Aeryn’s first sensation upon waking was the cold, salty sting of the sea. His head pounded, and his wrists felt weighed down by the heavy metal cuffs. He blinked hard, trying to clear the fog in his mind, only to be met with the soft roar of the waves crashing against the shore. A cold breeze whipped through the air, carrying the scent of wet sand and decay. He had no idea how he’d ended up here; on this forsaken stretch of land, but it was clear this wasn’t an ordinary beach.
He groaned, pushing himself to sit up. The sand was rough under his hands, and his clothes were soaked, clinging to his skin in the humid air. The memories were fragmented, being thrown overboard, the drugging, and the deep, unrelenting darkness of the ocean. But those thoughts faded quickly as he glanced around and took in the sight of the two others lying nearby.
He wasn’t alone.
Levi, the man whose name Aeryn only half remembered, was the next to stir. His form was unmistakable, a lean, hardened body, worn by years of rough work, but with an undeniable strength in the way he moved. His eyes snapped open, and he immediately scanned the surroundings with a sharp, cautious gaze. He didn’t seem surprised by the situation; just wary, like someone who was used to waking up in strange places.
“great,” Levi muttered, his voice rough from the saltwater. “Where the hell am I now and who the hell are you people?”
Before Aeryn could respond, a rustling noise came from a few feet away. Kaela stirred, pushing herself up with a slow but steady movement. Her skin, damp and glistening from the ocean, caught the light, her wet prison garb clinging to her curves as she straightened herself. She was lean, athletic, but with the kind of natural grace and strength that made it clear she was no stranger to survival. Her hair, dark and matted with saltwater, framed her sharp features as she slowly took in her surroundings. Her gaze darted from Levi to Aeryn, the air around her crackling with wariness.
She didn’t speak immediately. Instead, Kaela just stood, as if testing the air. Her sharp eyes didn’t miss anything, every small shift in the environment, every possible threat.
Levi, ever the practical one, stood next, glancing briefly at Aeryn before looking toward Kaela. There was an unspoken understanding between them; a shared realization that they were all in the same boat, but it didn’t make them acquaintances.
Aeryn stood too, stiff from the wetness and the lingering effects of whatever they’d been drugged with. His mind still didn’t feel fully intact, but the need for survival cut through the fog like a knife. He met Kaela’s gaze for a moment, but there was no greeting. Only silence. They all felt it; the tension, the mistrust, the urgency of being stranded on an island they knew nothing about.
Next to him, Kaela shifted uncomfortably. Her striking features weren’t lost beneath the dirt and sweat. The fabric stretched over her fit, athletic body, but there was something raw about her, something fierce that still drew the eye. The prison uniform clung to her curves despite the exhaustion and the dirty surroundings, she radiated an untamed confidence.
“What now?” Aeryn finally broke the silence, his voice low and cautious.
Kaela didn’t answer immediately. She was already moving, stepping toward the jungle that loomed just beyond the beach. Levi followed without hesitation, his boots crunching over the sand. Aeryn hesitated, but instinct told him to stay close. Whatever they had to face here, they’d need each other.
For now. He repeated this in his mind about 4 or 5 times
As they moved, the tension between them was thick, unspoken. None of them trusted the other at all, not yet at least. There was too much unknown.
The jungle was dense, the air thick with humidity and the faint scent of rot. Every step forward seemed to bring a new noise, a new whisper in the trees. Aeryn kept his hand close to his waist, where his cuffed wrists made it hard to move freely. He glanced over at Kaela, noting how her wet garb clung to her form, the movement of her muscles shifting beneath the fabric. She wasn’t just a survivor; she was someone who could handle herself in ways that made Aeryn uneasy, but at least for now, that was an asset.
Levi was more cautious, more pragmatic. Aeryn could see it in the way he watched their surroundings, eyes constantly shifting, looking for any hint of danger. He wasn’t one to make small talk, and Aeryn had no intention of pushing him.
As they walked deeper into the jungle, Aeryn felt a strange sense of foreboding in his gut. The place felt off. Stories of Sarloth Isle’s brutal history floated back into his mind, the tales of this cursed isle, an island where no man survives, certainly not prisoners. He pushed the thought aside, but it lingered in the back of his mind.
The sound of rushing water reached his ears, and soon the trio found themselves at the edge of a fast-moving stream cutting through the dense underbrush. The water was murky, but it was a welcome change from the oppressive heat of the jungle.
Kaela crouched by the edge, peering into the water. Aeryn moved closer, his eyes narrowing as he watched the shadows shift beneath the surface. Then, without warning, a flash of movement. Aeryn’s hands shot out, grabbing at the creature darting through the current. It was fast, too; fast but his grip was firm, and he slammed it against the rocks with a brutal motion. The fish thrashed for a moment, but Aeryn’s cuffs held him steady, and with a strike assisted by his cuffs, it died. The thing’s lifeless body floated, blood mixing with the murky water.
Levi crouched beside Aeryn, inspecting the fish. “That’s not normal. Looks like smelt bait fish, maybe, but... it’s the size of a halibut. What the hell’s going on here?”
Aeryn’s jaw tightened, his frustration simmering just below the surface. “This place is cursed,” he muttered. “Every goddamn myth about it is probably true.”
Levi didn’t respond. Kaela merely gave a soft grunt, her eyes scanning the horizon as if she expected something worse to emerge from the shadows. She didn’t say much, but her wariness was palpable.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Aeryn took the fish, ripping it from the stream and hauling it with them. It wasn’t much, but it was food, something to eat for now.
