Olive was told that she was a troublemaker her whole life. When she was a baby, she started running before she started walking. The people around her would say to her parents,
“You sure do have a troublemaker on your hands.”, after that her parents would keep a closer eye on her.
Her parents were always hovering over her. Growing up Olive was never allowed to do anything she wanted. The household that her parents created was strict, to say the least, which in turn caused Olive to rebel. She started getting piercings at 12 years old, first her nose then decorating herself all over with piercings. She would sneak out at night and get high with her friends. She indeed turned into a troublemaker.
This all brings us to now. Olive at the age of 17, currently sitting on a plane heading to Peru for a teen's retreat. She was surrounded by boys and girls ages 15-17 from all parts of the United States. Next to her is a girl with short brown hair and glasses.
“Hi, I’m Kara, what’s your name?”, Kara pushes her hand closer to Olive who just gives her an odd look.
“Olive” she keeps her hand to herself.
“So why are you here? Did your parents force you on this too?” Her high-pitched valley-girl voice already annoys Olive.
“Yep.”, isn’t that why everyone is here, Olive thought to herself. Before Kara could say anything else, Olive puts her headphones in and turns to look out the window. She knows this is going to be a long and painful trip.
After about 4 hours in the air, the plane starts to get bumpy.
“This is your captain speaking, you will see that the seatbelt sign is now on, so if you could please buckle in and stay in your seats. We are experiencing some turbulence.”, Next to Olive, Kara starts to panic. She can tell Kara is getting nervous from the turbulence.
“Hey, it’s all right! Turbulence is normal.” Just as Olive finishes that sentence the plane feels like it has started falling at the speed of light. Everyone is screaming. Some people are praying, some are bracing for impact, and some are just sobbing uncontrollably. Olive is doing none of those things. She is holding on tight to her seat and just thinking. Thinking about her life, her parents and how they treat her, her job, and how she has dedicated nearly 3 years of her life to, just to die in a plane crash. She is thinking about all the things she has done and what she could have done differently. After a few minutes of just falling from the sky, things go black.
The taste of salt water is what woke Olive up. She tries to sit up and move but as soon as she does, she sees something that could only be described as nightmare material. She is lying on some sort of metal possibly from the plane, in the middle of the ocean. Luggage floating all around her; but no people.
“HELP! ANYONE?”, with tears streaming down her face, she screams as loud as her lungs would allow. No answer.
“What do I do, oh my god what the hell do I do?”, amidst her panic, she nearly misses the island just a few miles away. She feels relief flow through her when she sees it, but she knows the hard part has just begun. She scoots over to the edge of the piece of metal and dangles her legs into the water while she lays on her stomach. Kicking as hard as she can, she starts moving closer to the Island. Hoping that there’s a hotel or something on that island that will save her.
After a long time of kicking and screaming, she is finally on the island. The waves nearly knock her on her ass with every step she takes. Then she hears it.
“HELP! SOMEONE HELP SHES BLEEDING.” It sounds far to Olive but determination kicks in and she’s on the run. She follows the voice and finds two girls. A girl that Olive recognizes from the plane is crouched over top of an unconscious Kara.
“Holy shit!” Olive could see the blood seeping out of Kara's stomach through her shirt.
“We have to put pressure on her wound! Put your hands on her stomach. We need to stop the bleeding.” The girl does as Olive says and puts her hands on Kara’s stomach. Olive feels for a pulse in her neck. It’s faint but it’s there.
“Okay, we need to find something to cover her wound. Something that can be wrapped around and tightened. Have you seen anything?” the girl shakes her head and lets out a sob.
“The-there’s a few suitcases that washed up over there.” She points to the left of them and Olive starts running. She stops at the closest suitcase which is a bright purple and has the name Kara written on it in pink sharpie.
“Of course it’s hers”, she unzips it as fast as humanly possible and starts to rummage through the contents. She finds a long blue Cotton scarf and a belt. Olive runs back to Kara and instantly wraps the scarf around her body as gently as possible. After securing the scarf around her wound, she wraps the belt around the same area and fastens it as tight as it can go. Then backs away and looks at the girl.
“Okay, this is the best we can do for now. Have you seen anyone else come here?”
“Uh yeah yeah umm, I heard some people in that direction, past the luggage but I-I couldn’t see anyone. I can’t believe this is happening, how is this happening?” The girl speaks through her tears.
“Okay okay just calm down and breathe. Trust me I know that’s hard right now, but we need to focus on getting Kara help okay? What’s your name? Mine is Olive.”
“Okay Maddy, you stay with Kara and continue to keep an eye on her pulse and breathing. I’m gonna go find more people. Can you do that for me?” Olive puts a comforting hand on Maddy. Maddy nods and once again, Olive is running.
