Escape, a New Life (14 page)

AFTER SEVERAL HOURS spent tripping over rocks and through the trees,
Abby finally found her way to their camp. She watched the area for a long time.  She had been sitting there crouched in the trees for what seemed like an eternity.  So far, she had not seen any type of movement.  It had been over a week since she had floated away on that raft and watched Eric die, and not for a moment had she stopped thinking about her revenge.  It was almost surreal to finally be so close.

The camp was set up in a sm
all clearing, and there was a large lean-to shelter on the far side, much like the one that she had built by the beach.  Almost directly in the middle of the clearing was a stone-lined fire pit, and there was a small metal pot sitting on a stone next to the dying fire.  Whatever was in there smelled pretty good.  Of course, having been weeks since she had sat in a proper kitchen for a real home-cooked meal, just about anything smelled good.  She had actually come to enjoy Robert’s rabbit stew though.  She might even try that at home, if she ever got out of here.

How to go about this?
she wondered.  She did not have a weapon.  No doubt she could find a thick stick of some sort that she could use as a club, but she was not about to go storming into the shelter against three women, armed only with a stick.  She had no idea if they were even there.  Would they all be there?  What might they have in there with them?  She reminded herself that she was here to kill, not get killed.

Mesmerized by the dying fire, she was struck with an idea.  She
could smoke them out.  It would be simple. Light a branch on fire, preferably one that was nice and dry, with lots of leaves on it.  She could place that at the base of their lean-to, and within minutes their shelter should go up in flames. 

There would be one of two outcomes from there.  They would either come running out to escape the fire, where Abby would be waiting for them.  Or they would stay inside,
choke to death on the smoke in their sleep and burn in the blaze.  Either option was fine with Abby, though she did hope that at least Sara would come running out. 

It did not take long for her to find a fallen bra
nch covered in dry leaves.  She selected one that was about the length of her arm.  It appeared that it had been lying on the ground for quite some time.  The leaves even crackled in her hand a bit when she squeezed them.  It would be perfect. 

She stood silent and still, staring at the shelter.  The only problem with her plan
was that she would have to cross open ground.  The fire was in the center of the camp, and that was where she had to go if she wanted to light the branch.  At this point, she had been watching the camp for hours, with absolutely no sign of life.  She did not even hear any noise coming from the shelter.  For all she knew, she was about to burn down a perfectly good – and empty – shelter. 

Working up her courage was
nearly effortless.  She simply thought about Eric being cut down on the beach while she watched helplessly from the water.  The woman – correction – the bitch responsible for that was right in front of her.  All she had to do was be ready to punch her in the throat when she came running out of the lean-to.  The camp was, and had been, completely silent.  They must be sleeping.  Simple.

She carefully stepped from the trees, and was about three strides from the tree line when she caught a dark figure out of the corner of her eye.  Abby’s feet were swept out from under her while
something pushed her from behind, slamming her chest into the ground and knocking the wind out of her.  While she lay gasping for air, someone jumped on her back and wrapped her wrists and feet within seconds.

Whoever was on her back had gotten up.  Abby rolled over to see a mane of thick
red hair flickering by the fire light.  It was Emily; the one Abby figured would not be a problem. 

Abby hissed through her teeth, “Let me go.  Just let me go.  Let me kill
the blond haired bitch, Sara.  The one who killed Eric.  Let me do that and I’ll leave.  You will never see me again.”

The woman
said nothing, but grabbed Abby by the arm and lifted her to her feet.  Abby could not believe how strong the woman was.  She very well could have been one of the hands that had grabbed her that first time they had a run in with Tom and his people. 

Emily
dragged her over toward the fire, despite Abby’s best efforts to be counterproductive.

“This would be easier if you would untie my feet
, you know.  I can walk.”

“It’s
better for us both this way.  I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”

“Why not?  You people haven’t had a problem hurting me
up to now.”

Emily sighed and spoke in a hushed voice.  “Just shut up and listen.”

Abby scowled at her, “Make me.”

“So it’s going to be like that,” Emily observed.  “Alright.”
  She forced her to sit down on a log by the fire.  Emily tossed some more wood on the fire, then sat across from her at a distance.

