Current Day

Hunter blinked as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. 

Her once smooth skin was still healing from sun damage, the damaged patches that were slowly getting less aggressive with each day. Her hair was dry, and almost dead on her head. She noticed the lighter blonde streaks, and the baby hairs that had been bleached from the island sun. Her eyes were dull, and were trained on the scar on her jawline.

Her fingers lifted shakily, running gently along it and feeling the fresh healing skin that had grown over it. 

It was permanent, they'd told her. Skin tissued that had been damaged with no correct healing method. It was ugly, she told herself. Jagged and red. They told her that would fade - that it one day would blend in easier to her skin. She wasn't sure she cared - it would still be there.

Hudson wouldn't be.

He wouldn't be there to see the healing. He wouldn't be anywhere - because they'd told her he was dead. He died on that island, most likely either alone or with strangers and Riley - fucking Riley. She'd had time to process it all and the fact that no one had told her about Riley was starting to drive her mad.

Was Riley the reason Hudson was dead? Had Hudson take Riley out first? Was Riley alive or here? If he was here, was he close? Was he perfectly fine? 

He didn't deserve to be alive. He didn't deserve to breathe the same air as her and her friends. She knew that now - she knew what his life was worth to her. It was worth fuck all. He'd be better off if he was dead. They'd all be better off if he was dead.

Killing Riley wouldn't bring Hudson back, but it sure as hell would make herself feel a bit better.

If Dr Faber wanted her to play by their rules, then so be it. She'd play the part of a spy or an informant or whatever they were asking from Leah - she'd do it. Under the condition that she gets to see Riley.

And then she'd kill him.

____

Day 45 - The Girls

"All right, eat up. This shit won't keep," Dot called out, looking at the fish that they'd cooked over the fire that morning. Hunter rolled her eyes with a smile, tilting her head from where it had been resting in Fatin's lap to look at Dot.

"No, I can't," Toni groaned, echoing the sentiment that most of them were having at the sight of the leftover food. "I'm way too full over here."

Hunter smiled gently at Toni, who looked over at her girlfriend, silently motioning to the fire and encouraging the blonde cheerleader to have more food. Hunter just lightly shook her head, indicating to Toni that she, too, had eaten way too much that morning.

"Come on, guys.  We'll feel like dicks if we just throw away food today, and then, you know, we don't have anything tomorrow."

Hunter guessed that Dot had a point, but she also wasn't sure that eating anything else right now was going to make anything better in the slightest. Especially not when Dot walked towards her and Faith, and proceeded to start waving one of the cooked fish in their faces.

"Yummy!"

"No," Fatin nipped, pushing the fish on the stick away from her and Hunter. Dot sighed, sitting down beside the two best friends. "Mm-mm. I'm engorged, and not in a hot way."

"Wow, I am so over this feast to famine bullshit," Dot muttered, the girls all humming in agreement once more. Hunter's eyes trailed over to Rachel who was trying to tie her shoelace, and felt her smile drop a little as she realised that the girl was struggling to do so with only one hand.

Now, if Hunter had been a better person, she'd maybe have walked over and asked Rachel if she wanted any help.

However, Hunter was still a little bit irked by Rachel's attitude towards her since Nora had died. It hadn't been Hunter's fault that Rachel had lost her twin - and it certainly wasn't Hunter's fault that she still had a twin brother waiting for her back home. She understood more than anyone what Rachel might be going through, and instead of allowing Hunter to talk to her,  Rachel had taken to telling her one of her three favourite lines any time they spoke: "At least you still have a twin,", "Hudson isn't dead, Nora is", or Hunter's absolutely favourite one, "You don't get to be sad for me.".

So if Rachel didn't want Hunter's help, she certainly wasn't about to offer it.

"Look at my food baby," Martha spoke, Hunter zoning back into the conversation that the other girls were having about their constant back and forth of being starving or being crammed full.

"Absolutely not, Martha," Fatin said, her hands now running through Hunter's hair as she started to braid her hair into two strands. "No one has said "food baby" since 2017 for a reason.  We decided to leave it there."

"Food baby? I think it's kind of cute."

"Nope, Shelby, we are not reinforcing this. Martha, I love you,  but I'm not letting you resurrect food baby."

"My thing is, like, if you extend the metaphor," Leah started, Hunter chuckling under her breath as they took the metaphor and started to run with it. "When you do take a shit, are you
supposed to love it like a child? It's all very confusing."

