NO ONE’S POV:

It wasn’t long after Onew had sat down in the sand, that Taemin began to stir. As he opened his eyes blearily he felt a strange tightness in his chest. As if his lungs had shrunk. He tried to breathe, but choked. Screwing up his eyes, he coughed, spewing up a mouthful of saltwater. He flinched at the sour taste in his mouth, and felt the urge to brush his teeth.

He opened his eyes again and blinked at the blinding rays of the sun. His eyes seemed to scream with pain. They felt bruised and swollen. Why was it so bright? He turned his head slightly, noticing the sand in front of his eyes. He froze. So it wasn’t a dream?

He sat up –or attempted to. The first time he fell back, wincing at a sharp pain in his shoulder. But on the second attempt, grunting with effort, he managed to uphold a sitting position, although his whole body screamed with agony.

He blinked at the unfamiliar scenery around him. Fear began to swell in his chest. A million thoughts ran through his mind as he turned his head.

Where am I? What happened? Where are the others?? Are they okay? Am I alone? Wait! There’s Onew, but why is he smiling with a creepy-glint in his eye? Why was he shirtless?? Where is Minho? Where am I? Why am I here??

Taemin could feel tears of frustration burn at the edge of his eyes. Why? There was a soft moan nearby. Taemin looked to his right and shuddered. There was her. The one that had caused all of this!

He tried to stand, but stumbled onto his knees. There was so much stiffness and his whole back was on fire. “Help!” He tried to yell, but his voice came out thin and cracked.
 

~~~

 

Onew glanced over his shoulder and smiled, the evil glint in his eyes disappeared. He had been thinking about his dream and about inception, and if only he could use it to create a world of chicken…

Onew jogged over to the quivering boy and put his hand on Taemin’s shoulder, grinning widely. He was glad that Taemin was awake, he couldn’t wait to tell him his idea.

“OUCH! Yah, that hurts!” Taemin clutched his shoulder, feeling a burning sensation in his eyes.  He must not cry! He. Must. Not. Cry.

Onew’s bright eyes dimmed as he saw Taemin in pain, “Take your shirt off!”

Taemin, furiously trying to blink away the tears, stare at his hyung in shock. Take his shirt off?? What was Onew going to do?

Onew stepped closer to Taemin, his eyes so serious that he looked queer and strange. Onew was hardly ever so serious. Taemin’s heart began to race, ever so slightly.

“Take off your shirt! I want to look at your shoulder.”

Taemin looked up at Onew, helpless and bewildered. All he wanted to know is where on earth he was! Onew sighed and gently gripped his fingers at the bottom of his mankae’s T-shirt and started to peel it off Taemin’s pale chest. Sand and small bits of seaweed scraped his tender skin, revealing long scrapes of bare flesh.

“Ow… OW!! YAH HYUN- AHHHH!!! OWOWOWOWOWWW!!” Taemin bellowed at the pain, but Onew kept pulling until the shirt fell to the sand, soaking.

Taemin turned from Onew’s stare, determined that his hyung wouldn’t see his tears. But Onew wasn’t interested in Taemin’s tears (which he had noticed, but thought better of embarrassing Taeminnie), instead he gaped at a huge, black and purple bruise that covered Taemin’s left shoulder. It was swollen and a gruesome sight. Three long grazes stretched across his back, two of them had begun to weep through the flesh. Onew shuddered in his head, no wonder his Taemin was in such agony.

“We need to put something cold on this…” Onew murmured and looked around, feeling helpless. Taemin unsuccessfully tried to stifle a sob, but the pain was too much. Why was there so much?

Onew left him. Just like that. Why? Taemin clenched his teeth as another spasm of pain racked his body. His thoughts clouded over and he cried louder.

“Try hold still. This is probably going to… to hurt a lot!” Onew’s soft voice returned. He felt so stupid, there he was, and thinking about stupid chicken and Taemin had been in pain! What about the others? He slapped himself inwardly. How could he just look over them briefly and just think they’d “be-all-right’?

Idiot!

“Wh-what are you doing?” Taemin whispered.

Onew snapped back to reality “Oh, um, I’m going to put my shirt on you. I washed out the sand as best as I could in the salt water. I’m going to gently clean your wounds–“

“WOUNDS? SALT??!” Taemin yelped. His back quivered, half with uncontrollable throbbing and half with dread. He knew that the salt would hurt, oh boy would it hurt!

“Hold still… try hold still, please.” Onew’s voice trembled. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want Taemin to be in pain.

He placed the wet material onto Taemin’s shoulders, flinching at the screams of agony from the injured boy. Gently he wiped the sand and small fragments of seaweed. Taemin writhed on the sand, causing more sand to fly onto his sores. Onew had to hold him down forcefully.

After what had seemed hours, he had done, Taemin was trembling, his back was pink and swollen, but clean. Onew carefully helped him up and supported him onto the grass, near the tall trees, but not too close. You could never trust a coconut tree. Onew left to clean the t-shirt again.

Taemin, bent over his crossed legs, whimpered and beagn wiping the streaming tears of his face, sniffing with every breath, so as not to let his nose over-run. When his hyung had returned he felt safer. Onew bent down and gently wiped Taemin’s face. Taemin smiled weakly, but dropped his head. Although he was in so much pain, he felt numb and stiff at the same time.

I just want it to stop. I just want to wake up…

 

