Page 30 of Hunted

“We’d been here for about four months whentheyarrived.”

My gut clenches at those words, a bad feeling settling deep within me as I curl my hands into fists and try to stay calm. I need to hear the full story.

“There were three of them. They didn’t speak English.” She glances at West who nods.

“I believe they were Samoan pirates.” He turns to me. “I saw a notebook that belonged to them, and I'm pretty sure it was written in Samoan.”

I give him a curt nod, not liking where this story is going. He turns back to her, and she continues.

“We didn’t know that back then. They seemed to want to help us. They had pistols and knives, which helped with hunting and building. But…” she trails off, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before she continues.

“We knew there was something off about them. My dad never left me alone. He wouldn’t even let me out of his sight. Only a tree ever separated us when we needed to relieve ourselves. He told me he didn't trust them and that I needed to be extremely careful to never leave his side. I didn’t argue because they gave me the creeps.”

She stops her pacing and stares down at the empty fire pit, whispering, “It started right here.”

My heart drops, terrified of her next words. Did they kill her dad right in front of her?

“My dad and I were gathering wood to start the fire when one of them grabbed my arm and yanked me back. I screamed, and my dad swung a branch at his back. He released me to deal with my dad, who yelled for me to run. I did as I was told and heard him running right behind me. I decided moving through the jungle would give us a better chance of getting away than the path. Back then, I wasn’t very good at climbing yet. I was too slow.”

She clutches her rock harder to her chest as she starts pacing again.

“I heard my dad cry out, and I turned around, seeing one of the men, who was much larger than my dad, dragging him back through the jungle. I screamed his name, and he told me to run, but before I could move, the other two grabbed me. I kicked and screamed as they carried me to a small clearing in the jungle where the other man stood with my dad. He—”

She breaks off, swallowing heavily as her eyes glisten with unshedtears.

“He held a knife to his throat as he watched me. I couldn’t understand their words, but their threats and intentions were clear. If I struggled, they’d kill my dad.”

I feel all the blood leave my face as the true depth of her trauma starts to form in my mind.

Please don’t let it be true.

I glance at the others, but their eyes are all fixed on Darla. But by the pained looks on their faces, they know where this story is going, and it’s not good.

“The two men ripped my clothes from my body and forced themselves on me.”

I drop my head to my hands, closing my eyes tight as my body trembles.

“They made my dad w-watch.”

Her voice breaks on the last word, and I can’t stop myself from cursing. “Fuck!” My worst nightmare has been confirmed.

“Then they slit his throat.” My body tries to leap to my feet in rage, but I hold myself still, knowing this may be the only time she ever tells this story, and I need to hear all of it.

“I… I lost it. I screamed and kicked one of them between the legs. I tried to find something… anything, to use as a weapon. I remember begging God to help me, and that’s when I saw it.”

She stops pacing and pulls her rock away from her chest, staring down at it with a haunted expression in her eyes.

“I saw this rock. I grabbed it and swung around fast. One of the men had been bending over to grab me so I managed to hit him in the side of the head. After that…”

She trails off, running her finger over Steve’s name as she swallows heavily again.

“After that, I don't remember what happened. I just remember coming to, and they were all dead. I was covered in blood. I saw my dad’s body and crawled over to him, begging him to still be alive.”

She pulls the rock back to her chest and closes her eyes again. A single tear rolls down her cheek and it takes everything I have not to go to her right now.

“Of course, he wasn’t. I… I shattered in that moment. I don’t know how long I stayed there, wishing for none of that to be true. I must have cried myself to sleep, and when I woke up, nothing had changed. I saw the blood on my hands and freaked out, running to the ocean to get it off me.”

She stops pacing and quickly glances at all of us before looking back down at her rock.