(Setting the conditions. After having swam the long, harsh conditions to the shore, everyone that survived passed out and are now beginning to wake up once more to the sun setting.)


Day 1


The sun was falling from the horizon, being swallowed by the infinite stretch of ocean that surrounded the survivors on all sides. There was a slight breeze that wrested with the water creating gentle waves that hit the sand. The shore stretched down for a couple miles before being cut off by rough boulders and rocks like screamed painful to walk on. About 30 feet up from the water was where the palm trees and other unique foliage began to start, reaching amazing heights. Birds could be heard making their evening calls and crickets were beginning to sing. The sights were in all aspects a picture postcard image, but for the few people that were now stuck here, a dark, dangerous ally in New York City sounded more charming than here. At least that was in civilization.

Jared was the first to wake up from the weak unconscious slumber that had took them all from the hard swim. His muscles ached and already he could feel his skin being baked by the sun. Luckily he was from a beach environment to where he had a nice tan and wouldn’t be burned as bad as well, the blond girl next to him who was pale as a ghost. His memory of the crash was hazy to say the least, unsure of what happened or what had caused it to go down. What he did remember he wished to forget, swimming past all the dead floating bodies and banning together with these people to swim to this island. It was one of the first times he could think of where he was actually thankful to be in the company of others. If he was the only survivor the situation would be much worse.

“There goes my dream of New York,” he mumbled, pressing himself up off the soft sand that was nearly the color white. The pain of being hungry was the cherry on the cake. Jared rubbed his forehead, then began to slap the top of his head. Maybe this was just one of those dreams that seemed real, wishful thinking and all. But it wasn’t a dream and they were all stuck here without the knowledge that they would ever be found.

His eyes travelled to his luggage on the ground. Unzipping the bag, he groaned when water poured out of it. Every possession of his was soaked. Clothes he could save and dry, but his sketch book.... that pissed him off the most. He grabbed in gently, the paper soggy but still holding together. “Maybe if I just....” he was speaking aloud, finishing the rest of the sentence in his head, ”lay these on some rocks..” They could possibly dry, but the new texture would still be difficult to work with. Better than no paper at all though. He continued to go through his things while he watched others begin to wake up. Alas, his unopened pack of Camels and lighter were the last things he took out of his luggage. Thank god the plastic wrap was still around the pack that served as a protection. Now the true test, would his lighter work?

-------

Tiffany nearly shot up, eyes peeling open in a panic. She had a major headache, ears ringing with salt water and pressure. For a few moments she was speechless, lip quivering faster than a rabbit. She was in a nightmare. For one, of course, she just suffered a devastating plane crash. For two, she was in the outdoors surrounded by wildlife and bugs, things that she despised. She never was one to need an inhaler but at this moment she thought she might pass out again just from the heavy breathing.

“WHY!” she cried, turning to the guy next to her who was a complete stranger. Her eyes furrowed when she saw he had a cigarette in his mouth, attempting to get his lighter to work. Outdoors, bugs, and now a smoker. What else could happen to make this day any better, she thought sarcastically, then realized it was just about to get worse.

“Oh my clothes!” she spurted, turning to see that her designer luggage bag was further up the beach. Tiffany struggled to get steady on her feet, but once she did, she ran to her bag and hugged it lovingly before unzipping it. Water poured from her bag as it did for Jared, but she didn’t care. She had her things: clothes, tooth brush, hair brush, magazines, and some candy. She pocketed the sweets, not in the mood for food right now. Her face bore a heavy frown, letting herself fall limp back down on her knees. Normally she was a talker, running her mouth a hundred miles a minute. Right now she was silent, and tears began to fall to her cheeks. If it weren’t for her modeling gig in Australia she would be in New York loft, safe and sound. Life is SO unfair, she whined to herself, regressing to a childlike behavior which she usually fell into when things were tough or hard on her.

Meanwhile, more of the plane’s survivors were waking....

Waking quickly Paul roared in confusion as he scrabbled to his feet. Looking around quickly Paul blinked rapidly to clear the salt and grit from his eyes.

"Whoza.....howza.....whaaa???"

Suddenly the events of last night flooded back to him and he scrambled to check himself for his belongings making a mental checklist as he discovered items.

Wallet.......check.
1st aid Pocket Kit.......Check.(slightly soggy should probably check the bandages for water damage later)
Leatherman.....check.

"Thank God for zipper pockets to bad the rest of my shits gone."
Noticing a large rock near the tree line he headed for it, as he neared he sat down and quickly removed his beloved Hawaiian shirt and lay it across the rock to dry, he removed the rest of his clothes and set them to dry as well. Shivering he heard the sounds of feet slepping on the wet sand looked up and for the first time saw another two people less then thirty feet away from him a guy intently puffing a cigarette and a gorgeous blonde staring at him with one of those "what the hell are you doing???" expressions while ferociously clutching a fancy looking bag.

Quit ooglin the ladies and cigaretts...yer naked.

"Uhm...." Looking down he was gratefull to see the rock came up to his waist.

"Yah might wanna stick over there for a while Maam." Grinning sheepishly Paul grabbed his boxers and quickly wrung out the remainder of the water before slipping them on.
Whyd I have to wear the ones with hearts today....WHY?????

When Liam Deroy awoke, his arms and legs were sprawled out limp and awkwardly on the sand, which was grainy and stung his skin under him. The whole sensation was so strange that his mind just remained blank for a long time, as he fluttered his eyelids half open and gazed at the blurred shapes and colors of land and blue sea. My throat is dry, was all he could think. My skin stings. In addition to the grating of the sand underneath him was a light sense of burning on his neck and the top of his arms.

It wasn't until he was straightening out his extremely stiff and sore limbs from under him and beginning to stretch up that the night's events came back to him as suddenly and violently as the plane had crashed. At the sight of the wide ocean in front of him he remembered the screaming. The chaos. His father's hands tightly on him as he strapped the lifejacket from the emergency compartment around Liam's chest. Along with several others his father had mad sure Liam and his mother made it out of the plane in time. The water had been icy, turbulent, and black in the night's darkness. It had been terrifiying, and when Liam had been torn away from where his parents were swimming by a big black wave, Liam had felt as if he were in a nightmare.

He surged up to his feet, ignoring the protestations from his muscles, sore from swimming. He had thought last night was the end of the world, but he had survived! His eyes scanned along the long, empty beach and he started to run, as fast as he could with his depleted energy and his body feeling as it did. "Mom!" he called out,"Daddy, Mom!" He searched in earnest, though seeing nothing but scraps along the beach from the wreck. Had his parents had life jackets also? He couldn't remember, but he wouldn't let himself think of that now. He focussed all his energy on running, and searching, and calling out their names. He would run around the whole perimeter of this island looking for them if he had to. If this was an island, that is. He would be the strong one, like his father. He wouldn't give up.

The blackness that surrounded Iris' mind had her assuming she was dead, all she could remember was the loud rush of air as the airplane split through the air while passengers screamed in horror of their impending doom. She'd been clinging to her chair and crammed a pill in her mouth to keep the panic attack at bay as the plane finally hit water she was lurched forward, forcing a scream out of her. As other passengers began making a break for it the plane began filling with water which only increased everyone's fears and screams. Once some of them were out in the open she and the others had swam for it, not really knowing how far they were from land. They just new that they had to survive. This was the last thing Iris remembered before her body gave into exhaustion.

When Iris awoke she was groggy, her eyelids still felt heavy but she forced them to open and the view that met her eyes was astounding. A bird flew overhead, the blue sky that met her had her slowly sitting up with a groan and protest from her aching muscles. Sitting up her eyes slowly moved around taking in the scenery before her which only added to her heart rate that was now already pulsing at a high rate. Frantically she brought her hands up to her sides and felt around until her hands touched the messenger bag, a little more at ease she rummaged through it until she found the pill bottle and removing one she took it with no water and hoped it would kick in soon.

Hearing the birds overhead she looked around until she saw a few others further down the beach, brushing the sand away from her face she pulled her hair back and redid her hair into a ponytail. Rising slowly Iris coughed a little and tried brushing away some of the sand from her clothes before she slowly and yet painfully made her way to the others. Every step radiated the ache in her muscles but she didn't want to be alone. When she got close enough she called out to them. "Hello..." When she got close to the other female she stopped a few feet from her and asked. "So...you're some of the survivors?" she glanced at them both but noticed the man was changing and looked away. "I'm Iris...Iris Williams" she held her hand out for the woman to take.

