The Middle

---

The previous night had been stormier than Cassidy had ever seen before. It started with just light rain, something that wasn't uncommon on the island, but grew more extreme as the night went on. By midnight, it was apparent that this was one of the storms that occurred before a new arrival, but even compared to the few she had experienced before, it seemed intense. Wind ripped through the palm trees, pelting sand and debris on anyone who dared to step outside. The cackling thunder blocked out the island's normal nighttime soundtrack of calm waves crashing on the shore and although Cassidy enjoyed stormy weather, it was even somewhat frightening to her.

Once the storm began, she had returned to her hut and spent the night there alone. She was sure that some of the others would probably be socializing into the late hours of the night, but Sam had bugged her enough during the day that she was okay with being alone. Besides that, she figured that Emery and Effy would probably be hanging out and she wasn't going to third-wheel on the couple, especially when she disliked Effy already.

She managed to fall asleep at some point and when she woke up a couple of hours later, it was as if nothing had happened the night before. Sunshine seeped through her windows and she could hear birds chirping in the distance. Everything was calm and normal, but she expected that after such a ferocious storm, there would be at least one change on the island. There would be a new person here. It was hard not to be curious about who the person would be and what they would be like, but Cass was good at suppressing her excitement. For all she knew, the person could be a raving lunatic or even worse- another version of Sam, so she knew better than to run out to greet the person.

She followed her daily routine of getting ready for the day before eventually leaving her hut. Hers was placed on the border of where the thick jungle met the beach, and she liked its location. She could look out her window and see the water but not be too close where she could hear people if they were swimming or fishing in it. The others' huts were all located in the area as well, but she appreciated that they were spread out generously, giving her her own personal space too. As she headed down the beach, she noticed that there wasn't just one new hut, but six. Over night, six new huts had appeared and based off of how the world seemed to work, that meant that this morning, six new people would be getting here. It instantly made Cassidy uneasy. There was already a chance that she was going to have to deal with someone she didn't like if there was one new person coming but it was inevitable that at least one of the six new people would rub her the wrong way.

The huts were all empty, as she expected, so she turned and made her way through the thick jungle brush. There were a few paths carved out but she was so used to the terrain that she didn't mind ducking under branches and stepping over roots if it meant that she could avoid running into anyone for as long as possible. Cassidy rarely swam, but the swimming hole situated in the middle of the island was a popular hangout spot for everyone, so it was normally her first stop in the morning. Today she guessed that it would be even more crowded since it was where their six new neighbors would be making their first appearances.

When the trees cleared and the blue pool came into sight, Cass took a seat on one of the large rocks that bordered part of the pool. She dangled her feet into the cool water and waited for some of the others to arrive. She, hoped that Emery, at least, would show up before any new faces surfaced from under the water. The water felt refreshing with just her toes dipped in but she knew from her own experience that after it wasn't as comforting when you surface from it for the first time. She remembered her own experience, of how her last breath on Earth had been taking as she seized on her apartment floor after downing a bottle of prescription pills, and the next was a gasp for air as she surfaced from this pool. It was a frightening experience, to say the least, but when it came down to it, had she known she would have ended up here, she would have swallowed those pills years earlier.

---

Last night has been especially stormy. The winds howled and the little huts that were scattered around the island shuttered. It was one of those storms, the kind that changed the air, and by morning someone new would reside in The Middle with the rest of it's residents. That evening, before things got too wild outside, Emery sat with the gang around the camp fire before everyone made their way home. One of the first of Cassidy, which Emery took special note of. He thoroughly enjoyed his time with Effy, but sometimes wished that she and Cass would switch places. Not so that he could sleep with Cassidy, but more so he could spend a chatty, restless night with her.

By the time that the wind was really beginning to pick up everyone had gone their separate ways, save for Effy, it was then in the ambers of the dead fire that Emery and Effy would usually have their infamous night time chats. With time these chats soon roamed into his hut, and then into his bed. In all honesty, Emery never intended for this sort of friends with benefits relationship to happen, he respected Effy and wanted the best for her. But then again, when things get drippy Emery also isn't the kind of guy to say no.

Though Emery took note of the wrestling clouds above and jewel tones in the sky, he had other things on his mind by the time the storm rolled around. Emery and Effy made the unfortunate mistake of walking around the island and waiting until the last moment to go inside despite the storm. With a sudden crash of thunder and sudden, and very intense sheet of rain began to hit the island. The two were instantly soaked, Emery laughed at the situation, then took Effy's hand without a second thought and made a bee line to his hut.

By the time they were inside Emery had no intention of anything innocent. Maybe it was the rain, maybe it was the way that he was having trouble wrapping his head over the idea of someone new coming, or maybe it was nothing at all. But once inside, Emery peeled his shirt off and began kissing Effy. All is one action he gentling pulled her toward the bed whilst managing to remove her shirt as well. It would be a loud night, but thankfully the storm would drown out any suspicion.

---

In the morning Emery woke up at the first sight of light. Effy was still asleep, but he knew he needed to scope out where the new hut was and then wait patiently by the swimming hole and greet the newest member of the island. Emery got up quickly, careful not to wake Effy, and dressed himself even quicker. Soon, with the crunch of his boots on the semi-wet ground he made he way around camp. The sand glistened in the sun shine and the roofs of the huts looked like new from the attack of rain that cleaned them last night. He thought of the many people in camp who hated storms and hoped they wouldn't be too exhausted. He didn't any sign of anyone when he made his rounds, that was a good sig at least. However, he did see some thing extremely confusing to him.

Six new huts. Yes, six. Emery blinked, had there been some kind of mass suicide. He shook his head. Oh god, what trouble would come from this. He had a hard enough time bringing one new member into the group, let alone six. Emery ran a hand through his dark locks, suddenly feeling very anxious about the whole thing. Would they come all at once? One at a time? He had no idea. Emery really knew the ins and outs of this place, but this was something new.

Emery grabbed a couple of bananas from a near by tree and he chowed on one while making his way to the pool. He would have to sit here all day and greet and explain everything six times. What a joke. Emery laughed a little bit at the thought, he imagined heaven was a little bit more like that. You show up at the gates, some one greets you and tells you that you're dead and that's it. But here it was different, this was The Middle. There was a little bit of a society and culture that went along with these ragtag kids. And it was hard to immerse someone in that.

