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

before by the fire. After moving as far away as I can from Jessica's dead body, I lay down. The thought of Ian makes my heart break, so I try push him out of my mind. But I can't. I just want reverse time to earlier today. Before Jessica died. When Ian and I were together.

I close my eyes, trying so hard to clear my mind. And before I know it, I drift off into a dreamless void.


I wake to bright sunlight streaming through the canopy of the trees. I open my eyes and I am immediately blinded. For a ephemeral moment, I forget everything that happened last night. But then the memories from last night resurface and I feel nauseous.

I sit up, looking around. Tristan is sitting up, leaning against a tree. He gives me a small smile, but I am too miserable to smile back. I suddenly think about Ian and stand up, looking around. There is no sign of him.

"Ian?" I call out, panic rising in my voice.

I walk around, searching for him, checking behind trees to see if he is there. But he is not there. He has left.

"Ian's gone" I say, my voice faltering.

"Tessa, he overreacted. He'll come back soon when he realizes it" Tristan says, standing up and walking towards me.

I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat. I cannot cry again; it's not worth it. I need to toughen up.

"C'mon, let's go to the beach" Tristan says.

I turn around and nod at him. Before leaving, Tristan picks up Jessica's body, slumping her over his shoulder. I honestly don't know how he can carry a dead body. The mere thought of touching a dead person makes me shudder.

With Tristan leading the way, we start walking through the jungle. I cannot stop thinking about Ian, wondering where he went. My heart pangs when I remember how I was in his arms yesterday. How things changed so drastically between us in a flash.

I don't know how Tristan knows what direction we are going but about an hour later, we arrive back on the beach. The waves lap up serenely against the shore, and a salty smells fills the air. I close my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath of the salty ocean air, trying to calm myself down. Somehow, the sound of the waves and the air relieves me slightly. I am just glad to be out of the jungle.

Tristan and I begin digging a hole in the sand to bury Jessica's body. It's tiring work, but it feels good to be doing something. The ocean breeze blows through the air, whipping my messy hair all over the place.

Finally, when the hole is dug, Tristan lifts Jessica's body and lowers her carefully into the hole. We take one last solemn look at her, then bury the sand on top of her until the ground is level again. I sigh, then walk down to the shore, sitting and putting my toes on the water. The waves lap over my feet calmly, and I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind.

A few minutes later, Tristan comes over and sits down next to me. The silence between is actually quite peaceful. I don't want to talk about anything anymore; all I want to do is try to relax right now.

I think that I doze off because I am startled when I feel Tristan's hand grab my shoulder, shaking me.

"What?" I mutter groggily, my eyes still shut.

"Tessa, look" he says urgently.

I open my eyes and see him pointing at something in the ocean. I follow the direction of his finger and when I see what he is pointing at, my heart skips a beat.

It can't be...

At first, I think I am still dreaming.

But I'm not.

There, out in the water, about a quarter of a mile off the shore is a boat. Chapter Fourteen

"Oh my god" I whisper.

We both immediately bolt up, looking out across the water at the boat. It is an average-sized, white skipjack with words painted in the side that are too far away to make out.

"We need to get its attention!" Tristan exclaims.

"I think it's going away from us!" I cry out.

I can't tell for sure, but it does look like the boat is slowly going in the opposite direction of the island.

Tristan immediately dives into the ocean, swimming towards the boat. I stand there for a moment, unsure about whether I should go with him. I don't know how strong of a swimmer I am. But then, on impulse, I dive I to the water as well.

"I'm coming!" I shout, my mouth filling with seawater.

"Okay, but we've got to swim fast! We need to get that boat to see us!" Tristan yells.

He then dives under and begins to swim. His muscular arms power him quickly through the water. I on the other hand, struggle to doggy-paddle behind him. Every single wave knocks me under the water, and I have to fight to resurface. Pretty soon, my lungs and legs are burning.

To my dismay, the ship seems to be getting farther and farther.

"Tristan, it's leaving!" I shout, seawater immediately filling my mouth.

Tristan begins shouting and waving his arms up in the air.

"Hey, over here!" he yells.

I begin waving my arms as well and shouting at the boat. But it's of no use; they can't hear us.

