“Look at this,” he said, moving toward the driver’s door. “You think it runs?”
He popped the hood, and Elna opened it, leaning over the engine.
“Nope,” she responded, after a moment. “Too much corrosion, from the look of it. Hoses rotted through.” She swung the hood shut.
“What about the battery?” he asked.
“It’s there,” she said, “but I doubt we’ll get a charge out of it.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” he said. “I was daydreaming about taking a little cruise around the island.”
“Not today, I’m afraid.” She smiled at him briefly, and he thought there was something wistful in the look.
He shut the door of the jeep and started to turn away, but a strange shadow caught his eye. At the back of the building, a few yards from the jeep, a shelf of island rock rose up fifteen feet or so. Moss speckled much of it, but there was a dark spot, almost a gash cut through the moss, at a spot near the back corner of the barracks. Looking at it, he realized that it wasn’t some natural feature, like a crevice or depression. No, this was too smooth.
As Malin moved toward it, it became clear that it was, in fact, some kind of alcove that had been carved or blasted into the rock. A few feet into the alcove, an old wire gate had been set up across the opening, but it was ajar.
“Are you seeing this?” he said.
Light suddenly awoke in the alcove, startling Malin, and he cursed, stumbled forward, and caught himself against the mossy rocks. The light shone off the gate and revealed an arched tunnel stretching off into the rock wall.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Elna said, coming up beside him. She had a small LED flashlight in her hand.
“Where did you get that?” he asked.
“I always have a pocket flashlight on me,” she said, “and a pocketknife. Never go without your basic tools, Homo sapiens. Your ancestors would be disappointed in you.”
“Right,” Malin said, patting his chest.
Now he saw that the gate had been forced open. There was damage from a crowbar or some other heavy tool around the lock, the bars bent back and broken. Again, he reached down and touched the handle of the kitchen knife.
“Let’s go slowly,” Elna replied. “Keep an eye open for anything unusual.”
He nodded and pulled the gate open, slipping inside, his shadow stretched out in front of him like an alien. As he moved down the corridor, Elna kept close, and he kept his hand close to the handle of the knife. Ten feet from the gate, the corridor opened into a roughly circular chamber with metal shelves set up in rows. Items scattered on the ground drew his attention in the dim light, and he picked one up to examine it.
A rectangular package shape, like a plastic pillow with no stuffing. He turned it over to reveal the extensive labeling on the other side.
“MRE wrappers,” he said. “My dad used to buy them at the Army surplus store for his hunting trips.”
He handed the wrapper to Elna. “Dehydrated pork patty,” she said, reading the label. She sniffed the package. “Looks pretty old, but I can still smell a weird smell—I guess it might be the dehydrated pork. Wonder when this was opened?”
Malin found a few unopened MREs on a shelf, along with some metal canteens. The canteens were all open and empty, but he checked anyway. On a higher shelf, there were metal bins containing tools and supplies: a ton of rusty nails and screws, an old socket set, some lengths of metal pipe, a few wrenches and pliers.
“There’s actually quite a bit here,” he noted. “Some of it is in decent shape.”
“We’ll come back for this stuff,” Elna said. “Why don’t we check the other buildings first?”
When he looked up at her, he saw her shudder, as if the place gave her the creeps. They left the strange little cave-room and proceeded to search the other buildings. In the first barracks, the floor creaked under their feet, wind whistling through cracks in the metal walls. Besides the rotting frames of old bunks with no mattresses, they didn’t find much. They tried the big brick building next, stepping over the fallen door into a musty, cobweb-ridden interior.
It might have been some kind of administrative building at one time. An ancient metal desk sat in the center of the first room, a few scraps of rotted paper scattered on the floor around it. But Malin’s gaze went to the corner, where a pair of bicycles leaned against the wall. A big plastic crate full of bottled water sat beside them.
Elna knelt in front of the bikes. “These are bicycles are pretty new,” she said, pointing at the big word SCHWINN printed on the down tube above the pedals. “The tires are still partially inflated. Weird.”
