Episode-32: The Other Side

Date: November 26, 3008
Time: 09:30
Location: Somewhere over the Ocean of Ossyria

~Evangeline~

Evangeline’s hazel eyes gazed out into the infinite blue expanse. Short wisps of cloud streamed across the window, dancing in the Skyliner’s wake. The low drone of the four engines, two mounted on each side of the craft, hummed monotonously as they sailed through the air at mach 2. She shifted in her seat and looked up.

“Ma’am, would you like something to drink?” a stewardess asked politely.

“Um… no thank you,” Evangeline muttered with a quick smile before returning her gaze to the heavens. As the lady moved past to another passenger, something caught the corner of her eye. Evangeline strained her neck up to the row across from her. Sitting on the opposite side of the Skyliner, was a young woman with streaming blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Her gaze was fixed upon the outside world, and Evangeline suddenly felt a pang of some inexplicable feeling. The ship rumbled gently in a stream of turbulence, and the fasten seat belt sign flashed on.

“Ladies and gentlemen we are experiencing some turbulence,” the intercom crackled on, revealing the pilot’s gruff voice, “Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.”

Over on the other side, Evangeline saw an elderly woman whisper something to the blonde. Shrugging off the feeling, she returned to her window, and caught a glimpse of something green amidst the ocean of blue below.

Suddenly, the ship buckled violently, sending an unlucky man not restrained down slamming up to the ceiling before coming to a crash on the walkway in between the seats. Evangeline gripped the armrest tightly as she felt them start to dive forwards. The engines behind her seemed to scream in agony, and with a tear of shearing metal and steel, they were gone. Whipping her head back, Evangeline’s hazel eyes dilated in shock as a handful of people were sucked out into the stratosphere. Her own wavy brown hair rippled frighteningly in the gale.

They were plummeting out of control. Evangeline’s eyes darted out the window again, and now realized they were just seconds away from impact. An island materialized out of the azure field, jutting out like a sore thumb. And then, they hit, and the fuselage was obliterated.

Date: November 26, 3008
Time: 11:25
Location: GPS Error

She sat alone in front of the roaring waves crashing onto the beach. The screams had died down now, and the swirling engines had finally let loose its vitality. Survivors were now starting to take in the surroundings, to accept the fact that they had just crashed on an island somewhere in the Ossyrian Ocean. But Evangeline did not care.

The tide was rising. As she watched blissfully, the waves carried the ocean closer and closer to her bare feet. Wherever her shoes had disappeared off to did not matter anymore. The sand felt cool and pleasant on her bare skin. A spray of ocean foam tingled her pointed nose; the brine made her smile with weak delight. Evangeline closed her eyes, imagining it as a perfect getaway, a seamless vacation away from humanity.

But the vision was short lived, and she found herself surrounded again by the eerie screams of death. Then, she realized someone was walking up to her, their footsteps thudding softly in the sand.

“Hey, you ok?” a gentle voice asked. Evangeline looked up to see a pair of dark eyes under a buzz cut head. He looked down at her, “May I?”

Evangeline replied, “not at all,” and the man sat himself down next to her.

“What an eventful morning,” he chuckled wryly, his dark eyes fixed upon the crystal blue ocean. “Who would have thought this would have happened to us.”

“Yea,” Evangeline muttered gloomily, “You always imagine it happening to someone else, something you see on TV. When it happens to you, you don’t know what to do. You feel lost, as if somehow, fate has cheated you. You feel as if your not supposed to be here, to still be alive.”

The man turned and looked at Evangeline with a smile. He sighed and offered a hand, “I’m Drake, Drake Harrison. Nice to meet you, miss… ?

“Evangeline Reeves,” she replied still staring forwards at the ocean. Evangeline pulled her legs up and hugged them against her chest, “Doesn’t feel right…”

Suddenly, someone was shouting out in panic. Evangeline and Drake bother whirled their heads around simultaneously to face a trembling tall, skinny man. His blue eyes clashed terribly with his short black hair, and it took Evangeline a moment just to decipher what he was yelling about.

“Hey you guys, there’s this woman here and she’s freaking out, wanna come and help!?”

The three of them rushed over towards the wreckage. Under the shadow of a broken end of the fuselage lay a young woman in her late teens. Her long blonde hair was splayed out amidst the sand and her emerald eyes convulsed traumatically. The wheezing escaping from her throat made it seem as if she could not breathe. It was the woman who sat on the opposite side of the Skyliner from her, the woman staring out the window.

“What happened?” Drake demanded, his brows furled in confusion.