Its wet. Dark and wet, it’s the kinda weather that penetrates, makes your skin feel itchy and oily, dirty kinda but real too. Damien lay there still falling in and out of conscience. He could see the sky slightly, the feeling of sand on his exposed arms, and wet cloths from the swim that never seemed to end.

“So does that mean you’ll be home shortly?” The voice on the other end seemed eager and hopeful.

“That’s exactly what it means, love.” He smiled dumbly at the phone trees and traffic going by as he sat in the back seat of the jeep taking him to the airport. “there’s only a few more weeks.” He smiled at the lie, he wanted to surprise her by coming home early, to see her reaction when he just stepped through the door and was home.

He turned his head, as he heard something audible, someone was talking but from where? The world still seemed unreal, fading in and out of darkness, had he hit his head on something?

“Okay,” She paused for a moment probably thinking or distracted about something going on around her. “I love you, and I’ll talk with you again when you call, seeing that you’re going to be out on night missions for a while.”

He paused a moment, surprised that she had openly said that, it was a good feeling to be told that and not just have someone say it back to you. “I love you to, Hun, and I have a gift for you when I get back.” He heard the smile in her voice as she said really, and then a small laugh escape her.

He felt his leg in a weird position, it was elevated on something, he tried to move his head but the world swirled, he caught a glimpse of something tan, was it his bag? Who cared at the moment, he forced himself to not puke whatever it was in his stomach at the moment, it took a little more than he wanted it to, but he was okay, a little drowsy but he was stable.

“Can’t wait, anyway I have to go the girls just got here, have fun, or whatever it is you have when working.” He could still hear the smile she was wearing in her voice.

"An...dr..e...a..?" He couldn't tell if that was loud enough to be heard, but if she was near by he wanted her next to him. Maybe it was all a bad dream and it didn't really happen, the crash anyway. He felt his arm raise, he reached out towards the sky, a feeble attempt to get feel a little control over his own body, it went back down on the ground rather hard, it made him gasp a moment from the sudden force and feeling of sand. Pain, that would usually break a hallucination, so this was real.

He smiled putting the cell away, his hand finding its way into his pocket, feeling the small container in there, he pulled it out, opening the case and looking at the ring that he had gotten as an engagement ring, it was sure to catch her eye. He pocketed it as the jeep came to a halt at the airport. He grabbed his things and went in.

The ring, he felt his hand go into his pocket, it was hard for such a minor task, but he felt the case, it was still there, good. He pulled it out and opened the box one more time looking at the ring and into its gem, it really would be perfect on her hand, his arm went limp over his chest as he passed out once again, this time more for the need of it rather than the small head injury. He didn't have to worry bout his bag or anything, no one could get into it, it was locked tight, that was if there were other people, there were voices out there, but who knew if they were real or imaginary.

Jared was still laying out his wet drawing papers when he noticed the blond girl (Tiffany) wake up and run to her luggage, hugging it more affectionately than he could ever recall be hugged that way in his life. ”It wouldn’t surprise me that she would be the type more happy to see her clothes were alright than herself,” he thought to himself, smirking while she went through her things. Though she was in all aspects an attractive young women, his attention quickly drifted off into his own issues again. Like how his pack of Camels would run out in no time. He shuddered at the thought. Jared knew eventually he would have to stop smoking and figured it would end up being cold turkey, but not so soon. He took the first cigarette out of his new pack, lighting it with his green lighter, which he was happy still worked.

It was around this time that he was starting to feel the pain again in his arms and legs. He let himself drop to the sand, leaning up against a boulder and watching some of the survivors off in the distance. When his eye sight reached the blond girl again, he caught her snarling at him. “What?” he said aloud, knowing she didn’t hear him but still wondering what that look was for-- he figured because he was smoking. In this case though, Jared would think even a non-smoker would want a cig after what they went through.

He calculated the number of survivors that were appearing. Four that he knew of, including himself. Besides the blond girl in the pink tank top, there was another guy off in the distance, changing behind a rock rather out in the open. By the size of him weight wise, Jared was surprised he managed to make the swim out here. Props to him, I guess, he thought rather sarcastically. Then approaching up behind those two was another girl, looking closer in the age to him. She looked concerned, panicked... all understandable in these conditions. Jared wondered if any of them noticed him besides the tall blond that was glaring at him.

“Okay so four so far...” he said, rather dull. It was a sorry low number compared to the full plane of people that were on the plane. Who knows how many died for sure, but it had to be a lot. He wondered if there were anymore people out there on the island, maybe surfacing on different parts. His cigarette was almost out now, ashing it in the sand and then covering it up with his hands. He continued to sit where he was, right next to his bag and paper drying. “Hmm,” he wondered, opening a side compartment in the bag. Low and behold his vintage sunglasses that his father gave him from way back in the 70’s. A smile perked on his lips, taking the gold shades out and putting them over his eyes. Besides the whole impending death on this foreign soil, he was kind of enjoying the irony, not to mention the views. If destiny or fate or any of that bullshit was true, and he was meant to be here, then he had to agree this was a beautiful place to end up.

Not too much longer after leaning against this rock did he hear a screaming in the distance. It almost sounded like a child... No.. Could it really? Jared turned around, seeing as it sounded like the noise was coming up from behind him. A blurry figure in the distance was running closer, coming into focus. To Jared‘s surprise, it really was a child.. a young boy. All he was shouting was Mom, Daddy, Mom, Daddy.... back and forth... A pit in his stomach began to grow. “How did he survive the swim? The waves?” he asked himself, perplexed and almost feeling sorry for the kid. He had to give him credit though, that boy was a tough one. Figuring it would be in his good morals to aid the kid, he got up fully from his spot in the sand and began waving his arms to try and get the boy’s attention.

“Over here!” he yelled, the sound of his voice speaking words of aid out of place for him. If it was someone older then screw them, they could fend for them self, but this was a child... he may not have the best conscience, but there was one, deep down somewhere.

-----

Tiffany continued pouting her childlike whines until she saw another man not too far off changing behind a rock... his shirt was off and she could see a small trace of white boxers with red hearts peaking from behind the rock. “Ew,” she complained superficially, giving him the what the hell are you doing kind of glare. So far the two guys she has seen here haven’t been that impressive.... one, a large man that spoke a southern accent (or what it sounded like to her was one), and the other a reclusive smoker. “This should be interesting... no, awful,” she mumbled, not loud enough for the man that was changing to hear her. As she looked around and back to her goods, she realized she herself probably needed to change outfits. She had on her pink tank top and tan shorts, both now a few shades darker because of the water. Luckily her bra underneath was dark so the guys weren’t getting a show. For now she would have to wait to change though, because the rest of her clothes were wet.

Tiffany was relieved when she saw another girl coming up across the distance and walking her way. When the girl was only a few feet away, she could hear her say Hello. She spoke her name, Iris. That was a.... unique... name. Sounded rather hippyish to Tiffany but who picks their names?

“Hey Iris, I’m Tiffany,” she said, standing up straight and towering over the girl. Tiff was almost a foot taller than her, but yet, most models were on the tall side. She reached out her hand, shaking the girls and smiling dully. Not that she was faking the smile or anything, but she wasn’t in the best mood to be cheery. “You know... this really sucks. I have a very important job... I need to get back to New York,” she complained, knowing it was pointless but she was the type to want others to give her attention. “Look,” she then added on, digging through her bag a pulling out a wet magazine. Some of the colors were bleeding together but it was still readable. Pointing to page 20 at a picture, she went on to speak, “that’s me. Tiffany Kraller. You know, I am an up coming actress and all... I’ve been in a few small California films, they played at the Sundance Festival.. Anyway, I can’t be here... I can’t live in conditions like these.” Her conclusion ended in a curl of the lips, as if she was grossed out by all the sand and bugs that she knew were out there. “I can’t even lay my clothes out to dry because they will get sand on them!” once again she chimed, “I need a walk... I’ll be back in a couple minutes... let me know if you all wander off somewhere,” she ended.

Tiffany then headed down the beach in the opposite direction of them all. She turned her head to see if any of them were watching her, then continued on her course. It probably was rude to leave rather abruptly and not give Iris the chance to respond or anything, but when Tiffany got in moods like so, the only person on her mind was... well, herself. She could, after all, be a brat sometimes. It went with the pampered model role. A brief wave in their direction was her way of saying goodbye for now, then continued forward.

Her long hair whipped wilding in the evening winds, which was helping in drying it off. She didn’t get too far off from the group before she stumped upon another human being thrown across the sand next to the shore. She rubbed her eyes though, was this a mirage? He was, well... absolutely gorgeous! He had to be a model with the face like that.. eye candy for sure, something she desperately needed that would help get her mind of the unfortunate circumstances. She walked a little faster in his directions, then peered over his body. His eyes were flickering and he had a nasty cut on his head. She could see the perfectly cut abs underneath his white shirt. What a sight for sore eyes..

