The Wilds: Stage 3

1- The Sound of the Waves

Fatin

The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was becoming something I could no longer bear to listen to. I never expected the once perfect and soothing sound to now be one of the sole things driving me to the brink of insanity. But honestly, I truly can't take it anymore. It's something about the way the water is taunting me. A constant and consistent cycle of salt washing in and out of my wounds, over and over again. This salty water has become a curse in my mind. It's the same water that threw me into this crazy fucking nightmare. The same water that took Nora away from us. The same water that brought us to this stupid fucking island right after we thought we had escaped the horrors of the first.

I remember a time even before we had arrived on the first island. A time when the sound of waves and the sea was only a soothing sound. I only had to drive 25 minutes to find this sound of comfort, of bonfire parties, and of watching the sunset and the sunrise, as my body lay against the soft, white sands of the West Coast. But now things are different. The beach is no longer a luxury, and the only purpose the ocean now serves is a reminder. A reminder that everything went to shit. A reminder that we truly are powerless here in whatever fucked up mental prison we now find ourselves in.

"Fatin!" a voice calls from somewhere far away.

I don't get up to move though. I can't. Instead I remain seated on the shore, my hands covering my ears as I rock myself back and forth slowly. If the ocean can no longer comfort me, then I must comfort myself.

As I rock back and forth, I feel my eyes swell with tears. Another body of unforgiving salty water that I can't control here on this island. I know that there is more yelling. I can hear it even with my ears covered, but I don't want to. I know they're looking for me, but I have no interest in being found. Not yet.

After we had all stepped outside of the bunker and realized we were alone on yet another torturous island, things went to chaos. Leah did her best and tried to organize everyone. Her and some other guy wanted to have a meeting; a chance to calm everyone down and explain what was happening. Then the music started playing. Reach out Touch Faith. The song sounded loudly over these old looking speakers above us. It was like some sort of horribly cruel joke. No one knew what it meant but we didn't even have time to think before the boys went running back inside. Leah went after them of course and the rest of the girls followed.

I didn't though. I couldn't. I needed a break from the nightmare. A moment of peace. Just a single second of calm.

When I walked down to the beach, that was my only intention. To find a calming place to breathe and take everything in. That didn't happen though. Just as I sat down along the shore my mind started to race. I saw visions of the first island. Martha smashing a rock against her head, Shelby cutting off her hair, Toni nearly being crushed by a tree, Rachel crying for her sister on an empty shore, Jeannette lying dead in the sand, Nora being swept away into the ocean, Dot giving up all hope, and Leah breaking down and falling apart. There was so much pain on that island. So many lies, so much fear, too many deaths. Then the sound of the ocean here on this island...it was too much. The same ocean carried the same fears. The same water was still here haunting me.

Now as I sit here, still rocking in place slowly, with rivers of tears streaming down my cheeks, I allow my eyes to close. I take myself somewhere else.

"Fatin." a broken but soft and caring voice whispers.

I open my eyes again to find myself being held by a worried looking Leah. When she sees that I'm awake, she quickly moves to hold my face and look me in the eyes.

"Fatin thank god; you're awake. Are you ok?"

I sit up but still stay close to Leah, unsure of the damage I must have caused. I must have been pretty checked out for a while. It was a lot darker outside and the sun looked as if it were going to set in the next hour or so.