Island Song

 

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May 15, 2018

How did I get myself into this?

 It was just days ago I signed the contract for this adventure, but it feels like a lifetime in difference.  Everything seemed so perfectly harmless, then. I had no idea what was coming. A trip of a lifetime to a faraway island filled with hybrids?  It didn’t sound that bad. I guess I was a little naive then. I mean, I was sort of expecting a lot less teeth and claws on the animals and more, I don’t know, creatures from fairy tales like unicorns and whatnot.  I was sort of assuming this would all be, I don’t know, a slightly more action packed vacation, like a normal research project, except on an island days away from home. I thought it would be worth it if I could get the money for my family, so they could have a better life, after all, ever since they adopted me, their life-and their money- has turned upside down.  A kid is a big handful, and this is a way I can finally pay them back. They’re facing bankruptcy, and I promised that I would do anything to help them. I just didn’t think the cost wouldn’t be this bad. I didn’t know it could be my life.

 Of course, that was one sea monster and near death experience ago.  I can still remember the gigantic beast rising from the water, it’s luminous body glistening in the moonlight like a dragon from the stories my mom use to tell me when I was younger... now that I think about it, the monster was just as beautiful as it was scary.  I wish I took a picture of it but, I mean, you can’t exactly stop and admire the hybrid when it was lashing it’s tail and trying to kill you.

 The trip before we reached the waters of Tetepare was harmless, mostly.  Maybe even relaxing. I can still remember the cool breeze drifting past me as we stepped off the boat onto Hawaii.  It was beautiful, with the span of animals and beautiful beaches, the warm atmosphere was hypnotizing after days on the sea.  I took plenty of pictures that I planned to show my family, that is, if I ever get back. Just in case, I wrote on the camera, ‘Please give to Mrs and Mr Levrie if causes of death prevent the owner from doing so.’ I almost regret only staying there for two hours before we took our flight to Papua New Guinea.  Almost. Not that the Papua was shabby. It was beautiful, too, and had its fair share of forests and water.  

 Tetepare was a different story, though.  The span of water, sand and forest was incredibly pretty.  It wasn't pretty in the way that Hawaii was, though. It was more of an aggressive type of beautiful, the island seemed to glare beauty and danger at the same time, that sharp type of feeling you get when you’re ambushed by a dazzling sea monster, that, unfortunately, was trying to flip your boat over, then feed on your innards.  Sorry if you haven’t experienced that, but if you ever do, I guarantee you will understand what I am talking about. After all, if it wasn't for Evie, we’d all be DEAD.

 Speaking of Evie…  Well, I wouldn’t want to explain it in a bad perspective.  If she read me critiquing her, even in my journal, she’d probably take her knife and shove it down my throat and not even regret it.  Okay, she’s scary. Not like, sea monster scary, but still pretty terrifying. First of all, she wasn't even supposed to be in our team.  She just ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, that being taking cover from the police on our boat, seconds before we took of to Hawaii.

 Oh, since we mentioned police, I should probably admit something.  Evie is a criminal. She’s been one her whole life, actually. The only reason she’s a member of the team now is because we gave her two options once we found her on our ship.  One, for us to turn her into the police once we reached Hawaii, or two, to join our team, then be freed of all crimes after our return.

 Evie chose option two.  

 So now she’s on our team, and we returned her weapons, and she could probably kill us in our sleep and show no remorse.  But hey, let’s be positive! Maybe she could shove a knife down our throat WHILE we’re unconscious! So we can feel NO pain!  That’s about what I’m expecting around now...

 But so far though, Evie has been really useful.  I mean, we would be all digested in a sea monster’s stomach if it wasn't for her.  At the time when the monster attacked, she was the only one with actual weapons. So, an hour ago, about a kilometer from where we are now, the sea monster struck.  With its gigantic tail, it attempted to flip our boat over, either killing us or letting us drown in the process, apparently.

 That’s where Evie saved us all.  Apparently she’s a quick thinker, or at least when it comes to combat.  She was there, whispering a plan to us all one second, then on the next she sent me out to distract the monster.  So there I was, yelling at a non english speaking hybrid how tasty I would be, while out of the corner of my eye, was glancing at Evie as she made her way up the monster’s spine.  Unfortunately for us, the thing had armour like scales. Bullets bounced off of it no problem, so shooting the thing was impossible, as Evie had already learned, with some annoyance.  

