Late afternoon saw the eventual awakening of the exhausted drummer, who had collapsed onto the shore almost the second they hit the sands into a much needed, much deserved sleep. The warmth of the glorious blazing sun mixed with the cool ocean breeze was the perfect combination to lure Jimmy to sleep, and it remained with him as he slowly rose from his slumber. He raised himself to a sitting position, rubbed his rested eyes and took in his surroundings. The golden sands, the dense forest, M. Shadows sat a few metres away, digging through a backpack and seemingly halfway through making a shelter, the gorgeous deep blues of the ocea- hang on a minute...

Jimmy eyed the vocalist with confusion, noting that he was stripped down to only his boxers with his clothing no where in sight. Come to think of it, Jimmy's clothes had disappeared too. What the fuck? Time to have a word with Shadows...

"Matt?" He called as he wandered over to the singer, who had laid out the bag's contents in front of him, as well as a few other items like tree branches and twigs and a couple of small rocks.

"'Sup Rev?" Matt replied, looking up at the drummer.

"Um... Where are my clothes?"

"Oh! They're over there-" The vocalist pointed behind them to an area slightly further up the beach, where a large area of huge palm tree leaves had been laid out with their clothes on top, drying out in the coastal breeze and the shining sun. "I decided to do us both a favour and get them dry so we don't have to wear soggy clothes all day. They should be dry by now."

"Fair enough, thanks Shads." Jimmy smiled gratefully and walked over to the drying area. He found his clothes on the left side and Matt's on the right, laid out neatly and straight, their shoes and socks set aside, still in the light. He scooped up his t-shirt and ran a hand all over it, checking if it had dried. Slightly damp, but better than nothing. He slipped it on and repeated the process with his jeans. Unfortunately, his shoes were still soaked, so he left them. Finally, he grabbed his best friend's clothing and headed back over to Matt's little camp to inspect the items he had gathered.

"Hey dude, I thought I'd grab your clothes while I was there. They might be a bit... Sandy though."

"...Was that a fuckin' pun?"

"Maybe. Anyway, get dressed and then explain to me what stuff we've got to live on for potentially the rest of our lives."

"Dude," Matt began, taking his clothes from the drummer and slipping them on one by one. "We're not gonna die here. The guys will know we fell off and they'll come lookin' for us. Besides, Val's probably freakin' out by now."

"I'm so glad Leana didn't come with us... I wouldn't want her worryin' about me." Jimmy said, sitting down beside where Matt had parked his ass previously. Once Matt was fully dressed, he retook his place.

"Right, that bag had a lot of useful shit in, as it turns out. If I had just looked in it first while we were on the boat, we probably could've stayed onboard. We've got a bundle of rope, which I so wish I'd remembered when you were about to fall... Uh, a first aid kit, a multi-tool with things like a lighter, a knife, a file and a few other handy tools. We've got matches, another knife in a sheath, several bottles of water, waterproof trousers and jacket, a blanket and an inflatable pillow."

The drummer was delighted. At least they had something useful to live with.

"Then, while you slept, I went and gathered a few things. Some logs and things to make a lil' fire with, rocks to go around it, even more long logs that we could probably make some form of shelter with and a few other various bits."

"What about food?" Jimmy enquired.

The vocalist shook his head. "We need to find that. There's a few trees with fruit on and whatever, but they're too high up. Might just throw some rocks and hope shit falls, bu there's no guarantee. At least we've got water though. Just try to conserve it the best you can, as that's all we've got." He explained. He then got up and grabbed one of the longer logs, dragging it over to a tree that strayed both from the gathering and from the forest. "We'll make a little den here."

"How?"

"Simple. Grab the logs and carefully rest them against the tree. The trunk's big enough so they shouldn't slip. I'll get some big rocks and place them around the base of the logs once we're done so they shouldn't fall."

"Alright, Bear Grylls." Jimmy joked, following Matt's instructions and taking the logs over to the tree. He first piled them beside the tree, then gradually started laying then against the trunk, making sure there was enough space inside for the pair to sleep in. Meanwhile, Matt went on the search for rocks strong enough to hold them in place. After several hours, they had constructed enough of a shelter to spend the night in.

Just in time too - The sun had started to set and with that brought the darkness and the chill of the night. Matt gathered the little supplies they had and placed them within the shelter, whilst Jimmy worked on a small campfire. As they huddled around the flame, the blanket draped over them, their bodies close, their knees pulled close to their chests to preserve heat, they could hear the low rumbling of one another's empty stomachs, and their hoarse voices indicating parched throats.

