So, what do you think?" A voice whispered in the darkness of the dense forest. Two pairs of beady eyes peered out of the shrubbery of the undergrowth and observed the small camp on the beach with the smoldering remains of the campfire smoking away. The owners of the eyes remained deadly still as not to make a sound. They watched for movement, they watched for signs of life. They watched for the island guests.

"I can't see through trees, Atlas." A second voice replied. It was much deeper and sounded like gravel. "And my eyes are certainly not as good as yours. What am I lookin' for?"

"Can you see that camp?" The first voice asked, glancing at the figure beside him.

"Ah, I see... Still can't see through logs though." The voice said. The first figure groaned as quietly as he could muster.

"Look, in there are two men. I watched 'em wash up, I watched 'em set up and I've been watchin' 'em rest. There's a big guy, tattooed and whatnot. Muscular, like ol' Foster. Clearly a tough guy. Then there's this skinny beanpole kinda guy. Seems smart, looks a lil' weak to me though... Anyway, they both sound American, I'd say SoCal-"

"Fucking hell, Atlas. How on Earth can you figure that out?"

A quiet chuckle escaped Atlas's lips and he cracked a grin, although it was hard to make out within the shadows. "Because I've been to those places. I know what they sound like. Y'know I love to travel."

Suddenly, they fell to a deathly silence. They observed a tall, buff man crawling out from the camp, rising to his feet and walking along the sand. His feet scarcely raising from the floor, he kicked the surface in front of him, sending the tiny granules flying. His arms dangled by his side, head hanging low. He yawned a few times, then stopped in his tracks and looked out towards the sea.

"Val..." He groaned, "Please, please arrive soon... I don't think we'll last long here...I miss you, I love you..." He stood still for a while, his back turned to the forest. Atlas was tempted to make a move, but his companion held him back. After an eternity of waiting, the man trudged back to the camp, heaving a heavy sigh.

"Was that him, Atlas?" Came the second voice after several minutes of waiting had passed.

"That's the guy." Atlas replied. "I haven't caught his name yet, but I'll tell you when I know more."

"Y'think Foster'll like him? I mean, he doesn't really like big guys..."

"We'll have to see, Micro. Now come on, help me shift this food so we can keep the bastards alive. Ol' Gravedigger needs a break, don't you think?"

Micro nodded, slipping out of position and onto the beach. Atlas followed close, heaving a large bag over his shoulder. They hurried over to the camp without making a sound where possible and dumped the bag a few steps away from the log hut that had been constructed. With the task done, they made a swift dash back to the forest. They disappeared into the darkness, plants and leaves rustling as they were moved out of the way. Yet, those asleep within the camp did not wake at the sound. Sleep carried them through the night without any more disruptions.

---

The next morning, the bandmates were greeted to a wonderful wake-up call by nothing but relentless rain. Droplets of water hammered down from the heavens in an unforgiving manner and everything was soaked.

The vocalist was thankful they'd made their camp underneath a tree, for it sheltered them from most of the weather. However, a few drops passed through the leaves above and through the cracks separating the branches, finding their way inside. Matt let out a loud groan and snatched the blanket from Jimmy, draping it over himself. The drummer rolled over right into Matt's leg, grumbled something under his breath and sat upright.

"Matt, you ass, gimme that!" He whined, tugging at the blanket, "It's cold!"

"Yeah and it's rainin' too. You've got the waterproofs, wear them." Matt replied.

Jimmy shook his head and sighed, unfolding the waterproofs that the vocalist had used as a pillow. They were covered in sand and some of the bigger man's drool. It was better than nothing though, Jimmy supposed. He slipped on the waterproofs and glanced down at himself. The clothing seemed to be made for literal giants; the waist was massive and the pants came up to his stomach. Even at his height, they were huge on him. Then again, he was stick thin. That wasn't helping much. Matt looked over his shoulder at the drummer and chuckled.

"Rev, that looks like a dress on you!" He laughed, "It's huge!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that, Captain Obvious."

Matt shook his head and cracked a grin, turning to peek outside of the den. The clouds were graphite gray and loomed overhead in a daunting way. In the distance, a loud boom rumbled above them, accompanied by a sudden flash that illuminated the world around them for a second. The waves had grown again and were crashing against the rocky coast with such a force. Matt couldn't help but remember the horrible night in which they were stranded, trapped in those waves and...

He didn't want to remember that. He glanced away, shaking his head. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an unfamiliar object. Had he left their bag out overnight? But as he checked behind him, their bag was inside, leaning against the thick trunk of the tree, safe from the weather. Huh?

With the blanket draped over his head and shoulders, Matt crawled out of the den and scampered over to the bag. He grabbed hold of it, slung it over his shoulder and hurried to return inside, dumping the bag down besides their kit bag. Jimmy looked over in curiosity and shifted over, eager to get a glimpse of what was inside.

