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As Adela went under, the refreshing water cleansed her face and body from sweat and dirt. She came up for air, joining her friend’s loud laugh. They horsed around in the water for several minutes before Adela stilled.
“Oh my God. Do you see what I see?”
Camilla treaded closer to Adela. “What is it?”
Adela pointed to the other side of the lake. “Do you see those mountains? That side of the island is clearly not our next stop.”
Camilla turned on her heels. “There are mountains on that side, too.”
Adela hummed. “I think the best thing we could do is turn right.”
“Yeah, I agree. We need to find the beach again because that’s where most tourists go. I’m sure we’ll find our girls there,” Camilla said.
Adela nodded in silence. She hoped wholeheartedly that the moment they would exit the jungle, they would be reunited with their friends again at the nearest beach.
“Let’s fill up the water bottle and head out,” Adela said.
“Yeah. You drink the last bit. Here…”
Adela drank the last drops from the water bottle Camilla had found in Raven’s drawstring bag that also washed up on the beach. The bag carried Raven’s dead phone, her wallet and half a bottle of sunscreen, reading glasses, three boxes of aspirin, a box with sealed gauze pads that were still useable, a make-up bag with the basics, bobby pins, a nail file and four pens.
It might not seem much, but Adela had an inkling that Raven’s drawstring bag would be of great worth to them—especially the aspirin and gauze pads.
Adela filled the bottle with lake water. “I hope we’ll be able to get a fire going tonight and find something we can boil this in…”
Camilla’s face fell. “That’s a big if. I hate to think about what else is coming our way. Every time we take one step forward, it feels like we’re taking two steps back. This island scares the shit out of me. And we don’t even know what happened to Raven, Liv and Hailey…”
Camilla wiping tears from her cheeks surprised Adela. Camilla had not once cried during Emma’s illness or even after her twin’s death many months later.
Adela could relate to Camilla’s need to be in control of her emotions. She wondered if this island would change her, like it already seemed to transform Camilla.
Because of her upbringing on a secluded sailboat, Adela had solely relied on her parents—who had relied on each other to brave the oceans they conquered.
She loved her friends like sisters ever since they’d supported her after her mother’s death. Though on most days, Adela still felt alone in the world.
And not in the good way while growing up; feeling like a tiny speck in the massive water world when she’d been in awe in facing nature's majesty.
She’d been hurting these past four years, completely heartbroken about losing her mother and her father leaving her behind.
Adela had been wrecked long before their catamaran sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jackand his five friends still drifted at sea in the semidarkness, their uplifted spirits after sharing a beer proving short-lived under the dusk sky. While Dominic and Reed kept a close eye out for land or ships, and if they still followed the titty birds in the right direction, Jack tried to rest before he was up for the night shift as lookout.
Jack’s stomach made noises he’d never known existed, earning a chuckle from Zane sitting next to him. “Damn… I’m clearly not the only one who could eat a horse right about now.”
Jack snorted. “That’s nothing new. You always eat like you’re pregnant with a football team.”
Zane shook his head, laughing. “You know it. If I think about the steaks dad—”
“Stop.”
Zane met Dominic’s perpetual frown. “What’s your problem, dude?”
“I know what I’m talking about, Z. Stop talking about food. When you’re out in the desert, don’t mention the heat. When you’re stuck in the snow, never complain about the cold. And while we’re stuck on this raft at open water, we don’t fuckin’ talk about food or water. Got it?”
“I know where you’re coming from—and I get your point, but can you lighten the fuck up? Just a bit?” Zane said while pinching the air between his thumb and index finger.