Emery smiled when he saw Cassidy by the swimming hole. "Quite an entrance they're making, isn't it?" He said while walking up behind her. He was referring to the storm of course, but the surprising six huts was also a bit of a scare to the young leader. Emery took a seat next to Cass on the large rock and offered her a banana. After which he leaned back on his elbows and rolled his head back, he was now just feeling sore from the activities of last night, and starting to worry about what was to come.

"Now's the waiting game." he said simply, looking up at the sky and then making his way down to look at the beautiful swimming hole.

---

---

9:15 am

"It was a cold winter morning as my parents drove down Highway 99- the route we'd took hundreds of times to grandma's. The road had some patches of snow, but mostly it was just wet. But it was Idaho. The roads are always wet. Mom used to joke that it was when the road was dry that people ran into trouble. I was crammed in the back with my two younger sisters, and as usual, there was a battle for stereo dominance. Mom wanted NPR. Dad wanted Frank Sinata. Mabel wanted SpongeBob Squarepants. Bella wanted Katy Perry. I wanted the classical- music station, but recognizing that I'm the only classical fan in my family, I was willing to compromise with the little, yellow dude. I leaned my head against the car window, watching as the scenery zipped by, a tableau of dark green fir trees dotted with snow, wispy strands of white fog, and heavy gray storm clouds up above. It was so warm in the car that the windows kept fogging up, and I drew little squiggles in the condensation. When Katy Perry was soon over, we turned to the classical station. I heard the first few bars of Beethoven's Fur Elise, which was the very piece I was supposed to be working on that afternoon. It felt like some kind of cosmic coincidence. I concentrated on the notes, imagining myself playing, feeling grateful for that chance to practice, happy to be in a warm car with my song and my family. I closed my eyes.

You wouldn't expect the radio to work afterward. But it was. The car was eviscerated. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb. It tore off the doors, sent the front-side passenger seat through the driver's-side window. It flipped the chassis, bouncing it across the road and ripped the engine apart as if it were no stronger that a spiderweb. It tossed wheels and hubcaps deep into the forest. It ignited bits of the gas tank, so that now tiny flames lap at the wet road. And there was so much noise. A symphony of grinding, a chorus of popping, and aria of exploding, and finally, the sad clapping of hard metal cutting into soft trees. Then it was quiet, except for this: Beethoven's Fur Elise, still playing. And it all sorta faded out..."

---

It was dark from beneath the depths of the whirlpool that seemed to have collected Veronica Brewer from the accident in a way that was humanely impossible. She began to blink her eyes open just slightly to redeem her consciousness, until she found herself below surface. It took a minute before she realized what sort of condition she was in when she effortlessly began paddling herself up to the surface where a ray of light reflected itself on the waves. From above, she poked her head out from the water and took in a gasp full of breaths. She always hated swimming. When she her and her family took a trip to the beach, Ronnie always made sure she had a Nicholas Sparks' novel tucked away under her arm pit as a way to keep her sane for the long, boring hours that would be wasted. But then again, she did enjoy building sand castles with her two younger sister, Mabel and Bella, only to have it collapse back to its place.

Ronnie whipped her head in all directions to take in the sight of an island. The island has coconut palms, sandy beaches, and a reef encircling it; ever growing jungle of vines, trees and darkness. The trees making a canopy of the jungle hide what lies underneath. There is no sound of an insect, bird or reptile, no call of a human voice, only the steady rhythmical lap of the whirlpool she was in. The sound of the water makes her shiver with fear for what could be lying in that jungle. With the heat of the sun pounding down on her, she gathers up her courage and lift herself out of the water. Her hair now damp hair slapped at her face, and her wet clothes were unbearably heavy. As she scrambled to her feet, she felt the world sway less and less as if she hadn't used her legs in ages until it finally stilled. Then everything fell silent.

A minute passed. Two. She looked in every direction, but only saw the underbrush of the jungle. "Mom..Dad!" she called out; each word ripped her throat raw. Again, she shouted more loudly, "Mabel!"

Nothing.

"Bella! Someone-Anyone." Her voice broke at the last word. A breeze came rustling the trees, and making Ronnie shiver. Where am I? she thought as she wrapped her arms around herself to absorb heat. She took a few minutes to remember what happened before she was sent on the island; however, as she did so her head began to feel heavy. Ignoring it, she tried again but it only made things worse. The pain throbbed and pulsed in her skull; not a sharp pain like a knife-inflicted wound, but more of a dull pounding with a hammer over...and over...and over again. Her brain felt like it was on overdrive, but at the same time couldn't process properly. Images and ideas and plans and deadlines run through her head, but they're chasing each other round and round. Her mind couldn't catch a single one, but gets pounded with all of them at the same time as they ricochet and slam into the walls of her head.

"Ah!" she screamed as she pressed her hands against the sides of her head until the pain went away. It did. And strangely enough, she felt her fear whisked away like a swarm of gnats caught in the wind, replaced by an intense curiosity. She wanted to know where she was. She shuffled her feet into the sand as her foot thumped onto something hard. She looked down and found an old trunk at her side. She knelled in front of it and raised a hesitating hand out to lift up the trunk until she found that it was filled with a teddy bear, a yearlong supply of Stephen Kings and Nicolas Sparks, and a photo album that resembled the one that she had in her room back at home. She reached inside the trunk and pulled it out. Flipping to the first page, there she found a picture from last Christmas with Mabel and Bella. It had always been her favorite. She loved her sisters more than anything in the world, she treated them as if they were something more, and they were to Ronnie at least. She missed her family and wondered where they where. Wondered if they were okay. Wondered if they were out there somewhere worried about their eldest daughter's sudden disappearance.

A tear began rolling down Ronnie's cheek, and she made no effort to wipe it away. Wherever she was, whoever had brought her here. She wanted to go back.

