Illusion (Swept Away 1)

I wasn’t sure how long I was up in the tree before I heard someone walking through the jungle. I felt my body trembling, and I pressed my lips closed so that no whimpers escaped into the air. I heard my name being called, and still I didn’t answer. I wasn’t even sure who was calling me. All I knew was that the voice was male.

“Bianca, where are you?” The voice sounded angry, and I shivered as I opened my eyes. I stared at the large expanse of dark blue sky through the tree branches and prayed that it wasn’t Steve who had prevailed. “Please don’t find me,” I mumbled to myself, almost incoherently. The white-sand beaches looked so different from my vantage point and illuminated by the moon. The whole island looked so much smaller from up here. My limbs felt numb, but I was too scared to move even an inch. If he heard the rustling of leaves, he’d know where I was. I closed my eyes to block out my surroundings and tried to think about something happy. I imagined that I was on the Ferris wheel with my father, high up in the air and happily eating my cotton candy. Just think of the cotton candy, just think of the cotton candy.

“Bianca, this isn’t funny.” His voice was hoarse, and I heard his footsteps moving closer to me. “Bianca, if you can hear me . . .” He paused, and his voice changed. “Please don’t make this harder than it has to be. I’m not going to hurt you.” I still couldn’t make out the voice, I was starting to feel tired, and I knew that I couldn’t hold on much longer.

“Bianca,” the voice shouted, “where are you?” Suddenly through the fog of my brain, I realized it was Jakob, but I was still in shock. My brain refused to allow my mouth to call out to him. I was still scared.

I heard a branch snap below me, and I knew he was close. All he had to do was look up. If he looked up, he’d find me. This man who’d become my most intimate confidant was now my predator, and I his prey. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath before looking down. An involuntary gasp escaped from my mouth as I realized how high up I was. That was my first mistake. I felt my stomach drop as I stared at the ground beneath me. I would surely die if I fell.

“I’ve found you,” he whispered as he looked up at me with wild eyes. “Thank God, I’ve found you.”

“Did you hurt him?” My fingers started trembling as I looked back down at him. “Tell me, did you hurt him?”

“It depends on what you mean by hurt.” He lifted his hands up, and I saw that his fingers were drenched in blood. I closed my eyes; I had my answer.

Twelve

“What did you do, Jakob?”

“I did it for us,” he said simply, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. “Don’t you trust me?” he asked me softly as he started to climb the tree. I saw the shiny glitter of the silver knife in his left hand before he dropped it, and my heart stopped beating for a second.

“I trust you.” I nodded and waited for him to reach me. I decided to see if I could make my way down so he didn’t have to climb so high. That was my second mistake. My fingers slipped, and I screamed as I grabbed ahold of another branch.

“Stay where you are, I’m coming up.” His voice sounded panicked, and I felt all of the energy seeping out of me. “Stay strong, Bianca. I’ll be there in a few seconds. You’re going to be okay.”

“I wasn’t trying to escape from you,” I called out, glad that he was safe and sound. “I was just scared.” My voice broke as I started sobbing.

“Don’t cry, my dear. It’s okay. He can’t hurt you now.”

“Did you kill him?” I croaked out, scared to hear his answer.

“No. I wanted to, but I didn’t.” He made it up the tree in record time and grabbed my hands. “Thank God, you’re okay.” He squeezed my hands, and he leaned toward me. “Oh, Bianca.” He reached out and wiped the tears from my eyes. “I was so scared that something was going to happen to you in the jungle. I thought you’d trip and hit your head or sprain your ankle. Thank God, you’re okay.”

“All I could think about was you,” I sobbed. “I wanted to go back and help you, but I didn’t know if there was anything that I could do that would help.”

“I’m glad you didn’t come.” He held my hand, and I briefly closed my eyes. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to see what happened.”

“Was it bad?”

“There was a lot of blood.” His brows furrowed, and he sighed.

“Are you okay?” I scanned his body to make sure he had no cuts.

“I’m okay.” He nodded and squeezed my hand. “We’re going to go down now. Do you think you can make it?”

“Yes.” I nodded, still feeling slightly dazed.

“I’m going to go ahead of you. I’ll make sure you make it down safely. Just hold on to my arm and follow me, and you’ll be okay. Understand?”

I nodded again, and we made our descent to the ground.

“Your feet are bleeding.” Jakob stared at me with anguished eyes.

“It’s fine,” I whispered, trying to ignore the cuts and bruises all over my body.

“It’s not fine.” He shook his head and ran his fingers down my cheek. “Why didn’t you go to the shack?”

“I went there first, but then I left. That would’ve been the first place Steve would’ve looked.” I rubbed my eyes. “I didn’t want him to be able to find me if he got the better of you.”