Misplaced 6, part 3.

"What were you doing?" Kath asked again, but Ruth didn't answer. She stared at the gun, unable to think what to say.


"More to the point, what are we going to do about it?" Ernest said.

"You know what we said," Kath replied. "They were to keep out or risk being shot."

"But we wouldn't actually do that, would we?" Sophie asked uncertainly, looking from Kath to Ernest.

"If we don't protect our resources, we'll starve," Kath said. "Would you prefer that?" Sophie subsided unhappily.

"I still say there's something she's not telling us," Ernest said. "I don't think we should be so quick to dispose of her until we find out what."

"Well then," said Emma, "Let's contact the others, tell them we've got her and ask what's going on."

"Good plan," Kath said. "Now we've got her we can make them answer."

"The others don't know I came," Ruth said quickly. "They've got nothing to do with it." She didn't want them to talk to the others and to discover the truth. Now that she had heard them talking it didn't seem a good idea for them to find out that more people had arrived on the island- more people meant more competition. She could guess how Kath would react to that. Her glance fell upon the gun once more.

"Don't blame them for what I've done," she said. "That's my own responsibility. Leave them alone."

"You should have thought of that before you came," Kath said. "

"I didn't think you'd be so unjust as to punish them for something I'd done!" Ruth replied angrily.

"Shut up," Emma responded. "Unless you're going to be helpful."



Ernest and Emma were dispatched to the other camp to arrange a meeting. The others went about their business, but from a distance kept watch on Ruth, who was tied to a tree. Ruth watched them in turn, trying to work out what it would be best to do. She could see that half of those in this camp were held there by their fear; fear of starving to death or falling victim to the Creature, and fear of what Kath might do with the gun. She kept it with her all the time. So the others went along with her out of fear, and the sense of protection that being on the side with the gun gave. But they weren't entirely happy with Kath's belligerent attitude, Ruth could see. Perhaps if Kath tried to force them into actually carrying out her threats they would refuse, and the situation on the island could be defused. But with the gun as an ever-present threat, Ruth was too scared to want to risk that. If she was wrong, if they were intimidated into going along with Kath again, she would die.

She struggled not to cry. Just at the moment she had found the radio, just as all their problems had seemed close to being solved, this had to happen. Another day, a few more hours and this nightmare might have been over. Now everyone would have to endure for longer- possibly for the rest of their lives, however long that might be.

She heard a shout in the forest behind her, and a few moments later Emma and Ernest emerged into the clearing, with Nick and Patrick not far behind. Her Patrick, not the semi-monkey from this island. Ruth wondered how much Kath's gang had known of Patrick's and Mick's instability.

"Wait here," Emma said as the group came up to her. "I'll go and find Kath. Ernest, you stay with them." She disappeared towards the beach. Ruth looked at Ernest. She wasn't sure what he thought of what was going on.

"May I speak to my friends alone for a moment?" she asked. Ernest looked at her. "Can we trust you?" he asked.

"I promise not to try to escape," Ruth replied, meeting his eye.

"All right," he said. "But be quick. You've got till the others get back." He walked a bit further away, until he was out of earshot if they spoke quietly but not out of sight. Nick and Patrick came closer to Ruth.

"Well, so here you are," Nick said. "And I have to say it's no one's fault but your own, running off and leaving Ruth like that."

"I know," Ruth replied. "Don't make it any worse for me. I know I was silly, and I'll pay for it with my life. They'll kill me if I won't join them, I'd be dead already if it wasn't for Ernest. I know I deserve it, and I hope I can bear it. But there's worse than that, and I am afraid..."

"We can't just abandon you," Patrick said urgently, glancing at Nick.

"Come on," Nick said to her. "We'll make a run for it." Ruth looked at them, longing to say yes. But she shook her head.

"No. I promised I wouldn't."

"Why bother about that?" Nick asked, surprised. "You know what they've done, what they'll do to you if you stay. Do you think they expect you to keep your word? They don't even know you."

"They do know me," Ruth said. "The other me. And she would keep her word, like I must."

"We'll say we forced you," Patrick said. "Then you won't be to blame."

"Yes I would," she replied. "Don't think I'm not grateful," she added. "But I can't do it."

"You're scared of what they might do if they caught you trying to escape."

"It couldn't be any worse for me. But that's not what I'm afraid of- I'm afraid they will force me to tell them what I found."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't just sneak into their territory for fun," she said. "I went to the crash site, looking to see if there was any useful equipment there or whether they'd already taken it. And I found it."

"You found radio stuff?" Nick's voice did a sudden drop in volume but rose in excitement. "You mean it definitely survived the crash?"

"Yes, it looked like it was in working order. I tried to take it with me, but I couldn't remove it, I didn't have any tools. You'll need to cut it free. So I started back to camp to tell the rest of you but I was seen and caught."

"Do they know?" Nick asked eagerly. Ruth shook her head.

"I don't think so. I don't think they even realised that's where I'd been, or they'd have asked me about it. It should be safe until you have a chance to get it. The plane's so burnt, it's easy to see why they struggled so much more than us. All the tools and things we had were destroyed. They seem to spend the evenings together round the fire, for fear of the monster. That's probably the best time to get it, especially if you approach from along the coast."
 
 
The story continues...