The Forgotten Island

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST

-Arya-

The air became heavier as the enemy closed in around us, their reinforcements on the beach getting closer by the second. With my back to the group, I felt frozen in fear. I was paralyzed by the gaze of Tammy’s lifeless eye; sweet, loving Tammy, who teared up at the death of a pig. Her mouth still open in an unfinished scream. I wasn’t a fighter, none of us were fighters, how were we going to escape this?

As if on cue, Fish turned her head towards mine slightly, whispering “I have an idea, watch my back.” Shifting her body towards the ocean, she thrust out her hands, making a motion like she was pulling in a rope. She called to the water, and it erupted in answer, bursting forth a twelve-foot massive wave at her hands inward pull. Her wall of water effectively cut off the reinforcements on the beach, leaving the rest of us a fighting chance with the remaining attackers. While she focused on keeping the barrier up, I placed my back on hers, determined to fight through my own fear and protect my brave friend any way that I could. In front of me, the battle began in a whirlwind of chaos. Chris’s arms were now completely engulfed in flames as he flung fireball after fireball, melting the faces off a handful of savages. Their dying screams filled the air as Val created six-foot sandstorms with her wind, lifting two bowmen up and back to be impaled on broken tree limbs. Darnell lifted a gray man with his wind, flinging him into the far reaches of the ocean. It wasn’t enough. There were at least forty attackers, and only five of us. One of the gray men got through, slashing a knife with practiced moves at Val’s abdomen. She barely dodged the attack, jerking to the sider before making a jerking movement with her hands, her wind snapping the man’s neck. More of them broke through, Darnell throwing a handful more out to sea as they continued to swarm our camp. Behind me, I felt fish starting to slump, and knew was tiring out. She wouldn’t be able to hold the wall much longer.

To my left, one of the men aimed an arrow at Fish, hoping to take down the wall and let his brethren loose upon us. I called on every ounce of my courage, raising a hand and finally joining in the fight. At my bidding, a tree limb shot out of the forest. The wood sliced through his delicate skin easily, puncturing right through the middle of his neck before retreating to the forest. He futilely clutched at his neck, the blood exiting his body in shallow spurts. I didn’t pause to watch him die as I quickly turned to the next savage, repeating the same attack; the stench of blood filling the air around us.

A pained cry halted my movements, and I saw Val fall to one knee as an arrow pierced her calf. With a fierce cry she snapped the neck of her attacker with her wind, but another quickly took his place. One of the gray men had gotten close enough to grab the foot of Tammy’s body, trying to drag it back into the forest and to the hell these devils called home. An enraged Chris engulfed the fool entirely in flame, along with the two men next to him. “You don’t get to touch her!” he shouted as threw another fireball towards the enemy ranks.

Fish fell to the sand on both knees, one hand supporting her while the other stayed up as she fought to keep the water barricade in place.

“Darnell” I shouted as I took down another attacker “Fish!” He glanced at her as he continued his own defense, picking up our boat with strong gusts and throwing it at the remaining bowmen. “We need to RUN!” he yelled at the five of us, fatigue starting to show in the back of his eyes. “I won’t leave her. I’ll hold them off, go!” Chris shouted back, engulfing another gray man in fire. Darnell hesitated, unwilling to leave Chris and the still unconscious Reggie behind. “GO!” Chris bellowed, right before an arrow pierced his stomach. “Go, damn you.” He grunted before pulling out the arrow and forming a ring of fire around the remaining attackers, trapping them inside the flames with him as he lit them up one by one. Finally conceding, Darnell Reggie’s bloody pack from the ground and swung it on his back.

“Fish, we have to go” I urged her. She nodded in understanding before curling a fist over her heart and closing her eyes. Using the last of her strength she threw the wall of water forward, creating a tidal wave that washed over any who had been behind it. After the final release of power Fish fainted, having nothing more to give.

Darnell ran up, scooping Fish up into his arms and jetting into the forest. Val quickly limped after him while I brought up the rear, leaving the camp we had made home behind us. We crashed through the trees, unsure of which way we needed to go, only that we needed to do it fast. Jumping over roots and fallen limbs, we passed by the body of Nate’a, her body littered with arrows and her eyes devoid of life.

