Island Rush (Sample)

Chapter 11

I was back home, seeing the scene that my dad and the officer were trying to rush me away from. Chatter filled my living room as well as men and women in uniform. My eyes racing around me couldn't ignore the plastic that covered every inch of the room. Then my shaky gaze found the one person that meant the world to me.

My mother's white gown was covered in her own red and thick blood; it made my mind spin. Spin like it never did before. Spin out of control when I saw that her beautiful blue eyes were open and yet lifeless. I felt my heart literally want to fail. I groaned as if I was just punched in the gut. The next thing I knew, she disappeared from my sight. The scene around me faded away with a new one taking over.

I was in the bathroom, staring down at myself on the floor with my dad. I was such a mess and had no way to support myself, physically or emotionally. Dad took all my weight as I sobbed my heart out against him. He held me and, almost soothingly, whispered in my ear, "Don't worry now. We will get him out."

Following that, I lifted my red and tear stained face. My eyes were wide, and my face was full of disbelief. "W-What? You want him free?"

His lips parted with a laugh, and I saw that not one sign of sadness ran from his eyes. "Yes. He did the right thing and what he had to do. We both did."

***

I was relieved when that picture also faded like the last. However, this was a little different. Less vague and more relieving. I was up.

I woke from that terrible dream and took in a hard gasp. Jesus, just a dream — and the same one. I sighed in annoyance at that realization. I had hoped that I was done dreaming about that. I had hoped that experiencing another tragedy like a freaking plane crash would take that dream's place. I guess that wasn't the case.

When my sight cleared, so were my other senses. I saw the man, and I felt him shaking me too. I took him in with wide eyes and could see him well enough through the darkness. When he saw my eyes open, he stopped shaking me. "Are you alright?" he asked, clearly worried.

I smiled slightly. I loved that about him. He was always so curious about me, but my feelings and well-being came first. I just nodded. "Just a bad dream. Sorry, I woke you."

"Woke me? You were doing more than just interrupting my sleep. Hearing you whimper and gasp like that... it scared me," he reluctantly admitted. His honest eyes burned down to mine, and a small flicker of fire brightened his face.

I wasn't sure what to say. "I... uh, well, like I said, it was just a bad dream. We should get some sleep." I turned away before my eyes and face could betray me once more. I laid back down and tried my hardest to fall back asleep, all the while praying he did the same without interrogating me. I was lucky to have drifted off almost instantly.

Even with how fast I went back to sleep, that didn't change the fact that our plan to get up early failed. Because unfortunately, I woke up first and it wasn't at dawn. I groaned at the brightly lit sky. I saw Mr. Rush shift in his sleep a few feet away. He opened his reluctant eyes the moment I sat up to look around me. With how much there was to take in, the only thing my eyes saw were dry blades of grass.

He looked around as well, noticing the same thing when he lifted his head. He was lying on his stomach, his arms stretched before him. Head falling in defeat and propped by his outstretched arms, he released an aggravated groan. His voice was muffled in his arms. "Well, shit."

I was debating that moment at whether I should apologize for the dream causing this. It was probably my fault that this happened. It kept him awake, and I had been restless. I just didn't want to bring it up only to have him question me. Going back and forth on it didn't last when he eventually sat up. Brown eyes meeting mine, he spoke. "Well, all we can do now is work on the spear, which should be easy," he mumbled with sarcasm. He stood and extended his hand, helping me to my feet.