I walked in a daze. I kept Grant as a target to follow and would have followed him anywhere. I was paying absolutely no attention to anything other than his back as I robotically followed along. My brain was fried. From head to toe, I ached and was utterly exhausted. But the thing that paralyzed me and had me unable to think clearly was the realization that I had come so close to dying, and more than once. Even a cat with nine lives would be worn thin by now.

My feet shuffled along the dirt, hitting fallen branches and crunching over dried leaves. I didn’t know where Grant was leading me; I didn’t care. I just wanted to get far away from that cliff.

Grant stopped walking suddenly and crouched down on bended knees, putting his head in his hands. I stood still, waiting. He sighed loudly and rubbed his face aggressively before standing up.

"I have no idea where I’m going " he sighed and threw his arms up in defeat. "I’m sorry, Ryleigh. I should’ve done more to protect you, to keep you safe, to keep you from Aaron..."

I blinked and watched his mouth move, his words slurring as they hit my ears.

"I believe you, Grant," I muttered.

He walked up and hugged me tightly. When he didn’t let go, a wave came over me, jolting me into reality and I clung onto him. I broke into deep sobs. I cried so hard that I barely made a sound. My body convulsed and my head spun. Grant was completely holding me up. If he hadn’t held me, I would have fallen to the ground. My body gave up; I couldn’t handle any more.

Carefully he helped me sit down where he cradled me in his arms as I cried. I only stopped because I could barely breathe. My lungs were tight as I took quick, short breaths.

"Relax," Grant soothed. "Breathe. You’re having a panic attack. Take it easy, I’ve got you."

I leaned into him and closed my eyes until I could breathe normally again. I don’t know how long it took. My eyes stung from crying and my face was swollen.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don’t be. It’s fine," Grant said softly. "I’m so sorry about Aaron."

I looked at him. "I didn’t believe him, you know. I don’t think you’re a spy...like he was."

"Good, because I’m not. He’s clearly crazy! I have no idea why he said that."

I shrugged. "I have no idea why any of this is happening, so..."

"I don’t either," he agreed.

All I wanted to do was go home. It sounded like a fantasy that would never happen, but I longed for it so much. When I told this to Grant, it motivated us both enough to get up and plan a way back down the hill so we could try to find the others. We shared what little food and water we had, doing our best to keep going.

We had gotten turned around, but after a few wrong turns we finally found the right pathway. Grant said our best bet was to head toward Beth since neither of us thought Will would have left her where she was for very long. Even if Cal was too sickly to go with him, we knew he’d station Cal somewhere and continue on alone. He’d come back for her, but only after he went back for Beth.

It was tougher getting down the hill than it had been getting up it. When we crossed the tents, where we’d found Cal, it looked like we had just missed a war. The tents’ stakes were ripped out of the ground and strewn everywhere. All their contents had been thrown about and were mostly broken or destroyed completely.

"Do you think..." my voice trailed off before I could speak Will or Cal’s names aloud.

Grant scanned over the area closely before answering me. "If they did come through here, they won."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because," Grant said. "Will’s not going down without a fight. And if there was a fight? He’d win. I saw how he was with Beth, there’s no way he would not return to her. It’s kinda like how I-"

He stopped and cleared his throat.

"Kinda like how you what?" I pushed.

He glanced at me quickly before looking away again. "Nothing. I’ll tell you later."

I nodded quietly. "Oh. Okay."

We got down the hill and found the route we had taken to get there and headed back. It didn’t take too long before we felt like we were close to where we had left Beth. The thought of getting back to them and having our group back together again was enough for me to pick up my pace.

Grant slowed down as he shaded his eyes from the sun, looking up into the trees. I walked a few steps ahead of him until I realized he was checking the trees for Beth. He couldn’t find her.

"Beth!" I yelled. "Will!"

Grant shook his head. "Don’t! Someone could hear you."

"Yeah, like maybe Beth, Will, or Cal!" I said. "We need to find them."

He sighed. "Beth’s not in that tree anymore and there’s no sign of a struggle or anything, right? So, Will probably found her. But they didn’t stick around here."

I grunted in frustration. "This is insane! Where’d they go?"

"Hey, look!" he yelled as I watched him run over to a tree and pick up a rope. "This was ours, I know it. We used it for Beth."

I stared and didn’t say anything. Was that good or bad, finding that rope?

"Come on," he instructed and walked away from the trees.

I sped up to follow him, not letting my irritation hide. "Where are we going? We don’t know where they are!"

Grant didn’t reply for a few minutes. Instead he led us to a shaded area so we could sit.

