Jansen’s POV
“Hurry, or do you want to spend the night on the creepy beach?” Andy, the tattooed man, yelled.
“Hey, can’t you be gentler with the kids?” Kelly said, hitting Andy’s shoulder.
“I can’t. They’re all the same to me,” Andy retorted, sneering at Kelly.
“Let’s walk now before it gets dark or it’ll be hard to find the house,” Kelly invited us.
Kelly was right. The beach looked creepy at night. We had to hurry because the wind was getting colder.
“Jessie, hold my hand no matter what. Button up your sweatshirt and hug this pillow so you stay warm,” I said. Jessie nodded.
“Let’s walk. Ah, you better walk in front of us so we know the direction,” I pleaded.
“Watch out! Don’t escape!” Andy yelled at us. How could we escape on this deserted island? After all, we didn’t know how to navigate the boat and the direction of Valdirra. The bottom line was that we did not know where this desert island was.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m walking behind them,” Tia, the woman disguised as Vanessa, said.
“Monitor them,” Andy replied.
We hurriedly walked into the forest. The forest was filled with tall, thick-leafed trees that blocked the sunlight from entering, making it dark and creepy. Not that the sunlight couldn’t get in at all, just a little light shining into the forest.
Andy walked in front of us carrying a large flashlight. Jessie and I walked behind Andy while Kelly and Tia walked behind us.
The ground we walked on was wet, soiling our shoes and sometimes the thorns of plants would hit our arms and make them cut and bleed. But that wasn’t the scary part. Much creepier were the strange sounds that came from the forest. And if it was an animal, I would have recognized the sound because I’ve been an animal lover since I was a kid. But, I never knew that sound.
It was creepy and not a good idea if we forced our way into the forest. But spending the night on the shoreline wasn’t a good idea either. We couldn’t do anything about it. Kelly had said that the tide would rise and the water would flood the island. I didn’t know what that means, but did it reach the middle of the forest or stop at the front of the forest? I would find out in a moment.
Fifteen minutes passed, and we were still going into the forest. The forest was getting darker and colder. Creepy! Maybe only that one word can describe the situation.
“Uncle, is it still far?” I asked.
“I don’t know either. Shut up and keep following,” he replied unfriendly. I heard Kelly and Tia laughing from behind.
I was silent for a moment as I took in our surroundings. Everything we saw that night looked the same. So, how were we going to get our bearings? It looked like we might get lost in the forest tonight.
After circling for a while in the forest, we finally saw a light in the distance.
“Ah, there’s a light up ahead. Maybe that’s the place Mr. Zac was referring to,” Andy yelled.
“Finally, I want to take a bath and sleep,” Tia said.
“Hmm, Mr. Zac is on his way here. So, we better hurry,” Kelly said.
“Kelly’s right. Let’s hurry by walking even faster,” Tia said.
A few minutes later, we arrived at the gate of a house that was quite magnificent, even though it was in the middle of the forest. This was strange. This all seemed strange to me. Maybe this house was a safe house for a group of criminals or something. Hopefully, we’ll be fine while we try to find a way out of here.
“Let’s go in,” Andy said. He opened the gate, and we walked slowly onto the porch.
“I honestly don’t like the atmosphere here. It’s better if we go inside and leave tomorrow morning,” Tia said.
“Can we come with you?” I asked, pretending.
“You’re playing dumb, right? Hurry and get in,” Tia replied.
The strange thing was that when the door opened, we found the inside of the house clean and fully furnished. In fact, from behind the door, we could see smoke from the kitchen. Someone was in the kitchen. The smell of cooking wafted out, trying to tease our noses until our stomachs rumbled.
“Let’s go inside,” Kelly yelled, pushing Jessie’s body so hard that Jessie almost fell.
“Ms., please don’t hurt my sister,” I pleaded as I held Jessie’s body to keep her from falling.
“Don’t talk too much. Sit nicely over there,” she called out, pointing to a sofa in the living room. I took Jessie’s hand and invited her to sit down.
Once we were seated, we deposited our bags and all our gear on the floor. They went into the kitchen and were heard talking and joking with someone. Then we heard plates being set on the dining table.
“Jansen, I’m hungry and tired,” Jessie said.
“Hang in there. I think we’ll eat in a while,” I replied.
Sure enough, they called us to eat. We walked to the dining table and sat down. Then, the three of them sat beside us and soon a young woman came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of drinks. She shared a glass of hot tea with all of us, and then she sat down with us at the table.
After eating, Kelly took us upstairs. She showed us a room and asked us to take a shower and sleep. After that, she closed the door. After taking a shower and lying down on the bed, I kept thinking about how to tell Mom and Dad about our whereabouts. If there was that woman in this house, could there be a village around here? There must be. I hope there’s a way out for us.
Piper’s POV
The rain poured down heavily on the hospital windows. The strong wind that hit the windows made quite horrible noises. This simple thing made me think of Jansen. When he was little, he was afraid of the sound of thunder, so he always asked me or Mom to hold him until the thunder finished sounding or the rain subsided.
Now I didn’t know where they were and what they were doing. Were they doing well? Have they eaten?
It’s getting colder. I was afraid they were freezing and starving. God, where exactly are they? Please bring them back to me.
In the night’s silence accompanied by Jay, who had fallen asleep earlier, I pondered while staring at the ceiling. Could this be Megan’s doing? But accusing her without evidence would only make things difficult for me and Jay. Hopefully, the police and Jay’s men would find the twins soon.
Jansen, Jessie, Mom misses you. I’ll catch up with you in my dreams.