Chapter 22 – Emily

“Fire!”

My eyes snap open, and I bolt upright out of the bed. I blink, trying to adjust to the dark, and that’s when I see Aiden rush into the room.

“Emily! Get up. C’mon, we’ve got to go!” He’s waving his arms frantically.

I fling the covers off and shove my feet into my shoes. “What’s going on?”

“The research lab is on fire.” He grabs my bag and slings it over his shoulder. He’s already got his pack on, too.

“What?” I sniff the air. “I don’t smell any smoke.”

“This building isn’t on fire. Not yet anyway. But it’s spreading fast. Now come on. We need to get out of here and into the jungle before someone sees us.”

My heart races as I run out of the building behind Aiden. Marjorie is already outside, acting as a lookout. She ushers us away from the building. Tom takes the lead, gun in hand. The research lab building is engulfed in flames, lighting up the sky better than the sun. The heat is like a moving wall, getting closer and closer. This has to be some sort of nightmare. How did it catch on fire? The stink of gasoline hangs in the air. My eyes widen. Someone started the fire!

“Emily!” Aiden grabs my hand and drags me away from the scene.

The four of us make a mad dash toward the trees. I glance around furiously, praying I don’t see anyone lurking. But someone is out here. The question is where are they? And why are they attacking us?

Tom stops abruptly, and I run into him hard enough to cause me to fall back. Aiden catches me. Once I’m steady, I move around Tom, but he holds out his arm, stopping me. A few feet in front of him stands a woman. She’s tall and thin with long, stringy brown hair. Her clothes are worn and tattered, but her eyes are sharp and focused. She’s holding a bow with an arrow pointed at Tom’s head.

I gasp.

“Put the gun down,” she instructs.

Slowly, Tom lowers his gun to the ground and then puts his hands up in a show of surrender. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Why is he letting go of the only weapon we have? Why doesn’t he just shoot her so we can get away from here?

“Who are you?” she asks.

“I’m a U.S. Air Marshal,” Tom says calmly. “We’re a group of plane crash survivors. We’ve been scouring the island for help and supplies.”

Aiden moves to stand by my side, and she whips the bow in his direction. He puts his hands up immediately to show he’s not a threat.

“A plane crash?” She diverts her attention back to Tom.

“Yes. Sun Dun flight three-seven-two-two. We’ve been here for almost four days now, and we were hoping to find someone who can help us or have a working phone or something,” Tom says.

All this “let’s get to know each other” is getting on my last nerve. We’re in a dire situation here, and no one seems to care. “Did you kill Larry?”

“Emily!” Tom snaps without removing his gaze from the woman.

“Who?” She gives me a dirty look.

Okay, so apparently she isn’t a killer. “Are you one of them?” Interrogating her while she’s holding a bow and arrow isn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

“One of who?”

“One of the people chasing us and killing us.”

“I used to be.” She lowers the bow and arrow. I let out a sigh of relief. “If you guys want to live, going into the jungle isn’t the answer.”

Tom reaches for the gun and tucks it into the back of his jeans. “Those buildings are going up in flames fast. They’re no longer safe, either.”

“Follow me.” She shoves by Tom and marches back toward the building we just vacated. Tom turns to follow her.

“You can’t be serious,” I say, clutching Tom’s elbow. “You’re going to trust her?”

“If she wanted to kill us, we’d be dead.” He jerks his arm from my grasp. “Look.” He lowers his voice so it’s more of a hiss. “I don’t want to trust her, but what other choice do we have? We either take our chances in the jungle, or we take our chances with her.”

“What if this is a trap?” I say, panic lacing my words. “What if she’s leading us back there so she can kill us?”

“Emily.” Tom puts his hands on my shoulders and bends his knees slightly so he’s eye level with me. “If she wanted to kill us, she wouldn’t have shown herself. She would’ve stayed hidden and picked us off one by one.”

My bottom lip trembles. I have the urge to grab Aiden’s hand and run as far and as fast as we can, away from Tom and Marjorie and this crazy strange woman.

“I’m not asking you to trust her,” Tom says, holding my gaze. “I’m asking you to trust me.”

“He’s right,” Aiden says. “We have no choice but to trust her.”

I throw my hands up in the air in frustration. “This is ridiculous,” I mutter as I reluctantly follow them.

The woman enters the building and heads for the kitchen. She shoves the fridge to the side and opens the door it was blocking. It’s pitch black inside, and I keep my hand on the wall so I don’t fall or lose my bearings. She leads us down a small flight of stairs and then heaves open a metal door built into the ground. A beam of light shines out.

