Chapter IV

Riho

Sea water floods into my nose. I snort and am startled by the pang of salt that rushes into my brain. Spending quite some time coughing, I wipe my eyes to diminish their burning feeling.

I’m now awake.

I look around, frozen.

My vision wasn’t registering with my brain. So much sand…an ocean…and palm trees…

This…looks familiar…but…my nose…it’s too sore for this to just be a dream.

My feet are underwater and my pants are clingy from the shore. My hands are covered with specks of sand.

I’m trying to understand.

The sun was rising and I tasted the salt on my top lip. That burned as well.

It was early.

And all, All of this was too much for me at the moment.

I crawl up to the dryer patches of land and collapse with my eyes open and stinging.

I fall asleep again, curling and stretching my fingers to the golden sky.

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With a frightening jolt, I awoke a second time that morning.

I dreamt I was on an island, I could smell the beach too well.

No sun-block distracting the breeze’s nature.

That was enough to stir me into thinking it was perhaps more than a dream.

Awoken by it, I crawled nervously backwards on the sand till my back hit a palm tree and mature coconuts fell around me.

My sunburn was blazing and my clothing were clingy and salty.

I scrambled to my feet, gaping.

I didn’t know what to do.

I looked around and saw a horizon of sand and a thick jungle to my back.

I began to panic.

Walking quickly to a small rock, I pushed it all the way to the palm tree I had knocked the coconuts down, a sign, to pinpoint where I was.

Clenching my fists, I stepped amongst the wild jungle trees.

I did what I figured to be practical, I called for help as if someone were killing me.

I reached what I would expect was the center of the jungle, which was a small lake. I gave up calling out, my voice hoarse.

Then, I heard a noise.

I stiffened, in case it was a wild animal; then I relaxed when it got louder with clumsiness.

I searched for the source and saw that not too far away, was a light.

I reached to it and had a view of another beach.

I sighed in frustration.

The sound came again and I focused on finding it.

Further unto the beach to my right was an underdeveloped man standing by a tangle of palm trees with a dog.

Let me repeat that,

‘an underdeveloped man standing by a tangle of palm trees with a dog.’

‘Hallucination?’

I rubbed my eyes and figured it wasn’t.

Maybe I was in Hawaii?

I had reached the outskirts of the jungle so I had to weave my way through more trees to study him, see if he was trustworthy.

The back of his shirt had a spidery font that read BUTTERFINGERS, and his dark pants and hair were mussed with sand. The small coil of a tail on the dog wagged furiously while it walked around like a drunk and barked randomly.

The thing called man began to move away and my eyes followed him.

That was when I realized he was not alone.

A body lay face down near the water.

The thing called man traveled to it and seemed to try and wake it up. Ironically, the dog had noticed me and was trotting my way. I tried to pet it while keeping an eye on the man project but it tried to lick me and I inched away.

It shook its head adorably and I caught a glimpse the collar and tag. I steadied the dog and looked at it closely.

‘What the?’ I thought to myself.

My head jerked up as I heard a voice. I dashed swiftly to be closer to them as he bent over the body.

“Are you Jesus?” the body said and I faltered. ‘Shuichi??’

They spoke for a moment as I tried to collect my thoughts. He looked like he was a safe person, willing to help her. I made my mind up in searching the rest of the land. Shuichi could be left alone with him temporarily; she was strong…and awkwardly violent. She could handle him for a little longer. He wasn’t a threat, so I went back in the jungle.

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I hiked up a steep hill, hoping to find a resort or even tourists. When I reached the top, I stifled a cry.

The land was more sand than I had ever imagined. And then there was the ocean.

What started me was the camp site malformed below. Someone had tried to create an amount of supplies and I doubted it was the BUTTERFINGERS kid.

That was enough.

I mean, I wasn’t ready to face a native but it seemed to me a tribe would at least have built huts and a bonfire area.

I crawled down the side of the cliff.

More like slid.

