Escape, a New Life (4 page)

Abby noticed that he seemed uneasy.  Something was wrong.  “Everything OK?  We found water. You should be happy about that at least.  Make the best of it.”

He pointed to indicate the short distance to the top of the hill, or what they were now considering a small
mountain.  “That’s the peak,” he paused. “I had to go that way to find the vine, so I took a quick look.  I’m not sure what to say.”

She gave him a curious look.  She figured
she might as well see whatever there to see.  It was about fifty yards to the top.  With her thirst satisfied, she had a newfound energy and outlook, and happily covered the distance while Eric tried his best to keep up.

Abby reached the top well ahead of
him.  She was breathing heavily, but was generally surprised at how good she felt.  She looked around.  The very top of the crest was still a twenty-foot climb above her.  So far she had not found anything too odd.  There was a pile of charred wood off to the side.  Someone had a pretty big fire going here at some point. 

The pile looked as if it had been there for quite awhile.  There was not much ash.  It had probably blown away over time.  There was a pile of very large logs that were probably close to a
yard in length each.  They were at various stages of having been burned.  Off to the side there were six or seven more large logs that had not been burned at all, though they seemed to have been weathered quite a bit.  Whatever its purpose, it did not appear that the fire had been lit at any point in recent months.  Dismissing the charred wood, she climbed up the last few yards to the peak, using her hands to steady herself on the unleveled terrain.  Reaching the crest, she stood up to take in the scene.

In front of her
, the mountain ran down at about the same incline they had just climbed.  Past that, the tree line started.  Approximately six or seven miles past the trees, as far as she could see, was the crystal blue clear water of the ocean.  Abby looked right, then quickly to the left, and then back in the direction where they had come from that morning, and the same scene played out all around her. 

H
er skin became hot and flush with panic as her heart beat in her throat.  She started breathing in uncontrolled short rapid bursts and quickly became light-headed as her world was flipped upside down.  She felt completely helpless, as the pit of her stomach seemed to sink past her knees.  They were not on some beach in California or even Mexico.  There was no road that was going to bring them home.  They were on an island.  “My God,” she whispered. 

SHE TURNED AROUND to face Eric, who had finally caught up.  “What the hell is this?”  She screamed, “We’re on an island!”

“I’m just as confused as you are.”

She pushed past him, her mind racing to fill in the blanks.  Why would she be on an island?  How in the world did she get here?  How come she could not remember a damned thing?

Eric was markedly calmer.  He sat, staring off at the ocean
in the distance.  “There’s another island over there, on the other side,” he said.

“
I see that,” Abby snapped back.  “How do you propose we get there?”

He looked back at her with a blank expression.  “I wasn’t suggesting we do.
How do we even know we want to get there?  I was just pointing it out.”  He was clearly hurt.

“Sorry
,” she said.  “I just can’t put the pieces together here.  I’m frustrated.” 

“I get it.  We’re in the same boat… well, not a boat actually, though that would be helpful, huh?”

She smiled. 

From their vantage point, they could see the entire island.  There was no sign that anyone else was here.  No houses,
no phone towers, no manmade structures that they could see.  Mostly what they could see were the tops of the trees that made up the lush vegetation on the island.  They could not see all of the beaches, but there were no docks, boats, or anything else visible along the water line that would indicate there were other people there. 

As far as they could tell
, they were all alone.

Abby felt a familiar anxiety in the pit of her stomach, the kind of anxiety that goes with loss of control.  She was on an island with this stranger and had no idea how to get off. 
Can I trust him?
  She weighed the question in her mind.  Looking at him, he certainly appeared to be just as baffled as she was.  There was something familiar about him, too.  Although they had only known each other for little more than a day, something about him was familiar.  Whether that made sense was another question, but for now she decided to accept the comfort that his familiarity seemed to offer. 

They sat silent and overwhelmed at their situation.  Neither had
any ideas at the moment.  Eric reached out and took her hand in his.  “Hey, we’ll figure this out.  Don’t worry.”

