"This is a gorgeous vessel," Connor admired aloud as he stepped inside the living-area.
"Finally," Vida mumbled as Reed and Travis descended the steps from behind her.
Connor seemed satisfied enough as he looked around at the hostages, however, he frowned when seeing Madison and the dried up blood on her head.
"What happened?" he asked, glancing from Madison to Vida.
Vida shrugged innocently, still residing at the bar. "She hit her head."
Kamille refrained from cursing her out and instead kept her eyes on the floor.
"You couldn't clean her up? Jesus, guys, come on," Connor complained and Kamille rolled her eyes. Like you give a flying fuck.
"This is the one who started the boat."
At the sound of Reed's voice, Kamille looked up and saw him dragging Travis forward and towards Connor – the apparent leader – with pride.
"Travis, you and Alicia come with us," Connor said softly, but the way he said it made Kamille think nobody would try arguing against him.
Everyone's eyes looked between Alicia and Travis, but Kamille was only looking at Alicia, that familiar fear turning in her stomach. The younger girl was staring wide-eyed at the leader and then, to Kamille's discomfort, at Jack. They were going to take her and Kamille wouldn't be able to stop them.
"And my family?" Travis asked, his eyes looking over everyone tied.
"We only need the two of you," Connor settled calmly.
Reed grabbed ahold of Travis and was about to make a move, but that wretched smirk fell upon his expression as he looked to Jack.
"Wait a minute, Jack, didn't you say one of these guys was a doctor?"
Kamille's eyes widened as she slowly looked up to see Reed questioning an uncomfortable Jack. How much had Alicia shared about her?
"Really?" Connor asked, eyebrows raised with surprise. "If that's the case, bring the third and let's get going."
Reed shoved Travis to the ground as he protested, and Madison was trying to do something to stop it, but Reed pressed his pistol to Travis's neck and everyone fell silent.
"Which one was it, Jack?" Reed asked, keeping ahold of Travis but staring up at Jack impatiently.
Alicia looked to Kamille with a feared expression before standing up and protesting. "No! None of these guys– they aren't doctors–!"
"Alicia don't," Jack tried to warn her, holding her back from making a move towards Reed, but she kept fighting to shove him away.
"No! None of these are doctors! You must be thinking of someone else! Jack, I never said–"
Jack held her back and Kamille watched as they exchanged a look. Alicia looked up at him, shaking her head stubbornly, desperately.
"Well, which is it?" Reed pressed, seeming to enjoy this situation. His eyes roamed the room, looking over the hostages, and Kamille made sure to avoid his gaze. "They were practicing, right? At college? So, it's either her–" He pointed a gun in Ofelia's direction, causing Daniel to look up worriedly, and then in Kamille's. "–or her."
Kamille clenched her fists and glared at Reed. He wasn't going to touch Ofelia or anyone else. Not if she had anything to do about it.
"I–"
"None of them are doctors or anything like that," Jack cut off Kamille so quickly that nobody barely noticed her speaking. "I wasn't talking about this group. It was another."
Connor shrugged indifferently. "You sure, Jack?"
"Yeah, Jack, you sure you ain't covering for your girl?" Reed asked, eyebrows raised accusingly.
Jack shook his head, hands tucked in his jacket pockets. "No covering, honestly."
Reed didn't seem satisfied with this, but Connor did and so he nodded. "Okay. This is already taking longer than necessary. Grab them and let's go."
"Travis!" Madison yelled as they began to drag him out.
"Maddy, she'll be okay," Travis promised, referring to Alicia.
"Dad! What are they–"
"Chris, stay with Maddy, okay? Please, stay with her," Travis ordered, and Kamille could tell things were getting out of his control.
"They'll come back for them, right? Bring boats?" Alicia questioned Jack as he tried to lead her out the door.
"Yes, they will," he promised, nodding frantically as he tried to reassure Alicia. "Now, come on."
"Please, don't!" Kamille shot out of her seat, helplessly moving forward, but she was shoved back by Reed. "Don't!"
"Woah, there, calm down," Reed teased, making Kamille glare at him furiously.
"Don't fucking touch me," Kamille growled to him, sick of keeping it in.
"Kam, it's okay," Alicia's muffled voice reassured from beneath the bag they covered her head with. "It'll be okay."
Reed continued to smirk as they led Travis and Alicia outside, knowing Kamille couldn't do anything to stop it. He took Vida's position at the bar, the pregnant woman leaving with Connor. The two strangers that had boarded with Connor remained by the door, holding their guns out to prevent Madison, Chris and Kamille from going outside.
The engine of the speedboats rumbled to life and faded in the distance. Kamille closed her eyes as she heard them speed away, with Travis and Alicia both on board.
Madison and Chris took a seat beside Kamille and all was silent apart from Reed drinking away at the bar. Kamille looked up and noticed Daniel still working away at his ties. There was still a chance they could get out of there. Get their friends back. Get Alicia back.
"Connor hasn't quite adapted to this world," Reed spoke up. "He's got leadership skills. Holds us all together." Reed took a seat at the dining table and poured himself another glass of whiskey. "Big heart, strong mind... weak stomach."
