Annihilate Me 2: Omnibus (Complete Vols. 1-3, Annihilate Me 2)

by Christina Ross

  “We all are,” Blackwell said.

  “If the money comes through, none of you will have to worry about us ever again.” He looked at Alex. “We need to leave.”

  “Give me another kiss,” I said to Alex before he left.

  He did. And when he did, it was the most heartfelt, passionate, and loving kiss he’d ever given me. It was a kiss for me to remember. It was something he was leaving with me in case he didn’t return, which made me want to cry again.

  “Please be safe,” I said. “Remember that I love you. And also what I told you.”

  The old man turned on me. “What did you tell him?” he asked.

  I shot him a look. “I told him to buy me two pregnancy tests. So be prepared to go to a pharmacy and get those for me. I want my husband back, and I want those pregnancy tests to see if I am still pregnant. That might seem inconsequential to you, but knowing whether our child is still alive means everything to my husband and me. Certainly, you can understand that. If you can’t—”

  And then I stopped.

  Faint in the distance came the unmistakable sounds of the airplane again, accompanied by the chopping of a helicopter. It was enough to make all of us lift our heads to the sky.

  “Well, listen to that,” the man said. “The search for the great Alexander Wenn continues. To you, that probably sounds like hope. To me, it just sounds like more despair is coming your way. And do you want to know why? Because all around us are dozens of unpopulated islands. Did you know that? Didn’t think so. Which ones will they fly over today? Where will they choose to search? Here? They haven’t done so yet, so don’t get your hopes up. Your only hope is me making that call. In the meantime, all of you will be watched more closely than ever.”

  “What does that mean?” Tank said.

  “Why don’t you have a look around and see exactly what it means?”

  We all turned around, and saw that there were dozens of other men, all carrying guns, emerging from the jungle when the man spoke. For all we knew, there could be others lying in wait.

  We were at the mercy of the merciless.

  And at that moment, it was set in concrete that there was no getting off this island if Alex couldn’t get in touch with Ann—or with somebody else at Wenn—to complete the transfer of that money.

  “We’ll expect you back in seven hours,” I said.

  “We need to get to the boat, lady. And when we return, we’ll need to walk back here. Give us nine hours. You’ll get your man back.” He winked at me, a gesture that was somehow threatening. “I promise.”

  And with that, the man came forward, and took Alex by the arm. Then, the five of them started to walk away from us while Blackwell and Lisa came to my side and put their arms around me and the men standing at the jungle’s edge moved closer to us.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  “They’re going to murder him,” a woman’s voice said once Alex and the others had disappeared from sight. “They’ve tricked him. They’ve tricked you. And Alex is going to die for it.”

  As rattled as I was to hear those words, I recognized the voice even before the woman stepped out of the jungle and presented herself to us, and the men around her lowered their guns.

  It was the woman from the pineapple grove—it had to be. She was tall and slim and somewhere in her late-fifties. Her hair was gray and cut short, and she was wearing a white tank top and faded jeans. The first thing that struck me when I saw her was that her left eye had recently been blackened and there was a fair amount of swelling and bruising around the right side of her mouth. It looked to me as if someone had punched her several times in the face.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked her. “What do you mean they’ve tricked us?”

  She cocked her head at me. “What about that don’t you understand? They’re going to kill your husband.”

  “But why?” I said to her in fear. “We made a deal with you people. Alex is going to give you that money. We promised you that. We meant that. We plan to come through with that.”

  “I have no doubt that your husband will. But they’re still going to kill him. Once the money is transferred and they get back on the boat, they plan to cut his throat and toss his body into the ocean. And then they’re going to come back here and kill the rest of you. Why? Because they don’t want you here. Planes are nearby—you can hear them now. This morning, it was decided that the last thing we need is a search team coming here, which might threaten our chances of remaining on this island. We’re here illegally. The fear is this—what will become of us if we’re found out? As much as possible, the men who took your husband want to snuff out any chance of that happening.”

  “But they’re going to make that phone call,” I said. “Alex won’t release the money if they don’t make the call.”

  “There’s not going to be a phone call,” the woman said. “That was a lie. In about an hour, while they’re on the boat at sea, Alex will be told the truth. There will be no phone call. Instead, he’ll be given a choice. Go to the island, wire the money, and then give up his life in exchange for humane deaths for the rest of you. You know, such as a quick shot to the forehead. Or, if he refuses, he’ll be given a summary of exactly what will be done to you after his death—torture for all, rape for the women, starvation, dehydration, and finally a death so brutal and drawn out, it will stun him when he hears it. On one level, what happens next for you is up to Alex. And from what I gather, he’ll give himself up in an effort to save all of you from the worst. At least, that’s what they’re betting on. And I have to say that I think that they’re right. Not that it matters. Either way, they’re going to kill him. And then they’re going to kill you.”

  “Why are you telling us this?” Tank asked.

