Illusion

by J. S. Cooper

  The photo was of my mother, my father, and me.

  It was one of the only photos I had of the three of us. The last time I’d seen the photo, it had been in my father’s box, in my apartment. I held the picture to my heart, which was racing now, and I was starting to feel claustrophobic. I looked around to see if I could find anything else as I waited. I surveyed the rest of the shack quickly, and all I found was some blank pieces of paper; the same paper that the notes had been written upon. Sinking to the ground, I closed my eyes and prayed that Jakob would defeat Steve. Steve was the man who had been writing the notes. He was obviously working with my kidnapper. The fact that there was a photo of my family in this room told me that someone had been in my apartment and through my personal belongings. Maybe the photograph was even a warning. Maybe this was Mattias’s way of telling me to back off. I dropped the photo onto the ground and started crying. I picked the photo back up and stared at it for a few minutes before turning it over. It was then that my heart stopped again as I saw the message. How did Steve know I was going to see the photo? Unless, of course, it was part of his plan. Or a part of the plan that he hadn’t gotten to carry out as yet. I walked to the door and opened it so that I could read by the light of the moon.

  What do you see when you look at me? A happy family for all to see. A man so consumed with greed and with spite, that his children now suffer and live in fright. What do you see when you look at me? An ominous picture of your life to be.

  I stared at the note and frowned. If the other notes had made little sense, this one was even more confusing. I turned the photo around again and stared at it. What did I see? And why was he saying my father was greedy? My father was the least greedy person I knew. He’d been swindled by his business partners and hadn’t even done anything to get his money back. I frowned and reread the words. Why was the photo ominous? What did Steve mean?

  I shivered as I stared at the photo. And then I blinked as I studied it again. There was another couple in the photo. I’d never noticed them before. The other couple looked just as happy as my parents, and they were holding hands. I looked at the photo again to see if there was anything else I had missed. I couldn’t see anything else in the photo but a surly-looking boy standing to the right in the photo, looking at the group next to him. It was then that I heard a loud crying noise, and I froze.

  I looked at the shack and at all the blank papers that were in here. Papers and clues that hadn’t been here the first time I was here. This wasn’t a safe place to be. I wouldn’t even be able to see if someone was coming. I ran out the door and started thinking. “Where should I go? Where should I go?” I muttered to myself frantically. I thought about going to the waterfall, but that would make me a sitting duck. If Steve somehow managed to take Jakob down, being at the waterfall wasn’t going to help me. There was only one other option: I needed to be up high. The predator always needed to be watching from above. Only the prey stayed below and waited to be hunted. I looked around to see if there were any trees I could climb. Each tree I passed caused me to panic as I stared at the long trunks. There was no way I’d be able to climb any of these. Looking around, I took a couple of deep breaths. “Calm down, Bianca. Think. And pay attention.” I closed my eyes and stood there. All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat and the faint sound of the water from the waterfall. “Look for the banana trees,” I told myself. I knew that Jakob had climbed the banana trees to bring me breakfast, so I knew that it was possible to get up one. If I could find a tree that wasn’t very high, maybe I could go from that tree and transfer to another one and climb higher up. “If a monkey can do it, so can you,” I whispered to myself, and shuddered as I realized that I might come into contact with some other animals hidden up in the trees. My chest started heaving as I sobbed in frustration and terror. Then I heard a bloodcurdling scream, and my body went into panic mode. I’d never experienced anything like it before. It was as if my body was guiding me. My legs started moving of their own volition, and I found myself at a tree, attempting to climb it before I could even process what was going on. My feet brushed against something prickly, and I stepped back and bit my lip. This was going to hurt. The tree trunk already felt rough against my skin, and my palms were already aching.

  “You can do this, Bianca.” I stretched my arms a few times and walked back to the tree. “Mind over matter. There is no pain.” I kept repeating to myself as I attempted to climb the tree. However, I kept falling down. I realized that the photo still clutched in my hand was keeping me from grasping the tree tightly enough and my feet just weren’t able to grab on to the tree trunk and stay there. I dropped the photo and stared at it for a moment before squaring my shoulders. “It’s thigh time.” I sighed and held on to the trunk. I wrapped my arms and legs around it as tightly as I could and then tried to shuffle up the tree. I didn’t think I was going to make it. As soon as I shuffled up a couple of times, I kept sliding down.

  But then I decided to close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere else. I counted to three and then attempted to climb again. I didn’t open my eyes until I’d made it at least twenty feet above the ground. Then I made the mistake of looking down. My stomach dropped as I realized how high up I was. “Don’t look down, Bianca,” I lectured myself, and held on to the tree for dear life. The tree I was on didn’t go much higher up than I currently was, and I knew I needed to get higher. I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to remain on the tree very long in this position. My thigh muscles were already killing me.

