It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would have, finding a way from the front deck of the yacht to the sand below. It just so happened that an extendable ladder was stored in the same compartment as the anker, which could have also have been used.

"I'll go down first," I said, judging the length of the drop.  I couldn't say that I wasn't scared, but I had always been more scared of what you couldn't see in the ocean beneath you rather than what could be on land. Big mistake.

"No, someone else should go."

"Jayden, I'll be fine," I snapped. I turned back to the ladder.  "Stop treating me like I'm a child."

I gently placed my legs on the first bar. Jordan squeeled and Kenzie watched anxiously, constitantly glancing over her shoulder for anymore of those water-creatures.  Once I had a good grip on the bars, the climb down became fairly easy. The air became a little cooler and comfortable the further I scrambled down, and in the distance the baking sun was stretching across the waters edge, casting a glowing, yellow line on the horizon.

My feet landed on the sand with a plop and I almost fell on the uneven floor.

I couldn't help but first notice the black glowing stars that made the island look as if covered in sequins. They had not just been my imagination. They were real, shining and twinkling like black fireflies. The glowing lights were not anywhere around me, however. They mantained a good foot around my body, as if I had some sort of bubble-shield around me.  I took a step forward to grasp one of the floating objects, but they immediately moved to dodge my hand.  I was repelling them, like a negative magnet against a negative magnet.

This is unreal...

Another girl, whom I did not know, joined me at my side and after being momentarily curious about the glowing black lights, looked up at the island with a horrified look on her face.  I felt the exact same way: Horrified.

It took a good fifteen minutes to get everyone down the ladder, but once they were, I felt a little less trapped, mostly because I knew that those monsters could no longer corner any of us on a machine that was of no real use.

But then again, we were on a wider playing field now. Who knew what lay beyond the trees and the mountains?

The group of us looked around curiously, swaying absentmindedly to the sound of crashing waves. Many attemped to catch the levitating stars, but everytime they tried, the stars moved away from them.  I couldn't help but wonder why. What could those things be? My thoughts were interruped by a small voice.

"What do we do now?" Hallie asked.

"I-"

The trees that surrounded the forest suddenly gave a mighty shiver and a sharp wind blew through the quiet, grave cluster of teenagers. The darkness in the forest grew murkier, inkier, and there were weird screeches and noises, like nastier, more gutteral remixes of what animals sounded like in the real world.

I wanted to break down and cry. There was no possible way that any of this could end well.

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