She looked at him and felt very calm
. “I’m not worried.”  She gave him a reassuring smile.

“I know you’re not,” he chuckled, “and I can’t tell if that freaks me out, or makes me feel better.”

She laughed.

“At least we’re a good team,” he said. 

Holding his large hand, she noticed that it felt hard and calloused.  No doubt he had been working with his hands for a long time.  She gave him a squeeze with her small soft hand before she let go.  Abby admired the ocean in the distance.  There was something moving slowly out on the water.  Something very distant and very large.

She stood and squinted
. “A ship!” she shouted. “Or a boat. I don’t know what it is, but look.” 

He looked up
. “I don’t see anything.”

“Come here
!” She yanked him up and pulled him close.  Holding her head against his, she directed his eyes toward the ocean.  Their sudden closeness and the smell of his skin distracted her, if only for a second, until she pointed. “There.”

“Son of a bitch!  Y
ou’re right.”

Abby looked below and saw the pile of half
-charred wood.  His eyes followed hers, and they both had the same thought.  He piled the wood like a tepee and she quickly lit some kindling under it with her blade and flint.  The sticks and dry charred wood were burning in a full blaze within minutes.  

“Toss on some
more logs,” she told him. “I’m going to get some leaves.”

“Leaves?”

“They’ll make smoke.”

He stopped and stared at her.  “How do you know these things?”
  Sometimes Abby impressed herself.  How did she know that?  She must have seen it on TV or something.

Running into the trees, she tore her knife from its sheath and began hacking thin low lying branches as quickly as she could.  She set her sights on branches no thicker than her thumb that were covered in leaves.  The knife was so sharp that it took no more than a swift strike from the blade to slice them from the trees.  She
arrived back within ten minutes, carrying armfuls of branches.  Using the charred wood and some of the well-weathered logs, Eric had successfully built up a very large fire by that point.

“These half
-burnt logs are going up quick,” he said.

She began piling on the leaf-covered branches, and
within minutes the fire produced thick, dark smoke. 

Eric began jogging
down toward the trees.  He called back over his shoulder, “I’m going to grab some more branches, let’s make this thing huge!” 

Abby tossed the rest of her branches onto the blaze and decided to head up to the higher summit to get a better look at the ship.  Once up there
, she could not quite make out what it was, but it was big.  Probably a cruise ship, seeing as though it was gleaming white. 

Eric returned, struggling to carry the huge amount of greenery that he had stolen from the trees.  He fanned the flame for a bit, and then tossed them on piece by piece, being careful not to smother the flame.  The smoke
billowed so thick that they could not see through it. 

He climbed up to her and announced with pride, “No way they’ll miss that.  Should we start heading down toward the beach to meet them now?”

Without saying anything, Abby just shook her head no.  They sat on the rocky summit and watched the ship for ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour, as it sailed on without the slightest hint that it might change course.

“They
must
see it”, he said.  “Maybe they can’t stop, but I’m sure they’ll report it to someone.”

A deep
, rough voice came from their left. “I wouldn’t count on it.”

They both jumped, nearly smacking their heads together
, careening to the right to see where the voice had come from.  Sure enough there was a man.  He was rather gruff-looking. Abby figured he looked a few years older than she was, probably closer to Eric’s age, which she figured to be early thirties.  It was hard to tell, though. 

He was dressed in something that may have been a pair of cargo shorts at one point, though now was mostly brown cloth being held around his waist by a vine.  He wore no shirt and was very lean.  His dark brown
, dirty hair hung below his ears, and he wore a beard that matched his hair in both color and cleanliness, or lack thereof.