There were empty slots in the case, as if some of the water bottles had been taken. Malin pulled one of the bottles out and held it up. It was a fairly new plastic bottle of “spring” water with a generic-brand label still intact.
“Who brought this stuff here?” he asked. “This water looks like it just came straight off a grocery store shelf. Who are the people cruising around the island on bicycles, sipping bottled water, and eating MREs? They couldn’t have brought all of this at once. You or your dad would have seen them. Unless someone’s been making trips to the island to stash stuff over here for some reason, and if that’s the case, maybe there’s a way off.”
“Well, we know there’s at least one uninvited creep lurking around here somewhere,” Elna reminded him, “so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”
“Could there be more than just Dominic?” Malin asked. “Is it possible we’ve got a whole crew of weirdos living here beyond the fence?”
Elna shrugged, but she looked freaked out, gnawing on her lower lip. He didn’t blame her.
It would freak me out, too, if I learned there were creeps hiding out in my backyard, he thought.
“We should take all of this stuff back to the guesthouse,” he said. “The water, the MREs, the bicycles—all of it. Your island, your property, right? The squatters will just have to deal. If it’s Selene’s weirdo ex, maybe it’ll flush him out of hiding.”
She didn’t respond right away, instead staring off into space with a wide-eyed look of concern. Finally, he reached over and tapped her on the shoulder. She lurched forward, catching herself against the bikes.
“Sorry,” Malin said.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just felt a creepy vibe there for a second. You’re right, of course. We could use all this stuff. I don’t care about flushing anyone out of hiding. Dominic can swim right back to the mainland as far as I’m concerned. He doesn’t belong here. I don’t like the idea that he was making trips to our island to hide stuff, just so he could jump Selene when she arrived. That’s a sick mind right there. We’re taking this stuff. All of it. Let’s find a way to haul it back up the hill.”
Conveniently, they found an old wooden dolly in the back of the building. The wood wasn’t in the best shape, and the wheels squealed like crazy, but they were able to stabilize it somewhat with some sheet metal they found in a closet. Then they piled the bikes, water, remaining MREs, and some tools and supplies on top. As he surveyed their handiwork, Malin tried to imagine pushing the overloaded dolly back up the overgrown dirt road after somehow getting it through the fence.
“The hard part is ahead of us,” he said. “This won’t be a leisurely stroll.”
“I know,” Elna replied. “I’m not looking forward to it. I’ve been so busy thinking about that stupid water pump that I didn’t realize how wiped out I am. I could use a really, really long nap after we get back, but there’s no stopping now. Not yet.”
“You have earned it,” Malin said. “Don’t let your old man put you to work again right away!”
“My dad isn’t the problem,” Elna said. “My restless mind won’t let me relax when there are problems to solve.”
“That sounds rough,” Malin said.
“It’s fine. I take short rests when I can.”
They positioned the fallen door to act as a ramp for the dolly. Elna shifted
a few things on the stack, then she blew her breath out and sat down.
“Speaking of rest, let’s sit for a minute before we head back,” she said, massaging her right shoulder.
Malin cracked open one of the water bottles and took a long gulp.
“Well, it tastes clean,” he said, passing the bottle to Elna.
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said, staring at the water instead of drinking it. “How did it get here? How long has it been here? If Dominic brought it here, was he planning to stay for a long time?”
13
Elna felt the warm, coarse bricks against her back. Malin sat down beside her, unleashing a massive sigh that seemed to go through his whole body. She felt stiff and sore, but more than that, the lack of sleep was catching up to her. Everything felt sort of swimmy around her. On top of that, she had layers upon layers of sweat soaking through her denim shirt and jeans. The blade of the kitchen knife was scratching against the concrete floor, so she adjusted its position again.
She dreaded the trip back up the slope to the guesthouse. The road was almost nonexistent. How in the world would the little dolly wheels navigate the rough terrain?
It might take the rest of the day to get this stuff up the hill, she thought.
