Chapter 27-Dangerous Suspicion

Morning. My senses told me that it was morning but I didn’t want to open my eyes. Being asleep had kept me away from reality. Even if it was for what seemed like brief moments. I couldn’t bear waking up but I eventually opened my eyes. I could feel that they were red-I had cried myself to sleep the night before. I had slept in a room last night, and the night before, but it wasn’t my previous room. The setting was a dark cave, gloomy just like my mood. I had to be positive though and keep strong. I was going to find them. Two nights ago, after Kyle had disappeared, Mitch, Joseph, and I had sworn not to leave until we found them. We hadn’t turned up anything yesterday. There was no trace of either of them. We rarely saw Cerant because he seemed to search even harder than we did. I think he felt responsible. The only positive aspect of yesterday had been that no one disappeared.

The caveman clothing seemed tacky and absurd to me now so I went to the drawer beneath and slipped into a pair of simple, baggy trousers and a loose shirt. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and then made my way out. No one was in the living room oddly enough but I could hear hushed talking from the dining area. Joseph was eating some fruit and smiled when he saw me though I could tell it was for my benefit. It didn’t reflect his feelings. I sat down beside him and sank my teeth into an apple, chewing silently.

"How’d you sleep?" he asked.

"Not well," I said with a sigh. "You?"

"About the same," he leaned over and gave me a soft kiss on my temple. I smiled in spite of myself and ate the apple with a little more enthusiasm. Mitch came down soon and we exchanged morning greetings. His eyes were solemn. The disappearances seemed to be wearing down on him even more than Joseph and I, and he had taken to going away alone, even though it wasn’t a good idea. He was rather friendly around me but whenever Joseph appeared he grew silent and almost distrustful. I decided to talk with him later about it.

Cerant came in looking haggard and said a quick good morning to us then bid farewell as he left yet again. The three of us began wandering around the island again but it seemed as though we had gone over everything twice.

"Its $%@& useless!" shouted Mitch after we had searched for an hour. He stopped and punched his hand into a tree. "We’re never going to find them! I feel so useless!" He fell back in the ground and though he tried to hide it, I could hear him sobbing.

I turned to Joseph. "I’m going to try to calm him down," I whispered to him. "Maybe alone?"

Joseph glanced between us and nodded. "Whatever you think will help him," he turned and walked down the trail a ways until he was out of earshot.

"Mitch?" I asked, walking up to him slowly.

He looked at me with his tear-filled eyes. "I’m sorry Mel," he said with an odd tone to his voice.

"And why are you sorry?" I asked him, crouching down so that I was right above him.

He wiped away tears and then stared up at the sky. "That I haven’t been able to find them," he said.

"Well, neither have I, or Joseph, or Cerant," I said. "Don’t feel bad."

He sat up and I put an arm around his shoulders. "It just seems like we’re walking all around them and never seeing them," he said. "Its so frustrating."

I nodded. "I know how you feel," I said, a sob rising. "At least you weren’t there to see it happen. I have nightmares that they’re right out of reach but I can never get them."

He looked at me understandingly. "I can’t imagine how hard it is for you," he said and gave me a quick hug.

I nodded and suppressed the tears. "But that only makes me want to find them more," I said with a stubborn tone. "Between the six of us we’ll find them."

"Six?" he asked. "Oh yes.. Mel, I wanted to talk to you about that."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Well, more than likely one, or two, or all of the rest of them could be doing this," he said. "There could be someone else on the island but I’m beginning to doubt it."

I was shocked. The thought had occurred to me but I hadn’t dwelled on it long. Hugh and Madeline seemed slightly suspicious but Mitch hadn’t left Cerant out of the list, or Joseph. "You can’t possibly mean that Joseph could possibly have done this? I mean, that’s out of consideration" I said defensively. "Or even Cerant. The man took us in and even saved our lives. If he wanted to kill us he could have simply not lowered ropes."

Mitch looked at me with a sad look. "What if it’s some sort of sport though? Didn’t you ever read that short story, "The Dangerous Game"? Or perhaps he did want us around for a few days but then decided to have a different kind of fun with us. What about his wing of the house? Maybe Kat or Kyle went in and saw something they shouldn't. Maybe he’s even only paranoid that one of us could have," he said.

"I saw that Kyle went in there one day," I admitted. "But I don’t think anyone else did and he said he didn’t see anything."

"You never know though," said Mitch, staring out into the night.

We sat in silence for a moment but I ventured to say, "Well, maybe him but not Joseph."

"Mel, I know you have a thing for him," said Mitch. "But we have to think rationally. He and Kyle seemed to argue a lot and he always disagrees. He just seems moody. He’s also never been around when the killings happened. We barely know the guy. You and I have known each other the longest, we’re the only one’s we can trust. The only reason I don’t stay clear of the guy is for you. I’m worried about you Mel, both of us, and anyone else on this island who could be innocent." I gave him a big hug and we sat there for a moment.

As we embraced, Mitch’s words ringed in my ears. They couldn’t be true, they couldn’t. Already a seed of doubt began sprouting in me. Cerant seemed more and more possible in my mind and Joseph…No-I wouldn’t let myself consider it. Joseph wasn’t a murderer. He couldn’t be one. I found though, that when the two of us finally rose and walked down the path to meet Joseph, I didn’t walk quite as close to him as I normally did.

