As soon as Ty took their first step into the forest, they shivered in fear. Sure, exploring the forest would most likely benefit them and the group, but it was also extremely dangerous. They had no clue what was in there. What if it was wolves? Or bears? Or deer with razor-sharp teeth? There was really no way of knowing.

"Ty, wait up!" A voice called from behind them. Ty turned around to see the brown haired boy struggling to keep up. He was running over a plentiful of logs and roots, almost tripping on one when he met up with Ty.

"You're coming?" Ty asked surprised. Nico nodded.

"Duh! Do you really think I'm gonna let you get eaten by wild animals?" Ty smiled the tiniest bit when he said that, but shook it off right when they realized they were doing it. "Plus, we do need food and water, and exploring and hunting is the only way we can do that."

"Are you sure?" Ty asked quietly, and Nico nodded again.

"Would I be here if I wasn't?"

Ty took a deep breath. "Nico, you really don't have to come."

"Be quiet, Ty. I'm coming." Nico stood by their side now, and Ty tried to hide all signs of fear, something they could tell that Nico was doing, too. Of course he wanted to act brave, but no one could go into a creepy forest on a deserted island without feeling a little nervous.

They sighed. "Come on."

It was official. They had both gone crazy.

•••

They had been walking for a while and found nothing particularly interesting. It was just like a regular forest; trees, bugs, awful heat, and vines and roots under your feet with every step. The only thing that was a little weird was the fact that there were no animals anywhere in sight.

"Anything that might be helpful?" Nico asked Ty. They shook their head.

"Besides this stick, I've got nothing." They held up a large stick that he had just picked off of the ground, trying to snap it on their leg to make sure that it was firm, relieved when they didn't succeed. "I don't think this will help heal wounds."

"But it would be a great weapon, so that we don't get eaten by rabid animals." Ty smiled, holding it tightly in their hands. They didn't know what lied on the island, but they were going to go explore it unarmed. Ty looked around for another for Nico but didn't find one.

"We'll find another," Ty said. "For now, I'll help protect you if you need it."

Nico nodded, but Ty could tell he was still nervous. Usually, they were pretty independent, not used to being around people but he wasn't going to let Nico die. He had already saved them once when the plane first crashed, and now they owe him the favor. He bent down, grabbing a large leaf and showing it to Ty.

"Think this might help?"

Their shrugged. "Maybe."

Nico thought about it for a second, ultimately dropping it on the ground and leaving it there as he walked away.

It was obnoxious. No matter how far they walked, they still didn't find anything. It seemed like the forest was going on forever, which made them both tired and a little annoyed. They didn't even find another sturdy stick that wasn't too heavy for Nico to hold. They curved directions and Ty stepped ahead of Nico, holding the stick firmly in their hand so if anything wanted to attack, they would be ready. It sounded so brave in their head and coming out of their mouth, but Ty wondered if they would actually go through with it. They wanted to think that they would, but they really didn't know. Fear made them crazy, so there was no telling what the answer was.

Ty walked a little further and looked back at Nico, and asked him, "You okay?"

Nico scoffed. "Yeah, of course!" He was a terrible liar.

Ty kept looking at him, thinking to themself before they turned around and ended up heading face first into a giant spider web. They shrieked, trying to swat it away from their face but it didn't seem to go anywhere. The stick that they previously held dropped to the floor and Nico picked it up off the ground and held it in one of his hands. With the other hand he grabbed their shoulder, pulling the web off of their face but Ty kept squirming, even when it was all off.

"You're fine, Ty," He said, not letting of go their shoulders. "You're okay."

Finally, Ty stopped moving and stood still, facing Nico. "I hate spiders," They said quietly, sighing as they brushed the rest of the web off their shirt.

"There was no spider," Nico said, but Ty didn't reply. They just looked at each other, none of them looking away, not even when Nico handed Ty their stick. "Here."

"Thanks," They said, and Nico nodded a little. It took another moment before Ty lost eye contact with him, turning around and continuing to walk around the spider web. No matter how much Ty denied it, the two were becoming closer friends that Ty had ever had.

