Young Writers Society

Faith ¦ Jungle

"Damien?" I called out. It was getting late and we had all grown worried about Damien. This was entirely out of character for him.

"Damien!" I could hear being yelled out in the distance. A bunch of us split up to find him, the able bodied that is, and agreed to meet back before the sun completely set.

"Damien!" I called out again, scanning my eyes across the area.

And so it went on like that until the sun began to set. I debated going back to the agreed spot as I walked on a bit more. But how could I go back so soon? What if I went back now but would've found him if I had just walked a hundred more steps?

I readied myself to yell out again, cupping my hands at my mouth about to call for him again when I heard...crying?

My feet followed the sound to my right until I finally came across him, relief washing over me seeing that he wasn't dead.

Cupping my ands around my mouth again I screamed, "FOUND HIM!"

Just as we had all agreed upon there was then a chorus of the same phrase yelled out to let everyone know to stop looking and head back.

"Damien?" I said softly, walking up behind him.

I don't think he heard.

Kneeling down beside him I placed a gentle hand on his back and asked again, "Dame?"

His body stopped shaking and he began violently wiping at his eyes before facing me.

"Faith, I was just-"

I grabbed his hands in mine to cut him off, cupping them with mine as I said with a soft smile, "You don't have to hide anything from me, Damien."

***

Courtesy of a Zippo lighter we were all surrounding a fire to fight off the cool night air, sitting around in a comfortable silence.

Too comfortable.

I looked around the circle we had made, most everyone sitting in perfect contentment.

"We have to find a way off the island." I said, pulling my legs against my chest and tucking my chin over my knees so I could look at the fire.

"What?" Elvis was the first to say, lifting his head from Ezra's lap to find me with his forever searching eyes, "Leave?"

"We can't do that!" Lily declared, eyes wide, "She wants us to stay!"

"She?" Damien inquired.

"Indigena, of course!" She looked around to meet our confused looks and clarified as if it were obvious, "The island!"

"We have to." I said, more to myself than to her, "We're all so comfortable here...but we can't be. We can't live like this! Getting hurt, cutting off limbs, performing surgery on each other, loosing sight, having mental breakdowns...we aren't supposed to live like this!"

There was a long silence, in it even I questioned myself. Was it best we stay here on...Indigena, as Lily put it, or that we find a way home? Or was this home? I was growing so comfortable with these people, with this family. Even if we did go home I would stay in contact with them all. But what do we do?

"But what if we were meant to live like this?" Ezzie said after the long pause, the fact that that came from her suprising me the most.

"I don't know." I said, shaking my head slowly. I didn't.

Darren | Jungle

If the last couple of days had been confusing, this one had been an utter mess. The forest floor was stained with blood in several places, and while going for a walk to pick berries, he had come across a bloodied foot that could only have belonged to P.J.

The others, exhausted by the exploits of the day, were slowly falling asleep in each others' arms, Faith's last question drowning in the murk of their minds. Miraculously, it seemed that every single one of them had found their way to the fire. Only Lilly was still awake. She watched the crew with beady eyes. Darren watched her, and her eyes snapped to his. She smiled beatifically. Darren glanced around to make sure everyone else was sleeping before saying, "What were you saying about this island?"
"She wants us to stay. She told me so herself," Lilly said, her eyes widening.
Darren cocked his head. "How did she speak to you?"
"Indigena knows everything," she replied. "Indigena has shown me what must be known. She'll look after us."
Darren snorted. "She hasn't done much for us so far."
"Do not slight the island! Indigena has tried to protect you from your own ignorance." Lilly's eyes were blazing. Darren wasn't sure how much further he wanted this conversation to go, but since it was night in the jungle, and he was stranded on a desert island, he reasoned, why not?