They stared at each other. 
She thought about the last time they had seen each other around the fire, Abby having flipped her on her back and leaving her tied to the other woman.  She would have described her as cute then.  Now, any childish cuteness was gone.  She was a woman on a mission.

Abby
kept glancing over Emily’s shoulder, looking at the lean-to.  She asked, “Is that where they are?”

“How did you get here?”

“On a raft.  The same one I floated out on.  Are they in there?  The other women?”

“No.  H
ow did you get here in the first place?”

Abby did not answer.

“You just woke up here, on the beach, right?  You were confused.  You had no idea how you got here.  You met up with Eric.  You both noticed changes in yourselves, physical changes.  You’re healthier than you should be.  More fit.  Right?”

Abby smiled, “Let me guess.
The same thing happened to you? Blah, blah, blah.  Sara already gave me this whole speech to gain my trust.”  She shook her head, “Fool me once, shame on you, but it’s not going to work a second time.”

“Alright, then
, do you know why you’re here?”

“I don’t, but I aim to leave soon enough.  I just need to wrap up some loose ends.”

“Well, let me tell you why
I’m
here, then.  The United States has been fighting global terrorism for the past fifty years.  Any country that really matters has nukes now.  We’re never going to line up our forces against China or anyone else.  That would be stupid for everyone involved.  Everyone dies.  The wars we are fighting are in cities, against a handful of terrorists.” 

She watched Abby for a reaction.  She had none.

Emily twirled her finger in the air, indicating everything around them.  “This whole island is part of a government leadership program.  They need the strongest leaders.  People who can take charge and discipline a small group.  It is a test.  It is a test that is out of hand as far as the government is concerned.  They can’t control us, and you were sent here to kill us and put a stop to it.”  She stared hard at Abby.

After a few moments
, Abby said, “That is the most asinine thing I have ever heard.”

“Is it?”

“It is.  I’m not an assassin.”

“Then why the violence?  Why try to take us out as soon as you met us?”

“Because you kidnapped us and tied us up.  We had to defend ourselves.”

Emily nodded
. “That’s exactly what I said, too.”

“Huh?”

“I’m glad you agree.  That whole leadership test theory was bullshit.  I’ve been listening to it for nearly a year.”

“I’m sorry
, you’re the one who was talking about some leadership program that the government sent me here to shut down.  I did not bring that up.”

“I know, neither did
I.  That was Tom’s theory.  He was a lunatic.”

“Excuse me?”

Emily went on. “Tom and I arrived at the same time.  He seemed normal enough for the first day or so, but I could tell something wasn’t right.  He said he had been in the military, but was vague on the details.  He seemed to be something of a conspiracy theorist.  There were others on the island already when we got here, like in your situation.  He told me his theory one night.  I had already suspected he was crazy, and he just confirmed it.  I was glad that there were other people around.  I didn’t exactly want to be alone with him, but that did not work out so well either.”

“Why is that?”  Abby was definitely curious.

“He killed them all one night.  Then it was just the two of us.  He thought for sure that he had ‘passed’ the test.  When no one came to congratulate him and assign him his new post, he got very confused.  Eventually other people started to come to the island.  He was very charismatic, and they all bought into the bullshit he was selling.  Until you guys.”

“It’s not that we never bought in, though it does sound ridiculous.  He never explained his theory to us.”

Emily smiled. “You never gave him a chance.  Instead, you tried to kill everyone.  That’s when he decided that you were sent by the government to put an end to the program.  Honestly, he has been a lunatic since the day I met him.  When I saw that you had finally killed him, I was relieved.  I didn’t have to be scared of him anymore.”

Abby was skeptical
. “That’s really your story?”

Emily laughed, “I know, it sounds crazy.  You have every right to think I’m just
trying to trick you, but it’s the truth.”

They were quiet for a long time, listening to the crackling of the fire.  Abby was looking at her feet, deep in thought.  She considered Emily’s story.  It made some sense when she thought it through.  Abby shifted her shoulders uncomfortably. 

“The other women – are they here?”

“No.  You don’t have to worry about them.”

“So what do we do now?”

