Survival Instinct

by Rachelle Mccalla

  “Got it,” Tracie called, and Abby could feel her straighten up inside the space. “I fit. I can reach.” She paused. “I can almost reach the top.”

  “Can you pull yourself up?” Scott’s voice sounded strained.

  “It’s too slick. The sides are rock and clay, and it’s damp. There’s nothing to hold on to. I just need a few more inches. I can feel the edge of the hole, but I can’t get enough leverage with my hands.”

  It wasn’t until Abby realized they wouldn’t be able to make it after all that she recognized she’d begun to hope their outrageous plan would work.

  But then a voice spoke from below.

  “Scott, stand on my back.” Marilyn lay down on the floor.

  “Mother, no,” Scott protested. “We’re too heavy. It will hurt you.”

  “Son-” Marilyn’s voice took on a no-nonsense mothering tone “-I said step on my back. You either risk hurting me, or we all die.”

  Abby could feel the hesitation in Scott’s trembling muscles as his body moved slightly forward…and then up. Though she didn’t dare look down from her dizzying height, she could imagine Marilyn lying on the floor below them, and hated to think how much weight the older woman had taken on.

  No sooner did she think about the weight, than she felt the burden on her shoulders ease. Instinctively she lifted up on Tracie’s ankles.

  “I’m up! I’m through!” the other woman called down, and with a thrashing kick of her legs, Tracie disappeared up through the hole.

  With nothing more to anchor her to the ceiling, Abby lost her perch on Scott’s shoulders. She felt him jump down from his mother’s back and an instant later, displaying all the dexterity of the quarterback he’d once been, he caught Abby as she fell.

  Scott pulled Abby into his arms and didn’t let go. “Thank you,” he whispered when he could finally talk.

  “Thank you,” she countered. “And thank you to your mother. Marilyn, how are you?”

  “Well, my chiropractor’s going to have a fit when he sees me, but I think I’ll live.” She gave them both a meaningful look, her face caught in the dim light from the fissure. “I think we’ll all live.”

  “Let’s just pray Tracie reaches help in time,” Abby noted.

  “You’re right,” Scott agreed, impressed that she’d made the suggestion, and equally pleased that she’d prayed aloud with them earlier. “We should pray. That’s how Paul and Silas got out of prison in the book of Acts.”

  Marilyn spoke up. “I think that’s an excellent idea, but I believe there’s one thing we ought to do first.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Let’s tie up our wrists again. If we tie the knots ourselves, we can use slipknots so we’ll be able to easily undo them when we need to. But if we wait for those thugs to tie us up, we won’t be able to break free very easily.”

  “Mom’s right,” Scott agreed. He found the lengths of fabric where they’d dropped them on the floor. “We don’t know when those guys are coming back for us, so we should hurry up and do this now.”

  The first two knots were easy enough to tie, but when it came to Marilyn’s turn to be bound, Scott and Abby had to work together, standing backward, to secure her wrists behind her.

  “There.” Scott sighed and took a step back. “That should hold. It’s not pretty, so try not to let them see it.”

  “Agreed.” Marilyn nodded and sat down on the damp muddy floor. “Now let’s pray.”

  They found the most comfortable way to sit was with their backs together in a circle, supporting each other’s weight. Scott’s legs and shoulders were exhausted, and he felt particularly sore in the places that had been overworked the day before. He knew Abby had to feel just as miserable, but she didn’t complain. He felt appreciation swell inside his heart. He’d sensed she hadn’t wanted to try the human ladder, but she’d given it her all. If they lived, he’d owe her for his life once again.

  Once they were all situated, they began to pray, first that Tracie would reach help and then that help would reach them in time. They prayed for strength and guidance. The only voice that was missing was his mother’s, whose prayers had dropped out early to be replaced by her steady, even breathing.

  “I think Mom’s asleep,” Scott whispered to Abby after ending their prayer with an Amen.

