Page 78 of Hidden Raphael
Chapter 22
Kimberly kept her head down against the biting wind that fought against them the second they walked outside. Raphael took the lead and blocked the elements, but the brutal force of nature was relentless. Her every stride was labored, and she did not go fast.
She kept her nose down and followed Raphael’s back until they walked through a dark part of the forest. The darkness irritated her senses and she kept her hands in her coat pockets to stop the shivers. The beach was to her left as memories of how she came here rushed through her.
Kimberly’s fingers jittered and her clothes had a sharp sting. She lifted her hand and counted her fingers. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Splash.
Water billowed near her feet. She spat salt out of her mouth. Why was there smoke all around? She coughed, but the fire fueled more smoke. She blinked her eyes. The sand against her skin hardly mattered. She swallowed hard and flexed her feet. Had she lost a sneaker?
Everything happened in slow motion. She sat up, looking away from the rampant fire in the bay that burned her eyes. She stared transfixed at her feet. What had she done with her sneaker?
The frigid water lapped over her body. Cold. She’d never been so cold. She closed her eyes.
The roar of an engine boomed in the air. She reached back to brush her matted hair behind her ears and saw the red blood on her palms.
Kim opened her eyes and scanned the beach. Metallic objects littered the coast. In the distance were pine trees. She stood up and stared at the small plane engine that lapped in the water.
Without warning, Raphael stopped and she barely avoided running into him. Kimberly darted her gaze to Raphael's face. He stared hard to his right and asked her, "Are you okay? Are you with me?"
Now the memories surfaced of what had happened? She rolled her shoulders like that might stop the onslaught. "I'm fine. I’m here."
Her gaze followed into the darkness, but all she saw were dead trees, shrubs, and some evergreens in the far distance. He placed his finger over his mouth, so kept her question to herself. She took a step closer, invaded his personal space, and mouthed, "What's going on?"
He whispered, "Harry and Roger are about two hundred yards to our right." He leaned down next to her ear. "Can't you hear them?"
She stilled, but all she heard was the shriek of the wind and his heartbeat. Then he stepped back, and her ears blared with how the dead trees rang hollow. She pressed her lips together, but silence echoed. "I don't hear anything."
He nodded, like he needed to convince her. "They are not dead. Smell the burning engine.”
She sniffed the air. She took his hand in hers and held up her chin. "What's the plan?"
With a sigh, he squeezed her fingers, and her entire body came alive. Her internal warmth was the opposite of the ice cold outside. "Stick to my side. We'll recon what they have first."
She nodded, and he kept a firm grip on her hand as they trekked toward whatever he’d heard. Despite his lies, in his hands she felt safe. He’d been doing a job and her plane crashed on the island. At first he had owed her nothing, but things were different now. They walked down a dark path.
Crack.
A footstep ruined a leaf, and her mind raced. She had to run. Now.
She raced past a few more trees, but the footsteps drew closer. She needed to run fast again, but her body refused to obey. If she stopped, she'd die. But her breathing became shallow.
Then she saw him. He still wore his pilot uniform. Her eyes stung and she tried to find a way to disappear.
He must have seen her. She winced and froze.
Why hadn't he shot her dead?
She dove past more rocks, but this time she stumbled and fell to the cold, stony ground.
This wasn't good. She turned around, but he stood above her.
She closed her eyes and blocked her skull with her hands. "Please don't shoot me."
"I'm out of bullets," he answered.
His voice sent a chill down her spine. Nothing happened. She tried to stand up and run, but then something hard hit the back of her skull.
