by Jewel, Bella
I feel them pull me up.
And then everything goes black.
“Hey, Indi, wake up.”
My eyelids flutter open, and I see Eric’s face. The moment I realize where I am, and what happened, a sick feeling crashes into my chest, and my stomach turns. I roll off the bed, crying out in pain as I lean over the side and throw up. All those people. Dead. Because of me. It was hard enough knowing John the yacht owner died because of me, now this? The one thing I knew I could never recover from was being the reason someone died. I throw up, until I’m dry heaving and gasping for air.
“Oh, Indi,” Eric soothes, stroking my hair.
“It’s all my fault,” I sob.
“No, it’s not. He did it, he was the one who made the decision to shoot them.”
“If I went back…”
“Indi, he would have shot them anyway. He’s a goddamned pirate, do you honestly believe he’s never done anything like that in his life?”
“Stop!” I cry, covering my face.
“We’re free, we’re going to get home and…”
“And what?” I scream. “And live in fear? Live our lives running? What, Eric?”
“We’re going to be okay.”
Black and white. Black and fucking white. He sees nothing else.
“Indigo?”
I lift my head to see a tall, dark-haired man coming into the room. He’s wearing a crisp, white sailor suit. He has kind blue eyes.
“That’s me,” I whisper, sitting up.
“Are you ill?”
“No.”
He nods, and walks in further. “I’ll have someone look after that mess for you. If you have a minute, I’d like to talk to you about our plans.”
“Plans?” I rasp.
“Obviously you’re not safe until we get you out of the ship and onto a plane home, but before then we’re going to need some statements. Now, you’re safe here with us, but when we arrive at the small docking island we’re going to have to keep full cover on you until we can sort out safe transportation. Even after you arrive home, I would suggest full watch for a few months at least.”
“W…w…w…we’re stopping at an island?”
“It’s a small town, really. We have full protection for you there, but you will need to follow instruction. We’re not sure what we’re dealing with yet, and whether or not you’re in danger.”
“They’re pirates,” I snap. “Of course I’m in danger.”
“Pirates you say?”
“Look, I’m not doing this, okay? I’m not giving you all this information, because you’re unable to do anything to stop them. I won’t go there, because there’s no point. They’ve been out there for over ten years, nothing you do will change that. I just want to go home, and forget this ever happened.”
“Indi,” Eric snarls. “You need to give a statement against him.”
“Why, Eric?” I yell. “What is going to change?”
“He needs to pay.”
“He’s not going to pay, you know that as well as I do, and so does he,” I snap, pointing to the officer.
“We have our ways, so we need a full statement to ensure your safety. When we arrive at the island we will check you into a hotel, and keep you there with watch until we can figure out the safest mode of transportation home.”
“Whatever,” I whisper, lying down and rolling over. “Can you just leave me be?”
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” the officer says, before leaving the room.
I feel Eric shift beside me. “Why are you protecting him?”
“I’m not protecting him, Eric,” I whisper. “I’m simply stating facts.”
“He was going to sell you, and you’re basically refusing to give information.”
“He’s a goddamned pirate,” I snarl, spinning and glaring at him. “He’s not getting anything done to him because he IS the fucking law on the ocean.”
Eric’s face shifts, and he lifts a hand and runs it through his hair. “You care about him, don’t you?”
“No!”
“Oh…my…God,” he rasps. “You fucking care about the mongrel bastard who was going to sell you! What the hell is wrong with you, Indi?”
“Don’t, Eric.”
“Don’t?” he screams. “Don’t what? Tell you how stupid you are? What the hell possessed you to be so stupid? What could he have possibly done to make you feel anything more than hatred for him?”
“It was probably how he fucked me,” I snarl.
My hands are trembling, and deep down I’m horrified by my words, but right now I have no emotions. I’m just numb.
Eric reels backwards, and a he clasps a hand over his chest. “I knew it!”