“You okay?” she asked, getting down on her knees and crossing her arms. In his hand there was a tiny box, one of those ring boxes. She didn’t need to see what was inside of it, she had been to way too many jewelry stores to know the exact size of them and everything. She couldn’t see a ring on his finger already, so she wondered what the situation was with the box. Was his possible girlfriend on the plane? Who knows, maybe it was something he found floating in the water on the way to the shore. After a couple seconds of him not answering, she poked him shoulder gently. “Hey, wake up..” He didn't even need to talk, she just wanted to make sure this guy was going to survive. It would make living here more bearable.

Iris shook the girl's hand noticing the dull smile, yes perhaps being overly cheery wasn't the best thing, but Iris didn't exactly know how to cope with this and it seemed neither did Tiffany. She was going on about how she was an aspiring actress, the magazine she pulled from her bag was slightly soggy but the image was semi intact. Iris' eyes wandered over it and she nodded. "Well that's..." But Tiffany had claimed she couldn't live in these conditions and walked away leaving Iris standing in her wake wondering what just happened. Shaking her head some she turned towards Jared who was sitting against a boulder, she sighed heavily due to the fact that she'd not had a good interaction with the male species. Clearing her already dry and sore throat she clutched her messenger bag to her and slowly moved closer.

When she drew near enough to talk to him she was about to open her mouth when she heard someone calling out for their mom and daddy. Glancing in the direction the voice was coming from she let her eyes focus on the small figure coming their way. Her eyes widened when she noticed it was a young child, he couldn't be more than ten or eleven years old. She slowly walked towards the child, not rushing since she didn't want to scare him. When she drew closer she held her hand out. "Hi there" she smiled a little to show she was friendly. "I'm Iris...I was on the plane with you. You were a few seats behind me, it's okay." she stood still waiting to see what he'd do. "If you come with me we can find some water to drink and perhaps something to eat, would you like that?" she asked.

When Liam at last saw people - a group of people far up on the beach ahead - his heart gave a lurch. "Mom, Dad!" he called out a final time. This must be them. His pace had lagged considerably since he had started running, and now all he had been able to manage a halfhearted jog, but this sight at last gave him the energy to continue just that much farther, rather than flopping down on the spot as he had been feeling tempted to do. His jog took him up the beach. All he could see of the figures ahead were dark silhouettes against the orange setting sun. Nevertheless he strained his eyes to make out which of them were his parents. He resented himself for not even being able to remember what they had been wearing. Had his mom worn a dress? He must be mistaken, because none of the figures ahead seemed to wear a skirt at all.

One of them raised his arms and waved them in Liam's direction. Liam stumbled forward and relief flooded his chest. His father. "Daddy?" He called out, but before he could get to him a woman approached. She was close enough for him to see she was a stranger, definitely not his mother. His eyes darted past her urgently, but she came up in front of him and held out her hand. As soon as Liam came to a stop his legs trembled from their tiredness. He shifted his weight unsteadily, still trying to peer around the girl. She spoke. "Hi there. I'm Iris. I was on the plane with you. If you come with me we can find something to eat - Would you like that?" He bit his lip in consternation. He was so tired. His head ached and his mind was swimming. He couldn't concentrate on her words at all. All he heard was his mother's voice. Don't talk to strangers when I'm not with you, Liam...Never go anywhere with them..." It was a ridiculous time to remember it, but all Liam's tired mind could process was that she wasn't his mother, she wasn't the one he wanted. He just needed to get to his father, just a little ways behind her...Tremblingly, he tried to push her hand away and get past her, but after only a few steps his exhausted body finally gave out. His legs crumpled under him and he stumbled to the ground, blacked out.

She watched him closely saw the confusion etched in his eyes and how he frantically kept bringing his gaze past her. She continued to hold her hand out and waited to see what he'd do. He neither nodded to the food and water nor rejected it. Iris could tell something was wrong, he suddenly began swatting her hand away and tried to get past her. She pulled her hand back in order to show him she wasn't going to force him, but after a few steps his body grew lax and he crumbled to the ground. Gasping she quickly moved to him, kneeling down she wrapped her arms beneath his shoulders and cradled him against her. "I need help over here" she shouted out and brushed the sand away from the young boy's face. "I need water...please water" she pressed her fingers to his neck and felt a pulse, somewhat relieved by this she waited for someone to assist her. She hoped the man sitting by the boulder would help. This poor child would surely be traumatized when he awoke and realized that his parents could possibly be dead. This made her worried more, she was always a softy when it came to children. With his face now clear of sand she felt his forehead, no fever that was good. But he'd need fresh water like they did in order to stay hydrated.

Raising an eyebrow at the pretty blonde Paul "harumphed" and dressed not bothering to button his shirt.
Great landin ona island in the middle of nowhere with a drama queen.
"Guess gentlemanly advice still gets yah nowhere even in the MIDDLE of nowhere."

Exhaling Paul squinted off down the beach and saw a woman cradling a small limp child in her arms, as she cried for help the faces of his own brothers flashed in the back of his mind and Paul sprinted toward them.
Whoah old boy, yah haven't moved this fast since highschool football... thank God fer adrenaline.

Paul kept going until he was about ten feet away and began to slow, when your built like a freight train you don't daintily halt on a whim, even so he skidded the last few feet sending a spray of hot bone white sand into the ocean.

He crouched down to his haunches palms resting on his thighs, he longed to reach out and touch the boy to assure he still lived but at the sight of his tear streaked face Paul figured he'd do more harm then good at this point. Listening to the woman Paul nodded for a moment

"Is'e alright?.......water....gotcha..."

The worry for the little boy melted away any sense of self preservation Paul had managed to call up from the primal instinct present in all humanity, he ran into the jungle while he tried to remember basic survival tips, he started by following the movements of insects figuring the'yd lead to a water source, moving quickly through the shrubbery forging his own path Paul eventually came to a small pond, the water was still and algae grew heavily on its surface.

"Shit gonna have tah boil this'n."

Scanning the area Paul looked to the trees and saw that many of them were either palms or deciduous Caribbean trees, going to one Paul siezed a lower hanging branch and lowered it to reveal several softball sized under-ripe green coconuts.

"These don't look to tasty but hopefully they's wet on the inside."

Pulling his leatherman from his pocket Paul attempted to saw through the thick woody stems and cut his finger in his haste. Cursing paul threw the leatherman aside in disgust and wrapped his hands around the base of the branch, grunting with strain Paul braced his foot against the palms trunk and yanked as hard as he could, he began to hear many large cracking sounds and stopped to catch his breath.
Ah hope thas the tree not mah arms fer Christs sake.

Spitting on his hands Paul smiled at the thickly calloused starfish sized "mits".

"Alright buckoes heres the deal, the lil baby boy and the lady needs somethin tah drink an that branch's got an assload of tasty's on it whatcha say tah us bringin it to em eh?"

Retrieving his leatherman Paul sheathed it silently and once again placed his hands at the base of the branch, setting his foot against the trunk again he quickly crossed himself and began heaving backwards again, with a sharp crack like a gunshot the branch snapped loose sending Paul hurtling back on his ass with a roar of surprise.

Paul sat dazed for a moment and then grinned as he stood shouldering the branch that hung heavy with fruit, jogging pack to the beach Paul ignored the others amused smirks, although he could imagine a giant running out of the forest with a good chunk of tree in his hands might've looked rather comical. He trotted to where the woman sat cleaning sand from the boys sunburned skin, throwing the branch down Paul sat on the sand near the two.

"Did whatah could water needs boilin so thisl have tah do."

Locating the coconut he had attempted to saw off originally Paul ripped it from the branch and poked a large hole in it with the screwdriver of his leatherman.

Moving closer to the woman he gently lifted the boy to his own lap ignoring the his protests and pried his mouth open, tipping the coconut he poured the contents into his mouth occasionally having to open another hole as the "meat" of the coconut blocked the flow of the milk.

When the boy had drained one Paul cracked the shell with the pommel of his leatherman(multi tool) and tried to coax the boy to nibble at the plants meat.

Handing the boy back to the woman Paul rose to his feet, his finger throbbing Paul took a few steps to soak his hand in the sea water the cut was bleeding heavily but he determined it was superficial and decided to save his bandaids.

"See what you c'n do with 'im I think Im just scaring the poor fellah."

