Act 1, Chap 3: The Children of Lightach.

Melanie and Flora went through the bag that Flora and Junior had grabbed that night. Flora caught something that passed Melanie by that she made sure to hide from her, knowing that Melanie’s reaction to it wouldn’t be a good one.

Across the room, Nolan stared out the window. He watched the colors that he’d spotted earlier in the night.

“How likely is it that we’re going to forget everything tonight?” Flora started a conversation with Melanie, not paying much attention to Nolan.

Melanie shrugged. “If Nathaniel, Brianne, or Oliver would around it would be almost certain that we’d forget. Now that they’re gone, I’m not sure.”

“Is it the spirit that cleanses or is it the proctors?” Flora took a drink from her water bottle, reading the paper that she was keeping from Melanie.

Melanie frowned slightly. “Good question. For our sake, I hope it’s not the spirit.”

“Would it really matter if it was?” Nolan chimed in, keeping his focus outside the window. “There’s four people on the island right now who have either broken through or are in the process of breaking through. From what I’ve seen, the spirit goes after them. That means Olivia, Tad, Frank, and Melanie are in trouble.”

“The spirit seemed pretty determined to find Oliver, so they may be okay for now.” Flora folded the paper and stood up, slipping it into her back pocket. She turned to look at Nolan, whose face had gone pale white as he got to his feet and backed away from the window. “What’s going on?”

Without waiting for a response, Flora went to the window and looked out. Of all the people outside the window, the one she focused on was a man that turned away from the apartments and began walking towards the gravesite. “Can we go now?”

Flora nodded, quickly leaving the building with Nolan while Melanie stayed put.

Julio and Frank were the first people that Flora and Nolan ran into when they left the building. Julio immediately tried to get Nolan to leave. “It’s not safe for you, they’re looking for you.”

“Who is?” Nolan looked among the people who were present, not spotting anyone he recognized.

“I am.” He turned around, he stood face-to-face with the woman in the blue tunic, her two index fingers and thumbs in a triangle formation. “You tricked me earlier, Mr. Macon. Now I have a bigger issue revolving around you.”

Flora pulled Nolan back as the spirit reached out to him, putting herself between Nolan and the spirit whenever Nolan was far enough. “Let’s use our words to solve this.”

The spirit looked at Flora, perplexed. “I’m afraid this doesn’t concern you, Mrs. Wynne. Step out of the way.”

“No matter, if she steps out of the way then I’ll get in the way.” Julio took a stand next to Flora. “You came into our home and right now you’re trying to put your hands on a kid who has nothing to do with what you’re looking for.”

Nolan leaned forward, whispering to Flora. Flora nodded. “How did Nolan trick you? Nobody knows where Oliver is, we’ve been looking for him too.”

The spirit shook its head. “This is not about Mr. Barker.” The spirit looked past Flora and Julio, focusing on Nolan. “The boy disturbed my island before Mr. Barker did and ended up gifted.”

“That’s not possible.” Nolan looked at Flora with pleading eyes. “I have no idea what it’s talking about.”

“Tell them to step out of the way and I can show you what it is I mean.”

Flora and Julio looked back at Nolan who nodded with hesitation. The two stepped out of the way and the spirit took about three steps forward before a flash of color hit Nolan. The boy opened his eyes and saw someone new standing in front of him.

“I gotta agree with Flora, I think we should use our words.” The person in front of Nolan turned their head briefly, a bit of relief going over Nolan once he realized it was Oliver who was now between him and the spirit. “You almost lost your life right there, buddy, don’t trust what you don’t know.” Oliver scanned over the situation in front of him, nodding and tapping his index fingers together. “I don’t like this, I’m going to be honest with all of you.”

“What specifically?” Julio seemed hesitant to talk to Oliver.

“The odds aren’t at all in your favor, none of you.” Oliver seemed pretty calm, despite speaking out against what was happening. “I have to go in less than a minute and my choices are very limited here.”

Oliver only seemed to panic whenever the group behind the spirit began to move, his attention falling on the man that Flora had seen earlier from the window. His face fell as he began to whisper, putting his fingers into a triangle.

---

Olivia’s last day home was a normal day.

She woke up at eight, made breakfast for Tad. She went for a walk, talked to her mom over the phone while she walked through the neighborhood.

After the court case had taken an extended break by Olivia’s request, she and Oliver had gotten into a pretty bad argument that stopped communication between the siblings. Olivia knew that their mom knew why he reacted so poorly, but she would never tell her. Olivia asked about it daily. “Mom, you already know what I’m going to ask. This is the last time I’m going to ask you and if you do tell me, I want you to be completely honest with me. I know Oliver told you why he’s upset with me, can you please tell me?”

Her mother sighed on the other end of the phone. “Liv, have you asked him yourself?”

“Why would I ask someone else before I ask him?” Olivia caught herself, a frown settling on her face. “I’m sorry, I just want to know what’s going on with him. I have tried talking to him, but he won't talk to me. Purna will talk to me but she’s very selective about what she says.”

Her mother didn’t say anything for about a minute before she sighed again, making it very clear to Olivia that she was tired of the conversation already. “Your brother is upset because he feels like you’re not thinking about the people that you’ve rounded into this case. You put the case on hold and if it goes past sixty days, it’s considered abandoned and it’s a loss for you and your team. That doesn’t have much of an effect on you or most of your lawyers but it does affect your family and Purna. We’ve all stepped out of our comfort zones to assist you, Oliver moved across the state to be able to help you. The way Purna’s professors are looking at this case is based on evidence, with the evidence that we have it should be an easy win and if she doesn’t win this case, she gets dropped and deported.”

Olivia stopped walking, looking around herself before she hung upon her mother, immediately calling her brother. He didn’t answer with the first or the second call, but on the third he picked up. Olivia knew she would have to talk first or he was just going to hang up on her. “Why did nobody tell me that if I dropped the case that Purna was going to get deported?”

“Hold on.” Olivia listened to the background noise, noticing by the sudden sound of wind that her brother was leaving a building. “Nobody told you because she trusted that you would make the right decision on your own. She told us not to say anything.”

“Why didn’t you make the right call and tell me anyway?” Olivia turned around and started walking home. “Oliver, this is serious.”

“You don’t think that I understand that?” Oliver’s tone wasn’t very welcoming from the start, but it got worse as the conversation progressed. “Let’s avoid saying that something is right because it’s very clear that the right way isn’t always gone about. I didn’t tell you because I also thought that at some point, you would realize what was happening around you. It’s been fifty-two days since you put the case on hold, your entire family had given up that hope and when I say this, I hope that you understand it’s nothing against you, but I wish Purna would give up that hope.”

Olivia ended the call without another word between her and her brother. She didn’t hear from him or their mother again after those calls.

Once she got home, she went to sit at the table with Tad, who was finishing up his breakfast. “I want to leave. I want us to pack our bags and leave the states.”

Tad agreed with the idea for his own reasons, but they spent that afternoon packing bags and booked two tickets for that night to catch a plane to Puerto Rico.

The only person that Olivia reached out to before she left was Purna. She called her while she was at the airport after Purna had called her multiple times throughout the day. “I think I’ve found a way to solve this that works for both of us.”

“Olivia, where are you?” Purna sounded panicked, which was unusual for Olivia to hear. “Why haven’t you been answering?”

Olivia broke off from Tad for a moment, taking herself to the window that overlooked the planes taking off. “Because if I answered any sooner than now, you would have talked me out of it. Tad and I are leaving for Puerto Rico in less than an hour.”

“What airport?” Olivia looked behind her, spotting a pilot walking towards the boarding gates. Despite him wearing a hat, she could tell that the pilot was bald. He seemed confident.

“Don’t worry about it.” Olivia sighed, looking out at the field in front of her. “Why have you been calling?”

“Because I heard what Oliver said to you and I want to talk to you myself.” Purna paused, her voice sounding sad whenever she spoke again. “Regardless of what I say to you, you’re not going to change your mind, right?”

Olivia nodded, tears building up in her eyes. “Right.”

Olivia heard Purna take a shaky breath on the other end of the call. “Then tell me one thing. Do you really want to do what you’re doing? Do you believe that this is a choice that you have made for yourself and would stand by?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Olivia wiped her nose with her sleeve, leaning against the window. “Hey, I’ve gotta get going. Thank you for what you’ve done for me, good luck in your studies. Take care of Oliver for me. I know he’s really upset with me and this isn’t going to make him feel any better, but I hope he understands why I chose to do it.”

---

Nolan awoke in his room the next morning, unsure of how he got there but believing it had something to do with the triangle that Oliver had thrown out. He knew he remembered the night before, but his concern was that Flora and Melanie wouldn’t.

He went down to the kitchen while Rocky and Amos were cooking breakfast. Chaz was there as well, it looked as if he was making a spreadsheet of what was left in the kitchen. “Chaz, are you doing inventory?”

Chaz looked back at Nolan and smiled. “I am. Good morning, Nolan.”

Nolan smiled back and looked at the cooks. “We’ve never done inventory before, have we?”