---

---

---

One of the perks of going to school in Manhattan was that all it took was a ten minute subway ride and a thirty minute train ride for him to be back at his family's home on Long Island. He didn't do it frequently but today his mother had insisted that he come home to celebrate his father's birthday weekend with him. The promise of her homemade macaroni and cheese sealed the deal, so after his classes ended, Charlie headed to one of the subway stations by his apartment building. He only had to wait five minutes for the subway to arrive but spent the few minutes seated on one of the benches a few feet away from the edge of the platform. When the announcement came over that the subway to Penn Station was on time, he stood up and approached the platform. He could hear the train roaring towards them but as he approached the edge of the platform to wait with the rest of the crowd, he stumbled over side and onto the tracks. Had it happened even a minute earlier, it might have been possible for someone to pull him off, but there was no time.

---

Waking up under water was probably the last thing that Charlie expected. He was so unsure of what was going on that he opened his mouth to breath in, only to find himself choking on the water. The few seconds that he was under water seemed longer as he tried to reflect on what had happened while panicking about what was happening. He surfaced before he could put too much thought into the situation, and even once his head was above water, it was hard to focus on his surroundings when he was coughing up the water that he had swallowed seconds before. Once he managed to grab onto a rock on the outside of the water, he cleared his throat and looked around.

There was a woman in the water a few feet away from him, shouting about her baby, and then two people outside of the water. One of them was a guy who appeared to be a few years older than Charlie and the other was a light-haired female who also appeared to be three or four years older than him. It wasn't surprising that even in such a tumultuous situation, Charlie checked her out for a moment. Whoever she was, he approved. The other woman's desperate shouts for her child refocused Charlie on what was going on and he turned his attention back to his situation.

The scenery reminded him of an area of Costa Rica that his family had vacationed to that past summer, but why would he be there? And surrounded by these people? A woman yelling about her car and daughter? Then it came back to him. The subway. He had fallen onto the tracks and died, he supposed. That, or he was in one of those dreamlike states while his real body was hooked up to some machine in a hospital, and he was in a coma or something. He thought that he had seen some movie with a similar premise.

It probably would have been normal for him to react in a frantic manner similar to the female in the water, but he wasn't even sure where to begin. Wherever he was, it felt strangely peaceful and he was more confused than scared. After a few moments of staring wide-eyed at everything around him, he pulled himself out of the water. His legs felt wobbly and it didn't help that he was sopping wet and because of that, also a bit chilly, but he was able to get to his feet on his own. "Is this a dream or something?" Charlie asked directly, his gaze shifting between the two dry people. His voice was calmer than he expected it to be, but compared to the distraught shrieks coming from the other girl, anyone would sound calm.

---

---

She heard noises nearby- voices- and fear squeezed her chest. However, she lifted up the trunk that she instinctively knew was hers and followed the sounds that suddenly grew louder now.

"Where's my baby?!"
"Is this a dream or something?"

Ronnie was hit with a wave of confusion, blistered with panic. The voices were odd, tinged with echo as she edged closer; some of the words were completely foreign- others felt familiar. As soon as she stepped out from within the underbrush, she willed her eyes to adjust as she squinted toward the light and those speaking. At first she could only see shifting shadows, but they soon turned into shapes of bodies- people shifting around not even noticing Ronnie's existence.

And then, as if the lens of a camera had sharpened its focus, the faces cleared. They were actual people, all of them- some young, some older. Ronnie didn't know what to expect, but seeing those faces on the island puzzled her. Some of her fear melted away, but not enough to calm her racing heart.

She stepped farther out, "Why am I-how did I..?". She trailed off as her eyes began shifting from a women grieving the loss of her baby to a boy who was still questioning the idea if whether or not he was in a dream until suddenly her eyes dropped onto a guy casually leaning against a palm tree.

Ignore. Double post

---

Samantha hated storms. She had back at home and still did in The Middle. She was the child who was hiding under her blankets at the slightest sound of thunder until she was eleven or twelve, and even now, when she understood that they were harmless, she still refused to leave her bed during them. Even though there was rarely ever any damage from the storms in The Middle, Sam could swear that her hut had almost blown away during the previous night's storm. Had it not indicated that new people were going to be here, she would have spent the morning looking for some damage that she could complain about. However, she was excited to meet the new person that she expected to be arriving this morning. Sam loved socializing and was beginning to get bored with the other seven people, so a new face would be a nice change.

She was anxious to find out who the new person was but it didn't stop her from spending a good half an hour in the shower, and then an equal amount of time getting dressed. She chose a simple black bikini, jean shorts and tank top. One of her biggest objections with The Middle was that she lacked the large wardrobe she had at home. Here, she only had enough clothes to satisfy the need, and not her frivolous wants. It was probably the point though. If she could have everything here at the snap of her fingers, there would be even less of a reason for her, or any of them, to want to return to Earth.

She left her hut and headed straight for the waterfall pool. There were a few berry bushes on the way so she ate a handful of those as she walked, but Sam had never been big on breakfast. She was rarely hungry enough to eat big meals, and especially not in the morning. The steady sound of the water falling was audible even before the trees spread to open up to the pool and along with that, she could also hear some voices. When she stepped towards the waterfall, she spotted Emery, Oliver, Cassidy, and three new people. Two were girls and one was a boy who Sam instantly focused on. Even with his dazed expression, he was still cute and she decided that he would be a nice change from her normal lustful nights with Ford. She didn't acknowledge either of the new girls as she stepped towards the soaked male. "It's a dream come true for me" she responded to his inquiry on whether this was a dream. "It isn't every day that a cute guy kills himself," she added, stepping towards him with a flirtatious grin.

---

It didn't take long for her moment of solitude to end, but when Cassidy realized that the voice coming from behind her was Emery, she eased up. She appreciated alone time but didn't mind hanging out with him. In fact, she actually liked it. Emery was so easy to get along with that it felt natural to be around him. There was no unnecessary conversation or small talk, and Cassidy rarely felt the need to be defensive. They just clicked. At least when Effy wasn't around.

She smiled at his comment and accepted his offering of fruit, but remained silent and just watched him as he neared the water. Although the moment was literally the calm after the storm, she expected it to also be the calm before the storm. Before long, their group would be nearly double its size. Cassidy had grown up in a two bedroom trailer with five loud, younger siblings, her deadbeat mother, and depending on the day, up to three other drug-ridden deadbeats, so she was used to a crowd. However, she had escaped that when she died, and it wasn't something that she missed. The island was definitely big enough for another six people and Cassidy preferred to look at the worst possible situation than the realistic version.

