"Wait...what?" Grant asked loudly. "Aaron? He’s not a mole. We rescued him, remember? We saw Dean beat him on camera!"

Will’s eyes narrowed. "Not really. We saw Dean beat something. But we didn’t see if it was Aaron. Whoever, or whatever, Dean was hitting with his belt was off camera. None of us saw Aaron actually getting hit."

I thought about what he was saying. As strange as his theory was, I had to admit he was right about Dean hitting Aaron. We hadn’t actually seen Dean’s belt come into contact with Aaron.

"When we found Aaron," I said. "Did he look beaten up? I couldn’t tell. It was so dark outside. Or did he seem hurt or bruised?"

Grant shook his head. "Now that I think about it? No, not really. I don’t know."

It didn’t make any sense, but nothing about this entire island did. If Aaron was some kind of snitch and was against our group, whose group was he a part of?

The fire had gone out completely by that point. My head was spinning. I didn’t want to believe Will’s theory, but the longer I thought about it, the more it actually made sense. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes.

Since it was dark and we had found each other again, the four of us decided to stay put for the night. I wasn’t sure if Grant would want to keep our sleeping arrangement now that Will and Beth were there. I actually felt a little disappointed at the thought of not sleeping next to him again, and then scolded myself for the thought. He’d probably want Beth and I to sleep next to one another so the guys could keep watch or something.

I started cleaning up what was left from the fish we ate when I noticed Will help Beth up.

"They’re going to sleep behind those rocks over there," Grant told me, pointing to a cluster of rocks. "We’ll take the same spot as last night, if that’s okay with you."

"Oh," I replied, trying not to let the happiness show too much in my voice. "Sure, that’s fine. Whatever is most comfortable for Beth."

As I laid down next to Grant, all I could think about was Cal. I wondered if she was hurt or scared. I wouldn’t have made it without her when we were in that cabin’s basement. Grant stirred next to me.

"Are you awake?" he whispered.

I rolled over to face him. "Of course. I can’t sleep at all."

"Me neither," he replied. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I whispered.

"What do you think about what Will said?" he asked. "Do you think Aaron could really be some kind of spy or something?"

I rolled onto my back and stared up at the sky. "Honestly? I don’t know. But, I guess it’s possible."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you’re right. I don’t want to think it’s a possibility, but with all the other crazy stuff on this island, I guess I could see how Will could come to that conclusion."

I turned my head to look at him.

"When we find him, I think we’ll be able to tell," I told him.

"If we find him," Grant said. "We’ll focus on finding Cal first and then I guess we’ll have to see what to do about Aaron."

I knew he was conflicted. He had somehow become our leader and he tried to get along with each one of us. He didn’t want to think that Aaron, or anyone else, could betray him.

I didn’t get much sleep. I just tossed and turned most of the night, even with Grant next to me. By the time I finally fell asleep, it felt like only mere minutes had passed before I woke up.

Grant went back to drawing a makeshift map in the dirt. We didn’t know everything that was on the island, so Grant drew in what we did know and then added a big blank space for the area that was still unknown to us. Will showed him which direction Beth said she saw Cal going.

 Grant told us we should stay on the side of the stream we were already on so we wouldn’t have to cross over. We could follow the water upstream until we got to where Beth thought Cal went. After that, we just had to hope we’d be able to find her.

"I know you want to head out right now," Will told us. "But I was thinking, what if I run ahead of you? I can look for cameras or traps."

It wasn’t a bad idea. Will had proven he was good at spotting that stuff so far.

"That would be great," I told him. "But, what about Beth?"

She smiled at me. "We have a plan."

"You do?" I asked.

She nodded and looked at Will.

"Well, obviously Beth can’t walk and I can carry her on my back. But it’ll be hard if I’m trying to be sneaky, right?" Will said.

Grant and I stayed silent as Will started to describe his plan. Using rope, some branches, and a few items of clothing, he wanted to make a seat for Beth that could be raised and lowered with the rope.

"We’ll throw the rope over a steady tree branch and pull her up. Using the binoculars, she can keep an eye on us." Will beamed.

"And what happens if something does happen to us? If we get captured or something, then we’re caught and Beth is stuck hanging from a tree?" I asked.

"Okay," Will said, sounding annoyed. "One, we won’t get captured. And B, Beth can easily lower herself if she needs to."

I sighed heavily and looked at Grant.

"I like the idea of having a lookout," Grant said. "But I have to admit, it makes me nervous to put Beth hanging like that."

"Let’s try it and if you don’t think I’ll be safe, then we can think of something else," Beth suggested.

We all agreed, mostly because we didn’t have much time to waste. It was worth a try. While Grant and Will started putting that together, I tried to get myself ready. I had my knife, Gina’s injections, and Grant would carry the backpack. I divided up some food, which we were seriously running low on, and passed around what was left of the water.

As soon as the guys were ready, we packed up our belongings and started hiking in the opposite direction. Will carried Beth on his back while Grant held onto the makeshift seat they’d made. We didn’t want to set Beth up somewhere that would be too far away from wherever we’d end up. Since we weren’t sure where Cal was exactly, we would have to leave Beth someplace where she’d be comfortable, safe, and within a short enough distance for us to easily return to her.

Once we got back to the stream, we followed it as it led us right back to where we had been when we all got separated. I felt bad that we didn’t know where Aaron could be. I doubted he was some sort of mole and besides, he was a part of our group, whether Will liked it or not. If we somehow figured out where he could be, I knew we would have to go after him, too.

The sun was beating down and I was covered in sweat in the black t-shirt. Will located a tree that he felt would be good for Beth. He and Grant tossed the rope over a high branch, tugged on it a few times, and determined it was good enough to hold Beth. I took the opportunity to rinse out my tank top and swap it for the t-shirt. It was drenched, and I let myself enjoy it before it quickly dried again. As they helped Beth on, I had second thoughts but silently watched them slowly raise her up. She held the binoculars up to her face and adjusted them, looking all around and gave us a thumbs up. We told Beth that we would come back for her and she nodded, even though she looked worried. I promised her I would never leave the island without her.

Grant looked at both Will and me, sighed and said, "Okay, let’s go save Cal."

Next Chapter: Thirty Two