Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59521 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 298(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
He’s trying to make me feel better, I know he is.
He makes valid points, but the thought that we might never be found is crippling.
“We have people looking for us,” Ace goes on.
“How do you know?” I yell, my voice high and shrill. “My father wanted to give me away, Ace. So, what makes you think he’s going to fucking look for me?”
“Maybe your father felt that way, but those other girls, their families didn’t...”
That hurts, like a punch to the chest.
“We have to look at the positive. That boat, we could use it. We could fix it up and get the fuck off this island, do you see that?”
I blink the tears away, staring at him. “We can?”
“That is a big boat, one sturdy enough to get us safely through the ocean. If we can fix it up using the lifeboat, and whatever else we can find on this island, we might be able to leave. It could take a while, but it’s hope, Grace, and it’s all we have.”
I nod, swiping away more tears.
“You gotta get it together.”
He’s right, I do.
“What about him?” I whisper, jerking my head towards the boat. “What...”
“Kellen, Zeke and I will deal with that. Let’s just get back and let them know what we found.”
I nod quickly.
“Hey,” Ace says again, taking my face in his hands. “You got this, Gracie. You know you do. We will figure this out. You have to pull it together.”
I take a deep, shaky breath. “Let’s go.”
“Atta girl.”
He helps me to my feet, and we begin our walk back to camp.
We make it back to camp in record time, branches clawing at my shins and raindrops flicking off the leaves as we push through the tangled paths. I almost run, wanting to be as far from the dead man as possible, outpace the memory of his twisted body and the sunken darkness where his eyes once were. Ace lets me lead, but keeps close, his hand sometimes on my back like a reminder that he is there, always.
We reach and everyone is there. Zeke and Rachel are building the fire back up, Kellen drags large logs out of the way, Aggie is hanging blankets up to dry and Tatiana is perched on a rock close by, trying to sew something together out of palm fronds. They all look up as we approach, and the moment they see our faces, concern washes over theirs.
“What happened?” Kellen asks, dropping the log he was dragging. “Look like you seen a fuckin’ ghost.”
“I mean, we kind of did,” I murmur.
He looks confused.
“We found a boat,” Ace tells him.
Even Rachel perks up at that. “You did?”
“Is that a good or bad thing?” Zeke questions, crossing his arms.
“It’s a good thing,” Ace continues, voice so calm you’d think this was just a routine report. “It’s been there a while, it’s in rough shape but it looks solid and I think we could do something with it to get off this island.”
Zeke grins, and it transforms his entire face. “Fuck yeah.”
“There’s a catch.” My voice comes out rough.
Aggie, who has now joined us, frowns. “A catch?”
“There is...well...ah, there is a body stuck under there,” I tell her.
Her mouth drops open and Rachel gasps.
“Well, someone had a really bad day,” Adrian mutters, crossing his arms. “Man or woman? Decaying? To what degree? Are we talking murder, or mother nature?”
“Adrian, do you ever think before opening your mouth?” Aggie shakes her head.
“Fuck you,” he mouths to her, literally mouths it.
Not a single word.
Tatiana wheezes.
“So there’s a fuckin’ body in there?” Kellen asks, eyes widening.
“Yeah, a man by the looks, and it has been there a while,” Ace informs them for me. “But, we just gotta focus on the boat because it could save us.”
A long silence holds us all, until Kellen asks, “What do we do about the dead dude?”
Aggie smothers a giggle, and we all try to ignore just how cold yet hilarious Kellen can be.
“He could hold vital clues and give us answers on the fact that we might not be alone on this island,” Adrian whispers, and his eyes dart from left to right.
Fuck me, he is too much sometimes.
I bite my lip so I don’t laugh.
Ace glances at me, then back to the group. “We need to get rid of it. Because we’ll need to get inside the boat if we want to move it. Zeke, Kellen, you help me with the body issue. Girls, you start packing up camp. We need to move to the other side, it is far better cover, and you can see a lot more.”
“Plus, we need to be close to that boat,” Rachel says, a sudden flash of life on her face.
We get moving.
The guys leave to remove the body, refusing to take Adrian who is more than fascinated with the whole situation. Instead, they send him on a hunt to find them some items they can turn the boat with. They can probably do it with sheer strength, but they are just wanting him to go away. Us four girls start hauling things on our shoulders so we can get moving, too.