by Sophia Sharp
Madison ran back to where they had been originally. To my infinite relief I saw that the girls had managed to make a litter. It was constructed from the lengths of their jackets and tied to two decently-sized branches, just like Madison had explained. Mr. Stannis was already on it.
“How is he doing?” I asked Madison, but it was a throwaway question raised only from obligation. All my real worries were with Rob.
“Better, I think,” Madison said. “At least, not any worse.”
“That’s the first good news I’ve heard in a while.”
Liz and Ashley came up behind us, and placed Rob gently on the litter beside Mr. Stannis. Never in my life would I think I’d be in guardianship of two bodies.
There were five of us in total, and four ends to the litter. Carrying it aloft could have been managed with just Mr. Stannis, but with Rob there too, it was simply too heavy. The litter had to be dragged. Quickly, the decision was made that I would take the lead while the rest of the girls pulled the litter. I had my crystal, and was the only one strong enough to be able to make use of it against any threat.
We decided to make our way to the clinic through the forest rather than on the path that ran from the dorms to the main yard. Even though the path would have been much easier, and perhaps it would have even been possible to enlist somebody’s help, we had to be aware of being exposed to our enemies. The woods were the only place that would give us cover.
Even though it was tough going, a steely determination gripped our group. We had one common goal that drove us. We had to get the men to the clinic. Both of them.
All of us were on high alert about our surroundings. But I had to be so most of all. Every single tree, every single shadow could be a threat. The man who attacked me had escaped. He was now free, and somewhere on the island. Of course, he had no idea where we were. If he were anywhere near the caves when Eve and I got there I would have sensed him through my crystal. So there was no way he could be stalking us. Unfortunately, the assurance of that logic did nothing to ease the tension between my shoulders.
Rain continued coming down. We trekked through puddles and mud, our feet sinking into the earth. Sometimes the trees gave small protection from the rain, but those always seemed to be the moments when an icy gust of wind sliced through our clothes like a frozen blade.
Aside from our labored breathing and the rain there was silence. I winced every time a branch scraped against another. As we walked, I tried to quiet my breathing for fear of making a sound. But I knew our entire procession made enough noise to wake an entire village.
I kept my crystal clutched in my palm the whole time. It was there, and it gave me some comfort, but I could not afford another catastrophe like with Stannis. I could not lash out again. At the same time, I had to keep the girls safe. There was simply no middle ground.
We were determined, but slow. An hour had easily passed by the time we reached the edge of the forest just north of the clinic. I knew it by the way the trees let up just a little way ahead.
“Stay here,” I whispered to the girls. I ran to the edge quiet as a hare. Crouching beside the great trunk of an evergreen, I watched. And waited. Not a sound disturbed the night except for the patter of rain. The shadows of the forest would soon be let behind, but as soon as we stepped into the open valley before the clinic we would be in most dangerous part. We’d be out in the open, where anyone could see us.
The land before me sloped up naturally, and the clinic was just beyond the rise. A dull light over the crest of the hill gave away its location, but nothing more. I waited, and listened. The dull thud of blood in my ears was the most obvious sound.
Nobody was around. I thought I knew that. But a nagging uncertainty kept prodding the back of my mind. There was a better way to check than this. The only way to really be sure the path was clear was to use the crystal. But could I trust myself not to lash out if I felt someone again? I had to.
Taking a deep breath, I opened my mind to the crystal. Immediately, all the extrasensory perceptions flooded into me. There was nothing extraneous – just the connections, and just the ones I needed. That was a surprise. Before, I had to struggle with power flowing through me before feeling the connections. It was as if this time, the crystal understood what I wanted. But maybe I was just more accustomed to it.
The blue light flashed out, but I didn’t need it to see. The connections the crystal gifted my mind provided much better vision. I felt out, searching for anybody else. I knew the presence of the five girls behind me, knew the make up of every tree, knew the rodents nesting in the roots, knew the birds asleep in the branches, knew every single blade of grass in the field before me. I scanned it all, my mind burning in overdrive, and thankfully found no one. Not close enough to cause trouble, anyway. The only sentient beings in proximity were the animals. Nothing else. I released the crystal.
