By the time I wake up the next morning, feeling sore in every good way, Charles is still asleep. Sometime during the night, we had rolled away from each other, and the fire had gone out, so Iโm a little cold. I stare at his handsome, sleeping face and begin to regret the fact that we had sex last night. I had enjoyed every second of it, but now that it is morning, I wonder if there would be any awkwardness and if he would be weird about it.I pick up his key holder, which has something like a small knife attached to it and quietly head out of the cave so as not to wake him up. Then I look for a suitable stick and begin the slow and long process of turning one end of it into a sharp and pointed end. I donโt by any means know a single thing about fishing, but I had seen some movies in the past in which people were stranded somewhere there is a big body of water and they used sticks to catch fish. There's no harm in trying.Iโm almost done sharpening the stick when I sense that someone i
From where Iโm standing, I canโt see Charles, but as I begin to run towards the rock, I see the water surrounding where he fell turning rapidly turning red. As soon as I see that, I remember that the area had numerous smaller rocks that were submerged in the water.โOh, my God! Please, no.โ I moan, wading as fast as I can to reach him and splashing water as I try to run. At first, I donโt see him when I get to the spot in which he had fallen, and I go into full-blown panic mode. Finally, I can see him, but seeing him doesnโt lessen the terror that is gripping me.He is lying facedown in the water, unmoving. I call out his name and reach into the water, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling his upper body out of the water. There is an ugly gash on his forehead, where the old wound which had been healing nicely, had reopened and even widened. The wound is pouring blood, but I can tell right away that it wasnโt this wound that is the cause of all the red in the water.โCharles? Charl
As Charles predicted, his condition worsens over the next two days. Itโs unimaginable to think that weโve been here for seven days, over a whole damn week, and yet, weโre yet to be rescued. I live every second in fear. What if the people on the ship think that we got down at one of the destinations where the cruise ship was supposed to stop, and then something happened to us thereafter? Charles is rich, after all, and some shady characters might like to kidnap him to fetch a god ransom. Or what if they had been searching for us, having realized that we must have fallen overboard, but have now decided that maybe theyโre too late and weโre dead? I have no way of knowing anything, as weโre cut off from the entire world. โHowโs your head, Charles?โ I ask him. โItโs horrible. It hasnโt stopped pounding since the day before yesterday. At the end of all this, Iโm afraid that Iโll give Frankenstein a run for his money in the looks aspect.โ He says weakly, trying to joke, but Iโm not findin
I fall sick the next day, as I had suspected I would, and Charlesโs condition worsens. He drifts in and out of consciousness the whole day, his fever so bad that it almost feels like he would combust. That evening, I manage to get us some berries to eat. Charles refuses to have any, and no amount of cajoling and crying on my part would make him eat them. Iโm too weak to husk any coconuts, so I manage to catch some crabs, but end up burning them when I tried to cook them. The lack of food, appetite, and illness weakens us the more, and on the eleventh day after we find ourselves on the island, Iโm so weak that I canโt stand again. I lay beside Charles, totally boneless and unable to do anything to help either of us, not that there is much to be done in the first place. He hasnโt spoken in two days, and the only time I hear anything from his mouth is when he mutters gibberish because of the fever, and when he moans because of the pain heโs passing through.That night, I finally give up
JESSICABy the time I open my eyes, Iโm alone and lying in a bed in a hospital room. The familiar panic sets in, and I try to stamp it down unsuccessfully. I hate hospital rooms with a deadly passion. Before I can panic too much though, the door to the room opens and my friend Samantha walks in, all smiles.โWell, well, well. Look whoโs awake.โ She beams, coming to my bedside and giving me a kiss on the cheek. โHey.โ I croak, and she immediately reaches for a jug by the side of the bed and pours me a glass of water, which I suck at greedily through a straw. โHow are you feeling?โโI feel much better than I should, thanks.โโThatโs good. The doctor said that you will have no problem recovering. Iโm guessing that he knows his stuff. Iโm glad to see youโre okay. I was very worried. We all were.โโWhoโs we?โ I ask although Iโm tired of hearing her forcefully cheery voice.โWhy? Sebastian and I, as well as the organizers of the cruise, of course. This type of thing is bad for their busine
I only barely manage to conceal my utter shock at this surprisingly unwanted piece of information. There is no reason for the pain and betrayal that Iโm feeling at that moment, but the fact is that Iโm feeling these emotions.I chalk it up to the fact that Charles had so blatantly lied about being in a relationship just to get into my pants, although if the truth is to be told, I had been very eager to get into his pants as well. No wonder he had seemed uncomfortable when I asked him if he was in a relationship while we were on the island.Meghan is advancing into the room, all smiles and shiny white teeth. I think of my teeth that havenโt really been brushed in over a week, except with twigs that I used as makeshift toothbrushes, and I scowl, but Meghan doesnโt seem to care.โOh, hi. Arenโt you a beauty? Look at your hair โฆ so pretty. Iโm Samantha.โ Samantha gushes, moving over to Meghan before she can reach the bed in which Iโm lying and giving her a very big hug as though theyโre l
