Nineteen

Control

Chase and Gries are horrified when I tell them what happened inside the cave. “Do you mean that the god gave Hemslock some of its powers?” the older man asks, ashen. “Why?”

“Only the sacrifice matters,” I say heavily.

“So he’s going to gain superpowers?” Chase demands. “We can’t let him shoot anyone else! How do we stop him? What do we tell the others?”

“I’m not sure the others are going to believe us if we tell them. If this is the Diwata’s will, then it is what it is.”

“Are you even listening to yourself? Why would the Diwata give Hemslock anything? He only completed one sacrifice—we have to stop him before he can do the rest!”

“Do you trust me?”

Chase pauses, looking back at me. “Yes,” he says, albeit uncertainly. “I do.”

“Then we have to let this play out.” I look up at the sky. “It’s too late for anything else now.”

Straw Hat has been looking through every instance of footage that they have collected for the show, trying to find any clue to get them off the island faster. There is little else to do. Hemslock has imposed heavier restrictions on the rest of the crew, forbidding anyone from leaving the camp. He insists that we take our meals together, and always sends one of his soldiers to accompany anyone needing to use the bathroom. The crew is as much Hemslock’s prisoners as they are the island’s.

I know that the crew still see the apparitions. Occasionally I hear their startled gasps, catch them fixated on something in the distance, turning pale.

Occasionally I see an apparition, too. An old woman with decaying teeth, her bright eyes peering out from behind one of the tents. A man with a disfigured face, blood dripping down his jaws. A bullet-ridden boy, staring aimlessly.

“It’s angry,” Melissa whispers. “It’s trying to see which of us it can pick off first.”

Many in the group don’t see these ghosts. Or if they do, none of them say anything.

“I’ve logged at least five hours sifting through videos,” Straw Hat says, gesturing at the clock on the bottom right of his laptop. “It’s almost 6 p.m. The sun should have set by now.”

“You’re kidding me,” Gries says. “Are you telling me that it can manipulate time, too?”

“Didn’t the old woman say that?” Melissa asks. “I’ve been reviewing notes from that interview. She said time has no meaning on the island. Maybe the Diwata can trap us in a pocket dimension or something. Maybe the world is moving on beyond this island, but we’re stuck in this particular moment.”

“How did you figure that out?”

“I watch a lot of horror movies.”

“You’re not helping, Melissa.”

“Well, that’s another reason—besides the storm—help won’t be arriving,” Straw Hat casts a nervous glance back at the cave. Hemslock and his soldiers have disappeared back inside for Goatee. They went without cameras. “He really thinks Karl’s still alive in there?”