Dark Lies (House of Sin 2)

The left side of my lip quirks up into a smile. Maybe she’s right.

If so, maybe … just maybe … Amelia will return of her own free will.

And if not, I’m just going to have to drag her back with me.

Chapter 3

Amelia

When my eyes finally open again, my lungs drag in a large breath. I cough violently, lurching up to expel the water still stuck in my throat. I’m shivering, and my clothes are completely soaked. But the storm has passed, and the sun shines.

Have I been out that long?

I blink a couple of times to get used to the light while taking in my surroundings. I’m still on the boat, so I guess I made it out alive. But it’s no longer rhythmically swaying back and forth across the waves. In fact, it’s come to a complete standstill.

I rub the salt from my eyes and scramble to my feet. I’m still wobbly from my ordeal, and my muscles ache as I walk to the edge of the banister. But any pain fades compared to the excitement rushing through my veins the second I spot the trees up ahead.

I made it ashore.

A broad smile forms on my lips as I peer over the edge at the sandy beach below the boat and then the horizon in front of me, which seems like nothing but forest for miles on end. But it’s nothing I haven’t faced before, and I know there will be an end. Somewhere inside that forest or beyond is a road, and when I find it, it’s going to take me home.

Happiness swells within me as I clutch the banister, almost ready to jump off. But then my brain kicks back into action and reminds me that there’s still a difficult journey up ahead. I don’t know how long it will be until I find any help, let alone a door to knock on, so I must go prepared.

I rush back into the storage compartment and grab the sturdiest bag I can find to load it with the tin cans and any other supplements on board, including some medicine and a blanket. Unfortunately, I find no spare clothes, so I’ll have to do with what I’m wearing now. I’ll warm myself up by walking. Maybe I can finally exert the pent-up energy from spending all this time locked in that small room.

With all my supplies in a bag, I hop off the deck and start walking. The pine forest beyond is dark and looks completely unkempt, as though there hasn’t been a soul in ages. Sunlight barely penetrates the treetops, and I find myself looking up at the slightest of sounds.

Sweat drops litter my forehead in no time, and my tongue feels like sandpaper. I haven’t had anything to drink for quite some time now, and it’s starting to weigh down on me. My muscles are cramping more and more with every passing minute, but I refuse to give up.

I’ve gotten so far already, I can’t give up now.

So I continue my trek. There’s only one way to survive this: I need to find fresh water. A small brook or even a tiny pool of water will do. Anything to quench my thirst.

But the longer I search, the more I begin to realize it will take me too long to find anything. I’ve never done this before. I wasn’t in the Scouts, and I didn’t take any survival classes. I don’t even know what to look for besides running water.

The more steps I take, the more my muscles begin to cramp. My breathing is ragged, and I have a hard time concentrating.

Everything begins to spin as if the world itself is turning into mush, but I know it’s my eyes that are at fault. With every passing second, I can feel myself fading. I don’t have much time left.

“Help!” I call out with whatever energy I have left.

A sudden stump in my way makes me fall to my knees.

It uses too much energy to get up.

To even crouch.

And I find myself lying between a pile of dirt and leaves, wondering if it was all worth it … if my freedom was worth sacrificing my life for.

The light from the sun is fading quickly, but it isn’t the sun going out; it’s me.

“Can someone hear me?” I moan as I roll around on the ground, wishing I’d taken something from the mansion that I could’ve used for communication, like one of those walkie-talkies.

But I was too stupid and too much in a rush to even contemplate the idea, and now I’m here, lying on the ground without so much as a little bit of energy to keep on moving.

My sight goes blurry, even dark at times, and I feel the need to lay my head down and rest. Just rest and rest and do nothing but rest … for all eternity perhaps.