Chapter 12: Race to Jones Mountain

The Simmons twins finally start to grow tired of their surroundings and try to find a way to escape.

At a more desirable hour in the morning, Mark Jr. woke up and stretched out as much as he could while sitting down. Smacking his lips a little, he climbed out of bed and fumbled for his glasses, before his feet lazily carried him over towards the window to gaze down at the town square. As of that moment, he and his sister, Justine, had been stranded on Isla del Exilio for just under three months, though to them, it felt as if so much more time had passed.

In addition to draining the batteries on all the electronics they had packed for the summer, the twins had also used up all of their toiletries. There were a couple of hot springs on the island, which the villagers used to bathe, brush their teeth, and wash their hair and clothes with, but the water only did so much when it came to actually getting clean. Why, it was a miracle that neither of the twins had gotten any cavities or diseases since their impromptu arrival.

As a result, both twins, as well as everyone else within Shipwreck Village, reeked terribly, though by now they'd gotten used to it. Their nails had grown ridiculously long, as had their hair, which also took on a more scraggly appearance. In the case of Mark Jr., his face was now caked with stubble, and he constantly had to sweep his black curls out of his face. His twin's light brown hair had grown from waist-length to ankle-length, but since she preferred not to look like a Neanderthal, she'd shaved everywhere else. That said, a lack of shaving cream kept her from doing so without irritation. At the very least the twins were still in good health, given the surplus of good food on the island, and God knows they were thankful for that.

Eventually, Justine woke up and stretched soon after her brother did, letting out a loud yawn of her own. Only, she didn't appear to be very rested. Spending so much time away from home had taken a toll on her mental state; no matter how many times she stopped to take in the island's natural beauty, and no matter how many nights she spent at Mandy's, she just couldn't maintain a positive feedback loop for too long anymore.

"Mornin', bro," she said sleepily. "Sleep well?"

"As well as every other night on this damn island," Mark Jr. rolled his eyes as he deadpanned, making his way to the door.

"Uh, Junior? They don't serve breakfast for another hour," Justine commented.

"I know. I'm just gonna see if there are any new toiletries available at the store," Mark Jr. replied.

"You've done that every morning for the past few weeks and every single attempt bears no fruit," Justine groaned. "I guess our best bet is to wait for another plane or ship to crash here. Surely they'll have more supplies than they need."

"Justine, do you have any idea how rarely that happens?" Mark Jr. argued. "Look, you may feel differently, and that's fine, but I'm quite frankly sick of this place. I know I enjoyed the village at first, and all the freedom we've had since our plane crashed. And I'm especially glad we don't have to brave the elements just to survive here, but I really miss my life back on the mainland. I mean, our parents are probably worried sick about us! Don't you think?"

"Well, yeah..." Justine looked down at her feet.

"Uh, what's with the hesitation? Don't you want to see Mom and Dad again? And let them know we're alright?" Mark Jr. kept prying.

"Of course, but... if we get outta here, then..." Justine's voice trembled a little. "I-I'll have to say goodbye to Mandy."

At this, Mark Jr. just sighed, watching as his sister sat back down on her bed, looking as though she could start bawling her eyes out at any moment. He quickly sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Look, I know it's a tough decision to make, but it's a necessary one," he said tenderly. "There are gonna be some moments in life when you have to face the facts. We don't belong here, and I really miss my parents, who probably think I'm dead now. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna leave this island as soon as I find a way to escape."

Justine just sighed and wiped the lone tear that managed to escape her eye. She knew very well that her brother had a point, like almost always.

"Y-You're right. It'd be in my best interest to leave too," she replied. "But the question is, how exactly do we get off this island? I mean, the boats are off limits, and even if they weren't, getting back to the states would take forever."

"Hmmm..." Mark Jr. hummed as he rummaged around the back of the plane. "Aha!"

He held up a small black briefcase with a white cross on the side, before setting it down to open it up. The contents included a collapsible fishing rod, several packages of non-perishable snacks, a swiss army knife, a flashlight with two packs of spare batteries, a set of blankets, and a device that could filter the salt out of seawater.

"Holy hell, a survival kit? Surprised Jones' men didn't take it when they rooted through our plane early on," Justine commented.