~~~

 

Key opened his eyes and screamed.

He didn’t know where he was, but that he was trying to swim in the middle of the ocean. The dark-grey waves flung him too and fro, every time he tried to breathe he would only end up with a mouthful of the foul-tasting seawater. He screamed until his breath was gone.

Then there was silence. The silence was soon broken by his sobs, as he pulled in air, half crying. How could it be so quiet? He had almost drowned. Only moments ago he had been screaming and paddling for his life. He clenched the warm sand beneath him as he sobbed. It was over. But how were birds chirping happily?

How could they be so happy??

“KEY! Are you okay?” A familiar voice beside his head made him jump. He winced at the stiffness in his neck and back. He tried to move, but pain hammered down his back. His breath shortened to short gasps and a shadow overhead.

Jonghyun… he was alive too?

“Hold still, Key.” Cold liquid was padded onto Key’s dried lips. He them eagerly, but gagged at the taste of salt water.

“Careful. It’s seawater, so it’s salty!” Too late, Jonghyun…

“Don’t try to talk yet either, Key. Just stay still until you feel better.” Jonghyun placed the wet cloth on Key’s dry lips again, then heard Onew’s voice calling him, “I’ll be right back! Onew... he needs me for something”

Jonghyun seemed exhausted... 

So Onew is here too? What about everyone else? Tears sparked into Key’s aching eyes. Please, please let them be alright! Let them be alive!!

Key closed his eyes and fell asleep. He felt exhausted.