“I dunno, she just started to gasp out and convulse. Her pulse is erratic and she’s burning up,” the man explained as he jabbed two fingers against her neck.

Then, she was still, her eyes staring straight ahead, her lips opening and closing like a dying fish left out to dry. There was a cloudy layer of mist that seemed to veil her eyes. Evangeline could hear a soft whisper escape from her throat, “She’s… she’s… alive…” The next moment, her eyes cleared and she blinked a couple of times before looking up at the three thoroughly bewildered individuals standing above her. “What… happened…”

The man was the first to speak, “My name is Arcturus Shrak. We’ve crashed on an island somewhere in the Ossyrian Ocean. What’s your name? Do you remember your name?”

“I’m… Natalie…” the woman whispered as if she were in a deep trance, then her head lolled to the side, unconscious.

“We’ve got to take her closer to the trees where there’s more protection. The sun will bake us alive out here.” Drake lifted her dangling body in his arms, and Arcturus continued, “Make sure she gets plenty of water and shade. I don’t want her burning up and dehydrating.”

“Psh, what are you a doctor?” Drake scoffed as he looked incredulously at the skinny man.

“As a matter of fact, yes I am,” Arcturus replied wryly and directed him off.

“Rowdy man that Drake is,” he said, turning his attention to Evangline.

“Yea, well I’m sure none of the other survivors are like him,” Evangeline replied, her eyes trained on Drake’s departing figure. There was something about him, about his spunky attitude that drew Evangeline towards him. Something about Drake seemed different from everyone else. Evangeline smiled to herself and turned away.

The sky darkened as the sun started to slide below the horizon. Crimson streaks of clouds lined the heavens, floating lackadaisically in the stratospheric jet stream. A cool breeze drifted amidst the broken wreckage of the airship, rustling the palm trees and tall grass. The ocean’s waves crashed upon the beach, receding with each time it mingled amidst the white sands.

Evangeline lied on her back, gazing up at the appearing stars. A camp fire was roaring somewhere behind her, encircled by the rest of the survivors who were all chattering amongst themselves about rescue. But the truth was, Evangeline didn’t care. Their reason for flying was not the same as hers.

“Hey,” a man’s voice floated into her ears. She looked up and saw Drake standing next to her, his arms folded tightly across his chest.

“Hey you,” Evangeline smiled warmly.

“Why aren’t you with the others?” he asked curiously, looking her in her hazel eyes.

“I could ask the same thing about you,” Evangeline replied, shaking stray hairs out of her eyes.

“I guess a part of me doesn’t want to leave,” he replied, “This place is pretty cool.”

Evangeline grinned at the thought, “You’re not alone.”

Drake sat down and accompanied her in her vigil across the sea. “I’ve always wanted to have a house by the beach,” Drake sighed, his eyes closed, “I’ve always wanted to wake up to the smell of the sea, the salt. To hear the seagulls’ cry the very first moment you wake up. I can imagine it now…”

Evangeline’s hazel eyes suddenly started to tear up. His descriptions of his perfect life matched hers exactly. If only the illusion could be a reality. If only the world could be on their side for once. If only fate would play along with their worldly fantasies.

“Hey what’s that?” Evangeline’s ears pricked up. Something was rumbling in the distance.

“What’s what?” Drake asked unsuspectingly, turning his gaze to her.

“Listen!” Evangeline stood up, brushing the sand off of her skirt, “Something’s coming!” The rumbling grew louder, in extremely fast pulses. It reminded her of a helicopter of some sort back home.

The others had heard it now. They muttered quietly and looked out into the ocean as the muffled sound cleared up. Evangeline’s heart swooped and sank at the same time as she thought of a rescue helicopter on its way directly to them. Yet there were no lights, no rotors, no visual signs to prove it.

Suddenly, the noise seemed to be coming from behind them, from inside the island itself. Whipping around, Evangeline’s hazel eyes met the shaking of trees inside the forest. With sick crunches, the trunks were beat down, as if something gigantic were plowing its way through the woods. The beating noise grew deafening as the row of falling trees came ever closer.

And then, just as suddenly as it had started, everything was quiet, the crackling fire and pounding waves the dominant voices in the dusk’s symphony once more. Everything was still.

Evangeline’s heart beat furiously fast, threatening to burst out of her ribcage. A cold chill rushed through her nerves, making her shiver frightfully. This island was no ordinary island, and she had a sinking feeling that whatever that noise was, it was not going to be the last time they heard it.

“Guys… where are we?”