  “Poor thing,” Abby commiserated. “I’m sure she couldn’t have gotten any sleep last night, and once they locked her in here, she was probably too worried about you to rest.”

  “And carrying all our weight on her back probably didn’t help any. I’m not completely convinced we didn’t hurt her, no matter what she says.”

  “She might be stronger than you think,” Abby said softly.

  Scott was about to protest when he realized Abby was right. A weaker woman would have been tucked into the fetal position sobbing after all she’d been through. But remarkably, his mom had demonstrated a positive attitude, and had played a vital role in boosting Tracie out of the cave. “That must be where I get it from,” he admitted in a teasing voice.

  Abby jabbed him with her elbow, and he chuckled. He recognized how odd it was that he should be laughing in the face of danger, but after the relief of boosting Tracie through the fissure, and especially after their time of prayer, Scott felt a heightened level of security in God’s love. He hadn’t ever tested God’s protection so much before, but after the miraculous way God had helped them so far, he felt God’s love in a more intimate way than he had before, even though he prayed daily in his job as a Christian counselor.

  “For when I’m weak, then I’m strong,” Abby murmured beside him.

  “What’s that?”

  “Oh, just that I didn’t think we’d get Tracie out, that’s all. But it wasn’t about my strength or ability, it was about God’s provision. I’m afraid I’d underestimated that before.”

  Scott had to smile. “You’re right. God provides what we need-and He leads us when we don’t know where we’re going.”

  “He obviously led us here,” Abby agreed. “I had no idea this was under here. I don’t think anyone knew.”

  “Trevor must have.” Scott didn’t want to bring up the slain man’s name again, but too much of the mystery before them still centered around Abby’s ex.

  “Do you think so?” Abby let out a long breath. “That’s why he proposed to me, wasn’t it? Too distract me, to keep me from seeing whatever was going on. I did hear voices that evening, didn’t I?”

  Scott pieced the story together in his head. “Trevor may have been standing on the island, communicating with someone who was going in or out of the cave.”

  “When he saw me, he realized I might see what was going on, so he lifted me up and spun me around.” Abby shook her head. “He set me down facing the opposite direction. How stupid of me! I didn’t even think-”

  “Didn’t think what?” Scott wouldn’t allow Abby to blame herself. “Didn’t think about the fact that there might be something illegal going on under the island, and that the man proposing to you was only doing so to cover for them? Abby, you couldn’t have known. I can still hardly believe this is down here. Let go of your guilt.”

  Abby fumed beside him. “Still,” she huffed, “I could just kick myself for letting him fool me so easily.”

  “You know what I can’t stand?” One nagging thought had been bothering him ever since he’d realized the family land was in danger. “I let my family down.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Abby protested. “You found your mother.”

  But the heaviness that weighed upon him wasn’t shaken by her uplifting words. “Not my mother. The land. The Frasier family legacy. Even if Tracie gets help, even if Sal and his guys are caught, it doesn’t matter. The Frasier family ends with me. I don’t have an heir to leave it to. Sal and his guys spotted a great opportunity and took unfair advantage of the situation, true, but I walked right into their trap. What if Mom and I died in a real accident, without Captain Sal’s intervention? Some develop
er would just sweep in and buy the land. I’ve failed them.”

  “We’ll get out of this,” Abby said softly.

  “No, Abby, you were right.” Scott’s regret poured from him. “I’ve tried to do it all myself, tried to carry everyone else’s load alone. But you know what? I’m just one man. I’m not invincible. If I pile everything on my own shoulders, when I fall, it all comes crashing down. I’ve isolated myself for far too long, and now my self-sufficient pride will be the downfall of my whole family.” He shook his head remorsefully. “If I get out of this, I’m going to change some things.”

  “When we get out of this, what would you change?”

  “I always wanted a family,” Scott mused. “What about you, Abby?”

  “Well, yes, of course.” She sounded hesitant. “I always thought I would. I guess I just never met the right guy.”