 

~~~

 

Key’s eyes snapped open and suddenly he knew things about himself, instantly. For one thing, he was thirsty. Insanely thirsty. His mouth felt dry and tasted foul and sticky. As he opened his mouth slightly he could feel how dry his lips were. They were cracked and felt as if they had been bleeding.

No! Not my perfect lips!

All he wanted was water. Lots and lots of water. If the sea was made of cool water from a bottle, he would drink it all!

He knew the thirst and the burning sensation on his face wasn't a good thing. He had laid in the sun all morning, which had cooked his face. Not my perfect face! It felt as if it was on fire. He knew, with a sinking feeling, that his normally pearly skin would turn red, blister and peel. His poor, perfect face…

The sunburn, he knew, would only make his thirst worst.  Oh poo… where was that Jonghyun? Why didn’t he come back??

Slowly, and painfully, Key stood up and staggered. There was a lot of stiffness in his back and legs. Nothing like he had ever had before, even after they had been training and dancing all day, they had never been this sore.

He squinted up the beach, screwing his eyes from the dazzling glow of the sand. It was empty, but for an upturned plastic table. Weird…

Suddenly someone was at his side, helping him walk away from the water. His eyes bleared as they stepped into the dark shade. He could barely make anything out, just dark figures. Multi-coloured lights danced before his eyes, due to the brightness of the sun he laid in before. The slippery sand at his feet disappeared into soft, but crackly grass. 

“Key, drink this…” a voice said, holding something up to his mouth. He couldn’t see it, but it was shaped like a large bowl. Cautiously he some of the liquid inside. A creamy sensation crept through his mouth. It was coconut milk! But it tasted better than any drink he had had ever had.

He almost choked himself as he glugged down the creamy milk. It cooled his throat and moistened his lips. It felt good. When there was no more milk left he burped satisfactory, then quickly covered his mouth. Oops, sorry… how un-umma-like!

He opened his eyes and blinked as his vision began to clear. The tall figure beside him was Minho, who was also sunburnt on his face and his eyes were red and swollen. Sitting on the ground was Jonghyun, Onew and Taemin. Taemin was bent over, like an old ajusshi. Suddenly Key saw his back. He felt like vomiting at the open wounds and bruises covering his back. His poor, perfect back…

He turned his eyes away and then spotted a smaller figure, who lay on the grass limply. Key peered closely and gasped. It was her! What was she doing alive? Cough cough let me rephrase that…

What was she doing alive, here?

All of a sudden his legs felt weak. He watched as the ground rushed towards him as his feet gave away. But before his head could hit the ground, Minho had grabbed him. He gently laid Key down onto the cool grass. It felt good on his burning face. My poor, poor burning face… my perfect face…

 

~ ~ ~

 

Jonghyun watched blankly as Key lay in the cool grass. Minho grunted as he sat next to Key. He felt numb, he couldn’t believe this was happening… He couldn’t think properly.

Things seemed to be thrown to and fro between reality and imagination – only that this was reality. One second he seemed to have imagined that he had been thrown overboard, that he fought against the violent storm, that he had swam with the limp Key in his arms, that a shark had circled around them, that he had woken up on a strange beach; that it had all happened to some other person or in a film playing I his mind. He felt as if he was watching a movie, but inside he knew it was real. His half-dry clothes, the pounding in his head that slashed through his thoughts, would remind him that it had all happened. That it was still happening -this nightmare.

I want to go home… I want my bed… I want my shower…

He sat and stared at the grass in front of him. The only sounds were of birds chirping, plants rustling and the breathing of his companions. Every now and again, Taemin – poor Taemin – would squeak or groan in torment.

No one said anything. Key was asleep, again. His forehead was swollen, and his face was red from the harsh sun. He looked like a tomato. Jonghyun smiled for a second, all dark thoughts fleeing from his min as he looked at Key’s tomato-like face.

But as soon as they had fled, the worrying thoughts flooded back. What could they do? Nothing. We can’t do anything until help comes. It was better to wait for help than to “explore” and get lost. They might be in South America, for all they knew! That had jungles right? People got lost in jungles. They got eaten or starved! They got-

Jonghyun shook his head, winching at the hammering pain. Don’t think of those thoughts... we were nowhere NEAR South America... perhaps we were on an island?

People were always rescued from islands.

Help will come. Help always came in stories and films. Help always came within the first or the second day, right?

There was movement. That girl was stirring. Jonghyun felt a pang of guilt, he had moved her to the shade. She had looked so helpless. He felt like a traitor, somehow...

Jonghyun ran his hands through his hair slowly and then regretted it. The saltwater had made it matted, sticky and full of sand.

Yuk! Oh gosh, how gross!! Jonghyun wiped his hand hurriedly on the grass.

“Wh-what? Where a-am I?” A small voice whimpered. We all, except Key, turned our heads towards the words that broke the silence.

Her long dark hair was still wet and matted. It was also filled with sand, like everyone else’s. Her eyes were swollen and red, like everyone’s, due to the salt in the water. She looked small and terrified.  She rubbed her eyes and sniffed, while we stared at her.

We watched her, waiting for someone to make the first move to kill the person who had ruined our lives. Who had given us nightmares that we would never forget. Who had caused us to wash up here.

That girl who had caused us all pain… That girl…

 

Wahh ~ I am sooo sorry for hurting poor Taeminnie! T^T
I feel so cruel in this chapter... but I tried to make it as close to real life as possible!
I hope it wasn't too boring! Gah, not very comedic yet, either...
*bows* Please forgive me! It will get better!