Chapter 16 – Emily

The rays of the bright morning sun shine across my face and jolt me from my sleep. Thank God the rain finally stopped. I yawn and stretch my arms over my head. “Ouch.” My neck is stiff, and my back is sore. Slowly, I stand and stretch a bit more, then I glance around. “Aiden?” His spot next to me is empty and so is the ground around our chair. “Aiden?” I spin around and look for him.

My gaze darts back and forth across the camp. Where is everyone? How come no one is still sleeping? Did they leave without me? There’s no way Aiden would leave without me, right? Oh, God. Please tell me I’m right.

Wait. I pinch my arm to make sure I’m not dreaming again. “Ow.” I rub my arm and look around again, panic clutching my chest. Then I remember that a group of us are supposed to head out at sunrise to hike the island. I tilt my head up. The sun is high in the sky. My stomach rolls. Did I oversleep and miss them leaving? Why didn’t anyone wake me?

“Emily. I was just coming to see if you were awake yet.” Aiden jogs out of the tree line, a smile on his face. How can he smile after what happened last night? But I can’t deny I’m happy to see him. If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve been awake all night, unable to fall asleep again.

“I thought everyone left me.” I phrase it as a joke, but deep down, it’s not. I stare at his handsome face, and my cheeks flush at the memory of his much too short kiss last night. Will he try again? I want him to.

“Most of the group is meeting with Jason. I was with Tom and the others. He thinks one of the survivors set the plane on fire last night.”

“What?” I shout then lower my voice. “Why would anyone do that?”

Aiden shrugs.

I cup my hand over my mouth and shake my head. “You don’t believe that, do you?”

“I don’t know.”

“So, what’s going on now? Are we still hiking the island?” I fold the blanket I slept with—although I don’t know why when it’s still damp—and set it neatly on my chair.

Aiden reaches around me to grab the blanket, and he shoves it into one of the backpacks we salvaged. “You’re going to want to bring this with you. Tom says to pack as much as we can carry.”

I nod. “Okay,” I say, drawing out the word. “Why? Aren’t we coming back?”

“I think so, but it might not be for a couple of days.”

Dread coils in my chest. “A couple of days?”

He nods. “It’ll be fine. I promise I won’t leave your side, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good.” He smiles. “Then let’s get packed. Tom wants us to hear what Jason has to say before we head out.”

I shove clothes, socks, an extra pair of shoes, and my hairbrush into my bag. “What about food and water?”

“Tom’s got that all packed and ready to go. We’ll take turns carrying the extra bags.”

Wow. Tom’s thought of everything. No wonder he’s such a strong leader.

I sling the backpack over my shoulder. “Okay, I think I’m ready.”

“Let’s go then.”

“Aiden, wait. Before we go.” I clear my throat and step up to him. “Thank you for last night. For waking me up and listening to me and telling me your story.” I take his hand and give a gentle squeeze. “And for sitting with me all night.” I look away, embarrassed.

He turns my face back to his and smiles warmly. “You don’t have to thank me for that. In fact, if I’m being honest, I really liked having you fall asleep in my arms.”

My face heats, and I want to look away again, but I can’t. His gaze holds me mesmerized. “I liked that, too,” I whisper.

With a wink, he laces his fingers through mine and leads the way down the beach to where Jason stands in the center of the survivors. We come to a stop at the back of the group.

“I was sure rescue would arrive last night, but alas, it did not. Which can only mean one thing. God isn’t ready for us to go home yet,” Jason says.

I roll my eyes. God has nothing to do with this. If He did, we wouldn’t be here in the first place. Why can’t anyone but me see that? And I really wish Jason would stop preaching and start focusing on the situation at hand. We need plans and action. Not speculation and faith.

“I know we’re all still hoping for rescue, and we should. We need to take that hope we all have and harness it. Make it something tangible you can hold onto because right now, that’s all we have. Hope. And faith.” He pauses to look out at us.

“Hope and faith isn’t going to get us off this island,” one of the twins shouts.

My jaw drops. Finally, someone says what I’ve been thinking. I just can’t believe it’s one of them who had the guts to do so.

Jason scowls, then quickly forces a smile. “Well, lucky for us, we do have a plan.” He angles his body toward Tom. “I assume you’re still making this ridiculous hike across the island.”

Whoa. Why does Jason suddenly seem so combative toward Tom? Did something happen between the two of them?

“Ridiculous hike?” Tom laughs bitterly. “It’s the only logical plan we have. And yes, we’re leaving as soon as you’re done talking.”

Jason ignores Tom’s jab and keeps speaking. “We were able to collect quite a bit of food and water, but even if we ration like we did last night, we only have enough for a few days. Our situation is becoming more dire by the hour.”

“All the more reason to explore and find food,” Tom mumbles.

I cover my laugh with a cough, and Aiden nudges me, smiling.

“But,” Jason says. “Hope is not lost.” He holds up his hand, which is closed into a fist. “One of the groups found seeds yesterday. And seeds mean we can grow our own food.”

“Growing food can take weeks or months. What will we do in the meantime?” Marjorie asks.

