Page 74 of Trapped: Until The Darkest Of Night

“And water?”

I point to the shimmering water. “Fresh water. It’s everywhere here.”

Lou wrings out the towel and I see her trying hard to remain calm. “So, you’re saying we can drink this water?” she wants to know.

I shrug. “I already have.”

“What about bacteria?”

She won’t let it go. I have no idea what she’s insinuating. “There might be some, but we can just as easily boil the water if you prefer. I also have stacks of disinfectant tablets.”

Lou is pale around the tip of her nose. “I haven’t seen them yet,” she murmurs and fishes the cloth out of the water.

I smile at her. “We’ve had no need for them yet. I have a few gallons of water left in the storage tank.”

Lou stands up abruptly, ties the ends of the scarf together and puts it around her like I showed her. She vigorously pulls it around until the wet spot is on her back.

“May I have Grey?” she asks, stretching out her arms.

“Sure.” I put him straight into her hands.

She carefully stows him in the cloth and I can only see his outline. He wriggles in it like a child in the womb. When he doesn’t stop, Lou bravely reaches down into the depths of the wrap and ends his struggles with a smile. He was probably lying on his back like a beetle.

When she looks up again, her face is serious. “I know how you found me,” she says seamlessly, her face impassive.

The realization completely throws me off-balance. Not the fact that she finally figured it out, but that she hasn’t revealed it until now. “Did you figure it out from the photos in the newspaper?” It’s the only logical explanation because in the first picture, she was wearing the coral-colored blouse—the same kind I bought for her later. She must have made a connection between the photos and put two and two together.

Her nod confirms my guess.

“Good.” She deduces better than I thought.

Watch out!

The voice that has been silent for a long time echoes in my head. She didn’t let on, she’s a good actress. Maybe I should chain her again.

“I don't want to talk to you about it,” Lou says, interrupting my train of thought. She looks down at Grey briefly, as if to collect herself. “How long were you preparing for my kidnapping?” she asks cautiously as if afraid I might freak out. “When did you realize you were going to do it?”

Now she looks into my eyes more steadily than ever. Seems like she’s mesmerizing me with that northern-sky blue.

“I wanted you. All to myself. Forever,” I hear myself say and it sounds distant in my ears. As far away as my self from back then feels. “Once I’d made up my mind, I started preparing. I thought about what I consumed during an ordinary summer in the wilderness and instead of merely doubling it, I multiplied it by a number you wouldn’t like.” We’re still looking at each other. “I included what girls need, plus what we need in winter. In the coming months, I’m sure I’ll discover I’ve forgotten a few things—but it is not the end of the world if I have to go get something.”

“So, when did you decide to kidnap me?” She blinks unsurely.

A squirrel jumps from branch to branch above us and I take a few breaths to look around. I can’t believe it was in this vibrant place where the cold 404 Not found message left me so devastated. These are the same trees, the same air, the same sky and yet there is a huge difference between back then and now. There’s Brendan on the cliff in the past and then he is on the other side in an unfamiliar future. I feel like I’m walking a tightrope that spans an abyss, not having made it to the other side yet. I can still fall, plunge, fail. Though I can barely make out the Brendan on the other side, many more steps on the rope and fog lie between us.

I look at Lou, who is still waiting for an answer.

“You suddenly disappeared from the platform,” I say quietly. “It felt like you left me. I couldn’t allow that.”

“I had to log off Facebook. My brother made me.”

Ethan, I think immediately. Of course that I did not know. Strangely enough, my resentment, that nagging jealousy I always felt when it came to her brothers is gone.

“You wouldn’t have kidnapped me if you had been able to keep watching me on Facebook?” Lou asks.

I wish she would stop. It’s too crazy, I don’t want to confront her about it. On the other hand: I kidnapped her, that’s a fact. Why shouldn’t she know the whole truth?

I step toward her as if to demonstrate my goodwill, but Lou completely misunderstands. She dodges me and smacks her back against a tree trunk.

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