When I get back to my room, I find Sebastian, his wife Carol, and little baby James waiting for me. My mood improves immediately, although not by much, and I smile gratefully at them. Sebastian hunkers down and gives me a heartfelt hug, which I return heartily, breathing in his familiar smell. Hugging him feels like home but in a brotherly way. If anyone had ever told me that I would come to think of Sebastian as a โbrotherโ some three years ago, I would have laughed their face off. I glance at Carol to see if sheโs uncomfortable with this display of emotion that her husband is giving me, but she clearly isnโt. I wonder how refreshing it must be to be sure of your partner. Sheโs beaming at me and waiting her turn to give me a hug, which I accept gratefully. Then they place baby James in my arms, and immediately my mood brightens, after he gives me a two-toothed smile, and immediately reach for a strand of my hair. Tugging on peopleโs hair is his favorite pastime.โIโm so thankful th
CHARLESMy head is pounding hard, and my eyes feel like theyโre glued shut. I manage to force them open, and then immediately wish that I hadnโt. The bright light in the room hurt my eyes, so I shut them and only open them again when I have gotten accustomed to the light.Iโm in a hospital room โฆ I realize that right away. I glance around and realize that Iโm alone, and itโs afternoon. That is no surprise. I donโt have anyone who is close to me enough to sit with me in a hospital room while Iโm sick. Belatedly, the events of the past several days come rushing back to me, and I sit up suddenly. My head begins to swim, so I wait for some time for it to calm down before pulling off all the stuff that is connected to me in a bid to keep me alive.The wounds that are all over me protest my movement, but I need to know โฆ need to know where Jessica is and if she made it out of the island alive too. I really hope she did. I canโt bear to think otherwise, because it would hurt a lot.I had co
JESSICASix months later, it still feels like a dream that it's finally over. But life is finally getting back to normal, or at least itโs finally getting back to what I think normal should be, and itโs blissful. I can go out any time I want, go wherever I want, and do whatever I feel like doing without having to watch my back.I have my loving family, both my immediate and extended ones. By extended, I mean Sebastian and his family, along with Mrs. James, of course. Theyโre the only family that Iโd ever want or need. My brother, who had been estranged from me for a very long time, despite all my efforts to reach out to him over the years, finally reached out to me three days after the whole Charlotte saga.Heโs a stranger to me now though, and I donโt consider him family, although once, I worshipped the ground on which he walked. He had literally raised me up until my teenage years when he disappeared without a single word. Now that I know the reason why he disappeared, I'm glad he d
โI donโt want either of us to get hurt, Charlotte. If I try to grab the gun, one of us will surely get hurt, or wind up dead. You still have enough time to run if you donโt want the police to catch you.โ Charles tells his sister after about two minutes or so of them going back and forth.The pain in my knee is beginning to be unbearable, but I struggle with all that is in me to swing my legs as silently as possible from the bed. My legs feel rubbery, as though they belong to someone else, but I know that it is now or never. If I fail, Ava might not grow up with her father, mother, or both of them.Although every muscle in my body is in protest, I struggle to move silently, and Iโm almost all the way to where Charlotte is when all hell breaks loose. Sheโs backing me, while Charles is facing me, so he obviously sees me trying to move to where they are, but he pretends not to and continues to engage Charlotte.However, she must have noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, or maybe
"Youโre joking, right? I mean, how is that even possible.โ Charles asks in bewilderment. From his expression, and the tone of his voice, it is clear that he thinks that his sister is batshit crazy, which she obviously is. As for me, I remain silent, not even daring to breathe too loudly, so that Charlotte would not be reminded of my existence.What she is saying is pretty wild to me too. I mean, I havenโt seen or spoken or heard from my brother in well over a decade, and neither do I have any desire to speak to or hear from him, so I donโt know why someone would want to harm me just because of him.โI wish I was joking, because if I were, then my daughter and her father would still be alive, and maybe, just maybe I would have someone to love me too because itโs clear that you donโt give two hoots about me.โโWell, you make it hard to care about you, considering the fact that you go about killing innocent people for no reason other than the fun of it. Wait! Whatโs this bit about a daug
