Young Writers Society

Cold. Dark. Wet. Susan was stuck in an endless loop of despair as she had flashed of water filling up above her head. Then a pitch blackness accompanied by a feeling of being unnaturally cold. There was no way to know what was going on. Everything seemed to suddenly spin.

In a sudden rush like a rollercoaster her eyes snapped open and she immediately closed them. Light, dim rapidly fading light but compared to the darkness she'd been in, blinding. She blinked a few times, trying to process where she was. Was she dead? Is this what.. A sharp pain in her back immediately quashed that notion. You weren't supposed to feel pain when you were dead as far as she knew. As the rest of her feelings returned she could feel a sudden warmth, wiping out the perpetual cold she'd been feeling.

As her eyes finally focused, she realized she was looking at a sky. Beneath her, she felt rough sand. Somehow she'd managed to wash up on something, probably an island. Letting out a groan, she slowly sat up, the pain in her back subsiding. She looked back to see a twisted piece of metal. The ship She looked out towards the sea. Wreckage littered the area. The SS Anastashia was now a million tiny pieces. Dad. Oh no. No. No. Don't even think about it. He's not dead. They must have abandoned ship well before us. We were so late only because the phone lines were down. Yes. Yes. He's probably in a lifeboat and they'll come around to look for survivors any minute. I just need to get up now.

Holding onto that hope, she looked around the beach. There were three others there. A man was wobbling towards the wreckage, looking almost lost. She recognized him as Jack, the man that had been in the spa with her. Come to think of the the other two had also been in the spa. She couldn't even begin to imagine how that had happened.

She recognized the woman from the massage chair, looking wobbly but managing to stand. Eliza on the other hand, didn't seem to be in great shape. She was struggling to get to her feet, with one foot covered in cuts and bruises. As she struggled to balance on one foot, she actually put her injured food down and stumbled to the ground.

"My foot hurts really bad," said Eliza," I don't think I can walk on it."

Deciding to help, Susan shakily stood up, testing her weight on each foot to make sure nothing had happened. As far as she could tell, besides a few scraped on her shins, her feet were unscathed. The rest of her body was a different story. She could feel the numbed stings of a several open cuts all around her chest, arms and face. But nothing major seemed to be broken as far as she could tell. She stumbled towards Eliza, stretching out a hand.

"Here lemme help," she said, holding out a hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure the lifeboats will be around to look for us any minute and they'll have first aid."

Week 3 --- Post 1/5 --- 531 words

"Here lemme help," Susan said, holding out a hand. "Don't worry. I'm sure the lifeboats will be around to look for us any minute and they'll have first aid."

Eliza smiled at her. "Thanks, and I hope so." She took Susan's hand, and Susan pulled her up, hooking her arm around Eliza's waist. They hobbled over to the other two. Eliza looked at the ocean again.

The SS Anastasia wasn't there because it was wrecked. Eliza thickly swallowed.

"They've-they've got to be all right," she said. "Maybe the lifeboats will come." She tried to hold onto that hope.

Twenty feet away from the group, Eliza spotted something floating in the water near the beach.

"Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing to it. They walked over to it, and Eliza felt sick again.

It was the body of a man.

Week 3-- Post 2/5-- 139 words

For a moment, Moira was spaced out, trying to get a sense of their surroundings. This appeared to be a large island, and the beach stretched on beyond the horizon. This island was no tiny one, but it didn't appear to be inhabited. She still wondered how on earth they'd gotten here and how they'd survived when the last thing Moira remembered they were almost certainly going to drown.

Wreckage was everywhere. If it hadn't been, it would be easy to get overwhelmed by how beautiful everything was and be distracted by their very real predicament.

Moira, hobbled over to where the tall, dark haired girl was. And she saw what the girl was looking at. A man, washed up on the beach. It took her a moment to realize that he was dead.

Moira had to look away, otherwise, she was going to throw up again.

Week 3 -- Post 2/4 -- 146 words

Jack woke up the three women on the beach, but a thick blanket of fog wafted over his mind, and he couldn't muster up the words or energy to answer their comments.

"What's going on?" "My foot hurts." "Maybe lifeboats will come."

There was no time for useless questions, complaints, pain, or hope.

Instead, Jack walked towards the shore of the wading waters, looking for materials they could use. He glanced at each one, noting that most of it was useless: pieces of wood, broken chairs, plastic cups... But the closer the item was to the ocean, the more he realized that these items were bigger... and once alive.

Eliza pointed at the body the same time that Jack noticed it. It was visibly a body of a man, faced-down, limp, and dead.

