44: Book Three Read online

  “Try harder, Abby,” he said, sounding a little frustrated. “Maybe there’s something you’re missing. Because I think there is more. Something you may not have thought of. Or even something you are wishing to keep from me.”

  I looked at him strangely.

  “I’m not keeping anything from you, Nathaniel,” I said.

  “Perhaps not. But I am very curious about where you were during that time. Mentally, I mean. The time between when you drowned and when you woke up in the hospital.”

  We sat in silence for a little while. I really wasn’t hiding anything. All I could remember was the black, the nothingness.

  “It was just dark and—”

  “And what?”

  “I remember being scared. Real scared. Scared like I’d never been before in my life. It was like I was in a void in the center of the earth. A dark vacuum. It was awful.”

  “Good,” he said. “That helps, Abby. Please go on.”

  “There’s nothing else,” I said. “It’s just like I said. I woke up.”

  He shook his head.

  “But there’s got to be something more you remember,” he said. “It’s critical to the research.”

  “I guess I can think more about it, “I said. “See if anything comes back.”

  He nodded.

  “Good,” he said. “Now, I know that you had some physical difficulty in that year afterwards. Memory issues. Coordination problems and trouble walking and running. I was glad to see those improve over time. But I am sorry that you won’t ever be able to see colors again.”

  I stared at him.

  “The color blindness is the one regrettable side effect of my serum. There really is no way around it. Two of the vital compounds that I’ve used cause that condition, so it can’t be helped. Still, all in all, it’s a pretty good deal. Your life for impaired vision. I think you would agree that life without color is better than no life at all.”

  I felt sick inside. I didn’t know if what he was saying was true or not. Kate and Dr. Mortimer had convinced me that Nathaniel had been lying about the entire thing, that he hadn’t even been at the hospital that night. But now I wondered.

  I was quiet for a moment, listening to the rain while dark thoughts churned in my mind.

  Maybe Nathaniel was telling the truth.

  As he walked over to the window, I finished the soda and stood up. I was ready to go back upstairs. I needed to get away from him and think things through with a clear head.

  He turned around and looked at me. The smug smile was gone, replaced by something else. As I stared at him, watching that bright energy buzz around him, he looked away suddenly as if embarrassed.

  “Good night, Abby,” he said, clearing his throat. “We’ll pick up tomorrow night at the same place. And I’d be most appreciative if you could try to remember more about that time period we discussed.”

  I left, trying to hold it together as I flew up the stairs back to the bedroom, until I could close the door behind me.

  ***

  I called out for Jesse. I wanted to talk to him, to ask him if anything Nathaniel had been telling me was true.

  If I was alive because of the serum.

  I was certain that Dr. Mortimer was the one who had brought me back to life. But now, I wasn’t so sure. Now, I was wondering if some of what Nathaniel was saying was true.

  For the first time in a long time, I was seriously considering the possibility that I really was the product of some freakish experiment. And as much as I tried, I couldn’t chase the thought away.

  That it could have been Nathaniel who had saved me.

  CHAPTER 14

  I called out to Jesse a few more times. He might know about whether it was Nathaniel who had saved me. But he didn’t show up.

  I walked over to the window and looked out at the lights of the island.

  It had been a long day, and an even longer evening. I pulled out The Lady from Shanghai with Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth and put it into the player, turning the sound down low. I was always struck by how handsome he was in his younger years.

  I crawled under the soft down comforter, trying to release my mind from the turbulent thoughts building inside me, but it was impossible to keep them at bay.

  I fell asleep for a little while, but I woke up again just after midnight. I couldn’t stop thinking about Nathaniel. About not being able to see colors. About the serum.

  I walked over to the window and that’s when I saw it.

  The moon.

  The moon was out and the sky was clear. The wind had died down and there was no fog.

  The storm had passed.

  I put in another movie while I collected everything.

  Tonight was the night. It was time to go home.

  CHAPTER 15

  The lights from the island across the way sparkled like jewels in the dark night, calling to me.

  And I was ready to answer.

  I brought a few bottles of water, candy bars, and a windbreaker inside a pillowcase. I was wearing a non-cotton layer next to my skin with a hooded fleece jacket over it. I had stuffed a bunch of clothes under the covers of the bed and shaped them into what I hoped looked like a body. It wasn’t going to win any acting awards, but it might buy me a few precious minutes.

  I left the house just past one. I wasn’t sure if there was an alarm system on at night, so after I closed the front door, I hid in the trees along the shore for a few minutes to see if anyone had followed me.

  But everything was quiet and I took off down the beach.

  I found the kayak right away and dragged it over to the shore. I packed it up, grabbed the paddle, and slid it into the water. There were still some small waves, but it was much calmer than it had been during the storm. I knew I could handle the swells. It was time to get home.

  My heart pounded as I stared at the black water. It was the water of my nightmares. But that didn’t matter anymore. It was now the water that would take me to freedom.

  I got in and pushed off. I paddled near the shore for a few minutes, getting the hang of the kayak and making sure there were no leaks.