"Rev, go fetch a bottle of water will you?" Matt requested, a cough and desperate clearing of his throat following shortly after. The Rev agreed and disappeared into the camp, digging out a bottle from the bag. Upon returning, he opened the lid and passed it to Matt, who took a generous mouthful before handing it back for Jimmy to sip at.

"I know I said take it easy on the water," Matt then spoke. "But if you need it, for fuck's sake just drink it, okay? There's no point dehydrating yourself for the point of trying to save water, 'cause you'll only make yourself sick and that's worse, alright?"

"I got it. What about when we find food? We can get some sort of hydration from that, right?" Rev enquired.

"Oh yeah, fruit's good for that. We might be able to find somethin' tomorrow."

They remained in silence for a while, the sun dipping below the horizon and leaving them with only the light of the moon and their tiny fire. Around them, they could hear the gentle crackling of the fire, the rustling of the leaves and branches within the forest along with a few birds chirping here and there, the gentle ocean call and the water washing the beach, receding back moments later.

Matt found himself gazing up at the twinkling stars above, admiring the cloudless night while his mind roamed far and wide. All he could remind himself of was of the last moments he spent with Val, his precious girl. The time he'd spent with her while she was awake and the time as he watched over her sleeping. A frown tugged at his lips. He glanced down and slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out a tiny, silver locket attached to a chain. It had been around his neck while he swam for his life almost 24 hours before and how it stayed there, Matt had no idea. But goddamn, he was grateful for it.

Jimmy spotted the locket and peered at it, watching as Matt opened it with care. It was no bigger than a pebble and contained two precious photos encased within, protected by a tiny glass pane that sealed it away. The first photo was of Matt with his family and the band, taken at least 9 months prior. It had been taken at the studio, when they had shown their families what they'd been working their asses off on for months. The other photo was of Matt and Val, taken literally three weeks before on the Huntington Beach pier, in front of a stunning sunset. Jimmy had never seen this locket before, nor did he have any knowledge of it. He pondered on how long Matt had owned it, whether it was a new addition or if he had kept it for years.

Matt's eyes were glued to the pictures. His frown remained intact. His family, his best friends, his girlfriend. Who knew if he'd ever see any of them (with the exception of Jimmy) again? He turned his head slightly and caught glimpse of Jimmy observing the photographs.

"Your family, the guys, Val.." Jimmy whispered softly.

Matt nodded slightly, glancing downwards. "Jim.. What if we never leave this place? What if we never see them again? I know this is only our first night and whatever, but... What if they think we're dead and they don't come lookin' for us..?"

"Shads, don't think that, please..." Jimmy pleaded." We need all the positivity we can manage right now. They'll come for us, they'd never let us down... They won't stop until they find us, dead or alive.."

"How can you be so sure?" The vocalist asked, facing Jimmy once again.

"Would Val really go on livin' without findin' out what happened to you, what happened to us both?"

"No... But she could lose hope."

"Matthew," Jimmy said sternly. "She wouldn't give up on you. Never. If she was in our position and we were on the boat, would you go on without tryin' to find her?"

Matt instantly shook his head. "Are you kiddin'? Of course I wouldn't!"

"So why wouldn't Val do the same?"

The vocalist had no answer. Jimmy was right, why wouldn't she look for them? Why wouldn't she badger on at the guys, begging them to conduct a search? "Yeah, I guess you're right... So I guess we just have to keep hopin' they'll come for us?"

"That's it, Shads. Just keep hopin'. Anyway, I'm gettin' tired so I'm gonna head to bed. What are the sleepin' arrangements?" Jimmy asked, switching the subject.

"Well, the blanket's big enough for us both to use as a cover, I'll use the waterproofs as a pillow and you can use the inflatable pillow. You don't mind sleepin' next to me, do you?"

"Right now I don't give a fuck. I just wanna keep warm and get some rest."

"Same here," the vocalist agreed. "C'mon, let's go sort our bed out and get some shut-eye."

---

That afternoon, while Matt and Jimmy had been busy building their small camp, Val and Syn had been scouring the boat for any last clues as to whether Matt and Jimmy had possibly survived going overboard. The boat had already docked in the harbour and everyone else had gathered their things and gone off to their accommodation, but Val and Syn were determined to find something, anything that could give them hope.

