Last night trying to sleep was worse than the very first night we got here. That night, I was plagued by nightmares of the plane crash and the faces of those who died. Last night, we were sharing a cave with people who seem to have no morals, and who bring death to others. A situation that made everyone way too uneasy to get any sleep.
Jake was sweet. He tried his best to comfort me and I really did try my best to get some rest, but under the circumstances, sleep never came.
"Don't worry, I won't let them get near you tonight. I promise," Jake had said, "Just get some sleep, I'm right here."
Easier said than done.
At several points in the night, I offered for Jake to get some sleep too, telling him that I would stay awake and keep watch since it was impossible for me to sleep anyway. However, this was an offer he refused. Both of us remained mostly awake, dozing in and out until the sun was risen. I knew the other guys probably had similar nights, because the normal steady sound of breathing I had been accustomed to was non-existent.
The only time I even pretended to be asleep was when I saw Wayde and Garret arise and exit the cave this morning. I glanced over at Jake who appeared to be sleeping, but I had a feeling he was also pretending.
"Jake, are you asleep?" I asked quietly enough that it wouldn't wake him.
"Of course not," he grumbled, "Good morning."
"Hi," I replied. "Anyone else awake?" I whispered.
Almost immediately, I was met with affirmative whispers or hands raised in the air, accounting for everyone.
"This is shit," Adam announced loud enough for everyone to hear it, but not enough to be heard outside of the cave.
I had to agree. This situation absolutely was shit. I thought about the days leading up to yesterday and how we were all thriving and getting along out here, and my heart sank. The high morale that we had kept throughout this experience was completely gone, and the mood was so dismal today.
"Everyone! Get out here. Now!" I was jolted from my thoughts as Wayde's angry voice boomed through the silence and echoed into the cave.
My throat seized and my body immediately began to tremble. The anger in his voice made me think the worst; he knew that someone took the ammunition, and he was willing to kill for it.
We all shared looks with each other, but it was Derek who was the first to rise to his feet. "We have to go guys; we don't have a choice," he stated.
Jake was next to rise, offering me his hand. I took it as he pulled me to my feet. I didn't release his hand as we made our way out of the cave towards the fire pit. I could hear the rest of the guys trudge out behind us, although everyone was so quiet. We were all nervous, and I was sure we all had a feeling of what this was about.
"Sit down. All of you," Wayde commanded, gun in hand.
We did as we were told, and I was seated between Jake and Wes with Nathan kneeling behind me. Just as we all were seated, Wayde approached us, stopping directly in front of me with a look of anger on his face.
"Come here," he boomed as he yanked me to my feet. The guy was huge; he pulled me up and handed me off to Garret without any effort at all. My guys shifted around me in protest, but I shot them a look that told them to be still.
"I'm going to ask you all one simple question. Who took the bullets?" he asked.
Everyone was silent.
"You better answer, or your princess gets it," he snarled.
I shook my head slightly to the guys, praying nobody would answer. I was nervous that whoever said a word would be shot immediately. The guys remained silent, not knowing how to respond.
Then, suddenly, Wayde wound up, and I felt a sharp pang to my face. The impact was so intense that I would have fallen backwards if I wasn't being held against Garret's body in a vice-like grip.
I was stunned more than hurt. Did I really just get punched in the face? I tasted a metallic flavor in my mouth and assumed that my lip had split. Time seemed to slow for a moment but I could hear the commotion my men were making. However, Nathan's voice rang out among all the others as he immediately shouted, "Stop! I did it."
My heart sank. Why would he do that? I could handle the pain, but now they were going to shoot him. I knew Jake would have spoken up if Nathan didn't, although logically he couldn't have done it--he was with Wayde all day.
Wayde nodded at Garret who released me from his grip, shoving me forward. I was still dizzy from the impact of being hit, so his shove sent me falling to the ground.
"You. Come here," Wayde commanded to Nathan.
I watched in horror as Nathan rose to his feet, making his way over to them. Immediately, Wayde threw a punch, hitting Nathan in the face and knocking him off of his feet.
"No!" I couldn't help but cry out as I watched. I cared about these guys so much, and to see them getting hurt because of my idea made me absolutely sick. I was completely frozen in place and felt glued to my spot on the ground as I watched Garret and Wayde begin to kick Nathan.
I heard some movement from the guys and I looked just in time to see Cam and Derek both charge at Garret and Wayde. Since Cam was biggest, he dove at Wayde, knocking him to the ground and landing a punch to his face. Derek approached Garret when he was distracted, landing several punches of his own.
I was about to get up off the ground to go and help when I felt strong arms wrap around me and pull me back by the others.
"We need to help them!" I cried to whoever was holding me.
"If we do that we're dead," Adam responded, "They have a plan."
After one more punch by Cam, Derek lifted Nathan to his feet, and the three of them began sprinting towards the forest edge. My heart was lodged in my throat as I watched Garret inch his way towards the gun, and start firing off rounds at the men.
One.. Two... Three... Four... I counted off the bullets he used, relieved when none of the guys appeared to be hit as they disappeared into the trees.
"GARRET! Stop shooting God dammit! Let them go, we don't have the ammo for you to keep misfiring," Wayde shouted as he quickly got to his feet, pointing his gun at the rest of us.
I was so happy that the three of them got away, but also numbingly terrified about what would happen to the rest of us. Jake had mentioned that Wayde misfired at a deer 2 times when they were hunting, and he shot a bullet in the air when we initially met them and tried to run away. So, assuming both guns were full before, they only had 5 bullets left max... would they use them on us?