I ran back to the girls. There was no need to explain what I had done. “You bring the litter,” I told them, “and I’ll run to the clinic to get help.”
One of the girls grunted her affirmation, and I spun on my heels and raced back. As soon as I burst from the shelter of the trees the real strength of the storm became clear. Raindrops as heavy as bullets pelted me as I ran. It was impossible to see farther than twenty feet in the downpour.
I topped the rise, and the pale light from the clinic below gave me hope. Somebody was there. I ran down the slope and nearly lost my footing on the slick grass. Thunder crackled overhead, momentarily lighting the field around me. In the dark that followed shadows rose in the corner of my eye, twisting into menacing shapes and figures. Fear gripped me, fear that we hadn’t got here in time. But hope glimmered through that dread.
I reached the clinic, and ran for the door. The front windows were all dark. I pulled the handle, expecting it to come open, and nearly fell on my back when it didn’t. It was locked! I banged on the door. Rain continued to swirl around me, soaking my hair, my face, my clothes. Here, without the protection of the trees, I felt the full effect of the chilling wind. And the cold. My hands and face were completely numb. I couldn’t feel anything in my fist as I continued to pound on the door. There was no response.
I tried again and again. Desperation started to set in. Had I been mistaken? Was the light in the back of the clinic just one of those emergency lights? Was nobody inside? I yelled for someone to open the door, screamed for the help that I desperately needed. But my voice was drowned out by the howling wind.
Hope was slipping with every second that passed. There was no sign that anybody was inside. I banged on the door with all my might, hoping and praying it would come open. I didn’t know what I would do if it did not. There was no backup plan. The girls were all coming here. And if nobody answered, I would have failed them in the worst possible way. I would have failed Rob, and Mr. Stannis. I could barely feel my hands, but a dull pain began to radiate from my fists as I slammed them against the door, over and over. It was futile. There was nobody there. We had failed. I had failed. The only hope that I could latch onto had been extinguished like a blown out candle.
I let my hand fall to my side. Nobody was coming. I slumped against the door and closed my eyes. My feet slid back, and I didn’t try to stop them. Desperation was all I knew. Nobody was coming. I had failed. I—
I heard a click, and the door was pulled open. It swung so fast I didn’t have time to react. I fell blindly forward. Suddenly a pair of hands – strong hands – caught me by the shoulders. I opened my eyes. All I could see was the dark outline of an unknown figure.
“Tracy?” Immediately I recognized the voice. And the most liberating and cathartic sort of relief came over me. It was Doctor Frame, the man who first treated me when I just arrived on Traven Island! He was the one person I felt I could trust. Impulsively I wrapped my arms around him, soaking the front of his shirt, and began crying uncontrollably into his chest. “Tracy, what’s wrong?” he asked. But I couldn’t speak. I was overcome by emotion. After a minute
, he gently eased me away. “What’s going on? Tell me.”
“It’s bad,” I managed between sobs. “My friends. They’re coming. Two people are hurt. They’re bringing them here.”
“Alright,” he said. “You’re all wet. And freezing cold. Why don’t you come inside? Your friends – where are they?” He peered over my shoulder to look.
“They’re coming,” I said again. Another flash of lightning lit the sky, and in that second I saw the young doctor for the first time. He was as handsome as the day we met. His hair was slightly unkempt, and he had stubble all over his cheeks, but that did not take away the look of intense intelligence in his eyes. I could find absolutely no logical reason why he would chose to work here, but I was supremely glad he did. “They’ll be here any minute.”
“From what direction?”
“North.”
“Alright.” He pulled me inside. The entire building was dark, making it impossible to see where we were going. He navigated it with the ease of someone who knew it very well. He opened a door, and led me in. A motion-sensor turned the lights on, blinding me momentarily. When my eyes adjusted, the doctor gave me a bundle of warm blankets and towels. “Dry off,” he said, “and stay by the radiator. It’ll keep you warm. I’m going to go meet your friends.” Without waiting for a reply, he was out the door.
