Tink – 19-09 – 23:26
They said we were going to save Time ended. Now we're all dying.
"Is this the end?" That question runs through all our minds. We've seen so many people die. When will it be our turn? I look at Javey. His dark brown curls hang forward as he stares hopelessly into the campfire. "Does it really have to be this way?" he sighs. His hair smells like the sweet shampoo he made himself.
I see Ashley with her eye patch. It still bothers her. That last experiment with her eye a few years ago went completely wrong. She never experimented again after that. Her pastel pink hair doesn't sit as nicely as it used to. The bandage around her leg is coming loose and smells like old blood.
I see Jivano. He's looking at me. He always looks at me. But why? Does it make me uncomfortable? No idea. His muscular body and black fluffy hair. His thick eyebrows. He's so kind to me. So I'm kind to him too.
Then I look at the last one in our group. Vexra is playing with her bow. Her light pink short hair just fits into a bun. She's a bit more muscular than the rest, but Jivano is the most muscular. Not that it matters. What does matter is that Vexra and Ashley are sisters. Pretty special that they both survived.
We're sitting in the forest. Dark, confusing, exhausting. Lonely? No, I wouldn't call it that. Forgotten? That's a better word.
I look at my long blonde hair. "It's beautiful," I hear Jivano chuckle. Is he talking about me? I hope so. On the other hand, I kind of hope not.
It's night. No one feels like sleeping. We're too scared in such an open forest. And it reeks of smoke.
Ashley picks at the thread of her skirt. She glances now and then at Vexra, who's joking around with Jivano. Strange how we still act a little human after everything that's happened.
Since we've been on that island, nothing has been normal. They said I had to marry a rich man, and instead of being with him, I'm here. Better for me, honestly. I didn't like him. He's blond. Way too many freckles and a really weird laugh. If you know what I mean. So that's a plus.
I hear a hiss in the bushes. Everyone's alert. Eyes darting around in fear. I grab my recorder. It has to happen fast. I start talking. As usual, my words race ahead of my thoughts. I make weird half-sentences and invent words that never existed. Then an ink blot seeps out from under the bushes. Yep, we messed up again.
We missed something. Saw it too late? I don't want someone else to die. We can't lose another person. It happens too often. "We can never fully attach ourselves to someone." That's what Ashley said when her boyfriend lay dead on the ground. I think she was sad, I'm not sure. It seemed like it.
I hear Javey scream and see Jivano running toward him from the corner of my eye. Yep, there goes another one. I think in my head. Not sure if that's how I should phrase it. Still, it's upsetting. One less again. I hear Javey still screaming: "I see bone!" But I think Jivano keeps fighting even though he sees the bone in his arm. Are they both going to die?
I don't know. What I do know is that I don't understand how I can still keep the secret. The secret about Ralf. That I couldn't hold him at the cliff any longer. Ashley will probably kill me if she finds out I couldn't save her boyfriend.