Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
LIAM
Ikeep an eye on Matty in my periphery. His hand grips mine tightly, but other than that, he doesn’t look distressed. Not in the way he had in the past when we walked through the tunnels.
The only sounds are the echoing taps of our footfalls on the stone floor. I’ve always thought the tunnels were eerily silent. Strangely silent. Nothing carries from above. There’s no sound of dripping water in the walls. No pebbles falling. It’s simply… silent.
It isn’t until we get close to the newly discovered execution chamber that Matty begins to slow, and we fall a little further behind Zephyr and Darwin.
Beyond, in the dimly lit chamber, are the three living intruders from just before Thanksgiving.
Two are dead—one with his supposed brother in the well, and the other fell into the pit that Zephyr and I almost fell in right behind him.
Zephyr and Darwin turn to wait for us just beyond the door. Darwin sets earphones on Matty’s head and hands him his phone. I watch as he kisses Matty’s nose. Matty gives him a demure smile.
“Keep the volume up, okay?” Darwin asks.
Matty nods. “Yeah.”
Zephyr grips Matty’s hand and pulls him forward to kiss him squarely on his lips. Matty grins into the kiss. “We won’t be long, doll.”
Matty nods again and turns to me as they head into the chamber. I hold out the blanket that I had draped over my arm so it will unfold, and then wrap it around his shoulders. “You okay right here?”
He snuggles into the blanket and glances toward the chamber. We can’t see anything from where we're standing. There’s a pillar in the way. “Yes.”
“Holler if you need something.”
He smiles. “I will.”
I wrap my arms around him and hold him for just a minute. “Love you, Matty,” I whisper.
Matty sighs. “I love you too, Liam.”
He takes a step back and crouches down. His head practically disappears inside the blanket as the light of Darwin’s phone glows from the inside. He has his own phone. It’s really cute that Darwin always hands his over.
The three men who weren’t killed on the island from the last Chokecherry invasion sit on the floor of the execution chamber, tied to pillars. Only one is conscious right now. He watches Darwin warily, even though Zephyr stands over him.
Darwin is standing at a table with his back to the room. I can’t see what he’s doing, but I glimpse a bright blue liquid that looks suspiciously like a liquid cleaner of some sort. Turning my attention back to our prisoners, I study the other two.
One looks dead—the one we brought in injured after striking him in the head with a shovel. The third is stirring, but his eyes aren’t open.
Darwin turns with a syringe filled with the blue liquid. He looks at the awake man. “Are you familiar with the 1970s serial killers known as the Hillside Stranglers?” he asked. “They operated out of L.A. for several months.”
The man shakes his head, eyes locked on the syringe.
“Most of the time, they abducted women, tied them up, raped them, and murdered them before dumping their bodies in the hills surrounding L.A. However, this soon became too routine, and they began torturing their victims. One way they did this was by injecting them with a cleaning solution.” He looks at the man.
“Would you like to see what that feels like?”
The guy shakes his head again. Meanwhile, I stare at Darwin. Wow… I didn’t expect this coming from mild-mannered Darwin Dayne. Torture? Zephyr appears unfazed, but Darwin is ready. A shiver races down my spine.
“Then I suggest you tell us what we want to know,” Darwin says. “Why did you come to our island?”
“I was looking for Kennedy,” he answers.
Zephyr rolls his eyes. “Just kill him.”
“No! I swear to you, that’s why I’m here. Me and Sam came looking for Kennedy. I swear!”
“Who’s Sam?”
The guy looks at the two faces of the men secured to pillars with him and shakes his head. “He’s not here.”
“What relation do you have to Kennedy?”
“Sam’s brother. He’s my best friend.”
“Why do you think Kennedy was here?” Zephyr asks.
“Because Clark said he was. He said Kennedy came here two months ago and never returned. Three others have met the same fate.”
“So you thought you’d jump on board?” Darwin asks. “I question your intelligence.”
He shakes his head. “No. No, I-I was scared for Kennedy, so when Clark said that they were going to look for them,”—he jerked his head toward the two still-unconscious men—“Sam and I jumped on the boat with them.”
“If you want us to believe you were looking for a man named Kennedy, why were you at the tower?” I ask.
“It seemed the most logical place to look. You weren’t going to bring them to the place you lived, right? He wasn’t a guest you invited in. The tower is freaky looking, so I thought that’s where he’d be.”
