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Description

Tia’s eyes slowly stuttered open like the louvers of a rusted shade. As soon as her eyelids spread, the harsh brightness of the world around her stung her eyes, making her want to immediately close them again. As her vision slowly adjusted to the sun, panic began to set in as she took in the scene around her. She was lying on her stomach on some hillside rocks, half submerged in sea water. She didn’t know how she had gotten there or why her entire body hurt. Groaning to her knees, it took all her effort to get standing on her feet, and even more commitment to get moving in a forward direction.

She had only been to this secluded island a couple of times, but she knew that what she was seeing was not the way it was supposed to look. Slowly entering the water, she began to wade where the beach was supposed to be. The trees around her were like out of place pillars dropped out of the heavens. She was beginning to get frantic and grabbed her left hand with her right in an attempt to get them to stop shaking. As a white object loomed out of the foliage, her forward progress came to an abrupt halt.

The yacht her friends and her had rented for their vacation lay beached in front of her on its side, partially submerged and wedged in between a bunch of palm trees. She remembered how excited they all were a few weeks ago when they had found a tropical island that wasn’t on any map. It was their own private paradise away from all their worries and problems, not to mention the rest of the world.

It was too much at one time. Tia began to teeter as the world around her started to spin. She closed her eyes and grabbed the side of the boat, trying to stop the vertigo. Her mind went back to her last memory before this insanity. They had anchored about 100 meters off the beach. Her friends Megan and Chase swam to shore while she changed into her bikini. Climbing out of the cabin topside, she was walking along the beachside railing of the yacht with the intent to join her friends. With one foot up on the railing, she started to hear a strange noise. Dropping her foot back down to the deck, she stared at the water trying to focus on what it could be. It was a swooshing noise as quiet as a whisper, but it was strangely out of place. The noise was slowing increasing in volume, and the louder it got the more concerned she became. Something wasn’t right. After about a minute, the noise crescendo’d into a full-blown roar. As it did, her body was suddenly and violently thrown against the boat railing, and then everything went black and quiet.

Tia began to shake her head. Holding onto the side of the beached yacht drove home the seriousness of the situation, and her lower lip quivered as she choked back the urge to cry. No one knew where they had gone. They had told no-one about the island they had found, or where they were sailing to. She had remembered arguing with Megan and Chase about telling her parents about it, but they had convinced her to keep it to herself.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Tia scolded herself as she lightly banged her forehead against the boat hull. Then her eyes went suddenly wide as the thought flashed into her mind. What happened to her friends? She had been so self-involved with her own survival that the welfare of her friends didn’t even come to mind. “MEGAN!! CHASE!!” she yelled as loud as she could, frantically searching the water around her. She stumbled over the submerged debris and plant life as she scurried around the water yelling their names and looking for any clue that they were alright. “CHASE!! MEG……..” Tia stopped mid word and froze. Bobbing in the water in front of her were the motionless bodies of her friends. Shock took hold of her as her stomach leapt into her throat. She bent forward and vomited. With a rancid taste in her mouth, she stayed bent over staring at her wavering reflection in the water. She was alone and had no idea of what to do next.

Description

Tia’s eyes slowly stuttered open like the louvers of a rusted shade. As soon as her eyelids spread, the harsh brightness of the world around her stung her eyes, making her want to immediately close them again. As her vision slowly adjusted to the sun, panic began to set in as she took in the scene around her. She was lying on her stomach on some hillside rocks, half submerged in sea water. She didn’t know how she had gotten there or why her entire body hurt. Groaning to her knees, it took all her effort to get standing on her feet, and even more commitment to get moving in a forward direction.

She had only been to this secluded island a couple of times, but she knew that what she was seeing was not the way it was supposed to look. Slowly entering the water, she began to wade where the beach was supposed to be. The trees around her were like out of place pillars dropped out of the heavens. She was beginning to get frantic and grabbed her left hand with her right in an attempt to get them to stop shaking. As a white object loomed out of the foliage, her forward progress came to an abrupt halt.

The yacht her friends and her had rented for their vacation lay beached in front of her on its side, partially submerged and wedged in between a bunch of palm trees. She remembered how excited they all were a few weeks ago when they had found a tropical island that wasn’t on any map. It was their own private paradise away from all their worries and problems, not to mention the rest of the world.

It was too much at one time. Tia began to teeter as the world around her started to spin. She closed her eyes and grabbed the side of the boat, trying to stop the vertigo. Her mind went back to her last memory before this insanity. They had anchored about 100 meters off the beach. Her friends Megan and Chase swam to shore while she changed into her bikini. Climbing out of the cabin topside, she was walking along the beachside railing of the yacht with the intent to join her friends. With one foot up on the railing, she started to hear a strange noise. Dropping her foot back down to the deck, she stared at the water trying to focus on what it could be. It was a swooshing noise as quiet as a whisper, but it was strangely out of place. The noise was slowing increasing in volume, and the louder it got the more concerned she became. Something wasn’t right. After about a minute, the noise crescendo’d into a full-blown roar. As it did, her body was suddenly and violently thrown against the boat railing, and then everything went black and quiet.

Tia began to shake her head. Holding onto the side of the beached yacht drove home the seriousness of the situation, and her lower lip quivered as she choked back the urge to cry. No one knew where they had gone. They had told no-one about the island they had found, or where they were sailing to. She had remembered arguing with Megan and Chase about telling her parents about it, but they had convinced her to keep it to herself.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Tia scolded herself as she lightly banged her forehead against the boat hull. Then her eyes went suddenly wide as the thought flashed into her mind. What happened to her friends? She had been so self-involved with her own survival that the welfare of her friends didn’t even come to mind. “MEGAN!! CHASE!!” she yelled as loud as she could, frantically searching the water around her. She stumbled over the submerged debris and plant life as she scurried around the water yelling their names and looking for any clue that they were alright. “CHASE!! MEG……..” Tia stopped mid word and froze. Bobbing in the water in front of her were the motionless bodies of her friends. Shock took hold of her as her stomach leapt into her throat. She bent forward and vomited. With a rancid taste in her mouth, she stayed bent over staring at her wavering reflection in the water. She was alone and had no idea of what to do next.