While I'm Alive (An Owen Grady Story)

Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"MY MOUTH FELT DRY WITH FEAR, MY PULSE RACING AS A NERVOUS SWEAT FORMED ALONG THE NAPE OF MY NECK. IT FELT LIKE THE LONGEST, MOST AGONIZING MINUTE AS WE SAT THERE, WAITING FOR IT TO GO AWAY."

SONG TO LISTEN TO: OVERWHELMED BY TIM MCMORRIS

"Do you think it's still out here somewhere?" I asked quietly, stepping onto a fallen tree trunk before dropping off onto the other side. My shoes splashed into a puddle, spraying my bare legs with mud.

Owen hopped down beside me, gun still held in both his hands. "Couldn't have gone too far." He cast me a look as we fell into step together, footsteps treading softly over the forest floor. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. You know that, right?" He asked.

I gave him a small, grateful smile. "I know." I bumped his shoulder with mine. "My hero."

He gave me an amused look just as the sound of an engine roared in the distance. "The boys." I said quickly, and Owen nodded.

We took off at a sprint, heading in the direction of the sound. The closer we got, though, the more it seemed to fade away until it was quiet once more. We came through an opening in the trees, slowing to a stop. At first, I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me with the filtered sunlight casting shadows onto the rocky wall. I took a step closer, reaching behind me and feeling for Owen. My fingers brushed the front of his shirt and I grabbed it, tugging him forward.

"What the-"

"Shut up. Just look." I interrupted him. I stepped forward, his shoulder brushing mine. "This isn't what I think it is, is it?"

"Sure as hell looks like it." He answered.

In front of us was a crumbling set of stone steps, wild life growing haphazardly all around it. At the top of the steps, two huge wooden doors stood open, inviting us into the darkness inside. The logo, faded but still etched into the stone about the door, was the same as the one above the doors of the visitor's center at the resort.

"This is part of the old park, isn't it?" I asked breathlessly. "I can't believe anything is still standing."

"We knew it was out here somewhere, but no one ever bothered trying to find anything. Just built a fence up around it and labeled it all as a restricted area." Owen explained, motioning for me to follow him up the steps.

"I bet the boys came through here. They had to."

Owen crouched to the ground and ran his fingers through a patch of churned up dirt near the entrance. "Looks like the doors were just pushed opened. There's track marks from them here." He straightened and look at me from over his shoulder. "You're probably right."

Despite the seriousness and the danger of the situation, I felt a jolt of excitement as we walked through the tall double doors. During my research of the old park before coming to the island, which really hadn't been more than a few google searches, I'd seen plenty of photos of the old visitor's center. Inside, it was barely recognizable. Twenty-three years of natural wear and tear had taken its toll. The walls and floors were covered with dirt and wild plant life, the metal scaffolding that hung from the ceiling was draped with vines.

I dug my phone out of my pocket and put it into flashlight mode. I circled the room slowly, letting the beam of light wash over the walls. Something from the adjacent room caught my eye. Before I could think twice about it, I walking towards it. "This is unbelievable." I whispered.