JOSH
The waves slapped against the little boat, their rhythm almost hypnotic–almost if it weren’t for the nausea that was starting to
rise.
Wait – boat. They found the bout. The journal was right. The scientists did leave a boat here.
Maybe we had a shot at getting off the island after all. I did my best to swallow it down, but it felt like a fog was lingering over my head, making it hard to think–hard to focus.
That and the fact that Luke and Sarah had been at each other’s throats every time I tried to open my eyes and sit upright. They didn’t even notice me struggling.
“I know north is that way,” Luke growled, jabbing a finger at the map spread across the bench between them. His other hand clenched the wheel like he was imagining it was Sarah’s neck.
“No, it’s not! The sun rises in the east, genius, which means north is-” Sarah spun the map around, her voice rising in pitch. as her finger jabbed in the opposite direction.
“It’s cloudy! You can’t even see the fucking sun!” Luke shot back, his exasperation evident as he ran a hand through his salt- crusted hair.
JI tried to ignore them, pressing my head back against the hard bench. My body was still sluggish, weighed down by exhaustion and dehydration. Even so, their bickering drilled into my skull
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louder than the waves or the groan of the boat’s engine.
“Shut up,” I muttered, my voice scratchy and weak. They didn’t even flinch.
Luke pointed out at the horizon, which was supposed to prove his point. “What do you even know about navigation, huh? Didn’t you fail geography?”
Sarah shot back with a scoff, making me want to grind my teeth. “It’s called sailing and being a fucking flight attendant!”
“For one second–shut up and let me focus. We don’t have the fuel to take a guess.”
“I told you! This island will definitely have people. There’s a resort on it.” Sarah repeated for the hundredth time.
“This one is closer…” Luke countered, and I heard Sarah groan.
“That one might be just like this one. Uninhabited!”
“Would you please just pick a fucking island and get us off this one before my head explodes or my leg falls off!”
My voice came out louder this time, sharper, cutting through their argument like a slap.
Both of them froze, their heads whipping toward me like I’d just come back from the dead. Their expressions were almost comical, wide–eyed and slack–jawed. If I weren’t so pissed off, I might’ve laughed.
-shifted, dragging myself upright despite my body’s protests. My hand found the half–open drawer next to my head, and it yanked open as I pulled, making me lose my balance for a
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second. The world was spinning…“Whoa!”
I grabbed the drawer with both hands and blinked to focus- then I saw it–right there, in the drawer.
Inside was a compass. A perfectly functional, shiny, and absolutely obvious compass.
“Really?” I held it up, letting the disbelief drip from my words.
“How about we use this to find north before the two of you get us completely lost at sea?”
I tossed the compass onto the bench between them, too drained to care if they even heard me. With a sigh, I let myself collapse back against the bench.
“I’m too tired to care if we make it off this forsaken island,” I muttered, closing my eyes. “I’m going to have to leave it in your less–than–capable hands. I got us the boat and the compass. Ties to step up. I can’t carry all the weight, guys.”
For a moment, there was silence. Blessed, golden silence.
Then Sarah finally spoke, her voice quieter than before. “Well… that makes things easier.”
I didn’t bother opening my eyes, but I could hear Luke huff–in response. They’d probably start arguing again soon–maybe about how to use the damn compass this time.
“Wake me up when you figure it out,” I mumbled.
I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to yell at them again if they didn’t. I hoped that I would pass out and just wake up in a hospital and they could fix my leg.
JOSH
Please let them fix my leg. The only thing I wanted more than to hold Laura in my arms and never let her go – was to play football again.
