CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Above water.

               LENNON

Ivy had shown us all how to boil the water the night before, which turned out not to be so hard. All we had to do was pour the water into the pot, boil it for a minute and then pour them back into the water bottles after cleaning them out. We settled the bottles inside the cargo hold, trying our best to keep them cool, but it didn't stop them from turning slightly lukewarm.

We had all went to bed early after discussing our plans for the next day. We had decided we would all go to find the open water, deciding there was no way we could leave anyone behind. However, Coach Stratford had insisted on staying behind and there was no arguing with him. The only difficulty we really had was Hailey's healing sprained ankle, but she had assured us she was coming, insisting that she needed to be at least semi-clean. So, Maggie had took it upon herself to find the chunkiest stick to give to her as a crutch. Abby had commented that she looked like a sexy Gandalf.

The following morning, we had packed up our stuff: water, spare clothes and some snack bars. And then after making sure everyone had what we needed, we set out with June and Eden leading us who spoke amongst themselves. I couldn't help but notice that they had grown pretty close over the last five days—but I guessed it made sense. Despite them being complete opposites, they had both been beside each other when the plane had went down. That created some kind of bond between them from what I could tell. And I was happy that June finally had someone she could call a friend instead of just a teammate. She deserved it.

I was walking between Abby and Imani with Hattie and Maggie helping Hailey walk from behind us. In front of me was Ethan. I had been staring at his broad shoulders for a while, wondering how he was feeling. He hasn't spoken a word to anyone the night before, keeping completely quiet. I decided then that I wasn't going to allow him to ignore us—or at least, not me. I wanted to be able to help him, to let him know that I was there for him.

I quickened the pace to step in line with him but I didn't say anything. I wasn't planning on. I just wanted him to know that I was there—beside him. He didn't have to talk if he didn't want to, but I didn't want him to feel like he had to be completely alone.

We walked for another few minutes before Ethan spoke up when I hadn't expected him to, "I've never snapped like that before, you know," He began saying, staring straight ahead, the muscles in his jaw flexing. I looked up at his tall height, craning my neck slightly. "I'm not a violent person, Lennon. I want you all to know that. I just—I don't know what came over me." He admitted, his voice small, hands balled into fists by his side.

"Hey," I softly said, putting my hand on his bicep. He slowed down slightly to look at me. We allowed everyone to pass by us. "We all know that, alright? You snapped. It happens to everyone. Shit, you've worked with us girls long enough to know how many times we've got into fist fights through the stupidest of things. You had a reason for snapping like that, Ethan. Nobody blames you." I assured him, staring into his honey-coloured irises.

He stared down at me, "He said that he loved her," He said, his brows etched together. "And I hated hearing that from him. Because she wasn't his—she was mine and dads. We were the ones who loved her. He wasn't—he wasn't supposed to love her too." He said, sounding ashamed by what he was saying but I completely understood it.

I had felt the same way after my mom had died. The way the town came together made me feel sick. They spoke of how they had loved and cared for her and how she would be greatly missed—as if they hadn't publicised everything that had happened to her. They had enjoyed my moms trauma, they fed into it. They made articles, documentaries, books. They earned money from what had happened to her. None of them had loved her, not the way June, my dad and I did. We were the ones that loved her—everyone else's love was nothing but a facade.

I offered him a smile, "For what it's worth, I really loved her too. We all did," I told him, gesturing to where the other members of the Pirates were walking ahead, talking between themselves. "I know it's not the same love you have for her. But we really did love her. Even when she was yelling at us and telling us to pull our heads out of our asses. We loved her then. We still do." I said softly, smiling at the thought of our beloved Coach Grayson. It felt crazy that she was no longer with us, that she would never yell at us from the side of a pitch again. But for Ethan, she would never do anything with him again—and that really fucking hurt. I knew it did.

A breezy laugh left Ethan's lips, a small smile to his eyes, "You always know what to say. Don't you, Lennon?" He almost sounded sad.

