Chapter 4 - Lost

Kyle cut the engines to the yacht when they were far away from any land. He sat in the captain’s chair and watched Emily. She was lying on the chaise in her bikini, soaking up the sun. Allen played nearby with one of the guards. He kept pulling at his life vest, something Emily insisted he wore at all times.

Kyle turned his chair. From up by the helm, he could see the entire boat. The guards were situated throughout the yacht. No one was getting on board without one of the guards seeing them. The ocean was quiet and a light breeze was blowing. He turned back to Emily. With the sunglasses covering his eyes, he could secretly watch her. She was relaxed, not quite asleep, but still enjoying being out on the water.

It was only an hour later that she sat up and pulled off her sunglasses. She looked over at Allen, who was playing and smiled.

“Are you hungry?” she asked, getting out of the chaise.

“Peanut butter,” he said, and ran toward Emily.

“Ok, one peanut butter and jelly coming up.” She took his hand and walked down into the main living quarters.

Kyle blurred into the room a few minutes later and sat by Allen.

“Is there anything you need?” he asked, looking at Emily.

“No, I think we’re fine,” she told him, and walked over to Allen with a sandwich and chips. Emily sat down with a sandwich of her own and started to eat.

“Are you all going to be ok without eating this week?” she asked him, stealing one of Allen’s chips.

“Yes, we all fed well before leaving. We’ll be good for a few weeks.”

“What about boredom?”

He chuckled slightly, “We’re good with that, too.”

“Sir?” one of the guards called down.

“Is it ok if he comes down?” Kyle asked Emily, and she nodded.

“Come,” he called up the stairs.

One of the new recruits came down the stairs, “Sir, there’s a weather alert coming over the radio.”

“What kind of alert?” he asked, sighing.

“Just a storm warning… high swells, wind, and rain.”

“Ok,” Kyle thought for a moment. “We can’t go back to the island, and it’s too dangerous to go to the mainland. We’ll just have to ride it out.”

“Is that safe?” Emily asked, frowning.

“Hopefully, we don’t really have a choice,” Kyle said, and headed up the stairs.

“Take it off,” Allen yelled, pulling at his life jacket.

“I said, no. Keep it on,” Emily told him, before finishing her sandwich and starting on the dishes.

Emily jumped slightly when the thunder cracked. She glanced out the port window and saw the black clouds moving in quickly. Lightning lit up the sky and she turned back to Allen nervously.

“Want to watch a movie?” she asked, cleaning off his face.

“Pooh!” he yelled and ran for the bean bag.

“Pooh… sure… only 5 times this week,” she replied, pressing ‘play’ on the DVD. She went over and sat on the bean bag by Allen and mussed his black hair playfully. The rain began to pelt the boat and Emily had to turn up the volume to drown out the sound. With every rock of the boat, she cringed and held Allen a little tighter.

A violent crash sounded as Emily and Allen were thrown against the side of the living area. She could feel blood dripping down her forehead, but looked Allen over and he was unhurt. They were lying against the side of the boat, which meant the boat was listing dangerously. Cold water began to flood down the stairs and into the living area.

Four guards appeared and swam to them. One pulled Allen away from Emily’s grasp, and the others took Emily’s arms and hauled her through the cold water. They had to use extreme strength to fight against the current as the water surged into the boat. Kyle was watching them from inside a life raft and pulled Allen on board, and then turned to Emily. He helped her hoist into the life raft as it shook with the large waves.

Mark was in a second life raft full of guards. He threw a rope to Kyle, and they tethered the rafts together so they wouldn’t get separated. Emily laid down on the bottom of the raft and held Allen with one hand, while she clung to the raft with the other. The wind pounded the small rafts and water sloshed over the sides. Kyle and the guards frantically dipped buckets full of water out of the raft to keep it afloat.

Hours passed as the storm raged. Emily and Allen were both soaked and shivering in the cold. The wind and rain assaulted the small rafts and several times almost capsized them. As the storm subsided, Emily curled up with Allen and both fell asleep, exhausted from the night’s storm.

The sun finally broke through the clouds and Emily sat up, looking around them. There was nothing but ocean as far as she could see. Allen was still asleep in his life vest. Shivering, Emily crawled onto one of the hard bench seats.

“Let me see your head,” Kyle said, pulling her hair back. She had smacked her head against a windowsill as the boat was thrown onto its side.

“Ouch,” she cried out when he touched the cut.

“Sorry, it’s not too deep.” He pulled off his shirt and handed it to Emily. She slipped it on and looked over at the guards in the other boat. One of the guards took his shirt off, too, and tossed it to Emily, so she laid it on top of Allen.

“What happened?” she asked, finally.

“Squall, we didn’t have time to turn into it,” he said, looking out over the ocean.

“Are there any supplies on the rafts?”

Kyle shook his head, “If I remember correctly though, there was a small island just north of where we sank. The waves have been taking us slowly toward it.”

“Was anyone hurt?” She looked over the guards.

“Just you,” he said with a half-smile.

As afternoon approached, the sun began to beat down on them. Emily set up a cover for Allen using shirts from the guards to shade him from the sun. She could feel her skin burning but preferred to have Allen covered.

“Mommy, when’s lunch?” Allen asked.

“We don’t have anything to eat right now, Baby,” she said, taking his hand.

“I’m hungry.”

“I know. As soon as we’re rescued, we’ll get to eat.” She smiled down at him.

“Water?” he asked, pointing out to the ocean.

“We can’t drink that water, it’s yucky.” She was trying to sound upbeat, but she was worried. She was already getting thirsty, and knew dehydration would set in quickly in the afternoon heat.

Emily dipped her hand into the cool water and rubbed it on her skin to calm the burning. She was getting a headache from the head wound and the sun glaring off of the water was making it worse.

The sun set over the horizon and they were thrown into darkness. Emily lay down with Allen, and looked up at the stars. They were so bright out on the ocean. There was a brisk breeze blowing across the rafts and both of them were soon asleep.

