Misplaced 6, part 2

And then, just as she was about to leave, she saw it. It didn't look much, just scratched metal, but she was pretty sure it was some kind of communication system, and it seemed pretty much undamaged. She picked her way towards it. It would need tools to get it free, and she didn't have a clue how to work it, but Nick would. It meant rescue, safety, a return to normal life. She hurried to get out of the wreckage and return to tell the others.

She was halfway back to the hideout among the rocks when she heard a noise behind her and turned to see that she was being followed, silently, by Emma. For a moment she was going to shout out a welcome, then she realised. It wasn't Emma. It was the other Emma, the one of this world, the one who had abandoned her friends. She wouldn't be following just to say good morning. Ruth had crossed into their part of the island, and she had been seen she would be in trouble. She remembered what the others had said about the gun.

Could she outrun Emma? She doubted it. Nevertheless she began to run for safety- if there was any- as fast as possible. She didn't dare look back, but she didn't need to. She could hear Emma getting closer behind her. Still she ran on, breathing becoming difficult, disorientated and unsure where she was heading. The footsteps behind her seemed to slacken a little, and for a moment she wondered if against all hope she would escape.

Then Kath charged out of the trees to her left and knocked her down. Before she could get up Emma was beside her, twisting her arms behind her back. She struggled, kicking and trying to stand, but she heard a metallic click and looked up to see Kath aiming the gun straight at her.

She went limp as her limbs seemed to turn to water. Her mouth, opened to cry out, closed again without uttering a syllable. She did not protest as Emma tied her hands behind her back with a creeper and led her off to their camp, Kath still pointing the gun towards her all the while.

Their camp consisted of some inexpertly built shelters near the seashore, not far from the stream. Ernest, Adam, Amy and Sophie were standing around a campfire, but as they saw Emma and Kath approaching with their prisoner they came to meet them.

"Caught her red-handed, trespassing on our territory," Kath said.

"Well, you seem to have healed remarkably quickly," Ernest said, looking at Ruth. Then he looked closer. "Wait a minute, you're not Ruth! But-are you Ruth? You look like her, but..."

Ruth looked up, unsure what to say. She wasn't sure how to explain the truth in a way that these people, evidently hostile, would believe. And if they did, once they were aware of the truth, what might they do? They would probably feel threatened by the prospect of more people on 'their' island, using 'their' resources. They might decide to take action to reduce the percieved threat, they might even carry their hostility into invasion of the other island. She decided that for now the best course of action was to say as little as possible.

"Yes, I'm Ruth," she said.

"You can't have recovered that quickly," Amy said. "That's impossible!"

"Unless she was faking how bad it was, trying to get pity and avoid work," Kath said. Ruth fumed inside, remembering how weak the other Ruth was from her injuries.

"You saw what she was like when they found her," Ernest said.

"I saw what she looked like," Kath said. "I don't know how bad those injuries really were. Anyway, of course it's her. Who else could it be?"

The others looked uncomfortable for a moment. "You know Adam said he thought he saw David and Becky in the forest yesterday-" Hannah began, but Kath butted in.

"He must have been seeing things. We all know they're dead, we saw them killed. How could he have seen them?" No one replied, but Ruth didn't think they were all so sure as Kath was.

"Maybe there really are more people on the island," Amy said. "I was just saying to Adam that I'd seen Tom down near the stream and he said that was funny because he'd seen someone who looked like Tom from a distance at the other side of the island."

"Other people who look exactly like the others?" Kath said scathingly. "I think Adam's seeing things again. You want to watch out, this island's sending you crazy."

"Or lay off the mushrooms," Ernest said. The others, except Adam, laughed.

"Actually," Emma said, "I'm not so sure. There do seem to be more people around, although how I can't imagine."

"Another crash?" Ernest said. "But surely we'd have noticed."

"It must be a rescue party!" Sophie shouted excitedly.

"We'd have noticed," Kath said.

"Would we, though?" Amy said. "I mean, we've not always kept the best look out."

"She'll know," Kath said, kicking Ruth. Everyone turned to look at her, faces eager with the hope of rescue. What will they do if I tell them the truth, thought Ruth fearfully? They'll kill me!

"No rescue party has arrived from outside the island," she said. "I wish it had, but it hasn't."

"So why are there more people around than usual?" Emma asked.

"There's no one else on the island," she said. "Only us who were in the crash."

"You're being very careful with your words," Ernest said, looking at her closely. "I can't help think there's something you're not saying."

Ruth said nothing, thinking it was probably the wisest course. Ernest was too clever for her, he would see through anything she tried to say.

"What were you doing trespassing, anyway?" Kath asked.

"I've got as much right to go anywhere on this island as you have," Ruth said. "Why should I have to be answerable to you for everything I do?"

"I think this is answer enough," Kath replied, holding up the gun and aiming it towards her.
 
 
The story continues...