Wish You Were Here

20

My mouth fell open. I looked at Grant and Will, stood up and rushed halfway up the stairs. I poked my head out, startling Beth and Cal.

"You need to come down here. Both of you," I ordered.

Cal sighed heavily and helped Beth up. I told Beth to go down the stairs on her butt, as Grant had, for the whole way down. The three of us walked over to the couch and I had Beth sit down. Cal and I stood behind the couch, the five of us staring straight ahead in silence.

Underneath the stairs, on the back wall, were a bunch of screens. Each black and white screen showed different parts of what we assumed was the island, including one that showed the inside of the basement where we had been held in.

"Looks like Gina got out," Cal groaned.

We all looked at the screen. Gina was gone and all that remained were our chains lying on the ground. Even in black and white, it looked like hell's basement. My stomach turned at the sight.

Cal nudged me and pointed to the screen on the top right. It showed the interior of a cabin.

"Is that the main cabin?" I asked out loud.

"I don't think so," Grant replied. "This one looks different inside. See the furniture? That's not the same set up as the main cabin, is it?"

"Nah, that's not it," Will confirmed.

"Then where the heck is that?" I almost shouted.

Cabins were popping up all over the place. I walked over to the screens to get a closer look. I inspected the furniture and determined that Grant was right. I specifically remembered the main cabin had a horrible plaid couch. This cabin had a single wooden chair and what looked like a metal table somewhere off to the right. My face got close to it, trying to find any details. Just as my nose almost touched the screen, a face came into view.

I screamed and almost fell back. Dean's face was in the camera and he lifted his arms seeming to adjust it into focus. I backed up to the couch and we all stared, waiting to see what Dean could possibly be up to. He backed up away from the camera so his entire body was now in view. He adjusted the front of his jeans with his hand.

"Gross," Beth whined.

There was no sound, but Dean was talking to someone out of the camera's view. Gina walked in suddenly and we all gasped. She was adjusting the wooden chair so it was perfectly in the camera's view while Dean had walked off. Minutes later, Dean returned, and he had Aaron.

"Aaron!" Cal shrieked. We all sat up at the edge of our seats, Cal and I stepping a little closer. Aaron's hands were tied behind his back and he looked half asleep. He was tripping over his own feet and Dean tossed him down onto the chair. Aaron almost fell over and Dean had to physically straighten him back up.

Gina came into focus and was yelling at Aaron. He seemed to be mumbling in response to whatever she was saying to him. I could tell she was getting angry and she backhanded Aaron across his face. Gina turned towards Dean, angrily saying something to him, her arms flailing about. Dean stood in front of her and joined her in yelling at Aaron, bending down to scream directly in his face. Aaron looked almost unconscious. Dean got frustrated and punched him. We all screamed and turned away. Aaron fell off the chair and onto the floor, off camera.

"Dude, get up!" Grant shouted.

We couldn't see Aaron. But Dean was now facing the camera, looking down on what could only be Aaron. He undid his belt, pulling it off his waist and folded it in half. We watched helplessly as Dean hit Aaron with his belt over and over again. Cal put her hand over her mouth. Will and Grant couldn't take their eyes off of the screen. I had to look away. Instead I focused on Beth who had also turned away, tears in her eyes.

This can't be happening.

Dean and Gina had caught Aaron. Grant was right to have led us in the direction he had. But I didn't want to gloat about it. I felt terrible for Aaron. He had obviously been drugged and now lay helpless on the floor of yet another cabin, getting beaten by Dean.

"We have to help him!" Cal screamed in horror. "Look what they're doing to him! They'll kill him!"

Grant and Will didn't move. They watched in shock as the beating continued.

"You guys!" she shrieked. "I know we all dislike him, but seriously? We can't leave him there with them. We just can't!"

"What are we supposed to do? We can't fight them," I told Cal. "We don't even know where that cabin is!"

"We know the general vicinity, don't we? We saw the direction Aaron went. If we head down the same way..." Cal's voice trailed off as her eyes filled with tears.

Grant stood up and paced around the room. I took a seat on the arm of the couch. Will bounced one leg impatiently.

"Alright," Grant spoke softly. "Let's sweep this room. Look for anything useful. We can't just run after him blindly. That's just stupid."

Cal looked away. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying we should try to find Aaron. But we need to be smart about it. The spot where Aaron split up from us isn't that far back. But, and no offense, Beth, it'll take too long just to get back to that spot. And that's not including going down whichever way Aaron headed." Grant put a hand on Beth's shoulder.

"It's going to get dark soon. I think we should stay here tonight. Then in the morning Will and I should go and see if we find anything," Grant mentioned softly.

"Wait, what?" I jumped up. "And leave the three of us here?"

"Yes, but not for long. Will and I can go fast, that's all," Grant explained.

"Okay," I argued. "What if you get caught? Or there's a trap?"

"We'll go fast, but we won't be careless," he assured me.

"If anything happens..." I ran my fingers through my hair. I couldn't imagine being in that cabin with Cal and Beth alone.

"Nothing will happen," Grant walked over to me. "I promise. Will?"

"Huh?" Will looked up. "Oh, yeah. No, nothing will happen."

"Seriously?" I gave Grant a look.

"I promise you girls, okay? We'll be back as fast as we can. But if we can at least locate the cabin? We'll come back here and figure out a plan together," Grant assured me.

Cal looked at me and shrugged, shaking her head. "Not like we have a choice anyway."

She was right. Grant was telling us his plan, not asking us. I sat down next to Beth and she rested her head on my shoulder.

I could tell Grant felt bad about worrying us, but I didn't say anything to make him feel any better. Maybe his feeling that way would help get him back to us faster. At least, that's what I hoped.