"Before I open it, any guesses?" Matt asked.

"Umm... No idea. Open it!"

He chuckled and began to unzip the soaked bag at once. As soon as it was open, the vocalist peered inside. His face lit up with delight. A wonderful smell was coming from within, and the drummer could hear his stomach roaring.

"How hungry are you, dude?" Matt then asked, looking up at the older man.

"Are you deaf? It's like a lion lives in here! I'm starvin'!" He yelled, patting his empty stomach.

Matt grinned from ear to ear, then plunged a hand deep into the bag and produced quite a large apple, which he tossed at his best friend.

"Bon appetit, motherfucker!"

The drummer beamed as he caught the apple in his hands. Without a second of hesitation, he began chomping down on it, licking his lips and savouring the sweet taste. Sure it wasn't anything like a burger or whatever, but it was food.

The vocalist chuckled once again and dug himself out a portion of fruit from the bag. The two continued to wolf down food until they could barely eat, and there remained hardly anything inside the bag. Nothing but a few portions left. Oh well, Matt thought, they could live 3 weeks without food. They'd be fine.

"Right, so what's the plan of action now, Shads?" Jimmy asked, leaning against the thick tree trunk. The vocalist sat down beside him and shrugged.

"Well, whatever you want really. The weather's shit though, so that kinda limits our options if you're planning on stayin' dry."

"Is there nothin' else in that bag? Like, except food?"

Matt shook his head no. Despite the answer, Jimmy took the bag and rummaged through it. Food, food and... a small note. Jimmy grabbed it and brought it close so he could read.

'Conserve your energy, you're gonna need it tomorrow.

Good luck.
-TD'

"What the hell's this supposed to mean?" Jimmy questioned, reading over the note again and again. Matt snatched it from his large hands and examined it for himself. Eventually, he scrunched it up in his huge paws and tossed it out.

"Eh, nothing important." He shrugged.

"Shads! Don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

The drummer facepalmed hard. "Matt, that means someone else is on this island!"

"Well where the hell are they? Why haven't they got the balls to talk to us properly? Do they have a boat?" Matt droned on, while Jimmy just sighed and got up. "Where ya goin'?"

"Outside. I'll be back in a bit." He answered, flipping up his hood and stepping out into the rain. Matt watched for a while until Jimmy headed out of sight, and his eyes fell onto the scrunched up note. He could only wonder what would possibly occur to them tomorrow. Were they going to be kidnapped? Jimmy mentioned other people on the island. Nah, that wouldn't really happen, right? Maybe they were going to have to swim again? Fuck no, not in a million years. Not in that sea, Matt told himself.

Well, it looked like he would just have to wait and see...

---

"See, I told you! There is a life ring holder!"

Lacey stood on the deck of the boat, right beside a bright orange holder, one with a bit of rope attached to tie the ring up. The ring was nowhere in sight, the rope untied and dangling. In front of Lacey stood Syn and Johnny. Syn was dressed in a casual pair of torn jeans and a black jacket, while Johnny wore a pair of swim shorts and a hoodie. He wouldn't be swimming though; the weather had turned again, although the rain was merely spitting at them. The harbour was particularly quiet for this reason, with many people indoors, enjoying staying dry and keeping warm. That's exactly what Zacky and the other girls were doing, after Syn had insisted. There was no point of going out if you didn't need to, right?

"Right, so there's a holder but no ring. You're tellin' us there's a chance they're alive?" Johnny asked his wife, who gave a positive nod.

"Slow down shorty, how can we tell? Who's sayin' they didn't get separated from the ring and drowned? I'm not tryin' to be negative or whatever, I'm just tryin' to be realistic and suggest we don't get our hopes up." Syn said, scratching the back of his head.

"Fair point... Do we get a search team to look for 'em?"

"Might be advisable. If it comes to it, we'll search the other islands, they can search the waters."

"Wait, what if they find them and they're dead..?" Lacey then inquired. The guitarist sighed.

"Well... I suppose it'll be better knowing that they're dead rather than bein' left without answers.."

Johnny and Lacey gave solemn nods. Syn then turned to face the harbour and approached the edge of the boat, climbing over and standing on the wooden platform that reached out from the coast. The pair followed close behind and they walked back to the hotel to give the rest of the party the news. While it wasn't much of a breakthrough, it was something, a single glimmer of hope.

Later in the day, a search team was set up to scour the waters, hoping to recover their bodies. Meanwhile, Brian, Mich and Zacky decided that they would go to each and every island looking for their beloved brothers. After stocking the boat with supplies and equipment, they said their (hopefully temporary) goodbyes and set off to their first location. This left Johnny, Val, Lacey and Meag behind, who had all decided to stay and wait in case the missing men found their way or the search teams discovered something.


Right now though, anything was possible.

Notes