  Her words struck Scott with force. So she didn’t think of him as being the right guy? He tried to think of a way to ask her to explain what she meant, but before he could straighten out his thoughts, a harsh voice shouted, “Up and at ’em. We’re going on a little trip.”

  FOURTEEN

  Abby struggled to her feet, fear pounding through her.

  “Come on, move it!” the harsh voices shouted. Light flashed against the barrels of the guns the men waved.

  Trying to focus on following orders, Abby noticed Marilyn looked particularly disoriented by being so rudely awakened, and Abby kept close to her back, mindful they didn’t want their captors to see the way the ropes hung askew from her wrists. At the same time, she looked around, taking in the changes the thugs had made in the cavern since they’d been brought in.

  The computers, boxes and crates had all disappeared, leaving gaping black space the length of the cave. Likewise, the yacht was gone. Only the Helene remained.

  They hurried obediently down the pier and were greeted by an outraged shout from Captain Sal. “Where’s the other woman?”

  “There were only three in the cave, sir,” a gunman answered.

  “We only put three in, as I recall,” another muttered.

  “This woman was already in there.” Captain Sal pointed at Marilyn. “One of the other women is missing-the Coast Guard girl.” He pointed his gun at a couple of the men. “You two, go back and look for her. The rest of you, hurry up. If she’s missing, we have even less time to waste!”

  The thugs hurried them across a wide plank that led onto the Helene. Abby wished she knew what their plans were, but she figured it was in her best interest to get out of the cave, and since the boat was most likely headed out to sea, it appeared to be her best bet for the moment. Besides, the men still had their guns trained on them. It wasn’t as though she was likely to easily escape, under the circumstances.

  They were herded into the Helene’s small cabin and left alone. Abby could hear shouting on the outside. She figured Captain Sal was still trying to find Tracie.

  Abby realized Marilyn had never told them what had happened with her while they’d been separated. She wondered what other helpful tidbits the woman might have picked up. “How many men are there? Do you have any idea?”

  “There must be close to a dozen, that I’ve seen,” Marilyn explained. “And they appear to be busy, too. I don’t know what it’s all about, but I’d guess it’s some sort of smuggling ring.”

  The shouting outside grew louder.

  “She’s not?” Captain Sal sounded furious.

  Another voice broke in. “Take them out! And hurry! If we’re compromised-” The man continued speaking, but Abby could no longer make out what he was saying. The engine started up.

  “We’re headed out to sea,” Marilyn observed.

  Abby had figured as much. “What do we do?”

  “I can’t tell for sure how many men are on the boat-” Scott sat facing the cabin door, with the best vantage point from which to see the deck “-but I think it’s just us and Sal.”

  “We can take him!” Marilyn declared optimistically.

  “Mother, he’s got a gun. It’s too dangerous.”

  “But if he plans on using it on us anyway-”

  “We need to get moving,” Abby insisted, feeling a growing sense of fear and urgency. “We’ve got to act while we still can.”

  “Hold on.” Scott strained his head to one side. “I can’t see Captain Sal anymore.”

  “Can you see anyone else?” Marilyn asked.

  “I don’t see any movement out there.”

  “Let’s get going!” Abby pleaded, starting to rise. She caught a whiff of a smell she didn’t like. “Do you smell gasoline? And smoke?”

  “I smell a gas fire,” Marilyn fairly screamed. “If that hits the gas tank, we’ll blow.” She ripped her arms free of her bounds.

  Abby and Scott followed suit, tugging off their slipknots, rushing to the door of the cabin, and throwing their weight against it. It didn’t budge. Scott pressed his face to the window and nudged aside the small curtain. “He’s got a chair in front of it.”

  “Windows?” Marilyn asked.

  Abby looked at the slender glass slits that served as windows for the small cabin. There was no way any of them would fit through.

  But Scott had already leaped into action. He wrenched at the tabletop, which proved to be bolted to the floor. Abby scrambled underneath and tried to wiggle the bolts with her fingers.