Rocky shook his head. “We’ve never had a reason to but I feel like something weird is happening with the food so I asked Chaz to take charge of it.”

There was one part of the night before that Nolan did forget that resurfaced once Rocky said that he believed something weird was happening with the food. What the spirit said hit him once again, feeling like a ton of bricks just rested on his body. “Better safe than sorry, I guess.” Nolan looked at his feet and left the kitchen.

Leaving the kitchen, Nolan ran into Flora and Melanie. They took him into the library and spoke in very hushed voices. “Nolan, you need to tell us if you knew beforehand. Were you keeping it from us intentionally?”

“No, I had no idea.” Nolan slipped his hand into his right pocket, messing with his pocket knife. “Do you think there’s a way to reverse it?”

“I don’t think we’re the ones to ask.” Flora crossed her arms. “Oliver or Nathaniel would be the ones who have the answer for you. Either of them, maybe the spirit, maybe Brianne.” Flora seemed to trail off. “It seemed that the spirit was trying to take it from you last night and that Oliver stopped it. What’s the significance of the triangle? What happens if you do it?”

Nolan took his right hand from his pocket and set his index fingers and thumbs in a triangle formation, anxiously waiting for nothing to happen. He stood with his hands like that for about two minutes before throwing them to his side. “Nothing. Nothing does.”

Melanie frowned, seeming like she wanted to talk but she didn’t want to at the same time. “When I saw Oliver and Nathaniel do it, they were whispering something.”

Flora nodded. “That happened last night with Oliver too.”

“I don’t know what to say and I don’t want to risk getting caught up in something that I shouldn’t, so I’m just going to say that I can’t do it.” Nolan avoided their gaze, letting out a sigh. “What are you guys doing for the day?”

Melanie held up a sheet of paper. “I actually need to leave like this second, I’m following up on something that Leo had written down. He says that something happens on the pier at a very specific time, I’m going to figure out what it is.”

Flora seemed very uncomfortable after Melanie left and never answered the initial question. “I faked that note. Last night I found a map, Purna had it written down that the location it leads to is Jerry’s body. I want Melanie as far away as I can have her on the off chance that it’s true.” She uncrossed her arms. “Julio and Frank are going out to look for Oliver since Julio saw him last night. For you, I’d recommend either going with them or looking for Nathaniel yourself. You would probably have better luck reaching him than Oliver would since you’re not a vengeful being that’s targeting him.”

“What if he tricks me the way he tricked Oliver? What if I run into the spirit again? Why can’t I just go with you? Why can’t I take Melanie somewhere worth investigating instead of knocking us both out for the day?”

Nolan finally looked up to meet Flora’s eyes, she offered a kind smile. She could tell that he was struggling. “You’ve been out where Julio and Frank are going before, you would be able to help them. Melanie is in a difficult spot right now and to be honest with you, I’m right there with her, the difference is that it’s not my ex-husband’s body. I had no connection to Jerry so it’s easier for me.” Flora paused, seeming to think in the moment. “I can’t think of a single person that I’ve met on this island that doesn’t trust you, which is why I recommended finding Nathaniel. I also know that Oliver cares about you and would come out of hiding if it was you who was searching.”

“What if I fail?” Nolan spoke quietly, afraid that by speaking it any louder that he would somehow manifest it.

Flora rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder, her smile staying on her face. “Then that makes you human, just like the rest of us. No matter what you do or where you go, you’ll still have a home to come back to, you’ll still have people who are going to stand by your side.”

She pulled away, offering a small wave as she left the library.

Nolan took a few steps outside the library, immediately getting confronted by Kelly. “I’m going out into the jungle with Mark, Zoey, and Keith. Are you coming with us or not?”

He froze, his body trembling as he began to fear that Kelly had told him about this trip before and that he’d just forgotten. “How long has this been planned?”

Kelly looked at her watch and shrugged. “About twenty minutes. So what’s the verdict, Macon Man?”

[Go into the jungle with Kelly, Mark, Zoey, and Keith.]
[Search for Oliver with Frank and Julio.]
[Search for Nathaniel by yourself.]
[Search for Nathaniel with Melanie.]

Hello! I wanted to sincerely apologize as I've not had internet access on my computer for the past few months. It's made writing very difficult but today I now have internet and I'm back to it! Just because it's been a bit, I've decided to end this part with a vote so I have time between parts to refresh my own knowledge and set a very loose goal for the end of the chapter. That being said, this chapter is very likely to be longer than the rest of the chapters have been so far!

---

Nolan gave a sheepish smile, walking around Kelly. “Sorry, I already made plans to go with Frank and Julio today. Maybe next time, yeah?”

Kelly looked on at him, seeming a bit suspicious of him. “Okay, sure, next time.”

He left the apartment building, quickly finding Frank and Julio by spotting Julio’s brown suit. Nolan recognized it from the day Julio arrived on the island. He ran to catch up with the two, feeling unprepared since both the men with him brought backpacks and all he had was his pocket knife.

Entering the jungle, Nolan could immediately tell it was going to be different from when he went with Oliver and Kelly. Stepping under the roof of the trees caused a spike of anxiety in the boy as he looked around, trying to recognize where exactly they were.

“You know, Julio, I never thought you would agree to something like this.” Frank led them, seeming to keep more vigilant than Nolan was. “It’s not like you, not from what I know about you, anyways.”

Julio looked confused but nodded. After staying silent, he eventually caved and asked. “Alright, I’ll bite. What is it that you know about me?”

“I know that you’re a diplomat from New York who has a really strong hatred for Colombians that prevented him from getting the votes for senator.” While Nolan expected Julio to be angry, he laughed and ran his hand through his hair. “You got a bit of a tendency to get in bar fights whenever you go to other states, the amount of women that you’ve fought is almost equal to the amount of men that you’ve fought.”

“Listen, other people in politics may be cool with people slamming their work and threatening their lives, I’m not and if someone has something to say about it then we can talk. If they’re there to try and hit me, I never throw the first punch.”

Nolan chuckled, covering his mouth as the two men looked back at him. “I’m sorry, I just thought it was funny that the spirit picked Purna for you. She’s Colombian.” Nolan’s smile faded, he immediately looked to the ground. “Nevermind, it makes sense. It was trying to cure your hatred.”

He stopped paying attention to where they were whenever Frank and Julio started joking around with each other, his anxiety slowly falling off. Julio eventually asked him a question that he hadn’t thought of before. “You never dyed your hair after arriving on the island, did you?” Nolan shook his head. Julio and Frank stopped for a moment to look over Nolan’s hair. “What do you think, Frank? How long has the dye been coming out?”

Frank squinted, taking a lock of Nolan’s hair in his hands. “If I had to guess, I would say it’s been four to six months since it was last dyed. The top layer is pastel but the bottom layer is almost midnight blue so it would have been getting washed every single day for around four months to turn into that pastel that’s on top.” He let go of Nolan’s hair and continued walking, Julio and Nolan following behind him.

Nolan tuned the two out for a moment, trying to piece together what his own hair had just revealed. “I’ve never had a haircut, either. Whenever I disturbed the island, I stopped changing physically. That sounds right to me because I remember that Oliver told me that being gifted was physically the same as being dead.”

He continued looking at his feet, trying to make sense of his thoughts as he went on. He could hear Julio and Frank’s voices getting farther from him before he finally looked up, immediately recognizing the location as the place he disappeared from whenever he went with Kelly and Oliver.

He stayed frozen in place, goosebumps took over his arms and legs as he watched Frank and Julio go further into the jungle. He couldn’t call out to the men, his voice was muted by the jungle’s birds.

“This was a bad time to break you away from them, but it’s the best choice that I had.” Nolan turned to see Oliver standing a few feet behind him, his arms were crossed and a somber look rested on his face. His left eye seemed fine, but Nolan knew what it meant and he knew better than to comment on it. “I want to start by saying that I had no idea you were what you are until yesterday evening. Why are you out here?’

Nolan pointed towards Julio and Frank, then lowered his hand. “We were out here looking for you. Where did you come from?”

Oliver looked up at the trees, seeming to think for a minute. “The best I can answer that is by saying around, I haven’t been in a single location this entire time.”

It wasn’t until Oliver looked directly at him that Nolan realized what exactly Oliver had said before. “You were what you are. What does that mean? It’s been gifted for talks about you, Nathaniel, and Brianne but you’re phrasing it like I’m something else.”

He nodded. “You tried the triangle last night and it didn’t work. It didn’t work because you aren’t like us, your gift is more of a responsibility to the island. That group that was outside the apartments last night is a group that you’re supposed to lead, a group of children who’ve been born on the island and banished by the spirit. That’s why the spirit was trying to touch you last night, it was trying to rid you of that responsibility because you have a goal that is a detriment to the island.”

He started walking in the direction that Frank and Julio went, motioning for Nolan to follow. “How did that happen? I wasn’t born here.”

