Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 299(@200wpm)___ 239(@250wpm)___ 199(@300wpm)
I don’t know where everyone else is sitting, but they’re all close.
In the dead silence, I can hear their breathing.
Every second feels like a decade. By the time I hear Kellen’s feet rustling, my spine feels like a row of shattered glass. He drops down beside us hard, all breath and adrenaline, smelling like sweat. Ace moves quickly, pulling away from me and leaving a cold chill where he was. “What’s the word?”
“Zeke’s alive still, thank fuck,” Kellen murmurs, low. “They brought him up to their fire. They bandaged him up, got him tied at the wrists but he is just sitting there. Pirate has a gun on him, but those idiots are drinking again. Same bunch as last time, doesn’t appear to be any extras.”
“You hear them question him at all?”
“Yeah, they were askin’ him where we were. He just barked that he didn’t fuckin’ know what they were talking about. They kept pushing. Sayin’ there was no way he is alone out here. He was refusin’ to answer, which is exactly what we want him to do.”
“Do you think they have any more people on the ship?” I ask.
“I’m guessin’ maybe one or two people keeping guard, but I don’t think so. I think these fuckers are it.”
“So, do we get to hear the plan now?” Rachel asks, her voice short, but a little scared.
“Alright. Here’s how it’s gonna go. We are basing all of this on the hope that Zeke keeps tellin’ them we aren’t here, because we know they don’t believe him. Kellen and I moved the ship we are fixin’ earlier, before they got here. We got it on the edge of the water, ready to push in. It ain’t ready to float, but it’s enough to look like it’s going to.”
I shake my head, even though nobody can see. “I’m confused.”
“Kellen is goin’ to create a distraction, draw them over there. They’ll think we’re tryin’ to escape, and they’ll be so fuckin’ focused on it, they won’t realise that we’re not even there, not at first. Once they’re there, Kellen is goin’ to circle back around, get Zeke and meet us at the ship.”
“The ship?” Tati gasps. “We’re stealing the ship?”
“Damn fuckin’ right we are,” Kellen answers.
“You ladies are going to be positioned near the ship, but out of sight in case anything goes wrong,” Ace goes on. “Once I go on, clear the ship, you will all get on.”
“What if it’s full?” Adrian asks.
“That’s for me to sort out,” Ace answers, his voice so low and determined it’s terrifying.
“So we just what,” I mumble, “wait and pray?”
“You’re comin’ with me, Grace,” Ace says in my general direction. “We are going to make sure the ship is cleared. Aggie, you’re in charge of getting Adrian as close as you can. Rachel and Tati, you get as much stuff as you can gather, we need as many supplies as possible. We can’t assume the ship is stocked, and we have no idea how far away from land we actually are. It won’t be easy but get what you can.”
“When are we going to hit them?” Rachel asks.
“Just after midnight,” Ace answers her. “When they’re drunk and fuckin’ stupid.”
“They have weapons,” Tati says, her voice soft but scared. “We have nothing.”
“I’m goin’ to do the best I can to gather some weapons,” Kellen says. “I’m workin’ on it.”
“So, we clear on the plan?” Ace asks.
We all agree.
“Ladies,” he goes on, “if you sense danger, if you see anything that doesn’t feel right, hide. No matter what, just fuckin’ hide. Don’t be heroes. We need to get out of here in one piece.”
More agreeance.
“I’m quite a good ship operator,” Adrian pipes up. “I can get that ship out as quickly as possible.”
Well, there we go.
“When you’re on board, you go straight into operation,” Kellen orders him. “Get us out.”
“Aye aye,” Adrian answers.
I fight the urge to roll my eyes.
It’s dangerous, but if it works, we could actually get off this island.
We could actually go home.
Why does that feel more terrifying than what we are about to do?
8
“YOU READY FOR THIS?” Ace asks me, handing me a knife that I am beginning to think I probably wouldn’t be able to use, but I am hoping it doesn’t come to that.
“Not really,” I say. “But I won’t let you down.”
“Just do what I say, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I whisper.
“I’m headin’ to the wreck now,” Kellen announces. “Give me an hour and then get moving. I’ll see you all back at the ship.”
I hope he’s right.
I really do.
Is it too late to pray?
Rachel and Tati have already started gathering what they can, packing it. They can’t get water, as the pirates are staying right near it again, but they are ensuring what we have comes with us. They are going to raid our fruit supply, near the shack, and rescue what they can. Kellen has given them strict instructions to go the long way around, so they have left.