Washed Up ≫ A.I

Chapter [36]

[Charlotte Kendall]

All four of us hurried down the hill, knocking rocks loose and attempting not to roll any ankles on the way. It felt like an impossible field to run down but we were in a hurry. Tyson and Benson are both out there and both potentially dangerous, who knows what kind of plans they have for the rest of us on this island. And Benson has very quickly jumped to my highest list of insane old men.

Michael whipped around a corner, flapping a palm left just over my head. I was second behind him with Ashton's hands pressed against my back in a guiding way. I could hear all of their tough breathing catching up with their exhaustion. I could hear my own pulse pumping in my ear, my head was aching under the humidity so with Ashton's hands against my lower back, you bet I was running as fast as I could at the moment. We crashed through the bushes and then past these broken palm trees. The branches were clearly defined and fresh like someone just now came through before us. My money was on Tyson, mostly because I didn't want to face Benson here tonight.

"It's just up here!" Michael shouted beyond me before disappearing one last time behind the jungles tall grass.

I held my breath anxiously before ducking in through the bushes after him. My arm caught onto a branch that scraped my skin down to my elbow. I yelped just as Ashton accidentally stumbled into me. My feet tripped forward into the sand of the Northern beach with him catching me from behind just in time, "Char! I'm so sorry!" He gasped.

I waved him off, puffing out an 'It's okay' before resting my hands on my hips to settle. I was out of breath completely at this point and questioning myself again why I even agreed to come out here. In fact I don't remember at all, I just remember Emma telling me to go.

Slowly we all gathered once Brandon came out of the jungle last with his torch barely a flame. I leaned my forehead against Ashton's stomach, breathing in his scent as he rubbed my back. When he spoke the vibrations of his voice tickled in my ear, "Well. . . where's this plane mate?" I looked up at Michael and sucked in my breath to relieve from my growing headache.

Michael was turned towards the ocean before He quickly looked past his shoulders at all three of us. His dark eyes hid behind his damp hair until he shook his head in disbelief, "It's gone. . . I told you it was completely submerged." He sighed while bringing a dirty hand up into his hair.

"Then where's Benson and Tyson? We couldn't have beaten them both here." Brandon claimed, dropping the torch into the sand after the flame became a dead one. I sighed and leaned into Ashton's shoulder for the balance and comfort. I didn't expect him to respond with putting an arm loosely around my shoulder.

Everyone was silent. We didn't quite have a plan besides ambushing and even if we got to that point we didn't have a plan on how to ambush exactly. We were way out of our league here.

Michael turned towards the ocean again and shifted his weight, "What are we doing?" I heard him mumble to himself before huffing out exhausted breath of defeat. Yes, what were we doing exactly?

I shake my head and grab Ashton's hand to pull us both away. We were all out of our minds, running through the jungle like this. For all we know Tyson and Benson could be lost in the jungle for good. . . or maybe even dead. "We shouldn't be here." I whisper to Ashton as I tug him and I away from Michael. Ashton spins and looks down at me but his eyes go wide as something behind me clicks in the dark.

I fear the worst before he yanks my arm closer to his chest and tucks me under his shoulder. I gasp at the fearful sound of Benson, standing directly behind me, "Well done you four!" He smirks hauntingly with such a mocking tone. His arm raised slowly in the air with a small hand gun pointed directly at all of us. In the same moment another shadow is trailed behind him as the four of us stumble farther down the northern beach front. "I would hand out gold stars for your effort but unfortunately I'm not your kindergarten teacher."