I looked around to see where I was. This wasn’t the waiting room near the front, nor was it any of the tiny patient rooms that lined the halls of the building. It looked more like a lounge, or even a homely living room. The radiator was located beneath a window. It stood between two large, cozy-looking chairs. An oriental carpet was spread in the middle of the room, which was complete with a coffee table and mandatory oversized sofa. There was even a flat screen TV on the wall!
The crying fit had passed. I took the towels to my hair, but I was too anxious to just wait there. Rob was out there, along with all my friends. I dried my hair hastily, wrapped a towel around my shoulders, and went out.
To my surprise, the girls and doctor were already at the front. They must have been quite a sight when he first saw them: Four of them, soaking wet, dragging a makeshift litter with two bodies through the dirt. But he did not seem particularly perturbed. He was helping bring the two unconscious men inside.
Doctor Frame lifted Mr. Stannis, the heavier of the two, by himself, while Liz, Ashley, Eve and Madison picked up Rob and trailed after him. I ran to the girls to lend a hand, but five people trying to carry one body hindered more than it helped. Eventually, I just took Madison’s spot, and we carried an unconscious Rob into Doctor Frame’s examination room.
“You’re lucky I was here,” he said, running a hand haphazardly through his hair. I remembered that gesture from him the first time I met him. “The boy’s going to be okay, but this man needs medical attention right away.” Despite my fatigue, I nearly leapt for joy. Rob was going to be okay! We hadn’t failed! The elation of the moment faded as I realized that we were still far from done. “I won’t ask what happened, but who is the man, anyway?”
“Our science teacher,” Liz volunteered. “And it’s okay. We found him passed out in the yard.” The lie sounded hollow to my ears, but Doctor Frame simply nodded.
“All right. You girls look like you’ve been through hell and back. Are any of you hurt?” We all shook our heads.
“Just cold and tired,” Liz offered again. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said she had just batted her eyelashes at the doctor! Luckily, he was too preoccupied with Mr. Stannis to take any note.
“Well, you’ll need to leave them to me. Tracy can show you where you can dry off and warm up. Don’t go running off into the night, though,” he said. “I’ll need to talk to you before you leave.”
“Sure,” I said quickly, before Liz had a chance to play damsel in distress again. “Come on,” I told the girls, “it’s just down the hall.”
Everyone trailed after me. All of us were tired, mentally and physical exhausted, but the night was far from over. This was just a temporary respite before the real danger had to be faced again.
Chapter Ten – An Unexpected Ally
I brought the girls to the room, where everyone gratefully took the towels and blankets that Doctor Frame had made available.
“You know him?” Liz asked suspiciously after we’d all taken our seats. Madison and Eve were huddled together on the sofa, while Liz and Ashley sat on the two chairs. I sat on the edge of the coffee table.
“Who? The doctor?” I asked. “Yeah. I met him when I first arrived. How did you know?”
“He just seemed familiar with you,” Liz said. “And unsurprised about us.”
“Well, I don’t know anything about that.”
“Why don’t you close the door?” Eve suggested. “I don’t want him coming in on us unexpectedly.”
I went to oblige, and returned to my spot. “So, now what?” I asked.
“Can we trust him?” Madison asked suddenly.
“Doctor Frame?” I asked. “Sure. At least, I think so. Actually, he’s the only person on this whole island I think we can trust.”
“What’s his story?” Ashley asked. “He seems way too young to be a doctor. And too handsome.”
Liz and Ashley giggled. The next thing I knew, we were all laughing. I wasn’t sure at what, exactly, but it felt good to let loose. To relax enough and forget ourselves for a moment, despite our circumstances. I knew precisely then that these girls were the only people in the world who I would want to face any of this with.
When the mirth finally died down, it didn’t take long before an ominous sobriety to return. We all knew what we were up against. And we were smart enough to realize the danger of it.