Thanks to Chris we had a few minutes head start and we tore through the forest, heading in the direction we believed was opposite from where the savages came. We heard his final scream as we raced away, despair in the cry before it stopped abruptly. After that it didn’t take long till we heard our pursuers. We had killed many of them, but countless more remained to chase us down. We had just been shipwrecked for over half a year, with only a few months on this island with practically only fish to eat; we were still weak and had just used almost all our strength fighting the gray men. I could feel our pace slowing as Val struggled to keep up. Blood gushing from her calf wound. The blood was leaving an easy trail to follow, dark splotches on a green forest floor. Darnell too was slowing down, carrying both his own pack and Fish with her in his arms. Still we pressed onward, till my lungs and legs burned, sweat plastering the hair to the back of my neck. My once seemingly light pack felt like a hundred pounds, and Val and I leaned on each other for strength as we kept moving. The sounds of our pursuers were getting closer, it wouldn’t be long now until we were overtaken. Coming into view ahead of us was the largest tree I had ever seen, with a trunk that was easily over twenty feet wide. When we reached it Val collapsed, unable to continue “Leave me” she panted hoarsely “Save yourselves.”

“I will leave NO MORE be’ind!” Darnell barked at her, his accent thick with spit. Closing his eyes in pain, he leaned his back against the tree trunk, Fish still in his aching arms. I leaned forward with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breathe through a wave of fatigue. I burned with shame at my earlier cowardice, watching my friends kill dozens in the fight while I stood petrified in fear. My mother would be ashamed if she had seen how I reacted, and a tear fell down my cheek at the realization.

Thinking of my mother, I remembered an old tree in our backyard in which she had formed an alcove into its trunk where my sister and I could escape the sun. I spent countless hours in that tree’s shallow oasis, pouring over books and daydreaming about boys. Now, I stood here at the behemoth of a tree trunk supporting the four of us as an idea formed. I quickly closed the distance between myself and its bark, placing both my hands onto its rough exterior. My salty tears made it hard to see, so I closed my eyes. The battle cries of our pursuers made my heart race with fear, so I tuned them out. I poured all my energy into the tree, forcefully bending it under my will.

I heard Darnell gently lay Fish down as he prepared to make his final stand.

Val took a deep labored breath, as she too gathered what energy she had left to fight.

I admired their bravery, but it was pointless. We couldn’t fight them again, we were outnumbered and outmatched. I ignored my own thoughts and concentrated harder on my task. I felt power pulsing through my hands into the tree, I could count each internal ring of life in my mind’s eye; I just need a little more time. Time, however, was not an option, and I pushed myself harder. Then it happened: a doorway melted open under my hands, revealing a large hollowed out cave that I had created inside the tree’s trunk.

“Get in” I grunted at my friends, black spots appearing in my vision. They listened without question, Val practically diving inside and sliding to the floor. After setting down his pack, Darnell brought Fish inside. On an afterthought he created mini wind tunnels that dispersed the trail of blood leading up the tree. Once we were all inside, I closed the entrance, sealing us inside with a light shudder. Light streamed through tiny holes I had made towards the top of the cavern, breaking up the darkness surrounding us. We sat against the wooden walls, our chests heaving with exhaustion and our hearts heavy with loss. Val began to softly sob, and I scooted up to her side. Tearing a strip from my shirt I tied it around her calf wound and then sat beside her. We tensed as our attackers approached the tree, shouting at one another in a garbled language.

As they departed to continue searching, I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I put my arm around Val, my tears mixing with hers at our feet. Tammy, Nate’a, Chris, and Reggie; I mourned them all as I cried in that tree. Mingled with my grief was a grain of gratitude. Even with an unknown amount of distance between us, my mom had still managed to keep her little girl safe. I thought about Nate’a’s final words as my heartbeat began to slow down. She had said they eat people, and that man had a necklace of fingers. Those people who attacked us were cannibals, and we had just left them with four fresh bodies.