“Couldn’t we just spend an hour or two here?” Malin asked, stifling a yawn. “A brief little nap wouldn’t hurt, and I think we’d hear and wake up if anyone tried to approach.”
“Probably shouldn’t,” Elna replied, massaging an aching shoulder. “If I let myself fall asleep right now I might not wake up anytime soon. I definitely wouldn’t hear anyone approaching, except in dreams.”
She had just finished speaking when she heard, as if in response to her words, the distinctive sound of a footstep on the fallen door. The metal groaned under someone’s weight as a shadow spread through the open doorway. Elna was so weary that, despite the shock of the stranger’s appearance, she couldn’t leap to her feet. At first, all she managed to do was lean forward to get a clear look at him.
He had a long, lean face, an unkempt goatee dangling from his chin like a grubby stalactite. A black spiderweb tattoo went from the corner of his right eye back to his sideburn. His clothes were ragged and filthy: a stained gray sweatshirt and muddy sweatpants, black Doc Marten boots that looked about thirty years old. His black hair was slicked back from sweat and grime, plastered against his skull to reveal big ears.
“I was afraid you might turn up again at some point,” Malin said.
Dominic raised his right hand, a gun clutched in his fist. She didn’t know a whole lot about guns, but she knew it was a compact Ruger of some sort. The revolver fit so neatly in his hand that it was scarcely visible until he pointed it straight at her. Instantly, her mind began racing, trying to think of a way to get past the man without either her or Malin being shot.
“Put all of my stuff back,” Dominic said. He had a scratchy voice. It sounded damaged, as if he’d spent too much time in smoky rooms, or too much time screaming mindlessly at the sky. “Every single thing. Right where you found it, you thieves.”
“Buddy, you are out of your mind,” Malin said.
Elna shushed him. Antagonizing the guy wasn’t going to help. He had a violent glint in his eye, a gun in his hand, and he was blocking the doorway.
It’s possible the gun doesn’t work, she thought. It did look sort of grungy, and it had probably gotten soaked during the storm, especially if it was in Dominic’s pocket. He might have found it in one of the military buildings. It looked like an older model gun.
“We’ll put it all back,” Elna said, slowly standing up, trying not to make any abrupt movements. “We had no idea the stuff belonged to you. In fact, I had no idea you were hiding out over here on this part of the island. These buildings aren’t safe, you know.”
She started unloading the stuff from the dolly, setting it on the concrete floor. After a moment, Malin came up behind her and began to help. Knowing the gun was pointed at her, that she was one finger-pull from death, made her skin crawl.
How do we get out of this? she wondered, as she lifted the crate of bottled water and hoisted it onto the floor. Putting him out of commission would be best, but how to get the gun out of his hand?
She traded a look with Malin. She could see anger and fear battling in his eyes, the tip of his tongue working back and forth against his upper lip.
“Dominic, you know we weren’t stealing this stuff from you,” she said. Maybe it was possible to win him over, or at least get him to lower his guard. Too bad my people skills aren’t better. “It doesn’t have your name written on it, and I had no idea you were on the island until you came through the window. If I’d known it was yours, I wouldn’t have touched it.”
“Oh, it never occurred to you that someone brought this stuff here?” he said. “You thought it fell out of the sky or something?” As he spoke, he punctuated his words by jabbing the gun in her direction.
“Dude, we didn’t even know you existed until you came through the window the other night,” Malin said, lugging a box of tools onto the floor. He used a little more force than necessary, and the tools bounced and clanked loudly.
Elna flinched, anticipating a shot, but Dominic only jabbed the gun in Malin’s direction. “Watch it,” he snarled. “All you guys jumped to Selene’s defense right away. No telling what lies she told you. Maybe you should get both sides before you start wailing on someone.”
“To be fair, decent people don’t usually kick out windows and try to crawl into buildings,” Malin said.
Elna shushed him again. Malin’s response to Dominic was too much like his response to Garret, and this was not the time for it. She gave him a warning look, but she couldn’t tell if he read her expression.
