Page 30 of Beaches

“I want to help you. Is anyone injured?” he asked.

“We all have frostbite,” said one of the men in English. “We’ve lost toes and fingertips. That’s how most of the men died.”

“You’re American?” asked Wilson.

“Four Americans, four Russians, but we’re friends now.”

“How long have you been here?” asked Ian.

“The longest has been here for twenty-six years. The newest, just eleven. We don’t even know why we were taken. Most of us were on training missions at various bases around the world. Why are we here?”

“We can’t answer that because we don’t know,” said Rory. “What we do know is that we have to get you off this island before Kaplan’s men come back.”

“D-do you have any food?” asked one of the Russians.

“Yes. Of course,” said Wilson. “Let me check all of you on the chopper, and then we can give you food. I don’t want you to get sick, though.” As the men shuffled forward, they saw the state of their feet and cringed. With winter fast approaching, they all would have died from exposure.

“Let’s go, my man,” said Tailor to the first man. “Free rides today.” He pulled him onto his back, and the man didn’t have the strength to fight him. Each of the others followed, returning for the last one.

“Get them to Anchorage,” said Jean. “Rory, Tailor, Alec, and I are going to spend a few nights to see if we get any company.”

“Aw, man, they get to have all the fun,” said Miller.

“Fine, you can stay too. But don’t blow any shit up. We’re liable to create an avalanche or some kind of fucking earthquake, and all die.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Get the chopper out of there in stealth mode,” said Code. “We’ve got an incoming boat.” Tailor smiled at his friends, waving the chopper off.

“Let’s go, boys. Time to have some fun.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“Where are we taking them this time?” asked one of the men, trudging up the icy hill. “Personally, I think all of this is fucking stupid and a waste of our time. It’s not like they can run anywhere.”

“We’re not taking them anywhere except for a nice icy swim. Boss doesn’t want to be bothered with them any longer.”

“That seems fucking cruel. He’s kept them for years. Why kill them now?” he asked.

“I don’t know. You wanna call and have a chat with him?” snapped his partner. He said nothing as they neared the mouth of the cave.

“Come on out! You’re moving,” he called to the men. He heard nothing, so he called to them again. “I know you’re still in there. Get your asses out of there. Now!”

“You asked so nicely, I’m happy to come out,” said Alec.

The massive shadow began to move forward, slowly walking to the mouth of the cave. Had it not been for him speaking, they would have thought he looked like a massive grizzly bear walking out of the cave. One of the men fumbled with his weapon, dropping it on the ice, only to see a massive boot kick it down the hill.

“Wh-who are you?” the first man stammered.

“Your nightmare come to life,” said Rory. “How many men are on the boat?”

“One. Just the pilot.”

“You’re lying. How many?” he asked again, reaching across and squeezing his neck. His face turned purple as he wheezed, gasping for air. Slowly, he held up three fingers. Rory released him, and Jean stared at the two men.

“Where were you taking them?” asked Tailor.

“Nowhere,” he said, coughing. “He wanted them dead. We were going to drop them in the water about a mile out.”

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