Adam pulled me closer, sliding me backwards so that he was positioned half in front of me, and I was beside Jake yet again. I stole a glance in his direction. His jaw was tight as he locked his emerald green eyes on mine and gently caressed my face, assessing the damage.
"I'm okay," I mouthed to him, although the swelling that was beginning in my mouth made me wince and my body visibly trembled from nerves.
I could see the pain in Jake's eyes and I knew I wasn't convincing. I had to be sure to steal a moment with him later and assure him that it was nothing.
We both returned our attention to Wayde as he began speaking. "Well, wasn't that fucking exciting. Thanks to your friends," he sneered the word, "there's gonna be some new rules around here. NOBODY is allowed to talk to each other. Simply wake up, do your given assignment, and go to bed. That's it. Any talking and we will not hesitate to use these remaining bullets. This rule starts now."
Garret smirked and added on, "We can't have you all communicating any more, because you all don't know how to fucking listen!"
Wayde held a hand up to silence Garret, "I'm not gonna shoot you guys, yet. Why punish you for something you didn't do? Plus, I have a job for you all."
We all sat quietly in anticipation.
"First order of business. Take apart that damn SOS sign. This is your new normal now. You won't be needing it."
A pit formed in my stomach after hearing him refer to this as our "new normal." How long would we be living in fear? Getting threatened or hurt when we didn't obey? My body trembled harder at my thoughts and my face throbbed where I had been hit. It took everything in me to not fall apart and break down after the events of this morning.
The only thing I had to help me blink back my tears, was knowing that Cam, Derek, and Nathan had safely gotten away. I just hoped they would be okay.
**********
The sun was shining down on us as we worked together to disassemble our SOS sign. I reminisced on the day we built it as I continued to work. It was our first day here and it was where I truly felt everything would be okay. Adam, Wes, and I all had our moment with the spider, the first incident that deemed us the 3 stooges, followed by Jake running over to help. He was my protector from day one.
I placed the rock I was holding onto my pile and stole a glance at the others. Although we worked in silence and under scrutiny of both Garret and Wayde, I felt better that we were all working on this together. Wes, Adam, Luke, Jake, and I were all still here and still alive, and I was grateful for it.
I appreciated their efforts in trying to make light of a horrible situation. Each of the men reacted differently when we locked eyes, and I loved how it showed their different personalities.
When my eyes met Adam's, he contorted his face into some silly expression. It was enough to make me laugh quietly to myself, even though I was scared. When I locked eyes with Wes, he always gave me a wink—something he did often around camp before all of this started and it reminded me of normalcy. When I turned to Luke, I was met with a reassuring nod—a gesture that provided some comfort. Finally, when I looked to Jake, he would mouth to me, "I love you," reminding me of his feelings every chance he got.
As we continued to take apart the one thing that would help us be found, their small gestures made me feel that everything was still going to be okay somehow; and that is why I love them. All of them.
*******
After the events of the day, I was feeling physically and emotionally drained. The sun was now setting, my head was throbbing, and all I wanted to do was wash up and go to bed. However, I'd been dreading washing up since we first ran into Garret and Wayde. They were already staring at my body constantly and saying derogatory things, imagine what they would do if they saw me undressed or in something skimpy?
To make matters worse, it was now out of the question for me to go in with any of the guys since Wayde's declaration that we couldn't be together or speak to each other. I would be on my own for this.
I made sure to gather some clothes from the cave so that I could get changed into dry clothes immediately after bathing, and I planned to bathe quickly and discreetly. Maybe nobody would even notice I was gone?
With my clothes in hand, I made my way over to the water, choosing a spot behind a rock wall so that I had more privacy. I set my new clothes to the side and quietly submerged myself in the water, leaving on my cami shirt and shorts for obvious reasons. The sun was fully set now and it felt a bit eerie out here in the water alone in the dark. However, the cool sensation of the water felt wonderful on my swollen face and soothed my headache. I hadn't had a headache this bad since the day I was hungover.
I allowed myself a moment to float, trying to calm my nerves that had been on overdrive for the past two days. I tried to think about anything good. I tried to be optimistic that we would be saved, and I would see my family again. I remained hopeful this entire time that help was coming soon, and that hope hadn't disappeared just because we were in yet another dire situation. Lastly, I took a moment to think about Cam, Derek, and Nathan, hoping they remained safe and could maybe even find help.
After a minute more, I decided I needed to head back. I quick scrubbed up and emerged from the water. To my dismay, my clean clothes were no longer where I set them. Was someone watching me?
I took a step around the rocks to peak, hoping it was one of the guys trying to lighten the mood by playing a terrible prank on me. However, as I rounded the corner, I was instantly pressed against the hard line of rocks by a large, grimy arm.
"Hello gorgeous. Don't scream," Wayde's voice hit my eardrums and I stiffened. He had me pinned against the rocks that I had meant for privacy, but was now a barrier for anyone finding me.
My mind flashed to Trent and how vulnerable I felt in that situation. My throat seized and I felt like I couldn't move. I don't think I had ever experienced being paralyzed with fear until this moment, but I felt completely and utterly helpless.
My mind was telling me to run, fight, scream, anything, but my body wouldn't allow it. I had been assaulted once in my life already, and the look in Wayde's eyes was telling me I was about to suffer through a similar situation yet again.
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Hi!
Uh-oh does it ever stop?? What did you guys think of this chapter? Sorry it got a little long, but I do like to end on a good cliffhanger! Plus, I just had a lot I wanted to say! lol
Thank you for reading and voting! Much love for my supporters :)
See ya in the next chapter! I'll try and get it out ASAP to not leave you hanging too long.
-Haley