“That’s entirely up to you.  I would like to trust each other.  I would like
to work together, or at least agree that we are not going to kill each other.  There are very few people on this little outpost.  It’s in our best interest to get along.”

“With Tom gone, I don’t have to worry about you?  You’re not going try to avenge his death or anything?”

Emily laughed again. “I told you, I’m happy he’s gone.  He was out of his mind.  We are all better off without him around.  Besides, if I was going to avenge his death, why not just kill you now, while you’re tied up?  You are at my mercy.”

Abby thought about that. 
It was true.  She was very vulnerable at the moment, and Emily was plenty strong enough.  Emily could easily kill her then and there.  “Fair enough,” Abby said.  “I guess that is a reason to trust you a little bit.  I’m not saying we’re going to be best friends right now, but if you untie me, that would be a nice gesture,” she smiled.

“As long as you see that
we’re on the same team.  But do not make me hurt you.”

“I won’t.”

Emily went to work on her feet.  She had a knife, a fairly dull one.  It took some effort, but she eventually cut through and freed Abby’s feet.  She stood behind Abby and worked on her hands, careful not to cut her.  Once she freed her wrists, she placed her hand on Abby’s shoulder, half expecting her to turn around and take a swing.  “Same team,” she reminded her.

“Same team,” Abby repeated.

Emily moved in front of Abby, and they looked at each other.  Emily felt awkward as Abby rubbed her wrists.  “There is something else I need to tell you.”

Abby spoke as if she didn’t hear.  Gesturing to the pot next to the fire she asked, “What’s cooking?”

“That was dinner. Nothing extravagant.  Are you hungry?  I think we have a little bit left in there.”  Emily turned to the fire, leaning over to look into the pot.

Abby reached down and grabbed a fist
-sized rock that lay at her feet.  She leapt, closing the small gap between them, arcing her arm through the air to connect the stone with the back of Emily’s skull.  A split second before impact, a large hand came from behind, seizing her wrist, stopping it in mid-air.

Abby was shocked.  Looking up, she locked eyes with Eric.

ERIC LOOKED at Emily
. “I told you to wait for me when she showed up.”

“I tried to wait for you, but she was coming into the camp.  I had to do something.”

“Hide, that’s what you should have done.  You nearly got yourself killed.”  He was still holding Abby’s shocked hand mid-air.

“I thought I had it handled,” Emily said.

Abby interrupted “Hey!”

They both turned to her.

She spoke quietly. “You’re alive?”  Abby said this more as a question than a statement.  She stared into Eric’s eyes as tears began rolling down her soft cheeks. 

“I am,” he smiled.

She buried her face in his chest, squeezing him hard, holding him as close as she could.  Through her tears she inhaled his scent, drinking him in.

“It’s alright, Abby.  It’s real.  I’m here.”  He stroked her hair.

When she finally calmed down, she pulled away, drying her face with her hands.  “You don’t seem surprised to see me?”

He laughed, “I never doubted that you would show up.  I knew you would be fine.”

She gestured toward Emily, who had been standing by, watching the scene unfold.  “Can you tell me about this?  Why are we friends with her?”

“She’s alright,” he said.  “Trust me.”

“I trust you.  It’s her I don’t trust.”  Looking at Emily, she squeezed her arm around Eric’s waist, claiming him as her own.  “I don’t know what she told you, but I don’t believe it.  It’s Sara all over again.  How do we know she’s not just playing another game?  Buying time until the other two are healthy, then they come after us.”

“Trust me
, she is not going back to the other women.”

“How do you know that?”

He looked at her hard. “Because they’re dead.  The three of us are the only ones here Abby.”

“They
’re dead, and she’s not going to hold that against us?  Revenge is a powerful emotion.  Avenging your death is the only thing that kept me going out there.”

“She is not going to hold anything against you,” he said.  “
We didn’t kill them.”

“Who did?”

Emily finally spoke. “I did.”

“I told you she could be trusted,” Eric said.

Abby was shocked.  “You killed them?  Why?”

“The story I told you was true, every bit of it.  I have been scared of Tom and trying to find a way out for a long time.  The others
, they… they bought into it.  Sara was furious and hell-bent on killing you guys.”