"So am I. And good thing, too, because otherwise we wouldn't be able to use these!" Mark Jr. held up what appeared to be a small red handgun with three small plastic canisters.

"And what are those exactly?" Justine perked a chestnut-colored eyebrow.

"Survival flares, which will let us signal to anyone passing the island, whether it be by boat or helicopter," Mark Jr. explained. "But since we only have three of these, we'd best use them sparingly. And since they're the most visible at night, we'd best wait until sundown."

"And presumably, we'll need to use 'em from the highest point on the island?" Justine butt in.

"Exactly!" Mark Jr. grinned. "And I know just where that is!"

---

Several hours later, the Seymour twins were busying themselves lounging on the black sand beach right by the village. Much like their rivals, their hygiene had also deteriorated, though not to the same degree, since they hadn't been stuck on the island for quite as long. Mike Jr. wore nothing but a tiger-print speedo as he lay on a towel, obviously trying to deepen his tan by means of the sunset's rays. Meanwhile his sister, Josephine, wore a raspberry one-piece with the words "College Republicans" on the front in white capital letters. She busied herself lounging on a rock not far behind him, albeit with a bored scowl on her face.

"Man, I'm bored!" she moaned. "I wanna get out of this f*****g wasteland!"

"And I want a flesh-light modeled after Ariel Winter's vagina," Mike Jr. replied. Even he had gotten over the wonder of being stuck in a tropical landscape. "I guess we're all disappointed."

"I thought your celebrity crush at the moment was Giada di Laurentiis." Josephine perked an eyebrow.

"Pfft, she used to be, until I learned that she doesn't swallow," Mike Jr. scoffed.

"Huh. Well damn, you got me there. But seriously, aren't you bored out of your mind?" Josephine asked.

"Nah, I never get bored. Whenever I have nothing physical to do, I just like to lounge around and enter my subconscious, and it's a real time-killer for me," Mike Jr. explained.

"Honestly, I'm surprised there's any thought going on in that microscopic brain of yours." Josephine sneered, before randomly looking back towards Shipwreck Village. "Hey look, it's those losers. Wonder what they're up to now."

"What say we spy on 'em? We oughta' return the favor from last time, eh?" Mike Jr. adopted a mischievous smirk as he cocked an eyebrow.

"You don't need to ask me twice!" Josephine put on a sinister, cat-like grin.

---

As the sky grew progressively darker, Mark Jr. and Justine wasted no time in hiking towards their destination. The rainforest had become shrouded in a light mist, which made it slightly more difficult to trek through, though Mt. Jones made up for this by being surprisingly easy to climb. Once they reached the top, Justine readied one of the survival flares as she and her brother looked around at the surrounding expanse for a passing sea or air-based vehicle.

"Ooh! There's a helicopter!" she suddenly shouted, upon spotting a blinking white light in the night sky. She quickly shot the first flare upwards.

"Justine, that's just the North Star," Mark Jr. replied dryly.

"Oh, whoops." Justine's cheeks flushed tomato red.

A few more moments passed before the sound of a few approaching choppers could be heard a good distance away. Without hesitating, Justine fired off the second flare, but it seemed as though the helicopter pilots weren't the only ones who noticed it.

Back on the ground, the twins' rivals had just reached the foot of the volcano, having now donned some normal clothes over their swimwear; Mike Jr. sported an open shirt and khaki shorts, while Josephine slipped on some checkered biker-shorts. At this point, they were fully aware of what was going on above them.

"Oh hell no!" Josephine shrieked. "Those a******s are trying to get off this island without anyone noticing!"

"If those two seriously think they can just ditch us, then they're sadly mistaken! Now come on!" Mike Jr. replied, immediately beginning the trek up the mountain.

---

Back up on the lip of the currently inactive volcano, Mark Jr. held a hand up to his forehead as he took in the sight of the approaching black helicopters, though his eyes bugged out in alarm as he noticed the Simmons logo on the side of one of them.

"Hold the phone! We know these guys!" he told his sister.

"Ooh, I've got a good feeling about this!" Justine replied, grinning like an idiot.

"Not so fast!" a husky voice called out from behind.

"Oh dear," Mark Jr. rolled his eyes as he and his twin turned around.

