“I’m impressed,” Abby said.
“I was a nurse. Well, I guess I still am. Before I wound up here, that’s what I did.”
Abby closely examined the scar for the first time. “Are those stitches? How?” She looked at Emily.
“I know what I’m doing.”
Abby still looked confused.
“She has a really good first-aid kit,” Eric said.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was next to me in a satchel when I woke up,” she said.
“Like your knife,” Eric said. “That reminds me...” He reached into the satchel and carefully pulled out Abby’s knife.
She held her hand to her mouth to quiet her trembling lip when she saw it. Shaking her head, she held her hand up to stop him from handing it to her. She turned away, leaving Eric confused. “Please, put it away,” she said. “The last time I saw that...” Her voice trailed off.
Emily pointed to his scar.
Eric got it. “Abby, it scratched me, barely. I’m fine.”
“I thought it killed you. I thought my knife killed you.”
“But, it didn’t.” He put his hand on her shoulder, turning her around and holding it up. “Look, it’s clean. No blood. It gave me a scratch, sure, but it saved our ass plenty of times.” He slid it into its sheath, kneeling down and strapping it around her thigh. “Don’t take it out if you don’t want to, but I feel better knowing you have it.”
Abby sighed. She had to admit she had not felt right without it for the past week. It had become part of her while she had been there. “It’s going to take us half a day to hike to the cove. We should get going.”
Eric stood. “All right! Now, we’re talkin’.”
They gathered their few supplies and began to head north, cutting through the trees. Abby led the way. She was sure of where they were going. It was easiest to go around the mountain than up and over it. She led them toward the water, and they followed the coastline for a while.
Abby spoke. “That was an interesting theory Tom had.”
“Tom was insane,” Emily said flatly.
“Why do you think we are here, then?”
Eric speculated. “It could be a government thing, I guess. Why don’t any of us remember coming here? You have been here longer than us, Em. Any thoughts?”
“Sure, I’ve thought about it a lot. Doesn’t mean I’ve come up with anything that makes sense, though.” She paused. “I’ll tell you what I did figure out a long time ago: We can guess and speculate all we want about why we’re here, but nothing we come up with changes the fact that we are here. I figured out a long time ago I had better concentrate on surviving, instead of worrying how I got here.”
“Sounds familiar,” Abby said.
“Before I got here, I had nothing going on,” Eric said. “Just working construction since high school. Living in a crappy apartment with some loser buddies. I’ll be the first to say, life here hasn’t been a walk in the park, but being here, in this beautiful place, meeting you two... I feel like my life is better for it.”
As they moved between the trees to go back inland, Emily asked Abby, “So, you have always been a hiker, have you?”
“No, this is a new thing.”
“I just figured, since you seem to know what you’re doing. I thought you must have some sort of background running around in the woods or something.”
“Not really. I mean, when I was a girl, I used to go camping with my family. My grandfather and I spent time hiking the trails in the woods, but I’m certainly no expert. I spent the last four years in college, and the few weeks before I got here, I was just working some temp jobs.”
Emily asked, “What inspired you to go back to school?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, obviously, you’re not the typical, fresh-out-of-college age. I was just curious why you went back.”
Abby laughed. “I’m twenty-two. How old do you think I am?”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Twenty-two?”
“Yep.”
After thinking for a second, she said, “I’ll believe that, I guess. I’m twenty-five, but no one believed me either, when I told them.”
Abby quickly counted herself among the non-believers. No way Emily was twenty-five. She would more likely believe Emily was thirty-five. Not that it really mattered, anyway.
Eric said, “Well, I think y’all look great; I don’t care what your age is.”
Abby asked, “So, we have a construction worker, a graduate with a fairly useless degree, and a nurse. Anything we have in common?”
“Doesn’t seem that way,” Eric said.
“I guess no clues there, then.”
They hiked the rest of the afternoon in relative silence. No one had anything interesting to say, and Abby was leading the charge at a fairly quick pace. When they started hiking through the rough terrain surrounding the cove, the other two had their hands full just trying to keep up, as Abby easily went up and over the rocks and fallen trees.
“It should be just up here.” Abby pointed to a small gap in the trees, where the crystal blue ocean water was visible in the distance. “Is there anything else anyone told you about this place?”
“No,” Emily said. “I told you everything that woman told me. She followed the men here. She watched as they went in. As far as she knew, they never came out.”
Abby pondered that statement. “I wonder if we will?”
20
THEY TURNED A CORNER, and the cove opened up in front of them. It was beautiful and surrounded by lush vegetation. The white sand was only visible for a few feet from the tree line, rapidly leading into the clear water. About two or three yards from the edge, there was a very steep drop-off. The water was so clear, the bottom was visible well into the center of the channel, but they couldn’t guess how far down the bottom was. The cove was small, maybe thirty-five yards from one side to the other. It came in from the ocean at approximately the same distance, until the water disappeared into a massive cavern.
