It was Ariana. She was still trying to kill me. After all this time, she hadn't given up. Her lips were set in a cold, thin smile, her light blue eyes like ice as she gazed down at me.
I was just about to let out a shout when something cold and slimy closed around my ankle and yanked me under. I opened my mouth and it filled with frigid, salty water. My lungs flooded. My heart exploded. And all the while Ariana smiled down at me. Down . . . down . . . down . ..
I gasped and sat up straight. My body shivered, my bones so frigid they were radiating cold from the inside out. I wrapped my arms around myself and held on tight, trying to abate the trembling. The sun was up, but not hot enough yet to melt away the cold. Definitely not hot enough to erase the nightmare.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to shove the images out of my mind. My pulse started to slow as my wakening mind began to accept the fact that it was all a dream. I wasn't drowning. Wasn't dead. Ariana was not here.
But neither was Upton. Or Josh. Or Thomas.
I wasn't dead. Wasn't drowning. But I was still alone. And stranded.
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KARANA
My stomach grumbled. I hadn't eaten anything at the party the night before, since I'd been too excited about my night with Upton to even think about food. Lesson learned. Always eat at a party, just in case you're going to be kidnapped and left for dead.
I forced a laugh, pretending my situation wasn't as dire as I knew it was, and pushed myself to my feet. Without my phone and with no watch to speak of, I had no idea what time it was, but the sun was hanging low over the horizon, so it had to be early. I wondered if there was anything to eat on this island. Any fruit-bearing trees or shrubs. If there were, I was going to find them. At least it would give me some -thing to do. A task with which to distract myself until Upton showed up with the cavalry.
Please, God, let Upton be on his way. He would pay those guys off for me, right? He loved me. Money was nothing when it came to a person's life. Especially someone you loved. Right?
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Suddenly I found myself wishing we had known each other for more than a week.
But I couldn't think that way. I had to have confidence in Upton. He was going to do the right thing. He was going to come for me.
I picked up the still-wet, balled-up T-shirt and opened it up, slapping as much sand off it as I could. Then I laid it out on a flat rock in the sun to dry in case the wind kicked up later. It would be nice to have another layer of clothing. I fished my compact from my purse to check the wound on the side of my head. There was a cut above my ear and my hair was caked with dried blood. I winced at the blood and touched my fingertips to the area. It didn't hurt too badly, and it seemed as if the cut had started to heal. At least that was a good thing.
Pulling my scraggly, tangled hair back, I secured it into a low pony-tail using the bandana that was formerly my gag. Then I picked up the rest of my things--my purse, my shoe, and the black strip of fabric that was once my blindfold, and stashed it all behind a rock near the tree line. I was pretty sure no one was going to come along and steal it, but at least it would be safe from the elements. I was about to set off on my search when, on second thought, I took the shoe and the blindfold with me. If I found fresh water I could clean up my cut with the bandana. And if I needed to crack open a coconut or something I could use the heel of the shoe.
Did they even have coconuts around here?
Whatever. I was impressed with myself for even thinking of it.
I took a deep breath and started to walk. I stayed on the sand but kept to the tree line, checking every new bit of vegetation I found for
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any kind of apple, berry, or similar sustenance. There seemed to be nothing but leaves. Big, fat fronds and tiny curved buds and scaly-looking yellow things. But all leaves. No fruit anywhere. As I walked, the beach grew slimmer and slimmer, the waves crashing closer to my feet. There was a big outcropping of rocks up ahead, stretching right from the water all the way up to the trees. If I was going to get past it, I would have to climb over. I paused and stood on my toes, trying to see over to the other side, but the wall of rock was just a bit taller than I was. I looked back to my camp. The light blue shirt was the only speck of color on the beach and it was just that--a speck. I had already walked pretty far. I might as well see what this island was all about. Who knew? Maybe on the other side of this rock wall there was a happening Club Med with an open bar and all-you-can-eat barbecue.
My stomach grumbled again. I tied the blindfold around my wrist, gripped my shoe between my teeth, and started to climb. The rocks were wet and slippery, but there were plenty of ledges and cracks to help me on my way. I slipped only once, slamming my elbow into a sharp edge, but the resulting throbbing didn't even slow me down. I was getting used to pain and bruises. At the top, I pressed my knees into the cold surface and shoved myself to my feet.
There was no Club Med. And this wasn't just a rock wall. It was a huge expanse of rocky terrain that made up the entire shoreline as far as the eye could see. The waves crashed against the uneven ledge, sending angry spray up toward the sky. A very unfriendly omen. There was no point in moving forward. If I was going to find food or shelter, I was going to have to double back and try the other direction.
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Feeling defeated, I turned to make the slow climb back down to the beach. That was when I saw a whole mess of driftwood. It was floating in a wide puddle that had formed in an indentation atop the rock. The
wood pieces were smooth and perfectly formed, like they were planks from a doomed skiff or rowboat. I walked over and picked one up. The edges were sharp, but the top and bottom were smooth as silk. I had no idea what I might use it for, but it seemed like it could come in handy.
I dragged the plank to the edge of the rocky steppe, threw it to the sand along with my shoe, then climbed down after it.
On the way back to my little stretch of beach, I walked along the water's edge. The tide tossed hundreds of shells being tossed forward and back. Every now and then I paused to pick one up and inspect it, then flung it out into the water. I thought of Sawyer and wondered if he and the rest of my friends knew what was going on. Had the kidnappers found Upton? If they had, had he alerted everyone else, or was he trying to keep the whole thing quiet?
Noelle might not be up for another few hours. How long would it be before she realized I was missing and not just squirreled away with Upton somewhere on a romantic rendezvous? Suddenly I remembered her toast from the evening before. How she'd wished I'd have a drama-free year. Apparently that wish was not going to come true.
I felt tears start to well up in my eyes and I swallowed them back. Shells skittered into my feet and ankles as the water rolled in, then skittered away again. I saw a big flat white shell start to dance its way,