Anomaly; Stranded The Series (bxb)

Chapter 14: Betrayal

The sound of the boat's engine grew louder, cutting through the quiet hum of the island like a knife. Eli and Jonah stood at the edge of the beach, side by side, watching as the boat crept closer to shore. The earlier kiss, the raw intensity of it, lingered between them like an unspoken secret, but now it felt distant, overshadowed by the arrival of the boat that would finally take them off the island.

Or so they thought.

As the boat drew nearer, something about it made Eli uneasy. It wasn't a rescue boat. It wasn't the sleek, white vessel he'd imagined would come to save them. This boat was old, rusted in places, with faded paint peeling off its sides. Two men stood on deck, rough-looking, their expressions unreadable, and Eli's gut twisted with a sense of foreboding.

Jonah must have felt it too because he took a step closer to Eli, his shoulders tense. "This doesn't feel right," Jonah muttered under his breath, his eyes never leaving the boat.

Eli nodded, his pulse quickening. Something was off. But what choice did they have? This was their first chance at getting off the island—if they passed it up, there might not be another.

When the boat finally came to a stop near the shore, one of the men jumped down into the shallow water and waded toward them. He was tall, broad-shouldered, his skin weathered from years under the sun, and there was something in his eyes—something hard, dangerous—that made Eli's heart skip a beat.

"You boys stranded here?" the man asked, his voice rough, like he hadn't spoken to another human in weeks.

Eli glanced at Jonah, then back at the man, trying to keep his voice steady. "Yeah. We've been here for weeks. Our plane crashed. Are you... are you here to help us?"

The man's lips curled into a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Something like that."

Eli's stomach dropped. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Before he could say anything else, the second man from the boat jumped down and joined the first, his gaze sweeping over Eli and Jonah with an intensity that made Eli's skin crawl.

Jonah tensed beside him, his voice low and cautious. "What kind of boat is this?"

The first man's smile widened, and Eli saw the glint of something metal hanging from his belt—a gun. "Let's just say we're not exactly the rescue squad."

Eli's heart pounded in his chest, fear rising like a tidal wave. This wasn't a rescue. These men weren't here to save them. They were here for something else, something far more dangerous.

Jonah must have seen it too because he stepped in front of Eli, his posture defensive. "We don't want any trouble," Jonah said, his voice steady despite the tension radiating from him. "We just want to get off this island."

The second man laughed, a low, sinister sound that sent a chill down Eli's spine. "Oh, you'll get off the island. But not in the way you think."

And just like that, the air shifted. The threat was no longer implied—it was right there, in their faces. These men were dangerous, and Eli and Jonah were trapped.

Eli's mind raced, adrenaline surging through him. They had to get out of here. But how? There were two of them, both armed, and the only way off the island was the very boat these men controlled.

Jonah glanced at Eli, and in that moment, Eli knew they were thinking the same thing. They had to work together if they were going to survive this.

The men led them back to the boat, and as they climbed aboard, Eli couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into a trap. The boat itself was a mess—rusted, dirty, cluttered with crates and equipment that looked like it hadn't been touched in years. The engine sputtered, coughing out dark smoke as it struggled to stay running. This wasn't a rescue boat. This was a smuggler's boat, or worse.