RIPTIDE | Rafe Cameron

44. 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥

this is a double update, read 43 first!

"Guys, guys, wake up!" Pope's voice startles me, mid nightmare as my eyes flash open in shock, "There's a plane!"

I look up at the sky to see what he's referencing, expecting it to be just a part of his dream, but he's right, there's a plane flying in the sky above us. I watch as Pope grabs a lighter from his jacket and runs off down the beach, Cleo slowly sitting up beside me.

"Did he just say?" She mumbles as my gaze stays transfixed on the sky.

"Plane." I reply with a smile.

"Oh," She whispers with a grin, standing up from the sand.

"Guys, wake up!" I turn to our friends, scrambling to my feet and nudging each of them one by one, JJ stirring from his sleep first.

"What's wrong?" He mutters as I stare back at him with a beaming smile.

"There's a plane," I grin, pointing over my shoulder at the sky, watching Cleo run in the same direction that Pope just ran.

"Holy shit," JJ exhales, standing up and shaking John B's shoulder, "Rise and shine, Johnny boy."

I crouch beside Kiara and tap her shoulder gently, watching as her eyes open slowly, "Morning Kie, you wanna see something cool?"

"What?" She groans.

"It's a fucking plane," I smile, gesturing to the sky as she sits up straight. I look over my shoulder to see John B and Sarah running down towards the sea, John B flailing his arms in an attempt to catch the pilot's attention.

"Hey! We're over here!" John B shouts as I pull Kiara up from the sand, looking to my side to see JJ hesitating, looking between John B and I as Kiara runs down to the beach.

"Come on," I gesture towards the beach with a reassuring smile.

We dash to join our friends, Kiara and John B continuing to shout in an attempt to get the pilot's attention. JJ's silence concerns me, and as I look at him I see the disappointment in his eyes, and there's little joy about our potential rescue.

"Hey! We're here!" Kiara joins in with Sarah and John B's exclamations.

The plane continues to fly past the island, and I'm not convinced that the pilot sees us, and any speck of hope that had been sparked in that moment has vanished. Once again, something good slipped through our fingers, the way it always does.

"Come back! Please!" Sarah shouts, not daring to give up hope.

I begin using my foot to draw a star in the sand, the only thing that's been providing me with comfort recently is those stars, my flickers of hope. I watch my foot trace the shape slowly, imagining Rafe's fingers trailing over my skin.

"He sees us," Kiara's voice cuts through my emotional haze, "Guys, he sees us."

"He's gonna go to the pond!" John B tells us, "Come on!"

John B begins running, and Sarah and Kiara are close behind, but as I look over my shoulder at my best friend, I see him staring at the little home we all created here.

"Nothing changes, J," I assure him, holding out my hand, "Something I learnt a little while ago, is that home doesn't have to be a place."

Wordlessly, he takes my hand and we begin following after our friends, heading straight for the pond, which is realistically the only place you could land a plane on this island. Everything I've felt in this last month is dissipated by the relief of seeing this plane, it's our lifeline, it's our way home.