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I watch, frozen in a shocked silence, as Eve's body falls from the lifting helicopter down to the beach.
Ian. Just. Killed. Eve.
It's as if everything is going in slow motion; I cannot process what just happened. All that I can do is stare at Eve's crumpled, lifeless body. My insides churn when I look into her glassy eyes, which are illuminated by the moonlight.
And then, before I can move a muscle, the gunfire starts.
I duck as the men from the helicopter begin to shoot down with their guns.
But not at me.
At Ian.
I watch in horror as Ian runs, dodging the bullets as they zip past his head. He is going to get shot; there's no denying it.
I have to do something.
"STOP! STOP RIGHT NOW!" I scream at the top of my lungs, throwing my arms up in the air.
But the men continue to ruthlessly shoot at Ian. He continues to run away as fast as he can, but the bullets whizzing through the air nearly hit him every time. Then, my heart stops when I hear Ian scream out in pain. I whip around to see him laying on the ground, holding his leg and shouting out in agony.
He has been shot. And they are still continuing to shoot at him.
They are going to kill him.
I then do something that requires every ounce of courage I have inside of me. I step right in front of where they are firing.
Immediately, all of the men stop firing and stare at me, with their guns at the ready. The helicopter stops lifting and hovers in the air a few feet above us. I stare back at them breathlessly, utter terror in my eyes.
"What do you want?" one of them says gruffly.
"Stop shooting at him. Please," I say weakly, my voice trembling.
The men raise their guns and point them at me. Instantly, my heart begins to pound in my chest. I throw my arms up in the air, then shout,
"Please, don't shoot! You shot him already, isn't that enough?"
By now, tears are uncontrollably screaming down my face. All of the men continue to stare at me, bewildered looks on their faces. I can hear Ian whimpering in pain behind me.
"Please...we're all innocent," I say desperately.
"That boy just killed her. He is not innocent," one of the men says, pointing the tip of his gun down to Eve's body.
I turn around and look back at Ian, who is laying down on the sand and grasping his bloody leg. I then turn back to them and cry,
"Look, I know he just shot at her. But listen to me right now; we all have been kidnapped on this island for weeks. We are starving. We are tired. We have no memories, and we are starting to go crazy. I swear to God, Ian did not mean to shoot her. So please....please don't kill him."
The men scrutinize me for a few moments.
"I think she's gone mad," I hear one of the men say to the others.
"I'm not crazy!" I shout, my voice rising with anger.
No one can understand everything that we have been through.
"Please, all that we want is to get off of this island and get far away from the horrible people that have trapped us here. We...we want to go home, wherever home is," I say, my voice breaking.
"Look, we were sent here to rescue Tristan Reyes and only Tristan Reyes. We weren't informed that other children were kidnapped. And where is Tristan?" one of them says.
"Here."
I turn around and watch as Tristan's steps forward. He swallows hard and looks up at the men in the helicopter.
"Who are you people? Who sent you to rescue just me?" Tristan asks.
"Can we tell him?" one of the men murmurs to what I assume to be their leader."
The man nods, then says,
"We are from the US National Guard. And I know that you cannot remember this, but you Tristan, you are the son of the President of the United States."
What?
I turn and look at Tristan, whose face has turned pale. He takes a slow step backward, shaking his head.
"No...what the hell are you talking about?" he asks.
"Yes, Tristan. You are the President's son. Right after you were kidnapped your father ordered the CIA to track down where they took you. It took us a long time, mainly because the Blair Institute, your captors, wiped this island off the radar. But through advanced military technology we finally cracked the code and found your location. And now we're here to rescue you," the man explains.
It takes a few moments for all of this to sink in. Finally, Tristan says,
"What is the Blair Institute and why did they kidnap us?" Tristan asks shakily.
"They are a highly confidential organization, so we do not know much about them or why they kidnapped you children. All we know is that they are a human cloning research institution. But they are not good people," the man says.
Tristan nods slowly, then says,
"Well if you're here to rescue me you're going to have to rescue all of us. Or else I'm not going."
I look up at the men, a pleading look in my eyes.
"Well, I suppose we can. But it's going to be a tight squeeze; this helicopter is not that big," the man says.
