Gray's Domain: Purgatorium Series, Book Two (16 page)

As they took the wooden steps down to the resort, her mother asked, “Are we really going to do this?”

“How can you ask that?” Daphne said. “No, don’t answer. Never mind.” The last thing she needed was for Dr. Gray to overhear them.

Even though she had chastised her mother for doubting their plan, Daphne wasn’t sure if they were doing the right thing, either. Being on the island had indeed saved her life. And maybe Daphne’s father
had
been resurrected from the shell of the man he’d been ever since Kara’s death. The ballroom and helicopter exercises might have been scary, but no one had been killed, and Daphne had to admit they had made her grateful to be alive. She also felt closer to her parents and to Brock.

There was the chance that Greg was setting them up for the next exercise, but, as he had said, if he were lying, well, they were going to get pulled into a game no matter what. If he were telling the truth, then they needed to get the heck out. Whatever the outcome, they were right to try to escape.

When they entered the main building, they found the lobby deserted. They went to the elevators, even though Daphne was in no mood to ride. The doors opened, and inside was Dr. Gray.

It was like she’d been waiting for them.

“Going up?” the doctor asked cheerfully.

Daphne nodded as the three of them stepped inside. Her throat tightened. She could barely breathe.

“And where are you headed, Doctor?” Sharon asked as the elevator doors closed and Daphne focused on her breathing exercises.

“I forgot something up in my office.”

They crammed close to one another in the elevator. Daphne squeezed Brock’s hand.

“You alright?” he whispered.

She nodded, but it was a lie.

“Are you recovered from yesterday’s scare?” Hortense asked.

“Not quite.” Daphne immediately regretted the bitterness in her voice, realizing that, like her mother, she wasn’t the best actress. “But I’m getting there,” she added.

“We’re headed up to check on Joe,” Sharon said. “Do you think he’ll be released in the morning?”

“I’m sure,” Hortense said. “He seems to be doing fine. I was just with him a moment ago.”

The elevator doors opened and all four stepped out.

Sharon turned back to the doctor, who had been the last to exit the elevator. “You didn’t tell Joe about the surprise, did you?”

“Of course not,” Dr. Gray said stiffly. “Have you shared the news with anyone?”

“No.”

The doctor stopped in front of her office door and inserted her key card. “Good night, then.”

“Good night,” the others said.

A receptionist greeted them in the infirmary as they passed her desk and walked down the hall. When they entered her father’s room, Daphne was surprised to find the bed empty.

“We’re in here,” a woman’s voice came from behind a cracked door.

Daphne glanced at her mother and Brock, worried that someone was doing harm to her father. She was relieved when Joe’s face appeared from what she could now see was a bathroom. A woman, dressed as a nurse (who knew if she was a real nurse?), led her father to his bed.

“How are you doing, Joe?” Sharon pulled the covers back and helped him get settled.

“Fine,” he said.
“Just groggy.”

“It’s the medication,” the woman said. “He received his last dose a few minutes ago. The doctor says he’s fine to
return to his cabana in the morning. We just want to keep an eye on him overnight.”

Daphne knew their real motive for keeping him. They wanted him out of the picture for the next game, but that wasn’t going to happen. Now, if only this supposed nurse would hurry up and leave so she and Brock and her mother could go on with their plan. Daphne had no idea how they were going to get past the receptionist, though. She hadn’t really thought this plan through.

The nurse had already removed the IV and was putting the empty bag and tubing away when Gregory entered.

“I thought I might find you here,” Greg said.
“Just wanted to say goodnight before I go to see my mother.”

“Goodnight,” Daphne said.

“Goodnight,” her mother and Brock added, glancing anxiously at Daphne.

They were all terrible actors.

The nurse gave Gregory a friendly smile as she exited the room. He followed her out.

Sharon made small talk with Joe, asking more about how he was feeling and if he was still upset over the pirate incident. He said he was fine and wouldn’t mind going on the bird trail again.

“I sure enjoyed that,” he said.

“That makes one of us,” Sharon said.

“Oh, come on,” Joe said. “Up until the bugs found you, you were enjoying it, too.”

Brock kneeled down on the floor so that he was eye-level with Daphne’s father. “Listen to me, Mr. Janus,” he whispered. “We have to get off this island as soon as possible. Trust me, okay? Don’t ask any questions. Just come with me and your family now.”

Had Brock given Greg enough time to distract Hortense? Along with anxiety over the timing, regret filled Daphne’s heart as she watched the peaceful expression that had once occupied her father’s face transform into horror. He licked his parched lips, gave a subtle nod, and slowly got up onto his unsteady feet. Sharon found his shoes and slipped them on his feet. Then Brock half carried him across the room as Daphne opened the door. They had no plan except to make a run for it.

The receptionist behind the desk looked up at them. “What’s going on here?”

“We decided to help Joe back to his room tonight,” Sharon said.

“The doctor wants to keep him here,” the receptionist objected.

Daphne opened the door to the hallway and they all four rushed out, with Brock dragging her father’s feet. They reached the elevator and were relieved to find it empty, but when it opened on the bottom floor, Cam and Bridget were there waiting.

“What’s going on?” Bridget asked.

“The doctor said we could take my dad back to his cabana,” Daphne lied. “But he’s still groggy, so Brock’s helping him.”

“Daph,” Cam said. “He’s not supposed to leave tonight. What are you doing? Please don’t do what I think you’re doing. I thought you understood.”

“Back off, Cam,” Brock said as he pushed past him.

