“But you’re out now! That’s what matters!” Stassia cheers.
Stassia’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I find myself smiling softly. None of them know I wasn’t only referring to the ship, although somehow, being trapped and isolated without a purpose seems to follow me wherever I go.
We keep moving through the tunnel, following curves as they wind around and dip low, and I blindly follow the group. With no landmarks or clues as to where we are, it doesn’t matter if I try to escape right now. They’d find me lost and wandering in no time.
Traveling underground is actually very convenient. We are moving quickly, straight through, with no barriers or winding paths. There are no trees to cut through or bridges to cross, and I doubt the island is going to swallow us farther down when we are already here. Once we get out of the tunnels though, I have a feeling things will go back to normal.
“Captain is being so serious lately. I wish he would knock it off,” Stassia says.
“I’m just glad he’s back. It was weird not having him around,” Auralie says.
Sig clears her throat loudly. I sneak a glance at her, but I can’t read her face.
“Back around?” I ask. “Where did he go?”
Sig sighs when Stassia turns around and stops in the middle of the tunnel. She quirks her head to the side, her eyebrows drawing together. “He was following you.”
I jerk back slightly and shake my head in disbelief. “What do you mean, he was following me?”
“You know,” Stassia says. “Up there.” She points to the roof of the tunnel. Sig’s gaze drops to the ground, and she kicks the toe of her boot into the packed dirt.
Suddenly it makes sense.
Weston saved me from the sirens in the lagoon. I couldn’t have been in there for long, or else I’d be dead. He had to havebeen nearby to make it in time. I was too focused on figuring out who he was and feeling guilty for keeping it from Dane to ever question that he was nearby.
The noises.
Every time I heard them, I’d attributed them to the island. It makes sense that I would hear noises as new traps came to be, or a piece of the land shifted, but it wasn’t the island. Not every time, at least.
It was Weston.
He was watching me, following me every day as I traipsed across the island, searching for the waters, but only when I was alone.
“But why?” I ask incredulously.
“Let’s keep moving,” Sig says, brushing past my question and starting down the tunnel again.
I clamp my lips shut. I was not expecting this conversation when I pictured how the shift would go tonight, and I don’t know what to think about it. Why did he follow me? Why didn’t Sig want Stassia to tell me? What else are they hiding from me?
The more time I spend with the Castaways, the more questions I have, but I can’t just ask them. I have to find the right time to get them answered, and tonight’s excursion is all part of setting that groundwork, developing that trust. Asking too much too fast might make them suspicious and cause them to question their trust in me.
Stassia chats as we walk, filling the silence and keeping the mood light. Glancing between them, listening to Stassia talk and laugh every so often, I wonder…Is this what it is like to have friends? To just spend time together out of enjoyment, not out of any sort of obligation or duty?
Mara and I are friends, but we didn’t spend a lot of time together. Not like this. Our days were separate, our evenings short. But it actually seems like this group enjoys each other’scompany and seems like they want me to be part of that. I don’t know if Stassia has a manipulative bone in her body, and Auralie seems too kind for her own good. Sig showed today that she could fight back against Weston’s orders when she didn’t agree with him.
Are they…real? Is this not part of the manipulation, the mind tricks? Or am I already in too deep and starting down the exact path of sympathy they want me on?
A roaring noise gets louder as we walk, and I realize exactly what it is.
The river.
We are walking under the river. The other side of the island shouldn’t be far now, but I’m thankful we don’t have to cross the water, especially in the dark.
“Almost there,” Sig says to me as Stassia and Auralie pull ahead of us slightly.
“Can I ask a question, Sig?” I say.
“Sure.”