“Yeah,” I bark. “I’m sure you did, and you should know, Eric. It was amazing.”
Eric slaps me. His hand lashes out, and connects with my face. I yelp and fall backwards, gripping my face in horror.
“I sat rotting in a fucking cell, and you were off screwing the man who put us in that position?”
“I was trying to save your fucking life!” I scream. “I was doing whatever it took to get us out of there.”
“Only you wanted to fucking do it, so it doesn’t make it a good thing,” he spits.
“Get out,” I rasp. “Get the hell out.”
“With pleasure,” he barks, before turning and storming out of the room.
The door slams, and I fall back onto my bed with a broken sob.
God help me.
Nothing in my life has ever felt worse than how I feel right now.
It makes no sense.
Avast there!
I don’t move from that bed until we stop, not for anything. We dock at the small town on the small island, and I simply follow instructions. Eric doesn’t speak to me as they move us off the ship and onto the dry land. My legs wobble as I follow the officers, two either side of me, into town. Eric is behind me; he’s also under full protection until they can get us home. The idea of going home isn’t as thrilling as I thought it would be. It just feels…empty. Like my life will just never be the same again.
“We will settle you into a hotel room each, letting you get some rest until we can figure out the safest method to get you from the island,” the dark-haired officer from the other night says.
I don’t answer him. Eric doesn’t either.
I just walk.
I do peer around at the small town. It’s old. It looks as though it was built in the early 1900s. The houses and shops are all wooden and showing signs of disarray. The few roads are crappy and need serious work. There is a great deal of older people walking around, and to the left is a massive wharf with hundreds of yachts and ships. I guess its main purpose is for people to dock. I can see a few large warehouses that I would assume are full of supplies.
We walk down a few streets until we reach a motel. It’s old, with faded yellow paint and trees that have seen better days. It’s privacy, though, and I need that. The dark-haired officer walks us into the reception area, where we are greeted by a red-haired lady with glasses. “Hello, how may I help you?”
“I rang earlier, my name is Lyle.”
Lyle.
The red-haired lady turns her eyes to us, and they widen. What? Did Lyle tell her who we are? Does she know we are the people that went missing? How many people know?
“Of course, I have two rooms ready.”
“And where can my officers stand that won’t cause a problem for other guests?”
“Anywhere, it’s not a problem.”
“Thank you,” Lyle says, taking two sets of keys off her.
Like two zombies, Eric and I turn and follow him out. We walk down an old crappy cement path until we meet two doors, both old brown and faded. Lyle unlocks the first one and turns to me. “This is you, Indigo.”
I step into the room, and wrinkle my nose. It’s not very…appealing. There’s an old double bed in the middle of the room. To the left is an office desk and a
crappy plastic chair. I can’t see the bathroom, but I guess it’s through the door to the right of the bed. There’s a small drinks fridge, and a microwave, plus a torn leather couch and a tiny box television.
“I know it’s not very nice, but we’re hoping it’s only for a night. Room service is available 24 hours, it’s on us, so order what you like.”
I nod, and turn to him. “Thanks,” I croak.
“We will have a guard at every entrance of the complex for your protection, and here’s my number if you’re ever worried or frightened.”
He hands me a card. I take it, and stare up at him. “I don’t have a phone.”
“There’s one in the room. You can use that any time.”
I nod, and wrap my arms around myself. “Is that all?”
“Yes,” he says, giving me a half-assed smile before turning and exiting the room.
When he’s gone, I walk over to the bed and drop down, wrapping my arms around myself.
I feel empty.
I feel numb.
And I don’t understand it.
I lock my door and don’t communicate with anyone for the rest of the night. I go to bed early, and my exhausted body falls into a deep sleep. When I wake in the morning, I don’t feel any better. Everything inside me still aches. I miss him, and it makes no sense to me. Nothing is comprehendible to me right now, and I hate that I’m longing for someone who has no feelings or care about me, or my life.
