by Eva Pohler
Chapter Eighteen: A Dark Night
Not for the first time, Daphne worried Brock had been detained by someone at the resort. Maybe they had him at gunpoint, just as they’d had her, hoping she’d come for him and right into their trap. If she weren’t so exhausted and dizzy and sore, she would have gone back by now instead of sitting beneath the giant oak with her eyes closed.
For the past few hours her mantra had been, “A few more minutes.”
“When the sun sits beneath the cloud bank, I’ll go,” she had said. But when the sun was no longer shrouded in white, she cringed, exhausted and weak. “When it reaches that headland, I’ll go.” Once again, she could not muster up the strength.
Now the sun was no longer visible from where it set on the other side of the island, and soon dusk would settle over her, and then darkness. Although she was frightened of spending the night in the dark alone, she knew there were worse things, and so had resigned to stay.
She might have been happy to sit there with the old oak tree, confident the search for her would be put off for the night, if it weren’t for her fear that they’d harmed Brock. Sure, they would use him for bait, but that didn’t mean he’d be live bait.
Then it occurred to her he might have injured himself on his way to find her and could be lying on the beach or at the bottom of a ravine unable to go on. The memory of Pete being swept by the tide into the cave chilled her. Brock could be dying, and here she was on her butt against a tree. She had to go back and look for him. She couldn’t make the same mistake she’d made with Kara.
She climbed to her feet, using the tree for balance, her legs wobbly and her back sore. Finding her footing in the sandy dirt, she trudged swiftly in the direction she came, aware that dusk was upon her and night was coming. She climbed up the hill toward the rocky crags above the sea cave that had swallowed Pete and then down past the pier along the beach as dusk gave in to darkness. The steep bluffs of Bowen’s Point made her cry as she dragged herself back up to the summit. She had zero energy and was on the verge of fainting from lack of food and water. But she made it up to the headland and the old wooden sign. She fell to her knees to catch her breath.
When she lifted her head toward the mainland, she was shocked by all the beautiful lights shining from the California coastline. She could imagine all the people safely in the cities dining in restaurants, watching movies at the cinema, listening to IPhones, playing online computer games, drinking coffee, and driving back and forth along the highway to visit friends and relatives. At one time, she had been among them but hadn’t realized how lucky she was. She had eaten in restaurants and had gone to movies and such, but she hadn’t appreciated her freedom and safety because of the guilt and shame she carried around. She had been miserable, even in the safety of her own home, feeling she couldn’t allow herself to enjoy life when she had ruined it for so many others. But now, standing on the summit of Bowen Point gazing across the dark oblivion that was the ocean, she knew, as she longed to be back on the mainland, that, if given the chance, she’d change. She thought so, anyway, standing there at that moment. Maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe it would be too hard. Maybe she’d go back to the way things were. But she wanted to believe she could allow herself to be happy, to forgive herself and to realize Kara, her parents, and even Joey would prefer her to be happy.
She heard the sound of rocks sliding to her right where a beam of light danced at the top of the headland. Her heart fluttered as she grabbed the nearest rock for a weapon and cautiously peered down. Brock clambered up with a light attached to a cap on his head. She dropped the rock with relief.
“Where have you been?” She took his arm and helped him to the top. “I’ve been so worried.”
He hunched over, breathing heavily, and, when he could, said, “Man, Daph, when you said you were going ahead, I didn’t know you meant this far. Hell, you’ve crossed half the island.” He shrugged out of his backpack and dropped it at her feet.
She threw her arms around him and burst into tears. “Oh, Brock!”
He held her close and kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay. It’s okay. I’m sorry it took so long.”
“I saw a dead body. Someone I met earlier today.” She shuddered. “His name was Pete.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Over down there by the pier. The current swept him under a cave. I couldn’t get to him.”
“Are you sure he was dead?”
“If he wasn’t then, he is now. What are we going to do?”
Brock stepped back and dropped to his bottom on the rock. “I can’t believe it.”
“I told you, this place is dangerous.” She sat close beside him, unzipping the pack for water. She drank down an entire bottle in a less than a minute.
“It must have been another trick.”
“Brock, I saw him with my own eyes.”
“He must have been acting.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Dr. Gray told me all about this place, about the therapy, about your parents sending you here. That’s what took me so long to come find you. I’m not supposed to let on I know. I’m supposed to get you back to the resort in the morning—it’s too dark and dangerous to attempt it tonight.”
“What?” Daphne was incredulous and began to tremble with anger and confusion. “I told you, they had a gun. Stan had a gun pointed right at me.”
“It wasn’t loaded. It was all an act.”
“But Pete—”
“He was in on it. That’s why I can’t believe he’s dead.”
“Hortense Gray said he was in on it? She said Pete was in on it? But Pete ran away, like me. He was going to get help.”
