EPISODE ONE

[teenbab]

[ The flight itself wasn't supposed to be too long - only six hours or so. And up until it all went sideways, it'd been fine; some of the kids had paired off, making small talk with those sat closest to them. Others kept to themselves, tuning out with headphones in or with books. A couple of boys a couple of seats from the front had fallen asleep on each other. Some faces were plastered to the windows, as if there was much else to see other than the vast expanse of ocean.

One minute it'd been smooth sailing, the next there'd been turbulence. And then that's worsened considerably, and it'd rapidly become transparently clear that they were taking a one-way, nose-first detour into the Pacific. Though perhaps by divine intervention or sheer, what're-the-odds chance, the plane had gone down a couple of miles from an island's shoreline.

Some woke up practically washed ashore, others weren't so lucky, left to flounder for any floating debris large enough to hold their weight. Regardless of where or how they woke up, one thing was abundantly clear. They were all equally, undeniably fucked. ]

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[57times]

Possible head trauma combined with shock means that sometimes, your reactions to things are delayed or even totally irrational. Esther knows this.

And as she quite literally pulls herself out of the water and onto the beach, chased by the tide until the sand turns dry, she knows that the probability that she's the lone survivor is pretty low. She hopes the others are alright, and while she wasn't scared of dying, she's glad she's not sustained any major, painful injuries.

She's also never been more thrilled to have been in a plane crash. A puzzling thought, even for the circumstances, but it's true. This means they won't get to their destination, which means their trip won't continue, and won't end, and she won't have to fly home again.

Her whole body aches, she's cold somehow and her chest hurts when she takes a breath that's a bit too deep, but when she looks out at the ocean and the scattered mass of debris from the wreck, she can't keep herself from smiling.

Just for a moment. She knows she has to find the others and help them if she can, but for a second, she lets herself indulge the irrational gratitude she's feeling, before she picks a direction, and starts walking.