Lilly told him about the island, and what she wanted for them.
"Tell me, Darren," she breathed. "Do you really want to leave?"
Darren thought about it. It was a strange, but not totally alien idea. In fact, now he really considered it, he wasn't sure life on mainland was meant for him. He liked Indigena's berries. He liked her wild boar (as long as he kept out of their way). He liked lying on the beach in the sun, with half a coconut on his face. It wasn't so bad, being stranded here.
What was more, Lilly seemed to agree. They must have been the only ones to realise what they wanted so clearly.
"Just think, Darren," Lilly murmured. "Indigena is our kingdom. We are the stewards of the island. This paradise falls under our reign. Where on mainland would you find that?"
Darren agreed. This was the true life.
"So, what do we do?"
"Tomorrow morning, we must convince them. We must get them while they're all together, and sway them all! We shall lead our tribe to greatness on this island. Log boats, wooden fishing platforms, berry orchards, pigpens, as many tree houses as we want — we can do anything with Indigena, our savior, watching over us."

Darren was astounded. From crazy and aggressive to rational and charming — Lilly had shown him the way. They would wake up the others the next morning, tell them what they wanted, and lead the way to a better life here. They would have children on this island, and raise them in the ways of Indigena. They would build villages — hell, they would build cities, if they wanted! They had a mountain of stone, rivers of mud and a forest of wood. Nothing would stand in their way.

Slowly, with Lilly's smile still shimmering in the firelight, he fell asleep.



"It is time to wake up, everybody!" Darren bellowed at first light. Lilly was already awake, her eyes glittering and eager. She joined him as he blew life into the coals of the night and piled dried grass onto the glowing embers. It took mere seconds for a yellow blaze to shoot up. The others blinked and shielded their eyes, looking confused and grumpy.
"It's hardly sunrise," Ezzie grumbled, ineffectually flinging grass at Darren. "Go away."
"That's not the spirit of Indigena!" Darren remonstrated.
"Whaat?"
"If we're to stay on this island in style, we must build a village. Everyone has their own grass-and-mud hut. We live in the same clearing. Very comfy and hygienic. We'll start with that this morning. I don't care if there's a boar trotter stuck in your skull — everyone helps."
The others looked dumbfounded. To be honest, Darren was quite sure most of them had forgotten that he existed.
"And we start this … ?" Cassie asked.
"Now. We find a site, get something to eat and start building. I'm sure someone around here knows how to make a mud hut."
Some of the boys were nodding already.
"When that's done, we should get a pigpen up—that contraption you guys made should work for now—and some sheds to store our spears and axes and stuff. And a fire pit. And we'll start farming with the edible plants around here. I was the chairman of the Wodeman Agricultural Society, I'll have you know. I know everything about plants. And Alex can be pig man. He likes them, right Alex?"
"Piggies!" Alex said happily.
"And we should get organised, and build more stuff," Lilly added. "Now, the site we choose must be in the jungle, not on the beach. It must be level and clear …"
"And near the sea," Alex added.
"And there must be fresh water nearby," said Elvis, his eyes shining.
"And lots of good plants," Cassie joined in.
"It should be sheltered, not too windy," said Faith.
"It must also be somewhere from where we can reach the mountain, so we can get stones," finished Darren.
"Why stones?" Saph asked.
"Because," he replied, resisting the urge to get irritated by the Australian girl, "we need to get stones to build with later. It's better than mud, and stronger. And you can make knives with stone. And use it to make fire and stuff. It's good."

They spread out, though with some grumbling, and started to search the island in groups of two or three. Lilly naturally stuck to Darren, and they discussed their victory all morning, plotting the next step as they walked through the forest.
From the north, they heard an elated whooping sound, which was the signal they had agreed upon. Everybody rushed in that direction, and found P.J. and Saph standing in the middle of a natural clearing, arms around each other. Brambles had fenced off the trees around it, glimmering with black berries. The sunlight streamed in, lighting up a river that ran through the clearing.
"It's beautiful," Faith breathed. "Let's build here!"
P.J. hoisted himself with difficulty into a tree, and announced that he could see the sea about a bowshot away. That the mountain was near, nobody doubted, for they could all see the gigantic, rocky structure looming to the south. Everything was perfect.
"It's like the island wants us to stay!" Damien wondered.
"Of course she does!" Lilly scoffed. "We're all under the protection of Indigena."
"Indigena." Damien rolled the word around in his mouth. "Indigena."