"Oh my god," Hunter muttered as they all burst into laughter, the ridiculousness of the suggestion giving them a bit of much needed hilarity. 

Martha rubbed at her stomach, continuing the joke.

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't know you'd be so controversial."

Hunter had seen many bizarre things since they'd been stranded on this hell-scape, but Dot holding up the fist on the stick and pretending to talk as if she was the fish was something that Hunter wasn't sure anyone could have ever came up with. The whole situation was somewhat comical - they were all in good health for the first time in what felt like forever, and yet here they were talking about metaphorical food babies.

Just as Hunter went to throw in her own thoughts, she found herself ducking slightly as a show came flying past her and smacked straight into Shelby's head.

"Oh my god," Shelby muttered, everyone sitting up a little and letting out surprised noises as they turned to look at Rachel who looked stunned that she'd just thrown her shoe at Shelby.

"Oh shit!" Rachel muttered, standing up and moving towards the Texan. "I'm so sorry, I'm like so so sorry!"

"Yeah, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine," Shelby reassured her, just honestly glad that Hunter had ducked in time for it to not have hit her. The last thing they needed was that. "It's fine. Honestly, something needed to interrupt that conversation, so..."

"Yeah, that was pretty low for us in terms of banter."

As the laughter died down and Rachel and Shelby started to talk about religion and how it was helping Rachel to cope a little, Dot's eyes settled on Hunter. Her brow furrowed slightly as she noticed the edge of the bandage on Hunter's calf looked like it was stained a little.

"Hey, Hunter," Dot called, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "Mind if I take a look at that wound on your leg? It's been a few days since I last checked it."

Hunter hesitated for a moment, her fingers absently clenching into a fist of dirt at the suggestion. She glanced at Toni, who gave her an encouraging nod. She had let Dot touch it multiple times now, but it didn't mean that it was something she particularly enjoyed.

"Yeah, sure," Hunter replied, shifting her position to allow Dot better access. Fatin continued to run her hands through Hunter's hair, continuing her braiding in the hopes that it would provide a tiny bit of a distraction as Dot touched her leg.

Dot moved closer, her hands gentle but purposeful as she carefully peeled back the bandage. The other girls fell quiet (apart from Rachel and Shelby who were still discussing Rachel;'s coping methods), watching with a mix of concern and curiosity. As the wound was revealed, Dot's frown deepened.

"Hmm," she murmured, leaning in for a closer look. "It's still looking pretty inflamed. We might need to change up the treatment."

Hunter craned her neck, trying to get a glimpse of the injury. The skin around the gash was an angry red, puffy and tender-looking. She winced, remembering the searing pain of the shark's teeth tearing into her flesh.

"Not to be a dick," Fatin pointed out, "but how can we exactly change it up? It's not like you've got tons of meds on you."

Ignoring Fatin, Dot's fingers probed gently at the edges of the wound, her eyes narrowing as she noticed something unusual.

"Wait a second," she said, her voice tinged with confusion. "Is that... sand on your bandage?"

Hunter's breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted to Toni, who was suddenly very interested in a loose thread on her shirt. Heat rose to Hunter's cheeks as memories of that morning flooded her mind - the feel of Toni's skin against hers, the sound of the waves, the gritty texture of sand beneath them as they...

"Uh," Hunter stammered, desperately trying to come up with an explanation that didn't involve admitting to having sex on the beach. "I, um, I must have gotten some sand in it when I was... swimming?"

Dot raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Swimming? With an open wound?"

"Yeah, you know," Hunter rambled, her voice an octave higher than usual. "I was just trying to, uh, clean it. Salt water's good for that, right?"

Toni coughed, poorly disguising a laugh. Fatin, who had been watching the exchange with growing amusement, let out a snort.

"Oh honey," Fatin drawled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You don't have to lie. We all know you and Toni were getting frisky on the beach this morning."

Hunter's face burned even hotter as the other girls erupted into a mixture of giggles and good-natured groans. Toni buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"babies, matrimony, death..."

Hunter was thankful for that slip-up from Shelby as all of the girls took their attention off the blushing girl and instead turned to look at Rachel to gauge her reaction to what Shelby had just said without thinking.

"Rachel, I didn't mean to bring that up," Shelby spluttered, her eyes wide. "I'm... I'm so sorry."

