SHARING EMMA [18+]

41. Out of Here

|RYKER|

"Ryker!" a voice yelled, desperation ringing in every syllable. "Wake up, dammit! Ryker!"

I groaned, trying to respond to the urgent voice, but a sharp, searing pain burned at the back of my neck, making every movement a herculean effort. My throat felt parched, and my attempts at speech were reduced to feeble, raspy whispers.

I forced my heavy eyelids open, blinking harshly into the abyss of darkness that enveloped me. The air around me was thick with an eerie stillness, broken only by the distant sound of the voice that called out to me, echoing through the void.

"Who... who is it?" I managed to croak, my voice weak and barely audible. I attempted to survey my surroundings, but my vision remained blurred and hazy. Panic gnawed at the edges of my consciousness. "Where am I?"

"Thank God you're okay!" The voice sounded again, more distinct this time, and I instantly recognized it.

"Dad?"

"Yes, yes. I'm here, on your right."

I turned my head, squinting my eyes to penetrate the inky darkness. Gradually, a hazy figure emerged from the shadows. If not for the faint gleam of his white shirt, he could have easily blended into the enveloping darkness that surrounded us.

"What's going on, Dad? Wait... how did you get here?"

"There is no time for questions, son. Where is Emma? Was she with you when they got to you?"

"Emma?" Her name jolted me fully awake, my senses sharpening instantly. I blinked repeatedly, trying to move my body, but the ropes that bound me to the tree held me in place. Panic surged within me. "Damn it!"

"Don't fight it," Dad urged. "It's of no use. I tried. Save your energy for now."

"Save my energy for what?" I snapped, my fear intensifying like a fever.

He didn't say anything, just glared. After a moment of tense silence, he asked again. "You didn't answer my question. Where the hell is Emma? Was she with you—"

"No, she wasn't!" I grunted, throwing my head back to gaze up at the tall tree, its branches reaching out like the gnarled limbs of some ancient beast. "She sent me to look for you. She was worried about you."

"And you left her alone? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I glared back. "What was I supposed to do, then? She was ready to go out herself in this godforsaken weather. Should I have allowed her to do that? Would that have pleased you?"

"No, no, no, no. This is all wrong. All wrong." His voice quivered with anxiety, and his body trembled as if he were losing faith faster than the speed of light. Raindrops clung to his disheveled hair, glistening like tiny crystals. Like me, he was bound to the tree and barefoot, the cold and dampness seeping like some painful curse. "We have to find her. They must have gotten to her. We have to stop them."

Nothing he was saying made any sense, and my frustration grew. I furrowed my brow. "Who are you talking about? Stop whom?"

"Tomas and Ron!" He gritted his teeth.

Before I could ask what the hell they had to do with this situation, he continued with urgency in his voice. "Tomas and Ron are working together. How? Don't even bother asking. I have no fucking clue. But what I do know is that they're trying to avenge us for what happened to that tribal girl, Kiaona, and her child. A while ago, Ron was talking about justice and all. I have a feeling they're both up to something. They might try to harm Emma—"

"Dad!" I couldn't believe what he was saying. None of it was making sense. But the mere mention of Emma being in danger ignited a fire within me. "I don't care what the hell they want, but if they've so much as touched a hair on her head, I swear to God, I'll end them."

My anger burned like a fiery furnace, but the sound of Kiaona's name escaping my father's lips stirred a regret that had been festering within me for years. Did this mean she was here too, seeking revenge?

The realization hit me like a sledgehammer. "Wait. Did they poison Emma too?"

Dad's eyes softened, though his jaw remained clenched. "Yes. Tomas poisoned her during the trip."

The pieces of this twisted puzzle were finally fitting together.

Tomas, the one person we had both trusted, had betrayed us in the most heinous way. Anger burned in my veins, and I fought against the ropes, my frustration boiling over. "Damn it! I hate this. I hate all of it. We need to get out of here. Right now!"

I clenched my fists, feeling the ropes digging into my wrists as fear, anger, and frustration churned deep inside me. If Dad was right and if this was really about revenge, I didn't even want to imagine what they might do to Emma and her unborn child.

I shook my head, staring at the beach ahead of us and then glancing over my shoulder, my brain working overtime.

I pressed my hip back against the tree, and felt the metal digging into me. I sighed in relief.

"What is it?" Dad asked, noticing the change in my expression.

I heaved, my chest rising and falling with short breaths. "I have a gun."

His eyes widened at my revelation. "A gun? How the hell did you manage to get a gun?"

I thought about the tree blocking the path and how Daniel and I had decided to cut through the woods to reach the tribal village faster. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if Daniel was a part of this too, working against us like Tomas and Ron. But I couldn't dwell on that thought for long as Dad yelled my name again.

"Ryker, the gun... it could be our way out of here," he said, his voice low and urgent. "We have to find Emma, but we can't do that tied to these trees. Can you reach it?"

I nodded, maneuvering my body carefully against the tree, trying to inch closer to where the gun was concealed. The ropes chafed against my skin, and every slight movement sent a jolt of pain through my wrists, but I gritted my teeth and persevered. Finally, my fingers brushed against the cool metal of the gun's grip.

"Just a little more," I whispered to myself, stretching my fingers, feeling the gun slide slightly closer.

"Ah, finally awake, I see," a deep voice arrived from the distance.

I froze in place, not daring to move an inch. It was dark, so I hoped they hadn't noticed my efforts.

A flashlight beamed onto Dad's face and then mine.

The crunch of leaves and wet mud grew nearer.

I turned my head in the direction of the approaching sound and saw Tomas and Ron walking towards us. They ducked their heads under the low-lying branches and carefully steered through the shrubs and the muddy path.

"Great, the psychos are back!" Dad grunted. I knew he was trying to draw their attention to himself, allowing me to relax and not give away anything through the tension in my body. I shifted my feet, slumping my shoulders and sinking against the tree, as if to convey that I didn't even have the strength to stand straighter.

"Well, well," Tomas sneered, the sneer nearly audible in his voice. "What do we have here? A family reunion, it seems."

Dad didn't miss a beat. "Cut the crap, Tomas. You won't get away with this."

"Get away with what?" Ron chimed in, his voice dripping with false innocence.

"With whatever you're trying to achieve here," I joined in, growling.

They both turned to look at me, but neither of them moved in my direction.

Ron scoffed. "Don't worry about us, pretty boy. We can get away with anything as long as everything happens according to the plan. In fact, we're here to escort you to the grand show itself, isn't that right, Tomas?"

Tomas didn't even try to hide his sick grin. With a slow, deliberate movement, he retrieved a knife from his back pocket. In the dim moonlight, his eyes gleamed with nothing but malice.

"Of course," he hissed. "Can't start the show without the presence of our esteemed guests, can we now?"