Chapter 5

From the various expressions, I’m not the only one with that thought.

One of the women drops to her knees, covering her face with her hands. Silent sobs grab hold of her, and she shakes as she cries. A man across from me does the same, but he turns his back to us and locks his fingers into his hair. He yells, his voice echoing through the air.

“We all need to keep it together. By the looks of the sun, we have a couple hours until nightfall. I don’t know where we are, but it might get cold tonight. We need to split up and get shit together the best we can. We need shelter, freshwater, and food. We can also try to make a fire. I don’t know how successful we’ll be until we get a look around. Something needs to be done, though.” This comes from a woman with hair darker than mine. Her brown eyes glass over with unshed tears as she manages to keep it together despite her voice cracking. “I’m Lisa, by the way. Tell me who all of you guys are. It will help.”

“Help? The only help will be is if we can figure out how to send out an SOS. We can’t just wait for them to come back for us. There has to be planes or boats or satellites or... I don’t know.” The brunette man beside her fists his hands, scowling.

“Surviving the night comes first, don’t you think?” A blond man with blue eyes and sun-kissed skin, looking exactly how I imagine a southern California surfer boy to look, whacks the man on the back of the head. “And if knowing my name will make any of you feel better, you can call me Jefferson or Jeff. I don’t care. Hey you, works fine, too.”

SOS guy purses his lips, pinching his nose. “Fucking fine. I’m Zack.”

“Helena,” the crying woman mutters, her voice hoarse. She wipes the palm of her hand over her cheeks, swiping her bronze tresses away. Blond highlights add depth to her mess of curls, frizzing from the sticky humidity.

A clean-cut man with wavy black hair and black eyes says, “Zev.”

One by one, each person says their name. There are fifteen of us altogether, and by the time a man with short auburn hair and bright green eyes tells us his name is Dustin, I’ve already forgotten most of the other people’s names.

Surfer boy Jeff bounces on the balls of his feet, fidgeting and shifting like he’s incapable of staying still for more than a second. “Great, cool to meet you. Sort of. Obviously, those dickheads wanted to make this bullshit as uncomfortable as possible by giving us absolutely nothing, so I’m going to just put this out there to break the damn ice so we can hustle and get shit done...” Dropping his hands, he shows off his cock and flexes, keeping his eyes trained toward the trees. “Ladies, if you’ve never seen a dick, well, now you have. We can’t afford to be modest until we get what we need, and my damn arm is getting tired.”

The only blond woman laughs and throws her hands up. I think her name is Lucy. “Okay, yeah. You’re right. Not like I haven’t been streaking before, and I want to get this awkward shit over with.” She motions to a couple of the guys. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. We all know you’ve seen a woman—probably only in one of your pornos—but here I am. Now let me see. We’re all adults, and it’s not like we had a choice.”

I sit up, not rushing to join in this weird-ass bonding moment.

The shaved guy—Ian, I think—whistles through his fingers. “Fuck, yeah! I’m over being scared and damn uncomfortable.”

Lisa grins and raises her arms over her head, laughing. “Damn straight. Those assholes leaving was a good thing.” At least I can agree with her on that. She looks at two silent guys. “Right...? Luke? Reggie?”

Dustin bobs his head, grinning. He play-punches who I think is Hank. “We can do this, dudes. We can handle a few weeks here. You guys can be on my team.” The auburn man with freckles—proving that the curtains match the drapes—pumps his fist. His positivity helps ease the nerves inside me. “Once we get some damn water and shit, it’ll be like paradise.”

If he says so. As much as I want to believe him, I can’t shake the tightness in my chest.

Twisting toward me, he extends his hand. “Come on, Sasha. You look like you could use a hand up. What you did on the yacht was fucking insane and awesome. I want you on our team. Would you prefer we be in charge of food, shelter, or water?”

I lick my dry lips, trying not to sound like a brain-dead zombie. “Water. Definitely water.”

“Which of you men want to be on Team Food?” Lisa asks, pointing around our group. “You guys are so lucky I’m a botanist.”

Jeff raises his hand. “I fish for sport.”

“Thank God. I don’t want to eat like a rabbit.” Ian moves past us to join Team Food.

“Since I’m in construction, I’ll take charge of our shelter.” Evander rubs his hands together. “Anyone else have some skills we can use?”

Lucy raises her hand. “I studied engineering. I can help you.”

“All right, the rest of you split up. We can have equal teams. Everyone has to carry their weight even if they don’t know how to do shit. I’m not looking to bond. I’m looking to survive.” Zack joins the shelter group. He was who I nicknamed Mr. SOS on the boat. I’m glad he doesn’t choose our group because he’d be the one to shove me into danger to save himself.

Evan comes up to my side, joining Dustin and me. Luke and Reggie stand off to the side, not saying much, waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Kind of like me. I’m not the leader type. I didn’t have my shit together at home, and I don’t now.

I fold my arms over my chest, trying my best not to think about the fact that I’m standing naked with four guys and about to head into the wilderness in search of water. In any other situation, this would be a hell no for me. But now? What choice do I have? At least if they try something disgusting, their weak points are all exposed. I’m not afraid to fight.

I stare in silence, watching as the other two groups disperse. Lucy’s laughter echoes through the air, and I wish I could capture her carefree spirit. I don’t want to be this scared still, but I can’t help it.

Dustin clears his throat. “Sasha, here. Take this. We don’t know what kind of wildlife resides here.” He stakes a long, straight stick into the ground. I hadn’t even seen him break it from one of the trees.

His thoughtful gesture eases my nerves. I won’t let my guard down yet, but his actions do help.

Evan looks around and finds another tree branch to break. “I’m not going to lie. I’ve already forgotten your two names.”