Any other situation and Jack would have been sick to his stomach, but for some reason he felt... Relieved? Grateful? Reassured?

Because that could have been him. It could have been Olivia.

He took these unobtrusive thoughts away and remembered what he had to do. He turned to the others who naturally were too busy being horrified and sick to their stomach that there was a dead person in front of them.

"Listen up," he said in a demanding tone, letting his desire to find Olivia outweigh the desire to make himself approachable and kind to quite possibly the only other survivors on this island. "There is no time to waste. We are all hurt, but we're alive. I don't know how we survived," he said, then gestured to the ocean, "but there may be others out there who are also alive. Your friends and family could be out there. We have to help them." He tapped the life-jacket around his neck, and suddenly he was grateful that the spa attendants followed protocol by handing them out. "We can float in the ocean if need be, but it would be better if we can find something we can use as a raft so we can bring..." he stopped, catching himself before saying 'Olivia.' He then shook his head, trying to focus. "Let's find something like that."

Week 2 -- Post 2/5 -- 358 Words

Susan smiled back at the girl as she pulled her up and helped her hobble towards where the other two were standing.

"They've-they've got to be all right," said Eliza. "Maybe the lifeboats will come."

Twenty feet away from them, Eliza seemed to spot something floating in the water near the beach.

"Hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing to it. They walked over to it, and Susan covered her mouth in shock. It was very clearly the body of a man.

Suddenly she felt sick and she looked away quickly, trying to come to terms with the fact that the man lying there was probably not the only such body that would be near this very beach.

"A bb...body," Susan blurted out in response to Eliza, "a body." Voicing it out loud suddenly made it even more real and she almost lost her lunch on the spot, but she managed to hold on, not wanting the sudden movements to knock over poor Eliza.

"I..think we should avoid looking near the water," she said, quietly, "there must have been a few that couldn't make it to the lifeboats." Please don't let Dad be one of them. He must have survived. He has to have survived. He's the most responsible person I know. He must have immediately followed the order to abandon ship.

Then Jack began giving something that sounded vaguely like a speech. Susan was a little too preoccupied with battling her stomach to really process much but she heard something about looking for a raft, survivors and family. Family. Dad. Maybe he wants us to look for survivors. Maybe I should. But noo...Dad would be on a boat wouldn't he?

Susan found herself at a loss with what to do. She didn't want to go looking for survivors or maybe that was just because she didn't want to accept that her Dad would be among them. She couldn't imagine her Dad being anywhere but a lifeboat. Jack couldn't be right could he?

"Wouldn't the lifeboats come around to save them too? They'll be looking for survivors right?" she mumbled, the words not quite coming out of her mouth after hearing the demanding in the man's voice.

Week 3 --- Post 2/5 --- 367 words

Eliza rubbed Susan's shoulder in comfort, but she couldn't see any lifeboats in the distance. Despair rumbled in her chest, but Eliza pushed it down. She had to be strong... for Susan and for herself.

Martha and John will be okay, she thought. And we'll share a laugh later.

"Maybe there are survivors..." she said. "Maybe in what's left of the boat." Eliza nodded. She didn't appreciate Jack's demanding tone, and she glared at him, but she knew that he was right. Perhaps he was worried about someone too.

This was no time to make enemies. They all had to stick together. She nodded again to Jack, letting her glare soften.

"Okay, okay..." Eliza looked around. Near the treeline, she saw vines hanging down. "Those vines," she said, pointing to them. "Susan and I can gather some of them and bring them over."

Nearby, she saw a broken board lying on the sand.

"Jack and -I'm sorry, what's your name- will you please collect whatever big pieces you can find? When you collect enough of them, we can pull them into the water. It'll be easier to tie them together."

Her lifejacket thankfully hadn't gotten ruined.

Week 3-- Post 3/5-- 200 words

Jack gave the shaky girl a hardened look when she mentioned that the lifeboats will come and save any potential survivors, but the glare from Eliza put him in check. He wanted to tell her, "We have to assume that there are no lifeboats and rescue team." Then gesture to everyone and say for extra emphasis, "We are the rescue team and we've got to do something."

But he decided last second that it was for the best to not yell at anyone anymore or make the situation any worse that it really was. Eliza's look of daggers reaffirmed that.

Jack bit his tongue and nodded when Eliza started to delegate tasks.

"On it. Let's go," he said to the frazzled woman next to him. He turned to leave but then looked towards the woods on the horizon. "Just... don't go too far. Stay within line of sight of us."

He started walking towards the various pieces on the ground but walked closer to the ocean to find bigger items. Anything that could float while supporting their weight would be perfect.