He tossed the woman his leatherman should the situation arise she needed to open another coconut, as he headed tward the guy with the smokes two thoughts entered Pauls mind.
Should probably get tah know everone, shouda got that lil boys name.....shoulda got that GIRLS name.....nice job Paulie, yer livin everymans dream, an island with two pretty blondes(even if one of ems an ice queen) and already yer screwin it up.

((Jared's Part, Tiffany's will be a separate post))


Jared continued waving his arms when he noticed the other girl running from behind him and towards the boy... She had the right idea, I guess it would be better to meet the boy half way instead of waving his arms. He had some learning to do on this whole.. helping others.. thing. Sighing to himself, he rubbed the back of his neck and started walking closer to the young boy and woman, who he overheard her introducing herself as Iris. She stated, If you come with me we can find you some water to drink.... He stopped listening right there, trying to hold himself back from laughing. Fresh water, really? That stuff doesn’t just appear out of no where. It would take a good rain and several clean jugs to catch it, which to his knowledge they didn’t have. And by the looks of the almost clear sky with occasional white clouds, there didn’t seem to be any sign of a storm coming their way.

So Jared moved close, about 5 feet away now, when he saw the boy collapse in the sand. His eyes widened in shock, though his sunglasses hid the expression. The girl, Iris, she took the boy in her arms and hugged him close, fear pouring from her eyes. Jared was already beginning to form his opinions on her.. sweet, very sweet, to the point where he bet it was almost a downfall in her personality. People take advantage of nice girls; his own hands were red (figuratively), there was no denying he had played off the weaknesses of girls who were too nice. There was something endearing about it though. Iris would probably be an easier pill to swallow than that other tall blond, his sole opinion of her being one word: bitch.

“Um... there really isn’t any fresh water,” he barely was able to get out before he saw the large man running towards them in the sand and stopping abruptly, throwing sand in their direction. He was a big, hearty fellow. He seemed decent. He offered to find water, popping up quickly and running back towards the lush forest of trees to find fresh water.... Good luck with that, Jared thought to himself, crossing his arms while continuing to stand next to the young boy and woman. “He probably won’t find any water in there honestly,” he said while slowly kneeling down next to her and cracking his knuckles, then pushing back some of the boy’s hair so it was out of his face. “If anything coconut milk will be a good replacement... I’m Jared,” he said, sticking out his hand to shake the girl’s, “Iris is it?”

... After a few minutes fast the big guy... what is his name.. had returned lugging in his hand a large branch with several coconuts. Jared was decently impressed, knowing that cutting down palm trees was not an easy task, especially when it is only one person. The man plopped down next to the woman and boy, across from Jared. Using a tool of his, what looked to be a leatherman, he opened up a whole for the liquid to come out and fed it to the boy. This whole ordeal here with the child surrounded by people who were here to help him made Jared believe this was a good start. A sad circumstance, but a good start. Team building would be their new life style, something that was going to be hard for Jared to commit to, but this right here showed some improvement in himself. He hadn’t been this social in a while.

Seeing that the girl was fully equipped to aid the boy, Jared stood back up off the sand and walked a ways away towards the water. He pulled out his pack of Camels again, lighting another one. Down to 19 now... He realized this pack was going to be out in a mere days, and that is if rationed. “Fuck it,” he mumbled, lighting his second one and taking a long drag. The other man arrived at his side, leaving the girl to be alone wit the young boy.

“Uhm, good job back there mate, those coconut trees aren’t the easiest to work with,” he said, trying to fill the silence as the man stood there. With his free hand that wasn’t holding his smoke, he extended his hand out in a shake, “Name’s Jared.”

Damien stirred a little uncomfortably on the ground, his entire body ached. He turned his head from side to side not opening his eyes, still in working condition, he smiled at the thought and slowly opened his eyes looking into the setting sun’s sky. Where was he? He attempted to sit up, noticing a girl he hadn’t seen before in his life near him looking in his direction. He remembered the crash, and the swim. His hand found its way to his head, there was a cut that needed to be tended to. He half grunted half sighed, not sure what to do. The other one distracted with the ring box, he decided to put that away for the time being.

“How long was I out?” It was a fairly practical question, one that needed to be asked after anytime of being unconscious for any amount of time. He went for his pack, opening the lock with the key, and sifting through his bag for a pain pill, gauss and an ace bandage. He looked up to the girl after fishing out the wanted items, swallowing the pill with nothing, and placing the gauss on his head, wrapping it with the bandage. While doing so, questions came to mind that he wanted to know. He gave the girl time to answer between questions, such as where they were, were there any other survivors, and what was the conditions of the survivors if there were any, and where everyone was.

He was being polite the entire time while asking, keeping eye contact when he could, around the little patchwork he had to do on himself. After the patchwork seemed to feel like it would hold up he attempted to stand, a little wobbly but it was manageable. He dusted himself off the best he could, taking notice of the white shirt that was drenched. He kind of smiled at the thought, this girl might have just stuck around for the sight, but he had no idea of the matter. He locked his bag back up and slung it over his shoulder. He looked back to her holding out a hand. “Damien.” He put that full smile into affect with that one word.

Iris saw the man running towards her and the young boy, she was slightly afraid he'd splatter sand on them when he stopped and it seemed he gathered that because he'd slowed down before hand. She didn't get an edge in otherwise when he disappeared again to gather the water she'd need. She was sitting patiently when the man by the boulder appeared next to her and knelt down offering his own help then introduced himself. She moved her free hand out and took his. "Yes Iris..Nice to meet you Jarod" she took her hand back and looked back at the boy in her arms. "I'm sure there is fresh water, maybe not so close to the beach area, but the coconuts are a good idea." she smiled at him as he rose when he saw the other man appear toting a coconut tree limb behind him, she watched the man in utter shock and was still in shock even as he lifted the boy from her arms and began pouring the coconut juice down the boys throat. She watched with interest as he also tried to feed him some of the raw shredded coconut. She noticed a little blood on his fingers and wondered if he'd cut himself but before she could ask him about he placed the child back into her arms and left her the leatherman which she held onto hoping the boy would awaken soon.

Even as he walked away she called out. "Thank you....both of you" she continued to cradle the boy against her and even took a few drinks of the coconut milk herself, it wasn't something she was used to but it quenched her thirst. The sun was still high in the sky and it was unbelievably hot. "Jared...um..I don't know your name," she called to them. "We should probably find somewhere beneath the shade of the trees to camp." she offered up the idea wondering if they'd accept it. "We're going to be stuck here for a little while at least."

Further down the beach lay the two siblings, Jenny’s small form clutched to her brother’s chest. Pressed together having passed out together after their cold swim; huddled for warmth. Jenny opened her eyes slowly, blinking away the layer of salt that crusted over her long eyelashes. She snuggled into the warmth beside her, unaware it was her brother, think it was possibly her old boyfriend, come to visit. Her fingers tentatively reached up to touch the face of her old lover only to find hair on it, Tony had never had a bead, barely old enough to grow one when they had been together. She shot out of her brother’s arms looking terrified, but soon relaxed seeing his features. She glanced around before looking back to his unconscious figure, taking in the broad sweep of sand and jungle besides them. She couldn’t see people around, but she guessed they must be near as she could hear them. She put out a hand shaking her brother’s shoulder, a fearful glint in her eyes, these were not people she knew or trusted.

“Peter, Peter, wake up.” The words came slowly through the fog, that seemed to make opening his eyes hard. “Please Peter, I don’t know where we are, there are people around… How did we get here?” His sister’s distress prodded him into wakefulness. He laughed sadly, of course she didn’t know where she was, she’d been high as a kite on their flight, though he hadn’t known that till half way through the flight. She had started to mutter to herself about dogs barking, turning to him with feverish eyes, telling him they were flying around them. She had not been able to swim herself, her limbs unable to work in the cold of the water. He shook his head, he had been so certain that she had quit, she had gotten so much better since she had moved in. His eyes opened slowly, stinging from all the water that had gotten into them swimming for both their lives.

“Grab me a cigarette, I’l help you in a sec.” He grumbled, pushing himself up from the soft fall of sand. She smiled nodding, pulling both their backpacks from her back, where they had been put for safekeeping. Delving into his bag she pulled out his duty free pack of 10 by 20 cigarettes, deft fingers quickly pulling apart the wet outer case. One of the opened packets had been ruined but the other 9 unopened seem to be fine, though she would check them later. Her mind rushed over the idea of where they were, listening to her brother’s soothing voice as he told her of what had been going on. Tears sprung to her eyes when she thought of all the people that had been on the flight and even worse, when most of them would wash ashore and how they would have to burry them. She shook lightly as she handed him a single cig and then searched for her own packet, unopened unlike his in her bag, each cig having double protection. She smiled softly as a waft of menthol came from the freshly opened packet, all the while not saying a word to her brother. Placed the needed cig to her mouth and put the lighter to it and found it did not work.