Tom narrows his eyes. “What is this place?”

“A bunker. It was installed about sixty years ago. Let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Sixty years? How long have you been here?” I ask, not hiding the shock and panic in my voice.

“I’ll answer all your questions as soon as we’re inside.”

Marjorie climbs down first, then me, Aiden, Tom, and finally the woman. She slams the door and a massive lock clicks in place, making me jump. I hope this woman is one of the good guys because if not, we just locked ourselves in our graves. My hands tremble, and I flex my fingers.

Without a word, she walks down a long corridor, and we fall in line behind her. After a few feet, we emerge into an open space that’s furnished better than the building. In one corner is what looks like a well-stocked science lab. She sets down her bow and arrow and removes her jacket.

“Are you four the only survivors?” she asks.

“No. There are almost twenty more back near the beach where the wreckage is.” Tom stands in the same spot as if he’s afraid to make any sudden movements. “Are you going to give us your name?”

She steps up to Tom and extends her hand. “Doctor Brenda Hill.”

Tom shakes her hand. “I’m Tom Davis. This is Marjorie, Aiden, and Emily.”

“What is this place?” Marjorie asks. “And who are the other people out there killing us and setting the building on fire?”

“They’re my former colleagues.” Brenda bites her lip. “We came here almost thirty years ago as part of a massive government project.”

“Okay, I’m confused. That doesn’t explain why they’re trying to kill us,” Aiden says.

“What kind of project?” I ask. My gut clenches, and the contents of my stomach twist, causing me to have to fight the urge to throw up. There’s nothing right about this island, and now I’m sure that’s because of whatever these scientists are doing here. My mind races with all sorts of crazy scenarios about genetic testing and cloning.

“Biological and nuclear weapons testing,” she says bluntly.

“I knew it,” Tom says. His face is pale, and his eyes are wide. “We’re on Amchitka, aren’t we?”

“What?” Aiden shouts, his gaze landing on Tom. “That’s been your suspicion this whole time? Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“What’s Amchitka?” Marjorie asks, seemingly as confused as I am.

“An island that the US government used for nuclear testing after World War Two. They shut down all testing in 1994, and the island is restricted to government officials only.” Aiden recites the facts as if he just read them moments ago. Impressive.

“Oh, no.” I cup my hand over my mouth and turn away.

Aiden puts his arm around my shoulders and guides me toward the couch. I sit and hang my head between my legs, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. When the nausea passes, I lift my head. Aiden’s staring at me with concern.

“Feel better now?” he asks.

“A little.” My gaze darts back to Tom, who’s in deep conversation with Brenda. I stare at them for a moment before turning to Aiden. “I want to go home.”

He pulls me into a hug, and I rest my head on his chest. “So do I,” he says, stroking my hair. “Maybe this woman is the answer we’ve been hoping for. She’s got to have some way to communicate with the outside world.”

“Then why hasn’t she used it to get out of here?”

He sighs. “I don’t know.”

Maybe this woman is crazy, and she doesn’t want to get off this island. Maybe she likes it here for some strange reason. Or maybe she’s lying to us and plans to kill us. I swallow hard and wipe a sheen of sweat from the back of my neck.

Tom and Marjorie approach us. “Brenda says we can stay here until the fire dies out.”

“How generous,” I mumble. I don’t like this woman one bit. “Did she give you any real answers or explanations?”

“A few.” Tom glances over his shoulder at Brenda, who is tinkering at her lab. “As far as I can gather, a group of scientists were sent here to develop and test biological and nuclear weapons, but the solitude got to some of them, so they left and new people were sent in to replace them.”

“Still doesn’t explain why those other people want us dead,” I say. Why doesn’t anyone else feel like this is a big deal?

“Brenda seems to think the scientists who wanted to go never made it. She thinks that’s who those people are.” Tom keeps his voice low.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Aiden says, narrowing his eyes.

“I agree.” Tom folds his arms over his chest. “I don’t like this.”

Finally, he’s thinking rationally and making sense. “So, what do we do now?” I wish he would’ve realized this before we followed her down here.

“We wait,” he says.

“Wait for what?” Marjorie looks just as dumbfounded as I feel.

“For her to fall asleep. Then we’re out of here and headed back to the beach.”

I sigh with frustration. “Why’d we even follow her here in the first place then?”