"Let's just hope that Justin Bieber didn't die, and we have six preteen brats headed our way," she said with a small smirk. Almost as soon as the words escaped her lips, the water broke in the middle of the pool and a figure appeared. When she managed to reach the edge of the pool, she began to shriek about her car and then her baby. It was expected that the new arrival would be frantic. They had just killed themselves so emotions were bound to be running high, and waking up in a pool of cool water couldn't make things any better. However, when the woman asked about her daughter, it did seem a bit unusual. Although Oliver hadn't vocalized his thoughts, and Cassidy hadn't even noticed that he was standing a few feet away, she came to the same conclusion as him. The woman must have killed her child with her. The thought sent shivers down Cassidy's spine and she instantly disliked the girl. It was one thing to take your own life, but to kill your child too? Simply disgraceful.

Cass shot a disgusted look towards Emery. It was partly because of her realization, albeit false, that the woman had killed her own kid, and also because of the abrupt disturbance that the girl was causing. Emery was right: they surely were making a grand entrance. It didn't end there, though. Within seconds, two other people surfaced. There was a teenage-looking boy, who swam to the edge of the pool and in a much calmer tone, asked if he was dreaming, and a girl who, as soon as she pulled her self out of the water, tried to assist the frantic mother. The way she addressed Emery bothered Cassidy, but again, she knew that she should understand that these people were probably confused and scared. She shouldn't blame them for being brash, but she did.

"Do your thing, pretty boy," Cassidy said, winking at Emery playfully as she stood up and took a few steps away from the water. She was not a comforting person and didn't care to hear these people's sob stories, and her curiosity had disappeared a few seconds after the first girl appeared. She had heard Emery's spiel a few times before where he'd give the new person the rundown on how The Middle worked, and she didn't need to listen to it again. She planned on returning to her hut and then maying laying out on the beach for a few hours or going for a jog, but she spotted Oliver a few feet away and approached him with a friendly smile. "I don't even know their names and I can already say that I don't plan on befriending any of them- especially the loud one," Cassidy said with a roll of her eyes.

She was going to bring up last night's storm and comment on how it had been wild even by her standards, when Samantha appeared and wasted no time in approaching the new male. It wasn't surprising, really. Neither was Sam's flirtatious comment towards him, and her insensitive nature when referencing the boy killing himself. They had all killed themselves, so it wasn't like she was lying or even making light of the matter, but Cassidy disliked the thought of herself, or any of them committing suicide. It was something that she never brought up because she herself didn't want to relive her own experience, so she doubted anyone else would want to either.

Although she still wasn't in the mood to deal with a bunch of frenzied newcomers, Cassidy decided to stick around a bit longer. As she glanced away from Oliver for a second, she spotted another unfamiliar face appearing from the brush on the other side of the pool. It was another female who was clearly soaked as well, but Cass hadn't seen her come out of the water. She guessed that maybe the girl had arrived before any of them got there and had gotten lost in the jungle up until now. She seemed to be equally confused as the others but Cassidy didn't make an effort to greet or comfort her. That was Emery's job.

"Hughes."
"Hah. Got you just in time. Look, I've got to tell you something."
"Were you sacked? Christ. Cormack, I did tell you that behaviour of yours—"
"D'you think I'd make this very, very special call to Engerland just to tell you I've been sacked?"
"It's a possibility."
"I'm sorry to disappoint but I'm still paid to lull people into a semblance of security."
"Am I going to have a grandchild?"
"Hm. No. Sorry to say Becca isn't too keen on having one. Not with me, at least."
"Have you been evicted from your flat?"
"No! Why d'you think it'd be anything along those lines?"
"Tell me before I assume more."
"I've bought you a house!"
"Sorry, I didn't... quite catch that."
"I've. Bought. You. A. House."
"What? Where?"
"About an hour away from where I live. I've already started work on it. It's a nice one. Small, great for when you get old."
"What about the paperwork? You can't just put me in a house and not expect complications!"
"I've sorted it out with Joanne in advance. Look, you'll make it here. They're all right with expats like us. You've got me, your favourite son—"
"Thankfully, my only son—"
"—to help you. Ah, I know you love me in spite of your motherly exasperation, mummy dearest. Tell Becca about it. She'll love it."
"Mhm."
"Are you surprised?"
"One question."
"Yeah?"
"Does it have a garden?"

---

The fall seemed to last for an eternity, even as his body lay slowly dying amongst the cabbage roses.

Rocco was relaxed.

Perhaps this is one of those fever dreams. I've probably concussed. I'll wake up in a hospital bed somewhere after months in a coma surrounded by my mates. They'd have called Mum the moment they found out what happened to me. She'd come in screaming bloody abuse, then hug me senseless. Becca would hate me for it but she's calm. She can manage

That was all the justification he was afforded for the blackout. Before he even had time to think of other scenarios arising from having awakened from a coma, he was launched into something akin to a bad trip. He was quickly pulled from the comfortable warmth by some invisible force, back and forth like a twisted game of tug of war—or some form of medieval torture—and it seemed that that crumpled heap that was his body was losing fast. One last tug ensured his forcible removal. The skin on the fingers that grasped hard onto that last bit of life peeled away from it like cooked flesh sticking to the sides of a hot metal pan. It seemed almost amusing now, how conscious of what he wasn't able to do in life as he gave a loud cry, unable to stop himself from being dragged away into abyss.

The gentle thump of a bamboo raft against his head woke him. A ring of trees, rock formations, and beautiful blue sky came into view, which would have been very nice had it not been punctuated by the brouhaha.

"Toto," he said after finally coming down from the fit of coughs brought about by swallowing water, nonplussed by how loud his voice seemed to be, "I've a feeling we aren't in Kansas anymore." He paddled around in the water, scoping the area before swimming up to somewhere he could get both his feet on dry land. "But neither are we in Oregon. Well. Looks like we've wandered into an episode of Lost." He eventually found somewhere not too moss-covered and climbed up, flopping up onto his back with a huff before properly getting himself on his feet. He quickly pulled off the paint gloves he still wore and threw them down next to a nearby fern. If only he could get the damn pair of painter's overalls off.

Of course he wasn't alone.

Clearly the ones that were relatively dry were from here.

There was one surly blonde on a rock.
Here's Little Miss Sunshine.

