Misplaced 7, part 3

They set off, but it was a slow procession. Nick was carrying the precious radio. Ruth had to be carried most of the way, and Adam was still half concussed and unsteady. He was quiet, ashamed of what he had done and been implicated in. The others were fairly silent too, still feeling uncomfortable about leaving Ruth behind.


“Once we’re through, we can organise a rescue party,” Nick said, but he knew, as the others did, that it might already be too late.

“So you fell off the cliff, and you woke up lying on the beach?” Rachel asked Adam, who nodded.

“I must have been knocked unconscious when I hit the water, or a rock or something, and been washed up on the beach. I was lucky, really. I knew roughly where your camp was so I thought I’d better come and warn you about what the others were doing- and to apologise. I was stupid to follow Kath, but I never thought she’d go as far as she has done. And by the time I realised, it was too late, I couldn’t leave or she’d have- well, you can see for yourselves. And I think some of the others are the same.

“Couldn’t you have tried to stop Kath?” Tom asked. Adam shook his head, then said;

“Well...perhaps. She had the gun all the time, and I’m pretty sure she’d have used it if she thought it was necessary. Maybe there was something we could have done. But I was too scared. I’m sorry.”

“We’ve all been scared,” Tom said. “It’s not going to do any good blaming people now. We’ve just got to get out of here.”

“That could be a problem,” Patrick said. He and his other self were at the front of the group. “Look.”

They stopped and looked. Peering anxiously down towards the edge of the forest, she could see movement. Her heart sank. It was them- she could see them all, including Ruth, still with wrists tied- and Kath with the gun.

“Come on,” Nick said urgently. “We’ve got to get to the cave first.”

They hurried on down the hill. But Ruth, half walking, half carried, could see that they weren’t going to make it.

“I’m slowing you down,” she said. “Put me down and keep going. I’ll follow you when I can.”

“Don’t be silly,” Tom said. “We can’t just leave you.”

“The others would find you,” Rachel said.

“Better than them catching all of us,” Ruth said, but she had to shut her mouth quickly to stop an ‘ow’ escaping as she stumbled and was jolted. She gritted her teeth and kept going, as fast as she could. But she knew it was no use.



Below them their enemies were hurrying uphill towards the cave, led by Amy and Sophie. They didn’t have to carry anyone or anything, although Ruth, being led like a dog on a lead by the rope attached to her wrists, hung back as much as she could to try to slow them down. At least, she did until Emma began whipping her with the end of the rope to keep her moving.

They reached an open space just in front of the cave mouth and stopped. Nick and the others were not far away, and arrived only a minute or two later, hot and out of breath, and in Ruth’s case exhausted. She sank to the ground as soon as they stopped, everything else fading to a dangerous background as she tried to breathe deeply and control the pain.

Ruth looked at her, knowing that she had failed. Her friends could not now escape, and even if they had their secret was betrayed, and their enemies would find the other island. And there was the radio- no longer secret, but obvious for all to see. Her plan, and all chance of escape, had completely disappeared.

“So then,” Kath said, stepping forward. “It looks like we have a certain stalemate.” Then she stared. “But...what?” She pointed at Tom, and then at Tom; at Rachel, and then at Rachel; at the two Patricks and at Nick and Mick; at Ruth, sunk on the ground, and then looked back to Ruth who stood behind her, wrists tied, staring at the ground.

“Let us through,” Nick said. “Can’t you see these two-” he indicated Ruth and Adam, who had sat down beside her- “are ill?”

“Oh yes,” said Kath. “And why are you so keen to get into that cave?” At that moment, Sophie and Amy, who had been exploring the cave, came running back to Kath.

“It...it goes through to somewhere else!” Sophie shouted.

“Somewhere else?” Emma said. “Where?”

“Another island,” Ruth said, still staring at the ground, and all Kath’s side turned to look at her. “Another island, just like this one, only- a bit different. That’s the island I crashed on, with my friends. We are stranded too, just as much as you are, so you can’t escape that way. We found that out when we came through here, hoping the same thing.”

“No escape that way, perhaps,” Ernest said. “But that’s what you’re carrying?” He pointed to the radio Nick was clinging to like a lifeline. Nick’s expression changed to one of panic, as he tried to think what to say.

“Just some stuff we found,” he said, trying to sound casual. But it was no good. Ernest knows, Ruth thought. He just doesn’t want to sound like he does.

“It looks like radio equipment to me,” Ernest said mildly.

“A radio?” Kath said. Nick stood his ground, but he looked worried.

“Well then, I think we’ve got a plan,” Kath said. “You give us the radio, and we’ll let you through.”

Nick’s group looked at each other. The radio was their one hope of escape. But right now, with Kath and the gun in front of them, it didn’t seem unreasonable to trade it for the comparative safety of escape to the other island. But what would the others say- or do- once they found out that the radio did not work? None of them had the skills to repair it, or the tools.

“We’ll give it to you if you let Ruth go,” Nick said. Ruth looked up, half hopeful, half wanting to object.

“All right,” Kath said.

Nick put the radio down. Ernest began to untie Ruth, but Emma stopped him. “Check it first,” she said. Kath picked the radio up.

“It’s broken,” she said. “It doesn’t work.” She threw it to one side. “You tried to trick us,” she said, raising the gun. The others took a step back. Ruth tried to pull free but Emma had a firm grip on the rope and jerked her back.

“You’re going nowhere,” she said, but then stopped and turned as the howl of the Creature cut through her words. It sounded frighteningly close.
 
 
The story continues...