Chapter 17-Again Safe

                I was careful to watch the island grow closer. I was on my own now, without Cody beside me. Well, I wasn’t entirely alone. Bailey sat in the rear of the boat, making sure that the current didn’t pull us off course. Occasionally her hand drifted into the water gently, sending miniscule ripples out. She seemed to be zoned out, in her own world.

                Looking over, I saw Ivan and Abby deep in conversation, with was out of their personalities. Ivan was solitary and cold, intent in only returning home. Abby was lighthearted, not the serious type. But there they were, engaged in a conversation that I knew I didn’t want part of.

                I pulled the pelt around me tightly. The sun had warmed it, and I was scared to lose the one thing that reminded me of him. I needed him now, so far from home, by any means. My eyes watered. Why him? Why the one who had loved me? The one who had saved me?

                My thoughts were abruptly shattered by the boat hitting a sand bar. It slowed, then stopped completely. Bailey put a hand in, where it came up to her shoulder, leaning over.

                “We’ll have to walk. And carry everything. It’s not too far, maybe a quarter mile. It’ll be easy.”

                I nodded solemnly. We divided up what we had, making sure that we could carry it all. I noticed the other two doing the same. Without a word, we started towards the island. The water slowed us down, and the sand beneath our feet was inviting. A thought of floating, just above the pure white beauty, slipped in my mind. But I pushed it away. Cody was counting on me. Everyone else was pulling me with them. I had to keep going. If nothing else, for him.

                It took almost an hour, before the water ended. The weariness settled in me, and I collapsed on the beach. I heard the others fall around me, breathing heavily. I started crying. We had made it. So far. With the last of the strength I had, I looked back. Our island, with the trees cut, looked like a thin line in the distance.

                “We did it….” Abby cried. “We did it!”

                With her voice ringing in my ears, I blacked out.

                Waking up, I felt a new kind of warmth surround me. My eyes adjusting to the light, I realized what it was. A clean blanket, artificial heat. Not a campfire or the sun. I was inside a building, with unnatural light, warmth, and shelter. I pulled myself to a semi-sitting position, wanting to call out to Cody. But the events of the previous day haunted me, and I fell to sobs. I was shaking, not wanting it to be real.

                I heard a door open. Not looking up, I kept crying. A man cleared his throat. I gazed up at him, sniffling.

                “Ma’am,” he said softly, “we need to move you to a different room. The other…subjects…are waiting for you. We want to know your story. Come along.” He offered his hand, which I took. I followed him outside the room, and down the hall. He could be leading me to my death, and I wouldn’t notice.

                But, he didn’t. He stopped next to a door, which he held open for me. Walking in, I saw Ivan, Abby, and Bailey sitting at a metal table. The three of them looked happier, and with their skin softer and lighter, I realized that they had been washed off. Bailey looked up at me and smiled.

                “Come on, Cammie. We’re safe now.”

                I slowly went over to them, unsure of what was going on. I sat next to Ivan, who pulled me closer. The look in his eyes suggested he was sorry for what had happened to Cody. I sniffled and smiled hopefully, wanting the pain to go away.

                “I’ll be fine,” I told the others. “I…I just need time. I promise.”

                Someone else walked in. We all looked as a woman with a tape recorder sat on the other end of the table. Nobody said a word, until the door closed.

                “While you are here,” the woman stated, “you will be given medical treatment, a place to sleep, food, and psychological treatment. As soon as you are deemed fit, you will be sent back to mainland. Those who come from civilian homes will be sent back. If that is not available, another home will be found. Are there any questions?”

                Abby was the first to reply. “Why? You’re basically letting us go, after all of that.”

                “We have been given an order to retain all of our…..subjects…under the age of 18 to mainland, and any under the age of 13 cannot be removed from their household, unless they are given to us willingly. As for the four of you, since you left the island from your own will, and ended up here, the agency has voted to protect you, and send you back, after you are well enough. We only need your names, and if you had a civilian home, where you are from.” She produced a notepad and a pencil, which she passed to Bailey, on the end.

                Ivan was next. “I am not from here. I am of Russia. Will I be returned?”

                “Yes, we will send you directly back to your hometown, after you pass all health and psychological requirements.”

                Bailey finished writing her name down. “We don’t get repaid for suffering? No sign of apology? Nothing?”

                There was a hint of loathing this time. “The government has found that you will understand us. There will be no reprimanding, for we find that bringing you back to your home in the same condition we removed you in is fair enough.” She turned to me. “As the others have asked, have you got a question?”

                I gazed out in space. “What if we don’t want to go home?”

                She hesitated. “Well…I can assume that we will find a replacement, if you request it. Or, might you know of a place that you can move into?”

                I nodded. “I need time, though.” I gently took the notepad that Ivan was handing to me and wrote my full name down. Cameryn diRaso.

                “Now, who would like to start on how you ended up here?”