Chapter 15 #2
“Do you know how boring it is to just sit on the ship and do nothing all day? Forever?” Stassia says.
“I do, actually,” I say.
Auralie gives me a sympathetic smile.
“But you’re out now! That’s what matters!” Stassia cheers.
Stassia’s enthusiasm is contagious, and I find myself smiling softly. None of them know I wasn’t only referring to the ship, although somehow, being trapped and isolated without a purpose seems to follow me wherever I go.
We keep moving through the tunnel, following curves as they wind around and dip low, and I blindly follow the group. With no landmarks or clues as to where we are, it doesn’t matter if I try to escape right now. They’d find me lost and wandering in no time.
Traveling underground is actually very convenient.
We are moving quickly, straight through, with no barriers or winding paths.
There are no trees to cut through or bridges to cross, and I doubt the island is going to swallow us farther down when we are already here.
Once we get out of the tunnels though, I have a feeling things will go back to normal.
“Captain is being so serious lately. I wish he would knock it off,” Stassia says.
“I’m just glad he’s back. It was weird not having him around,” Auralie says.
Sig clears her throat loudly. I sneak a glance at her, but I can’t read her face.
“Back around?” I ask. “Where did he go?”
Sig sighs when Stassia turns around and stops in the middle of the tunnel. She quirks her head to the side, her eyebrows drawing together. “He was following you.”
I jerk back slightly and shake my head in disbelief. “What do you mean, he was following me?”
“You know,” Stassia says. “Up there.” She points to the roof of the tunnel. Sig’s gaze drops to the ground, and she kicks the toe of her boot into the packed dirt.
Suddenly it makes sense.
Weston saved me from the sirens in the lagoon. I couldn’t have been in there for long, or else I’d be dead. He had to have been nearby to make it in time. I was too focused on figuring out who he was and feeling guilty for keeping it from Dane to ever question that he was nearby.
The noises.
Every time I heard them, I’d attributed them to the island. It makes sense that I would hear noises as new traps came to be, or a piece of the land shifted, but it wasn’t the island. Not every time, at least.
It was Weston.
He was watching me, following me every day as I traipsed across the island, searching for the waters, but only when I was alone.
“But why?” I ask incredulously.
“Let’s keep moving,” Sig says, brushing past my question and starting down the tunnel again.
I clamp my lips shut. I was not expecting this conversation when I pictured how the shift would go tonight, and I don’t know what to think about it. Why did he follow me? Why didn’t Sig want Stassia to tell me? What else are they hiding from me?
The more time I spend with the Castaways, the more questions I have, but I can’t just ask them.
I have to find the right time to get them answered, and tonight’s excursion is all part of setting that groundwork, developing that trust. Asking too much too fast might make them suspicious and cause them to question their trust in me.
Stassia chats as we walk, filling the silence and keeping the mood light. Glancing between them, listening to Stassia talk and laugh every so often, I wonder…Is this what it is like to have friends? To just spend time together out of enjoyment, not out of any sort of obligation or duty?
Mara and I are friends, but we didn’t spend a lot of time together.
Not like this. Our days were separate, our evenings short.
But it actually seems like this group enjoys each other’s company and seems like they want me to be part of that.
I don’t know if Stassia has a manipulative bone in her body, and Auralie seems too kind for her own good.
Sig showed today that she could fight back against Weston’s orders when she didn’t agree with him.
Are they…real? Is this not part of the manipulation, the mind tricks? Or am I already in too deep and starting down the exact path of sympathy they want me on?
A roaring noise gets louder as we walk, and I realize exactly what it is.
The river.
We are walking under the river. The other side of the island shouldn’t be far now, but I’m thankful we don’t have to cross the water, especially in the dark.
“Almost there,” Sig says to me as Stassia and Auralie pull ahead of us slightly.
“Can I ask a question, Sig?” I say.
“Sure.”
“Why are there so many of us on a shift? Wouldn’t it be easier to cover more ground alone? That’s how we always look.”