“No, but you were the youngest person here when the first child in this batch of islanders was born.” Oliver stopped and pointed at a group of older children holding spears at Frank and Julio, they were defending younger children. “They have two gifted protectors so I can’t get any closer without setting them off. I have no idea what’s going to happen if you go up but I recommend that you do go.”

With that, Oliver made a triangle with his fingers and disappeared, leaving Nolan by himself.

Not even a full moment after Oliver phased away, two people phased in front of Nolan, their hands were in an upside down triangle. He figured that they were the gifted protectors that Oliver had mentioned.

The two looked in Frank and Julio’s direction, then back at Nolan. “What is it that you say we do?” The one that spoke wore a brown jacket with fake white fur lining the inside of it.

Nolan looked at Frank and Julio, hurrying to their aid. He put himself between the men and the spears, looking straight into the eyes of the girl directly in front of him. “Please, put down your weapons and I’ll have them leave.”

The girl stayed focused on Nolan as the children around her lowered their weapons, hers staying drawn on Nolan. The younger kids looked confused as the girl refused to stand down, even as the protectors moved to take the spear from her. The protectors called out to her multiple times, but the girl’s eyes never broke from Nolan’s eyes.

Frank eased his way to Nolan’s side, his voice in a whisper as he finally realized the look in the girl’s eyes. “She knows you and she sure as hell don’t like you.” He paused, snapping his fingers. “I’ve seen her face before.”

“Where?” Julio was suddenly at Nolan’s right side, the two men guiding the boy back as the protectors finally managed to get the spear from the girl. “I don’t know her.”

A slight look of annoyance crossed Frank’s face as he crossed his arms. “I’ll have to check my stuff later, but I don’t have an answer for that right now.”

One of the protectors spoke up, holding the spear he’d taken from the girl. “No need, we know their connection.” The man’s figure turned to face Nolan. “Are we allowed to inform these two?” Nolan nodded, nervous to hear about it for himself. The protector then turned to the other one, tossing the spear into the air. “Talking stick is yours.”

The other protector snatched the spear from the air. It was when they grasped the spear in the air that Nolan realized that one of the protectors was a man and the other was a woman. The woman’s clothes were likely intentionally baggy while the man’s were intentionally form-fitting.

The female protector looked over the spear as the children around them suddenly pulled down masks that covered their faces and matched their protectors' masks, the only exception was the girl who still stood staring at Nolan. Nolan looked at Frank and Julio, seeing they were both confused and a bit surprised by what was going on around them.

The female protector looked at the girl who had had her spear taken away, waiting to see if she would put her mask on. The protector shrugged and ran her fingers along the spear, stopping when her thumb reached the tip of the blade. “You left her for dead years ago.” The protector looked up to the sky, her thumb gently tapping the tip of the spear as she seemed to be counting. “About sixteen years ago. You two were new to the island, two dumb kids who thought it would be smart to run and see the island at night because the adults wouldn’t let them go far during the day.”

The girl reached out and took the spear from the female protector. “It was the night Kelly was born. Everyone was so caught up in delivering the baby that you thought we could sneak out and not be caught. You and I ran, we went past the fence, past the totems, past the crosses and we ran into the man with red hair.” The girl paused, studying Nolan’s reactions. “Do you remember him? Do you remember me?”

Nolan slowly shook his head. “I don’t, I’m sorry…”

The girl looked at the male protector, who already looked to know what she was going to ask. He looked at his female companion and stretched out his hands. “Do we do this for him? We already know that one of them has been around and if we drain ourselves, we’re risking all of these children.”

“One of them, do you mean one of the island’s guardians?” Nolan spoke, his voice trembling. He wanted nothing more than to know what the girl was talking about. “The guardian was Oliver, he was here but he’s gone. He won’t do anything to hurt anyone here.”

The protectors stayed quiet, one of them letting out a sigh before the female spoke. “You don’t know what happens to the guardians when the spirit roams. They have no control, just one goal that the spirit sets for them that they’ll pursue until it’s complete or they’re released from the spirit’s control by the sun’s light. They don’t remember what they do and their physical strength is almost unmatched whenever they’re set on a goal, you can’t fight them so you have to outsmart them.”

Frank seemed to be interested in figuring out the identity of the protectors, Nolan could tell he was focusing very heavily on each word they said, how they moved, how they spoke, and how they acted. He went behind Nolan and whispered something to Julio, getting a nod in response.

Frank turned to walk away from the situation, Julio reached out and grabbed Nolan by the shoulder, pulling him along. “It’s getting too close to sundown, we can’t stay out much longer.” Nolan tried to pull away, only for Julio to grab his wrist and pull him close. “Give us a few days to figure this out but you can’t stay here, you need to leave.”

Nolan looked into Julio’s eyes, seeing a sense of urgency. He looked back at the protectors and the children, then turned to follow Frank and Julio.

---

Flora’s task took her along the outskirts of the jungle, never going into it but staying along the trees.

She walked for hours, just as Purna’s writings instructed her to. She knew that there were multiple groups out and about so that she would have to be quick and quiet on her way out.

It was about sundown when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to make it back to the apartments before night and that she would have to find a place to stay for the night. She continued walking and eventually came up on what looked to be a campsite.

Nobody was around and the single tent that stood up was empty. It looked like it had been empty for some time before Flora came up on it.

She read over Purna’s writing one more time, noticing she was close to where she needed to be and that she would likely be able to make it to the plotted location in the morning.

Flora stayed at the campsite for the night, crawling into the tent and lying on the ground. She rested her left hand on her stomach while her right arm acted as a pillow for her head.

She anxiously messed with her wedding ring, letting out a sigh. She knew that there was going to be a major issue when she returned as she hadn’t told Junior that she was leaving and she surely didn’t expect to be gone the entire night.

It wasn’t long that Flora was lying down before she fell asleep in the tent.

---

Nolan and Julio had gone to Frank’s apartment with him before dinner, the three of them hoping that he would have an answer about the girl that they knew.

Frank was able to multitask, looking through his files while discussing the protectors with the two men. “Nolan, do you know why we pulled you away earlier?”

“I’m guessing it’s because you don’t trust them.”

Frank shook his head. “It’s not just that. I realized something whenever the woman was talking, she said that you can’t physically overpower the island’s guardians but you can outsmart them. I didn’t recognize her but I did recognize the other one.” Frank pulled out a file, handing it to Nolan.

Nolan flipped the first page of the file open, revealing a photo of Leo in his captain’s outfit, the next photo was a picture of Melanie and Leo together. Nolan’s eyes froze on the brown jacket with a white interior. It was the same jacket that the male protector had. “How?”

Frank ignored the question but pulled out three more files, clutching onto them as if they had all of the answers inside them. “Even though I didn’t recognize the woman, I noticed that the way she was moving her right arm was consistent with an injury, like her shoulder getting pulled out of socket. What I’m almost certain happened is that when Tad grabbed Leo, he grabbed Purna, and she grabbed a window sill closer to the ground. That broke their fall, but all of Leo’s weight pulling down on her arm more than likely pulled her shoulder out of socket.”

---

Purna started gymnastics when she was five years old. It was a decision her father made after her mother had left him because he had no idea how to handle raising a girl by himself.

The idea behind it was that there would be more girls enrolled in gymnastics and there he would be able to speak to other parents to pick up ideas from them and hopefully make a solid support group for himself while they were there.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that Purna genuinely enjoyed the team, she was good at it, and it was a solid outlet for all of her energy.

He kept her enrolled all through elementary school, where he could see the impact it was having on his daughter’s studying habits.

When she was fourteen, she had gone to gymnastics after school, just as she had done every single day for the past nine years of her life. Once she got older, her dad stopped going with her because he had to work later into the night.

The last night that she had gone to gymnastics, she had agreed to help coach a new member of the team. She was showing her how to handle the bars and in the middle of the demonstration, Purna lost her grip and sent herself slingshotting to the ground.

Because she refused to let go of the bar, the force ended up pulling her right shoulder out of socket. The incident was enough to scare her father into unenrolling her from the team, which at the time, she completely agreed with.

She was asked about it a lot at school, she would always say the decision was just her dad being overprotective. Deep down, though, Purna had an overwhelming fear of being hurt again.

---

Purna took one last look over the edge of the building, then turned to Leo. “I hope you can forgive me.”

She grabbed his arm, shoving him off of the building. She could see Tad, she could see that he had caught Leo by the wrist. She looked up to see Nathaniel was still there, she knew she didn’t have much time before the spirit reached out to her and so she had to make a decision at that very moment.

One step was all that it took. One step off of the ledge and Purna had sent herself going straight for the ground.

What she didn’t realize was that Leo was still holding on outside the window. He grabbed her right wrist and she unintentionally grabbed on to his forearm, pulling him from Tad’s hands.

Knowing that she now had Leo in her grasp, she reached out to grab a window sill or one of the gutters that ran down the building.

She grabbed hold of Leo’s own window sill, she didn’t have a chance to adjust her grip before Leo ended up going down past her, pulling her from the window sill.

The impact was enough to knock both of them out.

When the two regained consciousness, they weren’t in front of the apartments anymore; they were in the jungle.