  Everything felt good.

  I sank the paddle in the water, saying a quick prayer as I headed out into the Sound.

  I wished I could have talked to Jesse before I left. I wanted him to know that I was escaping, getting away from Nathaniel and his twisted feelings and serum. But then I thought about how my next visit with Jesse could be back home at Drake Park, about how all this could be behind me soon. I picked up my speed.

  As I paddled, I kept my eyes on the flickering lights ahead. Rolling under me, the black swells grew larger the farther I went out into the strait. I didn’t want to think too much about the size of the waves or the currents. I had to force down those thoughts as much as I could and swallow any fear that tried to bubble to the surface.

  I also had to fight the urge to get to the island in a few giant strokes. I needed to keep a steady, even pace and not blow myself out. If I was lucky, this was going to be a marathon.

  After a time, I stopped for a quick break to assess my progress. I sat in the middle of the eerie blackness, but I was happy. It was a beautiful night. The stars were sprinkled across the sky, the moon bright and leading the way. I took a long drink of water and glanced back at the island behind me. It was getting smaller. I pressed on.

  Being out here was very different than what I had spent doing last summer. Running rapids all day down that familiar river canyon with the rock walls and wilderness close by on both sides hadn’t prepared me for this. I was now paddling in open water with nothing nearby, nothing to swim to if I capsized.

  “Come on,” I said out loud. “You can do this.”

  My confidence grew with each stroke. The swells continued to get larger and blacker. But I kept my eyes on the prize, paddling toward the island, which increased in size, taking up more and more of the horizon. I began to feel that my fate, like the paddle, was in my hands.

&n
bsp; I had to fight down the growing feeling of euphoria that was swelling up inside me. I was at that point where your team scores a goal, but before celebrating you glance over at the linesman to make sure he hasn’t called offside.

  I still had a long way to go.

  CHAPTER 16

  I just needed to keep going and I’d make it.

  My arms were beginning to burn. I ignored the pain, paddling through it, thinking about home and being a river guide again next summer. About Ty and how great it would be to see him again. And about the other guides and how we still needed to have that party. And about how the holidays weren’t that far away.

  I started singing Under the Tahitian Moon, pushing the paddle into the water to the beat of the music. I was grinning now. I didn’t care.

  I was going to make it! Freedom was within reach, right in front of me.

  I forgot about my strategy and started paddling harder through the water. I could feel the knots in my shoulders. Maybe my brain wasn’t getting enough oxygen, but at that moment I felt that it had all been worth it. The pain, everything that I’d been through had brought me to this point. I felt that something out there, something larger than me, was on my side. Nothing was going to stop me now.

  And then I heard it.

  A faint buzz coming from somewhere behind me.

  CHAPTER 17

  I kept pushing the paddle through the water. The noise could be anything, anyone. For all I knew maybe it was the Coast Guard coming to rescue me. I wasn’t going to turn around to look. I had to keep going. Maybe it was someone from one of these other islands. A fishing boat getting an early start.

  It couldn’t be Nathaniel’s people. Even if they had noticed that I was missing, how could they find me out here in the middle of all this water? In the middle of all this darkness? There was no way it was Nathaniel.

  I put myself in their place. Even if they had somehow discovered that I wasn’t in my room, they would first search the house. And then maybe the guest house. And then all over the island. And finally, when they couldn’t find me, they might send the boat out. Search the stretch of water between the two islands.

  I was fairly sure that I hadn’t been spotted yet by whatever was back there. But just in case, I started paddling parallel to the island, away from where they might logically look for me.

  “Faster,” I said out loud. “Come on!”

  The noise was getting louder. I glanced toward my right and a moment later saw the bright lights of a powerboat veer sharply in my direction. It was almost as if they knew where I was.

  “Radar,” I whispered as the tears welled up in my eyes.

  The boat was heading straight for me. I had no doubt I had been spotted. At the speed they were going they would be on top of me in less than a minute. I had no way to be sure who was back there, but somehow I knew.

  I turned toward the lights of the island and kept paddling. There was nothing else to do.

  The water all around me lit up as my shadow stretched out in front of me. The roar of the boat motor died down.

  “Abby!” a familiar voice yelled out. It was Jack Martin. “It’s over. Give it up.”

  But I wouldn’t. It was almost quiet now, the sound coming from my lungs mixing with the gentle lapping of the water against the kayak. I took a deep breath and let it fly.

  “Help!” I yelled as loud as I could. “Help!”

  I knew that sound traveled farther over water and I was hoping someone on the island would hear my screams. A moment later the boat motor roared back to life, drowning out my calls. The boat started circling around me quickly, whipping up the water.

  It felt like I was in a whirlpool, waves coming at me from all directions. Someone jumped in the water and started swimming toward me. I was about to bring the paddle down on them when something caught me from behind. I turned around and saw Jack holding a long boat pole.

  “Don’t make me use this again,” he shouted.