Bananas wasn't too far from her munching away.
Is he really going to eat all those?

A sheepish-looking boy nearing a thoroughly soaked fellow.
Not that much drama here. Kid seems nice enough.

A brunette who seemed to be approaching them.
Right. Incoming. She's going to eat that other bloke alive.

All carried with them with an air of curiosity. Or suspicion.

The others seemed to be as equally confused as he was, if not more.

The dazed fellow.
Look out, mate.

One who cried out desperately for her child, which wrenched at his chest a bit.
Well, if she didn't end up here, then she must've lived.

One who at least tried to comfort her.
I don't blame her.

Another brunette with a massive trunk.
Wait, haven't I seen her before?

He forwent asking his first few questions to the smug fellow leaning on a tree, rushing over to the girl to help. "Looks heavy," he commented with a smile as he took one end of the trunk. "You don't mind, do you?"

---

Emery chuckled half heartedly at Cassidy's joke. He took another bite of banana before the calm morning was interrupted. The first person to emerge was a brunette woman screaming her face off. Emery wasn't totally prepared for the slew of people arriving today, let alone such loud and panicked one. Though his experience was a bit different than most, he remembered the anxiety that he felt when he emerged from the swimming hole. It was terrifying and confusing. However, he was also completely alone. There are no one to greet him and certainly no one to give him a towel. All he had was a sort of vague vision that explained what The Middle was. He understood what the woman was feeling he supposed, it was a lot of swallow.

His dark brown eyes caught the disgusted glance from Cassidy. His gut dropped. Great, now they were supposed to deal with a psycho. He swallowed his last bit of banana before watching as another came up, a younger male. Soon Oliver was there too, then Sam, and Donald. Everything was moving exponentially. They were appearing so quickly that Emery didn't have the chance to comfort each person individually. He let out a huff of air. He would have to do a blanket speech, trying to explain everything and keep a mob of people under control was going to be a challenge. From the corner of his eye he saw one girl had come from the jungle. He turned and watched her as she carried her trunk. He blinked. That wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to come from the swimming hole and her trunk was supposed to be in her hut. Everything was getting jumbled.

Emery lost himself in his thoughts, he was having trouble understanding why so many people had to come at once. He was also trying to wrap his head around the jungle girl. Then his train of thought ws interrupted by another woman who had appeared. She was beautiful, in the strong brooding kind of way. She called him Pretty Boy. A flick of annoyance hit him in the face. The nickname caught on for a moment as Cassidy called him the same. He made a face at her. He was conflicted with irritation from the pet name, and the fact that she had called him a pet name at all. Emery let out a silent, aggressive sigh. He would need the whole camp here to get these newcomers to cooperate.

Emery didn't even get to finish her banana. He counted heads quickly. There was still one missing. It was better to get the speech over with, and then explain it one more time for the lagger. Emery stood after Cassidy dismissed herself and took it upon himself to stand tall a top the large rock. From this spot he was high above the others and actually kind of looked like someone of importance. He always tried to think of the best way to get down the dry facts of the island but also provide support and comfort for the newcomers. The whole situation was a little bit different though.

Emery lifted his hand as he said "Everyone, please!" He waited for the chaos to simmer down a bit before continuing. He then put on his big boy voice, "I know things are very confusing right now but I need you all to remain silent and listen." Emery took another pause to wait for everyone to be quiet. When the moment was right he started.

"This is The Middle." He motioned around the island as he spoke, "This is your second chance." Though this wasn't the whole truth, it was always a nice way to start the speech. The second chance was supposed to be to live again, but Emery and the majority of the camp saw this new home as their saving grace. These newcomers seemed more distraught than usual.

"Here you will live and learn to forget." Emery furrowed his eye brows, here was the hard part. No matter what, it was hard for people to remember or admit that they had killed themselves. Most people were just angry that they were still alive. It wasn't fair, if you wanted to end your life you should be able to, right? That's why The Middle was such a mysterious place. You didn't have a choice, you were taking your pre-second chance no matter what.

"Please, close your eyes and try to remember where you were last. For some this will be easy, for others it might prove difficult." Emery wrapped his hands together as he continued "Whether you remember it or not," He cleared his throat, "You've killed yourself."

---

If this was a dream, it surely was a strange one. More people were showing up and he didn't recognize a single one of them. Another girl got out of the water and helped the upset mother to dry land. A guy approached them with towels and although drying off definitely seemed ideal, Charlie wasn't going to take the only towel for himself when there were girls there. The attractive blonde had left her seated position on one of the rocks and was walking towards a boy who appeared to be around his age. There was a brunette with a trunk who looked just as lost as he felt, and then another male got out of the water and walked towards her. Another brunette appeared a moment later, who approached him swiftly. She was definitely a pretty girl and her assertiveness was appealing, and had he only been focused on her flirty tone, he would have missed what she said. "Kill myself? What? No..." his voice trailed off as a deeper voice called the group's attention to him.

Charlie was struggling to take everything in, especially after the girl next to him had just accused him of killing himself. Never in his life would he have ever even considered suicide. When it came to mental illnesses, Charlie was as ignorant as they came and he was the type of person who associated suicide with maniacs. He wasn't one of those people. Everything was going well in his life and he was supposed to be alive. However, the guy who was speaking seemed to believe that he and the others had killed themselves, too. That was impossible, but Charlie didn't know what to say or do. This was beginning to feel like more of a nightmare than a dream and Charlie just wanted out. "What the fuck is going on here? I didn't kill myself and I sure as hell don't want to be living with a bunch of lunatics who did." His tone was angry but hushed as he addressed the girl who had approached him earlier. She seemed normal. He hoped that she could give him a more direct answer. Something better than the idea that they were living in some "second chance" world.

"Oi! Wait a bloody moment there. That's a bit presumptuous, innit? Telling us that we'd killed ourselves?"

Taking to lifting the other end of the trunk with one arm, he used the other to point in the direction of the distraught young woman, who appeared now to be calmer—or most probably quieter. At any rate, she didn't come out of that pool any better than she had been when she was still in it.

"That young miss over there's been crying for her kid. You know what worry is, right? D'you think any loving mother would leave her child be? Or are you too busy looking at us like we're fresh meat?"

