“Now you’re going to make me cry.”
“I don’t mean to.”
Still, I blinked away tears.
“Let’s have none of that,” he said, motioning toward the waterfall. “Instead, how about if we have a relaxing ‘shower’ today? There’s no need to hurry this time.”
“But Tank generally wants us to be quick.”
“Maybe I had a little talk with Tank…”
I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Look,” he said. “I miss my wife. I miss holding her. I miss being alone with her. And I miss making love to her. While I know the latter is out of the question right now because of the baby, at the very least, we can go over to that beautiful waterfall, stand beneath the cool water on this hot day, wash each other’s backs, and maybe you’ll let me rub your shoulders. I’d like to spend some time together before we go back to the others. Just you and me.” He came closer, kissed me again, and then began to unbutton my shirt. “So, what do you say?”
“Do you really think I’m about to refuse spending time with my husband? Or having his hands on me?”
“I hope not.”
I began to unbutton his shirt—which revealed his muscular, lightly hairy chest to me—and then I removed it from him and hung it on a nearby branch, as he did with mine. We each removed the rest of our clothes, and then, without warning, Alex’s lips were back on mine. First, it was a tender kiss, but then it became so heated, I could feel his love for me course through his body and jolt straight into mine. When our lips parted, I pressed my forehead against his, and for a moment, we just stood there like that—our eyes closed, but our hearts full.
“Despite everything, I’m grateful,” I said. “It could have been worse. I could have lost you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, I didn’t. And I thank God for that.”
“Let’s go beneath the water,” he said. “We’ve got thirty minutes. Let’s use that time to be in the moment and let this week go.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Anything is possible between you and me.”
When we reached the waterfall, the water was indeed cool—but not crisp—which was perfect. It pounded down upon us, offering its own massage. But Alex wanted more than that, and so he turned me around and came up behind me.
“Let me rub your shoulders,” he said.
I could feel him against my buttocks, and while I longed to be with him, it was out of the question until we knew where we stood with our child. But intimacy? Intimacy had many forms. What surprised me was that by choosing to abstain, Alex and I had become closer than we’d ever been. I’d always considered us a single unit, even before we got married, but nothing like this. This was profound. This was what true love felt like. It was real, and I was lucky to experience it.
With a strength that reassured me, Alex began to knead my sore shoulders, and I decided to just let go and give all of myself to him. I relaxed beneath his touch—and warmed into it. My shoulders ached, but the way Alex was working them now, I knew they wouldn’t be so stiff when he was finished. His hands were magic.
“How that does feel?” he asked.
“Blissful. When you’re finished, I’ll do the same for you.”
On one level, it felt illicit to be naked out in the open together. On another level, if felt oddly right. We were in a primitive land, tucked away in some unknown jungle—so what could be more appropriate than literally being one with nature? As Alex continued to work on my shoulders, with the cool water splashing down upon us, the jungle’s warm breeze causing the trees to sway above us, and the sunlight dancing around us, I felt—for the first time since we’d crashed—almost like myself.
“We’re going to beat this, Jennifer,” he said in my ear. “I promise you that. They’ll find us.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
“But we haven’t even heard the sound of a plane. Not once. Nothing.”
“We will. I need you to believe that we will.”
But two days later, our ninth day on the island, no one had come for us. Although we constantly listened for the sounds of planes searching in the distance for us, we heard nothing. And there still were no signs of Cutter, whom I now feared was dead. More and more, the idea that we might not be found began to creep into my heart in ways that I shared with no one. To keep morale up, it was critical to remain positive, so I did, as did the others. But how much longer could any of us sustain that?
Worse, with each day that I was away from my doctor, our child—if it was even alive—was losing whatever hope it had left to survive.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
It was after lunch on that ninth day that Daniella made it clear to the group that we should find another food source.
“There are only so many coconuts and papayas that I can take,” she said.
“You should feel lucky that you have something to eat,” Alexa answered. “And don’t forget that Jennifer has been kind enough to catch fish for those who choose to eat it. I believe that you’re among them. For instance, at dinner last night, I saw you snapping away on two of those red snappers. And by the way, watching you eat those fish with your hands was disgusting.”
Daniella turned on her. “As if I had a choice.”
“You looked like a troglodyte. Your mouth was buried in that fish. It was smeared with it.”
“Look, little miss greenhouse gasses, all of us can hear those boars rutting around us. Why can’t Tank just shoot one and carve it up so we can roast it—and eat it? It’s just pork. And right now? For me? Pork sounds great. Give me some ribs. Give me a nice, fat, juicy cutlet. I’ll lap it up.”
“You’re grossing me out.”
“I’m human.”
“Define ‘human’.”
“Please. I helped to take care of you when you were sick. Don’t forget that, Alexa. I was at your side for days—and I rarely left it.”
And at that, Alexa’s face softened. “I haven’t forgotten what you did for me, Daniella. I even remember you holding my hand at one point, although I do remember thinking at the time that it was because you wanted to steal one of my rings.”
