nā pūpū a me ke one - shells and sand

disclaimer: i have never been skydiving so i will not pretend to be an expert on the process. this is a fictional story and i wrote this chapter with the main focus being to entertain. if the facts are unrealistic, well good. who wants realistic stories anyway? okay let's go.

While Emerson was fully prepared to feel overwhelmingly nervous for his friends, anxious is not the first emotion he experiences. Instead, he feels an extreme annoyance and an itching sense of perturb.

It could very well be the way Alex keeps practically giggling with excitement and sighs into the mirror as he combs his hair. Or the way Claire keeps saying she's going to back out every five minutes before changing her mind again.

Or maybe the three alarms going off in his own room and the two others screaming from the conjoined room next door is what really set off the intruding aggravation.

But it's most likely the way Rosalind bursts through their hotel room door before Emerson can get a chance to stop Rhyme from letting her in. Her hands rub together excitedly as she smiles with alacrity.

"Who's ready to jump out of a plane?" She winks.

"It's too early for this." Emerson mumbles, shoving his face into the pillow as he rolls over reluctantly in the bed to take a good look at her. His face flattens further when he spots the grin on her clear face.

"Not a morning person?" She laughs, sitting on the end of the mattress as Alex looks between them and sets the comb down.

"I am. Just not at five in the morning." Emerson blinks at the bright light, his face red on the left side and his dark hair askew.

"He has a hard time with this thing called excitement." Isaac snickers, coming out of the bathroom tugging his shirt down as his blonde hair drips shower water.

Rosalind smiles softly, looking back at him with a small laugh. "I'm sure he would be if he were actually the one taking the risk."

"Those horribly feelings would be called nerves." Emerson deadpans.

Rosalind gives him the stink eye. "Well sometimes people confuse nerves with excitement because that's what they choose to call it."

"That makes no sense." He sighs, laying his head back down on the pillow, feeling uncomfortable with Rosalind sitting there watching him. He feels as if he can't get up because she's here and he slept without a shirt last night due to the unbearable temperature last night. Not to mention Alex's unwillingness to let him turn the air down.

"Get up, Frat Boy, we have things to do." Alex slaps his hand down on his leg, making him jump.

"No." He mumbles, rolling over her pulling the blanket tighter around himself. He wouldn't consider himself overly insecure yet something churns unsettlingly every time he senses her eyes on him.

"Not too excited about sky diving?" Rosalind asks, looking around the room at the untidy mess the guys have displayed over the past week. This of course is the source of Emerson's usual anxiety, feeling as if he's living in the midst of a zoo. His friends don't seem to share his need for tidiness.

Emerson finally sits up with a flag expression, the sheet and blanket falling down to his waist as he folds his arms over his chest uncomfortably. "Why would I be? I'm not the one jumping."

There's a pause in the air and, for a split second, Emerson feels a pit form in his stomach. "Right?" He asks slowly, looking around the room, his eyes still puffy from sleep.

Rosalind's lips part and her eyes dart to the floor. "You're actually already paid for...you know, just in case you were to change your mind."

His heart begins beating faster. "Well I don't have to go, do I?"

"You don't have to per say." Alex butts in, "But you are sort of expected to at this point."

Throwing the blankets off in one swift and angry movement, Emerson jumps out of bed and begins running his hands through his hair, his fists clenching around the ends. "Alex! Have you not known me long enough to know that I would never do this?" He seethes, "And Isaac! In what universe would I ever jump out of an airplane? Apparently none of you know me at all. I can't believe Claire let this happen." He finishes.

"You sound just a tad bit like a whiny small child." Isaac mumbles, shoving his hands into his pockets as Rosalind hides a small laugh.

Emerson pauses, looking around the room with wide eyes. "Guys. I'm not doing it. I genuinely don't understand why you ever thought I would even think about doing it." He expresses clearly, looking between the four of them.

Rhyme's gaze casts downward uncomfortably, feeling guilty for agreeing to this. "We all agreed to chip in and pay for you since all of us were hopeful that you'd at least consider."

Feeling put on the spot and admittedly slightly embarrassed by his cowardly display in front of Rosalind. So much that he makes the sad mistake of saying, "I'll think about it."