He makes it sound like we’re going to be here forever, that we should create a whole life here. Planting food. Building shelters. What a joke.

“We search the island,” Tom says. Several people in the group nod with agreement. “Are you about done? We’re wasting daylight.” He crosses his arms over his chest.

I hold my breath and wait for Jason to say something else that will cause a disagreement. But he doesn’t. Still, the tension between those two makes me uneasy. If they continue to butt heads like this, there will be chaos. And I have no idea how any of us will survive that.

The group disperses. Aiden and I join Tom and the others. Tom’s face is red, and the muscle in his jaw ticks. He drags his hand through his hair and blows out a breath. I don’t blame him for being angry. There’s no reason for how Jason spoke to him just now.

“Okay, all the supplies are at the hollowed log Emily mentioned. We each have our own packs, and then there are four extras filled with water and food. Hopefully, we’ll find a source of fresh water as we’re hiking, but we’ve packed for the worst case scenario,” Tom says in a hushed tone.

“Excuse me.” Jason walks over with an air of authority. “May I have a moment of your time?”

“Make it quick,” Tom snaps.

I take a step back, putting myself closer to Aiden. He reaches down and takes my hand. The feel of his fingers curling around mine calms me, and my heart doesn’t race as fast as it did a moment ago. I give his hand a squeeze and smile. He returns the gesture.

“I really wish you wouldn’t take off. There’s not many of us to begin with, and losing eight of you for God knows how long will only hinder us. Especially when four of our strongest men are leaving.” Jason’s gaze is pleading as he looks at each of the guys in turn.

Aiden shifts his weight and moves even closer. His body heat wraps around me like a safety blanket, and I sigh.

“Why are you so dead set on making us stay here?” a guy name Bob speaks up before Tom can. “Don’t you want to find food and water and help?”

“Of course I do.” Jason actually sounds offended. “But your odds of finding trouble are much greater than finding help.”

I narrow my eyes. “How do you know that?”

He averts his gaze. “I don’t know anything for certain, but you’re marching into the unknown. Wild animals live in the jungle. How will you defend yourselves?”

“I’m sure we can manage,” Aiden says.

“I’m an air marshall,” Tom says. “I’m armed. We’ll be fine.”

My blood runs cold at Tom’s words. I’ve never been a fan of guns, and now I’m planning to hike across an island with an armed man I barely know? What am I thinking?

“I’ve been praying about this ever since the idea came up, and I don’t have a good feeling,” Jason says with a shake of his head. “Won’t you please reconsider?”

His pleas wiggle into my mind, and for half a second, I consider doing exactly as he asks. But one look at our “camp” and the way everyone is shuffling around, defeated and weary, I know I have to do this. I want to do this.

“We don’t have a choice.” Tom pushes through the group and stands face-to-face with Jason. “If we don’t do this, if we don’t find more food, people are going to starve.”

Tom’s words strike icy fear in my veins. I glance helplessly at Aiden, hoping he can say something to make this better, but I know he can’t, and it’s unfair to put that pressure on him.

Jason takes a step back, and his eyes widen with surprise. But then, slowly, he lowers his head with a subtle nod. “I’ll pray for all of you.” And then he walks away.

Tom stares after Jason for a moment before turning back to us. “Okay, are we ready?” He turns and marches toward the jungle, and we follow.

I take Aiden’s hand and tug him to the back of the group. “That was… weird,” I whisper and scrunch up my face.

“No kidding. What’s up with Jason today?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Neither do I.”

We fall silent, and I stare at Tom’s back. I have a feeling he’s not as innocent as he wants everyone to believe, either. But what’s his secret? I shake my head… Our current conditions are not ideal, and everyone is stressed to the max. I’m just being paranoid. Tom isn’t harboring some deep, dark secret. He’s fine. Everything is fine.

The silence stretches. What’s left to discuss? Until we have more information about where we are, making guesses and assumptions is a waste of time. And with the water supply running low, I’m not going to talk unless I absolutely have to.

The sun continues to rise, and with it, so does the temperature. Sweat beads on my brow, and my steps become heavier as a wave of homesickness hits me. I miss the things I always took for granted—food and water for starters. But I also miss my bed, my pillow, the stuffed penguin Matt gave me on our first date, air conditioning, my blow dryer… The ability to shower and wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner. I groan.

Most of all, I miss my parents and my brother. My chest constricts, and my breath catches. If I had known this was going to happen, I would’ve been nicer to them before I left. I take a deep breath and momentarily close my eyes—long enough to trip on a large rock. I stumble forward and put my hands out to catch myself. Instead, Aiden’s arms wrap around me, and he catches me before I face plant on the ground.

“You okay?” He releases me but doesn’t pull his hands away completely, like he’s waiting to make sure I won’t topple over.

“Yeah, thanks. I wasn’t paying attention.” I laugh nervously.

“You should. The trees are getting thicker.” He nods ahead of us to indicate the massive trees and dense foliage.

Embarrassment heats my face. “I will.” I wipe my sweaty palms on my hips and move forward, each step maximizing the heartache seizing my chest.