Alex | Jungle

"Alex wears the skull of a boar,
Which he killed one day and left on the floor.
He's not afraid of scaling a wall,
While everyone else will limp or crawl.
Something happened to the king of rock
And he can no longer see like a hawk.
He hit his head and it just grew hotter,
Now he can just see underneath the water.
Prefect Boy is making choices
While Asian Girl is hearing voices.
We are all in Indigenas clutches,
Losing memory and needing crutches..."

Alex continued the rhyme on and on, singing mindlessly. It probably didn't make much sense, but Alex thought it was fun, so he continued. He did not even notice the difference between then and before (how could he since he had lost his memory), but he was starting to seriously develop his brain. The rhyming game was just one of the things he had started improving on. His memory, or at least a part of it, worked flawlessly, for example letting him quickly remember any word that rhymed with another. But his obvervational and deductional skills had also improved drastically. He was starting to figure out a lot about people and things just by taking a quick look at them.

It had started happening earlier. Alex couldn't help but notice a smudge of somethng that wasn't mud on Damien's pants. It looked like something he'd seen. He had then remembered it was a type of berry that he had only seen in the island once, which meant that Damien had surely passed through there. So Alex had gone near that place and, just as he had expected, both of Damien's "crutches" were lying there, abandoned. Alex had later dropped them next to Damien was he was taking a nap, and Alex had a feeling he still didn't understand how his crutches had gotten there. Alex had felt accomplished.

That feeling of accomplishment was also increased by Alex's productivity later that day. He had succesfully moved all of the pigs to the new location and had transported most of the fence as well. It wasn't complete, but Alex was sure that the boars would not get out or attack anyone. Now Alex was on his way to the mountain. He wanted to test out a new invention of his. The Pigglider, as in a pig that glides. All he had done was make a few technical modifications to his Piggykite with which he had sailed before. Now it didn't look so much as a kite, but rather a pair of wings, attached to each other.

He wasn't sure whether it was gonna work, but what was the worst that could happen to him? After all, he was just going to go to the mountain and jump with a parachute. If it didn't work he would probably get hurt a little, but he didn't mind. He wasn't afraid of heights. And if it did work, not only would if be really cool and fill him with adrenaline, but it would also give him a very clear view of the island, from some parts he had not visited.

Alex had been jogging for about an hour when he finally reached the top of the mountain. It had been quite a walk. Quite a climb even. But now he was at the top, it was time for the fun part. He had cut off a portion of the boar's skin that he could use as straps. He put his arms through those straps and held on. He had been here once before, he recalled. The memory came back to him quickly, like a déjà-vu, but it was gone as soon as he came. However, for the short second that he had remembered that moment, a feeling that could only be hate struck him. He frowned.

Hate is a strong word. Why would I feel hate? I'm probably just imagining it.

The idea of hate was so disturbing to him, that without hesitating, he jumped. And he fell. He fell at such speed and from such height that he was sure he wasn't going to "just get hurt a little". He might die. That probably wouldn't be very good. Then he remembered why he had gone up, and that reason was his wings, so he spread his arms and shifted them until he felt a strong tug pull at his arms. He slowed down drastically, and as he lowered and raised his arms, he turned left and right through the air.

"I'm flying." He could barely believe it, and tears sprung to his eyes. "I DID IT!" He screamed. "I AM FLYING!" He saw people's heads turning his way and point at him.
The crazy piggy kid is flying. Alex wouldn't have thought it possible to giigle while flying, but he did. And he couldn't stop himself once he had started.

And as he slowly descended, letting his subconscious take care of taking in the details, he cried from joy.

He didn't know how, but he knew he had never felt so happy in his entire life, and he had never seen something so beautiful.

