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Time Jump~

Gregory Fletcher's POV~

Austin slept beside me on my cot again. In the morning, he used his left bicep as a pillow, and his right hand was fondly on my waist. I wanted to intimately touch him, like hook my arm around his or place my palm on his hip, but I felt too nervous to do so, especially while he was sleeping.

The only physical contact I made with the golden blond was with his veiny hand when I removed it from me and gradually dropped it to the leaves of my bed. Afterward, I staggered upright to sit, stretched by twisting my body and rolling my shoulders, and set my elbows on my arched knees.

Lianne was still missing. Alyana, who was alone outside and eating breakfast around a fire as she had done yesterday, was thinking hard, probably about my best friend. Today, she was likely to join Austin and me in the search for Lianne. Knowing the Birds, a bulk of them would assist, too.

I hobbled to my feet and roamed out of the cave. The tropical air was already sweltering, so the fire was low enough to fry three bananas, a unique meal the Birds had experimented with before sharing the simple instructions with us Monkeys. The fried fruit was delectable and addictive.

As usual, I brushed my teeth at the rain catchers with peppermint, then accompanied the flight attendant. She passed me the food she had prepared for me, silently as if she assumed I would not want to talk to her because I was rightly gloomy and furious about Lianne's disappearance.

I lowered on the log that Austin and I commonly used and started to pick at and consume the slices of crisp banana on a flat rock in my lap. A couple of beautiful parrots flew from tree to tree while monkeys screeched far away, but no exotic sights or noises could cheer up Alayna or me.

Eventually, Austin awakened. He left the den, did what he needed with the pure water in a rain catcher, and grabbed breakfast from the older sibling. Once he was beside me, Alayna doused the fire, and the early morning continued as it had been, with no remarks spoken by anybody.

Time Jump~

Today, like yesterday, seemed incomplete without Lianne, but soon, rustling of foliage came from the south, and Wilfred and Velma emerged into the small clearing. She arrived empty-handed, but he had a lengthy spear tipped with a sharpened stone for his and her protection.

Austin stood from around the makeshift firepit and approached the pair of Birds. "Morning," he welcomed, speaking maybe his tenth word since waking up. "Are you here to look for Lianne?"

Wilfred nodded. "We volunteered to come over and search more in this direction while Susie and Juanita went elsewhere. Who knows where the hell the Snakes could've taken her, you know?"

"Good enough party for me. Give us a minute to grab our things, and I'll have you and Alayna lead us to where you two and Susie stopped last time. We'll pick up right where you left off."

Not much had to be carried for the tracking. I threw my handmade quiver over my shoulders but kept my single arrow loaded in my bow. Austin grabbed his skewer, which resembled Wilfred's but was thicker. Alayna stuffed a jagged wooden knife into a pocket of her flight attendant attire.

After several other things were grabbed, Alayna and Wilfred trudged into the watery rainforest, steering Austin, Velma, and me. The shirtless blond walked and chatted with our guides, whereas the college student with black-rimmed glasses remained in the group's back with me.

I was still distraught over the dancer's absence. However, now that we Monkeys and the Birds were exploring the wilderness again to find her, I eradicated the tension that caused me to be so quiet during breakfast. As a result, though, I regretted not conversing with Austin and Alayna.

"How are you holding up?" Velma quizzed. She sounded concerned for my well-being but also cautious as if she feared I was not in the mood to engage in a discussion and would snap at her.

"I'm doing all right now," I responded truthfully. "Like, I'm obviously not used to her not here with us, but knowing we're out here looking for her helps, or I have to believe it helps, at least."

"I understand. Remember those conversations about optimism and realism during our first couple of days here? I think both are good, but they're good under certain circumstances."

"Yeah, I agree. In this case, I have to stay positive. I'll let my guard down otherwise, and for all I know, the Snakes will jump out and take advantage of my ignorance. I won't let that happen."

Velma smiled. "There's that braveness I mentioned yesterday. I'm glad you still have it."

"Trust me, all the Snakes did was piss me off, which only leads to more braveness," I expressed, "and stupidity, sometimes. Austin knows that; that's why he convinced me to go to the swamp."

"Well, for the record, I believe he did the right thing. People can do all sorts of nasty stuff when their emotions get the best of them. I can't help but wonder if that played a role with Geoffrey."

"In his decision to go with Isaac? I imagine it could have. He was pretty damn mad at Frank and frantic to go home. Hell, I don't even think he brought up Anita at all. He was just too frustrated."

"He brought her up to me, but yeah, I know what you're saying. If we come across him out here, I hope I'll have the chance to talk to him. A whole month has gone by, though, you know? What if being stuck with Isaac and Shania for that long turned him into someone I don't want to know?"

"You might not have to worry about that since he seemed genuinely upset when me and Austin last saw him with Isaac. There's no way he or Miley would let them get into their heads like that."

