"Everybody; they're back! They're all back!"

Not many people awakened to greet the returning teenagers. Eira, however, shot up right as she heard Bella's voice. She ran to the group, jumping into her arms. She had been so worried about her friend, whether she would come back or not. But all of those were gone at that moment. She was safe. She was finally safe.

Zeke and Orion headed towards the group, Zeke blushing as Marisa and him made eye contact. Hedi also joined in, waving to Elliot. They had seen each other a little around school, being in a few of the same classes over the years, though they never really got to know the other one.

I was starting to get worried, Orion signed, Zeke translating for the others.

"I think we just lost our way," Marisa said. Her expression saddened. "I-I'm sorry, but we didn't find them." Orion, Hedi and Zeke looked at each other, wondering who was going to tell them.

"Um," Hedi started. "they're back already. So are Sparna and everyone else."

Dylan's face became red with anger, his eyebrows crossing. "Are you serious?" He half yelled. "We walked all that way for nothing?"

"The other group said they told you," Zeke said. Dylan shook his head furiously.

"Do you think I would be this upset if they had?"

"Shut up, Dylan!" Marisa whispered. "You'll wake them up!"

"I don't care, Marisa! I'm tired, exhausted, and my feet are on fire!"

Marisa glared at him, Elliot stepping on his foot. "We're all tired! It's the middle of the fricking night!" She yelled.

Shut up! Orion signed, noticing Sparna coming towards them. She rubbed her eyes, walking at a slow pace as if she were still asleep.

"What are you guys yelling about?" She asked sleepily.

"You're group forget to tell us that you found those two brats!"

"We did!" She snapped, suddenly much more awake. "And don't you dare talk about my brother like that."

"Well, we didn't hear!"

"How is that our fault?"

Then, something happened that no one expected. It came out of absolutely nowhere, and so sudden that it took everyone almost a minute to understand. It was so quick that most couldn't agree on exactly what happened. But the one thing everyone could agree on was that some sort of monster had charged out of the woods and claimed Arabella as its first victim.

"No!" Eira shrieked, not realizing that she had spoken, her voice hoarse and weak from lack of use. She cupped her hands to her mouth as she stared at her helpless friend, blood staining her dirty blonde hair and the mouth of the monster devouring it. After less than a few seconds she stopped moving and yelling, lying still in a pool of her own blood.

Eira was motionless, and it wasn't until Zeke grabbed her that she was able to move. "Run! Into the forest!" He shouted, and everyone did so, while Eira still had no will to move. Zeke ended up dragging her into the trees, Eira still sobbing.

A few of the others screamed at everyone to wake up, some of them waking up from Arabella's cries. Marisa and William were quite quick in warning everybody, being one of the first people-along with Orion and Dylan- to arrive in the woods. Hedi ran to the shore, helping people who needed it.

While everyone was running and screaming, Naya just froze. They were right, She thought, wide eyed. As soon as she realized what was happening, she took off running into the forest, leaving everyone behind.

Lanier was one of the only ones to see Nicholas die, the rest too panicked to notice anything. But he saw it quite clearly. It was something he'd rather not talk about, but he was lucky he was alive.

Sparna looked everywhere for Nico and was glad when she saw him run into the forest. She turned back around, noticing Talon on the ground. She had a split second to make a choice, but really, it was no choice at all.

···

"Sparna?" Nico screamed, looking everywhere he could. "Ty?"

Neither of them answered.

Nico's heart pounded against his chest, his breaths short and choppy. He was already in the forest, but his friend and sister weren't anywhere in sight. They can't be dead. They just can't be.

When was the last time he had seen Ty?

He was such an idiot.

"Nico!"

He whipped around to the source of the call, almost tripping over how fast he ran. Ty was running towards him, their scab bleeding even more. Nico pulled them into his arms, burying his face in their shoulder and almost started crying. He released, laughing as he looked at Ty in the eye.

"You scared me!" He said.

"I'm sorry," They apologized. "I tried to find you, but I couldn't."

He couldn't help but wrap his arms around them once again, closing his eyes. He didn't know why he found so much comfort with Ty, but he did. More than anyone else.

"Nico," Ty whispered, and Nico, realizing what he was doing, let go and asked them what was wrong. They looked frightened, yet they tried not to show it. They held up their arm, pointing to behind Nico. Confused, he turned around and gaped at what he saw.

It was Sparna. And the monster was right beside her.

Nico rushed to the edge of the forest, Ty following him and gripping his hand so that he couldn't run too fast. While they might be small, they were quite strong. Nico yelled at Ty to let him go, but they didn't listen, not letting him go anywhere. He shoved past William and Marisa, almost getting onto the beach.

"Sparna!" He shouted. "Run! Sparna!" It was like he was begging for her to live, even though it was highly unlikely. Tears streamed down his face, falling onto the sand below him. There was nothing he could do.

