Page 10 of Hunted

“I don’t suppose you have a satellite radio in your pocket?” West asks as he leans against the doorframe.

“There was one in the chopper. I don't think it's viable now.”

“We should have checked the wreckage before it got dark,” Bower mumbles as he undoes his hair and starts combing his fingers through it. They don’t look too bad for being stuck in the wild for several months, but they definitely need a good shower and some haircuts.

Glancing down, I see I’m already covered in dirt and my shoes probably aren’t salvageable. I glance over and see the terrible state of King's shoes and smile. He musthatethat. Not that any of that matters right now.

“Okay, so we just have to wait for the rescue team, they’ll probably be here tomorrow, right?” Bower asks, glancing at me for confirmation.

“I expect so, yes.” I nod, trying to think at what point my dad will realize I’m missing. It could take a day or two, knowing him. “Maybe the next day. They might think we’re waiting to return in the daylight, so they might not realize I’m not coming back until later tomorrow.”

My stomach takes that opportunity to rumble and I glance around, noticing there’s no sign of food here. “Will we have enough food until then?”

They glance at each other, smirks on their faces, like they’re sharing a secret.

“What?”

“Thanks to Darla, we’ve never gone hungry. There’s plenty of fruit and we still have some boar jerky,” King tells me as he grabs a basket I hadn’t seen beside the table and lifts it up, dropping it on top. He grabs a few strips of jerky and hands them to me. They each grab a piece for themselves as I study it.

It looks just like beef jerky. I give it a sniff and make a noise of approval when I find it smells like bacon. Giving it a tentative bite, I wait for it to turn my stomach, but it doesn’t. “This is actually pretty good. You guys made this?” I ask in surprise.

“Zee did. She taught us how, but I don’t think we could make it this good,” West says, taking another giant bite of his.

“No wonder you guys don’t look like you’ve lost much weight,” I say with a shake of my head, taking another bite and enjoying the meaty flavor.

The others take seats around me as I stare out the doorway into the darkness of the night. I wish she wasn’t out there alone. Who knows what’s going through her mind right now?

Does she hate me?

I didn’t mean to get so angry with her. Really, I’m angry at myself. I just feel like I’ve let her down and it came out wrong. I would have looked for her if I knew there was even a chance she had survived. It kills me to think of thirteen-year-old Darla, stuck on this island, all on her own.

And once again, she’s out there on her own right now, and it’s my fault. Pushing to my feet, I announce, “I’m going to go look for her.”

“Reece, it’s pitch black out there, you won’t be able to see a thing,” King says, frowning up at me.

“I don’t care. I left her alone here for fifteen fucking years, I won’t leave her for another minute.”

“You’ll end up tripping and hurting yourself. She’s probably asleep in the tree by now, you’ll never find her.”

“I can’t just sit here!” I yell, looking at him like he’s crazy for suggesting it. “You guys can stay here, but I’m going to find her,” I grit out, storming through the door.

“Darla!” I yell, cupping my hands around my mouth. I head towards the ladder as Weston grumbles behind me.

“For fuck’s sake, I’ll come with you.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you get hurt, she’ll be upset. I’m doing this forher, notyou,” he bites back, following me down. “You two stay here in case she comes back,” he calls up to the others.

It’s a smart idea, having someone stay back at the hut, but I won’t admit that to him.

“Darla!” I yell again, and as soon as West’s feet touch the ground beside me, he starts marching forward like he knows where he’s going.

“Where are you going?”

“To the waterfall, it’s her favorite place here and the first place we should look.” I don’t comment, I just follow behind, calling out her name every few seconds.

Soon the sound of the falling water reaches my ears. It’s fucking dark out, but thanks to the moonlight, I can still make out the waterfall when we arrive in a small clearing.