ⅼ ❝ If you don't know real love, you can't give it away. ❞ ⅼ

"Guys, I said I would think about it. I never said I'd actually do it." Emerson's heels practically drag on the sidewalk as Alex and Isaac push him into the building to participate in their short training.

"Dude, chill." Alex grumbles, shoving him through the door, "It's just the training. You know, just in case you decide you want to actually live your life before your turn ninety and can't do anything on your own and need some young hot nurse to change your diapers."

"Wow thanks for the pep talk." Emerson mumbles, stepping away from him and into the humid room, a creaking fan spinning overhead and providing next to no airflow.

"Yeah no problem. It would kind of suck to sit by and watch you crap your pants and wallow in all of your regret while we sit over and laugh about the good old days. You need to have some good old days to remember, buddy." His hand comes down on Emerson's shoulder before he shrugs it off in annoyance, rolling his eyes.

"How about I throw a good right hook and knock that smirk right off your stupid face?" He grits his teeth.

Alex holds up his hands in surrender, his smug smile only widening. "Dang, you must really be nervous. Your claws are coming out."

"Okay that's enough." Isaac steps in, mumbling under his breath as sweat begins to form on his brow, "If Emerson doesn't want to come, he doesn't have to. Geez where is some air conditioning when you need it?" He hisses the last part, pulling his shirt away from his chest over and over and get some airflow through the material.

Swallowing, Emerson shuffles behind the group as they sign papers and when one is shoved in front of him, he signs with a sigh, knowing he's not actually going to do it and he can back out any time he pleases. Once the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, the group is pushed into a small room where an instructor explains all of the safety regulations with a bored expression and everyone is taught how to exit the plane without dying.

"Aren't you supposed to get like...more training than this before you leap to your death?" Emerson leans down as he whispers in Claire's ear.

She jumps slightly in surprise before looking up with a furrowed brow. "How should I know?"

"Just a question." He sighs, looking out the window with squinted eyes, sweat running into them every once in a while causing them to burn uncomfortably. He wonders silently how a place with no air conditioning could possibly keep people safe whilst jumping out of an airborne plane.

As the session goes on, Emerson pays less and less attention. Once the basic information passed, he sort of zones out and begins to focus on a single hole made by a nail in the wall.

"Hey." a pair of fingers snap in front of his face. Blinking, he looks over at Claire, an amused smile on her face.

"It's over." She informs him.

"Oh."

"Alright, please follow me!" The instructor says, rubbing her hands together.

Emerson's eyes begin to widen and his fingers grasp at Claire's small arm, holding her back while the others leave out of a back exit, exciting grins on each other their faces.

"Ow." She mumbles.

"Sorry." He replies half heartedly, "Where are they going?"

"To get on the plane."

"But I'm not getting on the plane." He hisses, looking around to see the eyes of a sweaty male employee on him.

"Then leave the way we came in and wait for us. I have to go." She sighs, pulling her arm out of his grasp and making we way to the door.

Heart beating a little faster, he walks towards he door the came through beforehand, wiggling the knob. "It's locked!" He tells her, stopping her in her tracks.

With an impatient sigh, Claire closes her eyes before slowly opening them again. "Okay then just come out this way and walk around to where we'll be landing. It's fine, calm down."

Emerson nods, steadying his breathing. "You're right. Sorry for freaking out." He blows out a large breath and follows her out of the door, the humid Hawaiian air meeting him, not much better than inside the airless building.

He sees the plane and everyone being suited up, straps around their thighs and nervous grimaces on a few faces. With one last look at them, he turns around on his heel and begins his search for a way back to the front of the building but comes up empty-handed.

Panic setting in again, he approaches an employee with tanned skin and dark eyes. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Yes?" She says with a smile.

"How do I get back to the entrance?"

"What?" Confusion settles on her face.

"You know, back where we came in. I need to meet my friends at the landing zone." He tried to explain, hearing the plane start up.

"You're going on the plane, yes?" She asks him with furrowed brows.

"Yes - I mean no. No. My friends are but I'm not." He laughs nervously, feeling sweat drip down his back underneath his shirt.

