Stranded // One Direction

Chapter 3 // Missing

The dark sky sits above our heads as we burn the bodies of the 41 perished souls. The smell is terrible but we're all too embarrassed to say anything. Not one of us would dare to disrespect the dead. Any of us could have been one of them. We're lucky. As terrible as things are, we realize that. I'm quiet as I stand behind Liam as he reads off the names of the dead.

"Marcos Samuel. Jacob Tate. Lindsey Tate. Griffin Wilkerson. Gia Willows." Liam whispers, finishing off the last of the names.

The group that stands in front of him is silent. However, a few muffled sobs can be heard throughout. Some people lost their spouses, family members and friends. Every single one of us has been hurt in one way or another. Some worse than others. Liam just looks back at me, as if he's unsure of what to do next. I just quietly shrug my shoulders and look back to the crowd. What does he expect me to do now?

"Would you like to say anything?" Liam asks, nodding towards me.

"Uh..." I whisper, "Sure."

Liam just nods to himself and steps back. I move forward to where he was standing and attempt to gather a few words to say. My thoughts are scattered as I try to latch on to any idea. To anything that can get me through the next few moments.

"I just want to say that I'm sorry." I begin, "I'm sorry that this has happened to all of us. I know that no one is to blame but someone still has to take responsibility for what has happened to us today. I guess that I'm willing to take on that responsibility."

"Who made you king doc?" Louis asks, shaking his head.

"King?" I laugh, "I'm not a king by any means and I would never want to be a king. All that I know is, if we're going to be here for awhile, there has to be an order to how things go. Every civilization needs rules and boundaries. It's just the way that the world works."

"What's our next step?" Reagan asks, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

"Our next step is getting fresh water and making sure that everyone has shelter. By the looks of the clouds from earlier, I would guess that tonight there's going to be a storm." I explain, nodding towards Reagan.

"Well, we put out a few buckets to catch any water that falls from the sky..." Niall says as he rocks Kennedy back and forth in his arms.

"Okay, good. That's a good start..." I say, clasping my hands together.

"What about the career thing?" Liam whispers into my ear.

"Oh, right." I say, remembering to include that, "There's a piece of paper and a pencil over near the medical station that we've set up. Please put your name and your career on that piece of paper so that we can begin organizing jobs tomorrow."

"What if we're unemployed?" A young woman asks in the middle of the crowd.

"Then just put whatever you're good at. Anything that can be useful. For example, I'm a medical student. Liam here is a fireman. Carson is a daycare teacher. Even if you're unemployed, there has to be something that you can help us in..." I say, nodding my head as I answer her question.

"Are there anymore questions?" I ask, looking throughout the crowd.

Nobody asks another question. Instead, the group before me slowly begins to dissolve as people search for shelter. Thunder roars in the darkness above us as lightning rips through the sky. I'm sure that this is the same storm that put us on this island. The pilot spoke of it right before we boarded. He said that it would be fine. Well, it isn't fine.

"Are you going to get some sleep mate?" Liam asks as he pats my shoulder lightly.

"I don't know. I'll try..." I shrug, walking towards the medical station that we set up.