...

"Sparna, leave me!" Talon begged, pushing her away.

"No! I'm not going to let you die!" Sparna tried to pick Talon up, but it was impossible. She just wasn't strong.

She started thinking about Nico. Oh, poor Nico. She couldn't leave him. She needed to be there for him. She needed to live. But not knowing that she abandoned her best friend and left her to die.

The monster ran towards them, and Sparna was getting desperate. "Talon, stand up!" She ordered.

"But I can't!"

"I'm not asking you, Talon! Stand up!"

Talon, so flushed in fear, did as she was told. It wasn't easy, but she managed to get to her feet.

Only to fall back down again.

"Tal, I'm so sorry," Sparna cried, holding her friends hand before the monster charged at them, claiming its third victim. And it wasn't Sparna.

Or Talon.

Sparna screamed. Karimah Leya was flung away from them, screaming and crying as the monster plunged its teeth into her skin. It was horrid, yet Sparna couldn't look away. She was gone. Karimah Leya was gone.

And it was all her fault.

The rest was all a blur. Sparna remembered not being able to stop crying, someone picking her up and bringing her back to the forest. She remembered Nico throwing himself on top of her, comforting her and making sure she was okay. She remembered Nico begging her to run, making sure she didn't fall behind.

But she didn't do anything but cry.

...

Jayed looked around, running as fast as he could with his limp. Neither Quinn nor Hedi were in sight. Did they fall victim to the monster? Were they already inside the forest? He was panicking, not knowing what to do at that point.

"Jayed!" A voice called from behind him. He whipped around and almost ran at the freckled boy who was coming towards him. "Jayed, we need to go."

"But what about the others?" He asked. From what he knew, Elliot, Nicholas, Hedi, and Liam were all still on shore.

"Most of them are already in the forest, now come on!" Quinn reached for his hand, but Jayed swiped it away, running around the sand. He wasn't going to let anyone die, not while he was still alive.

"What are you doing?" Quinn shouted, worry in his voice.

"Go! Now!"

"But-"

"I'm not asking you, Quinn! Go!"

Jayed didn't look back to see if his friend had ran into the woods. He could take care of himself. That's just who he was, and Jayed could trust him on that.

Jayed kept running until got to the plane rubble, hiding behind it. He was crazy, wasn't he, running out into a battlefield, unarmed? If he really was going, then he needed something, anything, to defend himself. After less than a second, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A long, narrow, sharp piece of the airplane lying right beside him.

Bingo.

Jayed started to stand up, taking a deep breath and shaking at the same time. He could do it, right? He was strong enough. At least, he thought he was. It's not like he had ever slain a monster before.

Come on, Jayed. Don't think. Just do.

After a moment, he charged out of his hiding spot and spotted the monster almost immedietly. It was still by Karmiah Leya, making sure there was nothing but bones left on the beach. But near it was someone that Jayed had hoped to see in the forest, but instead saw fleeing for his life.

Hedi.

Jayed sprinted from the airplane, his sharp dagger-like weapon beside him. He forgot about his leg, somehow managing to run even faster than he could before. His face turned red with fury, and suddenly, he was nearing the monster. He could hear Quinn shouting at him and begging for him to come back, but he didn't listen. He needed to help Hedi, even if it was dangerous.

Before he knew it, he was right beside him.

Hedi was freaking out. He hadn't noticed that the monster was chasing him yet, but Jayed it. Sweat poured down his face, his legs moving as fast as they could. "Hedi, keep running!" He shouted. Hedi turned back for a second to see who said that, but it didn't seem to matter to him, since he listened anyways.

What was he getting himself into?

When Jayed turned around, there it was.

Jayed was never so scared in his whole life. The monster was extremely fast, which was probably why three had fallen victim to it already. It had claws like blades, teeth so grimy and full of blood that they looked like they were a thousand years old. And its eyes; its piercing, bloodshot eyes. It was like Jayed was staring at a person. They were just so...human. It was terrifying to look at.

But he didn't have time to be scared. He already had too much to worry about.

The monster flashed its teeth at Jayed, as if he were teasing him with the fact he was going to die. Jayed tried to stay strong, but it was so difficult to even stay still.

"You don't scare me!" He lied, trying to sound tough. It did something that was almost like a laugh; a pant, drool spilling out of its mouth. It came closer, Jayed holding his dagger tighter.

Suddenly, it dropped to the ground. Jayed wasn't sure what had happened until he saw the large chunk of the plane's remains sticking out of its back, a boy standing behind it.

It was Quinn.

"It's only injured," He said. "Run, Jayed! Run!"

"But what about you?"

"I'll catch up to you. Now go!" Jayed reluctantly agreed, sprinting as fast as he could into the forest with the others.

Three were dead. They were never safe, no matter where they went.