I bristle at his words. It wasn’t a brilliant plan, but it was the best I could do in the moment, despite being so quickly thwarted.
Silence stretches between us again as I fume in his arms. I’d been so easily distracted by him hoisting me up unexpectedly and my attempt to get the dagger, I stopped paying attention to my surroundings, and the details that could help me find their camp.
Waves.
We are back on a beach.
Weston lifted me before I could step onto the sand and feel that major tell under my boots, but the sound of the water is unmistakable. I don’t know which beach it is, how far across the island we traveled underground, or where we are going now. There are no structures on the beaches besides the occasional Voyager safe house, and a beach seems too exposed to offer a secure hiding place for so many years.
Weston stops walking and turns, swinging me around and further confusing my orientation on the land, before he starts climbing or taking stairs, his footsteps loud beneath us.
I wish I could take this fucking blindfold off.
It isn’t just his steps that are loud. The rest of the Castaways follow behind, their loud footfalls echoing over the waves, and I am thoroughly confused as to where we could possibly be. Suddenly, movement and voices erupt around us, and I try to pick up each one.
“Who’d you get?”
“Bring that over here!”
“Who’s on tonight?”
I try to take in everything, but there are too many voices to keep track of, too much commotion to manage, until my attention is drawn back to the man holding me.
“I’m going to put you down now.” Weston’s chest rumbles against me as he lowers my feet to the ground, his other arm still wrapped firmly around my waist, steadying me.
My legs wobble before straightening again, and my fingers itch to push up the blindfold, but his hand still rests on my side. I don’t want to make any sudden movements that might cause an issue. I’m in their territory, and I’m outnumbered, so I need to be smart.
“Sig!” he yells, the timbre of his call startling me.
“Cap?”
“Deal with this.” His hand falls away, and I hear his footsteps grow quieter as the same fingers from before wrap around my elbow once again.
This.Like I’m just an object to be dealt with. What an asshole.
“This way, Lennox.”
I whip my head toward the woman’s voice, wishing I could see her, and trying to keep the shock off my face.
“How do you know my name?”
She stays quiet and leads me away from wherever Weston set me down.
I repeat the question, my voice more insistent. “How do you know my name?”
“There are stairs ahead. You can hang on to me.”
I never told Weston what my name was, and all he’s ever called me was that unnecessary nickname. So how does she know it? I think back to the first time in the cave. Did Mara call for me? Did he overhear it somewhere on the island?
I extend my arms, reaching out to feel for something to grab onto, when I find her other arm outstretched in front of me. Grasping it, I use her to steady myself as I slowly step down, counting each step as I go, noting how my boots pound on the floor. I can’t tell, but it sounds like wood, just like the bridgesand beams back at camp, the sound the same as the floor just before the steps.
She leads me on, and I work to memorize the way. Twelve steps. Flat landing. Straight for ten paces. Ten more steps. Left turn. Straight.
I repeat the pattern in my head, knowing I will need it when I escape. I can’t risk getting lost wherever we are, so memorizing the way becomes my sole focus.
A handle rattles and hinges squeak in front of me; I assume coming from the door to wherever they are going to keep me locked away. I trip over the raised doorjamb as the woman leads me through a doorway, stopping just inside the room. It’s quiet, the noise and conversations from above are completely gone, and I feel like we are alone.
Her fingers tug on the knot at the back of my head and the blindfold falls away.
