Ash~

And in an instant, I was alone.

The jet crashed into the ocean, which I unfortunately discovered was called salt water for a reason when I swallowed a few mouthfuls, and I felt the waves crash around me. I couldn't see the jet anywhere, even though I knew the invisiblity spray should've worn off and I should have been able to see the crash, or at least another survivor.

What if there were no survivors?

There was an island, and there was a forest, and somehow I found myself in the middle of that forest, clinging onto that thought like a security blanket. "No survivors," I said to myself. "No survivors." When I said it, it seemed fake, like it'd go away if I said it enough. Like it wasn't just me and the hat and boots that had, against all odds, wipped up on shore. I'd put the hat on my head even though I hadn't wanted anything more but to leave it there. "No survivors."

I didn't know where I was going. I was going somewhere. There had to be someone here. I'd have to find someone.

If I screamed, maybe someone would hear it, and maybe they'd find me and then maybe I wouldn't be the only one--

I froze mid-though. Something was moving through the bushes just ahead of me. I peered around a tree when suddenly--

I was rolling down the hill. There was something--someone?--else. My head struck something (a bush?) and bumped into several trees on the way down. The world was spinning and I hardly had any idea what was going down. The flat ground was a relief, and I felt myself muttering, "No survivors," a couple of more times just in case this wasn't real."

I didn't think a large cat of prey would know my name. I sat up and rubbed my head. It must've been a thorn bush of some sort--I winced. "Gretel, is that you?" I asked.

"Yeah." But I couldn't feel anything. It was like I had sunk so low into my misery that I really did believe there were no surviors. Gretel was here. Gretel was alive. I should feel something.

"Well, at least I don't have to go looking for you, though I could've done without the rolling down the hill part," I said. Ash. Aren't you relieved? You're not alone. They're not all gone.

Not all of them. There was something horrible about that thought. Gretel had said something, and was now looking at me, like she expected an answer. My mouth spoke before I could think: "Come on, we need to find the others." Goals. Give yourself something to do, why don't you?

I should've laughed. I should've cried. I should've been happy.

No survivors.

Well, here's a somewhat depressing bit from Ash! Hopefully he's feeling better soon. I'm just having a bit of a hard time grasping onto his character. I've been writing a lot of angry, insane characters, and it's hard to not do that with Ash. But that's not who he is. The last bit wasn't his voice, either. His thoughts, not his voice. Anyways, hopefully with a couple more posts I can get back into the whole hang of things. 

Meg and the mice~

Dark-furred creatures surrounded us. Their fangs glistened ominously, and consequently my palms produced enough sweat to fill a dry lake. Then suddenly a thought struck me, a thought that made me go pale as a toad's underbelly. The mice were still on the forest floor!

I gestured to Cindy, trying to convey what I'd realized. The color drained from her face instantly. I was still in the net, and therefore could not save the mice myself. We are so utterly hopeless, I despaired. But just as I despaired, a sliver of hope appeared. "Cindy," I whispered, "I still have my dagger!"

"Great," she replied. "Hand it to me and I'll cut you out." I did as I was told, and soon was free. Cindy and I craned our necks, looking for the mice. We found them in the shadow of some underbrush. The strange creatures tried to climb up the tree again and again, of course failing every time.

"Luckily those hyena-things aren't very bright," I said. Cindy giggled and agreed.  

"So," said Cindy, "I've got an idea. How about we cut down the net and throw it over the hyena-things?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said, climbing up a few branches to the branch where the net was attached. I cut the rope from which the net hung, and then tossed the net to Cindy. She waited until the most opportune moment, then tossed the net over the creatures. We leapt down, exulting in the fact that we were alive.

"Meg, Cindy, you're okay!" Steve rejoiced. "I was so worried, when Meg got trapped and all, I almost fainted. Charlie kept me conscious, though that became very hard to do when those long-fanged animals showed up. But anyways, I'm just so glad you're okay!" I gathered Steve, Charlie, and Pip in for a hug.

After a very long hug, Charlie raised a serious question: what do about the creatures? "Oh, don't worry about that," Cindy said. "I brought some sleeping darts." So Cindy blew the darts onto each animal's rump, and we pulled the net off them.  

Sorry y'all! I'm just super busy so I'm having to balance my time. Thanks Katie for trying to top this!

Gretel ~

We sprawled out across the island, moving as a unit, trying to comb as much as possible, calling out names as loud as we dared. There was no response. Night began to descend, and still there was no sign. We'd searched a good two-thirds of the island, and there was no sign of anyone or anything. This fact unnerved me. 

"We should head back to the beach, make a shelter, so we can find the others in the morning. We won't be able to do them any good getting lost in the dark," Cindy suggested, glancing up at the sky.

There was a murmuring of agreement. I couldn't think straight though. The sense of brewing unease I had was starting to build the darker it got. We made our way back to the beach, and by that point stars were now visible in the dark violet sky. We'd gathered up stray driftwood and dried leaves into a small pile, and after several fails and a nearly sliced off thumb, we manage to get a spark going that built into a blaze. 

We were silent as we sat there. I think a sense of deep worry had settled into all of us, preventing us from speaking. We each fell asleep where we sat, the day's events completely wiping us out. 

That night though, I was violently jarred awake. A tremendous crash like thunder shook the world, causing me to sit up bolt right.

"Meg, Cindy, Ash," I hissed, trying to get myself oriented. But as I peered through the darkness, I realized each of them was gone. I also realized that I was no longer at the beach. I was somewhere in the center jungle. Fog rolled in through the trees, casting a ghostly effect as the moon sone hazily through it. 

"Ash? Cindy? Meg?" I called out, slowly pushing msyelf to my feet. Only the sound of russling trees greeted me in reply.

"Something is so off here," I muttered, slowly making my way forward. My mind raced through stories and scenarios and events I'd trained for or heard. Nothing quite matched up, but I had a feeling this island was more than met the eye. 

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So yeah, I just decided to throw that in there for ideas. Y'all can change it if you like! 

Congrats on 400 posts!

This is the most interesting story ever. You must top top top top top!

This is the most interesting story ever. You must top top top top top!