I titled my head, "Nope," I chirped. "I make it up as I go along." I admitted. It wasn't a lie, in fact, it was the cold-hard truth. I wasn't wise, or kind, or smart. I made everything up in the moment it came to me. Nothing I ever said was pre-planned. I just opened my mouth and let it do the talking.

A real laugh came from his mouth that time before he put his hand on my shoulder. I stared up at him, lips stretching into a smile, "Hey, slowpokes! Move your asses!" Imani suddenly yelled back at us, stopping momentarily to glance back at us and I realised how far ahead they had managed to get from us.

"Coming, Your Majesty!" I called out to her, giving Ethan one last smile.

We finally came across the stream and some of us couldn't wait to take our socks and shoes off to get inside, whereas others hung back, hoping to find something bigger and better. I was the latter. I walked on the grass, following the water downstream as others walked through the water, cooling themselves down in the overbearing heat. Luckily, I had borrowed Abby's Pirates baseball cap, so I wasn't feeling the sun smacking into my scalp like I had the last few days—but it was still shit-hot, unbearably so. But I would put up with it for a while longer, choosing to herd the group like sheep as we walked down the stream.

We had been walking for a while, another fifteen minutes I reckoned before Ivy was suddenly gasping from the front of the group, Kitty and Evie by her side, "Hell fucking yeah!" She yelled, fist-pumping the air before taking off in a sprint down the hill, everyone else following her excitement. I almost called out for them to be careful, worried one of them would slip and fall but it made me feel like some kind of worried mother.

I jogged slightly, trying to be as careful as possible as I went, but it didn't stop me from slipping slightly in the mud. I managed to catch myself before I could properly fall, but got my hands dirty in the process.

I was muttering to myself as I dusted my hands down on my shorts, smearing mud over them. When I glanced up, my feet on solid ground, my mouth fell open, "Holy shit..." I breathed out, taking a step forward, my eyes widening as I went.

In front of us, was a smaller looking beach with water stretching in front of us. We seemed to have stumbled upon a circular lake with trees surrounding the entire beach, along with a small shore of sand around it. The water was so clear I could see the rocks beneath it.

Ivy, being the first one there, was already tearing her clothes off, wearing a pair of black and white checkered boxer-pants and a black sports bra. She disposed her clothes carelessly, making a straight beeline for the water, her arms spread out like a bird about to take flight. Within seconds, she had dove under the water before coming back up, sucking in air and throwing her head back, tossing her hair out of her face.

I stood there, watching as one by one, everyone stripped out of their clothes and ran into the water, not giving it a second thought. A smile slowly started to cross my lips as I began walking, and then jogging, and then sprinting towards the water. I was laughing as I stumbled, attempting to pull my clothes off as quickly as I could until all I was wearing was my pink bikini with tiny animated daisies over them.

Dropping everything, I ran towards the water, laughing hysterically as a feeling I hadn't felt in days hit me. I realised that it was genuine happiness—for the first time in days, I felt truly happy and content. It was like sheer euphoria.

Entering the water felt like absolute Heaven. Of course, it was freezing cold, but I didn't give it a second thought as I ran in to my thighs before diving underneath. I swam for a few paces, breathing out through my nose before bopping my head out of the water, opening my eyes and taking a look around.

My feet weren't touching the ground as I floated in the one spot, kicking my legs and using my arms to keep myself afloat. The ends of my hair were floating around my shoulders as I ran my hands over the top of my head, pushing the loose strands of out of the way.

Everyone was in the water, laughing and smiling like nothing else mattered. June was in up until her ribcage, laughing as she spoke with Eden who had went in the water in some a white nightgown looking dress she had worn underneath her dress that had been layered on top. Hailey was sitting in the shallow end, caressing her foot in the water with a content smile on her face, Brooklyn next to her, speaking at a quick pace. Maggie was swimming around, going in circles as she laughed to herself, dunking her head in and out of the water. Abby was running her hands through her thick curls, trying her best to detangle them in the water. Imani was the closest to me, sighing in content as she closed her eyes, floating as I was. Ethan was the furthest out, up to his chin in the water as he looked around, a soft smile on his face.