“Look there must be other people, will you go ask someone?” He pleaded equally in need for a smoke “My legs arn’t quite ready to work, I’l come with you after we have had a smoke, ok?” He asked her, a small smile lighting his soft face. His voice had a croak to it he hadn’t expected, probably due to swallowing mouthfuls of the dirty sea water. He smiled watching her run off, the soft sound of her feet for a moment covering the unwelcome sound of the waves. Before him was the setting sun, something that would have once been a beautiful sight, but here it seemed ominous. They were not on an all night camping trip where the stars were all they wanted, this was a place that was obviously not inhabited; there were no lights on anywhere near them. He looked into the darkness of the jungle, eyes weary; they would need to find a safe place to sleep, for at least tonight. Tomorrow places could be made to live in till help came, but darkness was swiftly falling, it would be hard to find light around here and he did not want to be caught on the ground when things started to prowl.

Jenny’s legs were aching a little by the time she had reached the cluster of people, though she had not herself done any swimming, the cold had damaged her legs just the same. Her long dreds hung from her head, heavy weights on her slender frame, so clogged with water. She stood a little way from the group, weary of strangers; having always been taken advantage of before. She saw a man puffing at a cigarette, eyes lighting up and walked towards him with purpose. She walked through the group without a sound, her slender frame slipping between them without any difficulty. She paused before the man, not wanting to disrupt his conversation, her head tilted to one side. Her eyes flittered through the group, quickly taking a judge of each person; no one seemed to be threatening. Her head snapped around when their was a pause in conversation, stepping a few strides closer to the smoker, eyes pale in the failing light.

“Hey there, our lighters out, do you mind lending us your lighter.” She held out he cigarette showing that was all she wanted. “ I only want it for a sec to give a light to my brother, I’m sure if your running low we can give you some more too… We stocked up before take off, in duty free.” She smiled a little, shrugging, wet clothes finally starting to dry in her skin.

Nodding at Iris and the boy Paul took Jared's hand in his own when the man offered to shake.

"Hows it hangin pal, names Paul, say you wouldnt happen to have a flask on yah do yah? I needs a pickmeup righta 'bout now ifn yah know wutta mean."

Paul took in the guy for a moment, few years older then himself a tad on the scrawny side "He ain't scrawny yah ninny EVERYBODIES scrawny compared to you..." seemed an alright type. Paul had immediately liked Iris when he saw how she took care of the kid before herself and he began to feel the same for this Jared guy.

Off down the beach the Ice Queen was attempting to wake up another unconscious guy who upon rising was (surprise surprise) one of those pretty types. Paul's mental rambling was cut short when a leprechaun appeared from nowhere behind Jared.

"GAH!!" stumbling back a few steps he calmed when he realized it was only a girl with red dreads the wee ones hair would make a bitchin bandname Paulie gotta get that bass out when yah get home.....if yah get home..., she introduced herself as Jenny. Smiling broadly Paul extended his hand and ended up pinching Jenny's between his finger and thumb.

"That'll have tah do fer a handshake Jenny who comes bearin cigs and good news, ahm afraid tah slap yah some skin yer a bit on the wee side, well ah minswell get the unpleasentries outta the way, Im Paul this is Iris that cute lil lumpa joy in her laps The Kid, you know ole Jared.... and down the beach there is Ice Queen and Beefcake, you alone?"

While Paul waited for an answer he mumbled to Jared, "Iris is right we gotta get started on some shelter, I'd say we gorrabout 5-6 hours of sunlight left and the camps a-fillin..."

Liam had come out of his faint, half conscious, for a brief period of time.His mind has still been disoriented, and so all he had been aware of were big hands lifting him and a very cooling sensation that soothed his pained, dry throat. Then he was nestled in familiar arms again. They felt like his mother's. Something at the back of his foggy mind wanted for some reason to panick, to scream, to batter at him until he got up and started running and searching again...But he couldn't remember why, or what for. It was so much easier to remain as he was, feeling comfortable and safe in the arms of his mother. Normally Liam would be embarrassed to let her baby him in such a way as holding him on her lap, but for now he would make an exception.

From his groggy half-consciousness Liam soon drifted into sleep. His sleep was deep, and after a while his eyes began to flutter under his lids in a very vivid dream.

He was on a pirate ship with his mom and dad. Under a big flapping Jolly Roger, Liam was steering the ship through waves that made it tip back and forth to the extreme. A colorful parrot came and landed on his shoulder, but presently is began squawking and flapping in his face and fying in circles around his head in an annoying way. In its parrot voice it kept on saying, "Mayday, Mayday," over and over again. Liam swatted at it in annoyance, but it didn't stop, not until Liam looked up and saw what was right in front of the ship - an iceberg as big as his schoolbuilding. He jerked the steering wheel left, but that wouldn't do...he tried jerking it to the right, but there was no avoiding the iceberg. "I'm not the right person to drive this thing!" Liam shouted, lookinhg around. He saw slumped on the deck a man dressed in a pilot's uniform playing with cards. It was the captain. Liam tried to get him to take over but the pilot waved him away, saying, "Don't panic, don't panic." Just then the pirate ship turned into an airplane and it crashed into the iceberg. Liam and his parents jumped from it into the water and held hands and swam, but every time they took a stroke the water pushed them backwards. The waves got bigger and Liam's parents' hands got impossibly slippery. Sharks circled all around them, lightning flashed in the sky, and gigantic bugs came walking accross the water towards them with snapping pincers. Liam swam and swam and tried not to let go of his parents' slippery hands, and tried very hard to bite his lip to make himself wake up, but he was so deeply asleep that he couldn't.

Her eyes drifted to look down at the boy as he seemed to come to and drink down the coconut milk, which made her content that he was trying but then he slipped back into unconsciousness. Iris noticed where Paul was looking, behind her and turned her head to see Tiffany standing near another survivor, he could have been a model as well. Blinking some Iris pulled her eyes away and noted, boys like that were magnetically and genetically altered to find the model women. She smirked to herself and held the boy close, cradling him against her so that the sun didn't burn him. Although she had no children she had plenty of nieces and nephews by her brother and sister to learn her enough about children. When Paul agreed that they should make camp she nodded to the branch he'd brought out. "Paul if you could perhaps take some of the leaves from the coconut tree and lay them out near the edge out of the sun I could help with getting camp set up, search for wood, water and such." she offered.

Her eyes ran over Paul noticing he was like your average cuddly teddy bear and Jared was your rough exterior kind of guy she didn't want to contemplate if he had a good heart since she didn't know him. But they both had shown they were human by helping the child, which she hoped would prove well later on if things got rough. Slowly and with ease she shifted herself so that she was on her knees and then slowly she brought herself up and held the boy against her with one arm behind his shoulders and the other beneath his legs. "I'll carry him to the edge."

((ah, looks like there is some confusion on the time of day it is. The sun is setting, which means maybe less than one hour of light left before dark; also, I don’t think Mercykilling has introduced the name of Jenny yet, so I’m going to pretend Jared did not hear what her name was))


Tiffany got from her knees and walked back a few feet, smile still holding strong, eyes still glued to his... build. Maybe it won’t be too bad out here, she hummed in her mind, blissfully batting her eyes in and out of paying attention. What brought her out of her day dreaming was him speaking up for the first time. “How long was I out?” he asked, already trying to move around. She stretched out her hands, shaking them in a manner that meant he should probably slow down and take it easy. He could have possibly had a bad head injury.

“Um, I’m not sure how long you were out... I just now found you... but the rest if us, we’ve been awake not too long. Thirty minutes maybe... the sun is about to set,” she stated, eyes now following his hands as they shuffled through his bag. He was pulling our first aid materials.. that was comforting to her, seeing that at least for a while they would have sterile treatments for cuts and wounds. He continued to ask her questions while fixing himself up.

