Truly Marooned

8. The Threat

  She finishes her speech and the crowd are quiet. Quietly, she steps down and backs into a corner where Ethan stands. He takes her into his arms and kisses the edge of her cheek in front of her ears.

  Jack swallows and stands on a wooden box to look over the crowd. "If any of you dare touch Ethan; you will be punished! We will find a way to settle this!" There is silence. "That is an order!" Jack nods his head dismissing the crowd.

  When he steps down, he turns towards Tina with a glare. "Damn it, Tina! That blue liquid thing was a secret! We don't want them all depending on us!"

  "I'm sorry, how else was I supposed to convince them?" Tina responds.

  Jack sighs and places his hand on her shoulder. "You did a good job just there. Maybe not the best, but I don't think we could do any better." He then turns away and retreats to the large cabin.

  Celia suddenly notices Adrian and rushes too him. "How are you feeling?" she asks. Adrian smiles.

  "Great," he responds. He looks at Tina, Ethan and Martyn aswell. "Now come with me, I have something I need to show you."

***

  "Hey, I got a little map on this paper to help us see how much of the island we have covered," Ella says when she comes into the large cabin. "It has all sorts of stuff discovered on the island drawn out by Adrian before we left. Maybe there is a pattern which could help us to decide where to go."

  "Good idea," Jack responds. He sits on his throne and pats the arm chair. Ella sits down on the arm chair and holds the map in front of her and Jack so they can get a good view.

  There is a moment of quiet as Jack and Ella stare at the map. "What's that?" Jack suddenly asks.

  "What?"

  "The necklace hanging down from your neck," Jack points at it as it dangles down.

  "Oh this," Ella picks up the little gold football decoration at the end and examines it. "My parents gave this necklace as a promise that I will be part of the women's team GB girls' football team for the Olympics. I guess that's not going to happen now..."

  Jack sighs. "I understand. I play the guitar and wanted to be a singer song-writer. Damn, I miss playing the guitar," he explains.

  "Haven't the UK government givenn you a guitar?" Ella asks in concern.

  "They won't pay for it..." Jack responds.

  "Then they can ask your family for the guitar you left at home."

  "That can't be done."

  "Why not?"

  There is silence. Jack fiddles with his fingers and bites his lip. Then he leans in close, his voice lowered. "You can't tell anyone."

  Ella looks at him and nods. But Jack's eyes stay wide. "I won't tell anyone."

  Now Ella has said it, Jack's eyes relax. He takes a deep breath before explaining. "The UK government want to keep the fact we are stuck on this island a secret. If people found out, they would be searching for us then end up on this island. It could lead to overcrowdedness and we could all end up like those people in the Hillsborough disaster.

  "In order to keep this island a secret, they have not told our families where we are," Jack explains.

  "Where do they think we are then?" Ella asks as she grabs Jack's shoulder in desperationg to hear it.

  Jack only sighs and looks up at the ceiling, then he faces Ella. "They think we're in heaven..."

  Ella is quiet for a second. "You mean... they think- they think we are dead?"

  Jack nods sadly and twiddles his thumbs.

  Ella gulps and glances out the window, removing eye contact from Jack. She sniffs slightly and feels her eyes stinging.

  "Ella, are you alright?" Jack asks. "If you want to cry, it's OK. You can let it all out." Ella nods while still looking out the window.

  "Why did I have to leave her the way I did?" Ella asks herself.

  "Who? Your mum?" Jack gently asks.

  "No... Pamela. My parents died and I got adopted by Pamela. Last time I ever saw her, I told her I wished she never adopted me," Ella's voice is wobbly.

  Jack pats his lap and slowly slides Ella onto his lap. His arms are wrapped round her a he slowly rocks her back and forth. "If you have to cry. Let it out," Jack gently says.

  "I don't need to," Ella firmly says. "I'm fine. Just a little annoyed, that's all."

  Jack knows there is no way Ella would release how she felt. So the best he can do is comfort her. In the quiet, he continues to rock her on his lap.

  A few moments pass and Ella stares at Jack for a second. Her eyes are no longer glazed because of Jack. "Thanks," Jack smiles are the appreciation. 

  Suddenly, there is a knock on a door. Before Jack can give them permission to come in, Ethan bursts into the room. He has a massive smile on his face, which fades when he sees the two sitting on the armchair.

  "Um... sorry, am I interrupting anything?" he asks awkwardly shuffling his feet on the ground.

  Ella instantly steps down from Jack's lap and stands up before brushing herself off. "No, not at all," she responds.

  "What is it you need to tell us?" Jack asks.

  Ethan's smile returns. "OK, you have got to see this!"

  Jack and Ella follow Ethan towards Cabin 26, Henry's cabin. Ella had completely forgotten about Henry. Then she remembered how she left him with paint to decorate the walls to keep him amused.

  "Take a look at this!" Ethan opens the cabin door. The room is cramped because Adrian, Celia and Tina as well as Henry are in the room too.

  On side of the wall  is covered with blue paint followed by a large green blob. The green had markings on it which they were all examining closely.

  "Who gave him paint?" Jack asks angrily. The room is silent. "This paint is expensive now tell me. Why is there paint on the wall?"

  Ella sigh and steps forward. "I gave Henry the paint. I wanted to let him do something after he had ben sitting and doing nothing for 9 years. I'm sorry," Ella explains.

  Jack sighs. "It's OK. So what do you want to show us?"

  Adrian steps forward and faces the group. "While you were all gone, I was getting bored so I decided I would try to talk to Henry about the island. I thought he would know some stuff. This painting on the wall is a map of the island which will help us get to a place where executions took place. That is right here," Adrian reaches up his good arm and points to a red cross on the green blob.

  "So all we need to do is copy that map and head off again. Then we will find the blue liquid?" Ella asks.

  "Yep, hopefully."

  Celia steps forward. "Adrian, you are a genius!" Adrian smiles modestly.

  "Well, I'm going to get ready for our next trip. Let's go," Martyn gets up and leaves the cabin suddenly.

  When the door is slammed after Martyn leaves the room, everyone is quiet. "Am I the only one who thinks something's up with him?" Jack asks.

____________________________________________________

  Aww it's a short chapter :( Oh well! I posted something! Hope you enjoyed :) 

  VOTE, COMMENT or FAN if you want :)