Darkness fell on the rafts for the second night. This time, Allen wouldn’t sleep. He was crying tearlessly and his lips were dry and cracked. Emily held him and rocked. Her arms were blistering with the sunburn, and her thirst was almost unbearable. The guards watched helplessly, frustrated to be surrounded by water that they couldn’t drink.

Late into the night, Allen finally cried himself to sleep and Emily handed him over to Kyle to hold. She curled up on the hard bench seat and watched the moon shine off of the water.

“How are you holding up?” one of the guards asked her from the other raft.

“Ok,” she said, though her voice cracked.

“Is there nothing we can do?” he asked Kyle.

“Nothing,” Kyle said, irritated.

Emily didn’t say it, but she knew that Allen only had a day or so left before dehydration would kill him. She watched him sleep in Kyle’s arms and felt utterly helpless. She wasn’t a religious woman, but she prayed that the island would appear soon or that they would be rescued. Surely Chevalier heard her calling for him and had sent help.

Another day approached and as the sun came up, Emily saw something that made her heart jump. The dark silhouette of an island had appeared off in the distance. The guards had already pulled the oars out of the rafts and were rowing toward it. Emily was worried that Allen hadn’t woken up yet. His skin was pale and dry and his lips were bleeding. She held him in her arms as the island drew closer.

“Is the island inhabited?” she asked Kyle.

“No”

Just before the rafts reached the beach, two of the guards jumped out and pulled the rafts onto the sand. Emily stumbled out of the raft with Allen and dropped down to her knees. It felt amazing to be on solid ground again.

“You two, walk the perimeter of the island. We’re looking for fresh water and something to eat,” Kyle ordered two recruits. “Mark, you take another guard and head inland to see what you can find.”

Emily watched as the guards set off. Allen opened his eyes slowly and looked around, then went back to sleep. Kyle took him from Emily and she followed them into the cover of the trees to get out of the sun.

She curled up against Allen and drifted in and out of sleep. The shade felt good, but her dry throat was painful.

Mark was the first of the guards to get back, “I found a cave with a fresh spring inside.”

Kyle picked Emily up and cradled her as Mark took Allen, and they headed into the dense trees. About a mile inland, they came to the mouth of the cave. Kyle sat Emily down by the stream and she cupped her hand and brought it up for Allen. He opened his eyes and drank quickly.

“Not too much, it’ll make you sick,” Kyle said as she leaned down and began to drink.

Emily sat up and looked around the cave. The water was pouring out of a crack in the wall. The cave was just a single room, but the cool air felt good against her burned skin. Allen was now on the ground, splashing in the water.

The guards checking the island’s perimeter came into the cave.

“Nothing much to report. We didn’t see any signs of life other than birds, and so far, no food,” he said, sitting down against the cave wall.

Kyle sighed, “Maybe the others will find something.”

With her thirst quenched, Emily was able to lean back against a rock and shut her eyes. The sound of the wind through the trees was soothing, and she soon fell asleep.

“Emily?” Kyle said, touching her hand gently.

Emily opened her eyes and saw the banana in his hand. She quickly peeled it and went to hand it to Allen, but he was already eating. She ate it and picked up another.

“These are so good,” she said, starting in on the second one.

“There are plenty, some coconuts too,” he told her. “Now, what to do about those burns.”

She looked over her arms and legs and saw the bright red burns and blisters. She could only imagine what her face must look like, “I’m not sure there’s anything we can do about it.”

“Well at least stay out of the sun.”

She nodded.

“Have you… tried to contact Chevalier?” Kyle asked.

“Yes,” she said, leaning back against the cave wall.

“The storm blew us off course. We weren’t where we said we would be,” he told the guards. Everyone was gathered in the small cave.

After a sleepless night in the cave, Emily headed out into the trees to explore the island. She didn’t even care that four members of the Cavalry followed her. She watched the birds fly away from her and marveled at the huge green trees. The island was beautiful with the lush, green, mossy ground and thick palm trees. It was also quiet and peaceful after the hustle and bustle of the palace. Multi-colored birds flew above them as they walked, and the guards pushed large flowers to the side to clear a path.

Emily pulled apart some palm leaves, stepped out into a clearing, and smiled at the small pond. A fresh water stream emptied into it, and she stepped in after she slipped off the guard shirt, leaving only the bikini. The guards watched her carefully. The cool water felt good against her burns.

“Come on in,” she said, smiling at the guards.

They looked at one another and one answered, “Not sure we’re allowed.”

“To swim?”

“With you,” he said, laughing.

“I say you are… come on in, it feels great,” she said, ducking down under the water. When she emerged, she saw the heku guards in the water fully dressed. They were walking toward her and splashing one another playfully.

“See, feels good!” she said, swimming toward them a little.

Emily pushed one guard under the water and laughed. He came up and they heard a throat clear beside the pond. The guards looked over at Kyle, who was watching them with his arms crossed.

“Sorry, Sir,” they each mumbled, and swam toward the land.

“I asked them to come in,” Emily told him, following them.

“We have work to do. I want a signal fire and a message etched into the beach. Then we’re going to need more food,” he said as they stepped out.

Emily pulled on the shirt Kyle had given her on the raft, and followed him back to the cave as the guards headed off to get some things done. He reached over and put his hand against the small of her back. Before they reached the cave, he pulled her close to him and looked into her eyes.

“How are you holding up?” he asked, touching her cheek lightly.

“I’m ok, really. We have food and water, that’s all we need.” She pulled away from him, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

“He’ll come for us.”

“I know,” she said, smiling.

Before she could protest, Kyle’s lips pressed against hers. She tried to pull away, but he held her close to him. She put her hands against his shoulders and he finally let her go.

Kyle smiled at her, “Sorry about that.”

“No you aren’t. I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” she said, moving a step back.

“I know that.”

“I also don’t want you to get caught overstepping. You know the guards would tell him,” she said, watching him.

“I know that, too, but maybe it’s worth it,” he told her, and took a step toward her.

“Kyle, don’t.” She stood her ground and watched him.