Interestingly, I follow that logic.
“Why would Kennedy sneak onto Dark Island? What was he looking for?” Zephyr asks.
He shakes his head again. “I swear to you, I don’t know.
He didn’t tell me. He didn’t tell me he was going.
I didn’t even know he went to Chokecherry until Sam called me in a panic because Clark wouldn’t tell him anything, and Kennedy wasn’t answering his phone—it was just going to voicemail.
The police wouldn’t listen to Sam that his brother was missing.
So I went to Chokecherry to talk to Clark myself. ”
I know Clark Charleton. He’s a dick.
“And Clark told you Kennedy came here?” Darwin asks.
He nods. “Yes. He said Kennedy went to Dark Island and hasn’t returned. The guys who went looking for him haven’t returned. He was sending more to bring everyone back. I jumped on the boat with them.”
“Did you ask why Kennedy supposedly came here?” I ask.
He scowls. “Yes. Do you know Clark?”
I nod. Zephyr and Darwin shake their heads, but the guy sees me nodding.
“Then you know he’s an asshole. He tells you only what he wants you to know, no matter what it is. All I know is that he’s pissed at the other clubs because he’s convinced you’re all cheating in the boat races.”
Zephyr rolls his eyes. “Such a fucking baby.”
The man nods. “He is. I don’t know how he became president, but he’s awful.
He’s insistent that you’re cheating, and he’s been pissed about it since this summer.
For the past three summers. He thinks you’re all ganging up on us except he doesn’t say ‘us.’ He says ‘him.’ Like he’s the one who actually races and this is a personal grudge. The man is insane. He’s a jerk.”
“Do you think he sent Kennedy here?” I ask.
He chews his lip and nods. “Kennedy wanted so badly to be someone,” he says quietly.
“He’s one of seven kids and he’s always felt overlooked.
He always had this desperate need to be seen.
An individual admired for what he does. So…
I don’t think it would take much convincing from Clark to make him do something stupid if he thought it would make him someone important when he succeeded. ”
I almost feel bad. It sounds like kids getting caught up in an adult pissing contest. When I look at Zephyr frowning, entirely unimpressed and unmoved by the man’s story, I wonder if maybe I’m just too soft.
An idea occurs to me, and I act before I can think better of it. Zephyr and Darwin turn to watch me leave the chamber for Matty in the tunnel. I shouldn’t. I should leave him alone. Leave him out of this.
He’s sitting against the wall with his head back and eyes closed. His headphones are on the ground beside him, though he clutches Darwin’s phone in his hand. There’s no sneaking up on Matty. His ghosts are always close.
I offer him my hand, and he looks at me with confusion. “I have a favor to ask of you,” I say, and he inhales as he allows me to pull him to his feet. “Actually, to ask of your ghosts.”
His head tilts to the side.
“I know that they’re not magic or whatever in this second life, but I know they talk and travel, and they hear and see everything,” I say.
Matty gives me an amused smile. “They appreciate your flattery.”
“But it’s accurate, right?”
He shrugs and nods. “I guess. Kind of.”
“Come with me. I won’t let you see anything; I promise. You face me. Okay?”
Matty takes a breath and nods.
I guide Matty deeper into the execution chamber with my hands on his hips, moving slowly since he’s walking backward and I don’t want him to trip. We get close enough so that he can hear everything this guy says.
Keeping Matty close, I look at Zephyr and Darwin. I’m not winning any extra points right now. In fact, I think Zephyr wants to stab me with Darwin’s cleaning solution.
Turning my attention back to the prisoner, I ask, “Why did you come here?”
He looks at me with a frown. “I’m here to find Kennedy.”
Matty’s expression doesn’t change.
“Who’s Kennedy?” I ask. “When did Clark tell you he came here?”
“The end of September. He’s… I don’t know how to answer that. He’s a good guy. Twenty-three. Eager to make someone notice him. Anyone at all. He’s my best friend. I just want to bring him home, and I swear to you, I won’t let him back to Chokecherry again.”
Matty’s expression still hasn’t changed as he stares at me.
“What do your ghosts say?” I ask Matty quietly. Zephyr steps closer so he can see Matty’s face. Matty meets his eyes for a second and then shakes his head.
“That kid is in the well,” he says.
“Why was Kennedy here?” Darwin asks.