“She explained everything to me. Cam was there, too.”
“You saw Cam?” She could feel the heat rush to her sunburnt face. “He was with them?”
“And Stan and Larry. A whole group of them. Dr. Gray had me follow her into the main building and they told me all about what they do for the people who come here. I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet, but I can see how upset you are and, like I told them, I’m no actor. They shouldn’t have asked me to lie to you.”
A blast of wind blew against them and whipped her ponytail into her face. The sky was dark, the stars not visible above the gray clouds, which were also barely discernible in the soft, distilled light of the half moon. Daphne shivered, dumbstruck, trying to process all that Brock had said.
“But the horse threw me. I could have been killed.”
“They said that was an accident, and they’re upset about it. They’re worried they’ll be shut down.”
“They should be.”
“They said they herded you back to this part of the island. They knew you’d run, and if you hadn’t, another actor would have found you and brought you here. They have that Gregory guy on standby. I think he likes you.”
“Gregory Gray?” Her mouth dropped open for the umpteenth time.
Brock shrugged.
“I don’t believe it. They’re lying. Larry told me this place was about the watchers, not therapy for me. Larry said that. You can’t believe anything they tell you.”
The two of them sat in the darkness and the quiet and said nothing more for many minutes. Daphne opened another water bottle and ate more of the food—crackers and slices of cheese and summer sausage. The grapes were like explosions of wonderful as she popped them into her mouth and bit down.
“Look, I know you’re tired,” Brock finally said. “Dr. Gray sent a sleeping bag, knowing we’d be caught out here.” He tugged it loose from the pack and unrolled it.
“Only one?”
He cracked a smile. “Two would’ve been too bulky to carry.”
“I see.”
“She also sent sunscreen and ointment for sunburns. Let me put some of this on your back and shoulders.”
Although the ointment gave her goose bumps, it soothed her burnt skin and brought her relief. Sounds of pleasure escaped from her lips as he coated th
e cream across her back where her halter top had failed to protect her.
“This bruise doesn’t look too good,” he said.
“That’s where I fell off the horse.”
“Am I hurting you?”
“A little, but it mostly feels wonderful.”
He rubbed more of it along her shoulders and arms. She reached for the tube so she could apply some to her legs and face, but he snatched it away and whispered, “Let me.”
So she closed her eyes as he gently applied the cream all over her sore, tired, burning body. Over and over she said, “Oh, thank you. Thank you.”
When he had finished, he unzipped the sleeping bag and crawled inside. “I’m sorry all this has happened to you, and I honestly don’t know what to think. I doubt your parents would’ve sent you here if they knew what it was really like.”
“Did my mother actually tell you she and Dad sent me here?”
“No. She told me about a letter and asked me to bring a check. Dr. Gray said that was all to get me to the island.”
“You weren’t expecting…”
“No.”
“So they could be lying. Don’t you see? Wouldn’t my parents have said something to you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to think.”
“Bet you’re sorry you got mixed up in all of this.”
He lay down and linked his hands behind his head, gazing up at the sky. “I’m not sorry, Daph. I’ve missed you.”
Her throat tightened and tears rushed to her eyes. “Really?”
“Yeah. I’ve been hoping you’d call.”
“You could have called.”
“Wouldn’t do any good if you weren’t ready.”
She thought about that. “No. I guess not.”
“I’ve been in touch with your parents.”
“Checking up on me?”
“Of course. But they never seemed to know anything either. We’re all so worried about you. Especially after last New Year’s.”
“Don’t talk about that.”
They were quiet again, until he said, “Come here.”
She screwed the lid back onto the plastic water bottle and climbed into the sleeping bag beside Brock, resting her head on the crook of his arm. As she stretched her body and relaxed, an involuntary sigh escaped her lips.
“It’s too bad we can’t see the stars,” Brock said.
Daphne closed her eyes. “I’m too tired to care.”
“Try to get some sleep. I won’t let anything else happen to you. If you want to leave the island, I’ll make it happen.”
She couldn’t resist giving him a soft kiss on his cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m not as scared now.”
He leaned over and touched his lips to hers. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes and dripped down to her ears.
“God, Daph, it’s been so hard without you.”
She yielded to his kisses and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his waist and turning to her side to press her sore body against his. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered in between kisses. “I’m so sorry I hurt you.”
His warm, damp tears bled onto her cheeks, and she pressed her hand against his back and pulled herself hard against him.
“I still love you, you know,” he said.
“I know. I know. Oh, Brock.” She kissed him again. “I love you, too. It was never about that.”
“I know.” He rubbed her sunburnt arm.
“Ow.”
“Sorry. I can feel the heat coming off your skin. Poor Daph. Try to get some rest now.”
She nestled against him and closed her eyes and felt at peace.