Surprisingly, Rachel wasn't yelling at Shelby for it.

"Don't be.  Maybe, like, that's  what I need. A funeral, you know? Maybe I need to... Maybe I need to bury her."

Hunter thought that was actually an excellent idea. As her words hung in the air, a solemn silence fell over the group. Hunter watched as Rachel's face softened, the tension in her shoulders easing ever so slightly. It was the first time since Nora's disappearance that Rachel had shown any willingness to confront her loss head-on.

"That's... that's actually a really good idea," Dot said, breaking the silence. 

As the girls began to discuss the details of the impromptu funeral, Hunter's gaze was drawn to Shelby. The Texan's hand had drifted to her neck, fingers absently toying with the delicate gold cross that hung there. It was a gesture Hunter had seen countless times before, a habit born of faith and comfort.

With trembling fingers, Shelby unclasped the necklace. The motion caught Rachel's attention, and for a moment, the two locked eyes. No words were exchanged, but a current of understanding seemed to pass between them.

Hunter's eyebrows furrowed, her mind struggling to process what she was witnessing. The Shelby she had known, the one who clung to her faith like a lifeline, would never have parted with that cross. It was as much a part of her as her blonde hair or her Texas drawl.

Yet here she was, offering it to Rachel - the girl who had been nothing but hostile towards her, the girl who had lost faith in everything.

Hunter caught Toni's eye. Her girlfriend looked just as stunned as she felt. This wasn't just a kind gesture; there was something deeper here - and they both weren't sure if it was good or bad.

Weird.

______

Day 16 - The Boys

Hudson cheered out with Kirin and Josh as they looked at the clearing, the water glinting in the sunlight and looking like the most gorgeous thing any of the boys had ever seen in their entire teenage lives.

"We fucking did it, bro!" Kirin screamed, taking his shirt and shoes off without a single second of hesitation. Hudson grinned back at his friend, having really gotten to know Kirin during their two weeks on the island so far. 

They were so different, yet so similar at the same time, and he appreciated having a friend who truly cared for him - especially when Riley was still lurking around.

Hudson's grin widened as he watched Kirin sprint towards the water's edge, his muscular form silhouetted against the shimmering surface. Without hesitation, Hudson peeled off his own sweat-soaked t-shirt, tossing it aside as he jogged to catch up with his friend.

Hudson laughed, picking up speed as he neared the water. The cool mist from Kirin's cannonball kissed his sun-warmed skin, sending a shiver of anticipation down his spine. With a running leap, Hudson propelled himself skyward, tucking his knees to his chest as he shouted, "Incoming!"

He surfaced with a gasp, shaking water from his shaggy blonde hair as he searched for Kirin.

"Dude, this is amazing!" Kirin called out, already swimming towards the centre of the water. "It's like our own private oasis!"

Hudson nodded in agreement, treading water as he gazed around in wonder. The pool was fed by a small waterfall cascading down moss-covered rocks, creating a constant, soothing rhythm. Lush vegetation surrounded the clearing, their leaves dancing in the gentle breeze and casting dappled shadows on the water's surface.

"Hey, Josh!" Hudson called out, noticing their friend still standing at the edge of the clearing. "Come on in, man! The water's perfect!"

But Josh remained rooted to the spot, his arms wrapped tightly around his midsection. Even from a distance, Hudson could see the hesitation etched across his face.

"Get in the water!" Kirin yelled, a grin on his face as Josh walked towards the edge, still unsure but at least coming closer. "Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. What are you doing, man? Get the hell in here. It's nice!"

Josh approached the edge, his hands lightly touching the water before he stood back up and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's nice."

"What the hell was that? All the way in, man!"

Josh just shook his head, showing he had no intention of going in with them.

Kirin, who had been floating on his back, sat up abruptly.

"Seriously, dude? We've been sweating our asses off for days, and you're gonna pass up this sweet swimming hole?"

Hudson shot Kirin a warning look before turning back to Josh. 

"Hey, no pressure, man. But maybe just dip your legs in? It really does feel amazing after all that hiking."

"Come on, don't be such a little bitch, Joshy.  I'm telling you, you'll be reborn," Kirin continued, not sensing that something was wrong, despite Hudson's warning look. 

The Boyd boy could see that there was something not right here - this wasn't how he'd expect Josh of all people to react. Hudson's brow furrowed in concern. He swam closer to the shore, trying to catch Josh's eye. 

