Desolation

Chapter Five

((here is a picture of Tessa))

"Tessa we are being watched."

I freeze midstep as I process what Ian has just said. It's as if all of my blood has run cold. I look at Ian with wide eyes, who is looking at something behind me. Too scared to turn around and see what he is looking at, I whisper, "What?"

"Look," Ian says, and he points his finger upwards behind me.

I slowly turn around and look up in the direction that he is pointing at. There, mounted up in a tree, is what appears to be a security camera. Focused directly on us.

"I don't think that's part of the natural wildlife of this island," Ian says sarcastically

I shake my head.

"Someone is watching us," I whisper, confirming the truth to myself that someone must have been on this island before us.

"I don't know if I want to know who because it's probably the person who is holding us captive here on this island," Ian says.

"I wonder if there are more cameras," I whisper.

"Why are you whispering? Afraid that they're listening to our conversation right now?" Ian says mockingly.

I roll my eyes at him.

"C'mon, we should go back soon. It's starting to get dark," Ian announces. The sun has begun to set, turning the sky above the canopy of trees a faded pink. We turn around and begin walking back the way that we came. The thirst that I am feeling is becoming unbearable. Must. Stop. Thinking. About. Cold. Water.

"Well today was a success," Ian says caustically.

"Hey, at least we found something. The security camera."

"Well would you rather have a security camera or fresh water?" Ian says, glancing at me.

"What do you think?" I reply, rolling my eyes again.

We continue to walk, in silence until I say, "What if there's no fresh water on this island?"

Ian looks at me, then replies, "There's always fresh water somewhere on an island of this size. There has to be a river or a lake or something. I know it."

I hope so. Because if there isn't, we are all going to slowly and painfully die of thirst.

A few minutes later, I ask Ian if he knows where he is going. He immeadiately snaps back that he is good with directions and knows the exact path back to the beach. I have no clue how he knows where we are going because every inch of the jungle looks exactly the same to me.

We finally arrive back to the beach just when it is dark. The group is still at the same spot and they have lit a bonfire. When they see us walking towards them, they all look up.

"Did you find any water?" A boy asks eagerly.

We both shake our heads no. Everyone looks utterly defeated.

Tristan walks towards us.

"Did you find anything out there in the jungle?"

I am about to open my mouth and mention the security camera that we found when Ian abruptly says, "Nope."

I turn and look at Ian and he looks at me. He has a look in his eyes that says, "Don't say it," so I immediately close my mouth.

"What were you going to say?" Tristan asks, looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"Uh...um...just that there are a lot of trees."

Smooth.

Tristan stares at me for a second, then nods. My cheeks burn bright red and I swear that I hear Ian snicker.

"Well we'll have to keep looking tomorrow. For now, we should all get some sleep," Tristan says.

We walk back to the rest of them. I know that I won't sleep at all tonight. There is just too much on my mind and I feel so out of place. People are already sprawled out, laying down around the fire to go to sleep. I sit down on the sand, then lay down. Exhaustion creeps into my sore and aching body. I see Ian walking away towards the water and I call out, "Where are you going?"

He turns around, then says, "Away from you all. I want to sleep alone by the water."

I don't respond, but I don't blame him though. He turns around and continues to walk away.

I try closing my eyes, but the crackling of the fire is too loud. And although my body is exhausted, my mind is wide awake, trying to sort out of the questions in my head that are exploding like fireworks. An hour goes by, and I am still laying there, wide awake. I sit up and look around at everyone else, who all appear to be sleeping. I then turn and look down at the water, seeing the dark silhouette of Ian. I guess I'm not the only one awake because Ian is sitting up. Since I have given up on trying to fall asleep, I stand up and find myself walking down the beach towards Ian. Once I reach him, I sit down next to him.

"Can't sleep?" He asks.

"No, of course not. I don't know how anyone can," I reply.

The waves break against the shore, creating a soothing sound to fill the silence between us.

Finally, I say, "Sorry for coming down here. I know you wanted to be alone and all but..."

Ian breaks me off.

"No, it's okay. I don't mind."

We sit there, staring out into the endless abyss of the dark ocean for what seems like an eternity. Somehow, I feel calm. Maybe it's the water, or maybe it's being with someone who isn't asleep like the others. Whatever it is, I want it to stay.

"We're going to feel like crap tomorrow," Ian says, breaking the silence.

I laugh slightly, but then realize that we are going to feel worse tomorrow if we go another day without food or water.

"I'm going to try to rest for a little," I say, laying down. If I can at least get one hour of sleep, I might feel slightly better. I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind. Now that I feel a bit more calm, the firework show of questions and thoughts that was exploding in my head before has died down. Finally, I feel sleep beginning to come on, and before I know it, I drift off into a dreamless void.

((What do you all think of my story so far?? Leave it below in the comments!!))