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Through the jungle …
Away from the hut, away from him.
My destination? The beach. The only place anyone would spot a light in the remote chance someone might pass by this island. It’s my only shot.
It might be dangerous, and I don’t know how long it’ll take to get there, but I’ll make it. The torch lights the way, and I clearly remember which way to go from the last time I climbed a tree and looked around.
It doesn’t take me long to get there, but I’m still not prepared for the beauty of the ocean at nighttime. It’s so quiet out here, and the sand is pearly white, untouched by human interference.
I stare up at the sky, marveling at the bright stars. I could never see them this clearly back at home. They’re a sight to behold, and for a second, they make me forget where I am.
But I can’t forget. I can’t ever forget what happened here.
I have to get Ollie and Pete home.
So I take a deep breath and get to work.
Accompanying Song: “Believer” by Imagine Dragons
Lock
I wake up when I roll off the bed, smacking my face against the ground.
“Fuck …” I groan, blinking as I come to my senses.
When I crawl up, I notice the bed is empty. No wonder I fell off.
But where’s Jules? How long has she been gone? Did she go outside to take a piss or get some water? Or worse … has she ran off again?
Frowning, I search for my torch, but I can’t find it anywhere even though I’m sure I left it here somewhere. She must’ve taken it.
“That woman …” I growl.
Fuck me. She’s going to pay for this.
Where the hell does she think she’s going? This is an island. There’s no place she can run where I can’t find her.
She’s stuck with me … whether she likes it or not.
But this … this pisses me off.
I try to be nice, I try to give her everything she needs and feed her, and this is how she repays me? By running off again? Even when she said she wouldn’t?
Grunting, I grab a stick from my stack, soak it in the wax I’ve scraped off the trees, then set it on fire. I’m going to find her, no matter what. I don’t care how long I have to search or how far I have to walk in the middle of the night.
I’m going to find her, capture her, and take her back to my hut … or the pit.
If she can’t keep her promise, I won’t keep mine either.
I run through the jungle to the easiest tree to climb up and take a look around. Not far from here, there’s a light … something’s burning.
It has to be her.
I jump down in one go and bolt off toward the place where the light came from.
The beach. What the hell is she doing there?
It doesn’t take me long to find out. The moment I exit the jungle and see the ocean, I also see her … stacking wood and leaves in the sand, then setting them ablaze with the torch.
Fuck me.
She’s building a signal?
Not on my watch.
“What is this?” I roar.
My voice instantly makes her turn her face toward me, her eyes big … with a look that says she knows I’ve caught her doing something bad.
Grunting, I march back into the jungle and jump up into a banana tree. Tearing off a leaf, I jump down, go straight to the ocean and fill it with water, then march toward the fire she made.
“Wait, what are you doing?” she asks, holding up her hand as I approach.
I ignore her and chuck it on the fire anyway.
“No!” she screams as the fire goes out. “Why did you do that? You asshole!” She kicks the sand into my face, but I don’t give a shit about any of that.
I throw the leaf down on the ground and pick her up instead, throwing her over my shoulder.
“Hey! Asshole!” she screams, banging her fists on my back as I walk back across the sand. “Let me go!”
“No … you didn’t listen to me.”
“I don’t care if the jungle is dangerous; I want to go back home!”
“You said you wouldn’t run,” I growl back, trying to ignore her fists pounding on my back.
“That fire was my only way to contact the outside world! You ruined it!” she squeals, but I ignore her.
She’ll calm down once she’s in the pit again. I won’t be persuaded by her sweet little face anymore. No matter how much she pouts at me, I can’t let these feelings inside my body get to me. She’ll ruin me …
Ruin this precious island.
This place I call my home.
No one can come here.
No one …
Maybe it was a mistake to allow her in too.
“Put. Me. Down!” she growls, kicking my chest so hard I have to cough. In that same second, she manages to squirm through my arms like a little monkey and rushes off, back to the stack she made.