Kamille rolled her eyes at his monologue. She thought that was just some dumb villain stereotype, but apparently not.
"Put us on the launch," Madison said, only for Reed to scoff. "We'll go to shore."
Reed gave Madison a knowing look.
"You can take the Abigail," Madison continued.
Reed feigned a smile before standing up, shotgun in hand. "The thing is, the launch goes with this yacht, doesn't it?"
Madison nodded. "Okay, well let us go. We'll swim to shore."
Reed's smile faded. "What if you want your boat back? I don't like that ending."
"Sshh." It was one of the guards from earlier who had shushed Reed, and Kamille grew interested, seeing him turn around slowly, his attention elsewhere.
"Excuse me?" Reed seemed taken aback at the interruption.
"Incoming," the man whispered, before taking his position on the deck outside. The other guard, a woman, joined him and Kamille wondered who was out there.
"Did Connor come back?" Reed questioned.
"Zodiac," the man responded.
"Looks like two–"
But the woman was cut off when her head burst against the glass door. Someone in the distance had sniped her and now she was dead.
"Fuck." Kamille pressed her lips together and looked down between her knees, trying to get rid of the fact that she'd just witnessed a bloody murder.
Only a second later, the other man had been sniped down, too, and now Kamille was beginning to freak out. Who the heck was out there?
"What? Damn it..." Reed moved forward, shotgun in hand.
Daniel grabbed the gun from his hand however, and before Reed could retort, Ofelia was out of her seat and pushing Reed against the door. Madison was up in an instant, grabbing the tool Travis had slid behind the couch, and stabbed Reed in the torso.
Kamille stood up and saw as Chris had Reed and angrily pushed him against the wall.
"Chris, don't!" Ofelia yelled and moved forward to separate the two.
Reed was trying to fight him off, but the rod was still sticking out of his stomach and Kamille saw that there was already a lot of blood soaking his shirt. He needed medical attention fast, but she honestly could've give two shits. Oh, how she wanted to deck him in the face...
"Turn around," Daniel said, and Kamille realised his hands were free. She did as he said and he managed to pull the cable tie from her wrists, freeing her.
As she shook her hands about to get the blood flow going again, she watched as he freed Ofelia and Chris, too. Kamille searched for Madison and saw her moving outside, pistol in hand. She rushed forward to catch up with her.
"Madison, be careful!" she shouted after the blonde, keeping her head low and avoiding looking at the two dead bodies on the deck.
Her racing heart slowed down however, when she saw Nick running up the steps. "Mom, hey."
"Nick, where were you?" Madison asked, immediately pulling her son in for a hug.
Kamille relaxed when she saw Nick was okay. Where the heck had he gone to? And when had he managed to leave?
"Hey, drop it!" Daniel shouted, and Kamille soon realised there was another man on board now, having followed Nick.
"Where's Victor?!" the unknown man yelled, and he was pointing a sniper at Daniel threateningly.
"Drop it!" Daniel shouted again, not lowering his shotgun.
"Hey, hey, hey, woah, woah, woah, he's okay, he's okay," Nick got out, stepping between the two men. He looked to Daniel and raised his hands. "He's a friend. He helped. Strand sent me to get Luis, okay? He's gonna help us get into Mexico."
"You're kidding," Kamille said with disbelief. "You disappeared without telling anyone to go and collect this guy who is supposed to help us?!"
Nick opened his mouth to speak, but Luis spoke first.
"I was getting Strand into Mexico."
"He left when they boarded," Madison explained, as Nick wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively, "when they tried to take the Abigail."
"Victor escaped?" Luis asked with disbelief.
"They shot at his raft," Madison said, growing restless. "He went down... I have to go after Travis. I have to find Alicia."
Nick held her back as she moved to the railing, and Luis was shaking his head.
"We do not cross the border without him," he finalised.
"He left us," Kamille said, earning Luis's attention. "He's the one who tried to escape. We need to find our friends and leave as soon as we can."
"We don't need Strand," Daniel added.
Luis grew annoyed. "Well, he didn't need you either, but here we are. Without Strand, we don't get into Mexico."
Kamille sighed and saw that Daniel and Madison looked pissed off with this news. She, personally, didn't care about Mexico right now. Not when Alicia and Travis were in danger. Those dickwads had taken them, which, speaking of...
"We need to sort out Reed," Kamille said, and everyone looked to her. "He'll bleed out and die if we don't."
She didn't stop to hear anyone argue and instead turned around to go inside. She found Chris keeping ahold of him against the wall and frowned. Reed looked terrible already, his skin clammy, his shirt soaked and the rod causing him visible discomfort.
Kamille approached him and glanced at the rod wedged deep inside of him. If they removed it, it could prove to be a lot worse than it was now since it seemed to be stuck through and through. They would have to work around it until they had the right first aid equipment, though that meant an actual hospital which they'd never get.
"Here to finish the job?" Reed spat out, his blue eyes dull and glassy.
