toni was on my left. She looked over to me with a small smile that I returned. 

"How's your ankle?" Shelby yells to Martha over the thunder. 

"Better, I think. It's just- it's so itchy." she responds. 

"My leg is kinda itchy, too." Leah yells from beside me. Now that I think of it, my legs were also slightly itchy. 

"Yeah, mine too." Shelby adds with worry. 

"Shit. Sand fleas." says Dot. 

Sand fleas!? I look to my legs with wide eyes in a panic. 

"Sand what!?" Fatin growls, perfectly capturing my feelings in her tone. 

"Well, they're not really like fleas. They're more like tiny little shrimp." Dot admits. 

"No." Fatin refuses to believe it. I don't blame her. 

"They're not lethal. They're just annoying. Once the rain stops, we can just go scrub them off, you know, before they get a chance to burrow."

The group lets out noises of disgust and panic. 

Fatin seems the most distressed as she sits up, out from under the raft and yells toward the sky. "FUCK. MY. LIFE!!!!!"

A vicious clap of the thunder sounds and we all scramble to get her back under. 

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Toni's POV

The storm eventually passed, though it seemed as if it never would. But now our minds had something else to focus on. Hunger. Food was getting very low and and very repetitive.