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Shapeshifter Isle chapter 1; By Rashido
Topic Started: Feb 27 2015, 01:36 PM (17 Views)
Fishfreak

I thrust my head above the raging waters engulfing the ship around me and try to swim towards shore. I see Elijah fighting the current not too far behind me, and Drake is already on shore and preparing to swim back out. The heavy load upon my back is Enrique, knocked out by a falling bookshelf but not seriously injured as far as I can tell. Seamus and Alex are lying on the beach, shivering from the cold water and trying to get warm. As I struggle toward the shore, the crashing of waves and the dying ship sinking beneath the sea combine form a deafening cacophony that threatens to overwhelm my senses. My head dips below the water and I burst back up, spluttering and gasping for breath. ‘Just another 40 feet…’ I silently say to myself, and, despite my typical disdain for such things, I send a prayer to whatever may be out there to let me get through the next few hours.

4 Hours Later……….

I sit down by a makeshift driftwood fire alongside my friends, wondering how we managed to survive. ‘It felt like it was all going to be way too much not too long ago…’ I think to myself, and glance back at the beach despite my better instincts. The gruesome sight of the half sunken ship littered with bodies dominates my view of the ocean. Gulls screech and peck away at bodies still on the ship, while coyotes and bears pick apart bodies upon the shore. ‘These animals have no fear of people… Does anyone live on this island?’

“What are we going to do?” asks Alex. The young kid had lost both his parents in the wreck, and was hanging on by a thread. I could sense the twinge of despair in his voice, and it touched my soul. Even though my parents weren’t dead, they were gone, maybe forever.

I rest my hand on his shoulder and say “Survive. Make it through till someone comes looking for us.” in the strongest voice I can muster. Alex looks unconvinced, but nods his head in acknowledgement of the sentiment I put forth. My words did little, the kid was too smart for his own good and saw right through my feeble attempt at comfort.

“Look what I found!” yells Elijah, loud enough for the bears to turn toward us with interest. Even if they weren’t afraid of the humans, the sheer number of people and the presence of fire kept them from getting too curious.

“Shut the fuck up! Do you want to get killed?!” snarls Seamus, accompanying his words with a wordless growl.

“Chill, Seamus. Chill.” I say. I stand up and address the crowd: “Hey everyone, I realize that we are royally screwed here, but we need to get our shit together. There’s only an hour or two before dusk falls and I sure as hell don’t fancy sleeping near the scavengers over there,” I jerk my thumb towards the ship that’s being dragged further out to sea with each lap of the waves. “and I don’t imagine you guys do either. We should move into the forest, at least for tonight. We can figure everything out tomorrow.” My bones ache and my muscles scream for rest as I begin to gather my belongings, and see about ¾ of the other people following suit, but others, notably the older men stay put.

“Why should we listen to some kid? He doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.” says one man who looks to be in his early 50’s. Everyone looks at me expectantly. I make a snap decision, and walk up to the man. At 5’11” I tower over the short man, though he probably has 40 pounds on me. He’s around 5’4”, wearing a camouflage jacket he clearly looted.

“Look bro, I don’t need this shit right now. None of us do. Give me the benefit of the doubt and you won’t regret it.” I say, appealing to his sense of reason. Apparently it’s not very well developed.

“I don’t have do what you say, kid.” stating his position vehemently. Other older men stand up behind him and start to move towards us. I turn and look at Drake. He nods, and he, Seamus, Walter, and Elijah stand up and begin walking forward as well. The tension is palpable. One of the few children still alive begins to ask his parents something, but is shushed by his mother. I tilt my head with faux curiosity and breathe into his face, staring him down. After what feels like eternity he breaks eye contact and begins to back away. All of a sudden one of his guys comes up and shoves me backwards. I fly back at him immediately, punching him in the throat with a growl. He cries out in pain, and someone screams. I turn away with my friends, satisfied knowing I’ve sent him back to his friends with a bruised windpipe and damaged pride. The bastard will be in pain every time he takes a breath.

‘This’ll probably backfire, but oh well. Too late now…’ I silently muse to myself. Elijah, always the pacifist, shoots a disapproving look my way, but picks up his bundle of items wrapped in a blanket and walks towards me.

“What was it you wanted to show me…” my voice drops off as he unravels the blanket and reveals shimmering chunks of obsidian. They shine in the firelight, and the effect is heightened by the sun setting behind us.

Drake looks over and exclaims “Hell yeah bro!” with a whoop and small jump. Others turn toward our fire and murmur to each other at the sight of the wickedly sharp black shards of volcanic glass.

“They’re littered all over the place when you get closer to the forest.” Elijah says, gesturing to the dark treeline.

A few girls get up and walk over to us. They’re around my age, and I recognize them from the trip as a swim team on vacation. ‘It makes sense they survived… If anyone would it’s a swim team.’“What are they?” one of the girls asks.

I grab a piece and stand up next to her and hold out the shard, saying, “This is obsidian. It’s formed by volcanoes, like the one over there.” I say pointing towards the towering, smoking mountain further inland. She looks up at me and says “Can I have one?”

I smile and say “Sure, this one’s yours.” She takes it and I cast my gaze over the assembled people. Elijah is showing most of our group the rest of the obsidian, while Drake looks me in the eye and winks. My cheeks flare into heat, and my predicament isn’t helped when I notice the group of girls looking me over. As I shift my gaze back to the girl, her fingers near the razor edge of the obsidian shard. All embarrassment forgotten, I snap my hand out and grab hers before she reaches the edge.
She looks up in surprise and I say gently, “This thing will cut you to the bone without trying. Avoid the edge.” A twinge of humor creeps into my voice and I know she can see the laughter in my eyes as I pat her hand and turn towards my group’s fire. I see her smile out of the corner of my eye as I begin to walk away. “Wait! What’s your name?” she exclaims with a scarcely detectable edge of longing in her voice, provoking a few giggles from her friends, but everyone is far too traumatized to really laugh.

“My friends call me Rashido.” I say.

“What’s your real name?” she says, slightly confused.

“Telling you would take away the mystery, wouldn’t it?” I say jokingly with a broad smile, teeth flashing in the firelight.

“I guess it would…” she says. With a coy flip of her hair she spins and walks with her group of friends back to the other side of the fire. I shake my head, and return to my group with a slight grin on my face, exhaustion dominating my senses, and tentative hope in my heart.
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