As for the Devils, Kitty and Evie were splashing each other and pretending to dunk one another under the water. Ivy was laying on her back, floating on top of the water as she drifted backwards. Hattie and Nora were jumping on top of each other, laughing hysterically.

I couldn't help but beam as I watched them all. It was exactly what we needed, a moment filled with so much joy and laughter amongst everything else that had happened. It had almost felt like we were all drowning, and now, we were afloat—above the water. And we were happy.

I blinked when I was suddenly splashed in the face with water and when I rubbed the water out of my eyes, I could hear and see June laughing hysterically as she tried to swim away from me, "Oh, so that's the game we're playing!" I exclaimed, splashing her back as she laughed into the air. And I loved the sound. My sister had such a hearty laugh—and it wasn't often that I got to her it. So when I did, it made my heart swell with pride that I was the one making her laugh.

We all stayed in the water for ages, swimming around, enjoying ourselves. And that's when I saw it—a football rippling in the water beside me. My eyes lit up as I snatched it, "Hey, guys! Look!" I called out, holding the ball above my head as if it were some kind of trophy, grinning as I went.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Nora exclaimed, fist-pumping the air, a overjoyed smile on her face.

I swam far enough that I could touch the ground again and passed the ball between my hands, "Anyone feel like playing a game?" I suggested, the grin on my face growing. I had been craving something like this. I loved doing any kind of activity—and soccer was no exception. I hadn't played just because I wanted to make my mom proud; it was because I whole-heartedly enjoyed the sport.

"And have the chance to actually beat y'all? Hell fucking yeah!" Kitty agreed, immediately getting out of the water.

I turned my gaze to Ivy, "What do you say, Ivy? You wanna play?" I asked her in a challenging tone, giving her a confident smile.

Ivy's eyes lit up, "If you wanna have your ass bet I have no problem with doing it." She said, shooting me a smirk that only made my smile grow wider.

One by one, we all got out of the water. We were still dripping wet as we made the rules for the game. It would be like any ordinary soccer, only, we had put sticks together to make the goals. It wasn't difficult for us to fall into our usual roles, myself and Ivy being the Captains and Abby and Hattie being the goalies. It came so naturally to each of us.

By the time we had rounded our teams up, we had dried off a little and put some of our clothes back on. I had packed my Pirates shorts, which I stuck on, but kept my bikini bra on to keep me cooler in the heat. And just like that, our teams were ready to play—with the exception of Brooke and Hailey. However, to even the numbers, Ethan had temporarily joined the Devils whilst Brooke and Hailey sat on the sidelines due to their injuries. But they weren't too phased, commenting how it gave them plenty of time to sunbathe.

Our teams stood on their respective sides of the 'pitch' whilst Ivy and I stood in front of each other in the middle, with the ball between us. Ivy had tied her hair into a ponytail, which due to the water, had grown more curly. I had also tied my hair back, not wanting it to get in the way.

Ivy was grinning, her hands on her hips, "This would have been so much sweeter at Nationals." She boasted, already assuming her team was going to win.

"You're right," I agreed. "It would have been great to wipe the floor with y'all in front of that many people." I chirped, giving her a sweet smile.

"Touché, Sawyer." And then she was ramming into me without warning, knocking me onto my back and sweeping the ball from my feet.

I hit the sand with my fist, "Bitch." I hissed under my breath, quickly getting back to my feet as I ran after her, chasing the ball down.

Ivy was quick—I had almost forgotten how fast she was. But I was only a few paces behind her, if she hadn't knocked me on my ass, I would have been right there beside her, battling for the ball.

I stayed hot on her tail as June appeared to the left of her, slamming into her and stealing the ball. She turned, sliding the ball behind her before kicking it at me, landing it perfectly at my feet. I wanted to rub it in Ivy's face, but I didn't have the time. Instead, I turned with the ball, carrying it by Kitty and Evie who tried to double-team me to steal it. But I managed to kick the ball between Kitty's feet and then barge through them, running towards Hattie at the goals. That's when Ethan came out of fucking nowhere and rammed me into the ground.

