Chereads / THE CALL OF AN ISLAND / Chapter 11 - MARTHA

Chapter 11 - MARTHA

Peter woke up early the next morning, still feeling the effects of the previous night's events. He got  up and went outside to get some fresh air. As he sat down on a nearby rock, he noticed something strange in the distance. It looked like a small shack or cabin, which he hadn't seen before.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the shack was still there. Peter's curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to investigate. He made his way over to the shack, carefully stepping over any obstacles in his path.

As he approached the shack, he noticed that it was old and run-down. It looked like it hadn't been used in years. The door was slightly ajar, and Peter cautiously pushed it open. The inside was dark, and he couldn't see much, but he could hear a strange sound coming from somewhere inside.

Peter hesitated for a moment, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he ventured further inside. The sound became louder, and he realized it was coming from a room at the back of the shack. As he got closer, he could see that the door to the room was slightly open.

He peered inside and saw an old woman lying on a cot. She was moaning and groaning, and Peter could tell she was in pain. He approached her cautiously, and she looked up at him with a look of desperation in her eyes.

"Please help me," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Peter could see that the woman was very sick, and he knew he had to do something to help her. He quickly ran back to the campsite to get Liam, who was a doctor. When Liam arrived, he examined the woman and determined that she needed medical attention urgently.

They carefully carried the woman back to their campsite and made her as comfortable as possible. Liam administered some medication to her, and they waited anxiously for her condition to improve.

As they waited, Liam and Peter discussed the strange circumstances surrounding the woman's presence in the shack. They wondered how she had gotten there and why nobody else had discovered her before. They also wondered why the woman had been left alone to suffer in such a remote location.

As the day wore on, the woman's condition gradually improved. By evening, she was able to talk more coherently, and Liam was able to get more information about her. Her name was Martha, and she had lived on the island all her life. She had been living alone in the shack since her husband died several years ago.

Martha was grateful for the help she had received and told Liam and Peter about a strange occurrence that had happened to her just before she fell ill. She had seen a ghostly figure walking through the forest, and she was convinced that it was the cause of her illness.

Liam and Peter were skeptical, but they couldn't deny the strange events that had occurred since they had arrived on the island. They wondered if there was any truth to Martha's story and decided to investigate further.

As they discussed their plans, they noticed that the atmosphere around the campsite had changed. It was as if the air had grown thicker and more ominous. The trees around them rustled and creaked, and they could hear strange whispers coming from the forest.

Peter and Liam looked at each other, their hearts racing. They knew that something was not right and that they were in great danger. They braced themselves for whatever was coming their way and waited, their eyes fixed on the darkness that surrounded them.

As the night wore on, the group started to feel the chill in the air, and it wasn't just because of the falling temperature. The events of the past few days had left them feeling uneasy, and the thought of being stranded on an island in the middle of nowhere was starting to weigh on them.

Peter, Liam, James, and Daniel were gathered around the fire, trying to keep it going as best they could. The girls had retired to their tents for the night, and Ahmed was keeping watch, pacing back and forth on the beach.

Suddenly, they heard a faint rustling in the bushes nearby, and all four of them jumped up, their senses on high alert. They grabbed whatever makeshift weapons they could find and slowly moved towards the sound.

As they approached the bushes, a figure emerged, stumbling out onto the beach. It was Paratha, her clothes torn and her hair in disarray. She was covered in scratches and bruises, and her eyes were wide with fear.

"Paratha, what happened? Are you okay?" Liam asked, rushing over to her.

Paratha gasped for breath, her words coming out in short bursts. "Something attacked me in the woods... I don't know what it was, but it was fast and it was strong. I barely made it out alive."

The group looked at each other, their unease growing by the second. Whatever was on this island with them was getting bolder and more aggressive by the day.

They huddled together, trying to figure out their next move. They couldn't stay here much longer, but they also didn't have a boat to get them off the island. They needed to find a way to signal for help.

Suddenly, Debby had an idea. "What about that old lighthouse we saw on the other side of the island? Maybe we can use the light to signal for help!"

The group quickly agreed, and they set out towards the lighthouse, taking Paratha with them. They walked for hours, their nerves on edge as they kept a lookout for any signs of danger.

Finally, they reached the lighthouse, and Liam quickly climbed to the top, turning on the light and rotating it towards the sea. They all watched in silence, hoping and praying that someone would see the signal and come to their rescue.

As they waited, they heard a faint sound in the distance, growing louder by the second. It was the sound of a boat engine, and they all ran towards the shore, waving their arms and shouting for help.

A small fishing boat appeared on the horizon, speeding towards them. As it drew closer, they could see the relief on the faces of the fishermen as they realized the group was in trouble.

They quickly loaded the group onto the boat, and as they pulled away from the island, the group looked back, relieved to be leaving the nightmare behind them.

As they sailed away, they could still hear the howling of the wind and the crashing of the waves, and they knew that they had narrowly escaped a fate worse than death.