We both finally stop, exhausted. My legs are so tired that they can barely tread to keep my afloat anymore. Tristan turns around, beginning to swim back to me.

"Wait!" I shout suddenly, pointing at the boat.

The boat has stopped moving, now bobbing up and down on the surface of the water.

"They stopped!" I exclaim.

We both begin swimming as fast as we can to the boat. The pure adrenaline coursing through my veins is the only reason that I can keep up with Tristan. When I resurface my head above the water to take a breath, I see that the boat is now slowly coming towards us.

"They see us!" I scream ecstatically.

Soon, the boat is only a few feet away. It slows down to a stop, and Tristan and I both grab onto its side. For a few moments, we hang there, trying to catch our breath. Still, no one has come out of the cabin of the boat, which has tinted black windows, making it unable to see who is inside.

Tristan, who catches his breath much quicker than I do, begins to climb up the side of the boat. I am still too tired, so I stay there, holding on.

Looking at the boat's side, I see the words painted on it that I couldn't make out before.

In large black letters reads, "THE BLAIR INSTITUTE"

The Blair Institute...

It sounds so familiar. I close my eyes rack my brain, trying to search through the fog to find out where I have seen those words before. Then, the memory comes crashing in.


I am laying down on a cold metal table. A bright, fluorescent light shines over me, blinding me.

"Hello?" I call out.

Then suddenly, someone is leaning over me, holding a large needle.

"Hello Tessa" he says, his voice muffled through the surgical mask covering his face.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I say weakly, my voice strained.

"Just remember, it is for the greater good" the man says.

Then, the next thing I know, the needle coming down, getting closer and closer to my neck. And the last thing that I see before the needle plunges into my skin are three words, embroidered on the shoulder of the mans white lab coat:

The Blair Institute


My eyes flash open.

These people are not here to rescue us.

It is them.

"Tristan, wait stop!" I yell, panic rising in my voice.

Tristan is already on the landing of the boat and looks down at me, confused.

"What?" he says, confused.

"Tristan, these people are not here to rescue us" I say.

Tristan looks down at me for a moment, raising his eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?" he says, confusion in his voice.

"It's them; the people who took me" I say gravely.

"Wait, what! How do you know?" he exclaims.

I open my mouth to explain, but then realize that it is too late.

The sliding door of the cabin opens and two men in a white labs coat slowly walk out. My blood runs cold.

"Tristan, run!" I scream.

But it is too late.

The two men grab Tristan from behind, dragging him.

I scream as I watch Tristan try to fight the men off. But it is two to one, and Tristan cannot escape their grasp.

Without thinking rationally, I frantically climb up the side of the boat. When I reach the top, I run towards them, reaching out for Tristan. I grab his shirt, but I immediately feel one of the men's hands grab me. I try to kick the men and get free, but all my efforts are futile. They drag Tristan and I towards the other side of the boat.

One of the men bends down and opens up a hatch on the floor. Then, the next thing I know, Tristan and I are shoved down through the opening into darkness underneath the boat.

"Where are you taking us!" I yell, my voice shaking with both fear and anger.

Neither of the men respond. Instead, they close the hatch door, leaving us in utter blackness.

I hear the click of a lock.

Then a few moments later, I hear the loud rumble of the boat's motor and feel the boat begin to move.

We are doomed.

Chapter Fifteen

I guess you really never appreciate what you have until it's gone.

That's what I think right now, locked in the darkness under the boat, speeding away in the clutches of our captors.

It was bad being in the jungle with no food and limited water.

It was bad when Jessica died.

It was bad when Ian left us.

But nothing can top the hopelessness that I feel right now.

We fell right into their trap.

The boat is now at full speed, bouncing up and down over the waves. The rocking motion makes me feel nauseous. My eyes still haven't fully adjusted to the dark, but I can make out Tristan's face.

"Tessa?" He whispers into the darkness.

"Yeah" I reply glumly.

"I'm going to try to get is out of here" he says.

"There's no use in trying Tristan. We're locked in here" I mumble.

"Well it's worth a shot" he says.

He sits up, banging his head hard on the low ceiling.

"Fuck" he swears under his breath, rubbing his head.

He then begins to bang repeatedly