Week 3 -- Post 3/5 -- 181 Words

Moira stood there for a moment. Then, she approached the tall British man. She remembered him. He was the man she had danced with.

"Hey," she said. "I remember you. I saw you on the boat a few times. I danced with you."

She laughed nervously, knowing that their predicament hadn't fully hit her. This was bad. It was very bad. For all they were knew, they were on an uncharted island. No matter what happened to the rest of the wreck, if there were other survivors, Moira and the three others she was with would be presumed dead. Unless they could somehow get out. But she had no idea where they were, and she had feeling that no one else did either.

While waiting for the man's response, Moira started wading into the ocean and collecting supplies. There wasn't much. Some luggage, mostly with clothes. A sewing kit. That would be helpful.

Moira told herself to grab anything she could and maybe it would come in handy later.

Week 3 -- Post 3/4 -- 166 words

"Okay, okay..." said Eliza, looking around. "Those vines."

Susan turned to look at where Eliza was pointing at some low hanging vines where the tree line started.

"Susan and I can gather some of them and bring them over," she said before telling the other two to go find some larger pieces for them to build a raft. Susan didn't know if she was going to be of any use in helping with that but she nodded. Having something to focus on instead of worrying about the fate of her father would be the best option for now.

Jack seemed to have wanted to throw in a retort but he seemed to reconsider at the last moment. He said something to the woman next to him and told them to stay within line of sight. Glad that she was not going to get blasted, Susan helped Eliza turn towards the trees.

As the two of them hobbled in that direction Susan went over the way that Jack had acted. As much as she wanted to dismiss him as just rude she had to consider that maybe he was not exactly in the best frame of mind.

"Jack is definitely a retired navy officer," said Susan, turning to Eliza, smiling at the girl who'd tried to comfort her even though Eliza's leg must have been giving her hell.

Week 3 --- Post 3/5 --- 227 words

Jack's mind was racing, buzzing from thought to thought. What items can they use? Can it hold their weight? Will it be big enough? Will they find anyone out there? How far do they have to wade? What if they get lost? Will there food and drinking water? How long did they have to stay on this damn island, and was there really hope?

Suddenly the woman next to him piped up and said she had danced with him on the ship.

"Hmm?" he said, caught off guard. Compared to the racing thoughts of his mind mere moments ago, what she said was so glaringly striking that it almost made him laugh.

He looked back at her and actually took in what she looked like. Jack may be terrible at faces, but he hardly ever forgets a name. "Moira, right?" he said after a pause, remembering that she was the first person he danced with after...

A sharp pain filled his chest. He needed to find Olivia and make sure she was okay.

He bent down to examine two large pieces of wood. It looked like it came from a door, and although it was broken, it could be tied together with the vines for extra buoyancy. He was about to drag it closer to the shore, but then an item next to it caught his eye: it was pink, plastic, and wrinkly.

It was damn flamingo pool float.

He didn't even hesitate; he picked it up and started to blow air into it.

Week 3 -- Post 4/5 -- 254 Words

"Jack is definitely a retired navy officer," Susan said, smiling at Eliza.

Eliza laughed. "You're probably right...the way he snaps into everything, but everything is frazzled - hey, a walking stick!"

Eliza pointed to a branch that was just her height a few ways forward. They hobbled to it, and Susan bent down and picked it up. She handed it to Eliza.

"Thanks, it'll be easier to walk now," Eliza said. They got to the treeline, and they turned and waved to the other two. Eliza spotted some big leaves, vines, and a big rock. "Help me sit down on that rock, please, Susan?"

Susan obliged, and Eliza grabbed some leaves. As Susan collected vines, Eliza wrapped them around her injured foot. Taking a vine off the ground, she wrapped the vines over the leaves tightly, making sure nothing would come apart. Eliza flexed her foot, smiling when the vines didn't fall off.

"It compresses my foot," she told Susan. "If I keep my weight off it, my foot will be back to normal after a week." Tightening her hold on the walking stick, Eliza stood up, and she pulled down some of the higher vines. When they got enough, they hobbled back together to the edge of the water.

"Hey, thank you, Susan, for helping me," Eliza said. "I know this must be annoying; I'm annoyed with my foot."

Week 3-- Post 4/5-- 230 words

Susan laughed at Eliza's description of Jack. He definitely knows how to snap. They continued in the direction of the trees where Eliza managed to find herself a walking stick and then Susan stood and watched in amazement as Eliza made herself a makeshift cast for her foot with just a bunch of leaves and vines.

