Desolation, J. B. Everett [reading a book txt] 📗

mind, sending warm tingles through my veins.

When the helicopter begins to lower to the ground and suddenly remember Ian. All of this new information almost made me forget about the boy with the shot leg behind me.

I turn around and quickly run towards Ian, kneeling down on the sand next to him when I arrive.

"Are you okay?" I ask, even though I know that it is probably the stupidest question I can ask.

"No" he says, his voice pained.

I look down and see that he has been shot in the thigh, just slightly above the knee. I have absolutely no clue how to treat a bullet wound. He needs a doctor. Not the doctors on this island though.

"Tessa, I can't walk" he says miserably.

"Don't worry about it. Once we get off of this island you'll receive medical treatment somewhere. And hey, at least you weren't killed" I say, trying to sound as reassuring as I can.

He shakes his head.

"C'mon Tessa, we're going to go look for the other kids who are still on the island!" I hear someone call from behind me.

I turn around and look to see Tristan, Nikki and Dylan all beckoning me to come over. The helicopter has landed and all of the men are standing on the beach next to them. I bite my lip and turn back to Ian. He is looking at me with a look so downcast that my heart breaks.

"I can't leave Ian" I call back to them.

"Tessa, please come with us. And don't worry about it, one of these men will stay with Ian" Tristan says to me.

I turn around to see one of the men step forward and nod.

"Tessa, please..." I hear Ian whisper.

I turn back and watch as a tear rolls down his cheek.

"Ian, I am so sorry but I have to go with them. Don't worry, we'll be back soon" I say.

Before he can reply, I lean in and kiss him softly on the lips. After I pull away I stand up and walk towards the others. The man walks forward towards Ian and says to me,

"Don't worry miss. I'll watch him"

"Please don't do anything to him" I say.

"Don't worry, we'll deal with him later" the man says.

I nod, trying to swallow down the huge lump that has formed in the back of my throat.

"C'mon, let's go" Dylan says.

After giving one last sorrowful glance back at Ian, we begin to walk towards the jungle. I feel much safer with the presence of these military men. They all have guns and flashlights, which they shine around the jungle as we trek.

"How many other kids are there?" one of the men asks.

"Well there were twelve of us at first. But then Jessica and Alyssa died, so that makes ten. And minus us, that means there are five others out here" Tristan explains.

"Do you have any clue where they might be?" he asks.

"No. We split up the first day and that's the last time that we saw them" Tristan says.

"So they could very possibly be dead?" the man asks.

"I...I don't know" Tristan murmurs.

"Okay. We'll still look but if we don't find them by morning we have to go"

We continue to walk, our feet crunching through the thick underbrush as we trek through the jungle. As we walk, the men shine their flashlights around through the trees but there are no signs of the others. If they are still alive, they could be anywhere on this island. The chances of finding them are nearly zero.

As we keep walking the trees begin to become more and more sparse. We seem to be heading into some sort of clearing.

And then, wave of fear passes over me.

I know exactly where we are.

"Guys, we're at their headquarters" I say.

We all stop and the men shine their flashlights in front of them. And sure enough, there are the rows of cages on the ground that we were once trapped in. Farther away is the hatch that leads to their headquarters; where all of the doctors must be right now. But not all of the cages are empty; four of them are occupied.

"Hello?" Tristan shouts out.

Instantly, the people in the cage whip around and stare at us with wide eyes. I immediately recognize them. Although I don't remember their names, but I know for sure that they were there with us the first day.

"What the hell is going on? Who are those men?" one of the girls cries out panickedly, backing up against the bars of her cage.

"Don't worry. We're here to rescue you. And these men are here to rescue all of us. They're from the US Coast Guard" Tristan says.

The four kids; two girls and two boys all stare at us, mesmerized.

"How are you going to get us out of here?" one of the boys asks.

I suddenly remember his name; Daniel.

"We'll get you out of those cages, don't worry. And then we will get all of you kids off of this island" one of the men says.

All of their faces break into wide, excited smiles.

"Wait, there's one more thing you have to do before we leave this place" I say quietly.

"What?" the man asks, looking at me.

I swallow hard.

"I want you to kill Hal" Imprint

Text: J. B. Everett
Publication Date: 05-28-2016

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