  I looked to the right and saw another tree, with thick branches that looked like they would be sturdy enough to support my weight. The only problem was how I was going to make it to the other tree. I took a deep breath and held on to the tree slightly. My mind wondered about the scream I’d heard. It sounded like someone was in a lot of pain, like they’d been stabbed. Maybe even killed. I swallowed hard as my heart dropped. I hoped Jakob was okay. I needed him to be okay. I needed to know what was going on. I looked at the other tree again. There was a branch about two feet away. If I could just stretch my feet out and stand on it, then I could use it for balance and attempt to make the move. I knew it would be easier for me to use my arms, but I knew that I couldn’t hold my own weight. The only option I had was to try to use my feet.

  “One, two, three, go,” I whispered to myself, and let go of the tree trunk with my legs. swinging them to the branch on the other tree. My feet connected with solid wood, and I sent up a small prayer. I shifted my position slowly and used my balance to push myself off the other tree to the new tree. My fingers grabbed ahold of the branch on the new tree, and I gasped for air as I watched a bunch of leaves and bananas from the first tree falling to the ground. “Focus, Bianca,” I muttered to myself, and looked for another branch to climb onto so that I could continue going higher. My legs wouldn’t stop climbing until I felt physically exhausted. And then I stopped. I didn’t look down. I knew that it would all be over if I looked down. I held on to the tree branch and closed my eyes and waited.

  I wasn’t sure how long I was up in the tree before I heard someone walking through the jungle. I felt my body trembling, and I pressed my lips closed so that no whimpers escaped into the air. I heard my name being called, and still I didn’t answer. I wasn’t even sure who was calling me. All I knew was that the voice was male.

  “Bianca, where are you?” The voice sounded angry, and I shivered as I opened my eyes. I stared at the large expanse of dark blue sky through the tree branches and prayed that it wasn’t Steve who had prevailed. “Please don’t find me,” I mumbled to myself, almost incoherently. The white-sand beaches looked so different from my vantage point and illuminated by the moon. The whole island looked so much smaller from up here. My limbs felt numb, but I was too scared to move even an inch. If he heard the rustling of leaves, he’d know where I was. I closed my eyes to block out my surroundings and tried to think about something happy. I imagined that I was on the Ferris wheel with my father, high up in the ai
r and happily eating my cotton candy. Just think of the cotton candy, just think of the cotton candy.

  “Bianca, this isn’t funny.” His voice was hoarse, and I heard his footsteps moving closer to me. “Bianca, if you can hear me . . .” He paused, and his voice changed. “Please don’t make this harder than it has to be. I’m not going to hurt you.” I still couldn’t make out the voice, I was starting to feel tired, and I knew that I couldn’t hold on much longer.

  “Bianca,” the voice shouted, “where are you?” Suddenly through the fog of my brain, I realized it was Jakob, but I was still in shock. My brain refused to allow my mouth to call out to him. I was still scared.

  I heard a branch snap below me, and I knew he was close. All he had to do was look up. If he looked up, he’d find me. This man who’d become my most intimate confidant was now my predator, and I his prey. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath before looking down. An involuntary gasp escaped from my mouth as I realized how high up I was. That was my first mistake. I felt my stomach drop as I stared at the ground beneath me. I would surely die if I fell.

  “I’ve found you,” he whispered as he looked up at me with wild eyes. “Thank God, I’ve found you.”

  “Did you hurt him?” My fingers started trembling as I looked back down at him. “Tell me, did you hurt him?”

  “It depends on what you mean by hurt.” He lifted his hands up, and I saw that his fingers were drenched in blood. I closed my eyes; I had my answer.

  twelve

  “What did you do, Jakob?”

  “I did it for us,” he said simply, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. “Don’t you trust me?” he asked me softly as he started to climb the tree. I saw the shiny glitter of the silver knife in his left hand before he dropped it, and my heart stopped beating for a second.

  “I trust you.” I nodded and waited for him to reach me. I decided to see if I could make my way down so he didn’t have to climb so high. That was my second mistake. My fingers slipped, and I screamed as I grabbed ahold of another branch.

  “Stay where you are, I’m coming up.” His voice sounded panicked, and I felt all of the energy seeping out of me. “Stay strong, Bianca. I’ll be there in a few seconds. You’re going to be okay.”

  “I wasn’t trying to escape from you,” I called out, glad that he was safe and sound. “I was just scared.” My voice broke as I started sobbing.

  “Don’t cry, my dear. It’s okay. He can’t hurt you now.”

  “Did you kill him?” I croaked out, scared to hear his answer.

  “No. I wanted to, but I didn’t.” He made it up the tree in record time and grabbed my hands. “Thank God, you’re okay.” He squeezed my hands, and he leaned toward me. “Oh, Bianca.” He reached out and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I was so scared that something was going to happen to you in the jungle. I thought you’d trip and hit your head or sprain your ankle. Thank God, you’re okay.”

  “All I could think about was you,” I sobbed. “I wanted to go back and help you, but I didn’t know if there was anything that I could do that would help.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t come.” He held my hand, and I briefly closed my eyes. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to see what happened.”

  “Was it bad?”

  “There was a lot of blood.” His brows furrowed, and he sighed.

  “Are you okay?” I scanned his body to make sure he had no cuts.

  “I’m okay.” He nodded and squeezed my hand. “We’re going to go down now. Do you think you can make it?”