Her dark brows furrow even further as she considers him with a grimace. "You signed the papers?"

"Yes..."

"And you paid the fee?"

"Yes." He replies, his heart now beating out of his chest as his stomach does flips.When she pauses and looks past him to exchange a pity filled glance with one kid the instructors behind him, he knows this can't be good.

Biting the inside of her cheek once, she looks at him. "You're going to have to get on the plane now, sir."

Her words ring in his ears and he stands there speechlessly as people begin to strap him into what he's assuming is a harness. When she walks away he remains there, lips parted as he fights the urge to throw up.

"How is this legal?" He yells as the plane starts, the man guiding him to the open door where his friends sit lined up against the wall with their instructors.

"You signed the papers. Now remember to relax and just follow everything your instructor says. You'll be fine." He winks with a smirk, closing the door firmly behind him as he stares blankly, willing it to open so he can escape this nightmare.

"Emerson?" Claire's eyes are wide as the plane begins running down the strip, preparing for take off.

He can't respond, too focused on controlling his breathing. Closing his eyes, he tunes out all of the noise and takes a deep breath through his nose, releasing it through his mouth. His stomach clenches as the plane begins ascending, his hands clenched around the straps on his shoulders.

When he opens his eyes everyone is being strapped against their trained partners, calm expressions on their faces. His eyes latch onto Rosalind's face and she gives him a small smile. "Emerson," she mouths, "You'll be okay. Breath." Her wide hazel eyes remain locked onto his as his first two friends jump one after the other, a few seconds in between.

All he can hear is the blood rushing in his eardrums and the steady fast beat of his own heart. Claire looks back at him with one last look, a smile mixed with something that looks a little too much like guilt, before she rocks back and forth and then leaps along with the man strapped to her back. Confusion fills Emerson's mind but he shakes this off.

"Are you ready?" Rosalind yells over the sound of the plane, the open door exposing her loose hairs to whip wildly around her face in the forceful wind.

"No." His force cracks, as they inch closer and closer to the edge of the door. He was expecting Rosalind to go first but she is lined up behind him as she waits patiently.

The guy uncomfortably close to him mumbles instructions in his ear that are lost to the wind. Emerson's eyes roll as he attempts to embrace the possibility of death because, at this point, death is very likely.

He doesn't have time to even think before he's leaping out of the plane and falling into endless blue, his stomach feeling like it's being turned inside out as he falls faster and faster. He yells but it falls silent in his hears and he can feel the blood rush to his head. The feeling of free falling brings him back to his freshman year. The day everything started to fall apart. Panic beings to tear at the seems of his mind as he fights to breathe.

His arms are spread as he continues to get closer to the ground but the man behind him pulls them to his side, angling them to where they need to land.

Emerson's eyes squint against the wind and he silently wonders why they didn't give him goggles. He then slowly begins to calm down, the panic dimming slightly and long enough for him to take a look around him. The light hits the clear blue ocean, contrasting with the greenery of the islands in a breathtaking way.

Soon everything gets closer and closer and suddenly they're pulling the chord to the parachute. When they are abruptly jerked to the left and the wind begins to overtake them and push them off course, the instructor swears under his breath.

Eyes widening, Emerson fights to remain aware of his surroundings but they all blur as they spin out of control. They hit something mid fall and a scream rings quietly in his ears before another chord is pulled and they slowly begin straightening out.

When his eyes open, Emerson's brows furrow at the new view. They seem to have angled off course because they soon fall to the ground of a less green and plush area.

When their feet hit the ground, the guy behind him instructs him to run along with him until they can safely come to a halt. Following the instructions, Emerson's head feels empty and numb, his eyes locked ahead.

With grumbles and mumbles under his breath, the man slowly works on the straps of their harnesses and, before he knows it, Emerson is released, his back wet with nervous sweat.

Too afraid to ask the angry guy what the heck happened and where they are, Emerson walks a few feet away and runs his fingers through his thick hair. He zones out until a muffled thud emits to his right.

"Hey." He gestures to the guy, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He responds with a sigh, barely paying attention.

"That noise." He says dumbly.

With an annoyed sigh, he shakes his head. "No. Now can you shut up for two seconds while I try to figure this out? Thanks."