Saph|Jungle

As the days go by, the clearing begins to take it’s shape as a small village. Huts begin to be built, and most of the boys become the hunters. I show a few people how to make traps and how to recognise them in the jungle without triggering them. I also help by gathering berries and other edibles for the rest of the group.
I rarely get to see P.J. during the day, because he’s out collecting food or making the huts. I’ve also managed to keep my now short black hair under control, the unruly mass now a curly mop atop my head and around my ears. I’ve also taken to sleeping in the trees now, ever since that incident with the rats on the very first day on this island, I don’t care to sleep on the ground.
It’s halfway through the third week of our new determination to create homes that I decide to take a stroll by myself, and come across a fledgling. It’s small and its feathers are grey and red. I walk over to the small bird, recognising it as a kite of some kind, with large black eyes that stare up at me in wonder and fear.
“Oh my God you’re adorable!” I exclaim, bending down to pick it up.
The baby bird squawks and it’s beak digs into my arm, and I suppress a cry as it bites me. I stare down at the creature with such love in my eyes that its black ones fill with guilt, and it lets my skin go. I remember a story a friend of mine once told me, about a giant falcon named Lashay, who saved the world with his mighty, golden wings.
“I’ll name you Lashay. My little Lashay,” I murmur, hugging the kite fledgling to my chest.
I think it’s the loneliness, or the loss of sanity that compelled me to act this way, but maybe also maternal instincts, for the baby bird looks so helpless and it’s almost like love at first sight, plus I miss P.J.
I carry Lashay back to the camp with me, all the while stroking his feathers. The fledgling falls asleep in my arms, and I begin daydreaming of what he’ll look like once he’s all grown up, and how grand he’d look in our little village. I’ll train him to be a hunter, and he can be my baby.
When I reach the camp, Darren and Lilly are talking, standing beside a hut. Those two have gotten closer in the last two weeks, as have Ezzie and Elvis. I’ve done my best to make up for all the nasty things I said to him when he was fixing my shoulder. His eyesight hasn’t gotten better, and I feel bad for what I’d said about it.
I spot Faith, Damien and Alyssa sitting down by the small fire we’d made, talking. Alyssa looks to be making something, and I stroll over to them. I sit down beside Faith, still stroking Lashay.
At first no one notices the fledgling in my arms until he pops his head up and lets out a small squeak. Damien nearly jumps out of his skin and Faith stares at me in total shock before laughing at Damien’s reaction. Alyssa stares at me like I’ve grown another head.
“W-w-what is that?” Damien splutters, pointing at Lashay.
“This is Lashay. He is a kite,” I tell them, smiling fondly down at him.
“Saph, you’ve lost it,” Alyssa says, shaking her head. “Seriously, you have.”
I shrug, my smile widening. “I don’t care,” I say. I hold Lashay up for everyone to look at. “Isn’t he cute?”
“Yeah,” Faith smiles, holding a hand out to touch him.
Damien narrows his eyes and Alyssa just shakes her head and goes back to whatever it is she’s doing. Lashay stares around in wonder, big black eyes blinking.
I hear laughter behind me and whip my head around to see Elvis, Cassie, P.J. and Ezzie walking from the jungle. Between them they carry a large boar and a few squirrels, as well as a large bag of something or other, probably fruits and nuts.
Jumping up with a cry, I run over to P.J. smiling like a maniac. He smiles back, holding his arms out to hug me, when his eyes find Lashay cradled to my chest. He stops walking and turns to face me, and I stop in front of him.
“What is that?” He asks, eyeing Lashay suspiciously.
“This is Lashay. He’s a baby kite,” I tell him.
“Peej, your girlfriend has lost it!” Alyssa calls from the fire.
“Saph, go take the … Lashay, go take Lashay back to where you found him,” P.j. says slowly.
I narrow my eyes at him. “No. He’s mine, and I’m going to keep him,” I growl.
“Indigena gave the bird to Saph,” Lilly says, walking up behind us with Darren. “She says that Saph will look after him.”
P.J. gives me a suspicious look. “Alright, I suppose you can keep him,” he says with a sigh.
“Of course I can, it never was up to you anyway,” I snap, and then kiss P.J. on the cheek, before bounding away as best I can with my injured shoulder, and sit down at the base of a tree.
“Lashay, you’re going to be the best bird ever,” I tell him.
The name for Lashay’s species finally clicks. Brahminy. He’s a Brahminy kite. And he’s my Brahminy kite, Lashay.

Peej | Jungle



I breathed slowly out of my mouth as I slung my bow over my shoulder ready for another hunt.

"You ready?' Elvis asks slapping me on the back.

"Oh yeah," I replied slipping on my goalie gloves.