Kamille rolled her eyes and refrained from punching him square in the face. Instead, she patted him down for anything that they could use. She was glad she'd thought to do that because tucked into the back of his jeans was a pistol.
"Put him downstairs for now," Kamille heard Madison order from behind her.
Chris, eager to do something to Reed, grabbed one of his arms harshly, a glare permanently fixed into his expression.
"Carefully," Kamille added, the pistol still heavy in her hands.
Nick grabbed his other arm and she watched as the two dragged him away, Reed flinching the whole way.
"You should keep that, just in case," Daniel said, appearing by Kamille's side. He was referring to the gun.
Kamille looked at the pistol and shook her head, looking back to Daniel. "I don't– I'm not–"
"You know how to use it?" Daniel raised an eyebrow, and the silence from Kamille's end answered his question. He took the gun from her hand and flicked a switch on the back end. "Safety off." He flicked it again. "Safety on." He pulled the top part back, it clicking as the ammo part fell into his palm. "It's half full. Hopefully you won't need it that long."
With that, he replaced the ammo and handed the gun back to a reluctant Kamille, watching her carefully. She felt the need to tuck it into the waistband of her jeans and this seemed to do it for him as he left and followed where Nick and Chris led Reed.
"Ofelia, Kamille, can you both help me move these bodies?" Madison called out from outside.
Kamille released a shaky breath and went outside, seeing Ofelia seem as reluctant as she was.
"Drop them overboard," Madison said, offering a sympathetic look to them both. She looked to Luis and added, "We'll go for Strand, okay?"
Luis seemed satisfied with this and pointed down below to the boat that he and Nick had come on. "I'll be waiting."
Kamille visibly shuddered as her and Ofelia grabbed the first of the two bodies – the woman. Her head was a bloody mess, one straight shot having taken her out. At least it was quick.
"I've got this side," Ofelia said, her voice shaking as she went to the top half of the body.
Kamille grabbed the legs and lifted at the same time as Ofelia. Geez, dead bodies are heavy. Did she just think that? God, this was unexpected. But these people had captured her friends. Alicia was in danger because of them. It was necessary. Doesn't make it easy though.
A splash indicated the body had hit the water as the two girls let go. Kamille exchanged an uneasy glance with Ofelia.
"One more and we can sort all of this out," Ofelia tried to ease the situation. "We'll get them back. They won't hurt Alicia."
"For now," Kamille added, bitterly.
Ofelia patted her back comfortingly before the two turned around to toss the second dead body. However, they were taken aback when the other supposed dead body had sat up as Madison walked by. He grabbed the gun from Madison's hand, taking her by surprise, and raised it shakily. Kamille knew what was to come next and acted on instinct, grabbing the gun she'd acquired only moments earlier.
Three deafening shots was all it took and the other man's gun had dropped to the ground, along with his body. Ofelia rushed forward to check on Madison, who was bent over and breathing out with relief. Kamille lowered her gun and found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the puddle of blood growing larger under the dead body that she'd just murdered.
"What happened up here?! I heard gun shots!" Luis raced up the stairs, as Daniel had also returned from inside in a rush, concerned for his daughter's wellbeing.
Kamille found it difficult to breathe now as she dropped her own gun on the deck with a thud. "I had to– he was going to hurt Madison. He was– he wasn't– oh my God..."
"Kamille..." Madison came forward and found Kamille's shaking hands. "You didn't do anything wrong. You had to. It was me or him."
"You or him..."
"Yes, me or him," she reassured, pulling the trembling girl forward. "You did the right thing."
I killed him. A living person, not infected. A person who was breathing one second and now isn't.
"Kamille, come on, let's go inside for a minute, yeah?" Ofelia asked gently, taking Madison's position. She began to steer Kamille inside and to the couch. "You're okay. Madison's okay because of you."
Kamille looked up and saw the others outside. Madison and Daniel were getting rid of the dead body as Luis paced the deck worriedly.
"I just killed that man," Kamille breathed out, meeting Ofelia's eyes. "He was bad. He– he hurt us. But he didn't deserve to die..."
"It wasn't a choice, though," Ofelia spoke gently, as if afraid to startle Kamille, who still couldn't believe how fast she'd had to use that stupid gun. "If you didn't do that, Madison would be dead."
"Right."
"And Nick and Alicia would have lost their mother, Travis would have lost his wife, we would have lost our friend."
"Right."
"It had to happen," Ofelia finished, resting a hand on Kamille's. She squeezed it gently.
Kamille nodded, understanding Ofelia's words, but not quite processing them. Yes, she'd been forced to save Madison, but murder was still murder. What would her family think of her? Adam? God, what had she done...
"I'm going to check on Reed and his injury," Daniel said as he walked back inside. He glanced at Kamille before looking to his daughter. "I should be able to clean it as much as I can until we decide what to do with him. Stay here with Kamille."
Kamille saw Ofelia nod and watched as Daniel left to go see to Reed. There was a silence as Ofelia merely stayed by Kamille's side for comfort. Until Kamille finally spoke.
"Ofelia, what the fuck is happening?"
//
kamille killed someone for the first time oof, do i smell *sniff sniff* character development? 😂