Page 59 of The Island

“Hey, Owen,” Heather said, coming over to him.

He shrugged her away. “Don’t touch me, Heather!”

She nodded and gave him space.

“Now what will we do?” Hans asked.

Heather turned to look at him. The Dutch couple seemed OK after their exertions. They both appeared to be in their late fifties or early sixties, but they were lean, fit, and strong, like a lot of Europeans.

“What do you suggest?” Hans asked her.

“I don’t know. But we should get away from here. We’re exposed. When they find out we’re missing, they’re going to come to the ferry and check around here first.”

“The trail you made leads them to the woods,” Hans said.

“That’s not going to fool them for very long. They know our best chance of getting off the island is to come to the ferry, so they’ll show up pretty soon.”

Petra hoisted a finger into the air. “Listen,” she said.

Heather listened, and sure enough, over the sea and the morning chorus, they could hear two vehicles coming toward them from the farm.

“They know,” Hans said.

“They’re in a big hurry,” Olivia said.

“We have to hide! Up there, farther back in the grass. Come on!” Heather said.

She grabbed Owen by the arm and they scrambled up the slope into the long grass. A Toyota Hilux and a Land Rover appeared on the brow of a hill five hundred yards away.

“Everyone, get down! Don’t move!” Heather said.

The two vehicles drove to the ferry terminal and stopped with a squeal of brakes and a spiral of dust.

Four men and Kate got out of the cars. They were all armed with long rifles. Jacko, Matt, Danny, and Ivan. Matt examined the ground.

“They were here,” Matt said, his voice carrying easily in the morning air. “They were here in the last hour but they’ve gone now.”

“Did they swim for it?” Kate asked him.

“I don’t know.”

“The sharks will have took ’em,” Jacko said.

Matt walked down to the water and looked at the little beach next to the ferry dock.

“No one’s been on this beach,” he said.

Hans and Petra crawled next to Heather, who had the best view.

“What’s happening?” Hans asked in a whisper.

“It’s Matt and some of the others,” Heather whispered back.

Hans peeked over the lip of the grass. “Five of them,” he said. “And they have guns.”

“Yeah. We have to get to cover somewhere. We’re exposed on this hillside and it’s going to be very hot in an hour or two.”

“You want us to keep going now?” Hans said.