"What's wrong, Josh? It's totally safe, I promise. We checked for rocks and stuff before jumping in."

Kirin, always the do-er rather than the say-er, hoped out and walked towards Josh, with the full intention of just pulling him into the water with them instead. He grabbed on to Josh's top, and tried to tug it off the smaller boy.

"Get... Kirin, get off!"

"Whoa!" Kirin said, his eyes widening as he noticed the red marks all over Josh's stomach, Hudson's eyes widening too as he looked at what he assumed was some sort of burn - maybe friction? Definitely looked worse than just some sunburn.

"What is that on your stomach?"

"It's nothing. It just happens sometimes when I drink, especially beer.  It's just... it's gluten. It'll go away."

Hudson knew that look, he knew that look so fucking well that every hair on his body stood on edge as he swam to the boys, lifting himself out of the water and taking a cautious step forward.

"Jesus, why are you like this?" Kirin whined, ignoring the way that the two other boys were looking at him. "We literally can't get a single win without you bringing up some of your sad shit. Whatever. Seth and Riley are right. We're all out here vibing, trying to keep each other up..."  

"What did Seth and Riley say?" Josh suddenly interrupted, anger on his face - a reaction that instantly chilled Hudson to the core.

"That this is your thing; killing the high, being the problem-"

"I'm not the fucking problem. Seth is!" Josh screamed, his face turning red as he started yelling out in anger. Kirin flinched, taking a slow step backwards as Josh started to spiral in front of them. "Seth is the problem! He's the fucking problem! Riley too! It wasn't me! I'm not the fucking problem!"

He started to shove at Kirin, pushing the blonde boy backwards into Hudson who steadied him without taking his eyes off Josh. He'd seen this sort of reaction before and he hoped to god he was misunderstanding it.

"Seth... I am not the fucking problem, man. I'm not the fucking problem!"

"Josh... what happened, man?"

Hudson furrowed his eyebrows, as Josh said nothing.

"Oh, I'm going to fucking kill him."

_____

Day 45 - The Girls

"Do you guys think that,  like, our families have given us funerals?"

Hunter hummed, the thought not having really occurred to her until Martha had said it out loud. To be fair, it seemed like she wasn't the only one judging by the looks on everyone else's faces as the girl said the words.

"Jesus, I hadn't thought about that," Fatin agreed, unsure how to really feel about that.

"Yeah. I mean, it's been so long that we're probably..."

"Gone to people back home?" Leah finished, the thought clearly having already crossed her mind unlike the rest of them. Hunter had a gut feeling it wasn't just her family she was thinking about, but also that stupid dick, Jeff.

"We are dead to the world," Leah continued, giving them all a chuckle as she started to describe the funeral that she thought her parents would have planned for her. "Oh, my God, my parents. I love them but they definitely got the funeral all wrong. Probably made a slide show with all the pictures I hate, the baby ones when I had a cone head."

"I want to see those photos," Hunter joked, resting her shoulder against Toni as they sat beside Fatin and Leah. Everyone else except Rachel was gathered around the fire with them.

"And they definitely picked some regrettably bad song like "I Hope You Dance.""

"My parents probably cry a lot..." Martha mentioned. "For me and Toni... but are probably trying to be strong for my sisters. I hope someone's taking care of my bunny. If you don't love them, bunnies get mean."

"Your mom's definitely taking care of Mr. Bunniesworth."

Toni squeezed Hunter's hand.

"My parents... they probably wouldn't have noticed until Hudson told them. No doubt Riley would have gate-crashed the funeral and gone on some sob story about how he's lost the love of his life."

Everyone was silent at that. It wasn't often that Hunter willingly spoke of Riley, but it seemed just like something that self-indulgent asshole would have done based on everything else they knew about him.

"That fucking Dr. Gretchen Klein with her whole greasy little "don't you deserve good
things" sales pitch," Dot muttered, causing everyone to turn to look at her in complete confusion.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Gretchen Klein, the retreat lady in the airplane video. I don't think she's actually, like, a doctor-doctor, but that's just, you know, how she introduced herself."

Hunter was almost anxious by how casual Dot said it - like she hadn't realised that it was really strange that she was the only one that had met Gretchen. The rest of them had no idea it was even an option to meet her.

"Wait, you met her?"