"Listen, Ryleigh. I trust Will. He’ll watch out for Beth and Cal. Finding this rope tells me that he got Beth down. There’s no sign of...a struggle or anything, you know? I don’t know where they went, but I’d guess they’re either looking for a cabin or somewhere to stay safely or..."

"Or what?" I asked.

"Or they’re going to try to get off this island," he replied.

I stared at him. "What? You really think they’d try to get off this island without us? No way!"

"I’m not saying I’m happy about it, if that’s what they’re doing, but think about it. Beth and Cal are both in pretty bad shape. What is Will supposed to do? If he can get them out of here safely and call the police, then I can’t be mad," Grant said.

I thought it over. I had to agree with him. Even though I wasn’t happy about it either, I couldn’t blame Will for taking the opportunity to save them all if he got the chance.

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but I guess you’re right," I sighed. "If they did get a chance to get out of here, then they should take it and go for help. I just hate thinking that they’re gone and I’m...still here alone."

Grant punched me playfully on the arm. "You’re not here alone."

I looked up at him and smiled. "I meant we. Sorry."

He smiled back. "Being alone with me isn’t that bad, is it?"

I laughed. "No, I guess not." I sighed loudly, exaggerating it.

Grant laughed and pretended to hold his heart in pain.

"Come on, heartbreaker," he said as he stood up. "Whether they’re still here or not, we still should keep going, huh?"

I stood up and brushed myself off. "Yeah. You lead. I have no idea where to even go."

"Not that I really do either, but I’ll try my best."

"That’s all I can ask for," I replied.

Fortunately for us, Grant somehow led us to the stream. We gulped down water, drenched ourselves head-to-toe, and filled up our bottles before taking a break near some rocks in the shade.

"Grant," I said quietly. "I still can’t believe Will was right about Aaron. There are just so many holes to fill...I don’t get it."

He stared off at the water. "Yeah, I know. I knew the dude wasn’t exactly super friendly or anything, but I didn’t suspect...I feel so stupid not having had a clue. Will did. But me? How did I have no idea?"

"None of us did. Well, except for Will, I guess," I replied. "But I didn’t think Aaron was against us."

I sighed and faced him. "I don’t even know what that means when I say Aaron was against us. I’m so confused. He was against us, so then who exactly was he with and why?"

Grant thought for a moment, his brow furrowed and his eyes gazing out without blinking.

"You’re right, " he said finally. "Who cares that he was a spy of some sort and against us? The question should be who was he with and why was he with them in the first place? The rest of them are still out here somewhere. We’re not helping ourselves by sneaking around this island, hoping not to run into any of them. Odds are, we will run into them again at least once."

"Yeah, because that really puts me at ease, Grant. Thanks." I laughed nervously.

"Sorry, but I’m serious," he said. "Think about it. There are other people on this island - terrible, ruthless people who are out to kill us - and we still don’t know why they’re here or how many of them there are. Maybe there’s a reason we haven’t gotten off this island yet."

"Seriously, Grant, stop. You’re making me feel warm and fuzzy with all the security and safety you’re talking about," I said.

Grant stood up and started pacing in circles.

Ignoring me, Grant kept talking. "Maybe we haven’t escaped this place because we’ve been hiding out and running instead of being ready."

"You mean we’ve been reactive instead of proactive?" I asked.

He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "Exactly! That’s it! We should’ve been proactive. But, all we’re doing is waiting for stuff to happen and then react to it. The only thing we’ve done to defend ourselves is hide!"

I stood up and walked in front of him, blocking his path of circles.

"Grant," I said as I put my hands on his chest, stopping him in place. "We don’t even know what we’re up against here. I think hiding is still a good idea. And running, for that matter. It’s what has kept us alive."

"Is it?" he asked.

I nodded. Grant shook his head.

"I don’t think so, Ry. I think we’re still alive because we’ve had to fight. We’ve been smart and tough, and when push came to shove...oh, sorry. I didn’t mean that literally."

I took my hands off of him and stepped aside.

"Literally though? You’re right," I admitted. "Aaron would’ve killed me if he hadn’t fallen off that cliff. If all we do is run and hide, we’ll never get off this island. If we don’t fight, we could die. I’m not saying we need to take them out one-by-one, but we do need a strategy."

He nodded and placed his hands on his hips. I didn’t like the expression that came across his face.

"You’re not going to like what I’m about to say," he told me.

When I didn’t respond, he continued.

"We need to go back," he said.

"Back?" I asked. "Where?"

He looked at me cautiously.

"We need to go back to the cabin."

Next Chapter: Thirty Nine