The Island's Captives

Chapter Forty-Eight

Peter Morris

I stared at my pants. I had forgotten what a pair of clean, new jeans looked like. They felt strange, had I actually forgotten what they felt like too? I heard a loud roaring buzz and look out the window to see the other helicopter flying alongside ours. I could see Ronny, his face contorted into a mixture of confusion and surprise while he talked nonstop. Typical Ronny, at least that hasn't changed.

I turned my attention to those with me: Amy, Alex, Alan, Daniel, and Fawkes. They were too absorbed in their own thoughts to notice my staring. Amy looked nervous and frightened, and briefly I wished I could hug her. I realized I had her to thank for saving my life, if she hadn't led the adults to us then I would be dead. But the warm feeling dissipated as Daniel coughed. He kept his eyes downcast and for a second I wondered if he was embarrassed about any attention he brought to himself. Then his face turned stony and determined and I knew it must've been my imagination. I don't think he's ever felt embarrassment.

Alan was keeping to himself, though he made several glances to Fawkes. He seemed younger then the rest of us, though the few conversations I had had with him while he had stayed with us had shown he was smarter then he let on.

My best friend, on the other hand, made no glances toward me. He stared firmly at his hands, though I couldn't imagine what he was thinking. I thought he would be happy; we were finally being rescued! Instead he looked as though he had received awful news. Perhaps it was nervousness from sitting between Daniel and Fawkes?

Lastly, I turned to my rival as the other leader of the island. Those few glimpses I had seen before of a kind, just person came back as I saw his face was confused, anxious. His usual air of confidence and strength were lost, replaced with the unknowing fear of a boy. He turned his eyes upward and they caught hold of mine, and we stared at one another. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but there was no malice or anger in his dark eyes, only a kind of mutual understanding and acknowledgment. I also had him to thank, if he hadn't given me a heads-up about Wilson and Daniel's attack then who knows what would've happened? Regardless of any ill feeling we may have felt, we both had been pawns of a far more cruel and terrible foe than we had ever been to one another. A foe that had watched as Menelik and Mahal had died. Fawkes seemed to read my thoughts for he nodded, or perhaps he was agreeing to his own thoughts.

"One more hour left kids," the pilot announced over the intercom.

I looked back down at my jeans. One more hour till we returned to civilization. I wondered where we would go, whether it would be back to our old foster homes, new ones, or some government-run facility. But as I remembered the island, I was just glad I was no longer anyone's captive.