A strangled scream passed my lips as my vision cleared. Plastic pig masks stared back at me, their masks the pinnacle on the faces of a group of well-dressed men, each taking on a different role in this apparent kidnapping. And from their height and build, young men at that.
Three of my kidnappers surrounded me as they dragged me up a hill, deeper onto the plot of land I was still trying to make out in the darkness. As I began struggling under the blanket, I focused my eyes on the other guys piddling around the boat we must have arrived on, now washed ashore. I squinted, trying to catch a name on the boat or anything to indicate who these boys were or what they wanted from me. To my dismay, it was too dark, and it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. If they were wearing masks, they didn’t plan on getting caught.
The thought had me ripping through the wool around me as hard as I could.
“Hurry up. She’s waking up.” One of the guys said, bright, painted eyes shining down at me. The feeling of bitter air on my legs flooded me with relief. With the blanket partially off my lower half, I could swing my leg up and kick the guy holding my ankles in the face. The gesture was weak but forced him to drop me. The captor to my left let go of the edge of the blanket he had been using to drag me, then cursed.
“This is far enough.” He said, then turned to the guy across from him. “Take her phone and get rid of it.” His hands pressed down on my shoulders to keep me from resisting.
“Help!” I screamed, grasping at the guy’s hands on my shoulders. Another set of hands brushed my jacket pockets until it found my phone, then headed away from us.
“No one can hear you out here.” The guy said, crawling slightly on top of me to gain a little more control. The guy who I’d kicked in the face jogged down towards the boat, and I realized they were going to leave me here.
Go for the eyes. That’s what my grandfather always told me. I tried reaching my hand up to remove his mask, but his grip tightened on me.
“I don’t like you.” The guy grumbled, his hard chest pressing up against mine. “But you sure are pretty.” He said through his mask. Though I couldn’t see his face, I could see his eyes through tiny slits. The way he was looking at me had me turning my head away from him so he couldn’t see my tears.
Off in the distance, I noticed the same guy who’d taken my phone walking back towards us.
“Let’s go.” The guy said as he approached us. “We’re done here, right?” My throat tightened, more tears flooding in relief as I realized they weren’t going to kill me. And by the looks of it, they weren't going to do anything else to me either. They were, however, going to leave me here.
“Hey -” The pig man on top of me released one shoulder to point at the scrawnier guy. “You don’t tell me what to do. You’re not in charge here. I am. Get on the boat.” His hand went back to my shoulder before I could react, but the opening gave me a burst of adrenaline, and I did the other thing my grandfather told me to do when in a precarious situation such as this. I kneed him in the groin.
“Ah!” He yelled and fell on top of me, his hands going to his freshly bruised privates. I tried to roll out from under him, but he was stronger than me.
The rumble of the boat starting up sounded below us, and I heard the urgency in the voice of the guy standing beside us.
“Let’s go. They’re leaving.” He stood firmly in place and waited for the guy on top of me to get off. My captor's hand went to the soft flesh around my neck for a second, and the other guy grabbed his arm but didn’t say anything. Their eyes met behind their masks, and the first guy shook off the other, dropping his grip from my neck in the process. He got up and walked back to the boat with the other guy, who was peering at me over his shoulder.
Frozen in shock, I watched them pile into the small white boat and sail away from me into the dark night. A chill ran up my spine, and the motor of their boat was the only sound I registered besides the waves of the ocean. Above me, a light flashed, causing me to blink. The light spun above me once more, and I eventually I snapped out of it and realized the light had been spinning the entire time.
“Oh my god,” I said to myself. The lighthouse. The light was coming from a lighthouse. I scrambled up, feeling finally spread throughout my entire body, and ran in the direction the guy who’d gotten rid of my phone had come from. The island was small, less than twenty acres in total. It only took a few seconds for the entire lighthouse to come into view, nestled on the very edge of the island and giving way to an expanse of grass and trees.
My stomach flipped, and I spun around, eyes searching the horizon for the familiar outline of six million-dollar mansions. And there they were. The glow of lights filled the many rooms in the buildings as they lined the cliff across the mile of ocean that lay between us. I was stranded on Rose Island.
And yet, where there was light, there were people. Someone had to have turned the light on when it got dark. The old house connected to the lighthouse was surely built for the lighthouse keeper. It would be unsafe to boat back and forth to the mainland every night after dark.
A burst of hope spread through my veins as I booked it to the building. The drugs may have worn off, but I still felt sluggish as I moved, and I had to push hard as I stepped up the grassy incline. As I got closer, I could see that the small house acted as a support for the watchtower, which perched meaningfully on one end. I ran up to the wooden door that appeared to be an entrance and knocked loudly. There were no lights on inside the house, but it was late. Surely the lighthouse keeper was sleeping already.
“Hello!” I yelled, my voice echoing past the loud thumping I was making on the door. After a minute, I let my aching fist drop, and my hope fell with it. My hand went to the door handle and turned, the old door creaking as it opened.
I stepped inside and yelled again, but there was nothing. The empty silence sent a chill up my spine, and I found myself frozen in the doorway. Though it was too dark to see anything inside the house, I willed myself to hear something. But there was nothing aside from my own fragmented breaths.