  From the water, Phil pushed me toward the boat while Jack hooked the lip of the kayak cockpit and dragged me in.

  A moment later I was aboard.

  “That was incredibly stupid!” Jack said. “You could have died out here.”

  He grabbed me hard by the arm and shoved me downstairs into the cabin. He was angrier than I had ever seen him. Maybe he was in charge of security and knew he would face Nathaniel’s wrath. I didn’t know and didn’t care.

  I heard Phil cursing and felt the boat pick up speed.

  All I could think about was how close I had come. My nose was stinging, but I refused to cry. I couldn’t believe it. The storm had passed, the conditions were perfect. And I had done it, I had escaped. Everything was going so well. The island was right in front of me. And then it had all gone to hell.

  CHAPTER 18

  The trip back didn’t take long.

  “Get up here,” Phil called. “Don’t make me come down and get you.”

  I stood on the dock a moment later, looking up at the house in disbelief.

  “That’s right,” Jack said. “Take a good look. It might be your last for a while.”

  He grabbed my wrist and led me up the path toward the front door.

  I was expecting to see Nathaniel when we went inside, but he wasn’t there. In fact, no one was around. Other than the strong smell of coffee, everything seemed the same as when I had left a few hours earlier. I slowly walked up the stairs, more afraid than ever.

  I had done my best. But it hadn’t been good enough.

  I stood under the steaming water of the shower, trying to warm up. I stayed there for a long time, too tired and scared to come out.

  When I finally did, I saw that someone had come in to start the fire. And on the desk was a pot of coffee and muffins.

  ***

  I kept expecting Nathaniel to storm in, but he never came. I watched the night turn to dawn and then crawled into bed. It took a long time to fall asleep, but I eventually did.

  I woke up sometime in the afternoon. It was still calm outside. Clear skies, no wind. It would have been a perfect day to be free.

  As I stood looking out the window and trying to fight off the hopelessness that closed in around me, I heard the door open.

  Nathaniel walked in.

  I could see the anger that engulfed him. He walked up, standing close, staring at me.

  “Abby,” he said.

  I backed up to the wall and he followed me there, putting his face right up to mine, those cat eyes shiny and furious. I could hear him breathing hard. I hoped he couldn’t see me trembling.

  “What were you thinking?” he said after a long silence. He stared at me for another moment and then turned and looked out the window.

  “You know how lucky you are… that we came along?”

  I moved over to the chair and sat down, not taking my eyes off him. I didn’t say anything. I took shallow breaths and bit my lip.

  “This won’t do,” he said. “I have tried to be reasonable, tried to allow you to see what was possible here with me. But you’ve left me no choice.”

  He left the room, slamming the door.

  I went to the bathroom and threw cold water on my face.

  A few minutes later, I heard a loud click out in the hall. I immediately recognized the sound of the deadbolt and suddenly found it hard to breath.

  I had been locked in.

  CHAPTER 19

  I stayed in bed the rest of the day. I tried to watch a couple of movies but found it difficult to concentrate. Thoughts of home crowded my mind. Aspen leaves dancing gently in the breeze, the geese flying above, the river running through town. My house and my room and summer hikes up in the mountains.

  I ached for home but I was finding it difficult to believe that I would ever see it again, that I would ever get away from here.

  My destiny was coming into focus. I was to be an experiment that ultimately wouldn’t work.

  I would die here on this island at the hands of a madman.

&n
bsp; ***

  At just past seven that night, I heard the door unlock. It was Simon, carrying a tray. He walked into the room and set it over on the desk.

  “Good evening, Abby,” he said. I was still in bed, watching a mini marathon of the old TV series The Fugitive with David Janssen.

  He smiled. He wasn’t mad. Not in the least.

  “Well, I brought you your dinner. I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s my Chicken Alfredo, one of my best dishes I’m told.”

  I looked over and saw there was a vase with a single rose on the tray.

  I sat up.

  “Thanks,” I said, smiling. “And also for the flower.”

  “Oh, the flower isn’t from me, but I’ll let him know.”

  I cringed.

  “Dr. Mortimer says to tell you that he will be working late tonight, so he can’t meet you in the library.”

  Such a shame, I thought.

  “Hey, I’m glad you’re safe, Abby,” Simon said. “Maybe I’ll see you down in the kitchen tomorrow.”

  “Not with the lock on the door.”

  “Oh, he will unlock it in the morning,” Simon said. “And you are free to roam around the house. He does request that you stay indoors though. For the time being.”

  I nodded and stared back over at the television.

  “Get some rest.”

  I heard the lock click and got up and ate dinner.

  I would take the rest of the night off. And in the morning I would begin using whatever time I had left to find another way.

  CHAPTER 20

  I looked out the window at the island for the first time since I’d been back. It seemed smaller in the early morning light. Farther away.

  I paced around the room, brainstorming.

  How would I get off this island?

  With the kayak gone, the boat at the dock was now the obvious answer. I would either have to find a key and take it myself, or sneak on board right before someone else drove off.