Eric started to introduce himself, but the bearded man went on as if he did
not notice.  “I’ve been here nearly a year, as far as I can tell.” He paused, his vacant gray eyes looking out toward the ship.  “I can’t tell you how many signal fires I lit those first few months.  No ship ever changed its course.  For a while I had the same thought – they can’t just go visit any island with smoke coming from it, but they will report it to someone. Eventually someone will come.”  He shook his head, chuckling at himself.  “No one ever has.  It’s like we don’t exist.”

The three of them stood silent for a moment, the
massive fire crackling below them, sending up smoke and sparks, and radiating intense heat into the already warm air, making an awkward situation even more uncomfortable.

Abby spoke up
. “Well, what do we do then?”

The man smiled at her with a twinkle in his eye.  “We find out why you came here.”

From behind a sack was thrown over her head, and a pair of strong arms grabbed her.  She screamed, and heard Eric struggling as well.  As her feet came off the ground, she twisted around, but soon realized she was fighting a losing battle.  She was going wherever it was they were taking her, whether she wanted to or not.

THEY HAD BEEN SITTING in front of the fire for some time before their heads were uncovered.  Their feet were bound and tied with the same type of vine Eric had lowered to help Abby up the rock face.  Their wrists were bound behind their backs.  This was somehow a familiar feeling to Abby, and she did not like it at all.

It was dark
, and the damp air was cool, but the fire was warm.  She was thankful for that at least.

Three
people stared at them across the fire.  The bearded man sat smugly, playing with a knife.  Glancing down at the empty sheath on her right thigh, Abby realized that it was her knife.

Two women
sat with him, one on each side.  They were rough looking, similar to the man.  They were both thin. 
Too thin
, Abby thought.  Judging by the appearance of their clothes, they must have been here awhile, too.  Each wore a tattered shirt, and canvass shorts, similar to the ones that Abby wore, only faded and torn in places.

Eric spoke first
. “What did you say your name was again?”

The man looked up at him and spat the words, “I didn’t.”

Abby and Eric exchanged glances.

“I’ll be asking the questions for now,” the man went on.  He leaned over toward the fire and rested the knife on a roc
k so the tip of it was sitting in the hot embers at the edge.  Abby could only imagine what his intention might be.

“Go ahead,” Abby smiled at his bearded face.

The man looked her over. “Your clothes look awfully nice,” he observed.  “Ya think they’d fit my lady here?” He gestured toward the woman on his right.  “How about you say we find out?”

“Don’t even think about it.”  Eric said, staring hard at the man
, his arms straining at their bonds.

He laughed
. “Oh, I’m thinking about it,” he said, licking his lips.  “So how did you come to find yourselves on our little slice of heaven?”

Abby sighed
. “We don’t know.”

“Is that so?”

“We woke up here a couple nights ago, during the storm.  We’ve been trying to put the pieces together, but so far haven’t had much luck.”

“Uh
-huh.  You have that pretty well rehearsed do you?”

“What do you mean,
‘rehearsed?’”

The bearded man looked at the two women
, then back at his captives. “I mean you don’t look like the others.  We’ve been watching you look for us all day.  Looks to me like you’re on a mission.”

“What kind of mission would that be?”

He smiled, his dirty teeth showing through his beard.  He picked up the knife and held it up.  Inspecting the slight glow at the tip, he said, “Well, that’s what I aim to find out.”

As the man leaned forward to stand up, Abby took action.  Kicking out with her bound feet she sent a cloud of ash and embers flying up into the faces of the others.  The man caught the worst of it and grabbed at his eyes, dropping the knife.  Abby saw that his eyes might be the least of his problems.  One of the embers landed in his beard and his face began
to smoke. 

In one continuous motion
Abby slid her arms down past her backside, pulled her legs through so that her hands were now in front of her, and sprung forward onto the ground reaching out for the knife.  One of the women saw her and pushed past the man to grab the knife herself.  Abby spun on her hip and kicked up with both legs.  Her feet connected with the woman’s stomach, sending the woman reeling backwards toward the fire.  Landing next to it, her makeshift clothes caught fire.  The woman began rolling on the ground, screaming.  Abby saw the red hair of the other woman quickly disappear into the trees.