  The woman stepped farther out of the jungle and walked toward him. “Because most of us don’t agree with it,” she said. “The men who were here earlier? The eldest is my husband. The other three men are my sons. Do you see the bruising on my face? Of course you do. My husband did this to me when he learned of the conversation I had with Jennifer and Alex outside the pineapple grove, which apparently I shouldn’t have had, at least according to his fists. I was hunting boar. I was with my eldest son, who remains fiercely loyal to his father, even after he did this to me. It was my son who told him about our conversation. I was beaten because I chose not to tell him. The man I married thirty-three years ago is gone. He’s a different person now. He’s irrational. Deluded. Abusive—and not only toward me. For decades, he was fine. A good man. But over the past few years, he has developed something of a God complex. Or close to that. What matters is that many of us have lost faith in him as our leader, including me. I want to get the hell away from him. I want to leave him here. I want to go back to the States and start a new life on my own.” She motioned around her. “And so do these people. And dozens of others. Those of us who see my husband for what he’s become—a sonofabith and a tyrant—want off this island.”

  “What about those who remain loyal to him?” Tank asked.

  “They’re in the minority. As far as we’re concerned, they can stay behind and rot in hell with him here.”

  “Is this the first time he has beaten you?” Tank asked.

  She laughed at that.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “So am I.”

  “You came here for a reason. Obviously, you tricked your husband, and came here with a plan. What do you have in mind?”

  “I want to act now to save Alex’s life and put my husband and my sons in jail before it’s too late.”

  “You want your sons in jail?”

  “They don’t love me—instead, they worship him. They’ve condoned every one of his strikes against me. They’ve defended them. They think nothing of me. And because of all of it, I no longer consider them my sons—the betrayal is too great. And not just against me. Every person with me right now has been negatively affected by my husband and my sons. They’ve endured lashings. Quarantines.
Anything to remind them who is in charge.”

  She looked at me. “When I saw you in the grove, I had no choice but to speak to you the way I did because my son needed to hear me take a hard line with you. Otherwise, I knew that he’d tell my husband that I hadn’t. And I knew what the repercussions of that would be. My mistake was not telling my husband myself that I’d come upon you. But that doesn’t matter now—my face will heal, just as it has before. But I do know this—I can’t live this way anymore. And neither can the men here with me now, nor their families. We want out.”

  “And how do you propose to do that?”

  “There’s another boat,” she said.

  Tank’s eyes flashed with surprise at the mention of that. “You have another boat here? I saw only one.”

  “The other boat is on the other side of our compound. It has its own dock. You were so consumed by the antenna, you obviously missed it.”

  “And you want us to use it. Why? What’s your plan? I suppose you want something from us. What is it?”

  “Our freedom, which you can provide for us with a mere phone call. Is that asking too much?”

  “It isn’t.”

  “I want you to take the boat with two of our men, who will be armed. I need you to move now and get to that island before it’s too late. There, you’ll need to find the boat they took with them, which won’t be easy because there are two ports and one marina on that island, none of which is small. But if you do find the boat in time, one of my men will claim it with the spare set of keys we have for it. He’ll bring it back to us—thus leaving my husband and my sons stranded on the island, and unable to kill Alex.”

  “How do we know that they won’t kill him? They might kill him out of spite.”

  “Not on that island, they won’t.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because the island is too populated. Beyond that, it’s daylight. The moment you make land, you must find a phone and alert the authorities of the situation, as well as the bank’s location. Then, you must go in search of their boat to shut them down so they can’t leave the island with Alex. There’s still time to make all of that happen, but time is running out. It won’t be long before they board that boat. You need to get on the other one—fast—so you can get there not long after they arrive.”

  “What will those against you think of that?”

  “I told you—they’re in the minority.” She looked at the men on either side of her. “These men are armed, and we’ll take them with us when we enter the camp. There also are others waiting for us there—all of them with guns. If anyone tries something, we’re not afraid to fight back. With my husband and my sons gone, we see this as our chance to finally get off this island. To leave this life. If you’ll help us, we will help you.”

  “Done,” Tank said.

  “Thank you for that. But we must hurry.”

  “I’m going,” I said.

  The woman nodded at me. “I thought that you would.”

  “Jennifer,” Tank said.

  Before he could say another word, I stopped him short. “I’m going. End of story. That’s my husband out there, and he’s not going to face this without me. Besides, I can assist you.”

  “How?”

  “By helping to find that boat, for one. And by watching your back, for another. But before we find that boat, we need to make two phone calls—one to the local police, who, at this point, must be aware of the search for our plane, and one to Ann at Wenn, who will make certain that whomever is in charge of the search knows where we are.” I looked at the woman. “By the way, where are we?”

  “You’re in the Marshall Islands.”

  “What’s the name of the island we’re going to?”

  “Majuro Atoll.”

  “How many people live on it?”

  “Twenty-five thousand?”

  “What is your name?”

  “Catherine.”

  “Does the island we’re on have a name?”