Leo sat up and immediately went to make sure Purna was okay. The first thing that caught his eye was her right arm. “Let me help you.”

She shook her head, clearly in pain as she backed away from Leo. “Leave it alone, don’t touch me. It’s happened before, I’ll be fine.”

---

While Frank looked through the first file in his own hands, Julio leaned to look over Nolan’s shoulder and read the file in his hands.

Frank stopped on a page and turned it to show the other two. “This is from an interview that her father provided after she and Oliver were reported missing. He talks about how she was in gymnastics when she was younger and he pulled her out after a few years because she was on the bars, she was spinning on them and lost her grip with her left hand. She panicked and when she did, all of her weight pulled down on her right side. She fell and dislocated her shoulder. After a prior injury, it’s easier for it to happen again.”

“If that’s the theory then she fell two days ago now, why wouldn’t she have it fixed by now? She dealt with it before so she knows how to fix it, why hasn’t she done it?” Nolan questioned, his mind still lingering on one question. “If they know who that girl is and my relation to her, do you guys think that Oliver knows?”

The other two men shrugged. “There seems to be some major differences between the protectors and the island’s guardians. The protectors are guarding those kids, they do feel pain, they do get injured. I don’t recall ever seeing Nathaniel, Brianne, or Oliver holding onto an injury for the long term.” Frank was now looking at the second file as he spoke.

“Besides Oliver’s eye.” Julio took one of the files from Frank’s pile, flipping it open to see a picture of Nolan. “That’s the only instance that I can think of.”

“His eye is fine now.” Nolan couldn’t help but glance at the file in Julio’s hands. “The spirit was using his eye as leverage against him. It swore that he wouldn’t have it back until Purna was dead. If they still feel pain and have injuries then the protectors are living, the island’s guardians aren’t living.” Nolan paused, thinking on how to draw his thoughts together. “Purna and Leo outsmarted the spirit and the guardians, which is why they became protectors.”

Frank nodded along, seeming to agree with what Nolan was saying. “Nolan, do you know how to pop a shoulder back into socket? I do, I’m sure George does, Keith and Ronnie do for sure, and I’m almost certain that Boris would know how. Problem with that is she’s not going to let anyone but you around those kids, even if she knows them.”

Nolan shook his head. “Do you think she would trust Oliver? I would think he would know since they knew each other for a while before the island.”

Julio and Frank shared a look before Julio answered Nolan. “I’m not sure. Considering her last experience with Oliver almost killed her when he was supposed to be protecting her, I can see why she would be wary of him, but she also might know more about the guardians than we do. Regardless of who gets sent, you’re going with, so who are you taking with you?”

“Will you guys come with me?” Nolan felt a sudden weight on his chest as he looked around Frank’s apartment.

“That depends.” Frank set his files to the side, crossing his arms. “I’ll go if Keith and Ronnie go because those two are my entire reason for being here, they’re my mission and I need to make progress so either way, my focus is going to be on them.”

“I’ll go if you take Boris and George, just as damage control. They don’t know much about the island yet, but my biggest concern is that if someone has solid knowledge of Purna and Leo being alive, like seeing their faces or identifying their voices, the spirit will know.”

Frank looked to think for a moment. “That’s why it’s a theory. There’s no concrete evidence that Leo and Purna lived, in fact there’s evidence suggesting that they died, they’re gone. We need to keep it that way, under no circumstances can we identify them.”

Nolan looked at his hands, knowing now that Frank was avoiding telling him how he recognized the girl from earlier. “I think it’s important that I go and make an attempt at staying to earn the trust of the children.”

[Bring Frank, Keith, and Ronnie along]
[Bring Julio, George, and Boris along]
[Attempt to recruit Oliver]
[Nolan goes alone]

Oh, that's very interesting! I'm curious as to what your original choice was since the first time I saw your comment, it had already been edited to the current choice.


That is true! Some have more than others and there's been a few hints sprinkled in here and there but through small bits of conversation and memory recollection, there's already someone on the island confirmed to have multiple children with this group. For me, it also brings up a fair amount of theories about Kelly.


This part right here, a very good observation. I can say that Nolan's age has never been reversed, but by the hair conversation he had with Frank and Julio in this part, Nolan actually stopped aging. I can also confirm that this girl he had adventured with also stopped aging the same time that Nolan did, so she's around 16 and appears as such.


The protectors have a lot of abilities that have yet to be seen and I'm actually very excited to show it off. Their abilities are almost the complete opposite of the guardians, for good reason. The next part is mostly done and I believe it covers a lot of information regarding the protectors and the guardians, which will in turn lead us to elarning more about the children and what's going on around them. Lest we forget Flora's little ongoing adventure.

All that being said, the new part should be out Monday night!

[Reveal Talia’s timeline]

That was an interesting part. I'm curious about both options. However the Talia choice might be the more important one for the plot. Also, Nolan can learn more about Emily by just talking to her himself since she remembers everything. He probably wouldn't be able to get much info from Talia since she is so young. 

Purna took her hand away from Nolan, the boy looking up at her as he attempted to settle his mind. “Do you understand the timeline better now?”

He nodded. “It was before the island, about a month before. The neighborhood that you lived in, was it typical for homeless people to show up at your doors? Also, you and Oliver both knew Frank before the island, do you remember any of that?”

“Yes, I do and no, it was very uncommon for our neighborhood.”

Nolan looked at Leo, who was paying attention to his conversation with Purna. “Did something uncommon or strange happen to you within a month of you leaving Massachusetts?”

Leo was still sitting on the ground next to Talia, who was hyper focused on Purna. “Before I bought the boat that I sailed, it never had any issues.The guy I bought it from started it in front of me about three times. The day I took off, it refused to start for anyone but Oliver.”

“Emily, what about us?” As Nolan asked the question, all eyes went to Emily.

“Two weeks before we boarded the plane, to the exact hour and minute.” Emily looked down at Gavin to avoid everyone’s eyes. “You haven’t seemed to change from before the island in the way that you avoid conflict like the plague. Two weeks before we boarded the plane, you just flipped a switch and got into a pretty big fight at Ezra’s party.”

“What made it a strange occurrence? Why is it what you’re remembering as a turning point?”

Emily finally looked at Nolan, a sigh escaping her. “Because you hadn’t even been talking to Jonah for more than five minutes prior. You separated yourself from him and you were on the phone with your mom while we were outside and about to leave when you decided to go back inside and confront Jonah.”

“Jonah?” Nolan crossed his arms. “I’ve never really had an issue with Jonah like that. Who won, though? I’ve always been curious if I could take on Jonah.”

“To save your dignity, I’m just going to say that I recommend you don’t do it if you ever see Jonah again.”

Leo got up from the ground and went to Purna’s side. “Looks like you’ve finally got your answer, what do you think you’ll do with the information?”

She gave a shrug, finally looking at Talia. “What can I do with it? She’s stuck here for the moment, I’m stuck here for an eternity, and Oliver doesn’t have long as a person in general so it’s wise that he doesn’t know about her. Assuming there is a way off the island, I can’t really just send her off to my dad or Oliver’s parents after three, almost four years.”

“You may not be able to, but what’s stopping the federal agent that just arrived?” Leo watched Purna, trying to get her to throw an idea out.

“There’s too many risks associated with that. First, if she was conceived about a month before we got here then there’s an entire eight months after we disappeared that are unaccounted for and will only raise more questions. Second, it’s been almost four years on the island, I have no idea how old she should be on the mainland because that may take the eight months that we had on the island and extend it to years on the mainland.” She looked at Talia and sat on the ground, holding out her hand.

The young girl went to Purna and sat in front of her with her back turned to her as if she already knew what Purna was bringing her over for. Purna took the girl’s hair in her hands and began braiding it. Leo seemed unconfident in what he was going to say next. “She’s also considered illegitimate in the eyes of the law, isn’t she?”

Nolan watched Purna’s face twist as she let go of Talia’s hair and stood back up, immediately facing Leo. “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“I was just asking because I didn’t know what that would do if she ended up going back to the mainland.”

Emily made a quick wave to try and grab Purna’s attention. “Let’s just drop the conversation.”

Nolan looked at Leo and Purna, seeing they had frozen in place. Their focus was no longer on each other, but rather something else around them. Leo spoke quietly to try and keep what he said between the four present.”Nolan, it’s an emergency for you to handle. Purna, you can decide if you want to stay here for it but I’ll be staying for Gavin. Emily, you need to go back to the other children.”

Emily looked confused, quickly turning to Nolan. “What’s going on? What emergency?”

“I don’t know, but listen to him and go to the other kids.” Emily did as Nolan said and ran for the set of tents nearby. Nolan could infer based on what Leo had already said that the emergency was Oliver related. He looked at Purna, who hadn’t moved a step from Leo’s initial warning. “Are you sure you want to stay?”

She nodded. “Not for him, for the two of you. It’s very late and the spirit has a high influence tonight.”

