{Editing Status: Unedited}

After a short, but much-needed nap, I open my eyes to be greeted by bright rays of sunlight. I look over at Ryan, who is awake. Lauren is now resting her head on his lap, instead of his chest.

"Hey," I say through a yawn.

He looks over at me and gives me a small smile. "Hey."

"I guess nothing ate us in the night, then," I say, standing up, and brushing the dirt off my pants.

He gives a snort. "Clearly." His voice is quiet, so he doesn't wake up Lauren. Her face is smooth and calm as she sleeps, all the pain wiped away. "So, what's the plan for today?" he asks. He watches me as I lift up my home-made spear.

"I think the first thing we should do is get some food. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

As he smiles, I realize it compliments his handsome features, which are concealed by his usual poker face. He brushes his dirty fringe out of the way of his honey-colored eyes. Dirt smears his face in haphazard reddish-brown smudges. "I'm hungry too." He peers at my spear. "I think that'd be good to use for hunting."

"Yeah, I know. But we can't just eat lizards," I say, with a frown.

"What about coconuts?" he asks, pointing to a tree in front of him. It's a large tree, bountiful with coconuts.

I raise an eyebrow. "How did I not notice a coconut tree right in front of me?" I sigh and put my spear on the ground. I walk over to the tree and peer up at the coconuts, which are frustratingly high up. "How am I going to get them?" I ask, and turn my head to look back at Ryan.

"Try climbing," he suggests, with a slight grin.

I scowl. "Thanks for stating the obvious," I sigh. "But I don't think I can climb that high."

Lauren's soft breathing stutters slightly, and her eyes flicker open. Ryan smiles down at her. As I look at her leg, I realize it's moderately better. The greenish tint has subsided, but it is still swollen, and from the way her face contorts in pain as she sits up, it's still extremely painful. She looks at me, a frown on her beautiful face.

"What are you doing?" she asks me.

"Trying to decide whether I can climb this tree or not," I answer her, looking up at the coconuts in the branches above me.

"Why?"

"To get the coconuts."

She looks up, and she spots them. "Can you not climb?" she wonders.

I shrug. "I'm not sure. I'm...I'm scared I'll fall," I admit.

Then, I suddenly have an idea. A stupid, reckless idea, but an idea all the same. I run over to Saige, who is snoring by a tree, and shake her awake. She groans and pushes me away.

"Saige, wake up," I say, shaking her still.

She opens one blue eye. "Can't you see I'm still trying to sleep?"

"I need your help."

She rolls her eyes, but she slowly gets to her feet. "With what?" she asks, clicking her neck. I cringe at the sound.

"Ryan, Saige. I need you to help me up to the top branch, and then I'm pretty confident I can climb up from there."

Saige frowns at me. "May I ask why you want to climb a tree? After everything that's gone on, it seems pretty strange that -"

"I want to get those coconuts down from that tree," I tell her, pointing at the coconut tree. Her mouth opens into an "O" shape.

Lauren lifts herself up, hobbles over to a tree, and sits down next to it, her agony clear from the way she grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut. Ryan, Saige and I walk over to the tree, and we all peer up at it.

Saige swallows nervously. "It's high, Jade. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm not passing up the opportunity to eat some food that is right in front of us. I'll be fine." They both kneel to the floor, and lift up one hand each, their palms facing upwards. I step onto their hands, and they lift me up, their arms shaking under my weight.

"Jesus, you're heavy," Saige groans.

I peer down at her, a glare on my face. "Shut up, you." My foot finds the first branch, and my two hands find two branches above that. I pull myself up; the bark of the tree is rough and gnarled under my sweaty fingertips. I climb up a second branch, trying to keep my eye on the coconuts rather than the ground below me. My arms are aching as I lift myself up another layer.

When I reach the coconuts, I pull them off their branches, which I find slightly weird.

Don't coconuts usually hang from palm trees?

This tree is definitely not a palm.

And why are they just sitting on the branch, like they are waiting to be eaten?

I knock them off their branches, and they tumble to the ground, one by one. I hear the loud cracks as they make contact with the hard ground. There are about eight coconuts.

After knocking them all to the ground, I slowly climb down the branches, placing my feet carefully so I don't slip. "Are you ready?" I yell down to them.

"Yes!" Saige and Ryan shout up to me. I lift myself down until I feel their hands under my feet, and jump down to the floor.

"Well done, Jade," Ryan says, smiling, and I smile back.

"Thanks," I answer. "Now let's eat."

When our stomachs are full of coconut meat, and our mouths no longer dry from the refreshing, sweet water that comes from inside of it, we lie down on the jungle floor. I peer up at the dense, green canopy ahead, and let the rays of sunlight, streaming through the openings of the canopy, warm my face. Although my body feels relaxed and calm, it isn't. My heart still thuds at the thoughts of the monster that crawled out of the lake.

What the hell was it?

It didn't look like it belonged in this environment at all. It looked like it belonged on another planet. I feel nauseous just thinking about its physical features. Trying to clear my mind of the images of the monster is impossible. Even though I pray that it is the only one on the island, there is still doubt somewhere in the back of my mind that it isn't going to be the only one we see. The mere thought makes my stomach churn.

The sound of Lauren's laugh snaps me out of my thoughts, and I turn my head to look at Ryan and Lauren, who are lying on the floor next to each other. He is grinning at her, and her cheeks are flushed. It's nice to see a changed expression on her face, instead of a distressed one.

"You okay?" Saige asks from beside me.