“So, now what?” I said again. “Eve? Can you get us off the island?”
“Err,” she hesitated, “yes. I mean, I haven’t had time to coordinate it after we found Rob. I’ll do that now.” She took out her phone, and started to focus intently on it. The slight pause did not instill the greatest confidence. But, her connection was our only shot.
“So that’s it, then?” Madison said. “We’re leaving? Just like that?”
“Have you seen anything to change that decision?” Ashley barked.
“No,” Madison admitted shyly. “It’s just… this is home.”
“I know it is,” Liz said gently. “It’s like that for all of us. But when a fire engulfs your home, you don’t sit there and wait for it to consume you. You get out. That’s what we’re doing. Our home has been destroyed.”
“What are we going to do about Rob?” I suddenly asked. He had to know what happened. “We can’t just leave him!”
“What else can we do?” Ashley asked. “He can’t go with us. He has no business going with us. Plus, he’s not under any threat.”
“The man who knocked him out is still on the island,” I pointed out.
“He was only after you,” Ashley retorted. “Not Rob. Otherwise, I don’t think Rob would still be alive.”
I gulped. Ashley was probably right. I never thought it was a conscious decision for the man to leave Rob like that, but as I thought about it, I realized he could have easily killed him had he wanted to. It seemed, in some strange and twisted way, that the man who started all this had some sort of morals.
“She’s right,” Liz said. “Rob is in good hands now. And so is Mr. Stannis. We did what we could for both of them, and now it’s time for us to take care of ourselves. Eve? How’s it going?”
Eve grunted. “He’s not answering.”
“Is that bad?” Madison breathed.
Eve sighed. “No. I mean, I don’t think so. Give it time. It’s only been a few minutes.”
My mind was still on the topic of Rob. “If Rob wakes and finds us gone—”
“That’s how it should be,” Liz put in.
“Right,” I said. “But still… I don’t feel right just abandoning him like that. After what he did for us. After what happened to him because of us.” B
ecause of me, I thought in my head. “He can’t just wake up and find us gone without an explanation. We owe it to him to at least say we’re safe.”
“How do we do that?” Ashley asked. “Write him a letter?” She snorted at the idea. “Besides, it’s better if nobody knows where we’ve gone. That way, we can’t be traced.”
“Maybe not,” I answered. Suddenly, I had an impulsive idea. “What if,” I said, thinking out loud, “we tell Doctor Frame? He can pass the message on for us!”
“Nuh-uh! No way!” Ashley protested immediately. “Tell him what? That we’re leaving the island? That we’re breaking all the rules of this place? He works here, Tracy. He can’t know that!”
“We can trust him,” I insisted. “He’s not like the professors or the other staff.”
“And what are the professors and other staff like, Tracy?” Ashley questioned. Her voice had a little heat in it. “Before today, we had no idea Chris’s dad was in on it. We had no idea a professor here could have such malicious intent. We thought the best of everybody, and look where that’s gotten us.” She sighed, rubbing her temples. “The truth is, we don’t know anybody’s intent. The person who seems trustworthy today might end up betraying us tomorrow. We don’t know, so it’s a better idea not to trust!”
“Not to trust what?” Doctor Frame said smoothly from the doorway. I had been so focused on Ashley that I didn’t even notice him come in
“Uhh… nothing,” Ashley gulped. “Just gossiping.”
“It seems like there’s a little bit more than that,” Doctor Frame said. He came inside and closed the door behind him. “It’s not every day that five girls come running here with two unconscious bodies. Carried—on a litter, no less.” He made his way to the middle of the room, and I could just feel the tension rise. It was so thick you could suffocate. Rain pounded against the window, and I could see a reflection of the room, and of all of us, in the glass. Doctor Frame took all of us in a single sweeping glance, and then exhaled audibly. “Listen, something is clearly on,” he said. “There are too many coincidences for there not to be. Tracy, I didn’t see you, but weren’t you in the clinic just a few months ago?”