He nodded, “Come on, let’s go back to the cave.”

She followed a few steps behind him. She could hear Allen laughing as they approached the cave. One of the guards had collected some twigs, and they were building houses with them on the floor of the cave. Allen had a banana in his hand as he watched his guard build a miniature town.

Emily sat down and grabbed half of a coconut and a sharp rock. She scooped the pulp out and ate it while watching Allen play.

***

“Sir, we’re at the location the coast guard said they found debris,” the Captain of the boat said to Chevalier. He was standing on the bow of the ship looking out over the water.

Something out on the water caught his eye and he watched it closely as the boat moved slowly towards it. He reached the hook into the water and pulled up a chaise cushion. He knew the debris was from Emily’s yacht, he had these cushions made especially for her in her favorite color. He knew she was alive and safe, he could feel that. He couldn’t, however, figure out where she was, and that infuriated him.

“Are there any islands around here?” Chevalier asked the Captain.

The Captain pulled out a map and started calculating their location, “Nothing close by. Maybe they are out on a raft?”

Chevalier couldn’t explain to him that they weren’t on a raft. He knew that Emily was too content to be hungry or thirsty, which she would be if they were still out on the water.

“Head for the closest island. I want to check all of them in this area,” he said to the Captain. The captain was getting paid well enough, that he just nodded and headed east toward the closest island.

“We should be there tomorrow afternoon.”

Chevalier nodded.

***

“It’s worth a shot, it can’t hurt, right?” Kyle asked, gathering the coconut milk into the empty husk.

“Yeah I guess,” Emily said, and slipped her shirt off. The burns were painful and she was getting a fever and a body ache.

Kyle slowly poured the coconut milk over the back of her neck, arms, and legs. He wanted so badly to reach out and hold her as she gasped in pain. He noticed her color was off and he knew she was running a fever. He felt extremely helpless as he watched her slowly getting sicker.

“That does feel good,” she said, shutting her eyes.

“Get more,” Kyle ordered one of the guards, who began refilling the husk.

After Kyle poured more milk on the blistered burns, Emily could finally lay down without so much intense pain. The guards had piled palm leaves in the corner of the room and then layered their shirts on it for a bed. She fell fast asleep, aided by the fever. Kyle sat by her and watched her sleep, no longer caring what the guards told Chevalier about their time on the island.

Allen tried to wake her a few times, but the guards stopped him and eventually took him out to the fresh water pond for a swim. Kyle was now alone in the small cave with Emily. He gently pulled a shirt over her, and then sat back again.

“Stop,” she whispered in her sleep, jerking slightly.

Kyle put his hand against her shoulder to try to calm down the nightmare.

“Don’t please,” she mumbled.

“Shhhhh,” he whispered, and kissed her forehead lightly. He was worried about how hot her skin felt against his lips.

Kyle got up and soaked a shirt in the cold water, and then put it against her forehead. When the guards returned with Allen, they kept him busy while Kyle took care of Emily. She stopped stirring and fell into a fever induced sleep. He kept a cool rag on her forehead and held her hand through the night. Allen fell asleep curled up with Kralen, one of the guards he had become attached to. The night air turned cold as it began to rain. The cave kept them dry, but the wind was coming in from the opening. Emily shivered slightly and Kyle pulled another shirt over her.

The rain stopped just as morning came and the cave began to warm up. Kyle changed out Emily’s cold rag and began to get more concerned when she didn’t wake up. Even when Allen started to cry after falling and scraping his knee, she didn’t move.

“Is this because of the burn?” one of the guards asked.

“I don’t know enough about burns to know, but I’m assuming it is,” Kyle said, watching her breathe.

“Want more coconut milk?”

“Yes, let’s try that again.”

The guard returned a few minutes later with a husk full of coconut milk. Kyle dipped the shirt into it and gently ran it across the burns on her legs, then moved to her arms. She groaned softly when he touched her neck, and he pulled his hand back quickly.

“Can mortals survive off of bananas and coconut?” he asked Kyle.

Kyle shrugged, “I don’t know that either.”

“I could try to catch a fish.”

“That’s a good idea. Take a shirt to use as a net,” Kyle suggested.

“Mommy?” Allen asked, walking over to Emily. Kyle pulled him into his lap to keep him from touching her.

“Mommy’s sleeping,” he whispered into Allen’s ear.

“Wake up Mommy!” Allen yelled, before Kyle could cover his mouth. Kyle frowned when she didn’t respond.

“Is Mommy sick?” Allen asked Kyle.

Kyle nodded and sat him back on the ground

“Do you think it would help if we took her into the pond?” Mark asked.

Kyle thought for a moment, and then shrugged, “I guess we can try it. So far, nothing’s working to get the fever down.”

Kyle picked Emily up gently, but she still moaned in pain. He carried her limp body to the pond and then stepped in, fully dressed. He walked in until she was submerged and only her face was out of the water. He could feel the heat from her body even under the cool water. As her body began to cool, she blinked a few times and opened her eyes.

“Hi,” he said, smiling down at her.

She looked around confused, “Where are we?”

“In the pond. I’m trying to get your fever down.”

“I hurt everywhere.”

“I know, does the water help?”

She nodded and then shut her eyes again. He brushed his lips lightly against hers and held her close to his body. It wasn’t until darkness set in that he took her back to the cave and laid her down on the palm leaf bed. Allen was already asleep on a makeshift bed in the opposite corner. The guards listened to the rain fall all night and watched over their charges.

For the next few days, Emily was in and out of consciousness as the guards played with and fed Allen. Kyle stayed by her side and helped her drink water and try to eat when she was awake. Even awake though, she was dazed and couldn’t remember where they were. Kyle stopped telling her about the island, it upset her, so he lied and told her they were at the palace.

The morning of the thirteenth day on the island, Emily sat up and looked around. Her fever had broken in the night, and the blisters had either dried up or burst. The skin on her legs, face, neck, and arms was peeling.

“How are you feeling?” Kyle asked, handing her a coconut husk full of water.