I have a shower and hop into a new pair of clothes that we got given on the ship, then I order some breakfast before curling back up on the bed and flicking the television on. As soon as it flickers to life, Eric and my faces are all over the screen. I sit up, and stare at it in shock. Our pictures are all over the news with labels like “Miracle survival after a yacht accident.” I get off the bed and walk closer, listening to the report as a woman with mousy brown hair speaks into a microphone as if she knows what she’s talking about.
She doesn’t.
“Indigo Waters and Eric George were found late yesterday, after they went missing over two weeks ago. The two were on a yacht that was taken down after an accidental explosion. The waters were searched for a few days after, but there was no sighting. It was said the captain of the yacht was taking a shortcut, and wasn’t on a normal route. The two have been recovered safely, and are both well. More to come in an hour.”
John was taking a shortcut? He took us into those waters? Is that what they’re saying? I shake my head, and rub my hands over my stomach, feeling off. Now the entire world knows, and yet they don’t, really. They’re so far from the truth. I get off the bed, and am just about to head to the phone to ask Lyle about the media having our photos when there’s a knock on my door. With a weak sigh, I walk over and swing it open to see Eric. He’s pale, and trembling. Maybe he saw the news too?
“Eric, what’s…”
Before I can finish my sentence, Kane steps into view. My entire world stops. I open my mouth and inhale with shock as I lay eyes on the man that I was running from, and the man who somehow steered me here. He looks different, and yet so much the same. His eyes are still as cold and blue as they always were, and his once short blond hair is now long and whipping around his neck. To onlookers, Kane is an extremely attractive man. To me, he’s a monster.
“K…K…Kane, I don’t…”
“Hello Indigo, long time, no see.”
He moves further, and raises a gun. My knees wobble, and I reach out and grasp the door, holding myself upright as fear shoots through my body.
“Well, aren’t you going to invite me in?”
I step back, unable to do anything else. Eric meets my terrified stare, and he begins to tremble harder. Kane shoves him through the doorway, and then slams the door behind him before spinning to us both, pointing the gun in our direction.
“Sit, now.”
We both take the few steps back toward the bed, and slowly lower ourselves onto it. Kane begins to pace the room, tapping the gun into his palm.
“H…h…h…how did you get here?” I whisper.
He spins to me, and a low, throaty chuckle escapes his throat. “It was easy. The media had a story on you, and had been plastering your face over the news for the last week when the yacht that went down got reported in. Only one body was found, and the rescue boat was gone. I figured you would survive - either that or you were dead, but I wasn’t risking the off chance that you would show up and I’d miss my chance to kill you like you deserve, so I flew over and started scouring these small islands.”
He stops and chuckles coldly.
“Then, yesterday, I saw your faces all over the news again. They’d found you, and you were safely on an island until you were to be flown home. There’s only one island in this area, and I recognized the background of the interview with the reporter who spoke to the navy. I got on a plane and was here in less than two hours. I was out this morning, wondering about my next move, when Eric shows up in the store I was in. It was like everything I had ever planned was falling into place. I threatened him with a gun to his balls, and told him to pretend I was his brother and take me back to his room. Your idiot officer friends didn’t even question him.”
Oh.
God.
I try to get into survival mode, and think about all the things we were taught about removing oneself from a situation like this. Keep them talking, don’t make them angry, try and get help. I let my eyes flicker to the phone on the kitchenette. I just have to get to it…and call Lyle. I need a distraction first, something to take Kane’s mind off me.
“Go right ahead and kill me, Kane. I couldn’t care less,” I mutter, in a monotone voice.
His face flickers with confusion before he makes a snorting sound. “Don’t even try that one on, Indigo. I’m not letting you get away with it that easily. No, I’m going to make this hurt. I’m going to make you watch your friend here scream, then I’m going to kill you slowly, painfully, while you relive every moment you put me through fucking hell.”
