Chapter 13 – Aiden

By the time everyone finishes collecting supplies, the sun is almost down. Jason has set up camp around the fire and is handing out rations of food and water to the survivors. Emily is sitting on a plane seat near Tom, Larry, and the twins. She’s barely spoken to me since we got back from our hike this morning. Is she mad because I held her hand during Jason’s assembly? I don’t know why she would be. Then again, I know very little about girls. I’ve only ever had one serious girlfriend, and that relationship only lasted six months.

My entire body aches, and it takes all of my energy just to put one foot in front of the other. I trudge over to Jason, take a ration—which is a sandwich, a tiny bag of pretzels, and an apple all wrapped up in an aluminum tray—and then make my way toward Emily. She looks up and smiles.

I nod to the spot next to her. “Is that seat taken?”

She scoots over. “It is now.”

I smile and sit beside her. I peel the foil back and open the pretzels. What’s here is a snack, not a meal. My stomach growls, and I know this won’t fill me. Hopefully, it will ease the hunger pains. Emily turns her head away from me and speaks to the twins. I finish my food quickly and then sip at the bottle of water. I overhear snippets of their conversation and learn the twins have decided to join our exploration group.

“Did I do something to upset you?” I ask her.

She jerks her head to look at me, her eyes wide. “What? No. Why?”

I shrug. “You haven’t spoken to me at all today, and you seem to be avoiding me.” I fidget with the cap of my water bottle.

“I have a lot on my mind. That’s all.”

“Oh. Okay.” I nod. I have a lot on my mind, too, but that’s only more reason I want to spend time with her. Being with her, talking with her—it keeps my mind off everything else.

She nudges me with her shoulder. “Do you want to take a walk?”

“Yes,” I say much too quickly, and she smiles. I stand, toss my trash onto the fire, and then fall in step beside Emily. We’re quiet for a while, and the further away we get from the camp, the darker it gets. The hairs on my arms stand on edge, and a shiver works through me. The temperature is dropping rapidly.

“Did you find your suitcase?” she asks me.

“No. Did you?”

She nods. “Yeah. While we were gone this morning, Jason and the others retrieved all the luggage they could find and piled it up. You should go through it, see if you can find your stuff. That’s how I found this.” She holds out her arms to show off the sweater she’s wearing.

“I’ll do that when we get back. Thanks for the tip.”

“Sure.” She shoves her hands in her pockets and stares at the ground as we walk.

I wonder what she’s thinking but am too afraid to ask. I want to hold her hand or put my arm around her. Something to feel closer to her. But after the way she’s been acting today, I don’t want to do anything else that might push her away.

“Do you think rescue is coming?” She looks at me with big, sad eyes. “And don’t lie to me.”

I take a deep breath. “I think it’s weird that rescue hasn’t shown up yet.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

My stomach knots. I don’t want to answer her question because I know she really doesn’t want the truth. And I don’t want to say it aloud, either, because then it all becomes real. Hope is the only thing we have left right now, and if I destroy that, what happens?

“Aiden?” Her soft, hesitant voice tugs at my heart.

I sigh and shake my head. “No, I don’t think rescue is coming.”

She lets out a small gasp.

“But I don’t think we’re stuck here. I think we’re going to find a way off this island.” I try to keep my voice steady and firm, but I’m not sure she believes me. “And I think Tom knows more than he’s saying. If we stick with him, we’ll be okay.”

She nods but doesn’t say anything.

I’m such an idiot. I should’ve just lied to her. Frowning, I kick at the sand and refrain from groaning. My father is always telling me I’m too honest at times. I’ve never realized that could be a bad thing—until now. Lying goes against everything I believe, though, everything I’ve been taught in church. But is it wrong to lie if you’re doing it for the right reasons, like giving someone hope in an otherwise hopeless situation?

“We’ll go with Tom and the others tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll find something,” I say.

“Yeah, maybe.” She stops and turns to stare at the ocean.

I stop beside her and cross my arms over my chest so I won’t reach for her hand, even though I want to.

“Do you believe we were sent here for a reason? Like, the whole ordeal with the party to my parents sending me to my grandparents to the plane crash to this unknown land to meeting you. Do you think that was all planned? Or do you believe we just have terrible luck?”

