"This is preposterous," Dorothy scoffed. "Please tell me you two don't believe this?" Natalie and Susan paused, gazing at the "remains" of Amelia before glancing at one another. As impossible as it seemed it was hard to ignore the evidence. It appeared this island did indeed hold the secret of eternal youth.
"How do you explain it otherwise," Natalie asked. "Look at the diary, the empty clothes, the lack of any animal life. Hell, look at your knee! How do you explain any of that?"
"I don't know," Dorothy exclaimed. "But there has to be a more logical explanation than time goes backwards on this island." Natalie now watched her friend carefully, Dorothy now trying to come up with a reasonable explanation as to the strangeness of the island. As she now paced back and forth, Susan knelt down by Amelia's discarded clothing, her hands now touching them gently.
"Natalie how long have we been on the island," Susan asked.
"Six hours."
Susan nodded, quuckly doing some math before continuing. "So if the rate of regression is to be believed that would make us 37 correct?" Once again Natalie nodded, the three women pausing as they realized that if this was to be believed they were back in their thirties.
"Natalie when is the boat due to pick us up?"
"Two days," Natalie answered before shuddering. If they were to wait that long all the boat would discover would be three sets of empty clothing. "But I can call them back in case of emergency. If we make it to the shore they can pick us up within an hour."
Susan nodded, rubbing her chin as she now plotted the amount of time they would be on the island. "We've already been here 6 hours," she mumbled. "It would take us two to get back, which would make us 35."
"Susan what are you doing," Dorothy asked. Susan now shushed the raven haired woman as she mapped out a timeline.
"If we arrive back to the shore too late we probably wouldn't be able to make contact until tomorrow," she said softly. "So let's say we add another 8 to 12 hours, leaving us somewhere between 23 and 27. Then add another hour, leaving us between 22 and 26."
"Susan what are you thinking," Natalie asked. Susan now stood, cleaning her glasses before carefully looking at herself and her friends. Leaning in close, she studied her friends, nodding slightly before taking stock of herself.
"Whether you wish to believe it or not Dorothy we look younger," she said. "Your scar is gone and we certainly have fewer greys than when we arrived."
"It makes sense," Natalie added. "It would also explain why we have so much more energy. Our bodies are rejuvenating, returning to our prime. How else would you explain it Dorothy?"
Dorothy opened her mouth to answer before closing it, sighing in annoyance. "Okay fine," she huffed. "Lets just say that all of it is true. What do you have in mind."
"Twelve hours from now we're going to look like university students," Susan stated. "And that's the best case scenario. What happens if the boat is delayed? What happens if it takes us longer to reach the shore? We could very easily end up teenagers again or even worse."
"So we head to shore," Dorothy stated, glancing towards the sky. "And we should move quickly. The sun is getting lower and trapsing through the jungle at night is a bad idea."
"Agreed," Natalie stated. "While camping here was my original plan, if we stay here we cost ourselves valuable time."
"And valuable years," Susan added. The women now shuddered, regaining some of their youth was exciting but none of them had any desire to relive some of the more awkward ages of their lives.
"Okay," Natalie stated, reaching into her pack. "I'll fire up the drone, find the quickest way to shore. It shouldn't take too long."
"Sounds good," Susan stated as she now approached the water. "I think it would be a good idea to fill up our canteens with the lake as well. Just in case so that we can buy ourselves more time."
"Are you sure thats wise," Dorothy asked. "The effects are temporary and we don't know if the lake will affect us in other ways."
"It beats the alternative," Natalie said. "And from what Amelia wrote, it did work for awhile at least. If something goes catastrophically wrong we can at least buy ourselves some more time until we can get off the island." The women now nodded, understanding what they needed to do as well as what was at stake. While the trio was still dubious, they would treat this fantastical event as a true threat. The women realizing that their very adulthood, and lives, might be at stake.