The Desert Island Survival Was Just A Scheme For My Long-Lost Sister Chapter 03
Jenna shrieked.
Before I could land a second blow, Derek rushed over and grabbed my arm in panic.
“Have you lost your mind, Nat?!”
I fell onto the rough ground, the impact leaving me shaken. Pain stole my voice.
Jenna was sobbing into her hands. “I don’t want to go home anymore…”
Ethan lost control and pushed me away.
The last thing I saw, before the world went black, was their Bias Units maxing out.
I smiled, and let the darkness take me.
I didn’t know how long I was out. I swam back to consciousness to the sound of Derek’s panicked voice.
“You hit her too hard! She’s unconscious!”
“And you didn’t?” Ethan shot back, his voice just as frantic. “Her back is shredded!”
A heavy sigh. “We went too far, didn’t we? This final test… maybe we should call it off. Bring the helicopter in early. Before we actually hurt her.”
Silence. The two of them stewing in guilt.
Then a crackle from the radio: my father’s voice. “Ethan! What kind of brother are you? Jenna’s here crying, saying she won’t go home. Get over here and fix this!”
Footsteps. Receding into the night.
Through the haze, I saw the Bias Units above Ethan and Derek begin to drop.
When I woke again, I was soaked, shivering, lying at the bottom of a deep hole.
A strange smell filled the cave, and I realized I was trapped somewhere underground.
I felt dizzy and struggled to stay awake.
I tried to crawl out, but I was too cold and too weak to move.
The absurdity of it all crashed down on me. I wept.
I remembered the summer after senior year, the day college decisions came out.
I’d scored way higher than I expected—got into my reach school.
My parents hugged me, crying.
Ethan said he’d book the best venue for my graduation party.
Derek promised to buy whatever I wanted.
That day, I was the happiest girl alive.
Then, at dinner, my mom had asked, “Would you be happy if you had a little sister?”
I’d laughed. “Wait, are you pregnant?”
My dad had waved it off. “Your mom’s kidding. Of course, you’re our only daughter, sweetheart. We’ll always be one happy little family.”
I’d thrown myself into their arms, giggling. “Promise? No one else?”
I hadn’t felt their bodies go rigid. Hadn’t noticed Ethan and Derek’s sudden quiet.
But was a single careless sentence really enough to justify this?
The smell of hydrogen sulfide burned my throat.
Giving up felt strangely peaceful for a moment.
I licked my chapped lips, my thoughts dissolving. Then, water. Cool and sweet, trickling into my mouth. I drank greedily.
“Nat? Nat, talk to me!”
Ethan. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t obey.
Jenna’s shadow loomed over me. “Wake up, Nat,” she whispered, shaking me. But her fingers tightened around my arms.
Then, so only I could hear, “Stop pretending. I smell the chlorine from the pool. You were at the villa, weren’t you? You think I can’t see through your little act?”