  “Rusted.” She shook her head. “It won’t budge.” She crawled out from under the table in time to see Marilyn pulling open cupboards.

  “Stand back!” Marilyn screamed, swinging an aluminum water pitcher at the windowpane in the door. It shattered, and she used the pitcher to scrape at the sides, hastily removing most of the glass shards.

  Scott was right behind her. He reached through the opening, shoved the chair out of the way, and rammed the door open. The three of them spilled out onto the deck.

  Smoke filled the air, and quickly filled their lungs. The boat was barreling into the open sea with no one at the wheel.

  “We’ve got to jump overboard!” Scott shouted. He wrenched off the top of his wetsuit and shoved it over his mother’s head.

  Abby quickly realized what he was doing. The two of them would last longer wearing their wet suits-his mother had no such protection against the cold water. Abby grabbed the lone round life preserver that hung by the cabin door. She thrust it into Marilyn’s hands just as Scott screamed, “Hurry! Jump!”

  He pulled his mother over the edge of the boat in his arms. Abby scrambled up after them, looking to see where they’d landed so she wouldn’t jump on top of them. She took a deep breath of the smoke-filled air.

  As she leaped free of the boat, she heard the mighty explosion, and felt the searing heat of the flames. Then everything went dark.

  Scott began swimming away from the Helene the moment he hit the water. Though he knew how frigid the waters of Lake Superior would feel, the shock of the cold water hitting his body still stunned him, even with the added insulation of his hydroskin pants. The way his mother shrieked and clung to him, he knew the icy waters had shocked her as well.

  He felt the wave of heat as the Helene blew, and immediately looked back for some sign of Abby. She’d been right behind him, but he’d never heard her hit the water. He paddled with his right arm as he held his mother tight to him with his left and angled his body back until he could see the flaming wreckage of the Helene. For a moment, there was only white smoke and dark water and bright orange flames. Then he spotted Abby’s still form, floating facedown far too close to the flaming wreckage.

  His mother must have seen her as well. “Help Abby,” she insisted through chattering teeth. She shoved the life preserver toward him.

  Scott shoved it back. “Keep it. Try to get as much of your body as possible up out of the water. I can swim faster without.” Before his mother could protest, he let go of her and kicked away toward Abby. The chill of the water against the bare skin of his arms was almost more than he could stand, but
he forced himself to move forward as quickly as he could. Abby’s life depended on it, and he could not, would not let Abby die.

  The sound of the chopper’s pounding blades beat against the inside of Abby’s skull. She felt heavy and so very cold. There were arms around her, strong arms holding her tight, pulling her away from the cold, away from the tug of gravity that strained to drag her into the abyss.

  “Abby, sweetheart, stay with me.” The voice sounded familiar, like Scott’s voice. She had to be dreaming. Had they only just wrecked their canoe off the shore of Rocky Island? Had everything else been a dream?

  Then there were more hands on her, tugging her, moving her; and voices talking, asking questions, seeking a response. She didn’t know the answers, didn’t know how to answer, didn’t know anything but the deep, bone-numbing cold, and the darkness that pulled her back.

  The lights were too bright. When Abby tried to open her eyes, the beams of light hit her like spears, and she pinched her eyes shut again. The darkness called to her, wrapping its arms around her. She remembered the darkness, flew to it like an old friend, but it was different now. It wasn’t a cold darkness. It was warm.

  She became aware of her surroundings slowly. She was in the hospital in Duluth. They’d brought her there by helicopter-by Coast Guard helicopter. The nurses had to explain the story to her several times before it finally registered. Abby tried to ask them about Scott, but no one knew anything about him.

  The news sank in slowly. It was over. Marilyn had been rescued. Scott didn’t need her anymore. She wondered if she’d ever see him again. But why would she? She’d only ever be the girl whose ex-fiancé had shot his stepdad. At best, she was a girl he’d known years ago at school. They had nothing to bind them together now-nothing but Devil’s Island. And she was never going to go back there.