Cassie and Ezzie stayed back while Elvis and I scouted out the front. I took my bow off from around my back and loaded it up with an arrow. I bent down on one knee, pulled back, and shot down a squirrel. I scooped the poor little guy off the ground and put him into our bag.

Ezzie and Cassie started resetting the traps and then adding the catches into our supply.

"Psst, PJ," Elvis called from another tree.

I ran over to him to see a boar not 20 feet away. He signaled for me to shot the boar down while he made a distraction and it was go time.

I watched Elvis creep around the boar and then quickly slice its leg. The boar called out and I took my chance to shoot. I aimed quickly and hit the boar right through its right eye, perfection. Elvis gave me thumbs up and dragged the animal over to me.

"Its ok, I can carry this one." I Said stopping him from heaving the animal over his shoulder.

"I think this is good enough for today," Elvis said taking my bow from me so I could carry the boar easier.

I nodded before scooping the animal up and slinging it over my shoulder. The weight got to me instantly but I kept walking with the group knowing that me carrying this boar is key to our survival.

I was greeted by Saph as we entered the camp. The sudden appearance of her made me drop the boar off my shoulder as she hugged me. I was surprised by a sudden chirp coming from her hand.

“What is that?” I ask, eyeing the small bird suspiciously.

“This is Lashay. He’s a baby kite,” Saph says excitement in her voice.

“Peej, your girlfriend has lost it!” Alyssa calls from the fire.

“Saph, go take the … Lashay, go take Lashay back to where you found him,” I say slowly trying not to scare the poor thing.

She narrowed her eyes at me. “No. He’s mine, and I’m going to keep him,” She growled growl.

“Indigena gave the bird to Saph,” Lilly says, walking up behind us with Darren. “She says that Saph will look after him.”

I swear everyone here is crazy, "Alright."

Saph squealed leaving a kiss on my cheek. I smiled a bit and then remembered about the boar and groaned. I heaved the animal back over my shoulder and carried it over to the fire. I handed my knife to Saph who skillfully cut open the boar and started gutting it. I brought over the squirrels and then started to lay the meat out by the fire so it could cook. I set the timer on my watch for an hour and then returned back into the woods.

I walked until I found the tree that had "S and P" carved in the trunk and climbed up it. I laid across one of the higher branches and let my arms swing down. I whistled a tune and stared up at the mess of sky and branches. Then a thought crossed my mind.
What will my parents do on Saturdays now. They had always taken Saturdays off to come see me play goalie for school, now they don't have a child anymore.

Damien | Jungle

After my meltdown, I'd calmed down some. Faith made me sleep. Even though it took about an hour to doze off. And after I had gotten only about 2 and a half hours of sleep, that Darren guy and the nut job woke me up.

I rolled over, groaning about how bright the flames were.

"If we're to stay on this island in style, we must build a village. Everyone has their own grass-and-mud hut. We live in the same clearing. Very comfy and hygienic. We'll start with that this morning. I don't care if there's a boar trotter stuck in your skull — everyone helps." Darren told us.

I had forgotten that he was even here. Honestly, I wasn't very fond of him. We did almost get into a fight.

Cassie had woken up finally, melted down with the flu. But she was awake. "And we start this....?"

"Now." He was nuts. There was no way that I was getting up. Hell no. "We find a site, get something to eat and start building. I'm sure someone around here knows how to make a mud hut." Food? I'm in.

I cold hear my stomach growling, demanding me to put food in it.

"When that's done, we should get a pigpen up—that contraption you guys made should work for now—and some sheds to store our spear...." I zoned out, losing the rest of his speech, or whatever.

******************

Faith helped me up, and told me she'd walk with me. Er, help me walk, since I lost me crutches.

"What do you think?" I asked, hopping on one leg, while she had my right arm draped around her shoulder for a little bit of balance.

"Of...?" Faith grunted, helping me over a log that was blocking our path. "Oh, staying here?"

Pulling myself the rest of the way over, I nodded.

She helped me back up, and we started again. She stayed quiet, seeming to ponder on the idea of staying. "I'd rather be with my family, of course...because I love them. But, I mean, it could be worse. I can cope with this."