The boys only walked a little further before neither of them could stand anymore. Nico fell to the ground, trying to use a large rock as support. Ty crouched down a few feet away from him next to another large rock, leaning on it a little. Nico continued to pant, wiping sweat off of his forehead.

"Few...minutes..." He breathed, and Ty nodded, making themself a little more comfortable on the ground. They were pretty tired as well, so they needed a break anyways. They played with their stick, spinning it on the ground and trying to keep it up with their hands, however they weren't paying attention to the stick. They were in deep thought, thinking of what might lie in the woods and how it might help. But all of a sudden, dark thoughts invaded their mind. What if they never got off of the island? What if they all perished? So many questions that they didn't want to know the answer to.

Ty looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun was starting to go down, barely any sunset that they could see. They directed their attention to Nico and watched him close his eyes, almost falling asleep. Alarmed, they reached over and shook his shoulder until he opened his eyes. When he did, he rubbed them and stretched out his arms.

"No sleeping," They said, and Nico reluctantly agreed. Ty stood up, expecting Nico to do the same but he didn't. Instead, he stayed on the ground, curled up in a ball with his eyes closed. Ty sighed, grabbing their stick with both hands and looking around. Nothing was going to touch either of them, not when he was asleep.

•••

Ty counted the seconds in their head. One hundred six, one hundred seven, one hundred eight, one hundred nine-

They stopped. A noise had come from the trees near them. A rustle. Ty gulped. There weren't any animals in that forest, not that they saw.

The rustle came again, and Ty held the stick more firmly. Go away, bastard, They thought, too coward to actually say it. The noise came a third time, and Ty took a deep breath, sucking in their fear as they stepped closer to Nico.

"Nico," They whispered as quietly as possible, kicking him a little but he just groaned, swatting them away. They did it again, but he still didn't move. "Nico, get up."

It came a fourth time, and with it, Ty felt a claw grip their shoulder. It all happened so fast that they couldn't process it, but Ty did have time to call out, "Nico!", before the thing grabbed them and ran away as quick as the speed of light, bringing a screaming Ty with them.

After a few seconds, Ty was sent flying to the ground. They coughed and choked, pressing their hand to their wound on their forehead. It had opened even more, and it felt ten times worse.

Ty stood up slowly, around around themself to see if anything was there. Surprisingly, there was nothing. And to their dismay, they realized that they didn't even have their stick.

Terrified, Ty looked around once more. What had just happened? Where was Nico? Was he alright?

Then, the sound emerged from the trees. They froze in fear, not sure if they wanted to go closer or further from it.

"Ty?" Nico's voice called. There was worry in his voice and he seemed extremely desperate. "Ty, where are you?!" They could hear it very faintly, and tried calling back his name but they got no response, sending more panic to their brain.

Their breaths turned sharp and raspy, their heart pounding against their chest. The sweat on their hands shook, and started to drip off. Every breath that Ty took risked exposure to whatever that was hiding in the bushes, so they tried to keep it as faint as possible.

But even that didn't help.

The rustling continued again and suddenly, Ty couldn't control their breaths. They were louder than they wished for, but the fear was so strong that it was impossible to make it any quieter. They bundled their hands up into fists, trying to look intimidating when in reality, they were absolutely terrified.

Another sound from behind them arose, and it wasn't Nico. As they turned around, their eyes went even wider than before and let out the loudest, highest pitched scream they had ever made.

***

It had been hours, and he still hadn't woke up. Some people were getting worried about Lanier NightWill, for he didn't seem to have any injuries whatsoever besides a few bruises. Everybody else was awake. Even Hedi Montana, who had it worse than almost everyone.

Zeke looked at the sleeping boy, Orion at his side. Most who were medically fine had gone into the woods to search for the missing kids but somebody needed to stay with the people who were still recovering, so Zeke volunteered, Orion offering to stay with him. They only had to look after four people, one of them being awake, so they weren't very worried. Eira and Jayed were reluctant to enter the woods, but Jayed eventually gave in, Eira staying with Orion and Zeke. A girl named Naya stayed a well but not because she wanted to look after everyone. That was obvious.

"What do you think happened?" He asked, and Orion shrugged. The two didn't look away from Lanier, focused on each one of his breaths to make sure that they kept going. They were small, sure, but at least they were consistent.

