WHAT IS GOING ON? {SAM-DORIAN}

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- DAY TWO - MORNING -
- SAMANTHA PACES THE SHORELINE, WAITING FOR DORIAN TO RETURN -

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Last night was terrifying. She still couldn't get her mind around it. Blood curdling screams, echoing roars that shook the ground. Just what the hell was in the jungle? She never got a chance to find out, but the curiosity remained. Her mind spun with unanswered questions, stress, and an intense amount of worry for Dorian. Last night, she, Dorian and a few members of the group had ventured out to find the source of those terrifying screams. Katherine had come from the jungle badly injured. She was returned to the group, but the roars started up. Thus prompting Dorian to go investigate. Not one to sit by and be helpless, Samantha had ventured after him at a distance without his knowledge.

She couldn't shake the images of that young girl covered in blood, both dry and fresh. The roars had ceased, but then those haunting whispers followed them. Samantha liked to think she wasn't easily frightened. But those whispers among the trees had unnerved her. She shuddered the memory. She barely got any sleep last night. Between her pounding head and the nightmares filled with voices and screams. She raked her fingers through her thick, blonde hair. Her crystalline gaze flicked back to the treeline, searching for any signs of Dorian. She usually didn't worry a lot, but she refused to watch another person die. She had spent countless months watching her grandfather wither away in a hospital bed before she pulled the plug. What no one knew was that he had asked her to.

The sight of blood had made her physically ill last night. She was squeamish and she couldn't stomach all that blood. She didn't want to let herself bond with anyone too much, but she couldn't sit by and let Dorian die. She didn't want to run, she wanted to help in some way. But the look in his eyes when he ordered her to leave had done her in. Now she hoped and prayed he'd come back alright. The sounds in the jungle had died down, so she hoped that was a good sign. The rest of the castaways had started to rouse from slumber and gather around the middle of the beach, just out of reach of the tide. She let her gaze move back to the ocean in front of her. The sun was coming up and the air was already heavy with humidity.

Heaving yet another sigh, she continued to pace along the warm sand. Uncaring if she was being watched or seen as crazy. She refused to speak of what she saw last night, not just because she feared she wouldn't be believed. It was just too gruesome and terrifying to relive through telling. So she kept to herself in and continued looking to the jungle then back to the ocean. She wanted off the island as soon as possible and back en route to their true destination. She decided to stop pacing and collapsed to sit in the warming sand. She had rummaged She folded her arms over her knees and rested her chin on them. She looked out into the distance and tried to make sense of what had happened. She hoped Dorian was okay and if that girl had made it through the night. She had some doubts, but she was tired of the overhanging depression that clung to the air.

Murmurs of concern erupted from the castaways camped a yard away from her. She turned to look toward the group, when her attention was drawn toward the treeline once more. Movement among the trees caused her to tense up. Then two figures emerged and she was on her feet within moments. Dorian had emerged from the jungle, holding the young woman from last night. It was clear something was wrong since her body was limp and still just as bloody. She could tell from the distance that she hadn't made it. Heaving a sigh, her shoulders dropped. Then she steeled herself and made her way up the slight incline toward him. He didn't seem to be injured, but no one could really say. Slight worry shone in her eyes as she stopped in front of him. "What happened? Is everything alright? What was that thing in the jungle?" before she could stop it, a torrent of questions spilled from her lips. She had been silent long enough, she wanted answers.

word count: 733
tag: Dorian
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[Dorian St. Pierre]

Dawn had come. The soft, shimmering light that illuminated the bamboo forest was slowly growing stronger with renewed intensity. The forest floor, which had up to this point been hard and rocky, had been become soft and sandy. The waves, crashing over the jagged shoreline, were just barely audible in the distance. The bamboo was flawless and it seemed completely untouched by humanity. The scene was tranquil and idyllic, as if all was right in the world. But, of course, it wasn't.

