The Island - Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Emery

Emery Stalker only saw a blur of a blue skyline at first. Then slowly everything came into focus. White clouds drifted through the sky like balls of cotton. Her eyes moved around and she nearly started as she saw two people sitting over her, staring. For split second Emery stared back in confusion, but then she wondered why on earth she was lying on the ground. And where was she?

A beach...

Emery tried to sit up and one of the people, a young bare-chested man instantly jumped forward. She thought at first to push her back down, but before she could protest, he was helping her up to a sitting position.

“Are you all right?” he asked, concern written across his young face.

Emery didn’t reply, because she caught herself staring at his unfamiliar features.

Where was she?

“What happened to you?” said the second person, a beautiful blonde girl, around Emery’s own age. She was kneeling in the sand, her blue eyes still staring at Emery like she was some sort of miracle.

Emery didn’t understand their questions or their reactions, as her eyes took in the rolling ocean’s waves to her right and the deep green island to her left.

“Do you remember anything?” the guy now asked, his arms still holding her as if she would fall over if he didn’t.

Emery brushed his arms away, as this last question was one she could actually answer; though how he knew to ask it, still confused her.

“No...I can’t remember anything. I mean...I can’t remember how I got here.”

If she had glanced up then she would have seen the girl and guy exchange a look, but she didn’t. Emery was staring down at her clothes.

These weren’t hers. And why was the shirt so torn up?

Fear and then anger hit her.

“So you’ve never been on this island before?” the girl was asking her.

“Of course not,” Emery snapped,” Why are you asking me all these questions. Can’t you see I’m confused. Where on earth did you two come from?”

The guy, leaning on his knee beside her shook his head,” I’m sorry...we weren’t trying to overwhelm you. You see this is all new to us too. We only just woke up ourselves several minutes ago.”

Emery fists clenched as her eyes met his and then shot to the girl’s and then back again to his.

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t know,” the girl said quietly.

Emery thought for a brief second they were both lying. Someone was playing a cruel trick on her. But then the guy was speaking again.

“What do you remember last...”

Emery began shaking her head, as she realized what her last memory was.

“I was working tables at the diner.”

The words sank in like the ocean’s water did in the dry sand.

She felt the young man moan beside her and the girl just closed her eyes like she was in great pain.

“What?” Emery asked, something clutching her heart like a grip of iron.

The guy stumbled to his feet, walking away from her. His head bowed. The girl’s eyes opened, meeting Emery’s.

“We’ve all been kidnapped somehow...and our memories erased of it.”

Emery’s hands tightened into two balls of anger, clenching the sand in her hands. She breathed in hard.

The girl brushed her hands on her shorts and then held one out. Emery could see her struggling against her own fear.

“I’m Christine,” she said, a small smile playing at her lips.

Emery just stared at the hand for a second. She wasn’t use to friendly people, most particularly girls her own age. But at the moment, they were the only two girls around. There was no choice to but to accept each other.

Emery unclenched one fist, brushing the sand away as well and then slipped her hand into Christine’s.

“Emery,” she said. Christine squeezed her hand gently and then glanced towards the guy, who turned around to face them again. Christine released Emery’s hand. Both could see he was fighting against panic.

“Emery this is Ryan,” Christine introduced,” Ryan, Emery.”

Ryan merely nodded at her, and then held his head.

Emery couldn’t help feeling just a tiny bit of peace settle over at the calm in the girl’s voice. Even amidst this tragic situation the girl was trying to make everyone feel at home.

“We are trapped here,” Ryan told them in a voice nearly drained of emotion.

Emery slowly pushed herself to her feet, sand falling off of her in clumps. For the first time she realized she was dripping wet.

Wait...her mind wandered back to when she’d first woken up. Something or someone had been pouring water on her.

Ryan and Christine?

She glanced at them both. Christine had risen also and was trying to calm Ryan down. Something was missing, but Emery couldn’t place her finger on it. She raked a hand through her hair, realizing she must look a mess, what with the torn shirt and all.

Torn shirt...?


What was it Ryan had first asked.

Are you all right?

Why would he ask that? Emery guessed a strange sleeping girl with a torn shirt might warrant such a question. But it was the way in which he asked it. As if he’d just been frightened and he couldn’t believe she was all right.

Emery stepped towards the two.

“What did you mean when you asked was I all right?” she said.

Both stopped in mid-sentence, stared at her and then slowly glanced at each other.

She knew immediately they were keeping something from her. Emery felt angry again. Perhaps they were indeed lying to her.

Christine slowly stepped towards her.

“Emery...,” she paused, like she wasn’t sure what to say next.

Ryan spoke instead,” You were nearly dead when we found you. Something had torn you up...blood was everywhere...” his words stopped there.

Emery was shaking her head,” No that can’t be, if I was attacked I would felt something.”

Christian and Ryan looked at each other again. Emery was getting irritated at their secret looks.

“It doesn’t make sense, I know, but it’s true...look,” Ryan pointed at the ground just to their left.

Emery’s eyes followed his hand and she flinched as she saw the fresh blood sprawled across the sand. She also saw the trail where they had dragged her towards the edge of the water. A blood-soaked shirt also lay crumpled on the sand. No doubt Ryan’s since he was bare-chested. Emery felt a pang of warmth shoot through her as an image of Ryan tearing his shirt off to save her life flitted across her vision.

“What happened then?” she said in a weak voice.

“The water healed you,” Christine replied with a shrug.

Emery’s eyes shot towards the ocean.

“That water?”

Both nodded. She could see now why they were staring at her with such wonder in their eyes.
She took a deep shuddering breath. She’d barely escaped death, and she hadn’t even known it. What kind of place was this, where the ocean’s water contained healing powers? That is if these two were telling her the truth. But their reactions were too real to be faked, unless they were just really good actors. But Emery was also very good at reading people. And Christian and Ryan appeared to be as genuine and real as they come.

They were obviously confused and frightened, even Ryan. Emery’s eyes periodically shot towards the young man. In a different situation she would have been instantly attracted, but in a different situation he was also was the kind of young man a girl like her was supposed to have nothing to do with. She wasn’t good enough.

“So...so what do we do next?” she asked slowly.

Ryan shrugged,” Explore the island. Maybe will find some way of getting off...maybe even find someone else.”

Both girls stared at him.

“Well...I didn’t expect to find you two...but here you are. Who knows how many people could be here?”

Christine agreed with him. Emery did as well, but she couldn’t help feeling apprehensive. So far they found friends among each other. But what if this island also harbored enemies? It didn’t make sense, but then again it did.

But she did not voice this fear to either Ryan or Christine.

Ryan began walking across the beach and Christine followed him, motioning Emery to hurry up.