I have no idea. You would think he would have some wounds for being asleep so long.

Zeke grabbed one of the water bottles, dumping all of the water on Lanier's face. Orion mouthed a gasp, pushing Zeke's arm back and taking the water bottle from him.

What are you doing? He signed, setting the bottle on the sand so he could sign correctly.

"Trying to see if he would wake up. I need to find out what's wrong with him."

Let him sleep, Zeke! If he really is hurt, he needs to recover as soon as he can.

Zeke sighed. "Too late now."

Orion frowned. You'd be an awful nurse. Zeke rolled his eyes, grinning. How they were able to remain happy during that time was a mystery to him, but he wasn't complaining about it. Orion tried to hold his frown but let a small smile slip through as his friend chuckled.

Both of their eyes went from each other back to the sleeping boy, and Orion's smile slowly changed back to a frown.

I wish we were in Rome, He signed, and Zeke suddenly felt bad for his friend. He put his hand on his thigh, Orion looking up once again and locking eyes with Zeke, his stomach twisting and turning to the point he couldn't control it.

They smiled at each other for a moment, then Zeke pat his thigh and removed his hand, starting to stand up. Orion watched him walk over to Eira, asking if she needed any help taking care of a boy he recognized as Nicholas, but she shook her head. Orion noticed that she seemed to be a little shy, since she kept her head down and didn't seem to be talking at all. Instead, she focused on Nicholas, who's face was almost entirely filled up with cuts. Zeke smiled at Eira before walking away and checking on Hedi, who was just started to wake up for the second time.

Orion moved his gaze from Zeke to a girl who sat a little bit away from him. He didn't know her, and had only seen her for the first time on the plane, when he only got a glance. She didn't have any visible wounds, but the problem was that she couldn't walk. She actually couldn't. Both of her legs had been paralyzed during the crash, and she wasn't happy when they told her that she couldn't help look for Nico and the other boy whom she didn't know.

He looked back at Lanier to make sure he was still alright before standing up and walking over to the girl. As he got closer, she moved her head to see him, still frowning from disappointment but he kept on walking and sat down next to her, smiling the tiniest bit and hoping that she would reflect it. But she didn't.

How are you? Orion signed, and when she looked at him, confused, he realized what he was doing. Of course she couldn't understand him. He moved a little bit away from the girl and smoothed out the sand before writing what he had signed in the sand. He looked back up at her, glad to see her confused face disappearing. However, it got changed to a frown.

"Bad," She said bluntly. "and I'm usually very optimistic."

He pursed his lips, smoothing out the sand again to erase his last sentence and started writing a new one; "I'm sorry."

She sighed. "Me too. I just want to help Sparna and her brother, but instead I'm sitting here, not helping at all."

He shook his head and wrote another message; "It's not your fault."

"I know," She said. "but that doesn't make me feel any better."

There was a moment of silence before Orion decided to break it by changing the subject. "I'm Orion," He wrote.

She smiled a little and nodded her head as if she were bowing. "Talon, but my friends call me Tal."

Orion followed her move and smiled, clearing his "wipe board" once again. "You can ask," He started to write. "I don't care."

Talon sighed guiltily. "If you don't mind."

Orion rubbed the sand out, and started to write, completly focused on that. "I'm mute. I have been ever since fifth grade, and not by choice."

With the words he scribbled out, Talon looked even more guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." She trailed off, not wanting to upset him but Orion shrugged it off, not really minding her error.

"It's okay," He wrote. "Everyone asks." He flashed her a smile, trying to cheer her up. A smile grew on her face, but Orion knew that she was just trying to apologize in her own way. Truth was, he was a little uncomfortable telling her, but he didn't want her to know. He just wanted to keep her happy so that she wouldn't think about her legs.

"Orion?" She asked, and he nodded his head, asking her to continue. She paused. "Are you scared? Like, of never getting off this island?"

His mouth hung open, not sure what to say. He looked at the sand on which he drew. He had never thought about that, but somehow he already had an answer. Without moving his eyes, he nodded.

***

A/N

Things are getting real, everyone