~ 30 ~
PEYTON
Moonlight illuminated the small fishing cabin, patched together more than constructed of sun-bleached planks, mismatched crossbeams, and a thin, flaking layer of paint. The floor was sanded smooth by bare feet, and stained with decades of use.
Ripley was on me almost immediately. His movements were gentle however, as his fingers grazed my chin.
“You okay?” he whispered.
I flung my arms around him. He felt like home base.
“Yes.”
“You were incredible,” he breathed.
“Please,” I scoffed. “I threw an elbow.”
“You acted. You didn’t freeze up.”
“I almost got caught.”
“Yes, but you didn’t,” he smiled. “You fought back. Like a cornered wildcat.”
His expression was unbridled admiration, now. I felt a surge of pride.
“Yeah, well, I’m not being taken again,” I huffed. “Ever.”
He touched my face a little more, inspecting me as he turned my chin left and right. My jaw still hurt a little, but—
“Hey! You’re bleeding!”
Ripley stared down at his crimson hands. “It’s not mine,” he shrugged a shoulder. “Well, mostly not mine.”
“No, not there. Your shoulder.”
I pointed to a gash across his upper arm. The cut wasn’t deep, but it was sliced wide open. Glass, probably, from the broken window.
“C’mon,” I urged. “Let’s find something to clean you up.”
The little cabin was sparse, the tiny bathroom even sparser. There was soap and water, band-aids and alcohol prep pads. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.
“We need to get back,” I urged. “We have to warn the others.”
“No. We don’t.”
“What?”
“We need to lay low,” said Ripley. “That drone’s still out there. Besides, Colson’s gonna notice the power’s out from a half mile away. He and Theo won’t go near that villa tonight.”
“Oh.”
Relief flowed through me as I looked around.Dozens of rods and reels leaned haphazardly against the walls, surrounded by colorful tackle. There were fishing nets draped from the ceiling. Crab traps. Anything and everything to do with fishing. A black leather futon rested near a tiny iron stove, its glass smudged and stained from a thousand fires.
“So we’re stuck here,” I sighed.
“Seems that way.”
I giggled. “Wanna fish, or—”