"I want you to be right, Greg, but being stranded on an island can change people so fast and so easily. I mean, they don't even know about Queen Pacificea, do they? I have so many questions."

"Assuming the Snakes did take Lianne, we'll get some answers soon, I promise. Until then, try taking your mind off them, off Geoffrey. Have you found the kind of braveness you want yet?"

Velma straightened her posture, sighing lightly. "All I did on our way back from the swamp and on my way to your cave this morning was hype myself up in my head, but I'm still a bit anxious."

"If I remember correctly, you said you're okay with talking about things of your interest but have trouble talking about people of your interest, right? That's normal for most of us, you know."

"Not necessarily talking about people of my interest; it's more to do with talking about my feelings to people who interest me. Like, I was so shy when Lianne met me on the beach."

"Oh, on our first day on the island? I don't know exactly what Lianne said to me, but I know she told me she tried to talk to you, but you wanted to be alone. Okay, I see what you mean now."

The blonde nodded, relieved. "And, uh, yeah, as I also said, there are exceptions, probably more than I realize since the only two people who I want nothing to do with are Isaac and Shania."

"You definitely don't give yourself enough credit, Velma. I mean, do I need to remind you of all the times you've talked with someone so damn confidently that I can remember or something?"

"But how many of those conversations were about my feelings for the person I was talking to, and how many of them were had when Juanita was standing right there with me for support?"

I did not reply.

"I agree that this lack of braveness is normal, by the way," Velma admitted, "but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with, and I want to deal with it for myself more than anyone else."

As I stomped over a log blanketed with soft moss and white mushrooms, I mulled and carefully chose my next words. "Listen," I said, "the best thing I can tell you is to remember where we are and what can happen to us at any moment. You don't want to miss out on taking any chances."

"Even if the feelings I want to convey to the person I'm talking to are, like, romantic, for example? How do you deal with romance or something just as big in a situation like ours?"

"I'd be lying if I said I haven't been thinking about that, too, lately. Since I started, though, I came to believe that talking about it with the person in question can answer any questions you have."

"Similar to how answering my questions about the Snakes requires me to just... ask them."

"Exactly. For this, all you have to do is tell the person what you want to tell them, and if they're understanding, they'll talk it through with you. Chances are most questions will be answered."

Bobbing her head, Velma erected her stance again. She remained mute for a minute, then closed her eyes and deeply inhaled. "What would you say if I were to tell you I like you?" she exhaled.

I saw the consequential query whirling toward me from a mile away, yet I still cringed. "I'd, um... I'd have to tell you the truth," I responded, "that I'm not into you or Lianne or Alayna or Susie—"

"Oh, okay, yeah, I-I see what you're saying," Velma interjected, flustered as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "You, uh, are into, you know, Austin and Wilfred. I got it."

"I didn't—"

"No, it's fine, really, Greg! That was just an idea of what I've been thinking about saying to someone. But yeah, anyway, I'll leave you alone now! I'm sure you've got a lot on your mind."

I huffed helplessly and reached out a hand as if that would stop the humiliated Velma from hurrying up to the three islanders trekking a secure distance ahead. She did not walk next to them when she reached them, instead hanging off to the side but close enough to be safe.

Everyone knew Velma adequately enough to recognize she was having trouble with something. Wilfred was especially aware of that because he had been seeing and chatting with her daily for a month. Austin and Alayna continued onward while the male Bird waited for me to catch up.

"Is everything okay with her?" the Australian with muttonchops quizzed.

I shrugged, unsure of how to respond to the five words. "I don't really know if it's my place to explain in detail, so I'll just say, uh, she wanted something from me, but I can't give it to her."

"You can't give it to her, or you won't give it to her?"

"Well, technically, I could give it to her, but I wouldn't be happy."

Wilfred nodded. He had always been respectful and decided not to pry into my emotions, so he swapped the topic of the conversation to focus solely on Velma. "She isn't mad at you, is she?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she's embarrassed more than anything else. What we talked about isn't something she's used to talking about, especially on her own, and it didn't go her way, so..."

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

"You can, but time is the only thing that'll help her get over what she wanted. Once you find out what we talked about, you'll understand what I mean. But, um, yes, you should still talk to her."

Wilfred bowed his head again. "I'll wait for the right moment. I'm no counselor like you, but it shouldn't be too hard to help her. Regardless, sorry for what happened between the two of you."

"Thanks."

The Bird reunited with the team of Monkeys several yards away, whereas Velma and I lingered by ourselves, with her on the boundary of the path we were creating while I trudged along in the back. As much as I was alleviated knowing Velma was informed of the truth, I felt terrible for her.

Time Jump~

At some point in the mid-afternoon, the other survivors and I came upon a spacious field where healthy jungle trees used to grow as tall as a tower. However, a commercial plane had crashed into the verdant site long ago, leaving behind deteriorating timber and weathered airliner junk.

