Unleash The Island

Chapter 28

It was, in fact, taking a while to get to Menemsha.

Gavin held onto the wheel and lever steadily. The boat kept crashing into the nighttime waves. His body ached. He wanted to sleep, but it was too late to stop.

Leo held onto EJ. She was trembling. She hadn't said anything since giving directions to Gavin. She barely even blinked. Her hair was still wet. She finally let herself be vulnerable and was frightened.

Leo nudged her closer to him and said, "It's going to be okay. We'll get the video to the coast guard and they'll alert the police."

All EJ did was nod. That was a good enough response. Her head laid on his shoulder. Leo placed his chin on the top of her head. He would've enjoyed being on a boat with her if it was during the day and under different circumstances. He rubbed her arm with a free hand while the other held onto the railing.

They were still a decent distance away from the coast, but close enough to see it. A few houses had no lights on at all. They may have left the island. It felt like they were looking at a ghost town. There was a line of cops driving down the road ahead of them. Leo thought it was a coincidence until they started to drive on somebody's lawn.

"Gavin!" he shouted.

Gavin heard the sirens wail and saw the officers. They were running down a long dock with flashlights to help them. "He could've called them."

With pure instinct, he turned the wheel to the left and brought them farther away from the coast. Leo gripped onto EJ, who was hunched over. He brought her head up and looked at her frantically. She was wide awake, but her face was pale. She glanced back down, where she was holding the towel on her leg. Leo adjusted so that he could see what was going on. There was blood. A lot of blood. He held the towel on her wound for her.

"Stop the boat!" a cop said on a megaphone. "Stop the boat and come to the coast line!"

Gavin pushed on the lever harder and the bolt roared. It ate the waves as it pulled farther away. The cops kept shouting, but the boat had passed where they were. They ran back to their cars.

EJ groaned as Leo tightened the towel around her leg. He planted a kiss on the top of her head. The blood wouldn't stop, so he lifted the towel and let it get splashed by water. Leo got a glimpse of it. She had gotten shot in the leg. He threw the towel back on her thigh and the water soothed some of the pain.

What had Wayne done?

"We're about to pass Tisbury!" Gavin shouted as another wave crashed against the boat.

"When you see Menemsha Creek on the map, turn into it on the left," EJ said. Gavin kept his grip firm and pushed through.

"They might've been called because of the gunshots," Imani said from the front.

"They'll see the video and see why he got shot in the leg," Leo said, holding the towel down. "That piece of shit."

As the cops huddled back into their cars, Wayne sat in the back of one of them. The cop driving him kept asking him if he needed medical attention, but Wayne protested. He just kept a towel on his thigh as he sat in the backseat.

"While we're driving," the passenger cop said, "what happened, exactly? I understand you got shot."

"The boy shot me," Wayne said, watching the cop write something down.

"Which one, sir? Blonde or brunette?"

"Brunette. Leonidas."

Meanwhile, on the boat, Gavin was holding onto the wheel and gear shift for dear life. The waves were starting to pick up the farther they got away from the coast. Leo was holding onto the towel. EJ's eyes would stay closed then reopen when a wave jostled the boat around.

"Hey," Leo whispered to her, "you have to stay awake." EJ did not respond. He cupped his hand on her face, directing it towards him. She was faintly pale. "Gavin."

His brother turned around briefly. He pushed the lever forwards and gunned the boat forwards. "We'll get there soon. Just keep her alive."

Leo held the towel in place, but the blood was still seeping through. He grabbed another one and did the same procedure. The water splashed and the new towel was damp. He ripped the other one off and placed it onto the wound. EJ groaned, giving him some type of hope.