Standing at the edge of the water, they tried to peer into the cavern but saw nothing. The water appeared to be flowing in that direction. As Abby knew from experience, it was a very strong current. The inside of the cavern was pitch-black. They could see into it a bit but couldn’t see where the end was. A bit farther down the small beach, the raft that had kept Abby alive was still washed up on shore. A little part of her was very happy to see it.
Emily observed, “There’s really not much to see, is there?”
“Not a whole lot,” Abby agreed.
No one said it, but they were all thinking the same thing: What do we do now?
Emily didn’t take her eyes off the cavern. “I say, we go in and explore.”
“But, we don’t know what’s in there,” Eric said.
“Well, how else are we going to find out? Plus, we know what’s out here. We know there’s nothing and no one out here, helping us get off this island. At least the unknown offers some hope.”
“Look at that current, though. I don’t like it.”
“Then, you can stay out here,” Emily said, ready to go in.
“He’s got a point,” Abby said. “I’ve been in that water. That’s a strong current, and we don’t know where it ends up in there.”
“What’s the alternative?” Emily asked. “We just stay on this island forever? If there is some unexplored corner that might offer me a way out, I want to find it.”
A voice came from behind them. “Why are you so eager to get off the island? It’s not a bad place.”
They turned. Abby somehow knew he would show up. She took care of introducing Robert to a shocked Emily. “Emily, this is Robert.”
“Who is this guy?” Emily said.
“He’s a friend,” Abby said. “He’s been here a long time and knows his way around.”
He nodded at Emily. “I have seen you around the island—though you haven’t seen me. I assume these two have filled you in a bi
t.”
“No, they haven’t.” She looked to Eric. He couldn’t tell whether she was angry or hurt—maybe both. “Why didn’t you tell me there was someone else on the island?”
Eric immediately felt guilty. Emily had trusted him and had killed for him. He should have told her. He shrugged. “He’s a private guy, and I wasn’t sure he wanted you to know about him.”
“Eric’s right,” Robert said. “I like to keep to myself, and let’s face it—the group you have been running around with for the past year was not one I wanted to get involved with.”
Emily conceded, “Well, you have a point there.”
“I have made this island my home for many years,” Robert continued. “It is a great place. It may not have all the comforts of the modern world, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you know.”
“Except a week ago, there were nine people on this island, and today, there are four. It’s not looking like the most hospitable retreat I’ve ever been to,” Emily said.
“Good point,” Robert agreed. “But, we all know what the problem was, and now, he is gone. I’m certain the four of us can get on quite well together, until you figure out a safe way off the island—if that’s what you want to do.”
Abby pointed to the cavern. “What do you know about what’s in there?”
“I know whoever goes in there never comes out. That being the case, I would advise against being the next ones to go in.”
“So, what if we do?” Emily said. “You might think of this as your home, but you’re not going to stop me.”
“No, I will not. I will tell you what I think. I will tell you I have seen folks swim in there before, and I have never seen a single one of them return. I will tell you that you are an idiot for thinking you will be the first. But, I will not interfere. If that’s what you have decided to do, that’s what you are going to do.”
“You seem really into the whole free-will thing,” Abby observed.
“How so?”
“Yesterday, just about this same time, when I was planning to go off and kill this one...” She gestured toward Emily. “...you said the same thing. You didn’t agree with what I was going to do, but you weren’t going to stop me.”
“You are right,” he said. “I would be remiss if I did not give you some advice, but I’m not going to stand in the way of what you have set your mind to.” He winked at Emily. “And aren’t you glad you didn’t wind up killing her?” He looked at Eric, who was quiet. “I have been here for a long time. I have seen a lot of things. I couldn’t live with myself if I did not try to provide you with some guidance. Do you think it’s a good idea to go in there?”
Eric looked at the two women and shook his head. “No, Sir, I can’t say that I do.”
Emily was frustrated. “I really don’t care what you two think.” Emily looked at Robert. “I’ve been here a long time, too. I’ve seen a lot of shit. Guess what? I’m tired of it. I want out, and I think the answer is in there.” She pointed toward the cavern.
Robert agreed. “You have been here a long time. It has been just about a year since I first saw you and Tom wandering through the trees; probably a few weeks shy of that. You are a survivor. You are still here. You are still standing. You have outlived everyone else since you have arrived here. Why not keep doing so?”
“I’m not interested in just surviving anymore. I’m interested in living, and I’ve done all the living on this rock that I’m going to.” She wrapped her red hair around itself in a ponytail.
Robert asked, “Is there nothing I can say to talk you out of this?”
“Not unless you’re going to tell me you know another way off this rock.” She waited, staring at him.
“No, I don’t know another way, but this isn’t it.”
“Well, let’s hope you’re wrong. Wish me luck.” Emily waded into the water until it came up to her hips. “It’s beautiful,” she said. With a little jump, she began swimming out into the channel. It was obvious how strong the current was once she had traveled several yards toward the center of the channel. She was not swimming hard but was quickly being carried toward the opening of the cavern.
As Emily got closer to the opening, Abby yelled out, “What do you see?”
“It’s dark!” Emily called back. “I don’t see anything!”