Dorian St.Pierre, his ankle swollen and painful, paused for a moment to catch his breath. He turned to look behind him, taking in the surrounding environment. His path through the bamboo forest was like a long, jagged scrape in an otherwise perfect tree line. It almost resembled a dark, ominous tunnel. For some reason, the sunlight seemed to barely penetrated the deeper parts of the forest. He had been walking for what seemed like an eternity. He had spent the night in the deep recesses of the forest and his eyes were now dim and bloodshot, for lack of any sleep. Oddly enough, there was no evidence of last night's frantic dash through forest. Had it been just Dorian there would have likely been no tracks to follow. However, considering that he had been joined by the group's medic, de-facto nurse, the blond girl who had refused to abandon him until the bitter end, and the unconscious girl that they had dragged out of the jungle, he expected to find broken branches or even perhaps bits of blood on the short, bamboo shoots. Nonetheless, there nothing to be found. Was it possible that he had lost his usually keen sense of direction?

He turned forward, bent down on one knee, and slowly allowed the limp body perched upon his shoulder to fall into his arms. The girl, who couldn't have been more than nineteen years old, looked peaceful. Her long, auburn hair was braided into a tight, well-groomed main; her skin was soft and pale. She had full, round lips, that had gone dull gray, and she still smelt of sweet perfume. Dorian supposed she was beautiful, or at least she must have been when she was alive.

Despite all this time, he had not paused to examine the body. Although he wasn't there when she had drawn her last breath, Dorian figured that she hadn't been dead for more than a few moments when he found her. He remembered gazing into her dark, brown eyes, an expression of sheer horror still sketched across her face. The poor thing had been absolutely terrified when she succumbed to her injuries. But now her face had relaxed, expressionless. He had closed her eyes some time ago, out of respect for the dead. Like the forest, she looked tranquil and idyllic.

Thick, sticky blood covered her entire torso. Most of it had gone dry by now and it allowed Dorian to see the full extent of her injuries for the first time. Her arms and legs were badly scraped and she had a deep gash on her right shoulder, which had evidently bled quite a lot. But these injuries were superficial, at most. Her loose tank-top was stained blood red and it was impossible to tell what color the garment had previously been. Dorian examined her chest and found what appeared to be a small, shallow pool of blood. Hesitantly, Doran extended his pointer finger and pushed it, slowly, into the hole. It was completely empty. He shuddered when realization came to him... The hole was exactly where her heart should have been.

An eerie chill crept up his spine, uncharacteristic in the warm, tropical air. He hoisted her up, once again, his sprained ankle throbbing painfully. Dorian marched forward, slowly but steadily, intent on making it out of the forest and quickly as possible. Although he would never admit it, he was frightened. She hadn't been gorged by a wild bore or torn to pieces by some predatory. The poor, dead girl over his shoulder had felt her heart being ripped out of her chest, presumably while she was still alive. And in his present condition, Dorian was in no shape to fend off an attack, if whatever killed his companion came for him.

He trudged forward, nearing the end of the forest, and found something metallic glittering in the soft morning light. Dorian peered down at it, his eyes painfully sore from lack of sleep, and was stunned to find the lighter that he had dropped last night. Perhaps he had been going in the right direction after all. How could that be true, though? Shouldn't there be some kind of evidence of last night's horrific adventure!?

Dorian scooped up his weather Zippo lighter and made a beeline for the shore. He emerged, breathless and exhausted. The dazzling light, reflecting off of the white beach, disoriented him and he nearly collapsed. He let the corpse fall from his shoulders and Dorian stumbled backwards, only barely able to stop himself from falling over. He steadied himself and, his eyes adjusting to the brightness, saw the blond girl from last night approaching him, a look of relief and concern simultaneously etched across her face. "What happened? Is everything alright? What was that thing in the jungle?"

"Her heart..." Dorian spluttered, gasping for air. "Her heart's gone."

... words: 895
... oufit: click
... tag: Samantha
... notes: Hope this gives you enough to work with! Haha