"What the fuck is going on here? I didn't kill myself and I sure as hell don't want to be living with a bunch of lunatics who did."

"You're going to want to retract that statement, mate," he cringed. "After all, this is where they end up. I wouldn't be surprised if they had you on a spit moments later for spouting such vitriol."

It was unusual that Effy Frey would wake up in a bad mood, especially when the previous night had been a good one, but this morning was one of the worst. Instead of waking up peacefully as she usually would have done, the brunette girl was roused from her sleep by a loud ruckus outside; something which indeed would put her in a rather bad mood for the rest of the day - apparently, last night's tumble with Emery was proving to be a waste of time on her end of the deal. You would have thought that the others in the Middle by now would have worked out that on her good days, she had been deliciously ravished by the leader of their group, but none of them had ever made the connection with how close they were - shame, she had thought them to be a rather smart bunch when she had met them.

Stretching out with her limbs at all angles in the bed, Effy realised that her skin hadn't touched anothers - that was strange. Usually, when she stayed over in Emery's hut, he would at least be there in the morning so that they could work out an action plan as to who was going to leave first to keep suspicion down, but instead, the bed was empty this morning. A soft huff escaped her lips as she sat up on the bed and pulled the sheet up around her bare body, looking around at the silent hut. It was strange. Then again, the night previous hadn't been a normal one either. A storm, bigger than any that Effy had ever seen in The Middle before had taken over the sky, and her night-time conversion with Emery had been cut short due to the downpour that had soaked them in seconds. A pleasurable shudder ran through her body as she remembered the feeling of her wet body pressed against Emery's, the passion between them making it difficult for them to stop kissing as they tried to remove each others clothing, and the incredibly arousing sight that was Emery Baldwin without a shirt on, and dripping wet hair that ran down onto his -- .

Stop, Ef. Her brain warned her, and she pulled herself out of the bed, heading over to the drawers in Emery's hut. She didn't mind walking around naked, purely because there was no-one around, and by the amount of noise that was coming from outside, no-one was going to be close enough to see her through the windows. Having been smart when she had been caught out before having to wear the same clothes as the night prior, Effy had convinced Emery to allow her to leave a couple of items of her clothing in one of his drawers, thankfully so as hers were soaked right through from the night before, having been left in a pile on the floor of his hut.

It wasn't long until she had dressed herself in just a simple tank top and shorts, with her bikini underneath in case she went for a swim later on, and she headed out of the door, making sure that no-one was around to see her sneak outside, and shut the door behind her. That was when she noticed the huts. Not one new one, not two, but six. "Six?" She murmured to herself, and she made sure to count them one again, just to make sure that she wasn't imagining things - and nope, there was indeed six new huts on the island. At least she now understood where Emery had dashed off to that morning. It also explained where the noise was coming from.

A soft groan escaped Effy's lips as she trudged her way across the sand, over to the pool where she knew that everyone would be congregating to meet the new arrivals. She plucked an apple off of the tree as she went, taking a bite of the sweet crunchy fruit as she rounded into the gathering. Everyone was there; Emery of course, welcoming those that had already roused from the water, Cassidy in all of her perky blondness that Effy would rather avoid that morning, and Donald, Sam and Oliver too.

"This better be worth waking me up for, or else I'm going back to bed." The brunette murmured as she moved to sit down on a rock that was close to Emery and Sam, relaxing backwards as she watched Emery work his magic on the newbies, hoping to make them welcome in their new 'home.'

---

---

The boy leaning against the palm tree met eyes with Ronnie until he looked away almost simultaneously as she did the same, slightly embarrassed. She watched as a guy came and offered her his jacket. Hesitantly, she took it and smiled genuinely as a 'thanks' before attempting to put her arms through its sleeves with the trunk's weight in her hands. A minute passed. Two. And she stood there watching as everyone fell into an erupt conversation, most of which had contemplated at there unusual existence on the island when someone had suddenly stepped beside her causing her to jump.

A boy she hadn't noticed before, but by the sight of his drenched clothes she noticed that he was what she suspected, a newcomer as well. She looked up at him, and had met his eyes. Those eyes, his eyes, were a slate mixture of grey and blue. His brown hair appeared black as it slicked across his forehead. He was attractive in a stocky type of way, and felt a pang of disgust as she thought of it. Though he looked rather young, the guy couldn't have been no more than ten years older than she was.

To her surprise, he reached a hand out to take the trunk from her hands. "Looks heavy," he said as the corner of his mouth began curling up into a smile. "You don't mind, do you?" Ronnie opened her mouth to respond when another man hopped onto a boulder,"Everyone, please!" he shouted, his voice booming over others as he raised a hand to hush those talking. "I know things are very confusing right now but I need you all to remain silent and listen." Then, it was silent. Ronnie imagined someone dropping a pin to the floor letting the noise echo about the island. "This is The Middle," His arms wavered."This is your second chance. Here you will live and learn to forget.." There was a long pause that left Ronnie urging for what he was about to say. "Please, close your eyes and try to remember where you were last. For some this will be easy, for others it might prove difficult. Whether you remember it or not," He cleared his throat, "You've killed yourself."

Ronnie instantly felt the weight of the world fall at her shoulders. 'Killed myself..? I killed myself?' The thought of suicide left a tight feeling at her chest. Surely, she hadn't killed herself because why would she? Her life was filled with nothing, but promises, happiness, and pure triumph. There had to be other reasonable explanations of her...death, but she couldn't take it up to remember her last moments. It seemed like a blur then.

"Oi! Wait a bloody moment there. That's a bit presumptuous, innit? Telling us that we'd killed ourselves?" She was surprised and a little happy to see the guy still standing beside her taking the trunk from her hands at the same time he jerked a finger over to a young women wailing in the arm of another. "That young miss over there's been crying for her kid. You know what worry is, right? D'you think any loving mother would leave her child be? Or are you too busy looking at us like we're fresh meat?"

Ronnie didn't respond. Her eyes stared at the wailing women, and wanted nothing more than to run over to her and drape an comforting arm across her shoulder. She hated seeing people cry; ranked number one of her list of weaknesses.

"What the fuck is going on here? I didn't kill myself and I sure as hell don't want to be living with a bunch of lunatics who did." Another boy cursed, causing Ronnie's eyes to enlarge. This one had been younger than the young man beside Ronnie, but not nearly as attractive.

