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“It’s, ah, on the other side of the island. Remember the island is in a diamond shape.” I pointed to the water’s edge. “Follow this path and when you get to the point on the other end, dig.”
I don’t know if I was expecting him to let me run free immediately after I gave up my information—I mean, it would have been nice—but that’s not how it went. Instead, he breathed on me for a while longer, and again he went with the knife thing—this time he jammed it into my back. “Did you think we’d let you go?” He poked the tip of the knife hard, breaking my flesh again, forcing me to walk forward.
These pirates were so testy.
As I moved forward, leading them on the path I had planned for myself, I had a strange emotion wash over me. Instead of being scared for myself, or upset that I lost the treasure, I felt relieved I was able to lead them away from Evie.
What did that mean?
Chapter Six
Evie
Night had fallen and there was still no sign of Jasper. I had left the cave earlier and gone down by the water to wash and look for wreckage debris that might have floated in. I wasn’t lucky though, as the only things I found were pieces of the boat I couldn’t identify, and certainly weren’t useful. Starved, and thirsty, I knew not to drink the salt water. Instead, I collected coconuts and brought them back to the cave, yet I didn’t have a way to open them. I hoped Jasper would figure that part out when he got back. I supposed I should have been mad he’d ditched me, but I had this unsettled feeling in my gut that even though he had willingly left, something was wrong, and he hadn’t planned on being gone all day.
The main reason I kept thinking that was because he had left his man purse here. He had guarded that thing as if it was gold all day yesterday, even sleeping with it. I had a hard time believing he had left me for good, or he would have taken his bag. I was starting to wish life had real background music like the movies did, so I would at least understand how I was supposed to be feeling right now.
The sun had departed, leaving me chilled, and I made my way to the stone pit and set about starting the fire again. Earlier I had made several trips for branches, and I had quite the collection, but this time the sparks didn’t come as easily. The branches didn’t feel as dried, or tough or something made them stubborn. I rubbed them fast, I rubbed them slow, I even tried different angles, but nothing worked. I was shivering now in the dark, alone, and for the first time, I was afraid.
I shouldn’t have, but I let my mind wander, thinking about how no one came looking for us today. I never saw one boat, or even a plane overhead. This island was completely deserted and although I found the coconuts, I still didn’t have a way to open them. Then the worst thought of all . . .
What if Jasper doesn’t come back?
I could seriously die here all alone.
That scene was never in any of my movies.
My sticks dropped from my hands in my jitteriness, as if they couldn’t take the directions my brain was giving them. Instead, they were listening to my shrinking heart. It was so full all day and I had kept my spirits up, but now these nagging thoughts were taking hold of me, leaving a burn in the back of my throat despite how cold it was. My eyes welled up with tears, and even though no one was here to see me, I fought them back because to me, they were a sign of defeat.
I wasn’t going to cry about this!
Crying didn’t help anything, and it certainly didn’t get me off this stupid island. The tears didn’t listen, and they budded up in both my eyes, swelling to the point where that’s all I could see. Swiping my hand at my eyes, I cleared them away. New ones came faster and before I could wipe them, they fell.
Stupid tears!
Now I was mad. I was crying, calling out in frustration, “No one is coming to save me, and if that’s the case, then I’ll have to save myself.” I got up from the ground with new determination, ready to find a way off this island, and made my way to Jasper’s bag. I didn’t feel even a little bad as I dug through it. My fingers dug right to the bottom, and my lips curled into a pleased grin when I found it—the map.
I was born at night, but not last night.
Jasper was the thief who had stolen a treasure map and now he was missing. There was a real chance he was in trouble. Now I had a choice. I could get off this island and leave him behind, or I could go after him, and maybe find a treasure too . . .
Feeling trepidation bud in my chest, I knew which path I had chosen. Strapping the bag across my body, I stuffed the map back inside and set off on the path.
I had walked a good hour before I heard Jasper’s voice, “Evie!” I craned my neck forward until I spotted Jasper tied to a tree. Swooping in from the side, I didn’t stop until I had his arms untied, and as soon as he was free, he flew forward, wrapping his arms around me, squeezing me tight. Burying his face into my hair, I could feel his shoulders quiver when he rasped out, “You’re okay!”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I squeaked out, feeling emotional at seeing him like this.
As if a switch went off, his shoulders stiffened and he pulled back out of our embrace. His chest fell more with each breath as he stood staring wide-eyed and speechless. I was about to ask what had happened, but the spiral in his eyes made my heart ramp up. His gaze bounced from my eyes to my lips, and back to my eyes before he blurted out, “I’m sorry I left you. I was so stupid and fixated on something so dumb, that I missed seeing what was right in front of me.”
Still a little clueless, I didn’t reply because I wanted to hear more, and he didn’t disappoint as he went on, “I’m also sorry I’ve been lying to you. It’s not right. I was trying to avoid a bigger argument, but I made things worse.”
“W-What are you lying about?”
“I lied to you when I agreed that we were married. We aren’t. I’m not your husband, or even your boyfriend.”
Now I was smirking because he was confessing my lie and he went on, “I misled you for many reasons. I’m also not a ship captain. I’m sort of a, ah, well, it doesn’t matter.” He was stuttering as he raked his hands through his hair. I found it endearing how flustered he got when he went on, “but what matters is you know something weird happened to me, and this sounds crazy, but I feel like something special brought us here.”
I smiled at him coyly. “I’m the one with the head injury, but even I know it was a boat that brought us here. It wasn’t that special.”