“You deserved it!” I spit.
So much for keeping him calm.
He storms over, and he hits my cheek so hard with the butt of his gun that my head spins. I topple backwards, and I whimper in agony as I feel a strong, intense ache begin pulsing in my cheek and moving through my head. That’s going to bruise.
“Get up,” Kane bellows.
“Please stop,” Eric cries.
“Shut the fuck up, Nancy boy, or I’ll cut your dick off and shove it down your throat.”
Eric makes a whimpering sound, and Kane grips me, hurling me up. I cry out and land on the floor in front of him with a thump. My knees scrape across the carpet, and my cheek burns. I have to blink numerous times to stop the spinning that is threatening to make me pass out. Kane’s fingers tangle in my hair, and he lifts me off the ground, screaming.
“Let me go!” I wail, lashing out and kicking his shin.
He roars in pain, and stumbles backwards. I charge toward the door, but a shot rings out, and before I can do anything more a burning pain cripples my leg, sending me dropping to the ground again. I scream, I scream so loudly that Kane roars at me to shut up. Blood soaks my leg, and it feels as though a hot poker is being driven in and out of my thigh. I roll around, gasping for air as the pain becomes too much.
“Please,” Eric whispers. “Stop.”
“Fucking bitch,” Kane bellows, driving his foot into my ribs. “I’ll fucking kill you for everything you put me through.”
He storms towards me, but I roll at the last minute. It takes all my strength to move, because I’m in so much pain, but I won’t die like this. I won’t let him kill me. He spins when I roll, and I drive my fist up into his groin, bringing him to his knees with a pained roar. The gun topples from his hand. I lunge at him, driving my fist into his face, sending his head swinging to the side. He roars in pain, and grips my wrists, bringing a fist across my cheek. My world spins and I blink rapidly, trying to focus. Eric cries out a few ti
mes, but not once does he try to help.
I turn my eyes to the gun as Kane drives another fist into my face. I spit the blood from my mouth, and I twist away, my wrist burning, and I lunge for the gun. Kane moves at the same time, but it’s Eric who grabs the gun before we do. His face is pale and he stares down at the cold metal object in his hand like it’s something he’s never seen before. It’s terrifying him, I know it is, even the thought that he might have to use it would be making him question everything he is.
Kane leaps at me, landing on my back and flattening me into the carpet. My face crushes against it, and I feel blood begin to trickle from my nose. I scream and try to scurry forward, but he has me pinned. “I’ll fucking kill you, you fucking whore!” he roars. I see the glimmer of a knife, and I know I have a split second before Kane drives it into my back and ends me.
“Eric, shoot him!” I scream.
The next moment of my life happens in slow motion. The knife Kane has obviously pulled out is plunged toward me just as Eric pulls the trigger. The loud crack fills the motel room. Kane jerks, his body rolls off mine, and I hear his bellows of pain. I slump in shock, unable to move, unable to escape it. Eric rushes over, dropping to his knees beside me.
“Indigo, are you okay?” he frantically cries.
Aside from the burning pain in my leg, I’m okay.
“You need to go and get help, Eric. Now.”
“I…”
“Eric, get it before he stops screaming and decides to make me pay for you shooting him.”
“I just want to make sure you’re ok.”
I close my eyes, feeling them burn. I open them after a moment, and reach out, gripping Eric’s hand. I know this is the last time I’ll see him, even if he doesn’t. “I love you Eric, ok? You’re so brave. Go and get help, I’ll be ok.”
Eric nods frantically, and shoves the gun into my hands as I push to my feet. Then he turns and bolts out the door. I have minutes. I stare down at Kane, and anger swells in my chest. He came in here, knowing full well one of us wouldn’t come out alive. I know it too, and I decided the moment that bullet hit my leg that it wouldn’t be me. I watch as he lifts his head. Blood pours from his neck, and when he smiles that sick, evil smile, his teeth are covered in blood.