It wasn’t long before Oliver did show up, Nolan spotted him before Leo and Purna did. He seemed about as normal as he’d seen him earlier in the day. Gavin was the first person besides Nolan that Oliver saw, his confusion was evident as he looked towards Nolan to question what was happening. “Why is….” He stopped talking as he met eyes with Leo. The confusion on his face turned into a hurt look as he looked next to Leo and his eyes stopped on Purna. “This is.. overwhelming, Nolan.”

Nolan knew he hadn’t even seen Talia yet, as his focus stayed on Purna. Nolan himself looked at Talia, seeing she was still sitting in place and looking between everyone there. “I get it’s overwhelming but you’re here for a reason, what’s going on?”

Oliver stayed silent and focused on Purna, who didn’t break eye contact for even a second. “Oliver, Nolan asked you a question. What are you doing here?”

“I knew he was here and I needed to warn him. Olivia’s getting a hard reset, which I’m guessing you guys already know about since Gavin’s here, and the spirit is intending to cause a flood to kill Flora the night she reaches the site because she’s getting too close to understanding more than any of us ever did.” Oliver looked at Gavin, a frown settling on his face. “It’s also being used as a way to try and rid the island of the unwanted children.”

“When is Flora due to reach the site?” Leo questioned as everyone watched Oliver go to Gavin’s side.

“Tomorrow night.” Oliver looked at his nephew and sat next to his bed, Nolan still seeing pain on his face. “I’m only telling you guys now because if you take action at this moment, you may be able to save the children or Flora, but I don’t expect you to be able to save both. Especially since they’re the protectors.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Purna questioned him, not realizing that when she did so, he was going to look at her and be directly on eye level with Talia. As Nolan expected, Oliver turned to look at Purna and ended up meeting eyes with Talia. His face went pale as he looked at her, immediately making the connection.

Leo must have also realized this, as he repeated Purna’s question. “What do you mean we can’t help because we’re the protectors?”

Nolan could tell that Oliver wanted to get closer to Talia, but he stayed seated next to Gavin’s bed. “The entire building mourned the death of you two, nobody has forgotten that you two died. If you two show back up then there’s going to be a bigger issue of realities unraveling.”

Leo and Purna began talking to each other in very hushed voices. Nolan noticed that Talia hadn’t stopped looking at Oliver. “Leo, why didn’t you tell Emily to take Talia back to the other children?”

Leo briefly looked at Nolan, then at Talia. “Because she’s his daughter and he knows it, that’s a human connection that can't really be overpowered and it keeps him around for a bit longer to have a more coherent conversation.”

“He’s right, but now I definitely won’t be able to help with Flora now.” Oliver held out a hand towards Talia, prompting the girl to stand and finally go towards him. “I don’t have long before I’m just another pawn to the spirit, but if I can manage to get rid of the gift tonight, I can help with the children. The islander’s memories adapt to changes in the guardians, so they won’t even remember me being gone.”

Talia stopped directly in front of Oliver, who ran a hand through her hair and allowed a smile to cross his face. “For that to happen, Talia would have to go with you.” Leo kept his eyes on Talia, his body language being very standoffish towards everyone around him. “I don’t know how well that’s going to fly over with everyone here.”

“I’ll go with them as well.” Purna broke her silence, her voice very direct. “Nolan, you need to go help Flora. Leo, you inform Emily of what’s happening and then you stay there with the children.”

“Is it really safe for just you and Talia to go?” Nolan crossed his arms.

Purna shook her head. “Absolutely not, but there are no options that are guaranteed success, this is one that success in all areas is potential.” She paused, looking back at Nolan. “And it wasn’t a request, so I expect you to follow through with it.”

Nolan waited until Purna had left with Oliver and Talia before he went back to the campgrounds for the island’s children, seeing that Leo and Emily had already begun packing bags that belonged to the children.

Emily seemed upset and for a few minutes, refused to even acknowledge Nolan. When she did, her face just lit up with anger. “What do you want now? Don’t you have something you can be doing? Actually, if you’re going to answer any question then I want to know why you thought it was okay to let them take Talia?”

“Because I trust both of them, but I trust Purna’s judgment more than anyone else on this island. She thought it was something she was capable of handling and so I believe in her.”

She set down the clothes in her hand and put her hands on her hips. “And so you think that sending a positive and negative to a positive charge is a good idea? Do you even know what you’re doing? If he was tricking you guys back there, he will kill both of them as soon as they reach the heart of the island. You essentially just agreed to send them both to the gallows.”

Nolan looked at his feet, knowing that if he admitted his truth, he would only be sending Emily into danger. “You’re asking all the wrong questions, you haven’t even asked me what my plan was. I was going to follow them, that’s why I came to talk to you.”

The anger on her face immediately went away, but it was quickly replaced with concern. “If that was your plan, then what was your plan with your friend?”

“I can do both, Emily.” Nolan looked past her to see that Leo had tuned into the conversation and didn’t seem too confident in what Nolan had just said. “If you don’t believe in me then that’s fine, just make sure that the kids are ready to go by sun up tomorrow.”

Nolan quickly threw his fingers into an upside down triangle and focused on a name, knowing that he quickly needed to enlist Frank and Melanie if he was going to help the children, Flora, and Talia.

He found himself on the fourth floor and quickly ran to Frank’s door, hitting it as hard as he could repeatedly. As soon as Frank opened the door, Nolan slipped past him to enter the room and shut the door. “Do you remember Oliver and Purna? Do you remember their faces?”

Frank looked worried, but he nodded. “Yeah, I remember them. What’s got you looking like a madman?”

“I have a very small window of time, I need you and Julio to go into the jungle and make sure that he’s not going to be a threat to Purna and the child that’s with them and that when he returns to normal, they make it back home safe.” Nolan immediately went to the door, his hand hovering over the handle. “I don’t care who you need to take, I’ll explain it all later.”

As he ran out into the hall and to the elevator, he briefly stopped next to the window across Melanie’s apartment, seeing that it had begun pouring rain. He turned back to the apartment, seeing the door open and Melanie throwing a jacket on. “Just let me know where you need me and I’ve got you covered.”

“I….. I…” Nolan took the rain as a defeat. An entire day before it was expected. “I’m out of time, I can’t beat it.”

Melanie put a hand on Nolan’s back and pushed him forward to the elevator. “No, you have time, you just need to tell me what I need to do.”

Nolan took some time to calm down, only talking once the elevator reached the ground floor. “There’s a group in the jungle, I need you to meet them at the edge of the trees to make sure they make it here. Send them to the unoccupied apartments on the third floor but don’t you dare say anything about them to any of the other residents.”

Nolan put his fingers into the upside down triangle once again and focused on Flora, a sudden weight landing on his chest as he now stood in front of a tent in the pouring rain.

He unzipped the tent, quickly shaking Flora awake. “Hey, hey. Flora, you need to get up now. You’re in danger.” Flora opened her eyes and after a few seconds, hurried to gather her stuff in her bag before getting to her feet and leaving the tent.

Nolan explained what was happening as the two ran as fast as they could, the rain and mud immediately serving as a challenge for them. While in his explanation, Nolan’s shoe got caught in mud and sent him straight to the ground. His thoughts switched and three images flew into his head.

The first was of Flora standing with Nathaniel a few yards in front of her with the apartment building behind him.

The second was of Keith, he looked to be holding on to a tree root and dangling while Frank and Oliver tried to get hold of him. Purna and Talia weren’t in sight.

The third image was Gavin, lying on his own in the same bed that Nolan had seen him in prior. None of the other children or Leo were in sight, which led Nolan to believe that Gavin had been left behind.

Nolan shot up from the mud, looking at Flora for just a moment and thinking about the images he had seen and what Oliver had told him earlier. “I won’t be able to save everyone, I just can’t do it. I need to make my choice now.”

[Stay with Flora]
[Go to help Keith]
[Go to help Gavin]

Ten minutes before six in the morning, Mindy laid in bed listening to the rain hit her apartment’s window. She sighed, slowly swinging her legs off the edge of the bed. First she went to the window, opening the blinds and looking out to see that the rain had started collecting in most downhill spots leading to the apartment building.

She went to her closet and picked out a pink sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and her only pair of rain boots. She got changed then grabbed her toothbrush and hairbrush, heading to the second floor’s shared bathroom.

When she got to the bathroom, she noticed that most of the second floor was already awake and gathered there. Zoey looked particularly nervous as Rosey and Tracey talked to her. Dexter and Julio were talking to each other as they shaved their faces at the sinks.

Mindy went to Robyn, who was standing on her own in front of the mirrors and doing her hair. She took out her own hairbrush and started working on her hair. “What’s going on with Zoey?”

Robyn glanced back at Zoey, Tracey, and Rosey before taking a hair band and trying to center her hair. “It’s not looking great out there and apparently last night, Keith just vanished. Frank and Melanie are gone too, Flora and Nolan haven’t come home either and so there’s a search going on. Zoey wanted to go, but Mark wouldn’t let her.”

“So that’s, what, five people that just up and disappeared?” Mindy threw her hair into a ponytail, a frown settling on her face. “What’s Nathaniel said about it?”

