Episode 18 (Serena Season 1)

A rumble of thunder overhead makes everyone jump,

and my attention turns to the sky,

just as rain starts to pour down from a thick span of grey clouds.

It stretches out across the mountain range,

and a lash of wind promptly drenches my clothes.

MC: "Oh, come on!"

(The weather on this island is ridiculous.)

(We don't need another storm right now!)

Serena: "Great."

Serena: "Just great."

Serena: "We need to head back to the resort before we're soaked to the bone."

Clyde: "I'm not sure we'll have the time for that, Serena."

Clyde: "Climbing down a mountain in the middle of a storm is asking for us to slip and break our necks."

Clyde: "And if we go slow, it's going to be far past dark by the time we get back down to the bottom."

TK: "I'm not going through that jungle in the dark."

TK: "We'll get eaten alive by something."

Logan: "Well, we can't stay out in the open."

Logan: "That's even worse."

Arthur: "TK, didn't you say you saw a cave on the walk up here?"

TK: "Yeah, but it didn't look very big."

Clyde: "Doesn't matter."

Clyde: "If it's shelter, we'll have to make do."

I stare down at the vines again, watching the rain plink down into the surface of water,

and want more than anything to try and tear them out.

We've come all the way up here to find the problem, and now we have to run away.

A firm tug on my arm snaps me back to reality,

and I realize Serena has a hold of me, brows furrowed in conern.

Serena: "Get your head out of the clouds, ."

Serena: "We have to move."

MC: "Sorry, I--"

MC: "Never mind."

Serena's fingers drop to link with mine,

and I only have a second to be surprised before she's dragging me back down the mountain,

following TK and Clyde's careful path around the slippery rocks.

MC: "Serena, I wanted to tell you--"

Serena: "Not now."

The urgency in her voice steals all my confidence away,

and for a while, the only sound I can hear is shoes crunching on stone and the constant patter of rain.

My hair is so weighed down by the water that it's sticking to my skin,

dripping down past my bangs and into my eyes.

TK: "Down there!"

It's less of a cave and more a dark gouge in the side of the mountain,

but it's just large enough for everyone to squeeze inside one by one.

I shiver as I sit down and put my back against the wall,

arms wrapped tight around myself for warmth.

Logan: "Damn, it's creepy in here."

Logan: "Hey, Hope."

Logan: "Keep still a second."

I hear a buzzing in the shadows before a light suddenly turns on,

and I realize it's embedded in Hope's head.

Now that I can see, the whisper of feet on stone becomes Serena pacing back and forth,

her head slightly bowed to avoid the cave's ceiling.

MC: "Are you okay?"

Serena: "No."

(Okay, I should have expected that.)

(But I thought she might elaborate.)

Clyde: "The best thing to do right now is sleep this storm out."

Clyde: "We need the rest anyway."

Clyde: "So pack it in."

Serena doesn't comment but gives up on her pacing,

taking a seat in the very back away from everyone else.

I stare out the mouth of the cave as the guys settle down to sleep,

unsettled when the sun finally falls below the horizon and Hope is our only source of light.

(I was just getting used to sleeping on a bed again.)

Faint sounds of snoring fill the cave and I look back, expecting to see Serena asleep.

Except she's wide awake, staring down at the ground and huddled into herself.

Staying as quiet as I can, I move into the back of the cave, taking a seat next to her.

MC: "Hey."

Serena: "Hey."

MC: "You want to tell me what's up?"

Serena's eyes drift up to mine, worry lining her face.

Serena: "This storm is at the exact wrong time."

Serena: "If we were at the resort, we'd have the supplies to collect some water."

Serena: "But instead we're up here with no way to get rid of those vines and losing time."

Serena: "We had forty-eight hours, ."

Serena: "By morning, we'll have less than a day to find fresh water and a cure."

Serena: "With dehydration compounding the illness... everyone else will be so sick that--"

I don't let her finish that sentence.

Instead, I take Serena's hands in mine, holding her gaze and refusing to look away.

MC: "That's not happening."

MC: "A day is more than enough time."

Serena: "That's not--"

MC: "We tried your way, Serena."

MC: "I've been sad and scared and hopeless, and frankly, it sucks."

MC: "I don't need the specifics."

MC: "I know we have a chance and that's all that matters."

MC: "How about you take my word for it?"

For a moment, she looks ready to argue again,

but finally Serena's shoulders relax and she gives a very small nod.

I snuggle up closer to Serena, laying my head against hers,

and before long we both pass into sleep.

By morning, the storm has passed and our clothes are mostly dry.

Serena takes the lead once we're back in the jungle,

bearingon straight ahead without any breaks for rest.

TK: "Hey, Serena."

TK: "Do you even know where we're going? None of this looks familiar."

Serena: "Is there a reason you're doubting me?"

Logan: "We've been hiking for hours..."

MC: "We were hiking for hours yesterday too."

MC: "Serena knows what she's doing."

She looks back over her shoulder,

and I catch a split second smile before Serena resumes her breakneck pace,

forcing the rest of us to move faster and catch up.

We're heading far from the mountains and the lake,

but I can't make any sense of why until we stumble across a huge river.

MC: "Woah."

MC: "...That's a lot of water."

Clyde: "And look."

Clyde: "You can make out the resort from here!"

He points through the far copse of trees and I can see the damaged roof of the building in the distance.

My jaw drops, and I'm about to run forward to take a closer look when TK grabs my arm.

TK: "What are you doing?"

TK: "Don't you see the crocodiles?"

MC: "The croc--holy shit."

