Sunshine in the Rain

63. Him

I am stuck in the back of a truck with two guards.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask. They just look at me and don't respond. Then we get to a gate and I just see fields full of little outposts and guards. We go in the gate and then I see a huge mansion. "What. The. Fuck." I say.

The truck stops at the front door and guards grab me and take me up stairs. "Let me go!" I yell. The guards tighten their grip on me and shove me into a room.

"Get cleaned up. He is expecting you at 7:00." The guard says. He walks out and locks the door.

I bang on the door. "Let me out bitches!" I yell. Then I sigh and look in the closet. There are a few dresses. All red and kinda small. It looks like what Kie wore to Midsummers. There is a sign that says, "Pick your size." I laugh a little. JJ would probably say "That's what she said." Or something. I would feel so much safer with him here.

I get a shower and it feels so good. The soap cleaning some sand out of my hair and making it nice and soft again. The feeling of nice, warm water flowing down my body.

After I get out of the shower, I brush my hair and put on the red dress. I feel like JJ would drop dead if he saw me.

I go sit on the bed in the room that I'm in. I just lay there and worry. What is going to happen to me? Who is here? Why was I kidnapped? Do they want to kill me?

Then a guard walks in. "He's ready to see you." He says. I stand up and follow the guard. I'm too scared to run. They'd prolly shoot me or something.

They guards take me down the stairs. My anxiety is kicking in. I don't know what this guy wants with me. They take me into a room and I see a guy with a very ugly buzzcut but I can't see his face.

"Umm, hello?" I ask. Then the guy turns around and when I see his face my eyes go wide. My breathing stops.

It's Rafe fucking Cameron. The man who raped me a month ago and the man who carved his name into my skin.

"Oh um, what the fuck are you doing here?" Rafe asks. I'm speechless. Rafe is my greatest fear. He made me feel the worst physical pain that I've ever felt.

My breathing increases rapidly and I just stand there and look at him. No. I need to be brave.

"I-I knew y-you and Ward were behind this shit." I say.

"What? Are you trying to weasel in on my deal right now?" Rafe asks.

"I wondered if your reunion would cause sparks, you know." Some guy says. He has an Indian accent. He turns around and he has a beard and he's Indian.

"Who are you?" Rafe asks.

"Me?" He asks.

"Yes, you idiot." I say.

"My name is Carlos Singh." He says. "It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Cameron." He says. "And you Ms. Routledge, sorry about the rough tactics in bringing you here. But please come, sit down."

Rafe and I follow Carlos into another room and we sit down.

"Rough tactics?" Rafe asks.

Wait? Why does Rafe sound like he kinda cares about me? What the fuuuuuuck???

"We have a lot to talk about." Carlos says. Rafe looks at me as he sits down.

"Why are we here? And why Rafe and I? Couldn't you find someone else?" I ask.

"You see, Rafe has the cross right now but you and your friends found it. Rafe was the only way to get the cross." Carlos says. "What? Do you guys have some issues or something?" He asks. "Did something happen, you know?" He asks.

"No." I say. "Nothing happened." I say. I glance over at Rafe and he has a bit of regret in eyes. Rafe Cameron? Regret? Today is weird.

"Is this about the cross?" Rafe asks.

"Dude, he just said that you had the cross. So yes dumbass." I say.

"It is about the cross, but it's also about something much much bigger than the cross." Carlos says. "The completion of the grand quest." Carlos says. "You see, the story goes that 450 years ago, a Spanish soldier came out of the Orinoco Basin with a few gold beads." He says.

"Big deal. Gold beads. That's not a lot." I say.

"Just listen Ms. Routledge." Carlos says. "When people asked the soldier where he got the beads from, he said he got them from a peaceful Indigenous tribe." Carlos says. "He said that they lived in a city of gold." Carlos says. "El dorado. Do you know what that means?" He asks.

Rafe looks over at me. "The golden." I say. "That's what it means in English. I can speak Spanish."

"That's right." Carlos says. "People tried to find that gold, you know. Conquistadors, knights, captains, tribes, entire nations." Carlos says. "I will complete the task."

"I didn't listen to a word you said, ok?" Rafe says. "How much you gonna keep philosophizing?" Rafe asks.

"You are direct, aren't you, Mr. Cameron." Carlos says. Rafe just stares at him.

"What do you need from me?" I ask.

"I've come to believe that you and your friends are in possession of something that can help me get what I want." Carlos says. "An old manuscript. A diary, actually." He says.

Denmark Tanny's. "No." I say. "I've never encountered a diary." I lie. I'm not telling this Indian freak what I know.

A few minutes later, Carlos is trying to get the answer out of me. I keep denying and saying that I don't know.

"How else could you have learned that the cross was on the Royal Merchant?" Carlos asks.

I shake my head. "I want to help you. But I can't." I say.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that, you know." Carlos says. "I don't believe you." He says. "You and your friend here couldn't have found the cross without it."

"He's not my friend." I say. "I hate him."

"Look, this is ridiculous. Okay? I'm out." Rafe says. He stands up and goes to walk out but a guard shoves him back in and I stand up.

"Listen dude, I have no idea what you're talking about." I say. "Let us go."

"Do I look like a fool?" Carlos asks. "You have the cross, Mr. Cameron. She and her friends had it at some point as well. One of you has the diary." Rafe looks at me with a weird look. He looks worried and stressed. Worried about me? Or himself?

"Listen, Carlos-" I say. He smacks me. "Dude! What the fuck?!" I yell.

"Call me Mr. Singh." He says. "Once I have the diary, you'll be free to leave." He takes us back up to the room I was in during the start. "Enjoy this room while you stay." He says. "You have one day. Go to the window for a little demonstration." He says. He walks out and closes the door.

"Hey! You're just down talking?" Rafe asks. He bangs in the door and I sit down on the bed. I'm locked in a room with Rafe Cameron, my rapist.