I reached the bottom and my pants were turned into an unrecognizable color. I steadied myself and tried to find tracks or footprints.

Moved sand was what I saw.

I frowned, ‘Great.’

I walked around the shore, anxious and lost, waiting for a volcano to erupt or the end to be near.

And there was bellow.

“I’m not a Dumbass!”

Now I was squinting at the sun in disbelief.

That sounded exactly like Chao. Nothing made sense anymore.

Something rammed into my side and I got my breath knocked out of me.

“Riho!! Finally a familiar face who isn’t telling me to shut up at every other minute of my life.” Juby squealed as she leaped on me for an unprepared hug. Her hair was filthy with seaweed and my nausea levels on my purge scale rose to two.

‘Juby’s here as well?’ my eyes widened. ‘What the? Wait…then Chao….That was Chao! Holy fucking shiat!’

My mind was adrift as Juby and a stranger she apparently didn’t like calling her stupid, argued.

‘Where were we? Why are we here?’

There’s Shuichi, her stupid dog Dali and that guy that woke her up; now there’s Chao, Juby and the stranger that won’t stop arguing.

Something clawed at my foot and I looked down, quickly lifting my leg.

And a cat.

I sniffed. Juby was straddling the idiot and…tickling him?

He seemed to have a difficult time, wincing in pain more than actually laughing.

Juby was ranting at him and I realized he wasn’t a bad person, otherwise Juby would have already kicked his arse.

‘Jesus Christ! Shut the fuck up people!’

“Juby, calm down.” I sighed.

She tried making up excuses and I felt the sun bleaching my hair. Juby’s talk on me died and she began maiming the guy for something he’d yet again, said.

Opening my mouth to comment or bitch, I hadn’t already decided, I was interrupted by an over exuberant Juby, grabbing my arm and tugging me away.

“Oh my god! What is that?” The Juby pointed hysterically over my shoulder.

I veiled my eyes with my hand and looked to where her finger pointed, “I’m not too sure. Could that be Shuichi?!”

“No freaking way.” Juby gasped. “Is that really Shuichi? Yea, that is Shuichi! Shuichi!!” And Juby began hopping like a seal.

Shuichi looked like she had been running for a while, the moment she recognized us, she paused to take a breath. Dali, trotting behind her, knocked her down with ultimate joy. All of us watched as she pushed Dali off, and turning to us, she started cracking up.

I sighed quietly.

“Riho, why would you let Juby walk around with that thing in her hair?

Juby unconsciously began drawing out seaweed and stopped when she noticed.

I grinned, worried but smiling. I yelled back, “That would be seaweed.”

Shuichi giggled and Juby grinned.

I was drifting off again when Juby made a remark on Shuichi’s hair, I laughed. She indeed had a terrible bed head.

There was a strike of thunder from another of Monique’s shrieks and we all ran like scared cattle to a wild fern nearby.

On the other side, Chao was straddling a guy she was also trying to strangle.

We all screamed at her as we leapt over to stop her.

She let go in surprise and stared at us in awe,

“Are you trying to kill him?”

I sighed again, Juby and her rhetorical questions. “I think that was her intention, Pocha.”

My legs felt weak and the nausea went another two levels up.

My scale only reached to five. I was nearly ready to hurl.

It was clearly afternoon and I secretly wished Chao would quickly kill him off. The growling in my belly was not so oblivious to me.

I kneeled on the sand, a hand to my mouth and the other supporting my weight.

The salty air was too much.

I collapsed in total darkness.

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END

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A/N: hey, I’m Riho, lol.

Some clarifying –

Pocha is short for Pocahontas ( another nickname for Juby)

Dali is Shuichi’s dog

Shuichi is Sandra’s nickname

Chao is Monique’s nickname

And Juby is Jubenthy.

I’m Riho. Not my real name, but that’s a secret! All other chapters were written by people other than me that actually go by that name.

Look out for our part 2!

-Purpleriho