Something inside of me is proud that it made sense to me to move at night, too, even if Creed mentioned something about it earlier, but the man on the beach clearly isn’t thinking about the same things we are. He has practical skills, but he’s clearly never been in a situation like this, where he can’t trust anyone. To him, the goal is to get off the island, so that’s what he’s doing. It almost makes me sad enough to go out there and warn him, but it isn’t my place. I’ll not risk my own life to save someone else’s. That’s how you get dead. I’ve seen the movies.

Sure enough, we watch as the man finishes the raft and then carries it to the water. He grabs a large stick and fashions a makeshift paddle before pushing the raft out to sea, past the waves, before hopping on. He makes it one hundred feet from the shore, enough that I start to wonder if he’ll make it, when the sound of an engine reaches my ears. Sighing, I watch as the patrol boat appears, the armed guards on the deck, and flinch when they begin to fire. The gun shots ring out around us, and I duck on instinct. The man dives off the raft, but even from this distance, I can see the red that starts to stain the water. His body floats up a moment later, face down, rolling with the waves. They apparently have stopped shooting as a warning.

“This is a nightmare,” I grunt, watching as the patrol boat speeds away.

“As long as we keep level heads and watch each other’s backs, we’ll be alright,” Creed reassures me, as if it’ll help.

“But if we’re being hunted, someone has to be watching,” I point out. “How closely do you think they are? They’re not going to want us doing anything too crazy.”

Creed pauses. “You know, I didn’t even think of that, but you’re right. There has to be cameras somewhere, which means hiding won’t be feasible.”

My face hardens. “There’s really no other choice, is there? We have to play this sick game to survive.”

“It looks that way,” Creed grunts, looking around. “I’ve been in worse situations though, darlin’. Don’t you worry. We’re going to get out of this, and if we have to take down a couple of assholes along the way, then so be it.” He eyes me. “You afraid to use that knife?”

I haven’t told him about the gun yet. “No,” I reply. “I’m not afraid to defend myself.”

“Good. Did you pick up any other weapons besides the hunting knife?”