His question about where they were was almost comical. Did he really believe she had such knowledge? “Listen, uh, I don’t think I’ve caught your name... I’m Tiffany... but yeahhh, I honestly have no clue where we are... I barely remembering swimming here... I barely remember the crash... It is all pretty hazy. Looking back I just see, like,” she paused, as if coming up for words to describe what she saw was challenging for her vocabulary, she twirled her blond hair in her finger while contemplating, “Like, bright colors and swirls. I remember freezing my ass off, I mean look at how I’m dressed.” She pointed her hands towards her now, at her pink tank top and shorts that barely covered herself, “I had to swim in this... can you believe it?” There she went again, trying to bring the attention back to her. Her ramble didn’t stop there... “Of course, like I mention already, there are others... two guys... one a smoker, which is totally bad for your looks and all, and this other fat guy who probably hasn’t been to the gym in his life... and this other girl. She seems okay. They are all over tehre,” Tiffany said then pointed behind her, glad that he was making eye contact with her- he was listening, good. What finally made her shut up was when the guy began to stand. He smiled, offering his hand out to her. She took it, using it as an aid for standing up off the sand. He introduced himself as Damien. ”That is so hot” she bubbled to herself, shortly after letting go again.

“Follow me,” she instructed, pacing back down the strip of beach towards the group. Upon reaching them, Tiffany saw there were yet more survivors. This was looking the the freakin Brady Bunch. There was a new girl that was with the main cluster of people, dawning orange dreadlocks and loose grunge clothing. Tiffany rolled her eyes, but at the same time was trying to hold back a laugh. What a hand of cards, all so different, well except for her and the hot guy, Damien. They were on the same plane in her eyes... her naive, arrogant eyes.

Once close enough to everyone, she made her presence known. “Hey strangers, what’s for dinner!” she said almost sarcastically, though she was rather hungry the more she thought about it. “This is Damien, I found him over there in the distance,” she then said, introducing the man next to her, who couldn’t have been more than a couple eyes older than her.

----------------

Jared finished his second cigarette of the day, crushing it in the sand again and covering it up with his bare foot. He had lost his sandals he was wearing on the plane while swimming to shore. The big man next to him finally stated his name, Paul. He had asked afterwards if Jared happened to have a flask... that sounded so good right now, but jared shook his head in a disappointed fashion. “Sorry man, if I would, I’m sure we’d already be finishing it off right now,” he said in a thick Australian accent, which he usually tried to not use. Jared had been practicing a New Yorker accent for a while now, and had been starting to get the hang of it.
He could hear Iris behind him, thanking both him and Paul for helping out the boy. Jared hadn’t really done anything but offer support. It was Paul that did the laborious work of chopping down the palm leaves and coconuts. Yet before he could brush off any of the credit, Iris continued to talk- mentioning how they should find somewhere to sleep tonight and set up camp... and how they would eventually need shelter. She was right on all aspects of this. He turned his body around so that he was facing her, smiling ruggedly but eyes still hidden by his aviator sunglasses.

“I think that sounds fine with me... and we should start making a shelter ASAP, the sun will be killer, especially if you’re pale and all,” he interjected, then looked at those who were, like the little Asian boy and the model bitch off in the distance. Jared watched as she was getting closer, now walking with another guy. He secretly wished she would get burned so that it would put her in her place. And that pretty boy walking by her side, who was somewhat pale himself. They both deserved to get burned. “Paul, mate, I’m pretty sure we don’t have nearly that much time left of light... the sun is setting now, look how low it is in the sky,” Jared pointed out towards the ocean, the big orange ball of fire in the sky slowly sinking down inch by inch over the horizon. “Making a shelter, at least a decent one, will have to wait until morning when it will be easier to see through that forest/jungle/ whatever it is in there...” His voice trailed off when he noticed a sound..

To Jared’s opposite side, he saw yet another girl making her way towards the main group, the source of the mysterious sound. By the looks of her walking this way, she seemed completely different than the other girls that were here... Dreadlocks, a badass stride, though that could just be due to a limp or injury she might have acquired while swimming out here from the plane crash. What he liked most about this stranger though was that he could see she was holding a cigarette in her hand... another smoker, which meant possibly more smokes... Ah, a rebel angel, just what he needed to see. She made her way up to his side, walking with purpose and control, though it was odd to see seeing at how tiny she was up close. The dreads probably added 3 or so inches to her height, which was already pretty short compared to him.

”Hey there, our lighters out, do you mind lending us your lighter...” she asked, continuing to say that her brother was with her not to far out and that... oh those blessed words, if he was low he could have more... that they had stocked up. Right there he wanted to pick up this strange girl and hug her, but he stayed firm in his stance and just nodded.

“Sure thing, it is pretty full.. I’m surprised it survived the water... didn’t think it was going to. And yeah, this pack,” he patted his side pocket gently, “I’m sure it won’t last me too much longer... It’s be awesome if I could bum some from you all.” Jared smiled at her, placing the lighter in her palm. “Names Jared by the way,” he then said, assuming she would answer back with what her name was.

His vision trailed back to the sleeping boy, and Iris who was continuing to cradle him like a protective mother. The boy, no name still, seemed deep in sleep. His eyes flickered violently under his lids, clear signs of a dynamic dream, possibly nightmare. When Iris stated to lift the boy up, Jared walked towards her. “Here, let me,” he said, figuring this would be the time to make some effort to... dare he say, help out. Jared stretched his arms out under the boy’s body, freeing Iris’ arms up of the boys weight. “I’m not sure what bringing him to the edge will do for him... if anything wake him... maybe that is for the best though. Doesn’t seem like he is having good dreams.”

Iris watched a girl with dreads approach them and listened as she asked Jared about a lighter, she had one as well but her hands were somewhat tied holding the boy. Her eyes trailed down to look at the bundle in her arms and frowned. If memory served her correctly his parents had been seated on either side of him, or across from him, she shook her head at the fuzzy images that played through her mind. Blinking back the confusion Iris glanced over towards Tiffany the epitome of what a model with the attitude to go with it. Iris had caught a little bit of what Tiffany had been saying to the guy who walked up with her and it made Iris think 'superficial bitch' could be the only label. Yet Iris wanted to give the girl the benefit of the doubt, a smile quirked at the thought that super model queen bee over there was about to learn that it was either work together or die. That was the reality of things, they were stuck weather they wanted to be or not.

Her eyes were averted back to Jared when he offered to take the child from her, she let him take the kid out of her arms happy he was helping. Her hand instinctively touched the boy's head and she nodded. "If I'm not mistaken his parents were with him, and now they are not. Any child in his situation, well he's probably having nightmares of the crash. He was seated a row behind me." Glancing at Tiffany she said politely in response to the food reference. "Whatever we can find here on the edge of the jungle, since it's getting dark we'll wait till morning to find better shelter and such." Iris then stepped back and began making her way up towards the edge of the jungle leading the way for Jared to follow. When she reached the area she thought best for them to camp she pointed to a small area and stated.

"He can be laid down there for now until we have a bed ready, I'll dig a hole for the fire and someone can go with me to get wood" she didn't want to entirely take the initiative or come off as pushy, she just wanted to show that she wanted to live. With her hair tied back she moved a little ways from where she wanted the child laid down and scouted the spot she'd be digging up for the fire. Marking it with her foot Iris was glad she never kept her nails long and kneeling down she began digging in the sand. Cupping her hands she scooped at the sand shoving it aside until she had a fairly descent hole made out. Clapping her hands together to rid them of the access sand she wiped the rest on her clothes and then sighing wiped a little sweat from her forehead. Rising Iris brushed away sand from her knees and nodded at Paul and Jared. "Um who would like to help me find wood for the fire?" she smiled as her eyes looked at the small group,she hadn't aimed it at Jared in hopes he'd stay and watched over the child.

(Yea sorry about that I was in a hurry and was trying to leave you guys somewhere to go but looks like you figured it out =) I apologize I coulda swore the name was introduced I meant no offence Mercykilling )

"Ill go."

Nodding Paul left the improvised grouping with a grin at the newcomer affectionately named "Beefcake", as he left he turned to the "Ice Queen" and said.

"Well lass wrap them manicured little nails of yours around a coconut, if yah cant then yer pretty much shit outta luck 'till tommorow unless you'd rather find a large stick and bash us a forest beastie, speakin of which I'm gonna need somethin a tad larger then my little leatherman over there and my bare mits if you folk want a more permanent shelter unless onea yahs has a machete tucked in with your unmentionables Its gonna have to be deadwood and small greens until I find a large sharpish rock, I'm a stage technician so I'm sure I can at least get a lean-to for the ladies an the kid built before nightfall."

Leaving them to ponder Paul followed Iris into the forest, he removed his shirt and began placing small bits of wood for the fire and large bundles of fallen palm leaves inside his beloved Hawaiin forming a crude bundle, when he figured he had around 30 or so of the yard-long greens he headed back to the beach to dump them near the group. Speaking to nobody in particular Paul mumbled

"Soma those is fer roofin' the rest yah can fashion inta mats or somethin if yah like."

Gathering up his shirt Paul slung it over his shoulder and entered the forest for a second time.

