Island Has Ghosts

Chapter 10

All that was clear to her was that nothing was clear. Instead of being resolved, the situation had become more complicated! Violet was almost running after Elvira, who, despite her unsportsmanlike build, this time was running at the speed of a leader walking toward the finish line. Half a step ahead of Violet, also half-step-half-running, Vsevolod was hurrying. He walked confidently, as if it was not him who had barely made it to the camp yesterday. And yet by his noticeable limp and the fact that he had not overtaken Elvira, it was clear that this vigor - only diligently created by his appearance.

Rina was gone. Violet tried to concentrate on it, but her thoughts were scattered with peas, her soul was a strange fusion of feelings and emotions, among which perplexity prevailed. She'd expected the redhead to do anything, any word or action, even to finish what he hadn't done in the abandoned building, to push her into the water this time. But not at all that he would kiss her! The picture didn't add up, as if Violet had been poured puzzles from different images into the palms of her hands and told to put them together. The redhead hates her, accused her in public of ruining someone's life... And then he kissed her.

If after that he had grinned, let go of something nasty in his manner, laughed, she would have realized that the kiss was nothing more than another of his taunts, a response to her forced 'striptease'. But Vsevolod stood in front of her with such despair in his eyes, his arms folded doomfully, as if condemned to death before execution. Violet did not understand anything, and so she returned her thoughts again and again to that moment on the shore: she noticed that he was following her, stopping to finally clarify everything between them. And then Vsevolod pulls her to him and kisses her, forgetting about hatred and about the girl waiting for him in the hotel.

Elvira was exhausted though, had slowed her pace and was now walking between them. But suddenly she stopped and exclaimed indignantly:

"Maybe enough!"

"What... enough?" Vsevolod didn't understand. Violet shifted a perplexed look from him to Elvira and raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"I seem to be talking to myself all the way! Where are you? Both of you? We've got Rina missing! And this is much more serious than you two fighting!"

"But we didn't..." Violet started and cut herself short, realizing the absurdity of her excuses.

"Don't bring what was there here," Elvira said, looking not at Vsevolod, but at both of them, "there are three of us left. And we have to be together, without all of this."

She pointed her hand in the direction of their parking lot, hinting at the night's skirmish.

"Yes, commander," Vsevolod grinned, still not looking at Violet. She nodded silently.

"Good," Elvira exhaled and, without another word, went forward.

There were actually two blankets lying near the cave, rolled up to create a deceptive volume. The campfire had gone out, and so the parking lot seemed like a ruined nest.

"Did they take anything with them?" Vsevolod asked, looking around.

"That's the thing, no!"

"Did you check it well?"

"I'll look again!"

Elvira disappeared into the cave where they kept the supplies. Violet walked to the water and looked around for traces, but only saw that the stones, folded in an SOS signal, someone had scattered. Vsevolod quietly approached her from behind and stopped.

"I doubt Rina did it. She was trying harder than me, laying out the letters."

"Do you think so, what about Sasha?" Violet asked without turning around. It was the first exchange of words between them since the kiss. And it was the first time talking to Vsevolod had been so awkward.