“WHOO!” “YES!” “WHOOP-WHOOP!” “HOME IN SIGHT BABY, YEAH!” There were yells and shouts from all of us. We ran at top-speed toward the shore, where the helicopter was beginning to descend. I didn’t care where it came from. All I knew was that I was going home. Joy filled my heart and soul for the first time in days. Thalia was going home, I was going home, Demi was going home, Beth was too and so were the guys.

Everything went wrong from there. We’d reached the shore but just then, the Megalodon stretched out of the waves and ate the helicopter in one bite.

“NO!!” Thalia fell to her knees and dropped her club. She started crying. Demi knelt down and tried to comfort her, but it was no use. Thalia had been stuck on this island a lot longer than the rest of us had. Plus, she was a lot younger too.

“No…” I whispered.

“It’s okay, help will arrive,” Demi was saying to Thalia, but she didn’t sound sure. Not even a little. Thalia was whispering inaudibly as tears streaked down her face. Zac looked like he might break down too. Tom’s face filled with rage. Demi looked shattered. I wanted to burst into tears and yell at the Megalodon for killing innocent lives and destroying our one hope. I wanted to sink into the warm sand and stay there forever, letting the sand absorb my misery.

But I had to stay strong. For the others.

Before I could say anything, Tom yelled and stomped his foot in the sand. Demi and Thalia ignored him, but the rest stared at him.

“S-sorry,” he said, looking down.

“It’s fine—let’s go, guys, no use crying over ruined hope,” I said.

Thalia refused Demi’s hand, picked up her club and stomped off toward the tent. Except for me and Tom the others followed. I didn’t really want to move.

Still wanted to sink.

“OW!” Tom exclaimed, jumping. He looked at his foot in surprise. There was a little screw wedged in.

“Oh my God, hold up, I’m gonna get the others.” I dashed off to the tent. “GUYS, Tom got a freaking screw in his foot, c’mon!”

I lead them down the beach. Thalia had grabbed bandages and tweezers from MTO and joined us. Tom was staring blankly at the screw in the middle of his foot.

“OOF,” Thalia said. She handed Beth the bandages and tweezers and they shared a small conversation through their eyes or something.

“This might hurt,” she said. She took the tweezers and yanked the screw out of his foot.

“OW, okay, thanks, done, bye.” He tried to get up, but his foot was bleeding. He thumped down again. The sand was soaked in blood. Beth whacked him with a banana and wrapped his foot in bandages.

“There,” she said, clearly pleased with herself. She got up and stood next to Thalia with her arms folded.

Well, I thought. Talk about entertaining.

“Okay, one thing left though. How did the dolt get a screw in his foot anyway?” I said, half teasing, half serious.

Demi sighed. “Kind of my fault…” she mumbled. I stared at her.

“H-how?”

But I already knew the answer.

Demi reached down and pulled up a bit of her jeans. There were two latches hooked at the bottom of her knee. She unlatched them and her skin fell away from that point, revealing a bionic leg.