"Should probably start lookin fer droppins and tracks although I dunno what we'd find out here....pig mebbe if were lucky."

Paul began gathering up fallen palm chunks looking specifically for ones about 5 or so feet, when he had six he took them back to the beach and once again dumped them off.

The third trip Paul gathered some of the larger splayed fan-shaped leaves and used a few feet of rough vine to tie the bundle together.


Moments later on his return while the others were busy with they're own tasks Paul had formed a rough tee-pee.
(The finished project minus the smiling lady a bit bigger in my vision.)

As he finished tying the last knot and applying the leftover leaves as roofing Paul stepped back and sighed contentedly.

"Well itll be snug but it will fit the ladies and kid I believe."

Yawning Paul walked the few feet back to the forest line and dragged out a large pine trunk to serve as a crude bench, dumping it near the shelter he smacked the dust from his palms and smiled.

Iris nodded to Paul and they both entered the jungle to gather up wood. While Paul seemed content to gather what they'd need for a shelter she was satisfied to gather the wood needed for the fire. With an armful she returned to the small camp area and dropped her bundle into the hole she'd made, looking to Jared she asked kindly. "When you get your lighter back would you mind starting the fire? we'll need light soon as darkness comes upon us" then quickly she followed Paul back into the jungle and once more gathered up a armful of wood for later use. While she was gathering up the wood she looked around to see Paul had disappeared. Standing up straight she looked around noticing that beneath the skyline of the jungle it was rather dark, feeling a panic attack rising she clutched the wood closer not caring if a few pieces of the wood dug into her arms and just as she felt her racing she heard the footsteps, turning she saw Paul standing there and relief washed over her. With a heavy sigh passed through her lips as she moved closer and when he left for the last time she trailed after him.

As they came back to the camp Iris quickly disposed of the wood in her arms near the fire to at least begin a stack to last for the night. She could gather more in the morning. Brushing the small leaves that had attached to her shirt Iris watched as Paul very quickly and efficiently built a tee pee for Tiffany, the child and herself. She liked that Paul was worked. He was no hunk, his features were average like her own, but he seemed to be a hard worker and seemed to have a heart of gold. This could prove useful in the days to come. Finding the extra leaves he'd discarded Iris set about arranging them inside the tee pee so they would have something to rest on. When she crawled back out Iris she rose and looked where Jared and the child were. "It's ready so he can be lain inside for now."

“Um, hey Paul.” She smiled softly, immediately hatred came to her eyes, he had used the name no one but her brother called her. “I don’t know why you think I’m a Jenny, my name is Saint.” She held out her hand for a shake, unafraid of the big man, even as his massive hand engulfed her own. She shook her head, knowing it was only a mistake and she would have to be kind to all the people here; they were all in the same boat. She hadn’t met a man as large as Paul in her life and it bought a smile to her face. He was as big as she was small, standing at only 5ft. She knew later in life she would grow a little more, but not by much, she was however glad to be small, it made it easy to get away or into hard to reach places. Her head bobbed to him in an old fashioned manner that she had picked up from her mother over the years and she turned to look at the man who was the lighter barer, a hopeful smile on her face as he moved forward.

He stood up slowly, testing his legs stability on the soft moving sand. Glancing down he smiled at the single wet patch, marring the almost perfect fall of white grains across the whole beach, they must have kept it safe from the sun all day, passed out from the nights troubles. Shifting his feet, he picks up his and Jenny’s bag, slinging them over his shoulder and start to walk slowly in the direction she had gone. Appearing around the corner was first one person, then two, them many. A sweet soft smile spread across his face and he sent a small thanks to whoever might be listening for saving so many; usually in a crash like this none survived, they were all just lucky. His legs ached massively, it had been an almost impossible job keeping both himself and his sister above water; the waves had been so wild in the storm. Though his moves were not graceful as his sisters, he still moved with purpose, his far larger form immediately obvious. He moved silently to his sisters side.

“Thank you, that’s kind of you.” Her eyes flickered to the floor, she hated to ask things of others, but at once felt more comfortable when he said he would take something from them in turn. “It’s Saint and it’s a pleasure to meet the rest of you too. I didn’t think there would be so many, I’m glad.” She took the lighter from him with yet another nod of thanks. Flicking it bought fourth the flame she so needed and she placed it to the tip of her cigarette. Taking a deep drag, she slouched back slightly, enjoying the sudden rush of gratitude that someone had been able to keep at least one lighter dry. She held the lighter up over her shoulder, immediately feeling the presence of her brother and relaxing a little where she stood. She felt a tug on her hand and let got, more grateful than anything she could explain that he was here with her. He was the one who held her world together and that would be needed more than ever once dark fell.

“Saint, you should take a look at him you know.” He told her, nodding to the boy, though he knew she could not see that he had. “I know you’re not far into your training, but I’m sure you’ve covered some of the mild stuff.” For once he was glad his sister was so bright, going to college to study years ahead of others her age. Though she had only just finished her first year on environmental studies, she had also been doing medicine, specifically echo friendly ones. He placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling proud that she was doing so well, now she was living with him again. However he looked back to the night of the crash, and felt the crushing disappointment of finding that she was once more on drugs. He had been so certain that she was getting better; she had been off them for over half a year now, how could she do this to herself? He sighed, moving forward, at least here she couldn’t find any more here.

“No he’ll be fine, I doubt he’ll be happy with me checking him over either.” She shook her head, some of the kids they had borrowed from classmates for check overs had not liked how she looked. “While the suns still up I’m going to see if there are any plants I recognise in the jungle to eat.” She tugged the lighter back off her brother. Walking forward with the group, her long hair brushing against her slender waist, as ever almost too thin. As she walked past Jared, she slipped his lighter into his pocket, giving him an embarrassed smile; but he had no hands so what was she to do? As she slipped on past everyone she headed out into the jungle, it was the smaller than any she had practice navigating. However it had the same kind of heat and looks, so how different could it be. Silently she prayed there weren’t too many poisonous creatures. She paused at the edge, knowing she had forgotten something. She shook her head and then shouted to her brother.

“We can’t be on the floor tonight, make sure wherever they choose to camp that there are sturdy trees with strong branches.” Though his sister was a long way off, the words floated over easily and he waved a hand at her to let her know that he head heard. He walked alongside the others, listening carefully. No one had really registered his presence yet and he was more than glad of this, he didn’t really know what to say yet. He lent a hand where he could and was happy to see everyone decided to settle not under palms but a broad branched mango tree, though it didn’t look like the fruit would be ripe for weeks. He looked around on the ground near the edge, close enough to hear everyone, eyes glued to the floor. He didn’t think a fire was a good idea, but if it made the others feel safe, he didn’t see why they shouldn’t. He picked up dry mosses and leaves, looking for anything that would start the fire, since just wood would never light.

Jenny stepped through the poorly lit jungle floor, light barely touching the floor, the trees leave broad to get all the light. Her eyes were glued to the canopy, she needed to find some fruit, there wouldn’t be many things to eat here. She couldn’t see much, though it was likely something was in season, the now seemingly quiet canopy would usually be full off life, she suspected the crash had made everything hide after eating. She smiled seeing a root plant she knew, tugging at its heavy leaves she pulled up a beetroot plant. Almost black in hue, due to the swiftly falling darkness and its thick layer of soil. She looked about, taking hope in the fact that she had at least found something they could eat, pulling up a few more but leaving most of the crop.

“There you go little fire, you can’t start without anything to light you, can you?” Peter’s voice was soft, almost unable to be heard above people doing things, but it comforted him to talk a little. He placed the small pile of tinder down, then a handful of very dry small drift wood, eyes steady and warm. He loved fires and knew it would give everyone comfort. He was worried it would gain attention from any predators that might be around, but if the all stayed out of the jungle it should be fine, predators would not like coming into such open space. He smiled at the small structure that had been built and was more than grateful he would be sleeping in the trees, even it meant he’d be smoked by the fire. They would be safe in the trees, where most large predators could not reach, later he would try to persuade others to join them in the neighbouring trees.

She moved out further towards the sound of people, but did not come all the way out, it would have more light here, more plants to eat she supposed. There was a small pool of water here, it looked much frequented and was pretty full due to the recent fall of water, it would not last long with the heat like today, she thought. Searching around the edge she picked some Okra, unsure on the variety but sure it would be fine none the less. She leant against a tree, looking desperately around, the light was so poor under the trees soon she would have to go. Her hand innocently ran up a vine, fingers soft against its sharp spines. She turned surprised, it felt like something the gardeners grew back home. She hooked her feet on it, climbing a little way up the tree to where there was a shaft of light. Sure enough there it was, not like any she’d ever seen before, but she was sure of it. She twisted the large almost wood brown pumpkin, her smile could not have been bigger. On her last expedition they had all tried so hard to find one, but the were hard to find, so often eaten before they got to maturity.