“I didn’t kick out the window,” Dominic said. “I kicked out the plywood you tried to cover it with. You can accuse me of being crazy if you want, but if I don’t catch Selene off guard, she’ll get herself worked up against me. You have no idea what I’ve had to deal with. When it’s just the two of us, we’re fine, but as soon as she gets off by herself, she stops thinking straight. I know what I’m doing!”
“Dominic, listen,” Elna said, sliding the sheet metal off the dolly. “We’re all in this together now, okay? We’re stuck on this island. I can’t lower the bridges without power. If we don’t work together, none of us will last long.”
“Oh, is that how it is?” Dominic said, laughing bitterly. His scratchy laughter sounded a bit like dragging a shovel through sand. “We’re in this together? Didn’t seem that way when you were all piling up on me the other night. You were all over me before I even had a chance to say anything.”
“What did you expect us to do?” Malin said, removing the last sheet of metal from the dolly. “You came sloshing out of the storm like a sea monster, and we were supposed to pause and listen to your side of the story?”
Elna almost shushed him again, but she had noticed that when Malin made a rude comment, Dominic looked at him and pointed the gun in his direction. This time when he did it, she eased a little closer to the front door, turning so that the kitchen knife wasn’t visible.
If I could get close enough, I think I could deal with the gun, she thought, running through self-defense class scenarios in her head.
“I got mad, alright?” Dominic shouted, jabbing the gun at Malin. “You have no idea what that woman has put me through. You have no idea how she gets in your head”—he smacked the side of his head with his free hand so hard it made a dull thud—“how she confuses you. There’s something wrong with her. Maybe she’s crazy. But whatever. She needs me. Don’t you get that? When it’s just us, she’s okay. On her own, she’s all over the place. I have to keep her sane.”
“Dominic, just put the gun down,” Elna said. “You don’t need it. We’re not hostile, okay? Look, we put all your stuff back.”
When he swung toward her, Malin took the opportunity to move closer to him, reaching for the knife, but he lac
ked the stealth of Elna. Dominic saw what he was doing and brought the gun around.
“Don’t you come any closer to me, you scumbag,” he snarled at Malin, speaking through clenched teeth. “Stay right where you are. Selene told you to attack me the other night, didn’t she? I bet she set this whole thing up, got a bunch of people together and baited the trap. Isn’t that right?”
Malin started to answer, but seeing the incredulous look on his face, Elna cut in. “No, that’s not true,” she said. “Selene is worried about you. After the fight, she asked if you were okay. She didn’t want us to hit you.”
“I…I don’t believe it,” Dominic said, his face scrunching up, as if in pain. “Did she really?”
“She did?” Malin said.
Elna nodded at both of them, giving Malin a wide-eyed glare that meant, Hey, play along, fool. If he understood, he gave no indication.
“You scared her with the way you showed up,” Elna said. “You scared us all. But she didn’t want anyone to hurt you. She cried a lot afterward, afraid you were dying out there in the storm. Trust me.”
As she spoke, she saw his face soften, his lips drawing back together, the creases of his forehead slowly disappearing. She inched toward him as inconspicuously as she could.
“Dominic, we’re stuck on this island together, all of us,” Elna said. “You and Selene and everyone else. We can’t afford to attack each other. We have to work together from now on if we’re going to survive. There’s no reason for you to hide out over here in these old crumbling buildings. Come back with us. We can smooth things over.”
“I want to believe you,” he said softly, lowering the gun. His lower lip quivered. “I’ve been tricked so many times, it’s hard to think. Everything gets jumbled up.”
“Come back with us, and I’ll show you,” Elna said, trying to sound as motherly as she could. He was a bit like an overgrown child, after all. “Everything is going to be okay, Dominic.”
Malin started moving toward him, but Elna caught his eye and shook her head. With a frown, he stopped in his tracks.
Island Refuge EMP Box Set | Books 1-3 Page 10