"Thought you could try and give us the slip, didn't ya'?" Josephine smirked as she and her brother reached the summit. "Well think again, fools!"

"Ugh, why can't you two just leave us alone and mind your own business?" Justine asked.

"Because that's not what our Dad would've wanted us to do," Mike Jr. replied nonchalantly, before glancing down at Justine's hand. "Huh, and this must be what these chumps are using to call for help!"

With that, he snatched the last flare from her and examined it.

"Hmm, but the question is, how does this thing work?" he asked.

Right as he spoke, Mike Jr. accidentally shot the last flare into the volcanic opening, where it exploded at the bottom, before some faint bubbling and sizzling sounds could be heard right after. As soon as this happened, he adopted a sheepish look.

"Great going, big brother," Josephine snarked.

Before the quartet could continue quarreling, the Simmons-owned helicopter finally arrived on the scene, hovering just above the mountaintop. Following close behind it was what appeared to be a few coast guard choppers. The chopper at the beginning of the pack turned sideways as it opened its side-door, revealing Mark and Katrina in the passenger area.

"Mom?" Justine asked excitedly.

"Dad?" Mark Jr. asked, excited as well.

"Kids!" Mark and Katrina called out in unison as they waved.

Mike Jr. and Josephine simply folded their arms and pouted, glaring daggers at their rivals' parents.

Right as the Simmons chopper was about to land, however, it was hit in the tail with a bullet, sending it spiraling out of control before another one nailed the pilot through the cockpit window, killing him instantly as blood splattered all over. The helicopter crashed on the summit, miraculously landing right-side up. Mark and Katrina were fortunately unharmed, and immediately stepped out to survey the now flaming and smoking wreckage.

"Yo, what the hell?" Katrina asked in confusion, before the sound of another approaching chopper could be heard.

A black helicopter with the Seymour logo on the side flew in seemingly out of nowhere, and peeking out of the open side-door were Mike and Katherine, the latter having donned a strawberry red robe over her chemise. The former held a smoking double-barreled shotgun in his hand, immediately revealing himself to be responsible for the sudden turn of events.

"Alright! Dad!" Mike Jr. and Josephine cheered at the same time.

"Not now, children." Katherine waved her hand dismissively, refusing to make eye-contact.

"Well, well, if it isn't my good friend Mark Simmons!" Mike smirked wickedly, he and his wife stepping out of their ride. "Never thought I'd stumble across you in a place like this."

"Look, Mike, if you're here to smack-talk, then save it for another time. All we came here to do is rescue our kids." Mark narrowed his eyes.

"Oh golly, what a coincidence! So did we!" Mike chuckled. "But seeing how you're here too, I think I might add another... task to my agenda!"

Mark simply raised an eyebrow at that comment, before his rival suddenly rushed towards him and kicked him in the stomach, sending him tumbling off the volcano, much to the alarm of his wife and offspring. He didn't hesitate to leap down after him.

"Mark!" Katrina shrieked as she tried to follow them, only to halt as Katherine stepped into her path.

The latter didn't say a word, but returned her wide-eyed expression with a 'bring it' look on her face. Without hesitating, Mark Jr. and Justine immediately rushed over to back up their mother, though the Seymour twins were quick to step into their path.

"If you wanna get back home safely, then you're gonna have to get through us," Mike Jr. said coldly as his sister nodded.

The Simmons twins looked at each other hesitantly, before entering a fighting stance and staring down their rivals.

However, the sizzling and bubbling sounds within Mt. Jones grew progressively louder by the second, prompting the two sets of twins to briefly end their stare-down and gaze into the crater, watching as the piping hot magma began to rise. By now, their mothers had already taken their catfight back down to the ground, leaving the four still on the lip on the volcano.

"Uh, Junior? What'd you do?" Josephine asked her brother, who simply shrugged in response.

Soon, the very ground beneath their feet began to rumble, signifying that an eruption was imminent.

"He's gonna blow!" Justine cried out as she attempted to run away, only for Josephine to casually extend one leg with a smirk.

This maneuver caused her to trip off the mountain and into the jungle below, where her rival quickly pursued her. This left the boys to leap off the peak, right as the volcano erupted, sending thick plumes of smoke into the darkening sky and waves of molten lava gushing down the mountainside.