When I squint past the grass lining the riverbank,

more than a dozen crocodiles are laying there, drinking in the sun and slowly lashing their tails.

I catch sight of another one in the water, nearly invisible against the dark earth of the riverbed.

Logan: "We need to get the hell out of here."

Logan: "They'll attack us as soon as we're seen."

MC: "I don't know about that."

MC: "The crocodiles look really... calm."

Arthur: "They do."

Arthur: "The flying squirrels that attacked me had reddened eyes."

MC: "Same with the bird that came after me."

Clyde: "Even if they're not sick, they're still crocs."

Clyde: "That's five hundred kilos that can bite down and drag you underwater."

Serena: "Bu that means the water's clean, Clyde."

Serena: "Which is what I was hoping for."

Serena: "This is fed from a different source than the lake."

TK: "I'm not so sure about that."

TK: "Look."

In one narrow bend of the river, a chunk of familiar vines are growing into the water, and my heart sinks.

But as we watch, a rabbit hops up over the surface side of the vines, chewing on a broad, glowing leaf.

MC: "What's it go there? It's... shining?"

(You just saw vines that heal themselves yesterday, .)

(A glowing plant isn't that weird.)

(No, I take that back.)

(Still weird.)

Serena: "Those vines look different, TK."

Serena: "I'm going to take a closer look."

A. Serena, be careful.

B. Let me come with you.

C. No, don't.

---

B. Let me come with you.

MC: "Let me come with you."

MC: "It's not safe."

Serena: "It will be less safe trying to keep both of us quiet at once."

Clyde: "I think she's right, ."

Clyde: "Hold back."

---

My heart climbs into my throat as Serena creeps along closer to the vines and crouches down.

She prods one and it cracks from the brief pressure,

falling harmlessly into the water and revealing a faint glow underneath.

Clyde: "Bloody hell."

Clyde: "It just fell apart."

Serena: "I think this other plant is the antidote."

Serena: "It's fought off the contamination."

Serena: "But this one's bitten into a hundred pieces thanks to the rabbit."

Serena: "We'll need to find whole ones."

Logan: "Let me guess."

Logan: "They're probably guarded by all these crocodiles."

TK: "Any rabbits that came close would get gobbled up."

Serena: "We need a plan to clear out the riverbank."

The steely determination in her eyes isn't exactly happy,

but it's a hundred times better than the despair I've seen in the last few days.

Clyde: "Let's head back around to the resort."

Clyde: "I know we can put together some tools there."

Serena: "Then we better be quick about it."

Serena: "We'll lose any advantage we have by nightfall."

MC: "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

It's a long way back to the resort without crossing the river,

but the sun is still high when everyone starts hunting for supplies.

Clyde makes it clear that we don't have enough time to make weapons,

but he's hoping we can get something with reach to grab the plants.

Logan: "Hey, Serena."

Logan: "How about this?"

Serena: "What?"

Logan holds up what appears to be a huge rake,

cobbled together from two different brooms, forks, and a ton of twine.

It's kind of terrifying, but when he shakes it, the tool seems sturdy.

Serena: "Hmm."

Serena: "...Not bad."

Logan: "Sweet! I'm going to make a backup just in case."

Logan strolls away with a grin, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

(He finally got a compilment from Serena.)

(That probably made his day.)

(...And this might be my last chance to talk to her before we go piss off a river full of crocodiles.)

MC: "Serena."

MC: "Can we talk for a second?"

MC: "It'll be quick, I promise."

Serena: "Sure."

(Finally, yes!)

Taking Serena's hand in mine, I lead her into the dining hall.

Everyone else is wandering around the rest of the resort looking for tools,

guaranteeing some privacy as I sit us down at a table together.

(Where do I even start?)

A. I understand why you're afraid.

B. Thanks for opening up the other night.

C. We're going to make it.

---

B. Thanks for opening up the other night.

MC: "Thank you for opening up the other night."

MC: "It couldn't have been easy."

MC: "And I know it's not easy now for you to show that vulnerable side to me when we're running out of time."

MC: "You're expecting the worst."

MC: "But I don't."

---

I brace myself, ready for her to argue or simply walk away,

insisting that we don't have time for this,

but something in Serena's face softens.

It emboldens me, letting the truth spill out without any hesitation.

MC: "I said that I loved you."

MC: "I meant it."

MC: "And loving you means being there through thick and thin,"

MC: "no matter what this island decides to throw at us."

MC: "I'm not scared."

MC: "You're so kind and so caring,"

MC: "and I'd hate to see you bury it and toss aside what we could have had because of the past,"

MC: "so maybe we can just--"

Gentle hands cup my face,

and before I know it, I'm pulled into a hard kiss.

Serena's mouth is insistent against mine,

so full of passion that I'm dazed before I relax into the kiss, letting it deepen.

She doesn't pull back as my arms wrap around her shoulders,

fingers stroking down the tense lines of Serena's back to ease the stress there.

In the breathless instant when our mouths break apart,

a flush of pink streaks across her face.

Serena: "We can."

Serena: "You sure know the way to a doctor's heart, ."

A. Kiss her again.

<p style="text-align:center;">B. "I don't know..."

<p style="text-align:center;">---

B. I don't know...

MC: "I don't know."

MC: "You're the first one I've fallen for."

Serena: "Take my word for it."

I laugh and she echoes the sound,

stealing one more kiss from me before our embrace breaks for good.

<p style="text-align:center;">---

Serena: "Ready to play doctor with me and get that cure?"

MC: "You know it."

MC: "I've got your back."

Serena: "Oh, you've got more than that."

(When she puts it that way, I'm ready to go and wrestle the crocodiles all by myself.)