{Editing Status: Unedited}

I scramble off the hard floor, my heart rapidly beating in my chest. My skin crawls at the blood-curdling scream filling my ears.

And then I see it.

In the lake.

Prodigious and abhorrent.

A monster, the size of the large rocks surrounding the lake, wriggles out of the water, its long tail splashing the water behind it as it leaves the lake. I look at Lauren, who is sitting, wide-eyed, her mouth open in mid-scream.

Saige and Ryan are both staring at it, frozen in fear.

I can't move. My whole body seems to shut down, as I try and process what my eyes are seeing.

It's green, leathery skin shudders as it climbs out of the lake. It is slow and clumsy, yet absolutely horrifying. Its eyes bore into mine, black, colorless and hollow, like an empty abyss. Water drips off its already lubricated skin. Its teeth, sharp-edged and pointed, are yellow and rotting, and they protrude from its mouth. It's wrinkled face is contorted and grotesque, and my stomach churns just looking at it.

A scream builds up in the deepest pits of my stomach, but it can't escape through the tightness of my throat. I swallow the build-up of bile in my throat.

"Run!" I scream as it crawls closer. "Run!"

Saige snaps out of her trance. I sprint over to Ryan and Lauren and shake them, tears starting to blur my vision.

"Please!" I shriek. They start to scramble backwards. Ryan helps Lauren up, their eyes never leaving the monster.

And we run.

My ears ring as I push past the trees, stumbling over fallen logs. Ferns and grass catch on my feet, trying to pull me down as I sprint, and curling around my feet and legs. Blurry-eyed, I push my legs out in front of me, adrenaline fresh in my veins. I blindly wave my hands in front of me, trying to feel for trees. Branches scrape my face as I run, but I don't care.

All I care about is getting as far away from that thing as possible.

When my chest begins to get tight, I slow down to a walk, and fall to the ground, my legs weak. I hear sobs from behind me, and I look up. Lauren falls to the ground, tears staining her dirty cheeks. She clutches her leg, her face contorted in agony. Ryan sits by a tree and stares at the ground. He wraps his arms around his knees and rocks back and forth. Saige drops down beside me. I look at her.

"What. The hell. Was that," she whispers, looking at me, her eyes wide and full of fear. Why was she asking me? How was I meant to know what that thing was? I lift my shaking hand to my forehead and push my sweaty hair back. I don't answer her, mainly because I don't have an answer for her.

I stand up, my legs shaking. I try and block my ears from listening to Lauren's trembling sobs. I kneel beside her and touch her arm. She scurries away from me.

"Lauren, it's okay," I whisper.

But it's not.

This island, or whatever it is, is inhabited by some sort of horrifying monster, and I don't even want to think about the possibility of there being more, lurking in the shadows of the trees.

"No, it's not okay, Jade," Saige says from behind me. "That...thing. What was it?"

I look at her. "Do you seriously think I know what it was?"

"No," she says. "But -"

"We need to get off this island," Lauren whispers in her trembling voice.

And something hits me, square in the chest, knocking the breath out of me. We're not getting off this island, are we? I feel my courage seeping out of me, bit by bit. I want to cling onto it, but I can't.

"There is no way we are getting off this island!" I scream, giving into my attempted composure. Saige looks shocked at my sudden outburst.

"Jade -"

"We're going to die here," I sob. "We're not getting off this island." I bury my face in my knees.

My strength and courage fade away, evaporating into the air.

Nobody says anything for a while. I don't raise my head from my knees. I let the tears running down my face saturate my clothes. All the courage I previously had is non-existent, after seeing that thing climb out of the water. Something about its physical appearance reminds me of the lizard I killed the previous night, just a larger version.

I hear low mutterings and lift my head out of my knees. Saige is kneeling beside Lauren, placing some fresh moss on her leg. It's red and swollen, and worse than it was yesterday. Lauren's face is weary. Saige grabs a large rock from a tree, lifts it up - staggering slightly from its weight - and drops it on the ground in front of Lauren. She carefully lifts Lauren's leg.

Lauren grits her teeth in pain, and I notice her forehead is shiny with sweat.

Saige slowly lowers Lauren's leg down onto the rock so it is propped up.

I look over at Ryan. He is still sitting by the tree and looking at Lauren. His face is as white as a sheet.

"Jade, are you alright?" Saige asks.

"I'm fine," I lie, standing up. I wipe my dirty hands on my pants and scan my surroundings.