 Our criminal team member,, though, quickly realized that the monster could be killed by striking it with her knife that she calls Elyvri.  To do that, however, she needed to be close to the creature. That’s where I came in, the distraction. For the record, I think I was pretty brave in that situation.  I did not collapse on the deck in tears. Instead, I silently prayed for my life. The monster eventually got bored of listening to me, so it rolled it’s eyes- or at least as much as a monster COULD roll its eyes- bared its fangs, and roaring at me, lurched it’s head forward to bite most of me off.  

 I braced myself, closing my eyes.  

 Then, a second away from what would be my death, the roaring stopped.  I steadied myself, opening one eye just a crack. I wish I hadn’t.

 Evie had plunged the knife into the monsters side, the sharp weapon piercing through scales, blood seeping from the wound.  The monster shook, beginning to screech, trying to shake the girl off. It didn’t have to. Evie did a back somersault off of the hybrid’s back, then landed back on the boat.  Behind her, the monster shook, as if trying to shake the pain away. It reared back, trying to hit the ship, but its strength was gone. It let out one last wail in pain, and I hate to admit it, but at this point I felt sorry for it.  The beast whimpered twice, then stilled.

 A triumphant smile crossed our companion’s face.  “Well, that deals with one monster.” She stated, then took out her camera and took a picture of the sea creature’s lifeless body.  Her gaze was shifted to all of us, studying our horrified expressions. Evie shrugged, then glared at the pilot of the ship. “Are we going to Tetepare or not?”   She said to him, rolling her eyes. The obviously petrified sailor shifted his hands to the wheel. “Yes Ma’am!” He had cried, shaking a little. 
 I didn’t blame him.

 The island certainly made a great first impression.  We hadn’t even reached the shores, and were already ambushed.  Thankfully, we were able to get out of the b0at and set up the tent without much trouble, other then Kat scraping herself a bit and Liam stubbing his toe- but those aren’t very affecting injuries.

 So, a amazing trapper/craftsman gender-fluid, artistic freak, criminal, and computer genius each settled into camp and wished each other goodnight, but I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who can’t fall asleep.  I’m camping with Kat tonight, and she keeps shivering and opening and closing her eyes. It’s going to be a long night for the both of us.

 

                  Signed,

                      Asterin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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gaby

hey rani like the book!

May 16, 2018

 I had woken up in a puddle of sweat.

 It took me a second to process what happened yesterday.  First I thought it was a dream. I mean, it wasn't exactly realistic.  A sea monster attacking our whole boat? Quite real. But the memories I got from the last day were to vivid for it to be a dream.  I swear, I wish it was. But if that was true, it didn’t explain why I was in a cramped tent in the middle of the wilderness. It also didn’t prove why me, someone who preferred to sleep until dawn, was wide awake at three am.

 So, since no one else was awake and I was bored, I decided to write in these journals that the Government gave us to record information in.

 Hope you like useless and boring info, Government!

 As far as I see it, I’m going to forget all the important info and they’ll have to retrieve my journal from my dead body, only to be disappointed with the quality of writing in it.

 Dude.  I’m not a writer.  Asterin is, not me.  If you’re expecting a deep and quantitative novel, you’re going to be fairly disappointed.  In fact, I was kicked out of writing class at age five. Along with math. And science. And- come to think about it- every subject in my school.  I was also kicked out of my parent’s home.

 Oh, you didn’t know that?  Well, you didn’t do a lot of asking, did you.  All you did was analyze us, the team, nod, then tell Asterin to try to save us from dying.  Ok, you didn’t actually say that. But you basically did in secret Government code language.  Also, you made it very clear of your reaction to me. You suck.  To be honest, you picked the wrong person to insult.  I’ve gotten used to it, after hearing it my whole life, from my parents, my school, my classmates…

 Freak!

 Go find a hole and bury yourself in it!

 How are you even related to me?

 Why aren’t you normal?  Make yourself normal!

 Words like those don’t hurt me anymore.  Maybe my heart has just coated itself in protection from all of it.  Where hurt should come in when people call me these names, just numbness rolls in instead.

 Want to know why I’ve been tormented my whole life?  It’s none of your business. But I suppose you’ll figure it out sooner or later.  It’s all for one reason: I’m not normal. I’m a gender fluid.

 Oh sure, that’s not a big deal to you.  I’m sure you can accept people like that, bla bla bla bla.

 Well, my parents couldn’t, for one stupid reason that I’ve torn myself apart for, every single day.

 They’re religious.  Boom. I said it. Fine, it doesn’t seem like a big deal.  But it is for me! They’re not your usual half Christian half I don’t really know type people, they’re one hundred percent hardcore.