Shooting him a glare, Emerson rolls his eyes and begins to walk in the direction of the noise. Pushing past dry plants and stepping through to the other side of the brush, Emerson's eyes widen.

In the distance are two bodies laying still in the midst of large rocks and dry dirt. "Rosalind!" He runs, his feet hitting the earth loudly and his breath becoming rabid as he falls to his knees at her side.

Working on the straps, he carefully pulls the unconscious dark skinned man away from her. "I'll be back." He mumbles before returning to her side.

Gently rolling her onto her back, he checks for head injuries and blood but thankfully doesn't notice any immediate life endangering wounds. "Rosalind." He speaks again, holding her head in his palms as he taps her cheek with his hand.

Stirring slightly, a sharp breath is taken in before her eyes fly open, a look of panic on her face as she sits up. Her chest heaves up and down and her hand comes up to press against her heart.

"Rosalind, it's Emerson." He speaks calmly as if she's a spooked animal, "We just went off course but everything is going to be fine. You need to calm down."

Looking at him with wide eyes, she wordlessly nods before closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing. After a few moments, they open again and she gives him a small smile. "Thanks."

"Sure." He responds, his throat dry.

"Where are we?" She asks him before pausing and looking down at her left hand which is placed on his wrist, fingers wound tightly around. Releasing it, she clears her throat.

"Uh..." Emerson sighs, not noticing her awkward change of demeanor, "I don't know. I'm guessing it's the island we were supposed to fly over? They mentioned it in the briefing."

She pauses for a moment, thinking. "Ni'ihau?"

"Sure." He shrugs with a small laugh, "Not like I'd know. Aren't we like not supposed to be here?" He looks around slowly.

"It's considered the forbidden island but it's not like we chose to crash here. Hopefully we won't have to run into anyone and disturb the islanders. Going unnoticed would be for the best." She nods, wincing as she begins to stand up.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." She sighs, "My ankle just feels a bit sore from the rough landing. Where is he anyway?" Her eyes widen.

"He's over there." Emerson points to the guy still out cold among the bushes.

"Is he..." Rosalind swallows.

"Oh gosh no." Emerson laughs nervously, "He's fine but we should probably try to wake him up."

After several attempts, they finally get him to come to, his eyes flying open with a similar reaction to Rosalind's until finally his head clears. Asking where the other man is, Emerson leads them both to where he landed to find the guy still there with an angry grimace on his face.

"Peter!"

The instructor spins around at the sound of his name, a confused look spreading over his face. "Randy? What - how did you..."

"I saw your parachute fail but it was too late to change my directory and we collided just before you pulled the emergency chute." He sighs, "We were both knocked off course."

"Right..." He sighs, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose, "Well Benny will definitely be hearing about this. I've been trying to get him to replace these freaking chutes for months!"

"Let's just keep our cool, man." Randy reasons with him calmly, "We need to focus on getting these two back safely. We've got our emergency coms but this is Ni'ihau we're talking about. We're gonna have to find a signal...somewhere decently elevated."

"Mount Paniau." Rosalind says suddenly, earning their attention, "It's the highest point on the island, isn't it?"

"Yes but we're at least ten miles from there. Plus the hike to the top? We don't even have any water. We could pass out or worse."

"We could find some." Randy shrugs.

"The island is pretty dry compared to Kauai. I doubt there's fresh water in a five mile radius." Peter grumbles with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I say we start on our way." Emerson cuts in, "We won't necessarily have to hike all the way up. Just high enough to get a signal. Ten miles isn't that far. We could make it there before it gets dark if we move now."

Honestly, Emerson doesn't care if he has to walk one hundred miles, he's getting off this island. As long as they're moving and doing something then that's better than doing absolutely nothing.

"The kid's right." Randy tells Peter, "I say let's head out."

After a moments hesitation, Peter sighs. "Alright then, let's go."

★★★

I'M SO SORRY!

I have not updated in probably one million years exactly but I have a good reason, I promise. Plus, it's not like anyone is reading this anyway...at least not yet. Personally, I love this story so I hope more people get into it.

Okay love you. Byeee.