The Missing - Kiersten Modglin (the reading strategies book TXT) 📗

noticeable, but I felt warmth fill me as he did it. I knew then that even if I’d never agreed to our pact, it was in place. Noah would protect me, and I would do the same for him.

No matter what.

What we’d gone through, all of us, but particularly the two of us, had cemented the deal, even without my intention.

After another long, drawn-out pause, James’s weapon dropped slightly. He took a step toward the door, preparing to knock again. All at once, the door opened, only slightly, and I watched something small and silver scurry across the forest floor before it shut again with a loud thud.

A mouse?

A can.

As it registered, foggy, pressurized air began spewing out into the air with a steady pstttttttttttt.

“What the—”

“Get back!”

“Run!”

Our response was immediate and identical, the four of us darting for safety. I heard the creak of the door being opened again just as shots rang out, and I braced myself for the blow. This couldn’t be how it ended. It just couldn’t.

“Get down!” a man shouted, and I fell to the ground at his command, my face pressed into the dirt as I panted, trying to make sense of what was happening. “Hands flat on the ground. Don’t touch your weapons. No sudden moves.”

I couldn’t see anything for the fog from the can. It hadn’t burned like I’d expected, so it wasn’t tear gas, but it was still potent enough to fill the small area with a dense fog so thick I could hardly see where my machete landed, several feet in front of me. I looked to my left, at Ava, and my right, at Noah. We were all in similar positions, faces crushed to the ground, waiting for what would come.

“Now, I want you all to listen to me, and listen well…” This was a new man. I tried to place their accents. They weren’t Southern. Midwestern, maybe? Then again, I supposed they could’ve been faking it. They sounded older than I was, but not by much, and confident. In control.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” he went on. “You don’t belong here.”

Did he mean we didn’t belong on the island? Or here, at their door? I opened my mouth, wanting to explain.

“You need to go back to the beach,” the other said, shutting me up before I’d begun. “You got the notes. You know the rules. You have your weapons… You have your orders. Get it done.”

Noah met my eyes, our cheeks still resting on the ground, and I had the sudden urge to reach out and touch his hand, but I knew I couldn’t. No sudden moves.

“Why are you doing this to us?” James asked, his tone high-pitched and fearful. “Who are you people?”

“No one you need to worry about,” came the first man’s reply. “Now, we’re going to go back inside. Only one of you can leave, that’s the rule. So, if you want to ever get off this island, ever see your families again…” He cleared his throat. “You’ll do what we say. And if you ever come back here again, none of you will leave. Not ever.”

We stayed silent as their words sank in for all of us. When I heard their footsteps descending, James called out, “What if we all agree on one of us to leave? What if the rest of us will stay? We don’t have to die, but we have to stay.”

“Don’t try to negotiate with us. That’s not how it works. We make the rules. Was that James? Man the fuck up, James,” came the sour, aggressive response. “You’ve got the gun, so use it. Don’t get distracted by—” The man’s voice cut out, and I heard a grumble.

The other man took over. “It’s against the rules. Don’t try to play us. We’re watching you. We’ll know if you try to trick us, and then none of you are going to get off this island. Ever.” He made a hmph sound and added, “Now, once you hear the door close, you’re to count to thirty, then stand up, gather your weapons, and make your way back to the beach. Do not return here.” There was no room for negotiation. I heard the wheel creak and the door squeal as it opened, and then I heard the thud that told us we were alone.

Or, at least the most alone we’d ever been or ever would be on this island with the strangers watching us.

I let out a heavy breath, tears I’d been holding in flooding my eyes. I let my body relax, my limbs flat and limp on the ground. Noah reached out, clutching my hand carefully. On my other side, I heard Ava crying and James trying to console her, despite the tremble in his own voice.

“I’m so sorry,” he told her softly.

Noah stood, tugging me to my feet. “We should go,” he said, leaving no room for argument as he pulled me away from the house.

“We can’t just leave,” James tried to argue.

“We’ve shown you where the house is.” Noah didn’t bother looking back. “If you want to stay here, be my guest. We’re going back to the beach.” He gripped my hand tighter, pulling me in front of him, his hands resting on either side of my waist. He was protecting me once again, but I didn’t need it. Eventually, I heard James’s and Ava’s footsteps following behind.

The trip hadn’t given us any answers, but had managed to steal away any remaining hope we’d held on to. I couldn’t help thinking of my promise to Harry, that I’d someday tell Daisy about his bravery. I knew then I’d almost certainly never see that promise through.

Chapter Twenty-One

“Maybe we could build a raft.” The idea came weeks after Harry had died. I couldn’t be sure of the exact time because I’d given up trying to keep track of it. The sun rose, we hunted and gathered, boiled fresh water, and slept.

We’d crafted three shelters since our last one, none that