 So, when they found out their otherwise perfect business “daughter”  was a gender fluid, what did they do? Certainly not hug me and say, ‘Oh sweetie, everyone is different.’

 Nope.  They kicked me out.  Literally. First they yelled at me and shook me and yelled some more, and when I shook my head saying no, I couldn’t just be normal, they strutted out of the room, eyes blazing, letting me slump on the floor.  

 Guess what happened next?  They called child custody! Yay!  The hardest part though, was what I heard them say on the phone that day.

 ‘Yes.  Take her.  Him. Whatever.  No- I don’t care what you do with it.  Kill it for all we care.’

 That made my five year old self collapse on the floor in a pile of tears.  

 I thought it was over.  It might of been. I don’t know what would’ve happened if my Uncle and Aunt didn’t interfere, but words can’t explain how glad I was that they did.  My dad’s brother was a non religious middle class man, who currently worked at the bank 12 hours a day. He wasn't rich like my parents, but my aunt and uncle were better in every other way.  They were atheists. Honestly, they didn’t care whether I was Gender Fluid or normal or a salamander mix breed. They loved me. Every inch of me, and they didn’t give a hint at ever, and I mean ever, noting on, or even talking about my differences.  If that isn’t what family should be, I don’t know what it is.

 My Aunt and Uncle are probably at work right now, and my Uncle has extended his period to 15 hours per day.  A kid is not only stressful, but expensive. And paying for me had its costs. We live in a religious area, first of all.  No school accepted me, so I’ve been homeschooled, other then the occasional game on prodigy. That basically became my Aunt’s full time job, and my Uncle…  well, I barely see him between work and trips. When my Aunt’s away, I have no one to talk to. No one in our neighborhood wants anything to do with me. I’m guessing everyone’s religious, but I haven’t bothered to check.  Me? I retired as an atheist. Never really believed in God anyway. If there was a God, he would do something to help me. So far, he hasn’t done a thing. Like I said, my Uncle and Aunt saved my life. No darn God has ever helped.

 So there.  My life in a nutshell.  It hasn’t been so good so far.  Maybe that will change when-if- I survive.  I doubt I will. But even if I die, the only reason I agreed to this mission was that if I died during this adventure, my Uncle and Aunt will get the money that was supposed to go to me.  At least they would get the opportunity to have a better life, then. Move away to a non religious place and get to relax. Hope you remember your promise. Cause even if I’m dead, if you don’t honour it, I’ll find a way to punish you.

 That’s about it.  Feel free to ridicule me now.  

 It’s almost time to do my part in making dinner, to trap some chickens and give them to Evie for cooking.  Apparently I’m really good with traps and nets. That’s what Evie says, anyways, and I know better then to disagree.  Maybe you think leading chickens to their impending doom doesn’t sound like fun, but compared to my day of being chased by shark/turtles, it feels TAME.  Okay, I really have to go. Evie’s starting to yell for me to get my butt out of here, and I really don’t want to make her mad. On the bright side, I’m not dead (yet)!  Well, see you. Stayin’ Alive, Stayin’ Alive. I’m feeling that song for real right now.

     Still here, hopefully will keep on living,

                                                                     Kat Rhose

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May 17, 2018

 Right now I wish I was anywhere but here.  Heck, I’m not even sure why I’m here. If I had to be realistic, yes, I know the reason people, but honestly, jail doesn’t sound so bad now that I’ve experienced a day chock full of monsters, dragons, and countless hybrids that I can’t even name.

 It was- let me think- around 8 days ago since my “team” found me on the boat, hiding in their food supply.  

 I remember it like it was yesterday.

 As I recall, once found I was quite civilized.  I was all like, “Hi.” I have no idea why the terrifyingly naive gender fluid teenager screamed.  Hey, maybe I had some dirt on me, but it could’ve been worse. Some days my attire is stained with BLOOD.  I didn’t tell them that, though. Instead I had crossed my arms across my chest and did my best to look calm.  Hey, I was as scared as them. A couple of hours ago it was a usual day in my dirt leveled life. Honestly, all I was doing was trying to escape the police yet again, (for trying to steal an orange.  Seriously, I need to eat, people.) but as I was trying to make my escape on foot, I quickly found out that running was useless because;

A: The police were in cars, which are like a hundred times faster than running, and

B: I was nearing the harbor, which was, conveniently, a dead end.

 So, since I have a brain, logic told me to hide somewhere, so I darted into a nearby medium sized around 8 people crew boat.  Logic, however, did not tell me that the boat was preparing for take off, or whatever you call it when a boat is about to whisk away.  