She was sure she looked absolutely stupid standing there with her mouth open like a fish as Eliza described how she should be fine in a week thanks to the cast as long as she didn't put any weight on it. Susan could only nod dumbly at the right places and smile. I wish I knew how to do anything practical. All I know is differential equations and integral factors.

Then Eliza started pulling down other vines to help with whatever Jack was doing and Susan decided against starting a conversation. She didn't want to get yelled at. The two of them worked as Eliza's bad foot was allow and quickly made their way back towards the surf where she spotted one of the last things Susan had expected to spot after a shipwreck: a flamingo pool float.

How a pool float of all things had survived a shipwreck was a mystery that Susan was unlikely too solve but it did managed to put a small smile on her face. As she stared at it, Eliza spoke up.

"Hey, thank you, Susan, for helping me," Eliza said. "I know this must be annoying; I'm annoyed with my foot."

"Oh, not at all," said Susan, quickly, shaking her head, "I'm just amazed by how you've managed to do so much with that foot. That must hurt a lot. I know if that happened to me I'd just be sitting in one place and not know what to do at all and you just knew exactly what to do with all those leaves and all. Like I'm so impressed."

Week 3 --- Post 4/5 --- 325 words

The man remembered her name, and Moira realized after she waded off that she hadn't asked for his. As Moira wandered through the water, she looked for anything she could find that might be of use to them.

She was still in shock, still not fully processing the reality of their situation. How they had even survived when they'd been so sure earlier that they were going to drown was still a mystery.

The two girls were talking and the man seemed to be in his own world, and uncovered a flamingo pool float. Somehow, the sight of it caused Moira to start laughing. How could she not laugh? Everything was so ridiculous.

When they first started planning the trip, Moira had wanted to go to Hawaii, and had been outvoted because Anya and Jill didn't want to spend four days at sea. The Caribbean was safer. More time on land. And look what happened.

Just then, Moira felt something hit her. It was some kind board, apparently the remnants of a wall, and big enough for two people to sit on.

"Hey!" She shouted, getting the others' attention. "Could we use this?"

Week 3 -- Post 4/4 -- 193 words

"Thanks, Susan," Eliza said. "I used to be a Girl Scout. Also, my dad was in the military, and he taught my brother and me how to be self-reliant. Everything I know I owe it to him." A lump formed in her throat and Eliza hastily cleared it. She didn't want to think about her dad. It hurt too much.

They stopped by Jack, who was nearly finished blowing up a flamingo float. Eliza bit her lip from laughing, but the woman couldn't keep it in. She started laughing until a board hit her.

"Hey," she shouted. "Could we use this?"

"I don't see why not," Eliza said. She looked at the stuff they had collected. "I think this is enough. Are we ready to make a raft?"

Week 3-- Post 5/5-- 128 words

It took a while for Jack to put some air in the flamingo float; it took way too long to blow without a mechanical pump, even with his hearty lungs. He heard Eliza and Moira laugh at the absurdity of the situation, but he ignored it because he'd probably think it was also absurd if he saw a man like himself bring a pink floating flamingo to life.

The float wasn't perfect, but he put just enough air in so it could just barely float a small person. He turned to the small girl who was named Susan, which he gathered from overhearing Eliza. "Here," he said, offering the limp float to her. "This should be enough air to support someone your size."

Jack then nodded and turned back to Eliza who had managed to gather some vines and even tied up her foot into a makeshift cast. In some ways, she reminded him of Olivia when she was young, or at the very least, an eerie future representation of little Maxine. He briefly wondered if Eliza would see Olivia as a mentor of sorts, and Eliza as Maxine's.

"We should have enough now," he said, confirming her question

He almost reached out to grab the vines in her hands, but for some reason, the initial panic and hysteria started to numb; he felt more calm among them even though he didn't know them at all. He had no idea how to feel about that.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the vines she was holding. She gladly handed some over, and he walked over to the broken door boards and tied them up so they were secure on top of another. "There," he said, dragging the boards over to them. "Now we have three makeshift rafts."

He quickly shifted glances between Eliza and Moira. Eliza was visibly younger, but she was also bigger than Moira. He then pointed at the giant board that Moira found, likely coming from a block of a wall from the ship.

"Moira and I can take the big board. Eliza, take this one." He handed the vine he was pulling over to her. "And Susan, you can use the float. Let's tie them all together so we don't lose each other."

It has been ages since Jack took control of a situation like this as the assumed leader, but the stakes were high, and if he didn't step up and something were to go wrong... he knew he would blame it on himself.

Week 3 -- Post 5/5 -- 419 Words