She shrugged. “I thought I was going home. Of course. But I was taken straight down to the cellar. For a celebration wine, they told me. When I caught sight of their little celebration down there, I fought like an alley cat. They beat me up and chained me. And that’s all I knew.”
“I’m sorry I left you behind the first time. We couldn’t take you.”
“I know.”
“We’re going to get away from this place. We are. You said you’ve got two girls?”
Her eyes clouded. “I haven’t seen them for two years. They were taken away into foster custody seven years ago. They’re teenagers now. They don’t know me. I’m a stranger to them. I hoped I could clean myself up, rent a small apartment. Keep away from heroin. And then try to start again. I can’t be a mother to them, but maybe I could be a friend.”
I gave her a tight smile. “Hope it happens.”
Gunshots blasted into the sand. I lifted my head. Four Saviours stood on the cliff edge.
“Hurry!” Ruth ordered me.
We ran together in the direction that Gray had gone. Keeping close to the bottom edge of the cliff face, we threaded our way through the rocks and around the sharp curve of the island—making it as hard as possible for the Saviours to keep up. They had hills and crevices to contend with.
I knew that the Saviours needed us to die. We were the last ones who could tell the tale of what happened to people on this island and all that we’d seen and who the Yeqon’s Saviours were.
Six people walked towards us in the distance. Four about as tall as each other and two shorter.
Saviours?
They stepped closer. One of the middle people was hurt, his companions with their arms around him, supporting him.
Sethi. With Gray, Jennifer and Cormack. They’d also met up with Yolanda and Hop.
“Watch out!” I screamed. “There’s Saviours up there!”
Bullets rained down.
They raced for the base of the cliff as Ruth and I continued on our path towards them. We all stopped beneath an area where the edge of the cliff overhung the cliff wall. The Saviours couldn’t see us or shoot us here.
“Sethi. Thank God!” I cried.
He gave a half grin. “I made it out of the water just before it all went kaboom. Yolanda and Hop came looking for me.”
“The explosion was like a plane crashing,” said Yolanda. “So scary but so damned beautiful. Hundreds of Saviours gone forever.”
I turned, startled as people ran towards us.
Richard, Constance and Kara.
“Safety in numbers.” Richard exhaled loudly. “Any idea how many of those bastards are left out there?”
“Yolanda and I saw quite a few out on the island just after the blast,” Hop replied.
“I think we’re about to find out.” Ruth gestured upwards.
The Saviours had begun to descend the hills. Coming straight for us.
“We can’t let them get down here!” cried Jennifer. “Whoever knows how to shoot, help me keep them at bay. The rest of you, don’t get in the way. Just stay covered.”
Ruth took a place beside Jennifer.
Gunfire filled the air, bullets striking the rocks.
“No!” cried Yolanda, pointing out to the shore.
Saviours were rowing small boats around to where we were. Making sure we couldn’t risk a sprint across to the beach. Once they’d moored, they’d be moving in, trapping us.
I buried my head in Gray’s shoulder. Was this where we died? Was this patch of earth the place where our numbers ran out?
I squinted into the horizon. Far beyond the rowboats, the first rays of the sun sparked off something large and metallic. “What is that?”
Sethi stopped shooting and turned to look. He shook his head, puzzled. Jennifer unzipped her backpack and took out a pair of binoculars. “Take these, Seth.”
Breathing hard, Sethi peered through the viewing lenses. “It’s the Hellenic Coast Guard.”
“Would they have come because of the explosion?” queried Jennifer. “What’s their nearest base to here?”
Sethi’s forehead rippled in concentration. “Karpathos, I think. It’s not so far away. Maybe there were reports from boats at sea. Maybe even an aircraft. I saw the water spout hundreds of feet. Someone would have surely seen it.”
On the hills above us, the Saviours had fled.
“Well, thank Methuselah,” said Richard. “Are the coast guard part of the Greek police?”
“They operate independently,” Sethi told him. “They’re paramilitary. Sometimes, the coast guard and the police step into each other’s territory, and that doesn’t go so well. Mostly, the coast guard patrols the waters, carrying out rescue of refugees and conducting drug and border control.”