We continued searching the rest of the day, taking brief rests now and then. Mitch always kept his distance from Joseph and when we stopped he sat apart from us, though always close enough to see us. Later that evening we met up with Cerant who said in his tired voice that we would have a big, fancy dinner tonight, we all needed a large break. No one seemed very enthusiastic but they didn’t refuse it either. I hated the caveman clothing so I went back to the room I had been in before to get a dress. I didn’t let my eyes even touch Kat’s door though and I exited as soon as I had found one I would wear and ran to the bathrooms.

They no longer seemed elegant, just overly immaculate. They were desolate too without Kat there to giggle with and help get ready. I didn’t turn on many lights but the shadows made me jump every few seconds. Even though I was mostly frightened, I hoped that something would jump from the shadows and that it would be Kyle there to embarrass my modesty. Not that it was like him to do something like that but I stilled hoped. The dress I had chosen was white silk, there was no black, with an empire waste. Tiny diamonds lined beneath the small upper-portion. It was truly beautiful but I couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for it, though I did love the way it brushed against my skin.

I made my way out to the dining room. I was the last to arrive. The scene looked like a painting. Cerant was at the head of the table. He was wearing a crisp tuxedo and his head was slouched in his hand, the perfect image of the brooding millionaire. Hugh and Madeline each stood at his sides in flawless servant uniforms, I had never seen them wear with them. They were lined as symmetrically as something from a Stanley Kubrick movie and both of their outside hands were set on top of each other and hanging down in front of them. Mitch and Joseph each sat at a side of the table, perfectly across from each other. Joseph’s natural brooding was almost as intense as Cerant’s without the head in the hand gesture to enforce it. Mitch was just staring at his plate, his hands in his lap.

I almost sat next to Mitch but quickly diverted my path over to Joseph. He smiled at me and said, "You look beautiful." I smiled for him before taking a seat quickly.

"Yes, very beautiful," said Cerant from the head of the table, though he didn’t seem to look at me.

"Thank you both.." I said, my voice trailing a little.

"Now that you’re all here," said Cerant, bringing his eyes up from the table. "Bring the food." He directed his last comment at Hugh and Madeline. It was unlike the way he usually addressed them, much more like a master than the friend he seemed to be. They exchanged a glance and quickly went in the direction of the kitchen. We all sat in silence. It seemed much more like a rich, cold dinner than we had before. At the last big dinner we all joked and ate. Hugh and Madeline had even sat with us though I doubted they would tonight. They brought the dishes in and we ate in silence. Everything was composed in what seemed to be a graceful dance but one you know the dancer hates because it’s so lifeless.

Mitch seemed to mostly push things around on the plate and he seemed to be mumbling "poison." After a few courses on pristine china and precious metal dishes, Mitch suddenly stood up from the table and tossed his napkin on his plate. Everyone watched silently where he went but no one went after him. I stood up after a moment and said, "I’ll go see what’s wrong with him."

I didn’t wait to see their reaction. I simply walked quickly the way he had gone. I passed through a few rooms until I came to the living room where the French doors stood open. The white curtains flapped eerily in a breeze that had begun to pass around. The moon streamed in and outside down upon Mitch who was sitting on the ground. His jacket was on the ground next to him and his hair was messed wildly by his hands.

I didn’t say anything, just sat down beside him for a few moments. I briefly worried about the dress but figured Cerant wouldn’t care. "Hey," said Mitch after a few moments.

"Hey," I replied.

"You didn’t have to follow me," he said. "I just needed some air. I felt that the tension would suffocate me in there."

"It didn’t seem tense to me," I commented. "Just cold." Mitch nodded and we sat in silence, suddenly something snapped in the night. My head snapped in the direction it came from, as did Mitch’s.

"What was that?" he whispered.

"I don’t know," I replied, rising from the ground with shaky legs. A psychotic laugh ripped through the night and there was a slam behind us. I turned quickly to see that the doors were now closed tightly. I ran to them and pulled on the knob, it was locked.

"Mel," said Mitch. I turned to him and he was baking up. "Let’s get out of here. There are other doors." I nodded and we ran down the trail. Mitch pushed me ahead of him. "Whatever happens to me," he said as we ran. "Just keep on going. Find Kat and Kyle, you have to find them and help them." All I could do was nod. We ran and ran, our steps thudding against the ground. My dress whipped around me and was starting to get wet from the ran that had begun falling against the ground. I could hear someone pursuing us but we seemed to keep well ahead of it.

Suddenly a large branch leapt out into my path and I went flying through the air as the force of my running impacted with the wood. I hit the ground with a thud and pain raced through me as everything went dark. I opened my eyes groggily to hear the sounds of crashing far away from me in the jungle.

I rose to my feet shakily, my head pounding and stumbled through the foliage. "Mitch? Mitch?" I mumbled as I tripped again and again. Then, suddenly, there was silence. Complete and utter silence. I continued though and eventually broke through to the front lawn, then I fell down in the grass and stared at the rain which fell down on me. The sky was weeping for me since I didn’t have any tears left to cry.