“I know,” Abby said.  “I saw you both attack Eric on the beach.”

“You were pretty far out on the water,” Eric said.  “Sara attacked me.  If Emily hadn’t shown up when she did, I would probably be dead.”

Abby thought about it.  It was true that she saw Emily running up to them, but she never saw what happened.  That was about the time that she had jumped into the water in her fruitless effort to swim in.  “But I saw Sara stab you.  You were on the ground.  I thought you were dead.”  Her eyes began to well up with the memory.

Eric lifted his shirt to reveal a very long cut across his ribs.  “She just grazed me.  Hurt like a son of a bitch.  I went down, but I was all right.  I would not have been for long, if Em here hadn’t come along.”

“This is all happening so fast.”  She turned to Emily, “I tied you up to the one
with the broken leg after you attacked me.”

“First, I wasn’t attacking you
, I didn’t even know you were there.  If I remember right, you jumped out from behind a rock and flipped me like a pancake.”

“
You’re right.  I thought I had killed you at first.”

“Thanks for that.”

“So what happened?”

“I wasn’t dead, obviously.  I wasn’t even unconscious.  I just figured if I got up you
would
kill me.  So I stayed on the ground and let you tie me up.  I saw what you did to the men at the gravesite.  I figured you were going for Tom and Sara next.  The woman you left me tied to, Jessica, I never liked her.  Killing her was doing her a favor.”

“I thought these people were your friends?”

“No, I needed them to survive.  I certainly was not about to try to get away from them just to have them hunt me down and kill me.  When I saw how you handled yourself when we first grabbed you, that’s when I knew I could finally get out.  I just needed to join up with you.”

“What happened on the beach?”

“She saved my life,” Eric said.

“How?”

“She came running onto the beach, screaming that Tom was still alive and needed help.  Sara went with her.  They just left me there.  I realized I was not in as bad a shape as I thought.  I hightailed it into the trees to watch.  I could not believe he was alive, but I couldn’t figure out what angle she was playing.  I found out when Sara leaned over Tom to listen for his breath, and she, well…”

They all looked at each other.  Abby was trying to process everything. 

“I want to see the bodies,” she said.

“You don’t believe me?”  Eric was confused.

“I just… I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this.”

“Well
, that’s going to be tough.”

“You already buried them
?” Abby understood.  “Just show me where. Maybe that will be enough.”

Eric and Emily shared a look.

“What?” Abby said.

Emily spoke
. “We didn’t bury them.”

“
Then why can’t I see them then?”

“They’re gone.”

“Gone where?”

“We don’t know.”

Abby stood looking at them both, “What the hell is going on?”  She looked nervously at Eric, who held up his hands to reassure her.

“I… I think Emily
can explain it better than I can.”

Abby looked at Emily, “Well
, go ahead then.”

“I don’t understand it myself.  Just keep an open mind, alright?”

“Just tell me what’s going on.”

Emily began, “I don’t understand everything about this island.  I don’t
understand why we are here.  I don’t understand how we got here.  I don’t understand why more people keep showing up, but no one ever rescues us.  And I don’t think you understand that either, do you?”

“You have been here a year,” Abby said.  “I’m going on a month.  I haven’t figured it out any better than you have.”

“Alright.  Well, the strangest thing I don’t understand is what happens to the people who die.  They just disappear.”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“No, I guarantee you that I’m not.  Remember how I told you that Tom killed those people when we first got here?  Well, I freaked out and took off.  He found me in a couple of hours and brought me back to the camp.  When we got back, they were all gone.  Trust me, I saw how brutally he mangled them.  There was no way any of them were alive and just walked off.  But they were gone.”

“So how do you explain it?”

“I can’t.  But every time someone is really sick, really hurt, or dead, they disappear.”

Abby looked
at Eric. “What do you think about this?”

“I think that I don’t get it either, but it seems to be the truth.  We dragged Tom and Sara away from our camp into the trees.  Figured we would bury them after my side healed up in a few days.  When we woke up the next day, they were gone.  I also know those men we left at the gravesite were dead.  No way either one of them was still alive the way we left them.  When we got back to their camp a few days ago, they were gone
, too.”