“Ok,” she said, her voice cracking. “What day is it?”

“Friday”

“So we’ve been here for six days?”

Kyle pushed the hair off of her shoulder, “Thirteen days.”

“No sign of anyone else?” She sat up and reached out for a banana.

“Nothing, we have a guard on lookout with a bonfire, but so far he hasn’t seen anything,” Kyle explained.

Emily ate in silence and watched Allen playing with Kralen. When she was done, she laid back down, feeling tired again.

“How are you all holding up?” she asked.

“We’re fine.” He smiled.

“Not thirsty?”

He shrugged, “It’s manageable.”

“Hmm, I’m so tired.”

“Then sleep,” he suggested, smiling down at her.

***

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Mark said, frustrated.

“I just need some time alone,” Emily explained, heading out of the cave.

“You have thirty minutes, and I’ll come looking for you.”

“I’m not a child, and there’s nothing on this island to hurt me. Stay here and watch Allen,” she said, and disappeared into the jungle.

Emily walked through the dense trees and looked around. She needed time to think, and the tension in the cave was stifling. She knew the heku were getting thirsty. It’d been three and a half weeks since the shipwreck, and as she was the only adult mortal on the island, she could feel them watching her closely. She knew they wouldn’t attack unless it came down to too much pain, but she wasn’t sure when that would be. She also wasn’t sure she could sustain fourteen thirsty heku and she worried about dying and leaving Allen alone with them.

Emily walked for about an hour and then sat against a tree on the spongy moss. She pulled her knees close to her and wrapped her arms around them, “Where are you, Chev?”

She sighed when she heard footsteps, “What?”

Kyle stepped out from behind a tree and sat by her, “Are you ok?”

“Fine,” she snapped. How hard was it for him to understand that she needed some alone time?

He put his arm around her, “I’m worried about you.”

“Why?”

“The bad dreams. It’s obvious you’re worried about us.”

“Of course I am. How long before you can’t control your thirst anymore?”

He smiled, “A long time, you’re safe here. Look at me.”

She glanced away, fighting back the tears.

Kyle put his hand under her chin and pulled her to face him, “You’re safe.”

“For how long?”

“We can go years without eating, Em.”

“You can… but how long before instincts kick in and …” He cut her off with a kiss. She tried to pull away from him, but he held her tightly. He leaned her back against the soft moss and trapped her wrists above her head with his hand.

“Kyle, stop,” she said, trying to get out from under him. He was kissing her neck softly and using his body weight to hold her down.

“Stop fighting me,” he whispered, before pressing his lips to hers again.

Emily turned her head to the side, “Get off of me.”

In one swift movement, Kyle tore her shirt in half and re-trapped her hands above her head, then began kissing down her neck slowly.

“Don’t do this, please,” she said, as she felt his hand at her back, untying her bikini top.

“Just relax,” he whispered, and then ran his tongue along the vein in her neck. She felt his teeth slowly sinking into the flesh of her neck and then the soothing warmth that came with the feeding process.

Emily knew what she had to do, Kyle had obviously lost control. She shut her eyes and focused. Within seconds, Kyle rolled off of her and writhed in pain. She felt the control. She didn’t want to turn him to ash, but needed to incapacitate him long enough to get away.

She watched as his body shook with the pain and his hands clutched at his chest. He groaned with the burning in his body and she got to her feet. She finally released him and watched as he fell unconscious to the mossy ground.

Emily grabbed her torn shirt and held it against herself as she ran back for the cave. The guards looked at her as she ran in and they got to their feet.

“What’s wrong?” Mark asked her.

She took one of their shirts from the bed and turned to the wall, putting it on quickly. The two puncture wounds on her neck didn’t go unnoticed as a small trickle of blood dripped down onto the white shirt.

“Emily,” Mark said, touching her arm.

“Don’t touch me!” she yelled, and he quickly jerked his hand back. She ran over and took Allen from Kralen, and then grabbed a small bunch of bananas with her other hand.

“If anyone follows me… you’ll be ash before you know it,” she said, backing out of the cave.

“Don’t go. Tell me what happened,” Mark said, taking a step towards her.

“Last warning,” she yelled, as she turned toward the trees and ran off.

Emily pulled from her fear and kept running with Allen clutched closely to her side. He asked several times for Kralen, but she ignored his questions and kept moving. She knew she was running north, and kept the steep mountain peek at her right so she wouldn’t end up going in a circle.

***

Kyle stumbled into the cave and fell to his knees a few minutes after she left, “Where is she?”

Mark glared at his Commanding Officer, “What did you do?”

“I said… where is she?” he snapped.

“She left, and threatened to turn anyone to ash that followed her,” Kralen said, standing beside Mark.

“How could you?” Mark asked, accusingly.

Kyle straightened up and ignored the lingering burning pain, “I am still your Commanding Officer, and you will treat me as such.”

“Yes, Sir,” Mark said, his voice full of loathing.

“Now, go find her,” he ordered, but none of them stood. “Now!”

Still none moved.

“Did you hear me?” he asked, angrily.

“Yes we did. But, we aren’t going to bring her back here, so you can do what you want with her,” Mark told him, and sat down on the cave ground.

***

As far as Emily could tell, she’d been moving quickly through the forest for a few hours. She could see the sun touching the horizon, and she knew in the dark she wouldn’t be able to move as fast.

“Ew,” Allen said, holding his nose.

Emily smelled it too, a sharp, stinging scent. After sitting Allen down and giving him a banana to eat, she wrinkled her nose and looked around for the offensive smell. She knelt down by a large yellow flower and smelled its petals, wincing at the repugnant aroma. Suddenly, she had an idea. She dipped her fingers into yellow goo in its center and began rubbing it onto her skin. Once she was covered in the flower’s nectar, she moved to Allen and did the same with him, even slicking back his black hair with it.

“No, that smells,” he said, fighting her.

“Don’t fight me Allen, not now,” she said, and covered every inch of him with the nectar.

