CHAPTER 2 - ISLAND

When consciousness came to him, he found himself amazed to be lying on sand. Or, at least what he thought was sand. A soft bed of material sunk into his skin, coating him with grains of the tan substance. His eyes fluttered, the setting sun in the horizon. It was his only source of light, and it was fading. That left him with one question.

What the hell happened?

He shot up, panting and holding a hand over his chest. His breathing was ragged, entering his lungs almost forcefully. His eyes darted around, scanning the vicinity. That was when he noticed the wreckage of what looked to be a plane resting in the water ahead of him. So he was on a small, beach-like place, waves crashing onto the sand at a moderate pace. 

The water itself was etched with specs of navy and phthalo, appearing as though rot was spinning inside the liquid. It didn't help that pieces of those shades swam their way onto the sand, creating a mesh of colors that were like an abstract painting he'd find in a museum.

Not wishing to waste more time, he got on his feet, regretting it seconds later when he landed on his knees again, vomiting. He didn't recall feeling any nausea, but he felt much better after letting it loose.

"Congratulations stranger, you're stuck here," a female voice said.

Tae whipped his head around, coughing as a result of his sickness. A single woman stood there, arms crossed over her chest with what Tae swore was a pout residing on her lips. Her body was ravaged, parroting how he was sure he looked.

There was a forest not far behind her, the beach segment of the island spacious, but the trees closed in on them like curtains. The patches of nature were like a circle surrounding them, the inside of the forest welcoming them with open arms.

"What the hell is happening? Am I dead?" he asked. In retrospect, that was probably a dumb question. Sure, in his dazed state, she looked like an angel, but he had never seen this woman in his life. He'd hoped that someone he knew would be waiting for him when he passed on. Maybe that was his inner child speaking.

"I wish we both were. We'd be better off." She shoved her finger in the direction of the wreckage. "It's been an hour, no signs of anyone else coming out of that thing, and I'll be damned if I'm going back to search. I think we're the only ones left."

A huff passed his lips. "Thanks."

"For?"

"Getting me out of there," he said.

"You should be thanking yourself. You swam your ass here and passed out on the beach. Only thing I did was tilt you on your side so you didn't choke on anything. Even then I didn't have much hope you'd make it. Nice to know I'm not alone," she replied.

Although wary, he still strode over to her, offering her his hand. "I'm Kim Taehyung. 25, I was on my way to see family."

She shook his hand albeit after much hesitation, the two shakes she gave solid. Strange to compliment such a grip, but Tae found himself amazed by the ease. Maybe a businesswoman? Political figure? "Y/n L/n. I didn't really ask for your information, so I hope you don't mind if I don't give you mine. We have more important matters to attend to."

He didn't comment on her attitude, instead eyeing the smoke rising in the air. A smoke that clouded his eyes and had his skin forming goosebumps. The trails of lumps that formed on his arms resulted in a tiny tremble hitting his legs, almost knocking him back on his knees. "What the hell? Wait hang on," he mumbled, the reality of the situation dawning upon him. "Wait, did we fucking crash?!"

"We crashed," she said. If there was emotion in her voice, he didn't hear it.

"We fucking crashed?! What the fuck?! Where are we?" He zoomed his eyes around, dying to get some sort of clue to their location. His hands went to his pockets, pulling out the slim device clogged with water.

The woman, Y/n, shook him off. "Mine is drying out, I left it in the sand. Not exactly rice, but I'm hoping it'll work at least a little bit. We landed right in the ocean, place was half-flooded. You were out before me, I swam as fast as I could out after you. Managed to grab someone's carry-on in the process, maybe it'll have something good."

Tae had no memory of swimming himself out of the plane. Maybe he struck his head, which was likely considering the situation, or maybe he simply pushed it out of his mind. Sometimes survivors of trauma do that. Or at least Tae heard that was what they did. Never did he imagine he'd become a survivor of a catastrophe such as this. 

"Well, what are you waiting for? Check," he said, his voice quivering more with each word that spewed out.

Y/n did what Tae assumed to be an annoyed gesture, sauntering over to her tiny pile of items where the sand met the grass of the forest. "We're on an island," she said. No shit. He didn't voice his anger. She was the only person he had left; the last thing he wanted to do was piss her off. "I doubt we'll have a signal, but it's worth a try." Y/n took out the handbag, unzipping it and burying her hand inside. When her skin returned, the metal frame flashed in the light of the dying sun. "No signal."

