24 hours after arrival.
The hike through the winding jungle seemed more difficult than before, thick vines seemed to tangle every small path between the jungles undergrowth. Fortunate for the trio they had strength to spare as Susan used her machete to clear a path while Dorothy used the drone to scout out the quickest path back to the beach. Natalie had started to lag behind, enamored with the science behind the island she began to fill any bags she had with samples, dirt, the water, even some berries. Each placed in their own container for future study.
Susan turned around to account for the group. "Natalie, come on keep up!" She waved back. Natalie lost her train of thought as she hastily tossed the bags into her backpack, jogging to catch back up with Dorothy. "Sorry about that, but you have to admit it's fascinating, there's nothing like this anywhere else, imagine what we could learn from this!"
Dorothy mumbled while she worked the controller. "Let's focus on getting out of here alive first before we start handing out Nobel peace prizes alright."
Susan let out a grunt as she swung the blade again, sighing as she wiped her brow, her blonde hair starting to slip out of her ponytail from the workout. A smile crossed her face as she heard the crashing of waves. "Well, atleast we made it to the beach. That water should still have an effect for another eight hours. Nat, get that radio out and get us the hell out of here."
Susan fell to the ground in exhaustion, back when she was in college she would have loved to have a beach to herself.
Natalie slid her backpack off as it fell into the sand. Rummaging through her bag she pulled out the radio. Flicking the machine on and thumbing the dial she turned it to the right frequency. "Hello? Hello is anyone there?" Natalie barked into the radios receiver.
The girls listened anxiously as the silence dragged on. After a few minutes a faint static filled voice returned. "Yes this is Captain Santiago, who is this?" The girls faces beamed with relief and joy. Natalie replied back with a full smile. "This is Natalie, we have a situation here and we need to be picked up ASAP." She checked her compass. "We are on the southside beach." The radio flickered again, the captains voice going in and out. "Natalie? You should different on the radio. Our boat is at ~~." His voice was over taken by the static. "-should be there in ~~~ -urs ~~~~ -n't move, we will be there."
"Hello? Captain?" Natalie's face faded into concern. She bopped the radio on the side to see if it could have fixed it. Nothing but static replied. "It's must be the weather." Natalie said looking up at the sky. "Or it's the island." Dorothy chimmed in. The two other girls turned to look at her. "Wait I'm just saying, if it can mess with our ages who's to say it can't mess with radiowaves too?" Susan nodded. "Fair I guess, in any case we should probably start on that raft soon, you wanna help me find some good trees Nat?" Natalie nodded as the two walked back to the edge of the jungle as Dorothy started to pack up the drone.