Robyn shrugged. “Dexter said that Nathaniel went after Nolan yesterday and that-”

The door quickly flew open and Don ran into the room, his clothes soaking wet and his breathing unsettled. “I need help, now.”

Julio was the first out of the door after Don turned around and ran, Mindy dropped her items and ran after them, her sisters and Robyn immediately following her.

Don led them down to the ground floor through the staircase where Mindy saw Tad heading for the basement. She briefly turned to her sisters and pointed. “Go find out what Tad is doing and help him if he needs it.”

Don stood at the front door and pointed out towards the shops. It was after focusing for a few moments that Julio, Robyn, and Mindy saw Melanie stumbling through highwaters with a large group of children following after her.

Julio led the way out the door, Robyn went with him. Mindy grabbed Don’s arm before he could run after them. “You’ve done enough. Run upstairs and grab more people to help with Melanie, grab more people to help with the basement. Boris and Rocky are in the kitchen right now so go to them first.”

Mindy left the apartment building, running after Julio and Robyn. It was the most difficult run that Mindy had taken on as she kept getting caught in the puddles of sitting water.

Julio and Robyn made it first, each of them picking two of the smaller kids up and listing them farther from the water. Mindy grabbed two young boys when she arrived, taking only a second to look at Melanie before seeing Boris and Rocky running up to the group.

Rocky picked up two children as well, but Boris focused on Melanie. “Are you alright?” He moved to stand in front of her, looking her in the eyes. “You’re exhausted, you need to stop. Give me the kids.” He reached out and took the two children that Melanie was carrying.

She froze in place, her body trembling as she tried to stand. “There’s one more kid, a girl, she went back to try and find Nolan.”

Julio stopped, his face immediately falling as he seemed to know what Melanie was talking about, he stayed for a moment to talk to her, which put the two a good distance away from everyone else. Robyn, Rocky, Boris, and Mindy continued on with the rest of the children following them on foot.

Once they had gotten all of the children into the entry hallway, they sat down the children in their arms and waited for Melanie and Julio. Melanie went straight for the stairs when she arrived, not even giving Julio a chance to put the children in his arms down. “Nolan said to keep them in rooms on the third floor.”

The children followed Melanie, the adults that had just carried them in formed a line behind them to ensure that they made it to rooms. After that, they went back to their own rooms to grab clothes and towels for the children, Rocky went back down to the kitchen to make extra food for them.

Mindy and Julio stayed with the children while Melanie went up to her own apartment to rest. They made sure each of the children got a shower, clean and dry clothes, and a warm meal before they put each child to sleep.

“How long do you think they were walking in the rain?” Mindy sat on the ground, brushing one of the young girl’s hair, finding it to be extremely matted. “Better yet, how long do you think they’ve been out there?”

Julio was on the other side of the bathroom, helping one of the other younger girls brush her teeth. “I think they’ve been out there long enough and I think they’ve been dredging in the rain since it started raining about ten hours ago.” He briefly lifted the young girl up to the faucet, letting her get some water to rinse out her mouth. “Did you ever find out what Tad had going on?”

“No, but I figure that if it was important enough then Rosey or Tracey would have gotten me.” Mindy stopped brushing the young girl’s hair, attempting to run her hands through her hair. “I can’t get these knots out, it’s actually impossible. I need to cut her hair.”

“I mean, Gita’s got two daughters of her own and I remember a while back when Lauren was going through her independent phase after Suzette moved out. Lauren’s hair got so tangled that Gita thought about cutting it, but she figured out how to untangle it. Maybe you should ask for help before you cut her hair.” Julio had moved on to helping one of the younger boy’s brush his teeth.

The bathroom door opened and Don poked his head in before carefully stepping in. “Thank you guys for helping. I didn't know what to do, so I’m sorry for freaking out.” He paused, looking at the young girl that sat in front of Mindy. “Do you guys need me to grab anything?”

Mindy nodded. “Can you go get Gita? After that, you could help out by escorting the ones that have finished to the dining hall so they can eat. It’s more convenient than Rocky bringing up a cart of food at a time.”

Don left the bathroom and within five minutes, Gita entered, stopping directly in front of the door. “Where did all of them come from?”

“We don’t know, we just know that they can’t stay out there.” Mindy moved to allow Gita to take her spot. “Do you think you could take over doing hair so I can help the younger ones get dressed and send them with Don?”

Gita got on her knees behind the girl, reaching into one of the drawers behind her and pulling out a comb. “Could you get me some water in a spray bottle?”

Mindy left the bathroom, going back to her apartment on the second floor. She went to her closet and pulled out a box of things that she had gathered for the shops, pulling out a spray bottle and then going back to the third floor’s bathroom.

She filled it with water and gave it to Gita, who seemed very at peace with what she was doing. “I hate to say it, but I miss this part of being a mother. Lauren learned her lesson on matting a long time ago and Suzette’s always been so uptight about hygiene, I never had to worry about her hair.”

Julio chuckled. “That’s a Denver trait if I’ve ever heard one.”

“You’re telling me.” Gita smiled as she worked on the young girl’s hair.

Mindy began helping the younger children dress and sending them with Don to the dining hall. After another hour of getting the children ready, she, Gita, and Julio took the final group of kids down to the dining hall.

Rocky had bowls ready for them as they each picked a seat and he brought them the food, Don helped out by bringing them each a cup of water. Rocky went to Mindy, Julio, and Gita with a look of concern on his face. “None of them would eat until they were all here. Given that they’re still not eating and Melanie said there’s one more, they may very well starve themselves.”

“That won’t happen.” Julio crossed his arms, looking at the children. “Melanie said that we would have to encourage them to eat, but I do think someone needs to watch the door for the search parties that went out and whoever that extra kid is.” He then looked at Mindy. “Also, Tad and your sisters, where are they?”

“Oh, that is something I forgot to tell you guys.” Don stopped in front of the four, having heard Julio’s question. “The basement is flooding and they were working on minimizing the damage to furniture down there and the building's structure.”

Mindy saw Julio’s jaw drop as he quickly recovered and left the dining hall. She saw Gita looking at her as if she expected her to follow. “I’m going to stay here for now and try to get them to start eating, you want to help with that?” Gita nodded and the two split up, going to different tables.

By the time the children started eating, other residents had come down to the dining hall to start their day. Each of them seemed more confused than the one before as they each went into the kitchen and got their own plates ready.

Erika ended up sitting next to Mindy. She watched her talk with one of the children for a moment before she spoke to her. “Where did they come from?”

“Melanie found them somewhere out there and brought them here since the rain wasn’t lightening up.” Mindy knew that Erika was going to have a lot of questions, as that was just the kind of person Erika was. Someone who needed to know everything that was going on.

“How many are there? What’s the plan when the rain stops?”

Erika took a few bites while she waited for Mindy to answer her. “There’s about forty of them, the oldest is like nine and the youngest probably isn’t even two yet. We haven’t discussed a plan for when the rain stops. I think we’re waiting for Nathaniel to get back before we decide on anything since he’s the property manager.”

“Do you think he’ll just send forty kids out to the curb like that?”

Mindy thought about it, quickly deciding that she didn’t know Nathaniel well enough to answer that question. “I don’t think so, especially if the rain keeps going like this. It would be inhumane.”

Mindy and Erika continued talking as the other children in the building came down, all of them excited to see other children their age and fighting amongst each other to pick a seat next to one of the new children. She saw Lucille sitting next to Gita, the two women talking over a cup of coffee as they watched their own children.

Mindy heard the front door to the building open with force, prompting her to leave the dining hall and check out the noise. She looked out the glass doors to see that the search party had returned with only a teenage girl and a younger girl with them. Don had run out the door to help them with the girls.

She could see that the older girl was struggling to walk and was bleeding from somewhere so she quickly went back to the dining hall, finding the table that George had sat at and only lowering her head to talk to him. “They’re back and one of them looks injured, I think it’s time for you to step in.”

“Darling, I need you to prepare one of the eighth floor rooms to act as an infirmary. I’m afraid this is only the first of many injuries that will turn up in these conditions.” George spoke rapidly to his wife as he got out of his seat. Sierra got out of her seat and followed George and Mindy out, breaking away from them at the stairwell to go to the eighth floor. George looked at the window, shaking his head. “She’s one of the children, isn’t she?”

“I don’t know, but I would assume so because Melanie said one of them was still missing.”

As the search party entered the building, George took the teenage girl into his arms and Mark passed the younger girl to Mindy. Don ran to grab the door to the stairwell, knowing that George already had a plan.

George and Mindy ran upstairs, going straight to the third room on the eighth floor where they found Sierra had started setting out George’s medical equipment. George laid the girl in his arms on the bed and began looking over her, finding a gash on her leg. “It’s not terrible, but it’s not going to heal well because she’s filthy.”

Mindy and Sierra shared a look before Mindy set the younger girl in a chair that sat in the corner of the room before she walked over to the girl on the bed, waiting until they met eyes. “What is your name?”