They hurried out of the lobby and found the jeep parked outside. Daphne’s mom climbed behind the wheel. Brock helped Joe into the backseat. As Daphne scooted onto the passenger’s side beside her mother, the jeep roared to life. With Cam and Bridget shouting at them to stop and think about this, they drove up the hill toward the canyon ridge.

Chapter Thirteen: Run

“Which way do I go?” Sharon asked when they came to a three-way fork five minutes later.

“Straight,” Daphne said. She knew the way to Prisoners Harbor. It was the direction they had taken for the kayak and bird trail excursions. “But go faster. We don’t want Cam to catch up with us.”

“Cam wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, honey,” her mother said.

“He’s been brainwashed,” Daphne said. “They’ve all been brainwashed.”

As the road curved around the stables a few minutes later, a figure jumped in front of the jeep. Daphne screamed as her mother swerved to avoid hitting it. The jeep jerked and bounced from the road down a steep hill toward the stables. Daphne couldn’t think. A scream was stuck in her throat. No air moved through her. They were heading straight for a tree.

“Stop!” Daphne shouted.

They jerked forward and back as her mom pumped on the brake, but the momentum was too much. The jeep hit the tree, and Daphne slammed against the dash, her forehead hitting the windshield so hard she bit her tongue before tumbling from the open jeep and landing on the ground. Her
right arm and shoulder throbbed as she lay there for a moment, trying to move. She spat blood.

“Mama?
Daddy?” She shouted as she tried to roll to her back. “Brock?” She flinched when sharp pains shot through her arm. Scared for her family and Brock, she rolled onto her knees and pulled herself up. The headlights shined through the night onto the stables. Her mother was slumped over the steering wheel. The backseat was empty, but someone was at her mother’s side.

Daphne ran.
“Mama!”

“Daphne?”
came the voice of a boy. It wasn’t Brock.

The person standing next to the driver’s side of the jeep was Giovanni.

“What are you doing here?” Daphne cried, as she looked over her mother. “Mama?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cause an accident,” Giovanni said. Tears filled his eyes.

Sharon lifted her head. A gash about an inch long cut through her forehead. “I’m okay. What about your dad?”

“Over here!” Brock said from the darkness.

Daphne stumbled toward his voice.

Giovanni followed with a flashlight. “I thought you were dead. I thought the bear killed you.” His voice broke on his last words.

Daphne frowned. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get off this island.”

“I’m sorry I ran,” he said. “I couldn’t think clearly. And when I went back for you, all I found was this.” He lifted the flashlight.

“Shine it over there.”

Brock appeared in the circle of light bent over the form of her father. Fear filled her heart. She ran to them. Giovanni followed with the light.

“Dad, are you okay?”

Her mother came up from behind. “Joe? Joe, what’s wrong?”

“My leg,” he said. “I think it’s broken.”

Brock helped her father up. “We’ve got to keep going. I’ll help you.”

Sharon hurried back over to the jeep but had no luck getting the engine to turn. “Looks like we’ll have to continue on foot.”

“But Prisoners Harbor is still a ways,” Daphne said, unable to imagine Brock carrying her father’s weight for that distance.

“What about the horses?” Brock said.

“No way,” Giovanni said. “I don’t trust them.”

“Pearl was
trained
to run, Giovanni,” Daphne said. “Scout and some of the others are pretty obedient.”

“I’m not getting on a horse,” her mother said.

“We better hide then,” Brock said, “because I’m sure someone’s bound to be coming for us any minute.”

“Mama, we have no choice. You can do this. Come on. We
gotta hurry.”

“Turn off those headlights,” Brock said as they passed the jeep.

Giovanni ran over and switched them off. The stables were flooded with darkness.

“Great, now we can’t see,” Daphne said.

“It’s better than drawing attention to ourselves.” Brock helped her father toward the stables.

A dozen horses stared at them from their stalls, and none of them had on saddles. Of course they wouldn’t, Daphne thought, and she had no idea how to put them on.

Brock sat her father down on a bale of hay and grabbed a saddle.

“Do you know what to do with that?” Sharon asked.

“I’ll figure it out.”

“Over here. This is Scout.” Daphne tried to help, but her right arm was useless and it hurt like crazy. “I think my arm’s broken.”

“Oh, honey!” Her mother examined it closely.

“
Ow. Don’t touch it.”

“Look, maybe we can put your dad on a horse and the rest of us can walk,” Giovanni suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Joe said.

“It’ll take us forever,” Daphne complained.
“At least a half hour.”

“Actually that’s
not
a bad idea,” Brock said. “It’ll take me too long to saddle up a horse for each of us. I’m not even sure I’m doing this right.”

“Plus, we won’t be as loud on foot,” Giovanni added.

“Sshh. Listen,” her mother said.

They were all quiet for a moment as they listened to the dark night. Among crickets and the snorts of horses, Daphne heard the unmistakable buzz of an engine.

“Someone’s coming,” Sharon said. “What do we do?”

“Maybe they won’t notice the jeep,” Daphne whispered.

“It
is
pretty far down the hill,” her mother agreed.

They waited as the headlights flashed over the top of the stalls and the sound of the engine moved past. The thudding in her ears from her own heart made the low buzz difficult to hear, but when the lights were visible in the distance moving away from them, she sighed with relief.

“They’ll come back this way when they don’t find us at Prisoners Harbor,” Brock said. “We need to hurry.”

“We need to find a place to hide until morning,” Daphne said. “Someplace close to the harbor.”

“What’s that sound?” Joe asked. “Listen.”