By the time she covered them in the stinky mess, she finally felt that maybe their scent was masked. She took Allen’s hand, and the bunch of bananas, and kept walking. When Allen got tired, she carried him, afraid to stop moving. By morning, she came to the northern beach and headed back toward the rocky cliffs. She was hoping to find another cave they could stay in until help arrived, if help arrived.

Allen was awake again and eating a banana as he followed Emily up the rocky cliffs. She could see a shadow above that she hoped was some kind of shelter. She also saw that the face of the cliff was full of the smelly yellow flowers.

***

“Then I’ll go find her myself,” Kyle said, and started for the mouth of the cave, but found his way blocked by his own cavalry.

“We think you better stay right here,” one of the recruits said to him.

“I’m ordering you to let me by.”

“That’s funny, because it seems all rules are null and void out here,” Mark said, and crossed his arms.

“She can get hurt out there,” he snapped at them.

“She could get hurt here, too,” Kralen said, not moving from the cave entrance.

“When we get back, you are all released from the Cavalry,” Kyle yelled, and sat down against the wall.

“I think not… I think once we tell the Elders what we saw, it’s you that will be released,” Mark said.

“However,” Kralen added, “as a unit, we stick together. So if you want to sit calmly and wait for a rescue, then we may keep it between us.”

Kyle nodded, he knew they had won. He sat quietly in the cave and watched the other guards closely.

The rain stopped just as the sun rose above the ocean. The cave had been quiet all night. As the Cavalry kept an eye on him, Kyle stayed against the wall. There was some lingering burning in his chest.

“Someone’s coming,” Mark said, standing up.

“Maybe she came back,” Kyle stood up and gasped, wide eyed, when Chevalier appeared.

Chevalier smiled when he saw them, “Finally!”

His smile fell when he looked around at the serious faces, most of them watching the ground. Chevalier looked around the cave and reached down to pick up the torn shirt from the floor. He saw the two palm leaf beds and turned to Kyle, “Where’s Emily?”

“She took off yesterday morning with Allen,” Kyle said, avoiding Chevalier’s eyes.

He took a step toward Kyle, “Why did she leave?”

Kyle looked over at Mark, “We aren’t sure.”

“You aren’t sure? Then what? You just let her go?” Chevalier asked, suspiciously.

“She threatened to turn us to ash if she saw us,” Kralen added.

“You are keeping something from me, and I will find out,” he hissed.

The guards all looked at one another nervously.

“First, find her. She can’t be that hard to track,” he ordered, and Kyle and the guards scattered across the island.

Chevalier picked up her scent just outside of the cave and followed it as it wound through the trees. He had to move slowly, too fast and he risked losing her scent. He came to a small clearing and saw where the grass was pushed down. He frowned and grabbed her bikini top from the moss. He tucked it into his pocket and scanned the clearing. Once he found no other scent trail, he surmised that she must have headed back to the cave.

Chevalier heard a voice on the wind saying they found her trail going north. He quickly arrived at the cave and passed it, following the scent of the other heku. By late afternoon, he caught up with them as they walked around an area full of flowers.

“Why have you stopped?” he asked, still suspicious of them all.

“We lost her scent,” one of them said.

Chevalier inhaled deeply and could smell the faint trace of her. He walked north and lost the scent, growling in frustration, “She can’t just disappear.”

“We just need to find her scent again. It has to be around here somewhere. Even Allen is old enough to leave a trace,” Mark said, obviously irritated.

“If she’s alive,” Chevalier said, turning to him.

“She’s alive,” Mark assured him.

“You better hope so, and you also better hope she tells me what happened. It’d be a lot easier than if I have to force it out of you,” he said, heading off to the north to see if he could find her scent again.

Chevalier found a few broken branches and smelled them. There was still no sign of Emily or Allen, just a horribly strong smell that assaulted his acute senses and made him recoil from the branch. Having no other options, he followed the broken branches until his eye caught something on a bush. He reached down and picked up a banana peel. He smelled it and again caught the stench.

“Mark?” he called, and waited for the heku to arrive.

“Yes, Sir?” Mark asked, walking up to the Elder.

“She’s masked her scent with this,” he said, holding out the banana peel. Mark smelled the peel and dropped it, his nose wrinkled.

“That’s awful.”

“Yes but it’s working. It’s coming from those yellow flowers that are all over the island. Now we’re tracking a smell that is everywhere,” he sighed.

Mark winced, “How do we track that?”

“We don’t,” Chevalier hissed. “Tell me what happened. It had to have been bad for Emily to go to these extremes.”

Mark looked squarely at the Elder, “You can punish me after we find her, but I’m not saying a thing.”

Night fell on the island and a strong wind came up from the ocean, making tracking nearly impossible. Chevalier could hear the heku around him calling for Emily. He hoped she would hear them and try to ash one, then they could at least know a general location.

***

Emily curled up next to Allen under the small overhang. The wind was fierce and she felt the toddler shiver in the cold. She unbuttoned her shirt, and pulled him close to her, wrapping it around him so her body could keep him warm. They had grown used to the smell, and there were enough flowers around that they could keep themselves covered. The nectar turned sticky after a few hours, and after lying on the dirt floor, both of them were brown from the gooey mud. She hoped that would help them, a kind of camouflage.

She cringed as her stomach growled. They had so few bananas that she hadn’t eaten since she left the cave three days before. Allen complained, but she rationed him to two a day. She hoped the wind might knock some more down off of the high branches. There was a fresh stream nearby that poured directly into the ocean, now they just needed more food.

Emily hadn’t been able to sleep. She spent the nights holding onto Allen and listening to the sounds of the trees. As soon as she started to drift off, she would hear a twig break or a bird chirp and the fear would keep her awake. During the day, they played different games Emily would make up with twigs and rocks. Allen asked often why they couldn’t go back to Kralen, but she had no good explanation for his young understanding.

“Emmmmily,” she heard a heku yell in the distance.

Emily’s body tensed and she reached over to cover Allen’s mouth as he stirred. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she fought to control her breathing, unsure if they could pick up her trace from it. She wasn’t surprised they came looking for her, but she couldn’t risk letting them know where they were. She was on an island full of thirsty heku.

