"Sometimes you have to stop being scared and just go for it. Either it'll work or it won't. That's life." - Anonymous

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Scientists have found that you can literally be scared to death. f you can't calm down after the initial adrenaline rush that comes along with shock, the adrenaline and calcium keeps pouring into your heart and causes it to tremor instead of beat normally.In extremely rare cases, this can, cause you to slip into unconsciousness, and ultimately cause death.

As the ginormous grey galloped non stop towards me, I was drawn towards two options.

Stay there and die, or get out of the way.

Five...

Four...

Three... I braced myself for the impact

Two...

One... There's a loud snapping noise

Was I in heaven yet?

I opened my eyes. The gigantic grey was out of eye level. Looking down, I realised he had tripped and fallen.

Once, on one of Gi and I's hacks, Daydream, who I had been riding at the time, tripped over a cluster of tree roots and injured his tendon bone. As a result he had to be on box rest for the majority of summer. Right then, I knew this horse had injured something. Severely.

Quickly, I gasped and knelt down beside him. The herd of horses began to trot in my direction, showing the whites of their eyes. I kept my head low and examined the grey's wound.

It was an internal injury.

I couldn't fix this wound.

As the herd gathered closer around me, I realised the significance of the mare. She was their leader. Their master. Their teacher. They needed her like a plant needed water.

That day, I walked down to the beach to wash off my feet. In the sand, quite visible to the eye, I spotted a glinting object. Curiosity getting the best of me, I bent down to take a better look. A glass bottle. Filled with the contents of a pencil and a piece of paper.

Gina's POV
"Good friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there." - Christy Evans

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The good thing about this diary is that it feels like I'm talking directly to Mae. I can confide all my secrets, feelings and thoughts in here without holding back. It's still not the same without her though. I just wish she was back here with me.

The worrying thing is, I don't know if my best friend is alive or not. Every day, there's this constant feeling of hope nagging at me, but when I look out at the distant horizon, even I can't believe the old Raggedy Anne could survive out there.

Dad's over the moon with Mae and her dad's disappearance. The coast guards haven't found their bodies yet, so he thinks they've found the lost island. I hope so too.

I'm not sure why dad wants to find this stupid island. He's always been slightly greedy for money, but he has a good heart, I'm sure of it. Although, it has been rather frightening hearing about all the deaths and injuries. Dad told me it's life's natural way of dealing with things, so I guess he's right. I mean, he does technically rule Barren Bay with his gold business.

School seems like a chore now. I have plenty of friends, but their all part of the popular girl cliché, and I would rather go hacking with Mae than shopping for hours in the mall. Plus, all they ever do is show off their acrylic nails or hair extensions. I know there's more to life than that. And while my older sisters are part of the "popular girl's group" and I'm pressured to behave like them, I really couldn't care less. Not in a million years.

Yesterday I was invited to join some of the popular girls on a shopping, but I declined. Seriously, all these girls just spend money like it never runs out.

Instead of going shopping, I took a walk down to the beach with a glass bottle, pen and paper. I was going to test Barren Bay's theories. Licking my finger, I felt the wind rush forwards and smiled. Perfect. The current was pulling out to sea.

I shut the cork down the bottle's throat, and placed it down on the choppy waves. There was a whoosh and the bottle swung out into the vast stretch of water.

I hope it reaches Mae. Life isn't the same without her. She showed me the life worth living, not one of luxury, but one of friendship and fun. I can feel myself being sucked into the popular girl life. One where diamond chokers and expensive clothes determine your position in the world. Where trends and money take over your life.

Please come back Mae. Please.

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