It only took Olive five minutes of running and panting to find two other girls and one boy.
“HEY! OVER HERE!” Olive screams to get their attention. They look over and are now running to the best of their ability, in the direction of Olive.
“Hey! Are you okay? Are you alone?” A girl with long black hair asks. She looks okay, panicked but okay. The other two not so much. The tall boy to the left of her is currently being held up by a short blonde girl with glasses that are missing a lens.
“I’m okay, I’m not alone. There are two other girls that way. One is badly hurt. Have you seen anything that could tell us where we are? A house, building, boat, anything?”, Olive knew that was wishful thinking, but Kara needed help as soon as possible.
“No nothing. We’ve been walking forever and haven’t seen anything. How bad is she hurt?” The girl holding the boy says. She sounds out of breath which makes sense when there’s a guy twice her size putting all his weight on her.
“Okay you two sit down and rest, you come with me. We are going to try and find more people.” Olive points to the girl with the long black hair, and then turns and starts walking. She can’t run anymore or else she might pass out.
“I’m Olive, what’s your name?”
“Alyssa. Do you remember what happened? Like I remember the turbulence but then it’s all blank.” Olive tries to think, but just like Alyssa, everything is blank after that.
Olive and Alyssa have been walking for about twenty minutes according to the waterproof watch Alyssa is wearing. They have yet to see anyone else. As they walk they find some more luggage washed up on the beach, Olive makes a mental note on where they are so she can collect them later. She also takes mental notes on the island itself and what she has seen of it so far. Dense forest, hot sand leading up to it, and raging waves from the ocean as the day goes by.
“You never answered Julia’s question” Alyssa snaps Olive out of her thoughts.
“Julia, the girl I was with. She asked how bad that girl you were with was hurt. You never answered her.” Olive didn’t know how to say that Kara might die if they don’t get her help soon. She might even already be dead.
“She’s not good. I’ve done what I could for her but if we don’t find help soon, I don’t think she’s going to-“, before Olive could finish her sentence she saw a group of people huddled together.
“Look!”Olive points to the group and takes off running once again.
Two boys and two girls. Everyone has officially been accounted for. Everyone is alive and well, for the most part. All injuries are treatable except for Kara’s. Olive leads the four new people back the way her and Alyssa came. They collect as much luggage as they can carry. It’s getting dark out, so Alyssa suggested layering up with the clothes they find in the suitcases. It’s going to be a long night for these kids.
Olive leads the group to collect the girl Julia, and boy that was originally with Alyssa. She leads them back to where Kara and Maddy were. She knows she needs to see how Kara is doing but she’s scared. The thought of Kara being dead plagues Olive’s mind and she’s not ready to face it.
“When we get there, I need for everyone to start looking through the luggage they’ve been carrying, and see if there is anything we can use. A first aid kit, blankets, medicine, literally anything you think will be useful, we need to find it.” Olive announces still facing forward.
“Who put you in charge?” A boy that was found with the last group asks roughly. Olive abruptly stops and slowly turns toward him.
“I’m not in charge, but right now there is a girl dying and we need to try and help her. I couldn’t care less what you do after that, but right now she needs us. So how about instead of arguing over who’s in charge, we work together for now, sound good?” Everyone shook their heads yes. Olive had never been the leader type, but right now she needs everyone to work together to help Kara. If that means she has to step up, then she will step up.
Finally, back with Kara and Maddy, everyone has started doing what Olive had asked. Rummaging through the waterlogged suitcases to find anything that could possibly help.
“How’s she doing?” Olive says walking up to Maddy, who currently has Kara’s limp hand in hers.
“She still hasn’t woken up. She feels warm too, I-I don’t know what to do.”, tears form in Maddy’s eyes and Olive can’t help but to tear up as well.
“She might have an infection; we will find something to help. I know we will, it might just take a bit of time. Keep doing what you’re doing, she needs you right now.”
“All I’m doing is sitting and waiting for her to die, how am I helping in any way?”
“You’re helping by keeping her safe and making sure she has a pulse. That is the most important thing you can do right now. If it’s not you doing it it’s someone else. Who would you rather it be?” Olive talks in a low but soft tone. She knows this is hard for Maddy. It would be hard for anyone, but this situation that they are all in at the moment needs to be handled with as little panic as possible. Or else things will really go wrong.
Two hours go by according to Alyssa’s watch. Everything that has been taken out of the suitcases is now in one big pile.
“I found a first aid kit!” The other boy from the last group said.
