STRANDED (THE WILDS KIRIN O'CONNOR)

DAY 1. SEARCHING FOR SOLVATION

After walking for sometime with no evidence of coming across anything soon Henry speaks up "Yeah, I'd like to humbly suggest that we go back. This is obviously a wasteland."

Unfortunately I had to agree. "We'll find something, all right?" Kirin says irritated.

"Not before we lose daylight." Henry says as he raises his hands and makes a weird square shape "Why do you keep doing that thing with your fingers?" Kirin says what's on my mind.

"Gauge how long till sunset. Every finger is 15 minutes." Henry answers "What are you? Some kind of Boy Scout?" Kirin asks with a hint of something else.

"Yes." Henry answers "Well, I-I quit in ninth grade. I ended up wanting something different for myself... aesthetically."

"No shit." Kirin laughs and continues on.

I walk up to Henry eyeing him "You would look a little funny as a Boy Scout now."

"That's why I quit."

"Look, I-I don't love agreeing with fuckin Testosterone Jones over here, but, I do think we'll find something." Scotty spoke.

I learned everyone in our groups names as well as the kid who helped my gash on my head he is Henry's step brother Seth.

"I mean, it's like I was saying, we're probably about to roll up on some sick Architect's Digest type house, you know, owned by some billionaire or something." Scotty continued cheerfully. "Yeah, let's hope not."

"What are you talking about, Damien?" Kirin asked turning around to Henry.

"His name's Henry, I think." Bo stated "It's fine, Bo, I think your friend was just drawing a parallel between me and the Antichrist boy from the Omen." Henry answered

Scotty laughs as Henry continues what he was saying before. "But to answer your question, yeah, I've got zero desire to stumble upon the home of a wealthy recluse."

I roll my eyes getting bored of this conversation, "why not?" Scotty asks "Cause they'll kill us for sure. Think about every rich guy who's ever lived in a secluded place. General Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game, Poe Dameron in Ex Machina, Dracula. You know, killing trespassers is their whole deal."

"Nah, the fuck?" Kirin asks confused "D-Dracula is not a billionaire. He's undead." Bo says staying close to Scotty.

"If you adjust for inflation, he actually is. But, look, anyway, my point remains. You know, money and isolation have turned them all... into bloodthirsty eccentrics." Henry continues his rambling.

I shake my head and walk near Kirin again hoping to get away from this conversation.

As they continue their dumb conversation I focus on looking at the sand, the shore line, the woods.

I jump at a loud voice behind me and turn to see Kirin trying to get everyone back on task "oh my god. Can you all just put a fucking lip on it and start actually looking out for shit?"

"It's lid. Put a lid on it." Henry corrects "whatever!" Kirin shouts "Let's just go back, then, losers. After I take a piss, though."

All the boys go to pee and I turn away from them and face the ocean.

...................................................................

We all arrive back where we woke up at from the crash, I see something that wasn't there before in the distance. I tap the person closest to me which happened to be Henry.

"You see that?" I ask pointing up ahead I see from the corner of my eye as he nods, we all start to run over to it but suddenly Kirin stops running and turns around to face me. "Turn around." He quickly tells me I eye him in confusion.

But turn around as his voice was urgent and his eyes were pleading at me to listen to him. I hear we he runs over and as everyone gets close I hear them all gasp.

I want to so badly turn around but decide it's best I not.

I see the others running towards us "The others are back." I shout over my shoulder to let them know "Ok, just...just. Don't look, ok? Don't look."

I nod but realize Kirin probably is too focused on the thing on the ground "ok." I say

The others get here and gasp in shock.

"Holy shit!" Seth says completely shocked followed by "oh fuck. Oh shit. Oh fuck."

My curiosity got the best of me and I turned around. I stopped moving as my eyes realized I was looking down at a body. Kirin hesitantly flipped the body over revealing the bodies face that had been chewed, or scratched off.

As the tracksuit kids body hit the ground a chunk of his face fell and hit the sand next to Kirin's foot. I ran a small distance away from the group and got sick.

After I was done I wiped my mouth on my arm and refused to look at the body.

"I...I feel bad." I state and all their heads snap to me "Yeah, we kinda figured that when you disposed your stomach." Ivan said with sass and usually I would find it funny but in this moment it only aggravated me.

"Shut it Taylor." Kirin spoke with a ton that no one dared to argue.

"I feel bad, I didn't even know this dudes name. And now he is gone." Everyone nodded at my words as we never had the chance to learn his name all we knew is that he liked tracksuits, broke his toe, and had major mommy issues.

"I don't get how it even happened." Bo said shaking his head "The tide was vicious. He must have got hit by a breaker and gotten attacked by something."

Scotty nodded at Seth's words "shit man! Nature don't play. So what are we going to do with him?"

"We can't leave him here. Every carnivore on this island will come for him...and then us." Henry informed us. "We could do a Navy funeral... like some of my dad's friends in the service. I mean, at sea." Bo suggested.

Unfortunately this wasn't a bad idea, I wish we could give him the proper goodbye. But if we did that we would be signing our own death wish.

"Absolutely not, with that thing that ate him, bro?" Scotty looked to his best friend shocked. "No, no, guys, guys. I-I think Bo is right." Seth spoke up.

"That's fucking insane." Kirin shook his head but I sighed "I don't hear any better ideas."

"Osama bin Laden was buried at sea."

"God, who even cares right now?" And with that everyone was in agreement. "Okay, so who's... pallbearing this affair?" Ivan asked "because if there's something out there that can literally deface a bitch...I think I'm a no." Ivan finished.

"I'll do it. I can't do it alone. Raf, you okay to wingman?" Seth asked Raf hesitantly nodded "Y-yeah. Uh, yes."

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We had found something to cover the body with and Seth and Raf prepared to carry him out into the ocean for his burial.

When Raf and Seth were ready they picked the body up and waded into the water trying not to fall due to the waves roughly crashing into their legs.

When they were far enough out which wasn't far they gently dropped the body into the ocean and made their way back to us on the shore.

Slowly one by one Everyone walked back to where we woke up at eventually it was me and Kirin left and I was surprised he hadn't left a while ago.

"Figured you would have left a while ago." I stated my thoughts. Kirin nodded "I would have, but you're here. Didn't feel right I guess." I nodded understanding "I'm ready to go back." Kirin nodded and we started to slowly head back to where everyone had built a teepee like shelter for the night.

"I don't know why I stayed back for so long." I stated Kirin nodded again and looked down at me considering he was a giant. "You were doing what you felt was right, no one is prepared for something like this."

I nodded, the rest of the way back was silent but it was a comfortable one.

"We checked his luggage. His name was DJ." Josh said the minute he saw me. I nodded "Thank you."

Kirin smiled "feel better?" I smiled back "yeah. I do."