My eyes fluttered open. I became immediately aware of the thunderous throbbing in my head and the ropes that securely tied my hands to what felt like a thick piece of smoothed wood. I scanned my surroundings. It was dark but I could make out leveled rocks all around me and I could hear creepy insects crawling around in the dirt and on the walls of stone. A bunch of twigs and leaves parted meters away and I squinted as the bright sun light threatened to blind me. The man that slapped me in the stomach with the piece of wood bowed to enter and as he did he smiled. I cringed, I was in a cave. This island just kept getting more and more unbelievable.
"I see you're finally awake. Someone has been dying to talk to you" He held up a buttoned phone with an antenna and I curled my eyes in confusion. Who the hell could it be? He dropped the door he'd weaved before lighting a torch in one corner, illuminating the small area.
"Don't try anything stupid" he warned as he stooped to untie my hands and I complied, not because he was bigger or stronger but because I needed to wait till the right moment. A lucky guess pinned him in his late forty's, grey hair lined his glassy black hair and tired wrinkles lined his face. He was old, which meant he was experienced and wiser. I could tell this wasn't going to be easy. I looked at my hand in search of my watch and he smirked.
"That little thing? I destroyed it"
I scoffed as he made me stand, retied my hands behind my back and led me outside. I scanned my environment and he pressed the phone to my ear. I had no idea where I was, however it was evident that I was still in the forest. Sunlight peeped through the thin leafy trees, the ground crawled with carefree insect and birds chirped cheerfully above me and for that I despised them. I detested there freedom to do whatever the hell they pleased.
If I couldn't get to the other side of this forest by 3:30 tomorrow morning, Aleecia and Luke would be gone and I would be struck on this island forever. To make matters worse, when I escaped, I would be blindly running into a minefield of Shadows. I had lost my watch and whatever safety I had left. I was half done.
"Buttercup?"
I gasped "Dad?" I questioned confusedly. Was this some kind of ransom situation? Was all this for money?
"Buttercup, I'm so sorry" he sobbed contemptuously.
"Dad, what am I doing here?" I began to cry as well, feeling suddenly overwhelmed "What do these people want?"
His sobs became an uncontrollable chuckle and my crying decelerated "I'm sorry Buttercup" he removed the phone from his ear, his laugh becoming more prominent.
"Dad?"
He cleared his throat, swallowing all his laughter in one gulp and I just stood there listening in shock and confusion
"Buttercup, this has to happen. It's for the greater good. One day you'll understand." He laughed "God, I'm sorry. I forgot you don't have a lot of days left" he chuckled softly "Your mom, the real one, found out what I did. I can't let her destroy what I have built. You'll realize that we are all just products of the company." He paused. What was he saying? Was he apart of this? "You would have died sooner or later. Now your life will be useful… to me. You're one of the birds and I have the stone. You know the saying Hun. I just wanted to say… goodbye." He spoke with a breath of sincerity "I was actually going to pretend that this was a ransom kidnapping but it doesn't really matter, does it? Who'll tell the tale?" he chortled and the phone went dead.
I inhaled sharply, struggling to find my breath as the tears dried up from my eyes and was replaced by uncontainable anger.
The saying was 'One stone kills two birds'. All this time, my father was the one who wanted to kill me. All this time. My father! There is another saying that goes 'It's not the stab that kills you but when you see the person holding the knife'. My father was holding the knife. The man who taught me how to ride a bike, fended off bullies and guys so I wouldn't get hurt, carried me to the prom, gave me advice, kissed my forehead before I went to sleep, read me bedtime stories, the man I looked up to- wanted me dead. The kidnapper took the phone from my ear.
"Sad isn't it" He flattened his lips and looked up into the sky. "The people you trust the most, hurts you the most"
Tears flooded my eyes as everything came scrolling across my mind in a bundle and I fought to keep my composure.
The call before the accident that killed my mother, wasn't about Mallory, it was about me. I heard him, I just never knew it but it was all too vivid now. I could see everything clearly.
'Just put her in the passenger's seat, that's all you have to do Helen'
'She's your daughter Dave'
I was his daughter, not Mallory. I was who she was referring to. She took her life to save mine and he sent me here so it would be easier to get rid of me, not because he wanted to give me an escape but because he wanted to escape from whatever bad thing he'd done.
Why kill me? Why go through all this effort? What does my real mother know? How did I become involved? Why me?
All the questions came tumbling down, increasing the intensity of my headache.
The man rubbed his tummy "I'm hungry. I'll deal with you later" he nodded shoving me back into the cave and I let him, being too tired to fight back, both mentally and physically. Maybe it was time for me to die anyways. Maybe I had over spent my time on this earth. My stomach roared and the familiar nauseating felling covered me under its arms. I groaned. Crap! I may be pregnant, which meant I would always need to continue fighting even when I didn't feel like it. Just like that the baby had won. I swallowed the vomit, totally disgusted with myself as the man retied me to the pole. I didn't want to sit in the same room with the sour stench, so I would like to think, I had no choice.
The man let a small, amused laugh fall from his lips. "No one told me, I would have to kill two of you" he shook his head before walking out. I was so tired but this was the best time to escape. I struggled to keep my eyes open as I fumbled with the rope. I was completely over this day and this island. I needed to get us out of here but I was exhausted. I closed my eyes, leaning my head against the piece of wood. My eyes burned and I struggled to stay awake. I yarned. I was just going to take a brief nap before the man returned. Just a brief …