I nodded, and looked around our surroundings.

Trees. Grass. Nature. It was a beautiful sight.

"You wanna sit down for a few?" Faith asked, looking up at me from behind her pretty hair, that fit her perfectly.

I smiled a bit, and nodded. "Sure."

She found a clear spot, beside a tree, and we sat down, leaning against the tree.

"Hey, Faith?" I asked, picking at a piece of bark.

From the corner of my eye, I saw her look over at me, studying my face. "Yeah, Dame?"

I loved how she called me that.

"Thanks." I said after a while.

Faith frowned a bit. "For what?"

I turned my head, and traced the edge of her face with my eyes. "Everything. For helping me. For rescuing me when I was out there, alone...lost...when I needed someone to be there for me."

She smiled softly, and patted my hand. "You're welcome."

I bit my lip, not sure what to do next, then leaned over, and kissed her cheek.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked down, her hair falling in her face.

"You're adorable." I said, not really meaning to say it loudly.

Her cheeks turned a rose color, and she fiddled with something in her hand.

I turned, and faced forward again. Smiling, I looked up at the sky, and thought of what Helen would be doing now.

Probably getting drunk. Or making out with a guy.

I pushed the thought away, and looked back at Faith. "Tell me, do you regret coming on this trip?"

Ezzie | Jungle

Her back was sore, she felt as if she were carrying a large load of bricks. She made a noise in the back of her throat as she once again stood from the mud she had just fell in and felt a hand guide her up.

"Thanks," she mumbled to the boy who worked silently beside her. He nodded, and Ezzie grunted as she cracked her back.

"Looking good," Darren informed them as he passed.

Ezzie sighed, and looked at the sky. It was darkening, and she assumed that it was nearing sunset. She continued patting the mud onto the structure as she was shown.

"Alright, guys! We can continue this tomorrow! We'll return to our current base and have dinner, then we can take turns bathing. Let's go, everyone!" Darren shouted, and with a collective sigh of relief, dozens of kids stood and began meandering back towards the camp.

Ezzie walked alone, not recognizing anyone. Elvis had been assigned to bettering the pigpen, fixing and replacing the spear that had pierced Saph's shoulder, which worried Ezzie. Since Elvis couldn't see, and she didn't want him endangering himself.

He waved it away with a quick kiss on her cheek, and a simple promise of, "I'll be perfectly fine, I have Alex here to keep an eye on me."

Ezzie turned to Alex with a huff, and he smiled back at her, "I'll keep him in one piece! I promise!"

That didn't comfort Ezzie much, as the poor boy couldn't even take care of himself, let alone a half-blind guy.

She brushed her worries aside, and as she approached the pen, she was relieved to see Elvis leaning against a tree, his wide eyes staring sightlessly into the sky.

The boars within the pen were terrible smelling, and Ezzie kept herself from gagging at the stench that hung thickly in the air.

She could only imagine how much worse it was for Elvis, though it didn't seem to effect him. Perhaps it was from prolonged exposure.

Ezzie approached him and rested her head against his shoulder, yawning. "Hey."

"Hello, Ezzie." He flashed her a bright smile, which made Ezzie's heart flutter.

She stood and tugged him up with her, "It's time for food, unless we want to bathe now and eat later...?"

He shrugged, and Ezzie led him to the large group, picking up a coconut bowl of some sort of stew for her and one for Elvis.

They joined Damien and Faith who sat around a separate fire. There were several in the clearing, and each held an average of ten people.

The thick smell of burning wood floated around them all, and Ezzie couldn't help but relax in it.

It reminded her of camping with her grandparents as a small child. She smiled as she sat down, and although the hard ground didn't help her aching back, her smile widened at the large dopey grin on her friend's face.

"What's so great?" She asked Damien as she glanced between him and Faith, nodding a hello to each.

She handed the bowl to Elvis, who cautiously brought it to his lips. "Careful," she warned, "It's hot."

He grunted, and poured the soup down his throat, most likely scalding his tongue.

The thick smell wafted towards her as the breeze chilled her slightly. She took a sip of the stew, and made a noise of satisfaction. Damien laughed at her, the deep sound helping to warm her.