Daniella was about to respond to that, but Alexa held up a hand. “I’m joking. Thank you for taking care of me. In fact, thanks to everyone for what you did for me. I wouldn’t be here without you. But back on the subject—I don’t eat meat because I choose not to. I think it’s cruel. The boars should be allowed to live out their lives, grazing out in the open.”
“With rainbows in the sky and unicorns fluttering around them?” Daniella asked.
“In a perfect world, yes. There is plenty of fruit on this island to sustain all of us. Why should we go after one of the boars?”
“Think of it this way, cookie—they’re free-range boars. So far, they’ve lived content, happy little lives without antibiotics or growth hormones. Isn’t that what your people champion?” She snapped her fingers. “But with a well-placed bullet, we could snuff out one of those mothers just like that. Bang, bang. Dead, dead. That alone should ease your conscience.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Fine—eat as much fruit as you want. This girl wants some meat.”
“So what else is new? From what I hear, nothing under nine inches will do for you.”
At that remark, the two girls stared each other down, but then they started to giggle instead of escalating their exchange into a fight, as they would have done in the past. I looked over at Alex, who just shrugged at me as they launched into one of their sparring matches, and then I looked over at Lisa and Tank, who were staring at Daniella and Alexa in abject horror.
It was then that Blackwell came over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Would you care to take a walk with me?” she asked.
“Where to?”
“Just along the beach. Tank will be able to see us. I’d like a moment alone with you.”
I had to wond
er why, but I said, “Of course.” I looked at Tank. “Barbara and I are going to take a walk along the beach. We’ll stay within sight. Are you OK with that?”
“The beach is fine,” he said. “Just make sure that you don’t wander out of my sight.”
“We won’t.”
When I stood, Barbara hooked her arm around mine, and we started to move toward the ocean in our bare feet. The sand was hot, so we went toward the water, where the sand was cool and damp.
“Those girls are going to be the end of me,” she said.
“I’ve actually seen a change in them since Alexa recovered. I think that seeing Alexa struggle as much as she did gave Daniella a wake-up call that her sister won’t be around forever. They seem to be getting along better.”
“They need to grow up.”
As we walked down the beach, the wrecked plane and the devastation left in its path loomed large. Scores of trees had been felled by the crash. Pieces of the plane were everywhere, most noticeable was one of the wings just to our left. There also was a deep gutter where we hit the sand that filled with water whenever the tide came in, as it was now. But the beach was so deep, there was plenty of sand even at high tide to take a stroll. And so we walked.
“How are you feeling?” Blackwell asked.
“I haven’t had my period, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That was going to be my second question. So, I’ll ask again. How are you feeling?”
“Tense. Anxious. Upset about Cutter. Worried about everyone. Wondering why nobody has come for us, and if we’ll ever get off this island. You know—the usual since we’ve been here.”
“Understood. Have you had any additional cramping?”
“No.”
“And I’m assuming you haven’t had your period.”
“I haven’t.”
She held my arm a little tighter. “Well, thank God for that,” she said. “There’s hope yet.”
I didn’t want to talk about how desperate I felt about not knowing whether I’d lost my child, so I just skimmed over that one and deflected. As much as the thought of it consumed my every moment, having a reprieve to talk about anything other than that was a blessing. So I shifted the conversation away from it.
“How are you holding up?” I asked.
“Oh, you know—I’m just divoon.”
“How about if you come clean with me?”
She sighed. “It’s the same as you,” she said. “I was terrified about Alexa. Seeing what that girl went through with those spiders crawling all over her—and then seeing how she fought to get well in the aftermath—was horrible. The worst. I tried to keep it together, but I’m here to tell you that I was on the verge of losing it during that first night, when she was at her sickest. When we get back home, Tank is getting one hell of a bonus—straight from me. He saved that girl. We all know what he did for her.”
“He’s saved all of us since we’ve been here. First, there was what he did for Alex. Then, he had to fight off those boars. Then, there was what happened to Alexa. And to top it all off, there’s the whole water issue. Who knew that bamboo could be used in such a way?”
“Precisely. Thus the bonus.”
“I’m fairly sure that Alex will be giving him one, as well.”
“He deserves it. Now, listen to me. There’s another reason I wanted to be alone with you. When we go to sleep—do you hear what I hear?”
“The footsteps?”
“Yes.”
“I hear them. And so do Alex and Tank. As for the girls, I’m not sure—I think they can sleep through anything. But what I’m hearing unnerves me, especially because I’ve seen no signs of them yet. It’s obvious that we’re not alone here, but I keep coming back to what Tank said earlier. People have been to this island to fish and to hunt, likely for decades. Generally, they leave in a week. But this? Because of the crash alone, whoever is out there knows we’re not here for some random fishing or hunting trip. This is worse, and they know it.”
“Have you talked to Tank about it?”
“Alex has.”
“What’s the consensus?”
“That whomever is on this island with us is curious.”
“And when does their curiosity turn to danger?”
“That’s what none of us knows—if it even does.”
