Project Castaway (Sequel to Project 14)

Chapter 7

We traveled for what seemed like years. I still couldn't process what my father told me. Fear began to set in the more and more I thought about it. We found a ransacked cabin that was big enough for the three of us. I tried falling asleep, but I couldn't. Josh was still getting situated as I got up and went to go sit outside.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them. Josh came out and sat down next to me. He asked me what was wrong and I didn't respond. I just stared off to the wooden forests. My eyes stung with tears. I've kept them in for two days. I wanted to tell Josh but I was afraid to. I wiped them away.

"Is there something you need to talk about?" Josh set his hand on my back and I jumped.

"It's nothing."

"It's not just nothing." Josh sighed. "There's something more than just nothing."

I chuckled. "I found my dad. We had this big heated argument and he left. That's all."

The sound of trucks came up from the distance. Their headlights were coming up from the darkness. I stood up and Josh followed my steps. "Go get Lily and my shotgun." I whispered.

He nodded and ran back into the cabin. I went to go hide behind it. Their trucks stopped in front of the cabin as Josh and Lily ran out in the back. I grabbed my shotgun. The sound of someone pounding on the door disrupted the silence. Once everyone went in there was one guy still standing by his truck. I took in a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

There was a loud bang. I let out a shaky sigh and pushed everyone back. "What the hell was that?" Someone asked.

"It was coming from the back." A hoarse voice responded.

Turning around I looked at Josh. I smiled faintly. He looked at me questionably. I gave him a kiss and turned away.

Looking back to Josh, I came out from hiding. These men were a part of the Shadows. They pulled out their guns and told me to put my weapon down. I did as they said. The two guards ran over to me and pushed me to the ground. They shoved me into the ground and I could see Josh about to run out.

He did in a few seconds. "Let her go!" Josh yelled as he put his hands up. "She's had enough with the Shadows. Take someone else."

The men got off of me. "Josh no! Please!" They put zip tie handcuffs on Josh and pushed him out towards their truck. I ran after them and tackled them to the ground.

Josh looked over to me. I picked him up. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He asked loudly.

I noticed the men standing up. "I'm saving you. You saved me from the Shadows. I don't want to save you now. Please Josh, I just need you here."

He rested his hands on my wrists. "You don't need to worry. I will find you."

With that the men pulled Josh away from me and threw him in the truck. They pulled off down the vacant highway. I fell to my knees humiliated. Lily ran up to me.

"It's my fault. I caused this." I whispered.

"It's not. It's not your fault." Lily smiled faintly.

I looked over to her. I stood up. "I'm going for a walk."

Lily slightly nods and I began walking. Rain began to slightly fall. I heard someone screaming as they came up the road. There was a tipped over truck that I decided to go hide behind. It was two men. They walked slowly.

"Ellery wants us to find the girl." One said.

"You can do that. The only reason why she has me out here is because she's punishing me." The other said.

"Don't be such a baby. You know the rules about helping prisoners. You gotta kill them."

I slowly started backing up, but kicked something behind me. The men looked over. I got up and began running. They chased after me. Bullets were landing down on the ground next to me. One of the bullets grazed my leg. I hissed in pain but kept moving. Footsteps approached rapidly behind me. Someone tackled me to the ground. I punched the man that tackled me and he got up. He staggered backwards and I ran back towards the road. "Go grab her, Hunter!" I heard the man scream.

It was Travis. The other one was Travis. Nothing happened. Right when I hit the road, someone tackled me and rolled me on my back. A fist came in contact with my face. I tried squirming out of Travis's grip but he held me tight. Travis looked over to Hunter. "Get over here."

Hunter didn't obey.

Travis got off of me and pulled Hunter over. He handed him a knife. I let out a shaky sigh.

"You both are cowards." I whispered.

Travis looked over at me. He ripped the knife from Hunter's hand and got back on top of me. He stuck the blade under my chin. "You better watch your mouth princess." Travis smirked.

His fist came in contact with my face again, causing my vision to blur. Everything began to fade in and out as I felt the weight on me lighten. I felt like I was begun dragged into the middle of the road. Travis ran off as I fell in to the black.

There was no one around. The highway had toppled over vehicles that were coated in dirt and soot. I noticed someone lying in the road up ahead. I began to pick up my pace. The person had red hair and there were dirt smudges across her body and clothes. She had a few scratches on her cheeks and nose and one other on her lower lip. Some were bigger than others. I knew who this was. "Cassandra." I whispered at the sudden realization.

I knelt down next to her and removed the hair from her face. She moved a little and her eyes fluttered open. Cassandra backed up quickly when she saw me. I held up my hands up.

"I'm not here to hurt you." I said calmly.

Cassandra's eyes opened wide. "Junior?"

I nod in response.

She came back over and pulled me into a hug. "Where were you? I was worried sick that you died."

"And I'm back now, right? That's all that matters. Do you know where Josh is?"

I told him about the Shadows and who they were. Josh was taken because of me. I knew that much. "Say, I gotta found a cabin on the side of the road. If you need some place to stay, you can stay with me."

"Are you sure that's okay? I've been gone for a while."

I nod and smiled. I told him about Lily. Junior helped me up and we headed back to the cabin.

Later that night, Cassandra and Lily were already asleep. I stayed up being the guard. My eyes were starting to close once I knew everything was okay. All of a sudden a whimpering broke the silence. I looked over and saw Cassie freaking out, almost like a seizure.

Running over to her, I was trying to wake her up. "Damn it, Cass." I muttered. Shaking her did nothing. "Wake up!" She began screaming Josh's name. Lily jumped up and looked around.

"What's going on?" She asked in concern.

"I don't know."

After what felt like forever, we finally woke her. Tears were falling down her face. She looked around with fear. "Josh," she paused. "Is he here?"

"No. You told me earlier . . ." I trailed off. "What was going on with you? It looked like you were having a seizure."

"Panic attacks." She said. "I get them while I'm awake and asleep. But I need to find Josh; they're going to kill him."

"Who's 'they'?" Lily asked.

"The Shadows; Ellery and her cult," Cassie got up from the bed.

"Let me go with you." Lily offered.

"No, I'm going by myself." She grabbed her shotgun. "I need to confront the Shadows alone."