Not Who You Say You Are

Chapter Twenty-One

December 27th - 2022

The water crashes against the rocky bottom of the cliff as my boat slowly sails past. If it weren't for the current situation, I'd stop for a moment and take in the blissful sounds, but instead, I keep moving. I'm going slow so as not to alert the last hunter, Danny, of my whereabouts. I don't want to moor the vehicle at the secondary port, because I'm sure he must know by now that I've taken the boat and he may be waiting for my return. Or his brother's return, but he doesn't know yet either that he's currently shredded to pieces in the middle of the ocean. So, it's best to avoid that port at any cost and search for a new one. There must be another sliver of shoreline that does the job. I've sailed almost around the entire island when I come across an opening in the low-hanging leaves that form a wall around it. In it, sits another boat.

I gently ride the boat onto the sandy bank until it halts and I turn off the engine. When I'm up close to it, I am able to identify it as Maggie's boat. The one she rode off in on Christmas and probably the same one the hunter brought her back in. It's been sitting here unused the whole time. It's big. Well, bigger than the one I'm in now and could easily carry all of us to safety. I just need to find the keys. I jump into the boat and search around the steering wheel. I find the ignition but of course, it's empty. Danny must have them. Then, a realisation floods over me. What if the other hunter had them? If he did, then now they're either lying at the bottom of the ocean or in the belly of an alligator.

I can feel my hopes floating away but I shake my head and snap out of it. If I can't get the keys, I can still get people to the mainland a few at a time. Even if not that, the police will be showing up sooner or later. I couldn't hear how long the operator said it would take for them to get here, but it shouldn't be too long. The sky is already slightly lightening, so the sun should be rising within the hour and hopefully so will the police. It's more difficult and most likely more time-consuming to reach us out here. They would need to call the Coast Guard or get a regular officer on a boat and god knows how long that will take. And of course, now I'm spiralling, thinking that I didn't make it sound urgent enough. But how more urgent can "people are killing us" be? Stop, Theo. They'll be here soon. I'm about to get out when I spot a tarp in the corner of the boat. It looks to be concealing something big and when I lift it, I see the body of Peter. So this is where they took him. Far away from us, avoiding any more potential defacing.

After a single kick to the body, I jump out of Maggie's boat and begin moving toward the house. I'm at the back of the island, so the journey to the house will take longer than usual. I'm going over what the best strategy will be. Hopefully, everybody will still be in the basement, safe and sound with the door locked. I could take two of them to shore first, and then come back and repeat until we're all on the mainland. But that's risky. Coming and going from the house that many times, I'm sure to come face to face with Danny. I could round everyone up and take them all to the boat. I'd still have to do a few trips but it would be a quicker turnover. But there's also the danger of Danny discovering everybody by the shore and they wouldn't have the protection of the metal basement door. I guess they'd just have to hide in the surrounding bushes. But what am I thinking? Why do I feel the need to play hero? The police are on their way and Danny has no idea. He has no reason to break the door down because he's unaware that this whole nightmare is coming to an end. We could easily just sit in the basement until they arrive. No harm done. Yes, that's the best thing. I've done all I can do. I walk silently through the trees, weary of any shadow, paranoid that Danny will be hiding in every one of them. Eventually, the house comes into view through the cracks in the foliage.

"Just go inside and lock yourself in the basement", I think.

That's my plan. Well, that was my plan. But when I neared the back of the house, all I heard was the sound of a loud crash, like a piece of furniture hitting the floor, followed by a scream. I race inside through the shattered glass door and just as I'd feared, the basement door is wide open. I hurry down the stairs and find it empty. What happened? All they had to do was stay downstairs. Perhaps they thought I was dead. I thought I was dead for a second there. If only there was a way for me to let them know I'd called the police and that they were all safe. But they thought the worst and freaked out. I can't blame them for that. All I care about now is getting Miles, Ivy, Mom, and Dad to safety so I leap back up the basement stairs into the foyer. Where did that crash come from? Outside it sounded like it was upstairs. And who screamed? I couldn't tell who it was. I begin to panic. What if it was Miles? Or Ivy? I can't just stand around and hope it wasn't. I need to help them.