"You're going to want to retract that statement, mate," she felt the boy beside her cringe a little "After all, this is where they end up. I wouldn't be surprised if they had you on a spit moments later for spouting such vitriol." At that, Ronnie laughed something she hadn't did since she arrived on this island and felt a flush of embarrassment when she let out a snort. Clearing her throat, softly nudged the guy with her elbow. "Full of jokes aren't ya'? You'd think someone that have just coughed up from that bloody whirlpool would be a tad bit more..I dunno reserved..?" Smiling, she pushed a curly strand behind her ear in one quick motion. Thanks to the water she'd just came out from, her hair became even wilder than before. Light shades of brown highlights stuck up in all directions. "Anyhow, I was speculating. Not gawking. And I don't think she just 'left' or did anything else barbarous to the poor kid. At least I sure hope she hadn't.." She wrinkled her nose as she stared back at the young women.

---

Samantha was surprised when the boy reacted so surprised and angry when she referenced him killing himself and then when Emery said it again. Her conceited nature couldn't grasp why he wasn't giving her his attention and was lashing out on something that was so meaningless now. Although it was wrong to rate everyone's situations, when it came down to it, Sam probably had the least amount of justifiable reasons to have killed herself. She was eighteen years old and hadn't even finished high school yet. She had an entire life ahead of her but a silly breakup combined with drugs, alcohol and her need to make a scene resulted in the thoughtless move. She was just as emotional when she arrived in The Middle but she had gotten over it fairly quickly. Ford helped with that, a lot, and Sam felt like she would give an even better first-night welcome to this boy than he did to her.

However, she did not appreciate the attitude, especially when he basically called her and the others lunatics. Had he not bunched her into that group, she probably would have agreed that most of them were lunatics, but he didn't know any of them enough to decide that himself. Even though she wasn't keen on his harsh statement, Sam was still going to go for him. She had a tendency to go after the jerk type of guys on Earth and it wasn't going to stop her now, especially when there were no better options. "Oh my God, calm down. Those two are like the only lunatics here," she said to Charlie, nodding her head in Cassidy and Oliver's direction. She spoke quietly but didn't necessarily make an effort to speak quietly enough where she was sure the two wouldn't hear her. She and Cassidy had never gotten along and she didn't like Oliver much more, so she didn't mind giving Charlie a bad first impression of them. When Effy walked over and took a seat on a rock near her, she couldn't help but to comment to Charlie about her as well. "And her. She's crazy too, but everyone else is normal." For the most part, Sam got along with Effy, but she wanted to make sure that Charlie wasn't going to take interest in her or Cassidy.

The boy holding one of the girls' trunks made a comment to Charlie but between his English accent and the vocabulary he was using, it might as well have been a foreign language to Sam. She definitely thought that the accent was attractive but wished that he was a few years younger looking. She had went for older men before, but this guy appeared to be ten years her senior and that was probably pushing it. He seemed to be nice enough though, and definitely less volatile than Charlie. As she scanned the rest of the surroundings, she considered approaching Effy and striking up conversation to determine whether she was going to be in a good mood or not, when she caught Cassidy and Oliver looking in her direction. What could have just been a curious glance was instantly taken as a judgmental glare by Sam. "Oliver, you should be a gentleman and do..." she paused, searching for something to complain about, before giving up and finishing the sentence with, "something instead of just standing there uselessly." Donald was helping people with towels and the new boy was helping the girl with her trunk. Besides emotional comfort, there didn't seem to be anything else to do besides show them their huts, and that seemed like it fell under Emery's role. Still, she wasn't going to let them stand there and judge her. Besides, there was never too much drama in Sam's world.

---

Emery's words were even difficult for Cassidy to hear. She had been in The Middle for what felt like months or longer, but it was still gut-wrenching to be reminded that she had killed herself. It seemed like such an unnatural thing. Your body worked endlessly, day and night, to keep you alive, and to go and just end it didn't seem right, but it was easy to think that now. Coming to The Middle meant that Cassidy could finally live without any burdens forced upon her. She was able to think clearly and rationalize things, and although looking back on it now, there may have been other options besides killing herself, she wouldn't have changed what she did. Still, it was sort of sad to see six new people who had felt just as hopeless as she had. Although she would probably never ask, she wondered what their stories were.

"Sounds like it to me," Cassidy replied to Oliver when he questioned whether she thought the woman had murdered her child. She had already nixed the mother off of her list of possible friends, and the boy that Sam had approached found himself in a similar spot when he cursed about how they were all "lunatics". Another new male, this one looking a bit older, stepped in and spoke to the boy, followed by Sam, who didn't hide her attempt to tarnish her and Oliver's names.

She really didn't care about what Samantha thought of her, and definitely not this new little punk, but Cassidy couldn't resist an opportunity to send a nasty remark Sam's way. She had a plethora of them lined up but before she could speak, Effy appeared and Sam commented to the boy that Effy was also crazy. It brought half a smirk to her face and stopped her from snapping at Sam. Cassidy and Effy didn't get along. That was a well known thing on the island, although even Cassidy wasn't sure what it was that had divided the girls. She hadn't liked Effy's personality from the start, and maybe the fact that Emery seemed to like her even despite how much of a bitch could be bothered Cassidy. She would never admit it, but there was definitely a tinge of jealousy somewhere in there. Even though Cassidy disliked Sam too, she appreciated the days where Sam made it clear that she wasn't even a good friend to Effy, who she apparently called a friend when Effy felt like being sociable.

There was a lot going on at once which made Cassidy want to follow her original plan and leave the area until things calmed down. It was interrupted again, though, when Samantha attempted to criticize Oliver for not helping out like a "gentleman" would do. It fell short, like most of her airhead remarks did, and Cass only rolled her eyes. She would've spoken up to defend Oliver but she knew that he wasn't as silent and passive as he sometimes appeared to be. In fact, his quips were always well-placed and usually fiery enough to get a laugh out of Cassidy. Beside Sam, the mother-girl was going on about some drunk driver and then went on to chastise the young male about his outburst. Cassidy was somewhat confused about the back story she had given but really didn't think into it too much. The girl was probably shocked and coming up with anything she could to make herself feel better for killing herself and her kid. She did agree with what she said to the boy, but just because it was coming from that girl, Cassidy glared in her direction. Anna was enough of a goody two-shoes optimist for them to need another one in the bunch. "The day's only just begun and I've already got a headache," she muttered to Oliver, although her eyes were still focused on the crowd.