The girl seemed particularly uneasy, like her pain was more than just her leg. “Emily.”

“Emily, my name is Mindy. This is George, he’s a doctor and his wife Sierra is over there, too. We want to help you, so can you tell me what happened to you?”

George started working on cleaning Emily’s leg while Mindy was talking to her. Sierra began prepping what she knew he was going to need and instructing Ryan and Abram on what she needed them to do to help set up the room once they came in to offer their help.

Emily looked scared as new people entered the room, her breathing was worse than what Mindy had seen Don’s at earlier, which concerned her. “I was looking for my friend and I hit a mud patch that sent me sliding down a hill. I tried to stop myself and ended up getting caught by a tree branch when I stopped.”

George paused, looking at the wound and then looking at Emily. “This is too clean of a cut to be a tree branch. What really happened? I need to know the full truth so I can treat you accordingly.” He turned to Sierra for a moment. “Darling, when Ryan and Abram come back, can you send one of them to get Mark?” Sierra nodded, bringing a table to George’s side.

Abram and Ryan had started rearranging the room to fit more beds in it so George didn’t have to split his supplies and attention to multiple rooms. Ryan went down to get Mark when Sierra asked him to.

By the time Mark arrived, George had started giving Emily a few shots around her wound to numb the area so he could give her stitches. “Did you need something, George?”

“Two things. First, I need to know how you guys came across Emily here.”

Mark looked at Emily, nodding. “She was leaving the jungle, she was already injured when we found her and she kept talking about how Nolan needed help but she couldn’t tell us where he was or how he needed help. She said that Talia was running out of time and she needed to get to her. We didn't talk long before she collapsed and I started carrying her back. The younger one was just sitting by the shops, like she was left there by somebody. When Emily came back around, she asked us where we found Talia and where her parents were, stuff like that.”

“Second thing, you guys didn’t find any of our missing people? Frank, Keith, Nolan, and Flora are still just gone?”

“I’m afraid so.” Mark backed to the door, seeing Abram and Ryan trying to move a bed into the room. “I’ll help you guys with this job.”

George had already threaded his needle and now took a deep breath, looking at the wound. “Emily, I need you to sit still.”

Mindy gave George some room, going back to the girl in the chair. Her eyes were fixated on the door, her hands were twitching as she looked like she wanted to get out of the chair and leave the room. She didn’t look at Mindy as she got to her feet, moving behind the mattress that Ryan and Abram had dragged in, using it as cover.

Mindy followed the young girl to the stairwell and watched her climb down a few steps at a time. She eventually picked the girl up and took her to the ground floor, setting her down in the entry hallway of the building.

The young girl walked to the glass door and stared out at the rain. She sat down on the ground after a few minutes, allowing Mindy to break away and go back into the dining hall to talk to Gita. “There’s two more girls, can you ask Rocky for two more bowls?”

“Of course.” Gita put her coffee cup down and went to the kitchen.

Denver stayed after his wife left. “Gita said a lot of their hair was unkempt, do you need help with the two new girls?”

Mindy nodded, leaving the dining hall with Denver to find the entry hall completely empty. “She was right here, I was only gone for a second.”

“What are we looking for?” Denver reached for the door, waiting until he knew before he left.

“Little girl, like three. Real pale, dark brown hair, blue eyes. Gray shirt, pink pants, no shoes. Her name might be Talia, I’m not confident in that though.”

“You go back with Gita and the other children, I can handle this.” With the description, Denver ran out of the building.

---

Denver had a feeling that if one of the children left, it would be to go back to where they knew home was. As far as he knew, the kids were first spotted outside the jungle.

As he approached the tree line, he saw the young girl standing on her own, looking into the jungle. He went to her and kneeled, seeing her pointing forward.

She turned to him, her blue eyes wide as she only made noises with her mouth.

He looked her in the eyes as she stopped making noises. “Is there someone else? Do you want me to take you?”

The girl nodded, reaching out to Denver and allowing him to pick her up. As soon as he stood, she started pointing once again.

For a split second, Denver thought about going back to the apartments now that he had the girl, but he knew that if there was actually still someone else, this was his only chance to help them.

He followed the young girl’s point until she began pointing down a hill where Denver saw marks in the mud as if someone had slid down the hill. He stood in place for a moment before he heard crying at the bottom of the hill.

Denver put the girl down and prepared to send himself down the hill, cursing himself out for telling Mindy to go back with Gita.

He grabbed the closest tree, watching the young girl as he stuck his shoes in the mud and only turned his back to her when he allowed himself to slide down the hill. He reached out to a tree, stopping himself at the bottom of the hill.

He only let go of the tree when he felt comfortable enough to move, the water and mud being significantly more dangerous to him there. He only moved while holding onto trees, which led him to the source of the crying.

A little boy who looked younger than the girl who took Denver to him sat completely alone, seemingly with his foot stuck in a hole.

Denver slipped his own foot under a tree root and let go of the tree, putting himself on his knees in an attempt to reach the boy, who reached for him as soon as he saw him.

He could barely grab hold of the boy in the water, let alone move to free him.

Before Denver could predict his own next move, he heard something slide down the muddy hill behind him. He turned to see Frank taking the same method that Denver had himself by holding onto the trees as he moved. “What do we got?”

“A little boy, his foot is stuck and the best I can do from here is reach his fingertips.” Denver got back to his feet and freed his own foot, moving forward by another tree and lacing his foot in the root once again.

Denver reached out and grabbed hold of Frank’s hand once he noticed that Frank was losing his balance. “I can get him loose but there’s no way for me to grab him without losing myself.”

“I got you, don’t worry about it.” Denver let go of Frank and focused on the little boy. “I can grab him from here if you can free him.”

“Sounds like we’ve got a plan, then.” Frank very carefully went through the rushing water to get behind the boy. He leaned down, grabbing a tree root with his right hand and the boy’s stuck foot with his left hand. “Are you ready, Denver?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Denver got back down on his knees and reached out to the boy’s direction, which now seemed to be a little off from what the other tree had him at. “Hey, kiddo, look over here!”

Frank waited until the boy looked at Denver before he pulled on the boy’s leg, the rushing water immediately attempting to drag him away. “I can’t hold him forever!”

Denver now cursed himself out for not anticipating the sudden weight change that would leave the boy at the water’s mercy. The boy’s cries only got worse as the water tried to take him away, his head going under multiple times before Denver got his own foot unstuck and began struggling towards the boy.

Just before Frank had to let go of him, Denver grabbed the boy by his shirt and pulled him out of the water. The cries continued and turned into coughs as the boy clutched to Denver.

Denver reached out to Frank, the two locking arms as Denver supported Frank through the rushing water. They stayed locked together until they reached the hill. “I’ll hold him, you climb up first.”

Frank took the boy from Denver, allowing him to use the tree as a guide to climb up to where the young girl was still waiting for him to return.

Denver turned back and looked down the hill, reaching halfway down to grab the boy who was being lifted up by Frank. Once he pulled the boy up, Denver reached down to help Frank up, quickly pulling the other man to the top of the hill.

Frank and Denver stayed on the ground for a minute, both attempting to catch their breath. “Thank you, Frank. I don’t know how you knew someone was there, but thank you.”

The two men got to their feet and started a walk back to the apartment building, Denver took the boy in his arms and Frank took the girl.

It was mostly a silent walk until the building was in sight, which is when Frank spoke to Denver. “I knew where you were because of the girl. We wandered up on her and tried to get her to leave, she wasn’t having it and Oliver thought it was because somebody was at the bottom of the hill and he told me that she just wasn’t going to leave until they got out.”

“Oliver? Where’s that guy been all day? How does he know that kid well enough to decipher what a stare into the abyss means?”

Frank chuckled at the abyss comment, shaking his head. “He’s been around all day. He was going to go down with me but that would have been it for him, there’s no way he would have been able to climb back up so he and your wife took Keith back.”

“Gita came out?” Denver noticed Frank’s refusal to go into detail, which he didn’t blame him for. Frank had been out in the storm all day and night, Denver likely hadn’t even seen a quarter of what Frank had.

“Yeah, she made it a pretty good distance too. She probably told him that you were out there, but you were a surprise to me.”

Arriving at the apartment building, Mindy and Julio stood waiting at the glass doors with towels in their hands. While Julio was handing Denver a towel, he looked at the boy in his arms and paused. “Is this another kid that came with Melanie’s group and ran off? I swear I’ve seen him before.”

Denver shook his head, going into the stairwell with Frank and Mindy, who took the two to the third floor of the eighth room.

There were six beds set up in the room, one of them was taken by a teenage girl, one was taken by Melanie, one was taken by Keith, and a fourth one was filled when Denver put the boy on the bed next to Keith’s. Oliver stood to the side of the room, seeming solely focused on Keith.

Frank put the young girl on her feet, he and Denver watching her immediately run to Oliver’s side and sit on the floor.

George was looking over Melanie at the moment, who pushed him away once Denver put the boy on the bed. “Go take care of the kid first, I can wait.” She briefly looked at her husband, who was standing next to her bed and looked ready to protest. “I can wait, Norris.”