"Yeah. Didn't you?"

Everyone shook their heads and muttered nos.

"Oh. I think she just gave me a donut,  did her little song and dance selling me on the retreat. Said that she'd sort out child services, so I fucking went for it."

Fatin turned to Leah, Hunter turning to look at the duo that were sitting beside her in confusion - she too was confused as to why Dot was the only one that had someone meet with her about this before hand.

"Doesn't that strike you as weird that she met with Dot?" Fatin asked Leah, who barely seemed to move at the suggestion.

"Yes, I'm just not really interested in reopening some extremely closed doors that weren't good for me in the first place," Leah said, and Hunter wondered by Fatin's reaction if that was her quoting something that the other girl had once said to her. She stood up, patting Fatin on the head and going to move away. "Said with love."

Hunter let go of Toni's hand, moving her own to lightly grab Fatin's arm and turn her attention to her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure."

_______

Current Day

"So what happened, that caused Hudson to finally snap and attack Riley again?"

Kirin stared blankly at the woman and man in front of them, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked between them both with a new-found confidence that he hadn't had the last time they spoke to him.

"I don't think you should be the one asking questions," Kirin chirped back, crossing his arms and leaning back on his seat. "Since you know that I met Hudson's sister a few days ago. I know fine well this isn't all what you've tried to make it seem."

Dr. Faber's eyes narrowed, his lips pressing into a thin line as he regarded Kirin with renewed intensity. The young man's sudden shift in demeanour had caught him off guard, but he wasn't about to let him see that.

"Cut the crap," Kirin interrupted, leaning forward in his chair. His eyes, once clouded with confusion and fear, now blazed with a fierce determination. "I met Hunter Boyd. I know there was another plane, another island. This whole thing," he gestured around the sterile interrogation room, "it's all bullshit."

Gretchen Klein shifted uncomfortably in her seat, exchanging a quick glance with Dr. Faber. The carefully constructed facade they'd maintained for weeks was crumbling before their eyes. Thankfully, they'd had time to anticipate his attitude since they had known about Hunter running into his room.

"Kirin," Gretchen said softly, adopting a gentler tone than her colleague, "I understand you're confused and frustrated. But you have to understand, the situation is incredibly delicate."

Kirin scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Delicate? You've been lying to us for weeks. Months, even. We deserve to know the truth."

Dr. Faber took a deep breath, his fingers steepled in front of him. 

"Mr. O'Connor, I understand you're confused and frustrated. But I need you to listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you."

Kirin scoffed, but remained silent, his jaw clenched tightly as he waited for him to continue.

"Hudson Boyd is dead," Dr. Faber stated flatly, his eyes never leaving Kirin's face.

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Kirin felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. His mind reeled, struggling to process the information.

"No," he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "No, that's not... you said..."

"I'm sorry, Kirin," Gretchen interjected, her voice dripping with practiced sympathy. "But it's true. There was an... incident. We did everything we could, but—"

"Hunter Boyd is in a very fragile state," Dr. Faber continued, his voice softening slightly. "She's been through a tremendous ordeal, and her mind is... protecting itself. The girl you met, Hunter, she's not well."

Kirin's hands gripped the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white. He wanted to scream, to accuse them of lying, but doubt had begun to creep into his mind. Hunter had seemed off when he'd met her, almost manic in her insistence about the other island. Could it be possible?

"We're telling you this because we need your help," Gretchen interjected, her voice gentle and persuasive. "Hunter is struggling to accept the reality of what happened. She needs support, understanding. If you continue to feed into her delusions, it could cause irreparable harm."

"I... I don't..." he stammered, his confidence wavering.

Gretchen reached out, placing a comforting hand on Kirin's arm. "It's okay, Kirin. This is a lot to process. We're here to help you, to help all of you, make sense of what happened."

"And Josh?" Kirin asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Is he okay?"

"Josh is... recovering," Gretchen said carefully. "He's been through a lot, as you all have. But he's getting the help he needs."

Kirin leaned back in his chair, his head spinning. Everything he thought he knew was being called into question.

"And that's why we need your help," Dr Faber inputted, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table. "We need to help Hunter understand what really happened to her brother and all of you boys on that island. So to do that, you need to tell us exactly why Hudson Boyd attacked Seth and Riley on Day 15."

Kirin looked between them.

"I'm sorry, like I said before, that's just not my story to tell."