People were getting defensive, and things were spinning out of control. In all honesty, Emery had no idea how the majority of them didn't remember committing suicide. And he left to no room for mistakes. This island wasn't sort of place to make mistakes. He came here for a reason, so did Ford and Cassidy and Effy and everyone else. Though he wasn't utilizing what he was supposed to be on the island, Emery still believed that if he wanted to recover and wanted to return to earth this place could heal him. For heaven sake, it was a tropical island filled with people who understood exactly what it. They knew the feelings that he felt, and they knew the overwhelming emotion that happened just before killing themselves. It was a place of solitude and a safe haven.

Well, a save haven until now. The younger man was aggressive and careless with his words, this set Emery on edge. None of the people who lived on the island were lunatics, they were just a crew of remarkably sad and or guilty people. Before snapping at the comment that Emery wasn't even supposed to hear from the kid, he took a moment to realize what a shock it was. The benefit of the doubt is what Emery would give him. Though Emery already has his assumptions about the boy that Sam was already eating up, he would keep his mouth shut until he knew for sure.

The next slew of comments from a man who looked quite a few years Emery's senior were what really got Emery upset. "That young miss over there's been crying for her kid. You know what worry is, right? D'you think any loving mother would leave her child be? Or are you too busy looking at us like we're fresh meat?" Emery was starting to get tunnel vision, a tinge of red outlined his thoughts.

In his rage Emery stepped down from the rock and approached the man. While gaining ground on him Emery' voice was full of agitation "You think we don't we worry? You think every single one of us doesn't have someone we worry about it!?" By the time he finished these pointed questions he was face to face with the broad man. Emery stood a few inched taller than him, but the man was burly and had a barrel chest. Sure, Emery was quite muscular, and he would put up a good fight, but he wasn't built to fight. Tension was growing in Emery's fists and he was angry now. How could someone just come in here assume just terrible things about them? The people on this island weren't some kind of criminals or any less human for killing themselves. Emery caught the collar of the mans shirt. "You think I didn't fucking worry when I woke up in a hospital two months later and had no idea where my brother or fiancee were, or if they were even alive!?" Emery cocked his arm up, ready to slam him in the face. "You have no idea what it feels like to worry." Emery's mouth was clinched as he said these last words, every syllable being spit out like poison. Then his fist flew down-

Emery took a step forward on the rock, he had completely lost himself in his own thoughts. Words were still being flung around and the newcomers were starting to get upset, and seemed even more confused. From the back of his mind he heard Sam's remark first about Cassidy, and then about Effy. This made Emery mad in the way that made him seem like a tired old fool. Sam was always saying mean things about everyone so he shouldn't take it so personally when she attacked either Cass of Eff. Emery ignored this. He spoke again, this time his tone much more inviting and understanding "I'm sorry, everyone," He slipped his hands into his pockets, "But the sole purpose of this island is to give you a new life. As far as I understand there's no way that you didn't commit suicide. I may be charge around here, but this island is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you."

Emery looked around, thinking it was time to move on. Some of the newcomers were starting to settle down and take it all in. "You each have an assigned hut. The people of the island can help you find yours. Every hut has a chest in it, and depending on what's inside the chest, you'll know if the hut is yours or not." He looked over that the girl who had already had her chest, "Or in your case," He said directly at her, "Your hut won't have a a chest." Emery still wondered how she got on the island.

"If you have any questions feel free to ask me or any of the other residents." Emery clapped his hands together at the end of his speech and took a step down from the rock. He hoped that at least a portion of his words were helpful. But it was hard to tell with so many different personalities and relations happening. He leapt down from the rock and held a hand out to the pretty woman with short brown hair and the woman who was worried sick about her daughter. "Your daughter," he said "I'm sorry that you have to be separated from her..." He remembered the feeling after he was told that both his brother and fiancee died. Emery swallowed a lump in his throat, "But I'm sure she's okay."

---

Charlie was getting angry, but even if he wanted to do something about it, it wasn't like he could beat the truth out of anyone here. Besides the girls, only the boy standing next to the blonde looked like he would be manageable in a fight, and he was apparently in on whatever was going on, so Charlie was sure the others would step in. He also knew that his anger shouldn't be directed at these people. They really hadn't done anything wrong and what he had said was insensitive, but he didn't know what else to do. It didn't help when the soggy man carrying the trunk and the woman who had been crying about a kid tried to calm him down. He wanted real answers, not some nonsense about how this was a new world. If he was dead, he should be in Heaven. If Charlie was sure of anything right now, it was that the boy standing on top of a rock definitely was not God and that even though this place was nice, it wasn't where he should be if that subway had hit him like he remembered.

The leader figure announced in a kinder tone that essentially, there was nothing that he could do to help them. Although this wasn't what he wanted to hear, Charlie relaxed a bit as well. He felt like there was no other option that to just go with the flow for now. He would go through the process of finding his hut like the man explained and maybe there would be some answer there on what was going on. Charlie couldn't get the last images of the subway tracks out of his mind but even as he began to come to terms with the fact that maybe he really had died, he still didn't understand why he had ended up on this island. Even more so, he was confused on why he was being mistaken for someone who had committed suicide. Not even the pretty girl beside him could hold his attention now. He mindlessly nodded as she spoke to him, not processing her insults towards two other dry people. There was too much going on for him to want to flirt back but part of him felt like maybe she would be a necessary alliance in more ways than just some fun. She did look to be sane and it couldn't hurt befriending someone who knew the ins and outs of the strange place.

As the man who had been speaking to the crowd approached the smaller group and began to converse with them, Charlie turned back to Sam and offered as much of a smile as he could conjure in state. "Would you mind showing me to the huts he was talking about? I'm Charlie, by the way. Charlie Brighton." He hadn't caught anyone's names so far in all of the confusion and although he was still hoping that this was all a dream that he would be waking up from any minute, he figured an introduction would be necessary for the time being.