A huge flood of excitement flows through my body. I am going to go home.
Home.
The word rings in my mind, sending warm tingles through my veins.
When the helicopter begins to lower to the ground and suddenly remember Ian. All of this new information almost made me forget about the boy with the shot leg behind me.
I turn around and quickly run towards Ian, kneeling down on the sand next to him when I arrive.
"Are you okay?" I ask, even though I know that it is probably the stupidest question I can ask.
"No," he says, his voice pained.
I look down and see that he has been shot in the thigh, just slightly above the knee. I have absolutely no clue how to treat a bullet wound. He needs a doctor. Not the doctors on this island though.
"Tessa, I can't walk," he says miserably.
"Don't worry about it. Once we get off of this island you'll receive medical treatment somewhere. And hey, at least you weren't killed," I say, trying to sound as reassuring as I can.
He shakes his head.
"C'mon Tessa, we're going to go look for the other kids who are still on the island!" I hear someone call from behind me.
I turn around and look to see Tristan, Nikki, and Dylan all beckoning me to come over. The helicopter has landed and all of the men are standing on the beach next to them. I bite my lip and turn back to Ian. He is looking at me with a look so downcast that my heart breaks.
"I can't leave Ian," I call back to them.
"Tessa, please come with us. And don't worry about it, one of these men will stay with Ian," Tristan says to me.
I turn around to see one of the men step forward and nod.
"Tessa, please..." I hear Ian whisper.
I turn back and watch as a tear rolls down his cheek.
"Ian, I am so sorry but I have to go with them. Don't worry, we'll be back soon," I say.
Before he can reply, I lean in and kiss him softly on the lips. After I pull away I stand up and walk towards the others. The man walks forward towards Ian and says to me,
"Don't worry miss. I'll watch him."
"Please don't do anything to him," I say.
"Don't worry, we'll deal with him later," the man says.
I nod, trying to swallow down the huge lump that has formed in the back of my throat.
"C'mon, let's go," Dylan says.
After giving one last sorrowful glance back at Ian, we begin to walk towards the jungle. I feel much safer with the presence of these military men. They all have guns and flashlights, which they shine around the jungle as we trek.
"How many other kids are there?" one of the men asks.
"Well, there were twelve of us at first. But then Jessica and Alyssa died, so that makes ten. And minus us, that means there are five others out here," Tristan explains.
"Do you have any clue where they might be?" he asks.
"No. We split up the first day and that's the last time that we saw them," Tristan says.
"So they could very possibly be dead?" the man asks.
"I...I don't know," Tristan murmurs.
"Okay. We'll still look but if we don't find them by morning we have to go,"
We continue to walk, our feet crunching through the thick underbrush as we trek through the jungle. As we walk, the men shine their flashlights around through the trees but there are no signs of the others. If they are still alive, they could be anywhere on this island. The chances of finding them are not very good.
As we keep walking the trees begin to become more and more sparse. We seem to be heading into some sort of clearing.
And then, a wave of fear passes over me.
I know exactly where we are.
"Guys, we're at their headquarters," I say.
We all stop and the men shine their flashlights in front of them. And sure enough, there are the rows of cages on the ground that we were once trapped in. Farther away is the hatch that leads to their headquarters; where all of the doctors must be right now. But not all of the cages are empty; four of them are occupied.
"Hello?" Tristan shouts out.
Instantly, the people in the cage whip around and stare at us with wide eyes. I immediately recognize them. Although I don't remember their names, but I know for sure that they were there with us the first day.
"What the hell is going on? Who are those men?" one of the girls cries out in a panic, backing up against the bars of her cage.
"Don't worry. We're here to rescue you. And these men are here to rescue all of us. They're from the US Coast Guard," Tristan says.
The four kids; two girls and two boys all stare at us, mesmerized.
"How are you going to get us out of here?" one of the boys asks.
I suddenly remember his name; Daniel.
"We'll get you out of those cages, don't worry. And then we will get all of you kids off of this island," one of the men says.
All of their faces break into wide, excited smiles.
"Wait, there's one more thing you have to do before we leave this place," I say quietly.
"What?" the man asks, looking at me.
I swallow hard.
"I want you to kill Hal."