When I was sick of letting my fear get the best of me, I took a cautious step inside. My fingers found a light switch in the entryway. The fluorescent light lit up a small kitchen. A ratty floral wallpaper stared back at me. The room was detailed with old furniture and ancient appliances. I froze once again, but this time it wasn't from fear. Something shifted in my mind, just out of reach, and I tried to grasp at it. Had I been here before?
My attention drifted to the staircase, and I followed it through the house to the second floor, turning on lights and checking each room as I went. When I made it to the watchtower entrance, I blew out one last breath of hope. The metal staircase rattled as I climbed the top step, opening into the tiny apex of the lighthouse, the lantern room. I shielded my eyes as the light beamed around me, reaching far beyond the glass in the space I stood in. Despite the glare, I could see as much as I needed to know one very important thing. I was alone here. Clearly, the light was automatic, and any hope I’d had of finding something on this tiny island sailed away with my kidnappers.
Okay, I thought. Don’t panic. This could be worse. I looked around. Was there something around here I could use to call for help, like a radio? Even if there was, I wasn't sure I would know how to use it. As far as I was concerned, my morse code wasn't up to par, so I headed back into the main house.
When a faint ringing noise sounded, I froze. Did this house have an old landline? My heart beat wildly as I raced from room to room, each time expecting the sound to get louder. But the source of the ringing was not coming from any of the rooms. It was coming from outside.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, as I realized the ringtone wasn't the basic ring you’d hear on an old school telephone, but a more modern melody. My ringtone.
So, that guy hadn’t gotten rid of my phone like he was supposed to after all. I burst out of the house and strained to hear the familiar tune. I walked quickly, hoping whoever was callin
g wouldn’t give up and hang up.
Though the light from the lighthouse was bright enough, with each passing, it left me in darkness once again. With shaking hands, I rifled through my pockets and pulled out my lighter, eternally grateful I’d given in to Nina’s criticism and asked one of our staff to get me some lighter fluid this morning.
I fumbled around with the lighter, nervous I’d drop it, and finally lit the fuse with a satisfying flick. Just as the flame appeared, the ringing stopped. I stiffened. “No, no, no…” I muttered to myself, whirling around. “Come on. I must be close. The ringing definitely came from around here.” I stopped when a tiny shed came into view fifty paces from the house. My heartbeat was in my throat as a million terrifying images of what might be housed inside crossed my mind. The lone beat-up building gave me the creeps, like pretty much everything else about Rose Island, but I pressed on anyway, hopeful the masked kidnapper had thought he was clever by hiding my phone instead of smashing it to smithereens.
I pried the shed door open and crawled into the small space, my lighter leading the way.
“Shit.” I cursed, seeing an entirely too terrifying brick well housed inside the small building.
So, I was wrong. He had thrown it down the well. How the hell would I get my phone from the bottom of this thing? There was no bucket and pulley system… there was nothing in this building that I could see besides this stupid circle of bricks probably filled with water.
I leaned over slightly, careful not to fall in, and lowered my lighter. Was there even water down there? It was too deep; I couldn’t tell. Maybe if I went back in the house, I could find a real flashlight, and maybe a rope and a bucket, or even a ladder…
Just as I was letting my mind wander through all the possibilities, my gaze fell on something etched into one of the bricks on the inside of the well. My own last name. It wasn't too far down, but I still had to bend over a little more to get a good look at it. There it was, hand-carved into a brick, was the name FONTAINE. I could see the faint outline of other names, so I leaned in a little closer. MULLER, RUSSO, and did that say Cunningham? There was more I couldn’t read clearly, but I was almost certain the brick contained the names of the six families. And there was… something else… I just needed to get a better angle.
As I grasped the side of the well with one hand to steady myself, I leaned in a bit deeper. Just as I was moving, I was startled by my ringtone blaring a few feet from me. I jumped, dropping my lighter.
“No!” I cringed, hearing the echo of metal splashing to the bottom of the well.
When I finally righted myself, I was torn between sulking about my now-lost lighter and immediately searching for the source of my ringtone. Obviously, I did the latter. Without the flame from my lighter, the building would have been pitch black if not for my phone screen shining from behind the well in the back of the shed.
“Gotcha!” I yelled triumphantly as I dropped to my hands and knees and pulled my phone from the floor. By this point, I was shaking all over again. I had my phone, and it was not at the bottom of the well. Had the kidnapper thought he’d tossed it in and missed?
My first thought was to hang up on whoever was calling me and dial 911. That is until I saw the caller ID.
“Valentina?” I said into my phone with a jittery voice. I didn’t even know she had my number.
“Harper? Are you okay?” Valentina’s voice was full of worry and for a split second, I wondered if she’d dialed the wrong number until I realized she’d said my name.
“Um, no, actually. Things are very much not okay. I was kidnapped. How the hell did you know that?”
