Man Hunt

Chapter Twenty Four - The Grand Finale

I glance back at the island, it is in darkness. I can vaguely locate where the beach is thanks to a small amount of light – that must be escaping from the door that lead from our starting position to the beach. I wonder where the other team would have ended up if they had won. Is there a second beach on the other side of the island? Is there a second hallway lined with photographs and newspaper clippings about the candidates on the other team?

‘’How long do you think we are from land?’’ I ask, yawning whilst stretching. The lack of sleep is finally catching up with me.

‘’No idea, it could be hours though, you should try sleep,’’ he suggests.

***

Although initially the thought of sleeping whilst in the sitting position seemed impossible, I find my eyelids getting heavier and as they shut, I slip into an expected nightmare-infested slumber.

My sleeps are very rarely peaceful. They are haunted by nightmares; a slew of both images and memories, all of which I have so desperately tried to suppress in the back of my mind. All of which that refuse to let me forget. All of which that cause me such stress.

This time, it is a flashback. It seems to have picked up where my last one left off. I am plunging in and out of consciousness. Whatever was injected into me is trying to put me to sleep, however my body fights it desperately.

In a period of consciousness, I am being transported from the building on a stretcher to a vehicle. I cannot look to the left or right, only up. The ground is rough, the gurney I am on bounces slightly – we are moving on uneven terrain. The night sky above is in darkness, thick clouds hide the moon’s light. I try glancing about, looking for anything that may indicate where I am. It seems I have some control here.

There are hushed voices coming from somewhere close by, however I cannot hear anything that the voices are saying.

Before I have the chance to see anything of actual use to me, the night sky is replaced with the roof of some type of vehicle. As the gurney I am on is rolled into the van, I feel my eyelids heavy and I slip back out of consciousness within my dream.

When I open my eyes again, the roof of the vehicle has again been replaced by the night sky – again too cloudy to see any stars. The ground is smooth now, the wheels glide easily along.

‘’Just load them up onto the planes, we’ll take it from there,’’ instructs an unfamiliar voice from somewhere close to me.

‘’Long flight?’’ asks a female voice – it’s the woman from earlier.

‘’Just a couple of hours, we’ll be flying to the mainland close to the island and then taking a boat there.’’

‘’Be careful not to be caught,’’ she warns.

‘’Don’t worry, we always are. We’ll be moving at night.’’

‘’Good,’’ she snaps impatiently and the sounds of her footsteps slowly ebbs away.

I hear the man mutter something unflattering under his breath about the woman, and then I fall out of consciousness once more.

When my eyes open again, I am staring up at the night sky once more. This time however, the skies are clear of clouds and a large moon shines brightly, with stars speckling the blackness stretching out infinitely above me. It is beautiful.

I am being wheeled on very rough terrain – grass possibly – and the gurney I am on bounces, tossing me up and down in my restraints. I then pass through an entrance to a building and I immediately recognise it as the building I awoke in. I am wheeled to where I know my room will be and brought inside.