"Holy shit," Wilfred cursed.

Excitement and curiosity caused everybody to run forward, dashing through the equatorial plants that had sprouted over the years since the accident and to the plane, which had split in half. The front portion was missing, but the rear was lodged in the earth at a diagonal angle.

Austin reached the aircraft first. He grabbed a metal rod protruding from the body, positioned a foot on another just-as-sturdy pole, and hoisted himself into the obliterated cabin plagued with stringy vines, flowers, fat mushrooms, and more. Then, he aided Alayna and me in joining him.

The buff man with muttonchops willfully stayed on the ground but stood on his toes to peer into the elevated tail of the airliner's body. "Can you tell already if there is anything good in there?"

"Not yet, but we'll look around," Austin assured. "You stick with Velma down there, but don't go far or out of our sight. If we're lucky, we can find some suitcases or even this thing's first-aid kit."

The Birds wandered off. Meanwhile, the other Monkeys and I started investigating what was left of the dilapidated plane. Alayna roamed one aisle, and Austin and I shared the other. Fully bloomed plants had sprouted in the weirdest places and always needed to be shoved aside.

Alayna made a comment. "I didn't even consider the possibility of passengers from past flights surviving their crashes and being put in the same situation as us. What if someone is still alive?"

I bounced a shoulder. "As for passengers from this plane, I don't think any of them are alive. I mean, look at this thing; it crashed literally decades ago. Anyone who survived is dead now."

"Unless they're not aging."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that," I awkwardly confessed with a snicker. "If that theory is true, I suppose it wouldn't be impossible for someone or multiple people from this flight to be alive."

"Yeah, it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility," Austin admitted. "If people from this flight are alive, though, I'm not sure how mentally stable they'd be, so let's not look for them."

With widened eyes, Alayna nodded in agreement. "As intrigued as I am now to hear all of the stories they could tell, it would be hard to hear them if they're bashing a rock into my skull."

My savior and I chuckled before I gained the inquisitiveness to hop onto one of the seats to open a cubbyhole that stowed luggage. Austin maneuvered around a fern that brushed his bare chest and set his veiny hands on my hips to steady me as I propelled aside as much foliage as doable.

"Can you get it?" the sister in red asked.

"Uh, there's a vine that looks like it runs along the entire side here," I disclosed. "Whether it does or not, though, it runs along this compartment for sure. Do you have that knife I can borrow?"

Alayna withdrew the small handcrafted tool from her ripped and ruined uniform, then reached across the row of chairs between her and us to pass it to Austin, who then gave it to me. I began to slice through the viscous creeper that was preventing me from pushing open the cubbyhole.

In the meantime, Alayna arrived at the back of the cabin and stood before the shut bathroom door, which was also covered in a thick shroud of various plants, including thorns. She moved enough away from the handle to wrap a firm hand around it, then pushed with all her might.

Leaves rustled, and flowers wriggled as they were shaken free from where they had established a spot to blossom. Unfortunately, plants that were not as weak remained stretched across the threshold as if magic averted them from providing humans and animals access to the restroom.

Alayna peeked around an untrimmed bush. "Are you almost done with that?!" she hollered.

"Absolutely not!" I yelled. "In fact, I'm starting to think this isn't worth it, at least not right now! This vine is one tough son of a bitch! What does it look like over there?! Can you get through?!"

"With the knife, yeah!"

With an annoyed puff, I dropped my arms and pivoted to face the blue-orbed Austin below, shaking my head. "I can't get it off. We'll have to find something sharper and try again then."

Austin still praised me for endeavoring by briefly embracing me with his right arm, his hand rubbing up and down my waist. When he let me go, I returned the knife to Alayna, and she approached the bathroom door again to begin cutting through the plants blocking the entry.

"If it makes you feel better," the golden blond said, "if there were survivors, they probably took everything with them. Their plane didn't land in the water, so that'd have been easier for them."

"I know, but this is a whole half of a plane. We can't leave without taking something back with us, can we?" I tested. "Like a fucking... I don't even know. We just have to take something back."

"I know exactly what you're feeling. Hell, I still think about taking you to the beach and diving back down into our plane, seeing if I can grab even just one more bag, but you won't let me."

I rolled my eyes. "That's because I care about you, Austin. I don't want you getting lost and not being able to find your way out. Besides, everything is probably soaked and worthless by now."

Austin curled his arm around my lower body a second time to tug me extra close to his big chest, a flirty smirk playing on his lips. "What was that you said about caring about me?" he whispered.

"Oh please, don't act like I'm the type that pretends he can't stand who he actually cares about."

"I know you care about me. I just want to hear you say it again."

"I care about you, Austin."

"I care about you, Greg."