  “It does. Bokak Atoll.” She lifted her head at me. “Presumably, it’s one of ten uninhabited islands here. So, when you talk to the authorities, feel free to tell them that this island is indeed inhabited—and that most of us want off of it.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Before we left, I went into the hut to tell Cutter that Tank and I were going for help. But there was no response. He was shivering, unconscious, and struggling to breathe. He no longer was taking in fluids. His fever was perhaps the highest it had ever been. And in my heart, I knew that when I returned, he very well might be gone. And so I kissed him on the forehead, and told him to wait for me and that he was loved by me, by Alex, by his friends, and also by his family.

  “Believe in me,” I said. “If you can hear me, I need you to do that, Cutter. We’re so close to ending this, I can’t tell you. This will end today, so please, hold on. You’re a strong man. Don’t let this beat you. Fight for yourself, and fight for the rest of us. We can’t lose you now.”

  With tears in my eyes, I gave him a hug and held his body close to mine, but I refused to say goodbye to him. Instead, I said that I’d see him soon. And then I left the hut in a haze of frustration, despair, and a crushing sadness that would have overwhelmed me if I hadn’t locked eyes with Catherine, who was eager to leave. In haste, I hugged Blackwell, Lisa, Alexa, and Daniella. And then, Catherine and the others led Tank and me over the beach and into the jungle.

  * * *

  When we arrived at the compound, I couldn’t believe the size of it, though I could see how it could have gone unnoticed all these years. Just as Tank and Alex had said earlier, it was built within the jungle, with a canopy of palm trees hovering over all of it, thus concealing it from sight if, say, a plane should fly over it. Still, it was difficult for me to believe that nobody knew that these people lived here. Perhaps it was just tolerated.

  And perhaps I shouldn’t give a damn and should instead focus on just getting off this island.

  As we moved through the compound, I was aware of hundreds of eyes upon me, and the tension I felt was so great, it unnerved me. Men, women, and children either stopped what they were doing as we walked past them, or they came out of their huts to join the others. Many of the men carried guns, though none of the weapons were trained on us. Instead, we were allowed to move through the space in an uneasy silence.

  Until one man spoke.

  “I might be in the minority, Catherine,” he called out. “But I won’t remain silent. You’re about to destroy everything we’ve built here. Not all of us are unhappy. Some of us are the happiest we’ve ever been. I know nothing else but this island. And because you dare to betray your husband and sons when they are gone, I consider you a coward. You’re about to steal away everything from us—and you can go to hell for it.”

  At that, Catherine stopped and turned to her accuser, who was a young man in his late twenties.

  “You think my husband is king?” she asked him. “Then what do you make of my face? Would a proper leader do this to his wife? Would you do this to your own wife? And what about what he’s done to me before—time and again? You’ve all seen it. These bruises on my face are nothing new to any of you. Nor is it new to many of those who support me now. Too many people have felt my husband’s wrath. My sons have betrayed plenty of you. I believe my husband also has beaten your wife. So, let me ask you this in front of everyone who stands in judgment of us now. How can you stand by my husband knowing what he did to your wife, to me, and to others? What kind of a man are you? What kind of husband? What kind of friend? My husband put his fists on your wife. All of us know that. He’s gone mad. He’s not the man I married. For me and for those who join me, I’m ending this cycle of abuse now. If you want to remain here, good luck to you. But most of us are leaving here. That’s something you’re just going to have to accept.”

  “You’re a coward!” I heard one woman shout.

  “A coward is a person who doesn’t stand up for themselves, as many of
us are doing now—with this opportunity. So, here’s my advice,” she said. “Rescue planes and helicopters will be arriving here shortly. What you need to decide in the meantime is either simple or complicated, depending on where you stand. If you stand by my husband, then expect him to repress you even more—if the authorities even allow him or you to stay here. Otherwise, talk to your families and friends, and decide whether this current situation is right for you. If you want to go back to the States with us, you are welcome to join us.”

  “And what will be there for us?” the woman asked.

  “Freedom,” Catherine said. “The end of my husband and sons’ oppression of us. There will be a chance for a new life. So, consider it. Many of us have chosen this opportunity to leave this hellhole. We’re getting off this island, and we have the support of many. Just so we’re clear, those people are armed. So if you try to stop us, be forewarned—we outnumber you. If you try anything, we will protect ourselves. Consider that before—or if—you decide to act.”

  With that said, Catherine turned to us. “Enough of this bullshit. We’re losing time. The boat is just over there, through those trees.”

  When we arrived at the boat, I noticed that it wasn’t as old as I was expecting. Instead, it was sleek and relatively new, which confirmed our thoughts that somebody on this island had money.

  “At this point, they have a good fifteen minutes on you,” Catherine said as one of the men started the boat’s engine. She was standing on the dock, surrounded by dozens of men, women, and children, who had followed us from the compound. “But this boat is equally as fast, if not faster, so those fifteen minutes should be all the time that separates you.”

  “How many here are expected to leave with you?”

  “At least two hundred. And after that exchange, possibly more.”

  “Then I’ll prepare the authorities for that. What language do they speak on that island?”

  “Both Marshallese and English. You’ll be fine.”