as unsinkable as i can be // the wilds

chapter sixteen.

"They lied."
    "What?"
    "The girls, they lied. They all know what happened to Raelynn, why she was on the way to the retreat in the first place. They all know, and they aren't saying anything."
    "You're kidding me."
    "No, Gretchen, I'm not. Raelynn told them while they were on the island, but I think there's something that she wanted the girls to keep to themselves, and they're honoring that."
    "How do you know, though?"
    "What?"
    "How do you know that she told them if none of the girls are telling you and Dr. Faber, Agent Young?"
    "It's all in Raelynn's writing. I don't think she realized that the others were going to keep her secret, especially when they were getting interviewed."
    "Something must've happened on the island, then, to keep them from saying anything."
    "Gretchen, I don't think we understand the full extent of what happened. Raelynn... she only wrote so much about what happened. We don't have much to work off of. I think it was really hard for her."
    "Well of course it was hard for her. How is she, by the way?"
    "... she hasn't spoken. We gave her a pad of paper and a pencil, and she's been writing to herself. At one point, she wrote a note to the nurse asking if she could see one of the other girls."
    "Toni, I assume?"
    "No. Leah."
    "... Leah? She was never even that close to Leah."
    "I don't know, Gretchen, but she keeps asking for her. Over and over again."
    "What happened on that island that we didn't see?"
    "I don't know, but there's a lot we aren't being told."
    "Well, where are you and Faber in your investigation right now?'
    "We just finished up with Leah, Rachel, and Toni. Dot is next. We were supposed to have Dot come in third, but her knee has swollen double the size it was when she first came in, so they gave her a few extra days of healing. We should be seeing her tomorrow, perhaps."
    "What did Toni say about Raelynn?"
    "She..."
    "Well? Spit it out!"
    "She said that Raelynn is the only reason that she is alive right now."
    "Okay, get Dot in as soon as possible, and then I want Martha next."
    "Gretchen, that's not the order we-"
    "I don't give a damn about your order! I said I want Martha next, and I don't want any 'good cop bad cop' situation. Find out the truth."
    "Yes, ma'am."
    "Stop at nothing to find out what Raelynn Jones did on that island."