Atlas

"So, how are we going to do this?" I ask, leaning forward to look at the map. "We're obviously going to need to canoe or something, right? To get to the island?"

"Yeah." Cal says, tracing the line of the map with his finger. It goes all the way from where we are now to a remote island in the ocean. He bites his lip, examining the smear of red.

"How far is that?" I ask, my brow furrowed. I'm not a particularly big fan of canoeing, and I'd love to do it as little as possible. My short arms aren't really made to row, neither are my stubby legs.

Cal grimaces. It's almost as if he's read my thoughts and is delivering the bad news. "About five miles, more or less. And considering how much stuff we're going to have to bring, it's going to take us four or five hours to get there." he looks out at the sky. "Which means we need to leave soon." he turns around and asks Hope and Alex about the list of supplies they've compiled.

"We're going to have to leave pretty quickly to get there before nightfall." Cal says. "Hope, can you help me get the canoes ready?"

"We'll pack everything." I say, glancing at Alex, who gives one nod.

They leave, and the two of us pack our clothes into backpacks, shoving as many headlamps and water bottles into them as well. First aid kits, knives, anything that could be helpful, we find places to put them. All of this, we do as inconspicuous as possible while the police search for Atlas around the woods.

"We're going to need food somehow." I say once we're done with supplies and clothes, wiping some sweat off of my forehead and placing my hands on my hips.

"Let's go get some from the kitchen then." he says, moving towards the door.

"Wait! I'll go. Only one of us should." I say, grabbing his wrist. "We can't be too obvious walking around. Everyone else is probably gone by now. If I get caught, I can just say I forgot something in the mess hall. If there's two of us–"

"Okay, I get it." he says. "I'll see if there's more fire starters in the closet."

I bite my lip, looking out the door. I don't see any officers, but they could see me from out of the woods. Which means I'll have to be fast.

I start with a dead sprint, forcing my short legs to work as fast as possible. I'm speeding across the ground, my heart thumping in my ears, feet pounding on the ground, almost there when suddenly–

"Young lady, what are you doing?" A tall police officer says, suddenly appearing beside me, his hands on his hips. "Everyone was ordered to leave the premises two hours ago."

"I know, I'm sorry." I stop to face him, quickly remembering the lie I came up with minutes ago with Alex. "I forgot my phone in the mess hall, I'm going to get it. I'll be gone afterwards."

He raises one eyebrow, but doesn't push further. "Alright. Be quick." he turns around, jogging back towards the woods, flashlight raised even though it's still light outside.

I watch him for a second before remembering what I'm supposed to be doing, and turning to sprint back into the mess hall.

Inside the pantry, I study the food before me. What kind of food would be best to take on a canoe trip to find a missing person was something I'd never thought to consider before. Not wanting to waste time, I grab a couple of plastic bags from a corner and shove two loaves of bread, a pack of cheese, protein bars, and non-perishable things I can find into them before flying back to the cabin.

Inside, Hope and Cal stand while Alex shoves more fire starters into an already bursting backpack.

"Ready?" Hope asks me, a grim smile on her face, tossing me a faded life jacket. I put it on, buckling up the plastic, and tucking my braids into a baseball cap.

"I'm ready."

•─────⋅☾⋅─────•

"Shh!" Hope holds a finger to her lips, as we lift the canoe into the water, loading it with all of our supplies. We've managed to pack light enough, even if that means leaving changes of shoes behind. I briefly asked Cal what Shauna would do if she found our other suitcases that we've shoved under the bunk beds and stuffed into the depths of closets.

He just grimaces in response. "I don't know. Let's just hope she doesn't."

"Fair." I mutter in response, my feet slapping on the doc as we walk to get the other. This whole thing feels like some bizarre dream, not real life. It seems like a book or movie, not something I'm actually experiencing myself.

Forming an assembly line of sorts, we pass stuff down a row to each other and into the docs, anything ranging from sleeping bags to tents to backpacks.

"Do we need two tents?" Cal asks when being passed the second bagged tent.

"Unless you want four people to sleep in a two person tent, then yes." Hope retorts, handing him her backpack to put in the front of their canoe.

He's about to respond with something when a loud voice echos, not belonging to myself or the three people around me. "What's that?"

"Where?" another responds.

"Down there, by the water." the first voice booms.

My insides turn to ice. I look at Alex, whose eyes are as wide as I know mine are. All four of us are frozen, staring at each other in terror.

"Someone must have forgotten to put some canoes up." the voice, belonging to the police officer I met earlier, assures his colleague. "Come on, let's keep looking."

We wait a full five minutes, not moving to make sure that they're voices and footsteps are completely gone.

"Okay, now we really have to get going." Cal mutters, putting the last backpack in the boat. "So, Hope and I are together? Alex and Imani, are you good being together?"

"Of course." I nod, stepping into the front of our boat.

However, it's quickly proven that neither of us is built to canoe. Alex is in charge of steering, and while he's not bad at it, neither of us is really strong in the arms, so while Hope and Cal sail peacefully out through the water, we wobble and struggle to move at all.

Of course, it doesn't help that the wind is going against us. The water is choppy and sways the boat this way and that, and I can't imagine as we paddle through the lake and into the open ocean how we're going to not tip over.

•─────⋅☾⋅─────•

We can only be halfway there when I notice Alex is fading.

"Are you okay?" I ask, glancing back to look at him. We've majorly fallen behind Cal and Hope, who are thirty yards in front of us and going strong still.

"I'm fine." he assures me, but his paddles are weak and barely move us at all. I'm not entirely sure he's up to continue this for another couple of miles, judging by the exhausted look I just saw on his face.

Still, I trust somewhat that he's capable and continues to paddle, a bit harder to make up for how weak his strokes are.

"We're about to cross a channel!" Cal calls back to us from him and Hope canoe. "It's going to get even choppier ahead, so be careful!"

I nod, worry growing in me in spite of myself. Are Alex and I capable of paddling across? Now, I'm not sure.

Sure enough, the water is even choppier in front of us. Alex does as best as he can to steer us, but we begin to tip violently. I hold on to the side of the canoe that rises in front of me, managing to push it back down, my heart beating erratically. However, there's now a clear inch of water in the bottom of the boat, and I'm grateful that my sandals are waterproof, even though the cold water doesn't feel too great.

"Alex!" I shout as we veer to the left, "are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" he insists, pushing himself even harder to get us back on track. Hope and Cal have stopped paddling to let us catch up with them, and now Cal looks at him with worry.

"Are you sure you're okay?" there's something in his eyes that I can't quite understand, and it's gone before I fully realize what it is.

"I'm..." Alex is about to protest when suddenly he passes out cold in the boat, his paddle hitting the water.