Page 38 of Controlled Chaos

Chapter 20

“The better question is,how can we smuggle the container off the island for testing without anyone becoming the wiser?”

“Clara, we ate the food. What if we….”

“We didn’t,” I said, undeterred. “I would know if something was off.”

He slowly shook his head. “My mother can’t possibly know this is happening.”

I left the container and crossed the room to stand in front of him. “I believe you, and we’ll figure all of this out. Now come on. Let’s get you back in bed and I’ll bring in the unopened bag of crackers and the water bottles.”

I followed him back down the hall, where he sat on the bed as if all the energy had been drained from him. “Clara, we’re here for an entire week. If what that girl said is true…”

“There’s one way for me to find out. I need to leave you here again. If those fruit trees she wants to take me to are far enough away, I might get a bead on what is happening here, kind of like how I knew I’d need linens at your house.”

“And if that Carlos guy somehow figures out you’re on the island? You’ll be in danger, and I can’t let that happen.”

“If it happens, you’ll protect me. This is bigger than me. If what Frankie said is true, you’re dealing with a lot more lives than just mine, including your own. We need to know.”

“You’re right,” he said.

“Okay, you stay here and recuperate. I’m going to scrape out some of the liquid from the container and figure out a way to save it so we can take it off the island with us, and then later tonight I’ll find us some food.”

He looked warn out and tired. Not all of the color had returned to his face.

“You need to rest and get better fast. I might need your help in figuring all of this out.”

“Right. I should rest if I’m going with you tonight,” he said, stretching out on the bed. I set the water and crackers by the bedside table.

He wouldn’t be going with me tonight, not the way he looked. I needed answers and the closer he stayed to me, the more elusive those answers would be.

I climbed in beside him, slipped my hands beneath the pillow, and watched as he slept. Normally my mind would be racing with thoughts of things to come, but when I was around Porter, I didn’t see visions or images or automatically know things. This quietness was how normal people lived. The quietness was much too quiet for me. Did I want to be normal?

At some point during the silence, I fell asleep. When I woke close to midnight, Porter’s arm rested across my stomach. He was sound asleep and snoring. Careful not to wake him, I slid free from his hold. After changing into black clothes and tennis shoes, I gathered my hair into a ponytail, I grabbed the gun from the breadbox and slipped out the back through the sliding glass door into the night.

The moon was hidden behind clouds, and I could barely make out a moving shadow at the tree line. I ran for it and stepped into the darkness.

“I wasn’t sure you were going to come,” Frankie said. She was dressed in something similar to what I was wearing with the main difference was that she was wearing two sling type bags across her body. I could only guess she’d stolen those from the people I’d seen working out in the fields.

“If what you said is true, Porter and I are going to need food for the rest of the week.”

“I wasn’t lying.” Frankie started in a jog, and I was quick to follow. “You’ll see for yourself.”

We took the long way, away from prying eyes, to the beach, and then, to my surprise, she headed in the direction of the fence and the bad side of the island.

“You’ve been over the fence?” I asked as she slowed to a walk.

“Yeah. I’m surprised you even know about it.”

I shrugged. “Porter’s mom told us that part of the island was off-limits.”

Frankie grinned. “They told me the same thing.”

“So, naturally, you didn’t listen,” I said as a statement instead of a question.

“Neither did you,” she countered. “Iwas looking for food. What were you looking for?”

No way was I about to tell her we were scouring the island for a place to dump dead bodies, so instead, I countered with my own question. “How long have you been here?”

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