Internal butterflies took flight, and I softly laughed when Austin nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck, his stubble scratching my skin. My limbs encased his naked torso as if instinctually and pulled him, allowing me to relish the sensation of his warm skin through my torn clothes.

Suddenly, Alayna put too much potency into a slice and tore through several fragile stems. Before she could acknowledge the danger less than a foot away, the top of her arm skated against the tip of a thorn and received a four-inch-long gash between her elbow and her wrist.

"Fuck!" the flight attendant cried.

Austin and I rushed down our aisle and to the brunette. Blood was gushing from either side of her nasty wound and forming identical streams of red that flowed toward her quavering hand.

"Get my scarf! Get my scarf! Hurry!"

I unraveled the woman's purple scarf from around her throat, and Austin kept her cut arm from trembling while I unfurled the fabric to ensure it would clad her entire injury, which I then began to bandage. Tears twinkled in her eyes, and a couple of them quickly dripped down her cheeks.

"There!" I exhaled, jerking the ends of the neckwear to create a taut knot that would hopefully stop any more blood from bursting out from the laceration. "Is that tight enough? Is it too tight?"

"No, no, it's fine," Alayna muttered. She stared in astonishment at the limb that did not want to cease shaking until she returned to the lavatory and ripped away the remaining vines and the other plants barring the entryway. "There better be something good in here, I fucking swear."

Because the bathroom, which was probably the single part of the airliner that had less foliage growing due to the lack of sunlight, was claustrophobic, Austin and I waited where we stood while Alayna scoured ahead. She materialized with a steel plane axe less than ten seconds later.

"No way," the Holmes member grinned, obtaining the detrimental tool when offered.

"You better take immaculate care of that thing," Alayna demanded, though with a smile despite her immense discomfort since a survival weapon was now in our possession, thanks to her.

"I will. But as for who gets the honor of using it first, how about you get back to hacking away at that vine, Greg? It should only take two or three good swings, assuming you're strong enough."

I speedily but, more importantly, cautiously swiped the axe from Austin. "Give me that."

The blond and the brunette followed me to where I was previously slashing through the vine with the latter's wooden knife. Austin settled his hands on me again to prevent me from slipping, and I started cleaving at the obstruction. After three emphatic chops, the plant broke and fell.

"Hell yeah!" I cheered.

"Nice, Greg!" Austin lauded. "See anything in there?"

I opened the baggage chamber with moderate energy and saw nothing but emptiness. "Nah."

"Oh come on, you didn't even look. Stick your head in there," Alayna encouraged as a joke that could not be any more obvious, judging by the jestful tone of her voice and her facial features.

"No way, man! Just because you got hurt doesn't mean I have to get hurt. Like, what if there's a snake or a spider right in my face when I turn my head to look down the sides or something?"

The three of us laughed, and Austin helped me down from the seat. Then, we stepped out into the light of the afternoon. We could spot Velma and Wilfred conversing near the verdant field's perimeter from our height advantage. Once off the plane, we accompanied the pair of Birds.

The girl with glasses not only spotted the thin scarf swathed around the sister's arm but also the blood seeping through the purple material. "Oh my god, Alayna, what happened?!" she fretted.

"Cut it on one hell of a sneaky thorn," Alayna dismissively replied. "Don't worry about it. Right now, we should probably move on. We clearly aren't going to find anything aside from that axe."

Wilfred gawked at the destructive tool. "Damn! That'll come in handy," he remarked. "Good one, you three. But, yeah, I agree about moving on. What direction now, though? There are no prints."

Austin spun and gestured ahead. "Let's go north for a while," he spoke. "After a bit, we'll come back down to the plane and retrace our steps from here to get back to the cave before sunset."

"Sounds like a plan."

The five of us tromped out of the muggy site that bore plenty of light because of the demolished trees, continuing to create a path we would later traverse. As we were stomping, Wilfred and I found a moment to walk alongside each other. Austin, Alayna, and Velma discussed ahead of us.

"So I talked to her," the man with muttonchops stated, referring to Velma, "and she almost immediately opened up to me. I kind of think she thought holding back wouldn't matter."

"What all did she say?" I wondered aloud but quietly.

"She admitted she has a crush on you, but you told her you're not interested. The good news, though, is that there's no animosity or anything of the like between you two. This is just an unfortunate situation that plenty of people go through. Give her time, and she'll come around."

"Thanks, Wilfred. I hated telling her that, by the way, but what else could I have done, you know? It's not like I was going to stand there and lie to her, let her think we might be a couple one day."

The Bird shrugged. "I've never been in your situation, Greg, but knowing who I am, I would've done the same thing. No, I wouldn't like doing it either, but sometimes, you have to be the—"

Suddenly, a woman's scream of pain pierced through the tropical rainforest from within a mile of the other survivors and me. Shortly afterward, the shriek was followed by a command, and I knew instantaneously by the pleading yet furious voice that Lianne had given the declaration.

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