Grabbing the knife Abby cut the ties at her hands and feet.  The red-hot blade sliced through the fresh green vines like butter.  She turned to Eric who sat in shock, mouth open.  “Come on!” she yelled at him,
rapidly cutting the ties at his wrists.

His eyes widened
. “Watch out!”

The woman who had fallen into the fire had apparently extinguished herself and was coming up quick.  Abby spun, knife extended from her hand, slashing downward as though wielding a tomahawk.  The hot blade sliced across the left side of the woman’s face.  The woman dropped to the ground
, screaming.

“Where did the other one go?”

Abby sliced the vines off of his feet. “I don’t know, but let’s not stick around to find out.” 

She grabbed his hand and they sprinted into the trees.  The bearded man lay moaning on the ground
, his woman whimpering next to him.

Running into the trees, they did
not get far before they heard the voices of several men coming from behind them.  They ran through the trees and thick brush for several hundred yards.  The voices were distant, but still coming in their direction. 

They stopped to listen. 

Eric asked, “Should we hide or keep running?”

Abby thought about it
. “What time do you suppose it is?”

They both looked up, trying to find some sort of signal from the sky.  Was dawn approaching?  Had the sun just gone down?  It was impossible to tell
. “I have no idea.”

Abby decided, “They obviously know the area better than we do.  Hiding might help us now.  But if we’re still hiding when the sun comes up, and they are still looking for us, we’re going to be in trouble.”

“Good point.” He thought about it for a moment. “Let’s change direction, though.  They seem to know exactly where we’re heading.”

It was tough to see by the moonlight, but there was a hill to their left
, and they decided to head up and over it.  They made short work of the incline, stopping at the top to catch their breath.  The voices did not seem to be getting any closer, but that did not make Abby feel any better.  They had to keep moving.

They ran down the side of the hill, crashing through branches.  Suddenly
, at the bottom of the hill, the ground came out from under her feet and she landed with a splash.  Water!  They stopped to listen.  Though it was hard to hear over the babbling water and their heavy breathing, the voices seemed to have stopped. 

They quickly drank their fill, and their breathing began
to slow.  That was when they heard branches rustling at the top of the hill.  They could not see anything up there, but the others must have heard the noise she made when she landed in the water.  They had been found.

“I don’t think they see us,” Eric
whispered, taking her hand. “Let’s be real quiet and head upstream.  If we stay along the water, hopefully the noise will mask any sounds we make.”

Abby nodded her head and they stood together to turn upstream.  An arm’s length away was a man they had not seen before
.  Abby screamed in surprise.  The man looked just as surprised at her screaming.  His features were difficult to distinguish in the dark.  He was not quite as tall as Eric, and not as broad.  His hair was a little longer, down just past his ears, and he had a beard that was trimmed short.  He wore a plain white tee shirt, khaki shorts and some rugged looking shoes.  Unlike the others, he looked clean and in good heath. 

“There they are!” came a voice from the top of the hill.

Eric swung a right hook, which the man expertly ducked, landing a light jab into Eric’s ribs, temporarily knocking the wind out of him.  Abby reached for her knife.

“Do
not,” the man whispered harshly, holding out his hand.  “I am here to help.”

They could hear the other men crashing down the side of the hill, making no attempt at stealth.  Eric was still holding his side
, but was all right.

The man quickly said, “You can follow me to safety, or you can run around here
like idiots, waiting to be caught by those lunatics,” jerking his head toward the hill where the men where closing in.  “Trust me, they know this place better than you.  They will catch you.  But I guarantee I know these trees better than anyone.”

Abby and Eric looked at each other, temporarily paralyzed by
indecision.  The men coming down the hill could not be more than fifty yards away.

“Who are you?” Eric asked.

“A friend, and one who is getting out of here.”  He looked from one to the other. “Follow me, or not.  It is your choice.”  He turned and ran through the trees.