“Last night, I swear to you, I heard them just outside the hut. And there were more footfalls than normal. There must have been six or more of them, all hovering around us. I was out of my mind with worry.”
“Tank has a gun. He has a knife.”
“And who knows what they have. You saw that boar’s head speared to that tree. Did they place it there as a warning to those who visit this island? Or was it some random hunter marking his prize for the day? I say the former. They don’t want us here, and none of us have talked about it because all of us have thought we’d be found by now. But we haven’t been found. So, what should we do if they decide to attack us? Who knows what we’re dealing with? I’m a mother, and I need to protect my two daughters. At some point, probably after dinner tonight, I’m going to ask Alexa and Daniella to go and replenish our water supply. When they’re gone, the rest of us can address the situation. We need a plan should anything happen. Because right now? Right now, we’ve got nothing.”
“Tank might have something in mind.”
“If he does, then he needs to share it with us, doesn’t he?”
I nodded.
“We don’t belong here,” she said. “We’re interlopers. We’re eating their food, drinking their water—even if it does come from a damned tree. They’re tolerating us for now, but they want us off this island as much as we want off it, so how much longer before they make that statement clear to us? And God knows how they’ll make it?”
“We’ll talk tonight after dinner,” I said. “While it’s still daylight. Daniella and Alexa can fill our water bottles, and the rest of us can talk so we don’t cause them any additional alarm.”
“As clueless as Daniella is, Alexa is smarter when it comes to these sorts of things. She reads. She’s bright. I sleep right next to her, and I know that she also hears them outside the hut because she’ll reach out for my hand—she’ll grip it in fear—and then she’ll become very still until they leave.”
“I wasn’t aware of that.”
“She’s done it three times now. I think it’s foolish that we have no protection beyond Tank’s gun and knife. Who knows how many are out there? If, for instance, they have spears, we should have spears. We need to talk about this before it’s too late. And given the way they’re behaving, too late could come as soon as tonight. I think they’re becoming more aggressive. Or ‘curious’. However you want to put it, none of it looks good for us.”
“Why do they come so late?”
“So they can’t be seen.”
“Let’s settle this after dinner.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. If someone is going to attack me or my girls, I want a sporting chance of fighting them off. And everyone else in that hut should have the same opportunity. But only Tank has that ability now—not me. Not you. Not Alex, Lisa, or my girls. It’s not right. And I plan to address that today.”
“Why haven’t you said anything until now?”
“Because last night was the worst night. Last night, they didn’t just move around the hut—they lingered. They stood still. And then there was one point when they came so close to the entrance that I was certain that one of them—or all of them—would charge into it. Tonight, I can’t let that happen without being armed. Tonight, I’ll have something sharp lying next to me so I can defend myself.”
“How do you want to handle this with the girls?”
“Once we’ve all come to an agreement about how we should handle the situation, we’ll be straight with them. We’ll talk with them when they return with the water. They might behave like spoiled brats, but they’re not stupid. And they’re adults. There is no shortage of branches
on this island that we can sharpen into spears. Tonight, I suggest we start to use Tank’s knife to make a few, and tomorrow, we should continue the process until we all have enough to protect ourselves.”
“I don’t mean to sound naïve, but we’ve been here for nine days. Whoever they are, why haven’t they acted yet?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you really think they’ll do something?”
“At this point, I’m no longer thinking about if they’ll do something. I’m thinking about when they’ll do something. And I’m afraid that ‘when’ is coming sooner than any of us want to admit.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
As we continued to walk, we came upon the large dip in the sand where the plane had crashed. We moved through the water, which cooled our feet until we were back onto the flat area of the beach, where the sand was warmer.
“I keep thinking about Wenn,” Blackwell said. “And that sonofabitch, Stephen Rowe.”
“I can’t get him or the situation out of my head. What do you think has taken place?”
“At this point? Somebody is working as interim CEO. My guess? Rowe lobbied for that position and got it.”
“Even with my threat against him?”
“We’ve been missing for nine days now. He might think that we’re dead. The board might have come to the same conclusion.”
“If that man even dared to go for interim CEO, I will crush him when we return.”
“As I know you will.”
“I wonder where our stock is now…”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Without Alex there, it’s not unreasonable to think that it’s at its lowest point yet. We’ve officially gone missing. I’m sure Alex’s disappearance is daily newspaper fodder. Worse, I’m even more certain that the tabloids have pronounced all of us dead, which many people will believe. Investors were worried before we even got on that damned plane. But now? Now, they’re likely in a panic because Alex is not behind the ship. He’s the face and the voice of Wenn. Investors need to see him and hear from him, but right now he’s gone from their lives. And he has been for nine days. For investors, nine days might as well be a year, especially after the hit we took in creating the SlimPhone, which might not even be in production now because of the memory chips we need. You know I never pull punches with you. I think the outlook is bleak—at best.”
Annihilate Me 2: Omnibus (Complete Vols. 1-3, Annihilate Me 2) Page 28