“Great! Let’s go through what’s inside and we can figure out what we can use for Kara, and what we can save.” Olive would be jumping up and down with joy if the situation were different. The contents inside the first aid kit included various sizes of bandages, antiseptic wipes, and Tylenol. Not insanely useful for Kara’s condition but it’s better than nothing. Olive takes some antiseptic wipes and bandages but keeps the Tylenol in the kit. She can’t take it if she’s not awake, or else she will choke. Before Olive gets to Kara and Maddy, she is approached by the same guy who spoke up about who was in charge a little bit ago.
“Hey, I just wanted to apologize earlier. You were right, she’s in bad shape and we need to help her. I didn’t need to be a dick to you, I was just scared.” He never looked up from the ground, but Olive could tell he was being sincere.
“It’s okay, we are all terrified but that’s not going to get us anywhere. We need to work together. There is no leader, no one is in charge. We are all in this together.” Olive's calm voice shows just how exhausted she is.
“I’m Kaleb by the way, and you’re Olive. I know that because I asked Alyssa, not cause I’m weird or anything,”
“Well I didn’t think you were weird until you said that, but it’s nice to meet you, Kaleb. I wish it were under better circumstances.” She gives him a slight smile.
“Yeah uhh, me too.”, a few seconds go by of them just staring at each other before Kaleb finally speaks up again.
“Hey, can I ask you a question?” Olive nods in response.
“You talk like we aren’t going to get rescued. We are going to get saved, you know that right.” It’s Olive’s turn to stare at the ground now.
“I don’t know. I’d like to think we will, but what if we don’t? Or what if we do but it’s not for a few days or weeks? We need to figure things out for ourselves. We don’t know what’s in those woods or on the other side of this beach. We don’t even know what’s in the water. We need to do what we can until help comes. If it comes.” Kaleb nods his head, understanding what she’s trying to say.
“I get that.” She gives him a tight-lipped smile and continues to walk over to Kara. It’s been hours since the crash. Olive wants to be optimistic about rescue but for now, all she can think about is how Kara might die.
The sun starts to go down quicker than everyone expected. It’s getting cold so Olive starts to pass out clothes from the pile that could hopefully keep everyone warm for the night.
“Here let me help you.” Kaleb grabs a few articles of clothing and starts passing them out as well.
“Thanks, but you should rest. You’ve got a pretty gnarly cut on your knee, which you should let me take a look at by the way, and get it cleaned up.” He lets out a breathy laugh.
“I’m fine, you should also be resting, you know. You’ve been running around more than anyone today. That ankle doesn’t look too good either.” Olive looks down at the ankle he was pointing to. She didn’t even notice how red and swollen it was getting. She’s not in much pain right now but she knows that will change soon.
“I'm fine.” With that answer, Kaleb lets out a sigh. Knowing he isn’t going to change her mind, he stops trying and continues to help her with whatever she would allow.
The next day everyone is slow to wake up. She checks on Kara and Maddy who are still doing about the same as last night. The Adrenaline has worn off, so new injuries are popping up left and right. Olive feels pain in her right ankle but doesn’t pay any attention to it. Other people need her help at the moment. She’s been running, or more like limping around all morning. Trying to find things to make splints, slings, and the most important thing on her mind at the moment, a lighter. A lighter could help them make a fire which would keep everyone from getting hypothermia. She has not had very much luck this morning so she is not too happy. She checks on Kara and Maddy for the hundredth time and still, not much change. Kara’s bleeding has slowed which is good, but she has a fever, which is very much not good.
“Okay, can I have everyone’s attention please!” Olive stands in the middle of the group of teenagers.
“We need to build a fire, does anyone know how to do that without a lighter or anything?”, Silence follows her question.
“Great, then we need to figure it out. Umm, can I get a few volunteers to go and collect firewood and then another person to help me look for more suitcases? There might be a lighter or something we could use in them.” Alyssa and a boy who Olive has come to know as Jared, volunteer to get the firewood.
“I’ll help you look in the suitcases,” Kaleb offers. Olives nods her head and with that, they start searching.
Some time goes by, and still no lighter from any of the bags they have searched. They still collect the bags into a pile to keep the clothes and other things inside. It is clear that Olive is frustrated.
“Hey we will find something, I know we will be okay. We just have to keep looking.” Kaleb tries stay optimistic for Olive.
“It’s useless, we are never gonna find anything useful. All we’ve found are clothes and toothbrushes. There aren’t many more suitcases we can find Kaleb. There are 10 of us and we’ve found 7 already. What are the chances that someone will have a lighter?”
“What about the pilot and crew?” Olive gives him a weird look.
“What about them? They obviously didn’t make it or else we would have found them already. We’ve been all over the beach and have found no sign of them.”
“No, I mean what about their luggage? It could have washed up as well and they might have some useful things in there ya know?”
