Chapter Text
“Charlie?”
A muffled noise was heard and the only sound that could be heard clearly was the soft gentle swishing of ocean waves.
“Charlie.”
Eyes were opening. The darkness was being replaced with a bright shade of blue with splotches of white. A couple of round shapes were seen flying in the distance.
“Oh Charlie! Please wake up!”
What was once an unfamiliar shadowy form, was now a comforting pink presence.
“Charlie, come on! Don’t worry! I’ll save you!”
The voice was now becoming more clear. The form was beginning to get closer.
Charlie started to speak.
“Pim? I’m up-”
He suddenly saw small pink lips getting close to his own. Realizing what was about to happen, Charlie quickly lifted himself off the rough sand.
“DUDE! I said I was up!”
“Oh my god! Charlie, I’m so sorry I didn’t realize!”
“Pim, I literally said I was up and you didn’t listen! What the hell are you doing?!”
“I thought you were dying and I tried to give you CPR!”
“Well warn me next time you try to do that!”
“H-HOW was I going to warn you if you were DEAD?!”
“A shake on the shoulders would’ve been nice!”
“Charlie, I DID shake your shoulders but you wouldn’t move!”
“Okay fair but STILL don’t DO THAT, MAN!”
“Will you two shut up?”
Another voice stopped the pair from screaming even louder.
“I’m trying to see if I can find a signal-uh.”
“Allan?” Charlie looked over to see a familiar tall red figure.
Allan was tapping away at his phone which miraculously survived whatever it was that caused the three of them to arrive in this seemingly small and sandy area. As Charlie continued to observe the taller skinnier critter, he noticed that he wore a light blue Hawaiian shirt that was all wet and wrinkled. Allan carried an expression of irritation as he tapped his foot rapidly. He appeared to be waiting on a response from whoever he was calling but ended up with the same result each time he did, an automated message saying that there wasn’t any signal and that he had to try again later.
Allan glared at the phone as if it were insulting him and kept on tapping the screen, letting out a growl of anger.
“Wait, hold on a minute. Where are we right now?” Charlie was bewildered as he stared back at Pim. The pink critter was wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt with a yellow leaf pattern printed on it.
“You don’t remember?” Pim asked with worry. The yellow critter stared down at his own body and saw that he had his plain white shirt unbuttoned. He let out a small gasp of surprise when he noticed that the first button had been completely unsewn.
Charlie took the time to look over his surroundings once more.
He saw the bright blue sky with clouds and heard the sound of ocean waves moving towards the sandy shore. He even noticed the seagulls that were screeching as they flew over where he and his friends were. He looked down at his hand, which was touching the rough sandy surface. The yellow critter shook his head to readjust himself and tried to recall the events of what had happened.
It suddenly hit him.
Oh Christ.
“Please don’t tell me that we’re stranded.” Charlie said with fear, knowing full well that what he said is exactly what was happening.
“How would you feel if I were to say that we are?” Pim asked with a nervous smile.
“Oh my god.” Charlie laid back down into the sand in a silent panic. He had a million thoughts and questions running in circles inside of his brain. “How the hell did we even end up here?” He said as he covered his face with his hands.
Charlie suddenly got quick flashes of images appearing in his head.
He remembered the sudden stormy weather and loud bolts of lightning hitting the ship he and his friends were on. The fast movement of the waves moving the boat around at such a strong and rapid pace that it made Charlie feel like throwing up. He even remembered the sudden blackout that happened after he fell onto the metallic floor of the boat.
The last thing he remembered before fainting was Pim screaming his name.
Pim began to open his mouth to explain what happened, but Charlie interrupted him.
“You don’t need to tell me.” Charlie held up a hand in front of Pim’s face. “I remember now.”
He let out a gulp to subdue the sick feeling swirling in his stomach and took a deep breath before he slowly got up again. Charlie had to readjust himself before he could panic even further. The yellow critter’s eyes widened as he noticed the absence as another one of his friends.
“Where’s Glep?”
“He went to see if there’s anyone here who could help us.” Pim explained. “He’ll be back soon though.” He added with a smile.
“Why would there be people here anyway? This island is completely deserted, dude.”
“You never know, Charlie. We just gotta have a little bit of hope and things are sure to get better!” Pim spoke in a high pitched enthusiastic voice. It was a miracle that Pim still remained so positive after having to go through a terrible storm and being yelled at after he tried to save his best friend. Thinking about how Charlie responded to Pim’s attempts at helping him made the taller critter feel a slight twinge of guilt.
Apologies can wait for later.
Right now, he had a new question to ask.
“What about the boat?” Charlie asked as he looked around the island once again. “Not in good condition.” Pim cringed as he answered the yellow critter’s question.
"Well, where is it?”
Pim grabbed Charlie’s hand and lifted him off the sand. The grip that Charlie felt as he held his hand was strong, yet gentle at the same time. It surprised Charlie with how easily Pim was able to lift him off the sand despite his small size and round soft figure. Charlie couldn’t help but chuckle in his head about how endearing Pim’s gestures were. Not just when it comes to helping him, but to helping others as well.
It was sweet.
Too sweet for Pim’s own good.
Pim continued to hold Charlie’s hand as he led him to where the boat was. What Charlie saw as they arrived, left him with his mouth slightly open and eyes wide in shock.
“Holy shit.”