Hi you;)
to put it in shizun's words: it's done * celebrate *
... well, it took a long time, which is probably entirely ours & we want to apologize to you for that too and hope you enjoy the new chapter anyway; D


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~ Rottnest Island ~

"Is that there ... the harbor?" Mia gasped for air as she let herself fall into the damp sand. “No, this is Disneyworld Australia, what else?” “Leave the sarcasm, Finn. And, yes, this is the port ... I think.” Juka put her hands on her sides and looked at the port, even though she was wasn't very sure if they were right here. "But this morning the houses were still standing ... or am I wrong?" Cesca glanced at the nearby houses, some of whose walls had collapsed or burned down. "Are you sure we are on the right island?" she turned to Juka who shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "... People, I think Cesca is right, we must have made a mistake in the island." Dean brushed sand from his shorts and cast a skeptical look at the destroyed houses.

"... No, I'm pretty sure this is our island. The house back there looks just like old Harrison's, doesn't it? And the promenade ... this is definitely Rottnest Island." Juka left a few steps in the direction of town, but she didn't get very far. "Wait a minute, where are you going?" Finn promptly stood next to her and held her shoulder back. "Well, I want to see what's going on here. Everything was still here this morning ... whole and now look at that." She made an extravagant gesture in the direction of the crumbling houses. "... maybe a third world war broke out while we were at sea?" Mia was getting restless. “That strange thunderstorm, maybe it was an atomic bomb or something ?!” She sat up and nervously began to run her fingers through the damp sand. "Oh nonsense ... that was just a thunderstorm. Nothing more than a thunderstorm ... If you ask me we should go home." Juka gave her friends a quick look and waited for some second opinion.

"Are you sure? I mean, that doesn't look very busy. Let alone sure ..." Dean ran his fingers through his wet hair and cast a restless look at the dilapidated promenade. He wasn't even sure whether he would find his way back to his parents' house.

"I have to agree with him, it would be better if we stay here." Finn said firmly and sat down next to Mia on the sand. "You're welcome to do that, but I'm not going to sit here and wait for someone to find me." Juka poisoned him. "Yes, you love running home and hope that someone is at home. Take a look around, doesn't look like anyone is here, does it?" There was an icy silence on the beach for a moment.Apart from the rustling of the sea, there was no sound to be heard, no soul in sight. "... I've never heard you roar before." Cesca said softly. Finn just sighed and fell back. "So what's going on here? Does anyone have a plausible explanation for it?" Dean groaned in despair. What just happened "Maybe Mia is right after all and we missed World War III ?! What if ... when everyone is dead?" Cloud was starting to panic. "... are you serious? What are we going to do now?" Mia panicked Cloud and buried her fingers in the sand.

Neo and Skye hurried through the empty streets. They walked past the wretched remains of their hometown, careful not to cause any noise. “What do you think, where are they from?” Neo said softly. "... I don't know, maybe they are infected and were maneuvered here from the mainland." "No, I think that is unlikely. If they were infected, they would have been executed long ago." but do you have another suggestion? "" ... No, I have no idea where you come from or why you are here. "The two gradually approached the promenade. "Back there ..." Skye pointed to the other end of the beach, the group was sitting on a larger patch of sand. “You look pretty upset, don't you?” Neo put a hand to his forehead to get a better look. "Hm ... none of our business. Can you see the infected one anywhere?" Neo glanced over his shoulder and at the houses in the background. “I don't see it anywhere. What is Blair saying?” Skye spoke softly to Blair over the headset. "She says it's about half a kilometer away from us ... Let's go." Neo nodded and the two ran across the beach towards the group.