“Emmmmily, we’re rescued!” she heard another voice call from far away. A ruse, she was sure, a ploy to get her to reveal her location, and it wasn’t going to work. She felt Allen wake up and try to talk, but she kept her hand over his mouth and softly shushed him.

Allen fell back asleep and Emily heard no other voices through the rest of the night. She jumped several times as she heard noises nearby. When the sun came up, she sat up stiffly and looked around the tiny area. She cursed herself for not seeking better shelter, but at the time, this was all she could see. A rock overhang kept them from the sun and rain, but it wasn’t as hidden as she first thought it was.

When Allen woke up, she handed him a banana, “You stay here, ok?”

He nodded.

“Promise me, don’t move at all,” she whispered.

Again Allen nodded.

“Stay here and I’ll give you another banana,” she promised, smiling at him and trying to sound as calm as she could.

After she was sure he would stay, she crawled out of the safety of the overhang and into the trees. She hoped that on her knees, she wouldn’t be seen if the heku were close by. The stream suddenly seemed too far away as she crouched low in the brush and tried to get to it quickly. Emily froze when she heard footsteps just on the other side of a row of bushes. She fell flat against the ground and listened.

“We haven’t seen anything since the footprints on the north beach,” one of the heku said.

“Keep looking,” Kyle replied, and she heard them walk off away from her.

She waited a few minutes and then finally made it to the stream. She slipped off her shirt and dipped it into the water, soaking it. The trip back to Allen seemed to take forever, and she was relieved when she saw him sitting where she told him to stay. He was building something out of the remaining bananas.

“Mommy!” he shouted, and she quickly went to him.

“Shhhhh, Allen, we have to whisper,” she said, quietly.

Allen tilted his head back and opened his mouth as she squeezed the water from her shirt into it. He drank until the shirt was no longer full of water, and then she pulled on the cold shirt. Her fingers ran across the Equites crest on the pocket and her heart sank. She wondered if she would ever see Chevalier again, if she would see the palace or the stables.

“Emily!” she heard someone call from above her on the cliff. She quickly covered Allen’s mouth and looked up. Whoever was calling her was standing on the rock outcropping over their heads. She held her breath and wondered if she should ash him. It sounded like Kralen, but she couldn’t be sure. She knew if she ashed him, she would have to kill him. A warning would only tell the others her location.

She heard more footsteps on the rocks above her.

“I thought I smelled something, but now it’s gone,” the voice said.

“Was it her?” Kyle asked, and she heard him walk to the edge of the outcropping.

“It was Allen, very faint, but as I said… now it’s gone.”

“Bring the others here. I want this area searched. Make sure every rock is turned and every tree is checked. She has to be here somewhere,” Kyle snapped.

“Yes, Sir. Will you tell him or shall I?”

Emily frowned and looked up.

“I’ll tell him, he’ll want to try to call for her,” Kyle responded, and both of the heku took off.

Emily wondered who they were going to tell. She tried not to think that it might be Chevalier. She didn’t want to get her hopes up that it might all be over soon.

She lifted her hand off of Allen’s mouth and warned him not to talk. He whispered softly to her that he needed to go to the bathroom. Emily cringed, she’d been able to cover their bathroom visits with the flowers, but the heku were too close, she couldn’t risk them catching Allen’s scent.

“Can you hold it?” she whispered into his ear.

He shook his head.

“Please, try Baby,” she whispered to him, and he nodded. She knew he couldn’t hold it for long, and she could still hear far away voices and the crack of twigs as someone walked over them.

Emily gasped when she felt the wetness on Allen’s shorts. She immediately heard the voices in the distance stop, and the footsteps came closer. She grabbed Allen tightly and began to run away from them. She knew she couldn’t outrun a heku, but had to try. They were getting closer to her. She knew that now they could hear her as she ran through the brush. The sharp twigs cut into her legs and the smell of blood made tracking her even easier.

“Emily stop,” she heard Kyle say from right behind her. She put Allen on the ground and turned around, blocking him from view.

“Get away from me,” she said sharply.

Kyle didn’t move any further, “I’m sorry, there’s no excuse for what I did, but we’re rescued. We can get off this island.”

“Nice try,” she said, watching him closely.

“Just wait a few minutes… Chevalier is on his way.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, before picking Allen up and walking backwards.

“Please, I’m asking for two minutes,” Kyle glanced behind him.

“No,” she said, as she continuing to back away.

“I can hear him, he’s close now. You don’t have to worry about me, as soon as he finds out, he’ll have me killed,” Kyle said to her sadly.

“He doesn’t know?” she asked, and frowned.

“No, not yet.”

“Then he’s not here,” Emily said, and finally turned her back to him and ran through the trees, clutching Allen against her chest.

She felt an arm against her shoulder and spun quickly to face Mark, “Don’t touch me.”

He pulled his hand back, “Just wait Emily, the Elder is coming.”

“You too? Are you all in on it now? I can’t feed all of you,” she said, angrily.

Mark frowned, “We know what Kyle did, but the rest of us aren’t going to hurt you.”

She studied his eyes, “If Chevalier is really here, then how does he not know?”

“We’re a unit, a team, and we stick together. None of us are proud of what the Captain did, but we don’t want him dead,” Mark explained.

“I’m leaving now. If you follow me, I won’t have a choice but to turn you to ash,” she said, and turned around, quickly breaking into a run. Her arms ached from carrying Allen, but she couldn’t stop, they were on her trail and it was going to take a miracle to elude them again.

“Emily,” she heard it and froze, it was Chevalier’s voice. She was afraid to turn around, afraid this was just another dream.

“It’s ok,” she heard him say softly. She squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want this dream to end.

“Daddy!” Allen yelled, and squirmed to get free of Emily’s grasp. She couldn’t let go of him yet, couldn’t believe this was almost over.