“What about the one with the broken leg?”

“I never saw her,” he said,  “but I’m inclined to believe what Emily said.”

“One of the women who was here when I got to the island told me about this,” Emily said.  “She said that she had not seen it herself, but there was another
woman who had been here longer than her and told her about it.  So, this is third hand, but the woman had told her that someone had fallen off a cliff and got killed.  It took them the better part of a day to hike down the mountain to get the body.  When they got there, it was gone.  They thought maybe the person had survived, but he never showed up again.”

“This is crazy,” Abby said.

“It is.  But she told me something else, too.  She said that some guy had broken his arm; the bone was right through the skin.  It was pretty bad, and after a couple of days, he started with a fever.  They figured he must have an infection, and were pretty sure he was going to die.  He got real bad over the next couple of days, to the point that they had a twenty-four hour watch over him.  She was with him one night, and fell asleep.  She woke up, and he was gone, but she heard something in the trees.  She went out, and there were men dressed all in black carrying him away.”

“Who were they?”

“She had no idea.  It was not the men that were with them.  She said she followed them at a distance until they got to a cove, where she lost them.  It was the middle of the night, and she had a real hard time finding her way back.  She told the others what had happened, and they set out to find them.  The problem was that she could not find her way back to the cove.  Everything had been dark when she followed them before, so it was a dead end.  She said another woman disappeared.  She seemed to be perfectly healthy, but was about seven months pregnant, they figured.  They never found her either.”

Abby thought about the story.  The part about the cove stuck out to her.  She had floated completely around the island on her raft.  Granted, she had not been lucid the entire time, but she only remembered seeing one cove during her trip.  The one that she eventually wound
up paddling into.  It was on the north side of the island, shielded by tall trees all around it.  It was one hell of a hike through some rough terrain and could be easy to miss if you were looking for it on land.  It was only clearly visible from the water.

“What do you think the cove is all about?”

“I don’t know,” Emily said.  “But it seems there must be other people here snatching up the sick and the dead.  I can’t figure out why, but that’s the only thing that makes sense.  Maybe this cove is where they are.  I don’t know.”

Abby thought about Robert.  He had been on the island for a long time, and obviously knew where the cove was. 
Maybe he knows something more? 
She nearly voiced this thought, however she remembered that earlier Eric had said that the three of them – Abby, Eric, and Emily – were the only three people left on the island.  At the time, knowing that Robert was alive and well, she nearly corrected him.  However she realized that Eric could be concealing Robert from Emily for now, so she didn’t.  She decided to wait until she could speak with Eric about it before she mentioned Robert in front of her. 

“I’ve been there,” she said. 
Abby recounted the story of the cove where she had landed the raft.

Emily asked, “Do you think
you can get us back there?”

“I think so.
I was in rough shape at the time, but I remember how to get there.  It’s on the north side of the island.  There’s lots of heavy vegetation around it, but I can get us there.”

Eric spoke. “Let’s do it f
irst thing in the morning.  Let’s figure this thing out.  If there are other people here, maybe they know how to get off this rock.”

They all agreed.  At dawn
, they would pack up camp and set out for the cove. 

Emily excused herself and retired to the shelter, leaving Eric and Abby alone
by the glow of the fire.

“I’m so happy you’re alive,” Abby said, squeezing him
tightly.  “I’m so happy to be back together.”  She kissed him, soft on the lips.

He smiled
. “There was never a doubt in my mind that we would be.”

She whispered, “Does she know about Robert?”

Eric shook his head no.  “I was keeping that one in my back pocket.  Just in case.  I figure if she isn’t who she says she is and I have to cut bait, I want the option to head up the hill and stay with him for a while.”

“You’re a smart one.”

“Naw, just practical.”

Abby told him about how Robert had found her when she floated into the cove, brought her back to his camp and got her back on her feet again.  “I don’t know what I would have done without him.  I could barely walk when he pulled me out of the water.”

“What was he doing there?” Eric wondered.

“I don’t know.  I never asked, and he never offered.  I guess it was like when he helped us the first time.  He showed up at the right place, when we needed him.”

Eric nodded his head, “I wonder if we’ll be seeing him again anytime soon?”