(Longtime readers will remember I used to have this as a story💖)

Alex:

I woke up on an island. The sand between my toes felt slightly comforting, but I was still confused. Where was I? I felt confused. I couldn't remember anything. I pulled myself up, into a sitting position. All I could see was crystal blue water, with pearl white sand and swinging green palm trees, forming a kind of forest. I stood up and walked into the forest. Five minutes in, I noticed a glimmer of silver in a tree. I looked around looking for anything I could use to climb the tree. A few feet away in a clearing, I could see 6 chunks of kaleidoscope-colored glass lying on the ground. I jogged over, picking up the glass and a pair of pale blue gloves lying next to them. I pulled on the gloves, flexing my fingers for comfort. I grabbed the glass-carefully- and made sure that I was ready. I was. I faced the tree and, taking a breath, jumped onto the tree, using the glass to chink into the tree, pulled myself up. Slowly, I pulled myself into the boughs of the tree. Grabbing the pouch, I leapt down.

I walked back to the clearing where I'd found the glass. It was shaped like a square, about 10 feet wide. I pulled at the braided golden string- and jumped back in alarm. The pouch had turned into an enormous silver tent! Tentatively, I reached for the flap. Pulling it open, I headed inside. My jaw dropped. The inside of the tent was furnished like a small bedroom! There was a spiral set of intricately designed aquamarine steps leading upward. I headed over, climbing the steps slowly. On the top floor, there was an enormous bedroom with a dresser, closet, TV, bed, and a balcony leading outside. I went onto the balcony, looking outside. As I turned around, I noticed a small wooden button behind my bed. I jogged over and pressed it.Suddenly, a small door began to open in the closest. I held my breath as I entered, walking into a small armory-style room. There were swords and sheaths of arrows hanging on every wall, along with bows for each sheath. On the far wall, there was a set of armor, shining silver. I ran to the balcony- there was one here too- and looked outside. There were some strange, shadow-like figures-coming toward my tent.

I ran downstairs to the tent flap and tied it shut with a length of rope. That should keep them out of my home. Going back to the armory, I pulled the armor on over the clothes and strapped 2 sheaths of arrows to my back. I slid a sword into the scabbard on my waist, grabbed a sleek silver bow, and ran to the balcony. One of the shadows had raised it head to look at me- I think. They didn't have facial features or anything. I grabbed an arrow and fixed it to the bowstring. I released the arrow, letting it fly though the shadow and watching it evaporate into the night sky. I kept shooting all night, until the first streaks of light broke through in the west. When the sun came up, the shadows screeched and all evaporated at once. Exhausted, I left the weapons in the armory and went to my bedroom. As I entered, a shadow leapt onto the balcony from outside. It looked like the biggest and strongest shade of the bunch. This shade didn't even evaporate in the sunlight. It charged me before I could move, and swung its shadow-wreathed sword at my neck. I felt a sudden ice-cold pain numbing my neck and then...

I blacked out.

Lily

Lily woke up, blinded by the bright light. She couldn't remember anything. Her name. What was her name? Yes, Lily Spencer Winters. She had a brother. Alex Quinn Winters. I didn't remember what happened...A mom. A dad. Her father... he died. When the war started, he was one of the first to be taken. Her mother... first one to be taken by the virus. The Septic Virus. That's what people called the new strain of the cold virus the scientists had released. It was meant to cure all strains of the cold. Instead, it killed anyone who had any type of disease at the time. Her mother had cancer. Blinking her tears away, she struggled to get up, then discovered her arms and legs were tied down to the cold metal table.

Blinking groggily, she tried to look around, only to discover that she was in an operation-style room with three people in black suits standing with their backs to her. A female nurse walked up to her side, holding a metal tray with several needles and scalpels on it. Lily's eyes widened in fear, trying to inch away. Two of the men in suits turned around, and Lily screamed in fear. They had no mouths. No eyes. No noses. No ears. Just a mop of black hair atop a blank face. The nurse's mouth broke into a gruesome smile as she picked up a needle and jabbed it into Lily's leg. Lily's mouth opened, releasing a long, blood-curdling scream that never broke for breath. Her eyelids seemed heavy as they slipped shut, condemning her into the world of darkness...

Lily's eyes slowly slid open, staring into the sun. She winced and put her hand over her eyes, cringing with that small movement. Gently, she wiggled herself up into a sitting position, whimpering quietly. The first thing she noticed: sand. White calcium carbonate spheres make up the surface she was sitting on. Dizzily, Lily got to her feet and nearly fell over in shock. She was on an island. A lone, unfamiliar island. Green palm trees. A tall stone temple standing amongst the trees. Sparkling blue water in every direction, with coral spires jutting out of the water rather impressively. Under the ocean, Lily could see several sharks and sea turtles swimming around.

As she stood up uneasily, the sand swirled around. It formed a figure, a tall female who stood stiff and straight. She was wearing a black business suit with her dark hair swirled into a bun. She didn't look like she had been formed out of sand. She looked real, and very serious. She stated in a very droning and monotone voice: "Patient Number 235184, Health Status critical, code missing, cure successful, disease contained, mission success." Before I could ask what she was talking about, she disappeared into a swirl of sea water and calcium carbonate. Blinking slowly, I tried to make sense of the words she had said. Patient number... I was the 235,184'th person to do this experiment? Or was that a serial code? I didn't know. Heath status critical?! I didn't feel like I was going to die or anything, I felt normal, as healthy as I'd ever been. I looked down at my hand, realizing code missing probably meant that I had a tattoo and it was gone. My hand was clear, but there was a smudge on the back, shaped like a small rectangle. Pulling it closer, there were some pale lines on the inside of the shape, alternating between the darker lines, like a barcode. I sighed, and thought about the next things. Cure successful...virus contained...that meant that...I had the virus.

Wait...but if I had the virus... Why wasn't I dead? People who contacted the virus usually died within 2 to 3 DAYS. I must have had it removed, otherwise...

Never mind that.

The fact was, I was safe. I shook myself off, and continued to walk, heading toward the forest. Pushing aside random branches and leaves, I headed up toward the temple. The door was sealed shut with heavy planks nailed and smashed up across it. Sighing, I looked around for another doorway, since I DEFINITELY wasn't strong enough to pull nailed down wood off. I walked around the border of the entire temple, and found nothing but vines and ivy covering all the sides. Until I went to the back. I found a small square hole in the wall, high up, way out of my reach. There were some small stubby little trees around, but there were none tall enough for me to climb or even jump off of. I headed back toward the front of the temple, sighing in frustration. There was a feeling inside me that said there was something important inside. Something I could use to get of this island. I ran back, realizing something. There were some palm tree fronds on the ground, and I got an idea. Leaning over, I scooped one up, and began stripping the small leaves off from the main stem. When I was done, I wove them into a small rope, using the skill my mother had taught me, before the virus exploded into existence. Good thing palm fronds were strong but stable. I picked the spikes off of the base stalk and began piercing the rope at regular intervals, making a small ladder style rope.

(yeah it's a Work In Progress.)

(Leave any suggests down below, although I may not respond for a while.)

~Lily