“She had an arrow pointed at my face. I needed to diffuse the situation and make sure no one else died.” His words are a harsh whisper, his gaze angry to match.

This needs to stop. Now. I stand and march over to Brenda. “Tell me what is going on. You said those other people are your colleagues. Why are they trying to kill us? Why is there a large hole of crap in the middle of the jungle? What kind of weapons are you testing here?” I fire question after question at her, not really giving her a chance to respond. “Why are you still here? You have to have some kind of phone or radio or computer that we can use to call home for help, don’t you?”

“Emily, easy.” Aiden places his hand on my shoulder, but I’m too wound up to calm down.

“No.” I twist away from his touch. “I need to know what’s going on. We all do.” I turn to glare at Tom and Marjorie. “And she’s the only one who has any answers.” I point at Brenda.

“I already told your friend all I know.” Brenda juts her chin toward Tom.

“You’re lying, and you’re hiding something.” My voice is much louder than necessary, but my anger is rising by the second, and I’m ready to explode.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Aiden grips my shoulders firmly and forces me to move away from Brenda. He takes me into the kitchen area, which is partially secluded from the living area. “I know you’re scared, so am I, but provoking this woman isn’t the answer.”

I bite down on my bottom lip to stop the impending tears. “How can everyone be so calm? Why isn’t anyone demanding answers?”

“Tom is a trained professional. Let him handle this. He wants to live and get off this island just as badly as the rest of us. He won’t do anything to jeopardize that.” Aiden gently takes my chin and turns my head to face him. “I promise you. We will get out of this. Alive.”

I nod, but I don’t believe him. He can’t promise something he has no control over, and as long as we’re trapped in this bunker with that woman, I don’t feel safe. I don’t care what assurances Aiden or Tom or anyone else gives me.

I return to the couch, and that’s where I stay. I keep my gaze trained on Brenda, who moves about the bunker like all of this is perfectly natural. Marjorie and Aiden are in the kitchen with her. I cross my arms and lean back. This entire thing is so crazy.

“Holding up?” Tom asks as he sits next to me.

“Barely.”

He gives me a sympathetic nod. “Nothing about this situation is ideal, but if we stick together, we’ll be fine.”

I adjust and tuck my legs under me. “Is this island really a nuclear testing site?”

“Yes, but it hasn’t been active in well over twenty years.”

“But…” I swallow hard, unable to wrap my mind around what I’m about to ask. “Isn’t there still radiation in the air? Have we all been exposed?”

“I don’t know.” He sighs. “And Brenda isn’t exactly forthcoming with answers, but after she falls asleep, I’m going to have a look around.” He subtly nods toward the science lab area and the file cabinet in the corner. “One way or another, I’ll get the information we need.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange she has a lab set up down here when there was a whole research lab up there?” I point up to indicate the building that’s now probably nothing more than a pile of ash.

“I do,” he confirms. “Which is why I want to look around before we leave.”

He’s so calm and collected, unlike the curt, take-charge, bossy guy he’d been up to this point. Maybe there’s more to him than I thought. Maybe he’s not so mean or scary after all. I lick my lips. “You said I remind you of your daughter. What’s her name?” I don’t know why I choose to ask him that, but if I’m going to literally trust him with my life, I want to know more about him.

“Her name was Lucy.” He smiles wistfully.

“Was?” My voice is barely above a whisper.

“She died when she was fifteen.”

“Oh.” I frown. “I’m so sorry, Tom.”

“She was on the plane that crashed into the Twin Towers on nine-eleven.” He rests his arms on his knees and hangs his head. “It was her first time flying, and she was scared to death.” He looks up at me, and his eyes are red and wet with unshed tears. “I promised her flying was the safest form of travel and that she’d be fine.” He laughs bitterly.

“There was no way you could’ve known,” I say. My heart breaks for him. No wonder he’s so angry all the time. Losing a child is the worst possible thing any parent can go through.

“No.” He clasps his hands together as if in prayer. “But I was supposed to be on that plane with her, and instead, I’d volunteered to work an international flight to Paris. I failed her.”

Without thinking, I scoot closer and drape my arm across his back, giving him an awkward hug as if he were my father.

“I swore I would never fail anyone ever again.” He straightens, and my arm falls away. “And I’m not about to break that promise. I’ll get us out of here, Emily. You have my word.” And then he stands and joins everyone in the kitchen.

Right then, I vow not to give Tom any more trouble. I’ll do as he says and trust him.