They continued through the jungle, a quiet unease settling between them. It wasn’t until they were deep in the thick of the trees that they stumbled upon something unexpected; something small, half-buried beneath the roots of an ancient tree. A weathered lockbox, rusted with age but still intact.
Aeryn knelt down, his cuffs clinking as he pried it open. Inside, there was a small screwdriver, two old, rusted daggers, and a faint smell of stale air. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give them a fighting chance.
Levi grabbed the screwdriver first, inspecting it with careful hands. “We can use this to get these cuffs off,” he said, a flicker of hope in his voice.
Aeryn’s lips curled into a slight smile. “Let’s hope so, The knives are about to completely decay, they’re practically useless.”
* Pause -
The night eventually swallowed them whole, the darkness so absolute that even the firelight seemed to struggle. Aeryn sat near the low flame, staring into it as he gutted and prepared the fish he’d killed earlier. It was a strange sight, this smelt, now the size of a decently large fish, looking as out of place on this island as they did. He didn’t want to think about the implications of the island’s unnatural creatures. All he wanted was food, and this fish, though abnormal, would have to do.
Kaela was sitting apart from the others, her posture stiff, eyes darting in many places. She hadn’t said much since they’d found the cave, only the occasional grunt or sharp words when necessary, but there was something about the way she held herself. She was too, conniving for his likings, always watching, waiting. Aeryn didn’t trust her, not for a second, but he had bigger problems to worry about.
Levi, sitting a bit farther away, had already broken open his cuffs using the small screwdriver from the lockbox. He tossed his restraints aside with a soft clink, then turned his focus on Aeryn and Kaela, who were still bound. There wasn’t much time to waste, this island was knowingly unforgiving, and their restraints would slow them down.
Aeryn worked quickly on Kaela’s cuffs, the screwdriver clumsily twisting in his hands, but he was making progress. The cuffs were a strange blend of technology and something more ancient, their design unlike anything he’d seen before. Kaela, unblinking, watched him work, but didn’t offer help or advice. Aeryn wasn’t sure if she trusted them yet, or if she ever would.
“Almost done,” Aeryn muttered under his breath, twisting again.
Once Kaela’s cuffs fell away, Aeryn turned to his own. The screwdriver was crude, and the cuffs were a challenge, but it wasn’t long before the metal clicked open and fell to the ground with a hollow sound. Relief flooded him briefly, but he didn’t linger. They were free, but they still had no idea what they were up against.
Levi had already started a fire, the flames casting an eerie glow in the cave, but the silence between them was oppressive. None of them made a move to leave, knowing full well that rushing into the unknown could get them killed. Instead, they cooked and ate the fish Aeryn had caught, their hunger outweighing their fears for the moment.
Once they finished, the tension began to creep back in, like the steady beat of a drum in the background. They had escaped the cuffs, but there was no guarantee they’d survive the island. And worse, there was no guarantee they could trust each other.
Night descended.
Aeryn had tried to stay awake, but the exhaustion of the day was too much. He’d meant to keep watch meant to keep his guard up. But sleep found him like an unwelcome stranger, it started creeping in since he needed it and eventually he stopped resisting.
Aeryn woke up with a start.
Cold steel was pressed against his throat. His breath hitched, heart slamming against his chest. He opened his eyes to see Kaela, standing over him, her face cold, her hand wrapped around a rusted dagger. It gleamed in the firelight, sharp and ready to strike.
He had no time to think. His body reacted instinctively.
With a quick movement, Aeryn grabbed her wrist. The pressure he exerted was enough to make her stumble back, but before she could fully retreat, he shifted his weight and drove his knee into her stomach. She gasped, her grip on the dagger loosening.
There was a sickening crack as her wrist broke under the force of his hold. Kaela yelped intensely, the sound raw, a mixture of pain and fury, as she fell backward.
“What the hell are you doing?” Aeryn growled, his heart still pounding in his chest.
Kaela, clutching her broken wrist, glared at him with eyes full of hatred and something else, a thing that was worse than hatred, “I couldn’t wait,” she spat, her voice strained with pain. “You’re all dead anyway. I had to make sure.”
Aeryn's jaw clenched. He had been asleep, vulnerable, and she had just attempted to kill him. His mind was racing. Why? Why now?
Before Aeryn could ask more questions, Levi was next to him. He moved with surprising speed, grabbing Kaela by the arm and yanking her away from Aeryn.
“Enough” Levi’s voice was a low growl. “You want to die here? Fine. But don’t drag me down with all of you nitwits.”
Kaela staggered back, still clutching her wrist, but the anger was still there in her eyes. “Survive?” she hissed bitterly. “You think you’ll survive this place? Thats hilarious if you had any idea what was out their you would have found a way to kill yourself quicker.”
Levi’s grip tightened, and his expression didn’t soften. “Survival. That’s all that matters to me right now, and if you know what's out there, why don't you start elaborating when you should’ve said it from the start.” His voice was distressingly firm.
Kaela jerked away from both of them. She was defiant still, but for how long? The air between them was thick with unspoken threats, and Aeryn could feel the shift in the tension. Something had changed. There would be no pretending anymore. They had just survived an assassination attempt, and that made the question of trust a much more dangerous game.
The silence was deafening. The crackle of the fire was the only sound, the heat of the flames barely cutting through the coldness between them.
Aeryn stared at Kaela, his chest still tight with adrenaline. His instincts had saved him, but he wasn’t sure how much longer they’d all be able to survive each other.
They might face whatever the island had, and whatever the island threw at them. But, facing each other is not of any help, and that was already about the worst thing that could've happened. “Hurry up and indulge in what you were trying to explain after you tried to kill me, at least my mana is replenished enough to eviscerate you next time.” Aeryn replied more severely this time.