Abby looked at Eric
. “To hell with it. Let’s go.” 

They t
ook off running after the stranger as the others began closing in from behind.  Crashing through the brush and undergrowth, they found themselves running almost straight downhill.  Their feet were barely able to keep up with their momentum. 

The other men were still coming up
from behind.  The side of the hill that they were running down was bare.  Abby stole a quick glance behind her and saw their pursuers less than fifty feet behind.  She let out a little yelp and sped up as fast as she could go, passing Eric.

The tree line began abruptly, and their friend obviously knew precisely where he
wanted to go.  Over his shoulder, he shouted, “Follow me exactly!”

They entered the thick trees.  A few
yards in, he took a sharp turn behind a massive boulder and was out of sight for a moment.  As Abby flew around the corner, the man’s strong hands grabbed her, pulling her back into a cave within the giant rock.  He repeated the same with Eric, and then pushed them both back into the darkness.  He held his finger to his lips, indicating to be quiet.  Twenty seconds later, they heard their pursuers run right past the giant boulder and continue on through the trees. 

Their new friend let out a sigh
. “Let’s go,” he said, walking further back into the darkness of the cave. 

They looked at each other, unsure what to do.  Eric shrugged
. “He did just save our ass.” 

“Who is this guy?”

“I don’t know, but I’m willing to find out.”

The man stopped and turned to face them.  He spoke in a hushed tone.  Abby thought she could detect a slight accent, British, or maybe Australian.  “My name is Robert.  As you so eloquently put it, I did just save your ass.  I’m a friend.  You do not have to follow me, but in my humble opinion, I believe it is in your best interest to do so.”  He turned and headed back into the darkness
.

Abby thought out loud, “Well
, at least he seems to know where he’s going.”  She walked into the darkness at the back of the cave and Eric followed.

They walked for several minutes
in the dark, unable to see much of anything.  “Right here,” Robert said.  “Crouch down on your hands and knees.  You cannot see it, but we are going to crawl under a wall of rock.  The opening is only two feet tall, so do not pick up your head or you are likely to bump into it.”

They did as they were told
.  Abby got down on the damp gritty ground and easily slipped her small frame through the opening.  The space was not only short, but it was narrow.  This caused Eric to have a bit more difficulty fitting through.  After some effort he managed to pull his shoulders close enough to his body and squeeze his way through to the other side.  Once they were on the other side of the wall, they could see a faint glow in the distance down a long dim corridor.  Once they were all on the other side, Robert pivoted a large flat rock over the opening they had just crawled through.  “To discourage visitors,” he said.

They walked down the path toward the faint light and came to an open area within the cave.  When they walked into the area, the firelight revealed the space.  It was like a room, a large round room, maybe twenty feet around.  On the far side was an opening about six feet wide, to the outside.  Through the opening, Abby could see the moonlight reflecting off of the distant ocean
past the tree line.

“Welcome to my home,” he said
, smiling.

Abby looked around and saw that it was primitive, but well appointed at the same time.  There was a bed of sorts to their right.  It looked to be mostly a pile of soft grasses covered with a large piece of canvass.  There was a table, and some makeshift chairs on the left. 
Abby wondered if there were as many people living here, as there were chairs.  She looked around but did not see anyone else. 

A small indent in the wall seemed to serve as a fireplace.  There was even a
beat-up metal teakettle resting on a hook next to it, close enough to keep the water warm.  A slow wisp of steam rose from the spout.  On another small table there were a few plates, mugs, and kitchen essentials stacked neatly.  In the center of the table stood a three-foot-tall stainless steel cylinder with a spout at the bottom; though she could not figure out what purpose it served.

Robert saw her looking at it
. “Water purifier.  It works by gravity.  You just pour a few liters into the top at night, and by morning, the base is filled with fresh, clean water.”

“Ah
.”

“The British Army has been using those things in the field forever”