Damien launched into a story about how he was reminded of the time she had devoured a whole pizza at school, and the look on her face was the exact same as it was now.

Ezzie smiled at the memory, and as she finished up her stew, she felt the mud on her crack a little as it dried and she moved.

"That was amazingly satisfying, but I am in dire need of a bath." She mumbled, standing up.

Ezzie sighed as she painstakingly made her way to the river, and dipped her muddy form into the cleansing waters.

After she was clean, or as clean as she could get, she made her way back to the camp and propped herself against a tree, waiting for everyone else to return from their own baths.

Minutes later, Ezzie heard somebody approaching, the bushes rustled, and it startled her a little.

To her confusion, nobody emerged from the bushes. She looked around a moment, and spotted a small brown ball about two feet tall stumble out.

The monkey made a happy noise, and moved towards her. She recognized it as the monkey she had held earlier. It climbed onto her shoulders and began playing with her wet, moppy hair.

As the others trickled in, she played with the monkey, who she nicknamed 'Jedd', unti Damien, Faith, and Elvis slowly approached. She waved, and Jedd copied her.

"Who's your friend?" Damien asked.

"Guys, meet Jedd. Jedd, say hi!" She smiled, knowing that the monkey couldn't. Ezzie moved closer to Elvis and laced her hand in his, leaning on him. He yawned, and Jedd copied.

Ezzie's hand traced circles on the back of Elvis', and her other patted Jedd. Soon, they were both asleep, and Ezzie followed suit not long after.

Alex | Jungle

It took only a few days for mostly everyone to forget Alex. He had gone from a leader, one of the only survivors with his head in its place (as Elvis had told him after his memory loss) to being someone that barely anyone seemed to remember. Now he wasn't much, just the person who kept the pig pen going. This was partly because his mind had started to go on a downward spiral ever since he had lost his memory. He was now starting to forget even some of the things that were in his short-term memory, and he couldn't get many things done anymore. At the same time, he had been seeing some strange things... He was in the boar enclosure (or pig pen, as some called it) one day, when the strangest thing happened.

Alex sat in the enclosure, the boars around him, absently ripping grass while the animals grazed. They didn't seem to be interested in him, and he didn't seem interested in them. He sat there, with a hollow look in his face. He had just been thinking of something, but he had forgotten. Well, surely it wasn't important if he had forgotten, was it? He hoped not.

Alex got up and looked at the trees around him. For a while now, he had been testing his physical capabilities, for a better chance of survival. He chose a bunch of trees that were near each other and climbed the one nearest to him the fastest possible, seemingly flying from branch to branch. When he was at the top, he jumped from a limb to another tree, and kept going up and down the trees as quickly as he could. In less than a minute he had already passed through five trees and was on his feet, back in the ground.

"Impressive," said a voice behind him. He did not recognize that voice, which surprised him, because if there was one thing he did not forget, it was people. He turned around to look at the speaker, but there was nobody. Only two boars looking up at him.

"However, you should be more careful," said another voice, this time Alex noticed that it was coming from a boar. It was a different voice than the first. "You could hurt yourself doing that, or even worse, you could hurt others..."

Alex gaped at the animals, his mouth open. After a moment, he found his voice.

"But- But you're piggies. Piggies can't talk."

Piggy One, as Alex identified him since he had talked first, spoke.

"We may well just be 'piggies'. But we aren't normal piggies."

"Boars don't talk," said Piggy Two, "But we do. You see Alex, you made us."

Alex did not respond, and after his unresponsive pause, Piggy One spoke again.

"All we are is a fragment of your imagination. You are us, and we are you."

"You hit your head pretty hard that time Alex, and we are here to help you recover."

"We are here to get revenge."

"We are love."

"We are hate."

"We are everything that composes your being."

"We are your memory, and we are here to get you back to your former glory."

The speech seemed to just confuse Alex more, but he thought he understood something. The piggies were like those cartoon characters that appear in other character's minds. One angel and one devil. It didn't take a genius to realize that Piggy One was the evil one.

"So," said Alex. "How exactly do you plan on helping me?"