“I don’t know.”
Matty’s already shaking his head. “He knows something. Secrets.”
Darwin turns to the guy again and holds up the syringe.
“I don’t know!” the guy insists as he tries to push himself through the pillar and out the other side to get away from Darwin. “I don’t know any secrets. Clark wants your secrets, but I don’t know them.”
“See?” Matty says, giving me a wan smile. “He knew more than he said.”
“If you and Sam were here to look for Kennedy, why were the other three here?” Zephyr asks.
“Clark only said that they were going to bring our guys back. He said you were torturing them and you needed to be punished.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re telling me he sends people to sneak onto our island and then gets butt-hurt when they don’t succeed with his ill-conceived plans?”
The guy huffs. “Yes! You said you know Clark. Does that not sound just like him? He does this kind of stuff all the time!”
Matty’s nodding, though I’m not sure he’s agreeing with the guy. I don’t think he knows Clark.
“What are they saying?” Zephyr asks quietly.
“They didn’t say anything when they got here, but there’s a dead that came with them on the boat and…” Matty turns his head. “They want to break into the tower. They’re sure we have secrets in the tower that we’re using to cheat.”
“Boat racing is truly that important to them?” Zephyr asks, his face scrunching.
“I guess,” Matty says as the guy says, “Yes. It’s like his only reason for living. It’s pathetic.”
Matty nods, and I take that as the ghosts around us agreeing. What he’s saying is the truth.
“One of Chokecherry’s dead is here?” Darwin asks.
Matty turns his head and looks at someone over my shoulder. “Yes. Her name is Vivienne. She didn’t die in a nice way.”
“In a nice way?” I ask.
He meets my eye. “She was murdered. It was ugly.”
Chills race over my skin, and I incline my head. “I’m sorry, Vivienne,” I murmur.
Matty watches the place over my shoulder for a minute, and then he looks between me, Darwin, and Zephyr.
“That one is Mack. He’s telling the truth.
Sam is in the well with Kennedy. The other three weren’t here to bring anyone home.
They were going to break into the castle and the tower and find the secrets that we hide here so Clark knows them too and he can win races. ”
“First of all, that’s stupid,” Zephyr says. “If there were any such secrets, they’d be with the boats. Why the hell would boat racing secrets be separate from the boats where we couldn’t use them?”
“She says he’s not intelligent. He has no common sense,” Matty deadpans.
The man behind us named Mack snorts.
“Second, I don’t think I believe that. Did Vivienne hear this from Clark’s mouth or was this what the guys on the boat said?” Zephyr asks.
“She doesn’t like you implying that she’s a liar.”
Zephyr shakes his head. “I’m not saying that. I’m saying that someone is lying. I believe Clark is an idiot, but I don’t believe he thinks that there are boat racing secrets in the tower or castle. So what is he after? What secrets does he have?”
Matty suddenly smiles. “Yes. She likes those questions.”
“Does she have answers?” I ask.
Matty shakes his head. “No. But she agrees.”
I sigh.
“This Mack is here by happenstance. What does she suggest we do with him?” Darwin asks.
“Keep him. Put him in my room, but… you need a door,” Matty answers.
“And the others?”
Matty shrugs. “The island is full of hidden pits. Let them wander until they find their new home.” He looks at me. “That’s what Mason said. Not Vivienne.”
Mason is one of Matty’s favorites. I’ve always thought he was most entertained and fascinated by him.
“Okay,” Zephyr says. “I can’t get a door on your room, but we won’t send him into the trees to disappear.”
“They really do die?” Mack asks.
“This island is littered with deep pits and lost wells,” Darwin says. “We don’t know where they all are. We don’t wander the woods on our own.”
“I—but you found us.”
“We have Matty, and he talks to ghosts,” I say. “That’s the only reason we haven’t died over the last two months. The ghosts keep us safe. They tell us when we have intruders, and we chase them until they fall into a hole and disappear.”
Mack shivers.
That’s not the entire truth, but it’s also not entirely inaccurate. We’re also not going to let the other two wander through the trees. We’ll drop them into a pit of our choosing.
I lean into Matty and kiss his forehead. “You did good, baby,” I whisper, and he smiles. “Thank your ghosts for us, please. We appreciate their assistance.”
“They want to keep the secrets too,” he whispers. “This is their home, and they don’t appreciate it being broken into.”