Abby looked at Robert and noticed his eyes were a bit glazed over, as though he were going to cry. That surprised her, seeing as though he had just met Emily. She put her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”
He shook his head. “I can’t be here. I can’t be a part of this.”
“Leave, then, but this is happening.”
They watched as she got closer. She was nearly at the mouth of the cavern.
“Anything yet?” Eric called out.
“There’s a ledge over here on the far side! I’m going to head for that!”
“See?” Abby said to Robert, nudging his arm. “There’s a ledge. She’s going to be fine.”
Emily would be out of their view in seconds. She began trying to swim against the current to come back out. “The current is really strong right in the center!” she yelled. She was strong, but she was no match for the current that was carrying her in. When she disappeared into the darkness, they could still hear her futile splashing, echoing from inside the cavern.
Abby yelled, “Can you get to the ledge?”
They listened and heard nothing but splashing.
Eric yelled, “Em, are you okay?”
Nothing.
“Can you swim to the ledge?”
The splashing stopped, and they heard nothing for a moment. Looking at each other, they wondered what had happened. Abby was getting nervous.
“Em!” she yelled out.
“I CAN’T!” they heard her yell from inside. “TOO STRONG!”
Abby looked at Eric and Robert, panicked. Robert’s face remained impassive. His eyes were focused on something far off in the distance, while he mouthed a silent prayer.
Eric was paralyzed with indecision.
“Screw it,” Abby said. She turned and dove into the water, fully-clothed.
“Abby!” Eric called.
She never turned to look at him. Instead, she swam at full-speed, straight across the center of the channel, almost clear to the other side. Only then did she turn toward the cavern. “Abby!” Eric began tearing off his shirt, preparing to jump in himself.
“No!” Robert grabbed him by both arms. “No, Eric, I will not allow you to go in there.”
“What do you suggest we do, then?”
Robert roared with a mix of rage and sadness, “Damn it, what is wrong with you people?!”
Eric shook him off. “I’m not going to just stand here and let them die. Do you have any ideas?”
“If you jump in, all three of you are dead, Eric. Dead!”
“Unless you have a better plan, I’m going in.” Eric turned to jump into the water.
“Wait!” Robert stared at the back of his head. “Damn it.” He struggled with the words. “Damn it. There is another way in. Follow me. Fast!” He turned and ran into the trees.
Eric grabbed his shirt and ran to follow him.
21
IN THE CAVERN, Abby tried not to struggle against the current. Instead, she attempted to work with it. She had swum past the center of the channel before she entered the cavern, hoping that would give her a better chance to make it to the ledge on the far side. The current toward the edge was not as strong as the center, but it was still formidable. Her legs kicked, and she pumped her arms until they burned near her shoulders. As hard as she tried, she could not get close enough to grab the ledge.
Her fingertips brushed the rock occasionally, but that was as close as she could get. She called out, “Emily! Em! Can you hear me?” She listened and heard nothing but the rushing water. As she was being pulled along, she felt as if she were being pulled down. Her fears were confirmed when her head dipped under the water mome
ntarily.
She kicked her muscles into high gear and pumped her arms and legs with every ounce of her strength, trying to make it to the ledge. It was so close now. Her hands slapped against the face of the rock, but still, she couldn’t get a grip. The edge she would have to grab onto was just a little too high. It would be out of her reach, even if the current were not dragging her down.
Finally, her head went fully underwater. As she was pulled diagonally down and across the rock face, her hands scrambled to grab onto anything they could in the dark. The problem was the face of the rock was as smooth as glass.
Suddenly, her left hand bounced off something jutting from the wall. She instinctively reached out with her right hand and latched onto it, then quickly grabbed on with her other hand to keep from being swept away. The moving current was still pulling her legs behind her, but she held on with a death grip. Whatever she was holding felt like a bar. Making sure her grip was tight with her right hand, she let go with her left to feel around the wall. About a foot above was another bar-like object, jutting out.
It felt the same as what she was holding onto and seemed just as secured to the wall. There was no time for debate; her lungs were starting to ache. She grabbed on with her left hand and pulled herself up. Repeating the same steps, she found another bar above that one. Could it be a ladder? There was no time to think about it. She repeated the process; feeling, grabbing, and pulling herself up. Her lungs were burning, and she desperately wanted to take a breath. Her shoulders felt as though they were being ripped from her joints by the mighty current, trying to tear her away.
At last, her face broke the surface of the water, and she sucked in a lungful of air. Wrapping her arms around the bar, she clung on for her life. All around her was nothing but darkness. The light at the entrance to the cavern was gone. She knew she could not hold on indefinitely. She also knew she couldn’t go back down. Up was the only option.
She began climbing up. It was a struggle at first, as she had to rely entirely on her upper-body strength to hoist herself out of the water. It became significantly easier once her feet came out of the water, and she could use her legs, as well. After a few steps, the bars disappeared, and instead, her hands found a flat, horizontal, hard, and wet surface. She felt around with her arms and hands. This must be it. She pulled herself up to the ledge, rolled over, and flopped onto her back.
Escape, the Complete Trilogy Page 15