I look at her and give her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, about you not being my friend. That was harsh."

She shakes her head and frowns. "You were just in shock, that's all. Besides, I know what you mean. We've only just met each other, and it's kind of a necessity that we trust each other if we want to survive. It's kind of hard to trust each other, though, when we don't know one another. And it's even harder when we don't even know ourselves. But, Jade, I promise you that we will get off this island. I don't know where we will go once we get off it, and I don't know when we will, but we will. I give you my word."

I squeeze her hand. "Thanks, Saige." I look at the coconut tree and my eyebrows drop into a frown. "Doesn't it seem weird that the coconuts weren't on a palm tree like they're supposed to be? They were just sitting on the branches like they were waiting to be eaten."

"That's really strange," Saige says, frowning. "But after everything that has happened, I don't think it's the strangest. It's a pretty messed up island."

I manage a small, humorless laugh. "That's very true." I look over at Ryan and Lauren again. "When do you think Lauren's leg will be okay enough to move?"

Saige sighs and shrugs. "Honestly, I don't know. I'd say a day or two, minimum. All the walking and running isn't doing it any good, and the lack of medical supplies isn't helpful either. Water would definitely be the best thing, so I can clean it regularly. But I'm not going back to that lake."

I nod in agreement. "Maybe there is another lake on the island. There's got to be right?"

"I hope so."

"I think we should start moving again tomorrow morning, then. We'll stay here tonight, and see how her leg is in the morning. We'll go and try and find another lake, or at least some water."

She nods. "That sounds good to me."

The next morning is hot and sticky with humidity. Our foreheads are shiny with sweat as we leave our sleeping spot. Lauren leans on Ryan, hobbling and wincing with every step she takes. Her courage and determination are sort of incredible, though; I admire her.

Saige's shrill scream fills the air, and I jump with surprise. She's standing, frozen, her eyes fixed on the ground in front of her.

"Snake!" she shrieks. "It's a snake!"

A boa constrictor is curled up on the ground in front of Saige, its reddish-brown skin glittering in the sunlight.

"Slowly move away from it," Ryan tells her, his voice hushed. Saige slowly backs away, her eyes never leaving the curled up snake. I don't think it has noticed Saige yet, which is surprising, seeing as how loud she screamed.

When she is far enough away from it, she breathes out a huge sigh of relief. "I hate snakes," she says, with a shudder.

"Well, you're in a jungle, Saige. I'm sure there will be snakes," I say, with a grin. She scowls at me and carries on walking in another direction to the boa constrictor.

Trees tall as cathedrals surround us, and a strange green light - almost holy - shimmers through the vast canopy of leaves. The jungle seems to have an intelligence of its own. Its voice is the sudden screech of a parrot or the flicker of a monkey swinging through the branches overhead. The moisture in the air is so thick that sweating has become obsolete; it just runs into my already drenched clothes, only achieving further dehydration. The aroma of the soil and leaves is so intoxicating and rich it burns my nose and makes me dizzy, whilst the vivid greens and yellows and reds blind me with their vibrant intensity.

"I hear water," Lauren suddenly says. Her voice is strained and dry, but she still manages to choke out a few words. I can hear it too; a faint rushing of water.

My steps quicken as I push past the leaves on either side of me, and then the trees part to make way for a river. The transparent water sparkles in the morning sun, and I can see the smooth rocks underneath the water. It is a ribbon of living turquoise, boldly flowing amid the green of the forest. I have a sudden urge to strip off my clothes and jump into the inviting water, but I don't trust the beauty of it.

How can such a beautiful thing exist in such a green inferno?

Saige and I run over to the bank of the river, while Ryan helps Lauren walk over to it. I kneel down, scoop up some of the cool water in the palm of my hands, and lift them to my lips. When the water reaches my lips, energy seeps into my veins almost immediately. I hadn't realized how dehydrated I was. I desperately scoop up more water, again and again, my body aching for the refreshing liquid.

While Saige cleans Lauren's leg, I dangle my legs in the water, grateful for its coolness. It makes the humidity slightly more bearable.

"Look," Ryan says, pointing at something in the water.

"What?" I ask, standing up.

"Fish."

I can suddenly see the flash of silver in the water, blinding me for a few seconds as the sunlight shines off their scales. Their large size surprises me.

"Pass me your spear," Ryan suddenly says, putting out his hand. Frowning, I give it to him. He closes one eye and aims the spear at one of the fish that is suspended in the water. It gives an occasional flick of its silver tail, sending flashes of brilliance in every direction.

There's no way he will be able to hit the fish with the spear.

But he does.

The beautiful water gradually turns red as the blood from the fish slowly seeps out of where the spear pierced it, and I stare at Ryan, shocked.

"How the hell did you do that?" I breathe.

He walks over to the edge of the water and grabs the spear which is starting to sink in the water. The fish hangs limply off the edge of it.

"I told you it would be good for hunting. It's good for fishing, too," he says with a smile, as he pulls the fish off the end of the spear and drops it on the ground in front of him.

A/N

I promised I'd make this chapter longer, so I did :) I'm really appreciative of all of your support and feedback recently. Although I don't reply to all your comments, I still read every single one of them with a smile. Every vote means so much to me, too.

I'm really glad you're enjoying this as much as I'm enjoying writing it :)

Don't forget to like, comment and share!

Olivia J. Clarke

{Picture: Ryan Edwards - Dylan O'Brien}

© Olivia Clarke 2016

Lost {Book 1 - The Quarantine Series}