The Purgatorium

Chapter Eighteen

Not for the first time, Daphne worried Brock had been detained by someone at the resort. Maybe they had him at gunpoint, just as they'd had her, hoping she'd come for him and right into their trap. If she weren't so exhausted and dizzy and sore, she would have gone back by now instead of sitting beneath the giant oak with her eyes closed.

For the past few hours her mantra had been, "A few more minutes."

"When the sun sits beneath the cloud bank, I'll go," she had said. But when the sun was no longer shrouded in white, she cringed, exhausted and weak. "When it reaches that headland, I'll go." Once again, she could not muster up the strength.

Now the sun was no longer visible from where it set on the other side of the island, and soon dusk would settle over her, and then darkness. Although she was frightened of spending the night in the dark alone, she knew there were worse things, and so had resigned to stay.

She might have been happy to sit there with the old oak tree, confident the search for her would be put off for the night, if it weren't for her fear that they'd harmed Brock. Sure, they would use him for bait, but that didn't mean he'd be live bait.

Then it occurred to her he might have injured himself on his way to find her and could be lying on the beach or at the bottom of a ravine unable to go on. The memory of Pete being swept by the tide into the cave chilled her. Brock could be dying, and here she was on her butt against a tree. She had to go back and look for him. She couldn't make the same mistake she'd made with Kara.

She climbed to her feet, using the tree for balance, her legs wobbly and her back sore. Finding her footing in the sandy dirt, she trudged swiftly in the direction she came, aware that dusk was upon her and night was coming. She climbed up the hill toward the rocky crags above the sea cave that had swallowed Pete and then down past the pier along the beach as dusk gave in to darkness. The steep bluffs of Bowen's Point made her cry as she dragged herself back up to the summit. She had zero energy and was on the verge of fainting from lack of food and water. But she made it up to the headland and the old wooden sign. She fell to her knees to catch her breath.

When she lifted her head toward the mainland, she was shocked by all the beautiful lights shining from the California coastline. She could imagine all the people safely in the cities dining in restaurants, watching movies at the cinema, listening to IPhones, playing online computer games, drinking coffee, and driving back and forth along the highway to visit friends and relatives. At one time, she had been among them but hadn't realized how lucky she was. She had eaten in restaurants and had gone to movies and such, but she hadn't appreciated her freedom and safety because of the guilt and shame she carried around. She had been miserable, even in the safety of her own home, feeling she couldn't allow herself to enjoy life when she had ruined it for so many others. But now, standing on the summit of Bowen Point gazing across the dark oblivion that was the ocean, she knew, as she longed to be back on the mainland, that, if given the chance, she'd change. She thought so, anyway, standing there at that moment. Maybe she wouldn't. Maybe it would be too hard. Maybe she'd go back to the way things were. But she wanted to believe she could allow herself to be happy, to forgive herself and to realize Kara, her parents, and even Joey would prefer her to be happy.

She heard the sound of rocks sliding to her right where a beam of light danced at the top of the headland. Her heart fluttered as she grabbed the nearest rock for a weapon and cautiously peered down. Brock clambered up with a light attached to a cap on his head. She dropped the rock with relief.

"Where have you been?" She took his arm and helped him to the top. "I've been so worried."

He hunched over, breathing heavily, and, when he could, said, "Man, Daph, when you said you were going ahead, I didn't know you meant this far. Hell, you've crossed half the island." He shrugged out of his backpack and dropped it at her feet.