 Sooooo I was stuck on the boat.  And, yet again, hiding spots failed me and I was found.  The crew, lead by a girl, Asterin that is around the same age as me, gave me two, not preferred options once she had figured out my identity and interviewed me on why I was here on her boat.  To, first, hand me in to the police and spend like 5 years at a community center (which is code language for J-A-I-L), or to become one of their crew (which was seriously lacking in the fighting department.  They’re most reliable weapon seriously was a golf club that Kat drags around with her all the time.) and fight with them or whatever on their quest to take photos of hybrids, and when (or if) we returned successfully, I would be pardoned of all crimes.  I know, I know, that doesn’t sound that exciting, but dude, this isn’t like Disneyland or something. These are living and breathing hybrids, that have very sharp teeth, and sometimes, even human like IQ.

 Logically, I chose option two.

 My brain did not prepare me for monsters, giant mythological like creatures, and monsters (I’m adding that again for emphasis.)  Honestly, I have to pity my team more then myself. None of them have ever been in combat before, and our computer genius, Liam, might be strong, but he has terrible aim with a gun and is more likely to hit one of us instead of the hybrid.  

 Asterin, handily enough, is ok with coaxing and communicating with the smaller hybrids, and also has an eye for detail and art.  Kat is good at trapping things with nets, crafting objects, and hitting things with large golf drivers. Plus me, who probably is going to be our only hope in a hand to hand fight.

 Yup, that’s our team.  Now you might realize how stressful it’s been since we arrived. Today, like Asterin’s plan says, we explored some of the beautiful sandy beaches aligned across the island. Seems relaxing right?  Looking for cute lil’ hybrids while relaxing on the beach with, heck, I don’t know, a coconut daiquiri or something. Nope, the hybrids HAD to attack us like fifty times. Ughhhhhh. I have a few scrapes and bruises as scars from the battles.  Asterin, annoyingly, insists on not killing the animals unless it was completely necessary. It makes the process like, five times harder. We actually have to knock the hybrid out, place it far away from us in a net or something, then FINALLY walk away, only to be ambushed by it’s friend or something.

 Nnnnnnn.  I need to sleep.  Unfortunately for me, sleeping isn’t an option.  I just came back from hunting some smaller creatures and roasting them on our mini barbeque.  (Don’t ask, I didn’t pick our supply list.) The others have weapons after I gave them out like party loot bags, (Also don’t ask!) but almost no one knows how to use them.  I spent an hour trying to teach Asterin to shoot a gun, but it’s hopeless. She dumbly insists on not firing at anything living I find for target practice. Kat, though, is making serious progress.  Today I continued teaching her about how to make more complex traps, etc., but I have to admit she’s better than me at traps and it’s getting hard to teach her. That girl is a genius when it comes to setting nets and traps.  One thing I still don’t understand about her is her ability to change gender. She was male on our flight to Papua New Guinea, but became female when we landed. She hasn’t changed since, but still… I haven’t asked her about her habits though.  For the record, it’s none of my business, even if I’m practically dying holding back comments. And Liam… Well, I don’t know him that well. He’s always fidgeting with some electric machine he wasn't even supposed to bring. He seems to be very good at using computers and other gadgets, but I’m not a tech person, so I can’t relate.  Other then that, he seems pretty scared of almost every creature on this island. It’s getting sort of annoying. Aah, it’s a bunny/fish hybrid!  RUN!!!!!!! Seriously dumbo, calm down.  Save your fear for the actually terrifying monsters.

 One thing I noticed about our crew is that almost everyone is scared of me.  I don’t blame them, really. What I did with that sea monster, even if it was to save us all, was a bit harsh.  Okay, a lot harsh. But I’m pretty sure they’re warming up to me. Slowly.

 I just got back from skinning some cows.  Yum, hamburgers! Kidding, we don’t exactly have burger buns. We do have bread, so we’re gonna go all pioneer and have classic bread, meat and berries (which I’m 99% sure are not poisonous.  Okay, 75% sure.) We split up today, and each of us were supposed to take some pictures of different parts of the island. Almost everyone is back now. Kat, Liam and me are in the tent. The company is not preferred, but whatever.  Asterin’s still out there, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon before we eat all of her dinner. Anyway, my hands getting really tired and Liam is suggesting we start a search for Asterin, (worrywart) so I really have to go.

                                 

                             Until Later,

                                       Evie

 

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May 18, 2018

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May 19-20, 2018,

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May 23-25, 2018

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