“Shit.” She said, and I could hear rustling in the background. “Because I was too. I just got a hold of Adan, and apparently, he and the guys on his swim team were locked in the locker room. Ironic after the challenge we just had at the school, but since they were stuck in that one area, it was a real bitch to get out of. Their phones were all taken and left in a gym bag outside. Nina called Adan while I was on the phone with him, and he hung up on me. I managed to get your number first, though. I’m guessing something happened to Nina, too, since he hasn’t called me back, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with the Order. Which means, they probably did something to you. Where are you?”
I thought about earlier when Nina hadn’t texted me back. Had whoever kidnapped me gotten to Nina first?
I backed out of the shed and ran towards the house, the darkness settling deep into my bones and leaving me hungry for the safety of light.
“Um, you’re not going to believe this, but I’m at the Rose Island Lighthouse.” The door banged shut behind me, and I stood in front of the kitchen window, peering out of the stained glass. A single geometric rose detailed the top of the design. “Please tell me you’re coming to get me,” I said quickly, brushing my sleeve on the window to get a clearer view.
“Fuck.” she muttered. “They took you all the way out there?”
“Valentina.” I said, “Are you coming to get me?” I repeated. “Should I call the police? I should at least call my dad or something -”
“No.” She cut me off. “No police. Don’t call your dad. Don’t call anyone. I’m pretty sure it was just Shane and his asshole friends. They’re trying to keep us from figuring out the last riddle and showing up to the induction ceremony Friday morning. If we call the police, we risk exposing the Order and getting disqualified. Don’t move. I’m coming to get you right now.”
My hand gripped the windowsill. “I don’t know, Valentina. I don’t think it was Shane this time. I think it’s bigger than that. If the Order is as powerful as everyone says it is, it’s got to have some enemies or rival groups. The guys who took me wanted to get rid of me because they said I was a ‘threat’. Because the Order wants me. The way they talked, they didn’t sound like they were a part of the Order at all.” I thought about the fire and wondered if I should explain all of that to Valentina. Then again, if this was just about me, why had the others being targeted as well?
There were rustling sounds from the other end, and Valentina paused before replying. “Yeah, exactly. Shane isn’t a part of the Order yet.” A revving noise sounded through the phone line, kind of like a motorcycle… but different. “I’m on my way right now. I have to hang up to get to you, though, okay?”
“No, Valentina, please don’t hang up.” I hated how desperate I sounded, but hell, I was desperate.
“I can’t talk and ride this thing at the same time. Harper, I’m coming. I can see the light coming from the lighthouse. I’m going to ride straight there. But in order to do that, I have to go. It’s dark, and the ocean isn’t safe to be in at night.”
I turned and started pacing, knowing that every second I wasted keeping her on the phone was another second I delayed her arrival. I didn’t say anything, but I silently prayed this whole thing would be over soon.
“Harper?” Valentina’s voice rang in my ear, and her tone soothed me. “I’m coming, I promise. You will be okay.”
I sucked in a shaky breath. “Okay.” I said, then pressed “end” on the phone call.
ELEVEN
“Harper?” Valentina’s voice bellowed over the sounds of the ocean. In the time it took Valentina to get here, I’d left Adan and Nina a few voicemails, then found a couple of flashlights laying around the house. I grabbed one in each hand and bounded out the house's side door and in the direction her voice was coming from.
“Valentina!” I shouted back. There she was, walking slowly towards me from the bottom of the grassy hill. I was wrong. I had made the right choice that day by going to Cunningham’s party and signing up to be a part of the Order. If I hadn’t, I would never have gotten this close to Valentina. And right now, because of her, it looked like I might just survive this crazy night.
I ran up to her and threw my arms around her shoulders, not caring one bit about the little tiff we’d had the day before.
“Are you okay?” She asked,
her hands running all over me to make sure nothing was bruised or broken.
“Are you?” I asked, noticing her breaths coming in and out heavily. She was soaked through her windbreaker and looking a little pale from what I could make out in the darkness.
“Just a little tired.”
“How did you get here?” I asked, and she pointed behind her to the jet ski beached on the sand.
“Oh my god, you took that thing all the way out here in the middle of the night? And you’re planning on taking me back on it with you?” My jaw dropped.
She started walking again, probably eager to get out of her wet clothes, and I put my arm around her to assist.
“Well, the Vasquez helicopter would have drawn too much attention.” She said between breaths, and I briefly wondered if she was joking. “Besides, my jet ski was the fastest, closest thing around here. Normally I don’t take joy rides in the dark, but it was kind of an emergency.”
When we made it inside, I helped Valentina take off some of her wet clothes and put them in an exceptionally old dryer in the back room of the house. As she sat on a rickety chair in my winter coat, I stood over the antique range I was using to boil some water. The coffee I’d dug up from the cupboard was either two hundred years old or left behind by one of the random tourists who liked to scare themselves by spending a night alone out here. Considering there was also a bag of rice, Dijon mustard and an unopened box of Lipton tea, I was banking on option B.
“So, you’re telling me the kidnappers had you locked in your mother’s wine cellar? What is it with this town and wine?” I asked, welcoming the warmth from the nearby stove.
She nodded, her fingers automatically dialing Adan’s number once again. “The kidnappers, being Shane and his goons.” She corrected me.
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