Disappointment rooted itself onto Tae's heart, but he pretended like it was expected. She said it was. Somehow Tae still felt a twinge of hope despite the situation. He attempted not to hyperventilate, and to his surprise, it mostly worked. At least one positive thing happened so far.

He stood, her eyes falling on his form, his shadow brushing across the sand. "I'm going back in. Someone might still be alive and trapped in there," he said, tugging on his ragged clothes as if they'd provide him extra protection from the horrors hiding in the water.

"You're risking your life for possibly nothing. If there were survivors, they would've come out by now. Come on, it's almost night. We should start a fire and think of how to get out of here," she replied.

"Oh and you know how to start a fire?"

"Not at all, that's why I'm telling you that's how it's gonna be."

He licked his lips, running his hand through his tangled locks before letting his hooded eyes fall on her. "Here's how this is going to go: you're gonna listen to me, and maybe, just maybe, we'll survive," he said.

She merely chuckled. "We're so screwed."

Tae shoved the heavy burn in his chest away, deciding not to engage when this could be a life or death event. He peeked around the waves crashing in on the beach, curious if an item would wash up on shore from the wreckage. There were already multiple objects, but nothing they could use. Seats that were launched from the crash, shards of glass, open suitcases containing nothing of note. Empty. The beach felt empty despite two people being present.

"I'll be careful," he continued as if they didn't change topics already. "It'll only take me a minute, Miss L/n."

"As tempting as that is, you could drown or get trapped and there's nothing I could do to save you. Are you willing to take that risk?"

"Well, I'd want someone to do it for me."

She didn't reply to him, which was for the best since he already made up his mind. Taehyung marched to the water and avoided the shards of glass, allowing his feet to brush past the cool waves. He smiled, memories flashing through his mind. He really shouldn't be smiling in a situation such as this, but he couldn't help it. Memories come at the worst times, he supposed.

The woman didn't raise even a squeak of protest when he waddled into the water, surprised by the sudden cold. Regardless, he didn't complain. Tae swum through the calm ocean, arriving at the wreckage in only thirty seconds. He dove underwater, opening his eyes despite the ache it brought him. Of course, he saw nothing. Taehyung let out a mental groan, swimming back up to the surface to breathe.

"Not going as planned?" Y/n's voice asked, her words loud like a shout. Tae didn't answer.

He dove back under, swimming a bit more until the foggy water cleared ever so slightly. He saw the wreckage, most of it submerged. Tae frowned, his eyes scanning over each body. They were all gone. Unless someone hiding in the bathroom miraculously survived, there was no hope. Y/n was right. That pained him to admit, but it was the truth.

Taehyung came back up, swimming to shore and shivering at the water pinching his skin. He sat in the sand, glancing up at the sky. The sky coated in a ginger color, the sun falling down the horizon. Tae sighed. There was nothing he could do. That was what hurt the most. He was used to being able to fix his problems, but now his survival rested on a rescue team coming to save them. But would that happen in time? They weren't expected for another 12 hours depending on how long Tae had been unconscious for. 12 hours most, and seeing as it wasn't nightfall yet, 8 hours at the least. Did the pilots tell anyone they were going down? Tae had to imagine they would, but the systems could've been malfunctioning thanks to the turbulence. Tae hoped not, but hope didn't seem to be on his side today. Despite that, he wouldn't allow it to slip away from him. Not yet.

"No luck?" Y/n asked, leaning against the nearest tree.

Tae stood, brushing himself off. He was in for a cold night. The sun was about to set, meaning his clothes would take twice as long to dry. The ocean breeze was wrapping itself around his skin, what was left of his clothes covering him with low temperatures that made him quake. He could take his clothes off, but sleeping naked in front of a woman didn't appeal to him, even if it made him more comfortable. Sleeping naked in a forest was even more of a dangerous thought. 

"None. Any idea where we are? And please don't say an island again, I'm not in the mood for sarcasm right now," he said.

"Actually, I do know. I think, anyway. A business partner of mine was talking about using this island for minerals. He told me the description of the island, this one is matching it. Trees longer than average, beach with foggy water, not much wildlife... I know a lot of islands look the same, but it's the only lead I got. Everlast. That's the name of the island."

Tae nodded, sitting down on the grass next to her. She gazed at him, him keeping his eyes on the water. The reflection of the sky rested in the body of water, Tae softly smiling at the sight. "Do you know what we're going to do?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Taehyung finally met her stares, shaking his head.

"I have no idea."