Emily took a deep breath and slowly turned around. Her knees gave out when she saw him, standing in the trees looking at her. She let go of Allen, and he ran to Chevalier as her knees hit the soft moss. Chevalier took Allen in his arms and hugged him, wincing slightly at the smell of nectar that covered him.

“You’re really here,” she whispered, watching him from the ground.

Chevalier put Allen down and took a step toward her, “Let’s go, Em.”

He put his hand out to her, but she didn’t move. She just looked at him and frowned, “Is this a dream?”

He smiled, “No, this isn’t a dream.”

Chevalier watched her as she knelt on the moss and he quickly checked her over. She had dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping, and he could smell the fresh blood from the cuts on her legs. She wore one of the Cavalry issued shirts with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair and skin were caked in the awful smelling nectar, which also turned her skin a yellowish hue. He couldn’t help but notice she’d gotten thinner. The bones in her wrists and her collar bone stuck out from tight skin.

“I need you to calm down, ok? You need to trust me,” he said, taking a step towards her. He’d seen her this afraid before, and it turned out badly, she’d ashed a heku.

Mark appeared in the clearing behind Chevalier, followed shortly by Kralen. Kralen took Allen in his arms and hugged him tightly. Mark moved up by the Elder.

“What did you do to her?” Chevalier hissed at him.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said, and looked at Emily. She was glaring at him.

Emily finally found the strength to get to her feet, and she quickly ran to Chevalier. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and she buried her face in his chest.

“You smell awful,” he said, amused.

“I know.”

“It was good thinking, if you were hiding from someone,” he said, and turned to Mark.

“Can we just go?” she asked, pulling away from him and taking his hand.

“Sure, we can talk on the way.” He led her south through the trees.

Here with Chevalier, things didn’t seem as bleak as they had for the last few days. What Kyle did seemed less important, and she wondered if it warranted a death. She hadn’t been able to kill him for it, but she knew Chevalier wouldn’t hesitate.

“Tell me what happened,” he said, watching Kralen carry Allen.

Emily looked up at Mark and then back to Chevalier, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He sighed, “Someone is going to tell me, that’s a promise.”

Emily held tightly to Chevalier’s arm as they walked. The heku joined them along the way and by nightfall, everyone was with them except Kyle.

“If I carry you, this will be faster,” he said, looking at her. He normally didn’t ask to pick her up, but he got the sense from her that she didn’t want to be touched.

She nodded and he cradled her in his arms, then blurred toward the south beach where the boat was waiting.

Chevalier carried her onto the boat where Kyle was waiting, “Any reason we can’t leave right away?”

“None at all,” Kyle said, eyeing Emily carefully.

He set her down and motioned for the captain to set off.

“I need a shower,” she said, looking around.

“Yes you do,” Chevalier chuckled, and led her down the stairs to a room with a bathroom.

Emily stepped into the bathroom and got the water as hot as she could. She stripped off the dirty and torn white shirt and stepped into the shower. She spent extra time making sure none of the nectar was on her, and then stepped out and wrapped in a towel. She peeked out into the bedroom and saw Chevalier.

“I don’t have any clothes,” she said, embarrassed.

“Oh right,” he replied, then took off his shirt and threw it to her.

Emily came out a short time later. Her hair had taken a while to brush the knots out of, but it was finally smoothed into a long braid. Chevalier’s shirt fit down to her knees and she rolled the sleeves up to her wrists.

“Feel better?” he asked.

Emily nodded, “Allen’s turn.”

“He’s clean already. The smell was stinking up the ship, so Kralen bathed him.” He watched her carefully.

Emily sat down on the bed and pulled the covers up. She was still cold.

“What happened?” Chevalier asked, and moved closer to her.

“I can’t… I can’t talk about it.” She was avoiding his eyes.

“I will find out,” he said, and she nodded. “Who tore your shirt?”

Emily shrugged, she wasn’t sure how he found out about that. Chevalier pulled her bikini top from his pocket and held it out to her. She took it and put it on the bedside table.

“It would help if you told me,” he said, touching her cheek softly.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“I’m starting to form a picture in my head,” he told her, and lightly ran his thumb along the healing wounds on her neck.

She jerked away from him, and pulled the collar of her shirt up to cover her neck.

“Who was it?” he asked, softly.

“I can’t,” she repeated in a whisper.

Mark knocked on the door and then stepped in with a plate, “I tried my hand at peanut butter and jelly.”

“Give it to Allen,” she told him.

“He already has one… this is yours.”

Emily took the plate from him and began to eat quickly. The simple sandwich was perfect and she finished it.

Mark took the plate, “Do you want another one?”

“No, thank you.”

Mark went to leave, but Chevalier shut the door before he could.

“Have a seat, Mark,” Chevalier said, pointing to a chair.

Mark sat down nervously, “Yes, Sir?”

“Spill it,” Chevalier said, sitting in a chair across from Mark.

“What is it you want to know?”

“What happened to Emily. Why her clothes were torn. Why there are bite marks on her neck.”

“I don’t know for sure, Sir,” Mark said, and looked at Emily.

“Then tell me what you do know.”

Mark sighed, “Sir, it’s not my place…”

Chevalier hissed at him, “I’m ordering you to tell me what you do know.”

Mark looked at Emily nervously.

“Don’t, Chev,” she said, hoping he would let Mark off the hook.

He hissed, “Tell me.”

“I don’t want him to tell you,” she said, slipping out of bed to stand by Mark.

“Then you tell me.” He looked up at her.

She shook her head, “Please don’t, not now.”

“If the Lady doesn’t want me to say anything, then I won’t. You can kill me if you wish,” Mark said, softly.

“Get out,” Chevalier ordered, angrily.

Mark blurred out of the room, and the door slammed behind him.

Emily climbed back into bed. The food and the hot shower made it hard to stay awake. She curled up on her side, ignoring the way Chevalier was sulking in the chair. Soon, she was fast asleep.

The heku were after her. She held onto Allen tightly and ran through the forest. She could hear them getting closer. Allen kept sliding further and further out of her arms until he was gone. She stopped running and searched through the tall grass for him.