Juka sank into the sand next to Finn in frustration. She had given up. Nobody was listening to her anyway. "Oh, look? Tired of playing survival coach?" Finn gave her a tired smile and slowly sat up. “No, I'm giving up.” There was a moment of silence, it felt like an eternity. "... we can't just sit around here, can we?" Cloud braided a strand of her hair and looked at her friends slightly desperately. "What else are you going to do with him?" replied her Dean annoyed. "I don't know ... we could swim back to the boat and alert the coast guard?" said Cloud, but even she had gradually realized that it didn't help to spread optimism.
"... I think I'm starting to hallucinate ..." Mia rubbed her eyes and sighed softly. “Why?” Dean gave her a concerned look. "Well, I'm starting to see people ..." She laughed softly. "Where?" "Back there. I thought there were two guys standing there, but I just imagined that." She shrugged her shoulders and Dean looked in the direction Mia had indicated. "Hmm ... nobody is there.Would have been too beautiful, wouldn't it? "He hung his shoulders in disappointment and buried his fingers in the sand. By now he was almost warm.
“Mia, did they both have black hair and a coat?” Cesca stared down the beach. "Yes ... I think so." "... Oh. Then I'll probably see you too ..." The rest of the group followed her gaze. “I don't know these guys, maybe you?” Finn looked around the room doubtfully. "No ... and that means you don't come from here." Juka got up and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. The two came closer. “They're coming to us, aren't they?” Cesca stood next to her. "I think so. We should wait until you get here ..."

"They saw us. What do you think do you look infected?" Neo ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. Could be that they are still in the incubation period. But maybe they are healthy ..." Skye shrugged and kept his eyes on the six strangers. Countless questions were buzzing around in his head. Who were these people? Where did they come from? Were you infected? What should they do with them? He hadn't the faintest idea. They gradually came closer. "We should maybe put our hands up, you know. So they can see we're unarmed and so on." suggested Neo. "... Where did you get that from?" Skye had to grin. "I saw it in a movie. It's been a long time." "Hm ... well, if you think so." They walked towards the group with their hands raised.
In the first row stood two girls and a boy, he pushed himself protectively in front of the girls. Behind them were two more girls and another boy. One of the girls, with red hair, was just about to get up, the other just stared at her expectantly, and the boy was sitting in the sand with his legs outstretched.

"Um ... hi." Neo let his hands drop again and stepped somewhat unsteadily from one leg to the other. Skye stood next to him and put his hands down too. “Where are you from?” Skye didn't care for greetings. “The question is more where you come from, right?” Juka put her hands on her hips and looked at them suspiciously. "... We live here." Neo said a bit confused. "Nonsense. I've never seen you two here and I know everyone on this island." Juka was slowly but surely a little irritated. "Excuse me? Are you saying that you come from here?" Juka nodded and sighed exaggeratedly annoyed. "... That can't be. You don't come from here." "Yes. We have lived here all our lives. So who are you?"
"Um ... my name is Neo and this is Skye. And who are you?" "My name is Juka. This is Cesca and Dean. And those back there are Cloud, Mia and Finn. So why are you lying to us? Where did you come from?" you? And what happened here? "

"We don't lie, we live here. And what do you mean by 'what happened here'?" "She means the city. What happened to it? This morning everything was still whole." said Dean calmly."Excuse me? This morning? What ... Skye, what's going on here?"
"... I have no idea. So you were here this morning?" "Yes. We went out to sea this morning and then there was this thunderstorm and the white light ... then our boat was over and we are Swam here. Well, and then we'll see the ruined promenade. "Cesca was nervous and had trouble not stuttering while she spoke. "... This is ... I'm confused." Skye ran a hand through her hair and groaned. "Shit like that ... Well, you don't come from the mainland, you went out to sea from this island this morning. I suppose you haven't heard of the disease either, have you?" He earned six completely perplexed looks and groaned in annoyance on.

"That can't be true ... The disease that broke out here, here and in the rest of the world, too ... The one that turns people into cannibal monsters." There was a tense silence. "You want to be kidding, right?" it came from Mia, nervously chewing on her lower lip. "... So you haven't heard of it. That can ... Neo, what do we do now?" "He's kidding us, right?" Mia turned to Neo, who shook his head.
"Well ... maybe Mia was right about her third world war." Finn got up with a sigh and helped Cloud up. "Third World War? No, just a failed experiment." muttered Neo.

Concerned silence in the forest. Well, not in the forest, more at the harbor. Skye shuffled her feet, Cesca looked desperately for tea. Juka searched the ruins with his eyes, Finn almost fell asleep due to the exertion.
An awkward silence fell over the group. Neo and Alex just stared at each other in despair. Who were they anyway? Could you believe them? Okay, new company was all well and good, but what if ...

But none of them got any further. "There!" shouted Juka, and pointed a finger at a ruin. Everyone was torn from