“Maybe but I’m not gonna count on it. We need to figure out how to make a fire, before tonight or we will all freeze. Last night wasn’t too bad but we were still running off adrenaline.” Kaleb stares at her for a minute without saying a word.
“How do you know all of this stuff?” Olive just shrugs at his question.
“I don’t know. I used to watch a lot of TV. I mean the whole Kara stuff is just basic first aid which I learned in school, and then everything else I guess, is just what I think we need to do. Honestly, no one should really be listening to me. I don’t know what I’m doing just as much as everyone else, but I know if we don’t get rescued we need to figure it out for ourselves.” Kaleb lets out a long sigh from her answer and then nods his head which Olive took as the end of that conversation.
Olive begins to feel even more frustrated. They have found nothing and they’ve been looking around for who knows how long.
“Maybe we should give up on the luggage and start looking for food. I feel like we’ll have a better chance at finding a gourmet feast than a lighter.”, Olive says while kicking at a rock she and Kaleb have been passing while they walk.
“All right sounds good to me, but that means we will have to go into the woods. Are you okay with that?”, he raises an eyebrow at her.
“Are you saying I’m scared? Cause I’m not.” He laughs at her response which doesn’t exactly help Olive's mood.
“Why would you think I’m scared to go into the woods huh? I’m not some little girl who will cry at every weird noise they hear.”
“I’m not saying you are, but it would be understandable if you were. Hell, I’m a bit nervous to go in there, we don’t know what’s creeping around.” That makes Olive laugh a bit. Hearing a 6ft something guy be afraid of the woods while she stands at a solid 5ft nothing.
“I'm not scared, I’m just frustrated that we haven’t found anything yet and I know I’ll be even more frustrated if we don’t find food soon. Everyone will be. Have you ever been around a group of hangry teenagers?” Kaleb takes a minute to think, then shakes his head no.
“Neither have I, and I’m not super excited to experience it.” She lets herself laugh for the first time since they’ve landed. She likes Kaleb, but she knows this isn’t the right time or place.
The two of them make their way into the woods, hoping to have better luck finding food. Olive hates to admit it but she is a bit nervous being surrounded by dense trees and brush. What if they get lost? she thinks to herself. Kaleb can tell she’s not happy with the situation but doesn’t say anything that might make it worse.
“So…where are you from?” Kaleb asked, trying to keep her mind off of whatever she was thinking about at the moment.
“A very small town in Minnesota. I actually live very close to a forest there.”
“Ahh, I see. I’m from Kentucky, Paducah to be more specific.”
“I can tell, you have a slight country twang.” He lets out a breathy laugh.
“Yeah, I’ve been told. My entire family is from either Kentucky or Texas, so we all have the twang.” Olive was about to respond but cut herself off when she saw a bush with lots of berries on it. Finally some luck.
“Look!” She hits Kaleb on his arm to get his attention.
“Ow, what!” She grabs his arm and leads him over to the bush.
“Wild berries! Thank God!” She grabs some off a branch and goes to put them in her mouth, but Kaleb stops her.
“Woah woah wait, how do you know they are edible?”
“Well, you know the rhyme right? Purple and blue are good for you, white and yellow will kill a fellow? I learned that in school.” He nods his head, still slightly suspicious about the berries in her hand.
“Here I’ll try them first if you’re scared.” She put a handful of berries into her mouth.
“Wait, are you crazy, spit them out now!” She just chews and laughs at his panic.
“They’re good I promise.” She swallows the berries and laughs and an idea pops into her head.
“Wait I- *cough* I don’t feel well.” She falls to her knees and Kaleb catches her before she reaches the ground.
“Olive! Olive, what's going on, talk to me!” His voice filled with fear as he watched her cough. The fear is replaced by anger as she starts to laugh.
“Are you serious? Were you just messing with me?” Olive stands back up on her feet laughing.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry that was just too funny.” Kaleb tries to pretend to be mad, but he starts laughing with her.
“You’re an asshole, you know that right?” He smiles at her.
“Yep, now let’s collect as much of these berries as we can and get them back to everyone. They must be starving.” They grab as much as they can carry and head back to camp.
As they make their way back to everyone, they start to hear something. They look at each other for a second and then they take off running. When they reach the tree line leading to the beach, they see a helicopter in the sky circling the island. They start to run faster. Then they start to scream. The berries dropped from their grasp as they tried and wave down the machine in the sky. They make their way back to the group, who are all doing what they can to get its attention. Everyone screams and waves their arms until the helicopter lands on the beach not too far from them. Olive turns to Kaleb and smiles.
“We are saved!” She runs and gives him the biggest hug.
“I told you we would be rescued!” He speaks into her neck. She separates herself from him and just laughs. Kara is going to be okay. They are all going to be okay.