"Fucking hell, Ethan!" I exclaimed from beneath him. The fall hadn't hurt as much, since it was on sand, but Ethan was a huge and muscular guy—and he weighed a million fucking pounds.

"Sorry, Len," He apologised bashfully, getting off of me and dusting the sand from his shorts. He offered me his hand. "Sometimes I forget you're like, five foot nothing." He joked as I took his hand, allowing him to pull me up, but before I let go, I wrapped my foot around his ankle, this time knocking him onto the ground.

I leaned down to him with a smile, "I'm five foot four." I corrected, beginning to take a step back from him as my smile turned into a grin.

"Fair play, Sawyer!" He called after me with a chuckle.

Now that I was on my feet, I could see clearly that Ivy had ahold of the ball again and she was right in front of the goals. She kicked and it soared by Abby's head, through the branches we had lined up as goals.

The Devils celebrated as Ivy ran towards me, sweat glistening on her shoulders, "Thanks for lending us the big guy." She chirped in passing as I glared at her, regretting being so fair by giving them Ethan. He was a ridiculously good player—and bigger than all of us. Standing at over six foot, it was almost impossible to get by the goofy giant.

We started again, this time, I rammed myself into Ivy's shoulder, knocking her to the ground as I took custody of the ball. I kicked it down, passing it to Imani who then passed it to Maggie who managed to run around Nora as she attempted to get the ball. I sprinted as they passed the ball back and forth, getting to the corner of our handmade pitch.

"June, I'm open!" I yelled across at her, waving my hand in the air when Maggie passed her the ball.

June turned, giving one of her powerful kicks to sent the ball into the air towards me. I brought my leg up, twisting my body, kicking the ball towards the goal. Hattie's fingertips almost grazed it, but in the end, it went right over her head and through the goals.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, jumping on my feet with a laugh. I ran backwards, glancing across at Ivy with a smirk. "What was that you were saying before? About beating us?" I asked her sarcastically.

She stuck her nose in the air, "A draw is hardly a win, Princess." She reminded me, but I was feeling pretty good about our odds.

When we started once again, both Ivy and I fought for the ball, pushing and shoving each other. In the end, Ivy managed to kick it through my feet and towards Nora. I immediately turned on my heels, running after the ball as it slowly began making its way towards our goals through passes.

Kitty was just about to kick it in when I slide-tackled her from behind, knocking both of us into the sand, "What the fuck, Lennon!" Kitty yelled at me, taking a clump of sand in her fists and tossing it at me—luckily, it missed my face and hit me right in the chest.

I opened my mouth, about to retaliate but before I could, another sound bet me to it. Each and every single one of us froze. It was the sound again—the howling. Only this time, it was during broad daylight, and it sounded scarily close.

I lay there in the sand, staring up at the trees and mountains all around us. A large gust of wind swept in through the area, blowing sand across us, knocking our makeshift pitch to pieces. I slowly got to my feet, pushing my hair out of my face as the wind smacked into it, pushing it across my vision.

The sky was growing darker with grey clouds rolling across a previously bright sky. The trees were beginning to sway and bend unnaturally and the water was rippling from behind us. There was a storm coming—and it was right on top of us.

"Everyone get your stuff! We have to get back to camp right now!" I exclaimed, grabbing my bag from the floor and sliding my sneakers on my feet, not caring to dust the sand from my skin first.

We all collected the rest of our belongings as quickly as we could against the clock. I didn't know how long it would take for the storm to reach us, but we couldn't waste time. We had to get back to the camp and take shelter.

Just as I reached June, helping her scoop her wet clothes into her backpack, a bolt of lightening struck the water from behind us, making everyone scream and take cover as the thunder began to rumble in the sky.

I looked around, my eyes wide, "Everyone run!"

                AUTHORS NOTE.

               This is when it starts to truly kick off and the island gets weird as fuck. Enjoy :)))

               — taylor xx