“I have food!” She said quietly, moving out of the jungle but unsure she wanted any extra attention.

Damien listened to what the girl had to say, he felt a little dumb on the where are we question but it was something that he normally asked if he didn't remember the movement or there was another person around that he was training who didn't look like they knew, it was a training method to improve on certain skills, though he hadn't thought about the fact that he wasn't training troops anymore. He followed Tiffany listening to her ranting about whatever came to mind, he paused a moment looking around while she was talking and walking, it looked like she hadn't noticed his trail off. He scanned the area nearby, beach, water, and trees, seemed easy enough. He heard Tiffany off in the distance say something about food, it caught his attention, how far off did she get while he was searching? He continued in the direction he heard the voice, coming up over a small hill. There were Seven others in the distance. He stopped a moment a little surprised on the numbers of survivors, usually, there wouldn't be so many, this was a lucky bunch, in a way.

He stood a little behind Tiff, feeling the weight of his pack to remind him it was still there, while there was a hustle and bustle in the area, some seemed to be gathering branches and such, a small 'hut' had already been erected, a lot of the others seemed to have introduced themselves and were working together on various tasks that needed to be done, it was a little surprising to say the least, so many people all from different aspects in life, yet so many traits that had been covered already, it kind of made him feel out of place. He listened in on people talking picking up names here and there. Paul was the lumbering giant, it brought a smile to his face, Paul Bunyan, he almost lost it as the thought came to mind, but kept it to himself the best he could. The boy with the child, he had sworn that he had heard Jared, but whos name that was, was lost on him, he hadn't really heard the name again after that, people just didn't use his name when they spoke to him. The girl that had walked off with Paul, had returned shortly and dropped off some wood and thicket of the forested area, he hadn't caught her name either, then there was the other dread locked girl that had said Saint, that had to be a nickname, and then the man starting the fire, his name hadn't been mentioned either. That was four of seven, he would have to find out the other names later.

"Seems like everyone has a part, to say in the least, I should get to gathering something as well, as to contribute." He looked to Tiffany for a moment before taking his leave, walking to the man sitting near the soon to be fire. He set his pack near a rock, looking to the man a moment not sure how to start the conversation, giving up on it as fast as he had thought to introduce himself, but that wouldn't be needed, everyone should have heard his name moments ago when Tiff had went on her little loud spree.

He dug into his pack after unlocking it and dug out the knife that he had cleverly tucked away, how it got through airport security, he wasn't to sure, but he was happy to have it now. He locked his bag up once more leaving it in place. "Think you could watch this for me for a little while? I need to do a little hunting, and I'll be out for a bit." He didn't really expect an answer, the man seemed to be a silent type, he just shot him a smile and went off into the woods, hunting for a rather long and as straight as possible stick. The light was lost almost completely in the wooded area, he heard some rustling off in the distance, he had caught sight of one of the girls that had been briefly seen before disappearing, obviously this one had come into the woods, he caught her coming down a tree, and she was carrying something, a fruit maybe? He didn't stick around to long his mind set on that stick, after a few moments he had located one that was relatively straight and about 3 ft in length, that would work. He returned to camp, tonight would not be his night that was for sure, he needed light to get what he wanted, and light was almost out when he finally got back to camp, he took a seat at his pack and broke out the knife, whittled away one end into a point, collecting the strips and tossing them into the fire, he set the stick near his pack, watching the rest of the groups actions.

Paul paused from his work to lean back and stretch his muscles a symphony of cracks and pops sounded as he bent his back and rotated his neck, he opened his mouth for a second and finally let out a loud yawn that ended in a deep bass growl. Pausing his stretching and smiling broadly he glanced over to the Woman he had been in the forest with earlier. Iris was handling the boy, helping Jared get him into the hut were the women and the boy would sleep, so much about her appealed to Paul, her motherly instincts, how calm she remained and most of all her air of grace.
An tah top it off she aint bad lookin Paulie.
Dismissing his unnecessary thoughts Paul reflected on the others.

The first man he had met Jared was quick to take initiative and seemed very charismatic, in a way Paul felt the Jared would soon be "chief" despite not being the most outwardly impressive, he didn't have Paul's size or Beefcakes looks or even the new guys badass hippie vibe, but he just seemed the type.

The woman Tiffany (as he had come to learn her name) seemed to border on the egde of complete uselessness, other than hanging onto "Beefcakes" arm she hadn't done much else the entire day, but who knows? Even the most useless dog bares its teeth when backed in a corner.

"Beefcake" seemed to be making a spear of some kind, looks could be deceiving maybe the guy knew how to handle himself.

Jenny or "Saint" as she wished to be called was a tough little one, Paul expected much out of her she looked sharp despite the obvious signs of hard-living in the perpetual party. Her brother gave off a sorta retro hippie vibe but looked to know a thing or two about survival judging by the good-sized fire he had going.

The Boy was the only one who concerned Paul, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He hoped they'd find his parents or at least be able to help the kid come to terms, he looked young maybe 6 or 7.

All in all Paul was content with the group, each seemed to posses they're own skills and such, it might be a good idea to go over them in the morning so each person knew what the other was capable of. Paul's own job as a stage technician made him a master of improvisation, God knows he could build set pieces with plywood and ductape(hed done it before, damn funding cuts) he knew his way around almost any construction job and naturally had his strength to rely on, besides that he could eat almost anything and judged he could most likely survive the longest without nourishment should the need arise. However he was completely out of his element, possessing only rudimentary survival knowledge Paul figured he'd be next to useless on making decisions regarding any woodsman type activities or hunting for that matter as he had about as much stealth potential as a grizzly bear with epilepsy.

Paul returned to the woods again and found another fallen pine trunk, grunting he hefted it to his shoulder and dumped it near the beach with the other forming a rough half triangle around the fire. He took a few of the leftover poles from the construction job and strung vines in-between them erecting a crude fence around the back of the hut, it wouldn't stop anything big that came out of the forest but at least it was something.

Sighing he walked down towards the waterline and lay down in the dry part of the sand to meditate.

Devon had taken a major blow to the head during the crash, and had passed out in the process of trying to make it to land, but apparently luck was on his side, if only for a moment, as it seemed the tide had carried him to shore. And it was also the incoming tide brought him back to consciousness. Feeling the sea water lapping at his feet, he shot up as if waking from a nightmare. The pain in his head was intense, and the sudden wave of dizziness and nausea, made him immediately wish he had just stayed asleep.

Closing his eyes, and placing the palms of his hands against his temples, he sat there for a moment, willing his stomach not to empty itself. When he was satisfied that he wouldn't lose his lunch, he slowly opened his eyes once again, finding that, although the pain in his head had not subsided, the dizziness and double vision had.

With a groan, he slowly rose to his feet, his muscles protesting every movement he made. After steadying himself, he shook the sand from his clothing and dreads, and was unsurprised to find a huge bump and crusted blood on the back of his head. "Definitely a concussion..." He said to himself with a sigh, his deep voice sounding strangely foreign to him.

He looked up at the clear blue sky, deciding that by the position of the sun, it was about midday. Considering how oppressive the heat already was, he knew that it would be scorching within a couple of hours. He needed to find shelter and drinking water soon. His honey colored eyes scanned the area, unexpectedly finding his black duffel bag sitting in the sand, not far away. He stumbled over to it, dropping to a knee and rummaging through it for the one thing he knew would make this nightmare a bit more tolerable.

"Jackpot!" he said after a moment, holding up a fresh carton of Camels in one hand, and his near-waterproof butane lighter in the other. He quickly ripped open the carton, pulled out a pack and lit up. He had a vision of his Ojii-san giving him hell when he had found out that he smoked. You shame your family by disrespecting your body this way!

"Screw you, grandpa." He said to himself as he stomped his finished smoke into the sand. "It's your fault I'm in the mess to begin with."

He was scowling without realizing it as he returned the carton to the bag and slid the lighter into the pocket of his jeans. His grandfather always had that effect on him. Pushing the thoughts from his mind,he removed his white button up shirt, replacing it with a sleeveless t-shirt from his bag before zipping it up once again, and hoisting it up onto his shoulder.

He wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of relying on others, but in a situation like his, you did what was necessary to survive, so he made his way along the beach toward the black dots he saw moving in the distance, assuming that was heading towards the other passengers.