I don't know how far we ran into the jungle, but the darkness around me tells me we ran pretty far. There are no weaknesses in the canopy here; no light filters through.

"So what do we do now?" Saige asks me. Ryan and Lauren look at me, too. I suddenly feel strange. Why are they asking me? I clench my fists, willing the strength to come back to me. I inhale the hot, sticky air.

"We stay here for a while until the shock wears off. I don't know what that thing was, but something tells me that that wasn't the only one on the island."

"It didn't even look like an animal," Ryan mutters.

"That's because it wasn't," Saige says. "There's something weird going on here."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"Well, did you see that thing?" She takes the piece of moss off Lauren's leg, while Lauren grimaces. "It clearly wasn't an animal. I don't know, I just have a weird feeling." She throws the piece of moss behind her. There is a strange, intangible scent in the air, and it weighs down on me.

We're not alone on this island. And that fills every inch of my body with a fear so vivid, I can almost feel it eating away at my insides, bit by bit.

I watch Ryan as he stands up and starts pacing around. I notice his fingers clench and relax, again and again. He suddenly stops and looks at me.

"Listen...Jade, is it?" He carries on when I nod. "I know you're certain we can't get off this island. But how are you so certain?"

"I'm not certain at all," I answer. "I just don't see how it's possible, that's all. And even if we do manage to get off the island, where would we go? I don't know anywhere but this island. We'd just die at sea."

"Don't you think we should take that chance? I'd rather be stuck at sea than be on this island with those...monsters," he shudders.

"Listen," I say, to not just Ryan, but to all three of them. "You can try and leave at any time you like. I'm not stopping you! Go, if you want. I don't care. I've only known you for a short while. Don't let me try and stop you from leaving. But I'm staying here. I don't see any way of getting off this island, but if you manage to come up with one, be my guest and leave. This isn't my island. I'm not your boss or anything. And we're not a team if that's what you were thinking. We're survivors of a "plane crash", apparently. It doesn't make us friends."

Saige looks at me, one of her eyebrows raised in a high arch.

"Jade, I don't know if there are other survivors, but we need to stick together if we want to survive."

I shrug. "Yes, but I'm not stopping you from leaving if you want too. If you find a way, leave."

Saige puts her hand on my shoulder.

"If we do manage to find a way to get off this island, you're coming with us. I'm not leaving you on this island, Jade. You might not think we're friends, but right now, we're all that we've got. We have to stick together."

"I know, I know," I sigh. "You're right."

How are you meant to escape from somewhere, when you don't even know where you're going? When I was on the beach, all I saw was a vast expanse of blue. There was nothing on the horizon. What if this island is in the middle of absolutely nowhere?

I manage a smile at Saige, concealing my thoughts from view. I watch as Ryan walks over to Lauren. She puts her head in his lap and closes her eyes. Her face is full of pain, and although I don't know her, I can't help feel her pain. He looks at her, his brown eyes soft as he watches her sleep. His hand hovers above her matted hair, hesitant, but he lowers his hand and strokes the knotty strands.

"So, what now?" Saige asks me.

"We should rest more, so we have the energy to move on later. Someone should stay up, though, just in case."

"I will," she says, sliding down the nearest tree.

I shake my head. "No. Get some rest. I'll stay awake. I don't think I can close my eyes for even a minute."

"Are you sure?" she asks.

I nod.

She lies down on a soft patch under the tree and closes her eyes.

I look at Ryan and Lauren. "Get some sleep, Ryan," I tell him, settling myself under a tree. He nods at me, giving me a small smile, before lying back on the ground. Lauren readjusts herself so her head is resting on his chest.

I grab a long and thick stick from the ground and a sharp rock lying next to me. I start sharpening the stick at the end, to form a spear of some kind. Not that I would have the courage to stab the monster anyway. I set the "spear" down beside me and lean my head against the rough bark of the tree. I wipe my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand.

I listen to the sounds around me; the monkeys gibbering, the birds singing, and the slow breathing of Saige next to me. I'm thankful for the sounds; silence can be deafening.

I look at Ryan, Lauren, and Saige and I can't help feeling like I should trust them.

But how can I put my trust into someone, when I don't even know if I should trust myself?

A/N

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it's a bit on the short side, but I'll be making the next one a bit longer.

Don't forget to like, comment and share!

Olivia J. Clarke

{Gif: Jade Dawson - Shailene Woodley}

© Olivia Clarke 2016

Lost {Book 1 - The Quarantine Series}