If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Dawnlin, it’s that I can’t lose hope, no matter how hard things feel. I have to trust that things will work out in the end, and if they haven’t yet, it isn’t the end.
I am determined to make it back to the Voyagers, but I haven’t dealt with the possibility of never going back to the real world. Dane and I never got a chance to find out how to replenish the dust before I found the waters and was taken captive. I left that mountain convinced that I no longer wanted to return to Blackwood, but was that a decision in the heat of the moment? Is staying here truly what I want, or was it just a result of my failure? I’m scared I won’t have the choice. I also have no way of knowing how many trips Dane has had to make since I’ve been here, or how many people he’s had to bring back to the island.
The dust could already be gone.
I suck in a deep, shuddering breath and push the thought from my mind. I can’t worry about what I can’t control. My focus needs to stay on getting back to camp before deciding whether or not I will stay here.
Forever.
The tears dry on my cheeks. I refuse to wipe them away, but need to move forward. I don’t want Fin to see me crying, so everything I dealt with in this tiny box needs to stay right here, for me only. I breathe deeply, clearing my mind and listen for Fin, but don’t hear the patter of his little feet anywhere close.
Time ticks on, but I don’t hear Fin again. My body aches from being crunched in this cabinet for so long, and I really want to take a walk around the deck to stretch my legs. Fin told me to stay put, but something tells me this is the first timehe’sdoing the finding. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Weston alwaysfinds him. This is his ship, but it is probably the best way he can think to keep an eye on Fin and keep him out of trouble.
He told me Fin was safe. I guess he wasn’t lying.
My knee bounces uncontrollably as I sit, waiting. I’m getting impatient, but I promised Fin I would play the game the right way. So I don’t move.
I don’t know how much time has passed when footsteps pound above me, the echo of doors slamming follows in their wake. They get louder as they move through the ship, and I know they don’t belong to Fin. Who the hell is searching for something so frantically?
My spine stiffens as the answer to my question comes in the form of a voice booming through the body of the ship.
“Where the fuck is she?” The words reverberate through the room as if he was standing next to me.
More sets of footsteps join in now, pounding up and down the stairs on the other side of the wall. I can almost feel his wrath in the air, and gods help whoever pissed him off, because he sounds murderous.
It can’t be me. I already finished my task for the day, and it isn’t my problem if anyone’s sandy or muddy boots already messed it up. I’m not redoing it.
Curiosity gets the best of me and I want to peek outside to see what the fuss is about. Pushing open the door to the cabinet, I crawl out of the tight space, my legs tingling as the blood flows back into them. I jolt as the door to the infirmary flies open, knocking into the wall next to me. Light from the hallway pours into the room, but it is blocked by Weston’s broad frame.
His head whips around the room, searching, until his eyes fall on me, half hanging out of the cabinet on the floor. I push to stand just as he steps into the room and slams the door behind him.
Wait, is he mad at me?
I open my mouth, ready to fight, my explanation tumbling out of my mouth.
“I already fin?—”
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” His voice echoes through the small room, surrounding me, his temper making my blood start to boil in retaliation. The first words he’s said to me in days, and he’s yelling at me? No. I’m won’t let him try to intimidate me like this, so I fire right back.
“If you didn’t interrupt me yo?—”
“I thought you’d have this out of your system by now. How many times are you going to try to get away before you accept the fact that you aren’t going anywhere?”
My mouth falls open and a short laugh bursts from my lips. “Thatis what you think I’m doing?”
“No one could fucking find you!” He gestures wildly to the cabinet I emerged from.
“Because I’m playing with Fin! Hiding is the whole point of the game,Captain, and I’m pretty sure you’re the one who taught it to him!” I match his tone, his volume, both of us yelling at each other, anger seeping from our pores.
“How do I know you aren’t lying to me? Were you waiting until you thought we wouldn’t notice? I’ll always fucking notice, princess.” He takes a half step closer, but in the small room, it seems like he’s right on top of me. I have to crane my neck to keep glaring, showing him I am not backing down.
“Because I still can’t get off the ship! I can’t swim, remember?”
“Didn’t stop you from trying to jump last time.”
I let out a frustrated groan. “Not everything I do is a personal attack on you,Captain.”
He scoffs, like what I said is just another lie. “You could have fooled me.”