She stopped when she saw Kyle waiting for her. He was sitting on a blanket, motioning for her to come to him.

“No, Kyle,” she said, and turned, still looking for Allen. She finally found him in the hands of Kralen. The heku’s teeth were sunk into Allen’s soft flesh.

She ran as Kyle tried to grab her. She knew he didn’t just want to quench his thirst, and her legs felt like molasses as she ran toward the beach.

“Emily,” she heard the soft voice and jerked awake. She sat up quickly and looked around the strange room.

“You were having a nightmare,” Chevalier said, holding her against him.

She laid her head against his chest and held onto his arms. Her body tensed when someone knocked softly on the door.

“Who is it?” Chevalier asked.

“It’s Kyle.”

Emily wanted to ask Chevalier not to let him into the room. She wanted him far away from her.

“Come in,” he said, and watched Kyle enter.

Kyle looked at Emily and then back to his Elder, “I came to confess. You don’t have to threaten the guards.”

“You came to confess?” Chevalier asked, curiously.

“Yes,” Kyle stood in the corner of the room with his hands grasped in front of him.

“I’m not going to let you cover up for someone else’s mistakes,” Chevalier told him.

Emily looked at the bedspread, “He’s not.”

Chevalier stood up and stepped toward Kyle, his voice now furious, “What did you do?”

“I love her,” Kyle finally admitted.

“I already knew that, but it doesn’t tell me what you did,” Chevalier said, now only a foot from Kyle.

“She was so sick for a while, a fever and the sun burns. I took care of her,” he said, watching Emily.

“And?”

“She was lonely and frail on the island. She just had on that shirt and when she slept… she’s so beautiful,” he continued. Emily blushed and looked away from him.

“Who tore her shirt?”

“I did.”

“Off of her?”

He flinched at the anger in Chevalier’s voice, “Yes.”

“Keep going.”

Emily sat still while Kyle told Chevalier everything that happened. He explained how his troops stood up to him for her, and she suddenly felt guilty for having run off with Allen. She risked a glance up at Chevalier and saw his body in a crouch, his hands balled into tight fists.

“Mark,” Chevalier called.

“Yes, Sir,” Mark said, looking at Kyle.

“Take him… I’ll deal with him when we get back to the palace’s interrogation chamber,” he said, seething.

Mark took Kyle’s arm, but Chevalier stopped him.

“What did you see?” he asked.

Mark looked at Kyle, who nodded, “We saw Lady Emily come back from a walk. She didn’t have a shirt on, she was just holding it against herself. There were… bite marks on her neck that were still bleeding. She wouldn’t talk to us. She just put on a shirt and took Allen, threatening to turn us to ash if we followed.”

“Nothing else?” Chevalier hissed.

“No, Sir,” Mark said, and when Chevalier moved out of the way, Mark took Kyle out roughly and shut the door behind them.

Emily felt his eyes on her, and though she knew it hadn’t been her fault, she felt ashamed.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“Do not apologize for his actions,” Chevalier growled, making Emily flinch.

“He’s kissed me before,” she said, still watching the covers.

“When? How many times?” Chevalier was suddenly standing beside her.

“I told him to stop, and he did… until…”

“Until he had you alone on a deserted island.”

Emily nodded, she was too ashamed to even look up at him.

Chevalier growled deeply and blurred from the room, slamming the door hard behind him. Emily buried her face in her hands and took some time to calm her nerves. She heard a loud crash coming from the bow of the ship and she flinched. She stood up slowly and walked up the stairs onto the deck.

The deck chairs were strewn about, some of them shattered into small pieces. The heku guards were standing along the railings, unmoving. Emily turned to see what they were watching, and she gasped. Chevalier was tearing the boat apart, ripping doors from the hinges and smashing things against the walls.

Emily ran to stop him, but a hand reached out and grabbed her around the waist.

“It’s not safe,” Mark said to her.

“Let me go, I caused this,” she said, pulling against his hand.

“Stay with us, trust me.”

“You didn’t cause this,” Kralen whispered.

“Where is Kyle?” she asked, afraid he was already dead.

“He’s in the cargo hold. The Elder wants him tried before the Council,” Kralen answered.

Emily looked around the boat and into the empty helm’s room, “Where’s the Captain?”

Mark shook his head, “It was fast.”

She gasped, “Chevalier killed him?”

“Yes”

“Why?”

“He tried to calm the Elder down. Right now we all need to just stay away from him,” Mark said, watching the destruction.

Emily pulled at Mark’s fingers, “Let me go.”

“Don’t do it,” he warned her, and let go.

Emily walked slowly up the stairs to the top deck where Chevalier was. He had just torn a door from the hinges and thrown it overboard when she touched him lightly on the shoulder. He spun towards her, his face furious.

“Chev?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

His posture changed, it softened slightly, “Get back downstairs.”

“Please, come with me,” she said, taking his hands. She smoothed his fingers out of the tight fist.

“He’s going to pay for this,” Chevalier hissed.

“I know,” she said, pulling him toward the stairs.

His entire body was shaking furiously.

“You’re scaring me,” she told him, watching him carefully.

“I trusted him with you, implicitly.”

Emily took his other hand and walked down the stairs past the terrified guards. She sat down on the bed and watched him lean the door against the door frame.

“Did he hurt you?” Chevalier asked, sitting beside her as his eyes scanned her body again.

“No, when he bit me I... you know.”

“No I don’t know, what?” he asked.

“I ashed him, but I didn’t want to kill him. I just knocked him unconscious so I could get away,” she said, rubbing his arm lightly.

“That’s a lot of control. Why didn’t you do it when he… tried to… when he…” He shut his eyes against the image.

“I didn’t think he would do that,” she whispered. “I trusted him, too.”

“Even though he’s kissed you before?”

“Yes, because when I told him to stop, he always did.” She stifled a yawn and looked over at the clock, it was 4am.

“Sleep, you look tired,” he said, kissing her forehead.

“Stay with me,” she asked, and slipped under the covers.

He nodded and shut out the light.