So far, they had nothing. They noted that Matt's bag had disappeared, but had no explanation as to why it had done so. Matt wouldn't have carried it around with him, given the thing was bloody heavy, and Jimmy wouldn't have carried it either for the same reason. At first, Brian assumed that Johnny or Zacky had taken it, but they only had their bags plus Brian's bag and Jimmy's bag. Matt's had vanished.

"Val, have you noticed anythin' else go missin'?" He called across the boat. Val looked across the deck and shook her head.

"Nothing yet... I'm starting to think we're not gonna find anything."

"Hey, c'mon now. There has to be somethin'. Don't give up hope yet, yeah?" Syn encouraged, walking over to her and rubbing her back, "We'll find somethin'."

Val reluctantly nodded. "I hope to god you're right.."

"Well, we'll never know if we don't look. I'll make sure I pass the message on to the others to keep an eye out for anythin' odd or missin' or whatever. Anythin' that could help."

"Oh, Brian?" The woman then asked. Syn looked down at her.

"Hm?"

"I know we've barely started... But thank you for stayin' here to help." She said. "I really appreciate your help."

"Don't thank me, Val." Brian replied, shaking his head. "There's no need. I'm just doin' what should be done. We need those two back, or at least closure."

"Do you think.. Do you think we'll hold a memorial of some sort anytime soon?" She wondered.

Brian shrugged. "Possibly. We can talk to the guys about it later."


Later on that night, everyone had gathered in their accommodation. Their hotel was a huge, luxurious beach house located, as you could guess, right on the beach. It included a grand outdoor swimming pool, a games room, a gym, a spa, wonderful rooms with a gorgeous view of the scenery outside, excellent facilities and amazing room service. The group couldn't have asked for more.

They all gathered in Brian and Michelle's room, which arguably had the best view of the beautiful beach out of all the rooms. It had a lovely balcony that overlooked the entire beach and provided a perfect place to sit down and relax to the sound of the ocean, the swaying palm trees and the singing birds. Mich had taken the time to enjoy such a pleasure whilst Brian helped her sister find any trace of the two missing bandmates. She had only returned indoors a few times, staying in when Brian and Val arrived with everyone else to report their findings.

"So, any news for us?" Zacky asked once everyone settled down in the room. Syn sadly shook his head.

"Not really, no. All we know is that Matt's bag went missin' from the boat, but that's it. There's no trace of them."

"Wait, hold on... I did notice somethin' when I got off of the boat." Lacey then spoke up. Syn's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What? What is it, Lacey?"

"The life ring was gone, didn't you guys notice that?" She questioned. Everyone looked at each other.

"I didn't think there even was one..." Zacky murmured.

"I'm sure there was, though. Otherwise we probably wouldn't have been allowed to take it on the water." Mich commented. "Val, did you see a life ring holder on the boat?"

"I'll be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to things like that. Did you see anything, Brian?"

"Not that I can recall... I searched inside the boat and you searched the back deck."

Lacey sighed and looked around at everyone. "Well, that's helpful isn't it?"

"Why didn't you tell us this before, Lace?" Johnny enquired.

"It only just came to me..."

Synyster gave a hopeless sigh and plopped down onto the bed beside his girlfriend, who ran her hand up and down his back soothingly. He burrowed his head within his own hands and fell silent. He was losing hope, fast. Val's eyes fell to the floor, not sure of where to turn.

"How about we check tomorrow morning to see if the ring is there or not, or if there even was a holder. That'll surely give us some clue. If there's supposed to be a ring but nothing, we've got a hope that they could have taken it before going overboard and they might be alive. If there's a ring there, very low chance. Same if there's no ring at all." Johnny suggested. Everyone exchanged looks with one another and agreed.

"Then that's what we'll do tomorrow morning. Let's all get some rest now though, there's not much we can do at this time of night." Synyster spoke, and soon, everyone else left for their rooms, leaving Syn, Mich and Val.

"Sis, you can stay here tonight if you want. I know sleeping alone is hard.." Mich offered kindly. Val managed a small smile and nodded, gratefully accepting her offer. With that, Mich helped her sister to settle down on the couch, which Val didn't mind. It was better than being in a room on her own.


All she could hope for was a breakthrough. Perhaps that desperately needed breakthrough would arrive in the morning...

Notes