CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:
They were monsters.

LENNON.

We didn't dare move an inch the entire night. No one uttered a word or made a move to head back to camp. We were all frozen to the spot, the realisation of what had happened looming over us like a dark cloud. Nora and Hailey were dead—they had died right in front of us and there was nothing any of us could have done to stop it. But I couldn't help but feel guilty. Maybe, just maybe, if I had gotten there sooner I could have saved them—maybe they would still be alive if only I had been quicker.

I was sitting on my knees, my bloodied hands gripping Hailey's as I stared into space, trying to wrap my head around all that had happened. The sun was coming up beneath the trees, bringing the dawn of a new day—one where Hailey and Nora didn't exist. How could a person be alive and breathing? And then just be nothing but bloodied remains? It didn't make sense to me.

"Lennon?" The voice startled me, making me jump slightly. When I realised it was June, I relaxed slightly. But I didn't dare move. June had left me some time into the early morning to comfort Maggie who had been crying hysterically—she had been the closest to Hailey, despite them being total opposites. And she was taking it real hard.

June lowered herself beside me, "Len, we've got to go. It's not safe to stay out here." She said, her voice sounding drained, tired—like there was no life left.

"I'm not leaving her." I refused, clutching tighter to Hailey's hand.

"We'll bury them with the others," The words came from Ethan who was standing behind me. He crouched down behind me, his hand landing on my shoulder. "Please, Lennon. It's not safe out here for any of us." He pleaded, giving my shoulder a squeeze. He knew those were the words that would get me moving. I wouldn't allow those creatures to come back and take any more of us.

I stared at Hailey, my eyes feeling heavy and swollen. After a moment, I nodded. I placed a lingering kiss on the back of Hailey's hand I had been clutching before I untangled my fingers from hers—which was difficult since her hand had gone stiff around mine, only reminding me that she was truly gone. That was the moment my stomach flipped.

I jumped from my feet, stumbling forward a few paces before I threw up. Barely anything came up except for bile. It made my eyes burn and my chest clench as I gasped for air, bending over slightly. My eyes were watering as I straightened myself out, looking up at the sky from above, inhaling as much as I could.

How had things turned out so badly? It was one thing where we were simply stranded on a deserted island, but the last twenty-four hours had changed everything drastically. I was convinced we were on the same island as the Island Witches, even more so after what had happened. My mom used to write about the monsters that hunted them. Back then, I assumed it was some wild animal, but those creatures weren't animals. They were something else entirely—something sadistically vile. They were monsters.

I furrowed my brows as I looked down at the blood caked on my hands. A memory flashed through my mind. The scissors thrusting in and out of the monsters skin. I had almost forgot I had slain one of the monsters—almost forgot how brutally rampant I had gone. I hadn't felt like myself. It was as if something pure animalistic had taken over my body. When I saw June in danger, all I saw was red. And now all I could see was the red staining my skin.

I slowly turned, my eyes falling on the two bodies of the monsters. In the daylight, they looked just as menacing. They were at least four foot tall, practically bald except for some spots that had grey-ish fur. Their teeth were the size of my hands, pointed, yellow and covered in blood. Their eyes were bright yellow, resembling a wolves—but they were larger and bloodshot.

I stared at the one I had maimed, feeling my mouth water as sickness washed over me again. I turned my gaze to the second dead monster, looking at the bullet that had lodged in its head to the blood that pooled on the ground around its shattered skull.

I perked up, "The gun." I said, surprised by the sound of my own voice. It was hoarse—broken.

"What?" June asked me, turning to look at me.

I turned my body to face the group, "The gun," I repeated, my gaze falling on Brooke. She was sitting the furthest away, her face stained with tears, mascara smeared over her under eye. I found my eyes narrowing, almost accusingly. "Brooke, where did you find the gun?" I demanded, pulling her gaze towards me.

Brooke swallowed, "When everything kicked off, I remembered my dad used to have hunting gear in a secret compartment. I ran to get it and—"

"How the fuck do you forget something like that?" I demanded, cutting her off, feeling my heart skip a beat.

Brooke's eyes widened, "Why the fuck are you yelling at me?" She exclaimed, throwing her hands up as she rose to her feet, her voice breaking. "It's not my fucking fault, Lennon! We crashed into the middle of Gods knows where! I wasn't exactly thinking about my dads gun collection—"

"Well, you should have been!" I yelled at her, bounding towards her. Everyone shifted, feeling the tension in the air. "If you remembered then maybe—" The slap didn't exactly come as a surprise, not when I was practically blaming her for the death of our friend and Nora. It hadn't been my intention. I just couldn't stop the accusatory words from slipping from my mouth.