โWhat the fuck?! Youโre not supposed to be here. How did you get here so fast?โ Charlotte asks him, her composure cracking for once. She immediately dives for the gun which she had discarded earlier, and points it at Charles. Thereโs no need for her to be worried about me, because Iโm in no condition to do anything other than lay on the mattress on which she placed me. Charles is not armed, and neither had I thought that he would be, because where on earth would he get a gun in a foreign country? But then, I had expected him to at least come with help, and not just charge in alone, although come to think of it, I should be thankful that he showed up when he did, else, Charlotte might have amputated my leg by now. โI drove like a maniac and no doubt, broke all the laws there are about driving too fast in this country, but I had to get here, considering the fact that youโre hell-bent on obliterating my family.โ โHow did you find this place?โ โBy sheer luck, and technology too, plus I
"Get on the bed? Wh โฆ why?โโDonโt ask me questions. Just do as I say.โโWhat are you going to use all those tools for?โ I ask her, backing away as she inches closer. Iโm not prepared for the loud bang of a gunshot from the gun in her hand. I donโt hear the sound of the bullet whizzing past me, but I feel it, and my heart jumps into my throat. It takes everything in me not to turn and run out of that building, but I manage to stand my ground.โNext time, you wonโt be so lucky. Now, get on the table. If you think youโre stalling long enough for help to arrive, you have another thing coming. Youโre never going to be found, and thereโs no reception here, so just do as I say and this is going to be a fast, painless experience.โ Charlotte orders.Looking at her, one would be forgiven to think that sheโs a socialite or a very respectable banker, with her well-pressed clothes and perfect hair, not the mentally deranged criminal that she really is. Still, thereโs no way Iโm getting into that
"Okay, I donโt want any problems. Please give me my daughter, and we can forget that this ever happened, while you go back into hiding or something. Look, I forgive you for all that you did to me.โ I tell Charlotte, my voice wavering so badly, but there is nothing that I can do about it, or about anything.โAva, isnโt it? Sheโs a very beautiful baby. She takes after my motherโs side in the looks aspect. My mother was a very beautiful woman, although I canโt say the same about my birth father.โโYes. She looks just like you and Charles when you were babies. I saw your family pictures.โโYou did?โ Charlotte asks, sounding genuinely surprised.โYes. Charles showed me.โโCool, cool.โ She says, still rocking Ava as slowly as though she has all the time in the world. To say Iโm confused is an understatement, but Iโm starting to relax a teeny tiny fraction.โPlease give me Ava, and weโll both be on our way,โ I tell her, wondering what the meaning of all this is. She doesn't seem to be in a h
The road is rough and bumpy, but Iโve turned on all the lights of the car to illuminate my way. Charlotte isnโt making it hard for me to follow her at all, which makes me believe what Charles has said, that sheโs leading me into a trap. Anyway, trap or not, I canโt just leave my infant daughter at her mercy, so I have no choice but to follow her.Soon, she branches off into a bushy part, which makes driving even more difficult than it had been when we were still on the gravelly part. It is difficult to follow her closely here, considering that the car Iโm driving isnโt made for rough terrains, while the one sheโs driving is, and after a while, I lose her, but it is easy to follow her, because of the tracks that her car makes in the bush.My phone keeps ringing all the while Iโm chasing Charlotte through the woods. I know this because its lights keep coming on, lighting the dark interior of the car with each call. Finally, I decide to answer it, knowing that itโs Charles whoโs calling.
JESSICABy the time I gather my wits about me and rush up the staircase, taking them three at a time, so I can get my phone, I can no longer hear the sound of the car in which Charlotte is getting away with my baby. I speed-dial Charleโs number and rush down the car, grabbing the key to the spare car that we had rented.I send a silent prayer of thanks above that Charles had had the foresight to rent two cars, even though I had kicked against it, saying why would we need two cars, as I felt that it would only bring us unwanted attention. Now, though, Iโm grateful for the availability of the car, because I donโt know how I would have gone after Charlotte without it.Charles picks up the phone on the first ring, just as Iโm rushing down the stairs in my robe and slippers. There is no time to change into more suitable clothes as my daughterโs life is at stake.โHelโฆโ Charles begins to say, but I cut him off desperately.โSheโs here! Oh, Charles, sheโs here, and she has killed the nanny a
CHARLOTTEIโve barely gotten to where I parked my getaway car when I hear the unmistakable voice of Jessica screaming out Ericโs name in a panic. She has no doubt discovered the lifeless body of her nanny and the fact that her daughter is missing, which means that very soon, sheโll take the bait and follow after me in a bid to recover her daughter.โSorry, honey. Ericโs body is preparing to stiffen somewhere out there, so he canโt hear you.โ I say, laughing gaily to myself. Once everywhere is silent again, I start the car and rev it loudly so that she can hear it and give pursuit.Luckily enough, Charles isnโt around, as the men who were spying on the cabin this evening informed me. Eric had told us that Jessica and Charles were supposed to go to dinner, so the men had been watching the cabin to alert me to when theyโll leave, only for Jessica to stay behind.This was actually better for my plans, as it gave me the chance to lure Jessica alone. Getting into the cabin had been very eas