She shakes her head. “We don’t go anywhere alone. It is safer in pairs.”
“But Weston was alone, when he was following me,” I counter.
“He’s the captain. He makes his own choices. Plus, he didn’t want to put any of us in danger in the daylight.”
I’m just going to outright ask what I want to know. I could tell Sig didn’t want me to find out about Weston’s stunt, but now that I know, maybe she’ll give me a reason.
“Why was he following me, Sig?”
A few beats pass before she finally responds. “I told you before I would answer whatever questions I am allowed. That’s not my answer to tell.”
I groan. “I don’t want to talk to him. I’d much rather talk to you. He’s an asshole, remember?”
She laughs. “See? I told him you’d like us when he isn’t around.”
It’s the second time she’s said it, and despite my worry that this is all part of their plot to turn me, deep down I somewhat agree with her.
It is nice having people to talk to during the day, who seem to care about what I have to say and what is going on with my situation.
It feels like a void I’ve had since I was a child is slowly filling, even more than it had back with the Voyagers.
And that terrifies me.
I have to remember, it isn’t their fault that they’ve also been manipulated. The person at fault here is Weston, and I can’t take my anger out on them.
“Everyone ready?” Stassia calls out.
The tunnel takes a sharp turn, then elevates to a set of steps carved into the dirt and rock.
Auralie climbs them first, each of us falling into line behind her.
She creeps to the top and sticks her head straight through the ground, waving us forward a moment later with her hand that is still visible.
She climbs the last steps and the rest of her body disappears through the portal.
Stassia goes next, and Sig motions me forward again, taking up the rear herself.
When I push through, I immediately know where we are.
The bridge I crossed with Mara is nearby, the tunnel letting us out between a mound of boulders near the edge of the forest. Stassia and Auralie are already looking around, assessing for any threats when Sig steps through behind me.
“Is there anything specific we are looking for?” I ask Sig.
“Our best guess is the same as the healing waters. Patterns, hiding places. The waters were marked with the Dawnlin symbol, so we look hard for that.”
I nod. “Sounds easy enough.”
Auralie and Stassia each draw their swords and start toward the marsh.
“You don’t need to be on edge, you know,” I call after them. “Dane doesn’t let any of us out at night. He says it’s not safe.”
“Not safe from who? From us?” Stassia says with a giggle.
“I guess so…” I trail off.
Were the Castaways only armed to protect themselves?
They weren’t out prowling the island looking for camp.
They don’t seem to want a run in with the Voyagers as much as we don’t want one with them.
Finding the dust is their goal, not hunting or hurting anyone.
They are only protecting themselves from an attack the other way.
My head starts to hurt as, once again, I feel like I’m questioning everything I know.
We spend a few hours searching the marsh, checking every surface of tree trunks and bushes, feeling for carvings or signs in the land like the chalice in the waterfall. We flip boulders so large it takes all four of us to get it to budge from where it is sunken into the ground.
Now I understand why no one goes out alone. This entire search is a team effort, each person working together to do their part searching for what they need to get everyone home.
I don’t know if I believe the island is hiding the dust somewhere like the waters for anyone to find. I still believe the Guardian is the only way on and off the island, and that there is a way to replenish it. I won’t voice my opinions, though, no matter how much I like these girls.
We tromp through the marshes, and I am grateful that my boots are in such good shape. The dirty water seeping in through worn spots would make the rest of this night miserable. Squelching through the mud, my eyes are on the floor when Auralie’s voice breaks through the quiet.
“Get down!” she hisses.
My head snaps up, looking for the threat. There shouldn’t be anyone out here this late at night, and my mind conjures up everything else it could be.
I hear it before I see it, a voice coming toward us in the darkness.
No, not just one voice. Two voices.
I strain to hear, confused and wondering if there is another Castaway shift out tonight when I realize what is happening.
Both voices are familiar, but one stands out to me. It’s the one I’ve been longing to hear, the one that sends shivers down my spine. The one that brought me here and asked me to stay.
A voice I’d recognize anywhere.
Dane is walking toward us.