"Kill them." Insisted Piggy One, "Kill all the intelligent people. Take control and those who are alive by the end of the massacre will be your minions, they will be at your command."

"Don't do it," interrupted the other boar, "Take control of your thoughts. We can help you recover your memory. Be a good person. Help out as much as you can instead of sitting in the grass!"

"Leave the island!"

"Help those in need!"

The boars kept arguing, their voices getting louder and louder inside of Alex's head. He tried to block them out by pulling his hair, shutting his eyes, rocking back and forth. And he screamed. Then suddenly the boars were quiet.

"Someone's coming," said Piggy Two.

"This is not over," commented Piggy One. It was almost a threat. Then the two evil beings were gone, replaced instead by two unintelligent boars, grazing.

"Alex? Is that you? I was coming over to the pig pen and I heard screaming. Where are you? I can't see you."

Alex clenched his hands to stop the shaking, got up, and walked over to his friend.

Ezzie | Jungle



"Alex, are you alright?" Ezzie asked, placing a hand on Elvis' shoulder. "Darren sent us to check on you."

"Yeah, Alex is fine. Fine." He mumbled, distracted by something shiny. "How is Ezzie, and how is Elvis?"

Elvis chuckled. "We're good, Alex. Why did you scream?"

"Almost fell from a tree." Alex replied.

Ezzie opened her mouth to speak, but only emitted a rumbling noise.

"Ezraiah?" Elvis asked, "What does that mean? Are you hungry?"

Ezzie shook her head, then remembered the state of her, ahem, sort-of boyfriend's eyes and said, "That wasn't me. Alex..?"

"Not Alex."

"One of your little piggy friends?"

"I don't think so..." Elvis mumbled. "We had better get to camp, Alex, you too."

~Tilde~

At the camp, people were scurrying around in a startled frenzy. Lilly stood atop a large rock, shouting orders at people. They mostly ignored her.

Saph and Peej stumbled toward Ezzie and Elvis, while Alex wandered closer to Lilly. Ezzie watched amused as he attempted to climb up the rock, and kept distracting Lilly in the middle of her screaming.

"Ezzie, do you know what that noise was?"

Ezzie shrugged. "I'm not sure, it could have been an earthquake? Or maybe the mountain... For all we know, it could be a volcano."

Beside her, Elvis stiffened.

"B-but it's probably not!" She quickly covered.

Peej sighed, "i'm going to find Darren. He'll know what this os about." He half waved to Ezzie and he limped away, using Saph as a crutch.

"Ez, let's go listen to Lilly." Elvis mumbled, gripping Ezzie's hand. She smiled slightly, and led him to the rock.

"NOBODY PANIC, LISTEN TO ME!" Lilly screamed. "Mother is just settling, do not fear! It is simply an earthquake!"

Elvis' eyes drifted upwards, searching for the object that was creating the noise.

She continued to gove instructions, and soon, people were crowding around the rock. Alex stopped trying to climb the rock, since Lilly had kicked him off, and now stood next to Ezzie, gripping her hand tightly.

"All we need to do is secure the animals, make sure the pens are sturdy enough in case of another relationship, and then all return to our huts. Since some are still 'under construction', go to some of the huts designated for public spaces." Darren's voice rang out. Moments later, he appeared on top of another rock. "Maj sure that you stand towards the middle of the room, or something." He said. "Go."

With that one word, the others school scattered. Ezzie looped her hands in Alex and Elvis', then started leading them towards the forest. "Whee ware we going?"

Ezzie quieted Alex, "You'll see." She said, pulling them deeper. Soon, they approached a cabin, if to could call it that. It was similar to the mud houses they had made, except with a few logs at the bottom of each wall to support the mud. Around the house, various bushes grew. Ezzie pushed open the door and Alex grinned.

"It's a house!"

Elvis' eyes attempted to scan the room,but he returned to looking down. "Did you make this?"

"Not alone. Dame helped, on the condition that we make a couple of rooms for our closest friends. You, Alex, Faith, and I think Cassie and her friends, Peej, Saph.. So we started making rooms, it was going to be a surprise, some of the rooms are still under construction, but this is an emergency, so.."

Suddenly, the door burst open.