Escaping the Lost Island (working title)

Prologue/Chapter 1

Humans are notoriously loud and intrusive creatures in the forest. In spite of our best efforts, every time we step on a stick or a particularly crunchy leaf, we alert the entire animal population of our presence. Not to mention, we have an incredibly strong scent that affronts most other living things. My first few months on the island, I felt the consequences of my species in my inability to successfully kill anything. Its a miracle we didn't starve, honestly. If it weren't for a couple lucky fishing trips and some plants that Brian inexplicably could identify, we would have died. Eventually, my persistence paid off and I remember the first tiny rodent-like creature I managed to kill. It was disgusting to clean, but I was so proud of the 0.5 ounces of meat I had provided. Three months in, several of my circumstances had improved my skills and my chances. Just living on the island without a proper bath had helped disguise my scent to the point where if it wasn't a very windy day, I could go reasonably undetected. I had also gotten to know my island neighbors, their likes and dislikes, their activities, and their habits. Best of all, my clumsy movements had been honed considerably. 

Now, my legs glided through the underbrush as I crept after my prey. I brushed through a cluster of ferns, my spear poised in my hands as I prepared to strike. The small bird in front of me rustled along its way, seemingly oblivious to my presence. The time, I knew, was moments away. We were approaching a clearing where I intended to kill the creature before it took flight.

All of a sudden, the noise of a larger being shuffling around in the bushes nearby caught my attention. Shifting to look for the source of the sound, I startled my prey. The bird shrieked in alarm and took off, its tiny wings beating furiously. With a cry of annoyance, I swung at it with all my might. At the same time, the larger predator chose to make their own play for my food. A loud crack echoed through the forest as the dull end of my spear missed the bird and connected with my competitor. The exclamation of pain that followed sounded human. Who was spying on me while I hunted? I swept aside the ferns separating me from whichever idiot would be forfeiting their dinner that night and froze.

His hair was much longer than I remembered and he had lost a lot of weight since our last encounter, but it was still him, back from the dead it seemed.

Pushing his hair out of his eyes, the last person I had ever expected to see again straightened up, wincing, and faced me.

"Hey Meg," Toby said.

Chapter 1

My first instinct was to apologize for almost taking his head off before I remembered that he had scared away my dinner. Then the reality that Toby was standing in front of me started to sink in and I backed away from him. Still not believing what was in front of my eyes, I pinched myself, hard. Pain shot up my arm and I flinched. Toby shifted uncomfortably, waiting.

"Please say something," he said finally.

My head was reeling. It couldn't be him, this wasn't possible. Toby was dead! And even if he wasn't, how had he gotten here? Above all of my whirling thoughts, a wave of fury was mounting. Who cares if he's alive? He abandoned us!

"Why did you come back?" My voice did not sound like my own.

Surely he had perceived this would come up, but he was nevertheless at a loss for words.

I eyed him for a moment and then began to turn away. 

"You don't understand, Meg," he said quietly. "I had to leave. There are things about this island that I don't trust, things that none of us can understand. I had to try and find some answers."

"Why didn't you tell me?" The words were nearly a whisper and I hoped that he hadn't heard them.

His eyes flashed and I could hear the pain in his voice as he spoke again. "How could I have? You would have wanted to come with me."

"Well of course I would have!" I burst out. "But instead you just leave me here, thinking you were probably dead and I would never see you again and..." I stopped, horrified at my uninhibited flow of feelings. What was I thinking?! This was Toby I was talking to, the one who left us to die, the one I hated.

Toby was staring remorsefully at me. But there was something sympathetic in the way he was looking at me which just made me even more furious.

I spun on my heel and began to stalk away.

"Meg! Just listen to me, please..." he began. He reached out and grabbed my arm but I wrenched it free.

"Don't you dare touch me," I hissed, my eyes burning into him. "Stay away from me and everyone on this island."

He stepped back and just looked at me. I concentrated on building a wall between us with my own gaze.

A rustle in the bushes behind him made us both jump involuntarily.

"Toby? Is everything alright?" A girl stepped into the clearing, inspecting a bunch of bananas. "I found some food but..." She stopped abruptly as she saw me. "Who's this?"

"This is Meg," Toby responded, his eyes still on me. "Meg... this is Rita."

Rita smiled. "Oh yes, Toby told me about you," she said, walking towards me with her hand extended.

I stared at her and then at Toby who began to fidget once more. There was an awkward pause as I looked from one to the other but didn't take Rita's hand.

"Meg, is everything okay..?" Alex stepped into the clearing behind me, and then stopped when he saw the others. "Whoa."

I offered no explanation, looking instead to Toby who was staring at Alex in much the same manner I had stared at Rita.

Rita's gaze traveled from Alex to Toby and back again. "Hi I'm Rita," she said finally, turning to Alex with her hand still extended. "And this is Toby."

Alex remembered his manners and shook her hand but his eyes were still on Toby. "Oh I remember Toby," he said dryly. 

Rita raised her eyebrows. "He told me he was shipwrecked with some others when he found our village, but he needed to come back and figure some things out right away, so I came back with him..." She trailed off, noticing that no one was particularly interested in her explanation.

I was still watching Toby through narrowed eyes. When I felt he was sufficiently uncomfortable in the silence, I returned my focus to Rita. "I'm sorry to tell you that Toby is no longer welcome here. You two will have to leave as soon as possible." I turned to Alex. "Lets go."

"Wait!" Rita stepped towards us, her brown eyes troubled. "I can see there's more to this than I know, but please don't just leave us like this! We've spent weeks searching for you; can't Toby at least finish what he came back for?"

I gave Toby one last searching look. "He already has." I responded, turning around again.