"Hey! That's enough!" Imani exclaimed, pushing her way between us. She looked between us as I stared at my feet, my cheek stinging, eyes watering, ears ringing. She looked between us. "This isn't anyone's fault, alright? Brooke, you know Lennon isn't blaming you—tensions are just high as shit right now. And Lennon, take a step back, alright? Just step back." I glanced up, my eyes settling on Imani before they shifted to Brooke who looked on the verge of tears.

I sighed and stepped back, distancing myself, "Brooke, I'm sorry. I'm not—I'm not trying to blame you, really. I just... I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." I could feel my eyes filling with tears, my chest clenching. Every second passing felt like I was fucking dying.

Brooke looked at me, her bottom lip trembling before she pulled me into a hug. I crumbled against her, feeling overwhelmed as she wrapped her arms around me, "It's okay, Len. Really, it's alright," She assured me, rubbing at my back. She pulled away but held onto my arms. She attempted a smile as she touched my cheek. "Sorry for slapping you." She apologised, rubbing at my arms.

"It's okay," I assured her, reaching up to give her hand a squeeze. I was glad Brooke knew I wasn't intending to be cruel, nor was I intending to blame her. What had happened was no one's fault. I tilted my head. "How many guns does your dad have?" I asked her curiously. Now that we knew how dangerous those monsters were, it was even more important to have something to protect ourselves with. I had got lucky when I used those scissors.

"Three—two shotguns and one handgun. He has plenty of ammo—a crossbow too. And a few hunting knives," She informed me before her cheeks turned hot. "I'm sorry, guys. I really did forget." She apologised, looking around the group.

"Don't worry about it. We know about them now," I assured her before inhaling sharply, momentarily glancing at the bodies. "We need to move them—bury them with the others. We can't stay out here right now, it's far too dangerous." I said, my gaze shifting between the group.

Ivy nodded, "The sooner the better." I glanced across at her, giving her a nod back. I hadn't forgotten how she had been crying when she sat beside me, watching Hailey's life slip away. We had both lost teammates that night.

"There's just one problem," Kitty spoke up. She had a few scratch marks across her cheek. "Coach is missing." She informed Ivy who's eyes widened.

"For how long?" Ivy demanded.

"Since the storm," Evie piped in. Her eyes were red-raw and her body was still visibly shaking. "When we got back he wasn't there. We don't know where he went or what happened to him." She explained, her voice as tiny as her size.

"Shit," Ivy hissed. "Alright, we'll have to search for him—"

"You're joking, right?" Abby spoke up, her eyes turning into narrow slits as she glared at Ivy. "We can't be out here after what happened. It's too fucking dangerous." She refused, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I'm not asking you to come," Ivy said, returning the glare. She glanced at Kitty. "You'll come with me, right? To find him?" She hopefully asked her, eyes locking onto her best friends.

Kitty hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Yeah. I'll come." She agreed. I knew she didn't want to, not really, after what had happened. But she was Ivy's best friend and she'd do anything for her—just like how I would do anything for June.

I took a few steps forward, "I'm not gonna tell you not to, but I think you should wait a while," I spoke up, stepping in line with Ivy who tipped her head back to look at me. "We have guns now—so you should take them with you. But we'll have to practice first before they're safe to use. And we have to bury Hailey and Nora. Once we're done, I'll come with you and—"

"No!" June suddenly exclaimed, turning my face towards her. Her eyes were wide, looking horrified at the idea. "Len, you're in no condition to go anywhere, look at you! And those fuckers are out there. You can't go, alright? You can't." She frantically refused, crossing the clearing to stand in front of me.

I took June's hand in mine, "June, I'm fine, okay? We can't just leave Coach Stratford out there, especially not with those... things around," I tried reasoning but she shook her head, her eyes watering. I gripped her tighter. "Juniper, please. I couldn't save Hailey or Nora. Just let me do this." I begged her, the weight in my chest not allowing me to rest until all of us were accounted for.

Surprising me, June ripped her hands from mine and staggered back, "You don't have to save everyone all the fucking time, Lennon!" She yelled at me, her voice breaking. "I was—I was supposed to save you! But you just couldn't help yourself, could you? You have to be the one to save everyone, all the fucking time—"

"June—"

"Go if you fucking want," June hissed over me, taking a few steps closer to me. "But I'm not gonna come running to save you this time." I stared at her, watching as her chest heaved, tears dripping from her lashes. I knew she was only trying to hurt me because she was hurting. I had given her a massive scare, and now she was terrified something bad was going to happen again—to me this time.