“I don’t really believe in luck,” I say cautiously. “I think He”—I point to the sky to indicate I’m talking about a higher power—“knows exactly what He’s doing and where we’re supposed to be. So, yes, I think it was all planned. God put us here for a reason.”

“And what reason is that, huh? So we can all die here?” she snaps.

I tilt my head, unsure how to answer. “Maybe.” I shrug. “I don’t know, but I do know that we’re going to be okay.”

“How can you know that?” Frustration drips from her words. “How can you so blindly believe in something—someone—you’ve never even seen?”

I sigh. Is she really interested in learning more about God, or is she just lashing out because she’s scared? I’m guessing it’s the latter. “Are you all right, Emily?” She’s been acting so strange all day. Granted, being here isn’t easy, but she acts like she’s stuck in her head and can’t get out.

“Being stuck here gives you a lot of time to think. That’s why I want to go on the hike tomorrow. I need to get away from this beach,” she says. Then, she hangs her head. “Matt and I used to go to the beach together a lot.”

I frown. “I’m sorry.” I want to pry and find out more about this Matt guy, but I don’t think she really wants to talk about him. And honestly, I’m not sure I want to hear about the guy who she still so obviously cares for. How deep do those feelings go?

“So? Are you going to answer my question?”

I offer a faint smile. “I’m not sure I can answer it. I mean, how do you explain something that you just believe in with your whole heart?” I take a deep breath, hoping I can say what I want to without tripping over my words. “I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason. Including meeting you and the crash. Although, I can’t even begin to fathom why God chose this situation for all of us.”

“That is the big question, isn’t it? Why? Why a plane crash? Why us? Why did we survive and so many others didn’t?”

“I don’t know.” I sigh. “Maybe He’s just not done with us yet. Maybe we still have a purpose. Lessons to learn.”

“I wish I was as confident as you are.” She finally looks at me.

The sight of her smile makes my breath catch, and I move closer. “You’re stronger than you know.”

“I suppose—” Before she can finish, a deafening boom sounds behind us. The ground shakes, and the sky lights up with a vibrant burst of flames. A wave of heat blasts past us. Emily covers her ears and drops to her knees, head down. She screams.

I instinctively cover her body with mine and glance over my shoulder. “Oh, my gosh!”

“What?” She bucks me off her and stands.

“The plane.” I point to what is left of the rear part of the plane. “It’s on fire. I think it exploded.” Survivors run around, screaming and grabbing at the supplies, moving them out of the way of the fire.

Her eyes widen. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” I take off on a dead run toward camp, and she follows.

“Aiden!” She grabs my arm. “Those people there are bodies in that part of the plane.”

I stop short, and my heart races. Bile rises up my throat, and I turn away, not wanting to throw up in front of her. I put my head between my legs and pull in several long, deep breaths. After a moment, the nausea passes, and I straighten.

“Okay?” she asks.

I nod, and we take off again toward camp. The screaming and shouting and cries echo through the night, making the entire scene even more horrific. The stench of burning flesh fills the air.

“Grab whatever you can and get it out of the way,” Tom shouts as soon as we’re in earshot.

“What happened?” I shout over all the noise.

He shrugs. “I don’t know. We were just sitting there, and then it went up in flames. Three people were injured. C’mon, grab something and help.” He waves at us to follow.

“No! My husband’s in there!” A woman runs at the flames. One of the other survivors grabs her around the waist, but she breaks free and rushes into the burning plane. Then she lets out a high pitched scream.

I glance at Emily. Her hands are shaking, and tears pool in her eyes. Her lips tremble as she stares at the woman, but she’s not looking away.

“Emily.” I take hold of her shoulders and look into her eyes. “Go back to where we just were on the beach. You don’t have to help.”

She shakes her head. “No, I want to help.”

“Okay, but—” A crack of thunder cuts through the sky, followed by a torrential downpour. I’m soaked within seconds, and so is Emily.

She buries her face in her hands, and her shoulders shake uncontrollably. “I want to go home,” she wails.

I wrap my arms around her and pull her to my chest. She doesn’t make any effort to move away, and I stand there holding her in the rain, watching as our only source of heat and light is doused to nothingness. I send up a desperate prayer, begging God to help us out of this situation.