  “Yes.” I nodded, still feeling slightly dazed.

  “I’m going to go ahead of you. I’ll make sure you make it down safely. Just hold on to my arm and follow me, and you’ll be okay. Understand?”

  I nodded again, and we made our descent to the ground.

  “Your feet are bleeding.” Jakob stared at me with anguished eyes.

  “It’s fine,” I whispered, trying to ignore the cuts and bruises all over my body.

  “It’s not fine.” He shook his head and ran his fingers down my cheek. “Why didn’t you go to the shack?”

  “I went there first, but then I left. That would’ve been the first place Steve would’ve looked.” I rubbed my eyes. “I didn’t want him to be able to find me if he got the better of you.”

  “You thought he had a chance against me?” He raised an eyebrow at me, and I shook my head slowly as I stared at his bulging muscles.

  “Not really, but he had the knife.”

  “The knife did give him false confidence.”

  “Did you stab him?”

  “Yes.” He pulled me toward him. “I don’t want you to think about it,” he whispered against my ear. “It’s not anything I want you to imagine.”

  “I heard him screaming.” I pressed my forehead against his chest. “I heard him screaming like he was dying.” I could still hear the bloodcurdling scream tingling in my ears. I wondered exactly what Jakob had done to make him scream so loudly.

  “I told you that I could murder if I had to.” His voice was still hoarse as he rubbed my back. “He would have killed both of us.”

  “So you killed him, then?” I asked him again, wondering if perhaps he didn’t want to tell me the truth.

  “I don’t think he’s dead.” He shook his head, and his eyes gleamed. “I could have killed him though. I could have taken his life just like that.”

  I shivered at his statement. How easily he talked of death. He scared and fascinated me. “But what about all the blood on your hands?”

  “I stabbed him in the thigh so he couldn’t run away.” He shrugged. “There was a lot of blood.”

  “It doesn’t make sense though.” My brain ached as I thought about everything that had gone down. “Why would he try to kill both of us?” I frowned and studied his face. “Everything in me tells me that this has to do with my mother’s death, yet what role do you have in it?”

  “Why do you think it only has to do with your mother’s death?”

  “When I went to the shack, I saw a photograph. It was of me and my parents and in the corner of the photo was another couple with a son. There was a note on the back of the photo. It alluded to my father being greedy.” I paused as I felt the need to yawn and then continued. “Steve was clearly trying to send me a message that my family is greedy. Mattias must be worried that I’m going to try to take over the family business.” I looked directly at Jakob. “The thing I don’t get though, is how are you involved in all of this?” I stopped and tried not to show him the sadness in my face. My brain hurt as I tried to think why Jakob was on the island with me. It just didn’t make sense. Even if Steve had been after me and the information I had on the Bradley family, why would someone kidnap Jakob as well?

  Jakob studied my face and sighed. “Let’s go back to the beach. We can talk more there.”

  “Where’s Steve’s body?”

  “He’s on the beach.” He grimaced. “Don’t worry though, he won’t be able to do anything to us.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I’m pretty sure he’s unconscious.”

  “Oh.”

  “I found some other things in his pocket. Things I think you should see.”

  “Oh?”

  “Let’s get to the beach first.” His hands moved down, and I jumped. “It’s okay, Bianca. I’m just going to carry you.”

  “You can’t.” I shook my head and yawned. “It’s too far. I’m too heavy.”

  “You’re perfect, Bianca.” He kissed my forehead. “Shh.” He picked me up into his arms. “Close your eyes and rest,” he whispered in my ear as I laid my head against his chest.

  “You must be tired too,” I mumbled, suddenly exhausted and unable to keep my eyes open.

  “Just sleep, Bianca,” he murmured, and continued walking. “Just get some sleep.” His arms adjusted beneath me, and I felt warmed and comforted by him. As he walked slowly out of the jungle, I drifted off to sleep.

  “A
re you terribly sore?” he whispered in my ear as he set me gently on the ground. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around the beach. It was hard for me to believe that this tranquil spot had been the scene of a bloodbath just hours before.

  “I’m okay.” I touched his shoulder. “Honestly, I’ll be fine. That’ll teach me to stop going to the gym.”

  “You don’t strike me as a gym rat.”

  “Thus my comment that I don’t really go.” I grinned.

  “When Steve and I were fighting all I could think about was you.” Jakob sat on the ground and lifted my head onto his lap. “Every punch and kick that came my way meant nothing to me. It meant nothing because all I could think about was coming to find you and save you.”

  “I’m surprised he got so many punches in.” I frowned up at him. “I’m not trying to be offensive, but he didn’t look that strong.”

  “I guess appearances can be deceiving.” Jakob stroked my forehead. “Turns out Steve had a wicked right hook.”

  “No way.” My eyes widened with shock. I could barely believe that puny, pale Steve had any real strength, but then I supposed he would need some sort of skills if he did this sort of thing for a living. I remembered something he’d said when we’d first met. He had talked about traveling a lot for his job and taking on different assignments. Maybe he was one of those men who people hired to take care of difficult situations, like me.