"That's okay, June." I told her softly.

"Fuck you, Lennon," She growled before turning her back, grabbing onto Ethan's hand. "Come on, let's get them to the graves."

I stared as my sister crouched down by Hailey's feet whilst Ethan moved to her top half. I felt heavy. Like an anchor was tied around my ankle, trying to drag me to the depths below. It felt like I couldn't fucking breathe.

IVY

As a group, we had carried the bodies to the gravesite. Once again, we had dug out another two holes in the ground with heavy hearts. I didn't know Hailey very well, but watching her life slip away like that had been horrific. As for Nora, we hadn't been close, but I had known her for years—and she was a good fucking person.

The girls had already been attacked before Lennon and I even arrived and I was glad I wasn't there for that part. But that didn't mean it didn't haunt me. Their deaths would be remembered for the rest of our lives—we would never forget. And I'd never forget their names, no matter how many years would pass.

I was sitting by Nora's grave, sipping on a water bottle Evie had fetched for me. The majority of us had returned to the camp to clear their minds before we would put the bodies in the ground. I couldn't bring myself to move. I couldn't help but feel guilty that they were dead. They had been out there searching for us and if they hadn't been; there was the possibility their lives might have been spared.

I found my gaze drifting upwards and away from the bruises I had been staring at on my knees. My eyes fell on Lennon. She was sitting at Hailey's grave, flowers, vines and sticks by her feet. She was weaving them into what was supposed to be flower crowns—for Nora and Hailey. She had been at it for a while, concentrating so hard I knew it was only to take her mind off of everything that had happened.

When Lennon told me she thought we had landed on the same island as the '98 Pirates, I thought she was crazy. But after the night we'd had, I was beginning to realise that anything was possible. I had seen those monsters with my own eyes and they were something straight from a horror film. I was beginning to wonder if there was the possibility that Lennon was right.

Lennon brushed her hair out of her face, her gaze fixated on the flower crown in her hands. I could barely recognise her. Lennon had always been a snotty Princess in my eyes—a girl with too much money and no clue what to do with it. But starting at her just then, it couldn't have been further from the truth. I had watched her rampage on the creature that had dared to attack her sister and it's blood remained all over her skin. It clung to her hands, neck and face, staining her in a constant reminder of what had happened.

I found myself moving towards her before I could change my mind, "You look a fucking mess." I blurted out. Lennon looked up at me but she didn't have a glare nor a witty retort prepped on her tongue. And I didn't know what to do with that.

I swallowed. "I just wanted to see if you were alright. Y'know, after everything that happened..." I trailed off, staring at her as she stared back at me.

"I, uh," Lennon paused, thinking it over. She diverted her gaze, looking at the unfinished flower crown between her fingers. "I feel numb." She admitted, her brows pushing together.

"It feels different this time—burying them," She went on, glancing at Hailey's grave where the girls body had been placed inside, wrapped in the scraps from the parachute. She licked her lips and then cringed at the taste of blood. "I keep trying to take my mind off it but it's a bit hard with, well..." She gestured with her hands, showing me the blood that had gone crusty over her skin.

I glanced away, staring at the trees around her, "I know how to shoot a gun," I told her, making her glance up at me. I looked down, gesturing at her. "If you wanna go to the lake and get cleaned up I'll come with you." I didn't know why I was offering such a thing to my sworn enemy. Maybe it ws because when we were lost in the woods, we'd only had each other. Or maybe it was because the sight of her covered in all that blood made me feel sick.

Lennon stared at me, blinking slowly, "I'd actually really appreciate that." She said, her voice coming out small.

"Alright," I said. "I'll grab us some water and a gun and we can head down. We'll be back on time for the funeral." I assured her, earning a nod. Eden had insisted on all of us being there whilst she said a few prayers—she had also made Nora's flower crown that sat by Lennon's feet. It was better than Lennon's which was barely holding it together—perhaps a metaphor for her possible fragile mental state. And I couldn't fucking blame her after what happened.

"Thanks, Ivy." Lennon said, her voice heavy.

I waved my hand dismissively at her, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

               AUTHORS NOTE.

                It's so much fun when i get to write in different characters POV's! Just about every character in this book should, at some point, have their own POV's!

                  Limme know what u thought!!

                 — taylor xx