Denver went to Oliver’s side, motioning towards the young girl sitting on the floor. “I’m not sure whose kid this is, but she saved that other kid. Thank you for knowing her well enough to tell Frank to go down that hill.”

Oliver looked over at the young girl and held his hand out to her, pulling her back up to her feet. “She’s my kid but she definitely didn’t get the observational skills from me.”

“Your kid? Like your actual kid? I don’t ever remember you having a partner like that, though.”

Oliver chuckled, giving a slight wince after a few seconds. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, it was years ago, you can't be expected to remember my business when you have two kids and a wife of your own to look after.”

Mindy watched everything happening in the room as Gita and Julio entered, Gita going straight to Denver and embracing him and Julio stopping at Mindy’s side. “Your sisters are taking a nap, they got pretty worn out helping Tad with his thing.”

“Thank you.” Mindy crossed her arms, a feeling of satisfaction as she looked at the room that Sierra had set up. “You were a lot of help today and I think we can consider our job for the day as done.” She focused on Emily. “She’s resting and when she wakes, George and Sierra are going to help her clean up and get settled. The young girl she came with is Olvier’s daughter, so I think he would rather he take care of her once George lets him move around, and the boy they just brought in is still pretty in and out, but Frank hasn’t left him. I’m going to ask if he wouldn’t mind helping out with him so I can go take a nap myself.”

Julio smiled, his eyes locked onto Mindy for a while. “Lord knows you need one. Forty-three kids in one day, that’s tough but you did it. You should be proud of yourself, Mindy.”

“Thanks, you should too.” Mindy turned to Julio and flashed a smile before turning back and walking to Frank. “Frank, can you do me a favor?”

---

By the time night had rolled around, the rain continued on with no sight of Flora, Nolan, or Nathaniel.

Ciara, Steven, Christy, and Dexter had taken on the task of getting the children that didn’t belong to a resident to sleep and then watching over them for the night.

They had decided to put the children in actual rooms, settling on the ninth floor where each apartment had two bedrooms. They had enlisted Wes and Gary in moving beds around so that way there would be five beds in each room, leaving ten children in one apartment where one of the adults would stay on the couch and tend to them if they needed to.

Dexter and Steven got the older children who would listen better, a move that Ciara had planned to keep the two from getting stressed out.

After eating dinner and brushing their children’s teeth, each adult split up and went into one of the apartments with their ten children.

Oliver only allowed George to check up on him after he assured him that Keith was going to be fine. It was an argument that went back and forth between the two for around an hour as Oliver refused to tell George what had happened, which prevented George from giving reassurance.

He had gone down to the kitchen after everyone cleared the dining hall, taking Talia with him so the two of them could eat. For every step he took away from her, she took two steps closer to him.

He heated up some of what Rocky had left over, giving Talia a bowl and having a bowl himself. Talia immediately sat on the floor and began eating, which Oliver didn’t feel bothered enough to fight at the moment so he sat on the floor across from her and started eating.

It wasn’t long before the kitchen door opened and Olivia stolled in, going to the refrigerator and making a bowl for herself. She sat on the floor next to her brother, only questioning it for a second. “This is how we eat now, huh?”

“I guess so.” Oliver looked at his sister, suddenly feeling distant from her despite her being less than two inches away from their knees touching. “Big day, wasn’t it?”

“For some more than others. Frank told me about your fall, it sounded painful.”

Oliver looked away, unsure of how to respond as he knew that he couldn’t be truthful with Olivia just yet. “I’m still walking so it’s no big deal.”

Olivia smirked and shook her head. “And that’s all mom right there. That’s exactly what she said the day she gave birth to you and tried to go into work. The doctors had to sedate her.”

“That’s only everyone in the family’s favorite story, pick a better one.”

Olivia gave her brother a light push with a chuckle. The two sat in silence for a minute before she broke it. “Are you okay? Like emotionally and mentally, are you alright?”

He shook his head, looking at the bowl in his hands. “I have no idea what I’m doing with Talia and this is something that I’m afraid to take on because if I mess up, she’ll resent me for every single day that she lives and that’s an enormous weight to handle.”

Olivia put her bowl on the floor, looking at her niece. “I would say you’re doing fine so far. She looks happy, she’s currently eating so I know you’re taking care of her basic needs, she seems comfortable with you so that’s the best thing that you can do. The only thing I would recommend is getting her new clothes and shoes.”

“If I can get you material to work with, could you help me by sewing some clothes for her?”

Olivia turned back to her brother with a smile. “Just because my last name changed doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the number one lesson that’s been passed down through the Barker generations.”

“Never let a piece of cloth sit long enough to gather dust because it makes you lazy and wasteful.” The siblings recited together, Oliver chuckling and finally let a smile break through. “Dad used to finish it off with ‘Probably dirty too, it implies you're wearing the same set of clothes every single day.’. Mom hated hearing that but she agreed with it.”

The siblings finished eating after Talia did, Olivia took the dishes and cleaned them, putting them back in the cupboards before helping Oliver off the floor. Talia jumped to her feet when Oliver started walking towards the door with Olivia. She grabbed his hand, taking about three steps at a time in order to keep up with him.

Olivia went with them to Oliver’s apartment where he picked out a few articles of clothing from a box in his closet and handed it off to his sister. She promised to have at least two outfits done by the morning so Talia had options and then went on her way.

Talia stood in front of Oliver as he looked at his apartment, remembering the very last time he’d seen it. He shut the door and looked down at Talia, who was reaching up to him. He picked her up and walked through the apartment. He stopped in front of the bed, unable to let go of Talia as memories of the last night at the apartment overwhelmed him.

He grabbed a bag of clothes and left the apartment, going up to the fourth floor and entering the eighth apartment on the fourth floor. After about five minutes, there was a knock on the door. Frank stood there with Gavin in his arms. “I thought you were on the third floor?”

Oliver moved to let Frank in, he then shut the door and set Talia onto the ground when Frank set Gavin down. “I wasn’t ready to go back, I truthfully don’t think I’m ready to be back here at all. I don’t have a choice in being here, but I at least have a choice in what room I go to.”

Frank didn’t look as if he knew what to say. “What’s your plan of action with Gavin?”

“I need to find a way for Olivia and Abram to recognize him as theirs, but with all of these children walking around and not a single one of them has been recognized by their parents, what are the chances of that happening?”

“Not impossible.” Frank crossed his arms. “Julio recognized Gavin. I don’t think Olivia or Abram have been in the same room as him yet but because they haven’t been separated that long, I think they’ll recognize him immediately when they do see him.”

Oliver looked at his nephew, a frown quickly settling on his face. “For his sake, I hope you’re right. They told Nolan that these kids have a memory of who their parents are and their life before they were banished. I can’t imagine what they’re going through right now, being stuck in a building full of people who you believed abandoned you or going out to die.”

“All that and the oldest is ten. They’ve only known each other for years and they’re far more scared than they’re willing to admit.” Frank paused and opened the door, revealing Melanie on the other side, her fist ready as if she was about to knock. “Come on in, Melanie.”

Melanie gave a polite smile to Oliver and a small nod. “Welcome back, hopefully you’re doing better than when I last saw you.”

“I’m well and I hope the same for you.” Oliver put his hands in his pockets, knowing he needed to talk to Melanie but he had no idea how to lead into it. “I know you won’t forgive me anytime soon and I don’t expect you to, but I want you to know that the last time you saw me, with Purna and Leo. That wasn’t me, I was not in my right mind.”

He looked to see Melanie biting her lip and staring at her feet. “I know, but it’s a hard image to erase from my mind, especially when there was no closure. I would assume you feel the same since your partner was involved as well.”

“Believe me, I wish I could give you closure but I want you to know that even having closure, it hurts all the same.” Oliver paused, looking at Talia as his vision quickly grew cloudy. “Knowing that they’re here physically but they’ll never really be here again, that’s worse than just settling with the knowledge that they’re dead.”

“What are you talking about?” Melanie’s head shot up, revealing that both she and Oliver were already in tears. “What do you know, Oliver?”

“What I tell you, you can never seek out and you can never share the knowledge.” Oliver paused, thinking about his next words. “The night that Leo and Purna jumped, they ended up outsmarting the spirit of the island, because of that they were granted a second chance at life. They’re the same people physically, but they will never be the same people we knew before the island. There was no issue with me seeing them as one of the island’s guardians, but if you or I were to see one of them, there’s a high chance that the island will metaphorically unravel itself from the inside out because of our connection to them.”

“But Leo is alive?”

Oliver nodded slowly. “Leo is alive, he is worried about you but he knows that you’re capable of taking care of yourself. He’s okay and you’re going to be okay.”

“That’s all I wanted to know.” Melanie broke out into a sob, pulling Oliver into a hug as she cried. “I forgive you.”

Oliver tilted his head a bit to look at Frank, who shrugged when their eyes met. “I think that was the closure that you both needed to start moving on. Congratulations.”

End of Chapter 3.