Book:) Chapter 1

“Oh” I slowly sat up and looked around. The first thing I was aware of was my pounding headache. And that it was hot, really hot. I could feel the sand all over my body. The realization of what happened hit me: our plane crashed.
And I couldn’t see anyone around me. I was alone. What had happened to everyone else? What was I going to do if they – I couldn’t think of it. I felt the panic erupt in my stomach. I knew I had to calm myself if I was going to get anywhere.
I picked myself up and felt a sharp stabbing pain in my leg. I sat down again and pulled my pant leg up to inspect my calf. The whole side was purple and blue. It was the biggest bruise I had seen. Carefully I rolled the fabric back, not to disturb the painful mass of purple flesh. I looked around to find a rock and saw one right at the edge of the canopy of trees.
I crab legged myself over to the side and once again pulled myself up. I sat down on the rock and tried to think clearly of what to do. My headache was starting to go away but it was still clouding my thoughts with a pounding throb in the back of my skull.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
What Happened?
All I could remember was getting on the plane falling asleep and waking when the plane started to hit some turbulence. I vaguely remembered someone carrying me on a lifeboat, but I had been knocked out by something hitting me in the back of the head.
The memory made me flinch and vacantly touched the nape of my neck. I tried to rummage through my head for more information but came up blank.
“Okay,” I said to myself, “lets get out of here.”
Instantly the pessimist in my head said easier said than done.
I looked down and saw a stick long enough to help me. Picking it up, I stood and held it with my left hand. For a while I just stood on the beach deciding which direction to walk in.
Right.
I felt the bruise throb as my muscles constricted and relaxed with each step. I was slow. I looked out to sea and watched the white caps of the waves hit a huge protruding rock out ½ a mile from the shore. The sand was white and it was apparent that this island – if it was an island – was uninhabited. The sand was soft and very bleached white. It was softer than the beaches back home in California.
As I looked to my left I could see the canopy of the trees, but also a huge mountainside covered with vegetation. They looked similar to the mountains in Hawaii. The memories took me back to the house on a beach of Oahu my grandfather owned. Countless times I had visited that house and knew the Island like the back of my hand. The cute little coral shops and the best burger stand I had ever been too….
“HELLO?”
My head snapped up.
“Is anyone out there!” I came out of my day dreaming instantly and searched for the voice.
“Hello?” it yelled again. The recognition hit me. The only one I knew that had that loud booming bass voice was Austin Hogan.
“AUSTIN!” I scratched out. No use, my throat had gotten dry as a bone while I was walking. I cleared my throat and tried again. It worked better than I expected. The wind carried my yell.
“Follow my voice!” He shouted back.
“Brooklyn?” someone else shouted from the same direction. That tenor voice could have only been Bowen.
I picked up my pace, forgetting that my leg was impaired and fell to the ground face first. I heard running footsteps and scrambled to my feel only to fall backwards again.
“Humph!” I huffed.
A second later Bowen and Austin broke through the tree line and zeroed in on me in the sand. The unmistakable freckles and red hair on Austin caused me so much relief. I wasn’t alone! Bowen had the same short dirty blonde hair and sharp jaw line. Both were inflicted with scabs and scratches on their arms and cheeks.
“Brooklyn!” they shouted in unison.
“Guys!” I cried, “I’m so happy to see you!”
My breathing picked up and my heart fluttered. Both of these men were very important in my life. They had been my life long friends from middle school.
“I – we were worried you were – “ Bowen cut off, and then looked down.
“Dead?” I finished.
“Yeah.” He muttered.
“I’m too much of a fighter to leave,” I looked up at him and smiled. And at that we laughed, easing the tension.
“Why are you playing in the sand?” Austin asked, smiling.
“I’m not playing,” I chuckled, “my leg is hurt.”
“Let me see.” Bowen rushed to my side.
I carefully pulled up my pant leg again.
“Wow.” Austin said under his breath.
“That’s… something,” Bowen said, “What happened?”
“I have no idea,” I told them, “All I remember was the plane going into some turbulence, then someone carrying me and then I blacked out.”
Bowen looked sheepishly away.
“He was your knight in shining armor,” Austin pointed to Bowen.
“You carried me?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he muttered, “I didn’t mean to hit your head though. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh its okay. The headache has gone away now. No harm done. I should be saying thank you anyways.” I smiled.
Again he looked down and I could have sworn I saw him flush.
“Okay,” Ian Interjected, “lets get back to camp.”
They both grabbed one of my arms and helped me stand. Once I had my balance they let go. I took the first step and cried out. My muscles screamed. I was afraid my leg was worse than I thought. After making sure I was all right, Bowen and Austin put there arms under mine and helped me walk.
“Who… have you found?” I didn’t want to ask who had been found dead or hurt. I was at my limit.
“You were the only one we haven’t accounted for.” Austin told me.
“Oh.” I was surprised that they wouldn’t just suspect that I was dead already. “And you came looking for me.”
“Everyone wanted to go search for you Brooklyn.” Bowen said solemnly.
I felt overwhelmed, everyone cared for me, at least that’s what the boys said. Choking back the emotion flowing from the unexpected information, I asked,
“So you made camp?”
“Yeah, we used some of the wreckage from the plane and made a tent. One of the survivors that flew with us is an architect and got right to work on building.” Austin informed me.
“Do you know any of the new peoples names? Are there any missing people from them?”
“No, we found the manifest and made sure we had everyone except – “ he stopped.
“Me.” I finished.
“A lot of the people had a hard time when we didn’t find you anywhere. Especially Bridgett.”
I’m sure I would have too. She was my best friend.
Through this whole conversation Bowen had been silent.
I changed the subject.
“How long is camp from here?” I asked.
“Only a couple of minutes.” Austin answered.
The tall green canopy shielded us from the sun. There were bird cries and little scuttling on the ground. We walked in silence the rest of the way.
Slowly I could see a break in the trees get lighter and lighter as we walked further. Minutes passed and we got closer.
Finally we passed through the foliage and the light shone down on us hot and humid. My eyes refocused and I spotted a shining tent top down the beach 50 feet away. I could see people rushing here and there, seeming to do nothing but busy work. Like bees going to and from the hive.
I caught a glimpse of a striking blonde head rushing into the trees and then coming back with sticks and wood. As we walked closer, I could clearly make out the features of my best friend Bridgett.
“Bridge!” I yelled.
Her head shot up and peered my way. Recognition registered on her face and she started to run at me.
“Brook!” she yelled back. Within seconds she crashed into me and hugged me fiercely. Once again I felt those tears come to my eyes. This time I couldn’t hold back. I started to sob and so did she.
“I’m so relieved that you’re alive! Your not dead!” she hiccupped.
“Me too!” I stuttered.
My eyes opened to see that we had a crowd watching and I recalled some faces at once. Bailey who was also one of my best friends quickly joined my side.
“Brooklyn!’ she blubbered. And a whole new batch of tears brimmed over the top. When the tears finally dried, I saw the crowd and took in the size. I counted them in my head. 13 in all. That was including everyone that I didn’t know on the plane. Strange new faces stared at me and I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Bowen spoke to Travis and one man I didn’t know.
“Go bring back Dayne, Logan and Taylor and tell them we found her.”
Again I was touched by how much my friends risked trying to find me.
“They are okay?” I asked looking up at Bowen.
"Yeah,” he gently smiled. My heart thumped unevenly and I quickly looked down.