I laid on the cold, tile floor, only a thin layer of a folded blanket between me and the ground.
I sighed greatly as I rolled on my side and faced the wall. I could hear some small chatter going on somewhere else on the boat.
It was rocking slowly in the waves, even though it was stationary.
Suddenly, I felt the presence of someone else enter the room I was being held in. I could feel their eyes watching me.
It was silent.
Weren't they going to say anything to me? Interrogate me some more?
But they said nothing.
I was already handcuffed, it wasn't like someone had to watch me all day.
I could hear their breathing.
Now I was getting annoyed.
I understood them not trusting me. I did come on their boat with a group to overtake it. But that wasn't my true intentions. I turned on my group mates and protected these people.
Sure, my plan was slightly flawed. But they needed to realize that that was my only way out of my group, for good.
And I wasn't in the clear yet. Them holding me hostage here was going to come back and bite them in the ass. Big time. The others in my group would be coming to look for me. They would overtake this boat themselves without a second thought. They would slaughter everyone.
These people were in serious danger by keeping me here.
"I'd prefer if you didn't watch me." I finally said. "I'm not going to do anything."
"No one asked me to watch you." A man's voice said behind me. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
I couldn't make out whose voice it was. He sounded young.
"I'm fine." I said shortly.
"Look, I'm sorry we're keeping you in this room." He said. "It's just for our own safety. Well, for everyone else's. I'm not as paranoid as they are."
I rolled my eyes.
"I know they're making you supervise me." I said.
He laughed. "Honestly. They're not. I just came to talk to you."
There was a long pause.
"You did, after all, save my life."
I then realized who was in the room with me. The guy with the crazy hair. I remember stabbing Mark, who was about to stab him. He wasn't prepared with a weapon. Mark caught him off guard and quickly had him hanging halfway over the boat rails, with a knife to his throat.
I finally rolled over, sat up and saw him sitting in a chair, facing me.
A smile came across his face. "Name's Nick."
I scanned his face suspiciously.
"Thanks for saving me." He said. "For saving all of us."
"If I would've known I'd be held in this room for this long after saving all of you, I probably wouldn't have." I said, bitterly.
"Can't say I blame you." He replied.
There was silence. We just sat staring at one another for a few moments.
"I just need to be let go." I finally said.
"They're discussing what they're going to do right now."
"No. You don't understand." I started. "I have to go. Like now. The longer I'm kept here, the more in danger you are."
"Are you saying you're a murderer?" He said as he smiled slyly at me.
"I think we can drop the labels by now. Aren't we all essentially murderers?"
"You make a good point." He replied. "But, why do you need to leave so badly? Everyone's thinking of letting you stay."
I shook my head. "I can't stay here."
"The handcuffs would be coming off…unless you're into that sort of thing." That same mischievous smile crept across his face.
I rolled my eyes again. "These cuffs aren't doing a damn thing. I could get out of them if I really wanted to."
"So then, why haven't you?" He leaned forward, closer to me.
"Because, I didn't want to worry your group. They're obviously extremely shook up after what happened. If they came to find an empty room with just a pair of handcuffs left, I think that would cause even more panic. I've put a time limit on my…captivity. If they're not off of me and I'm free to go by tomorrow morning, I'm out."
"Understandable." He replied. "But still, don't you wanna stay? I know it seemed like we weren't fully prepared for the ambush, but we are pretty stable. We have food, fresh water. You'd be okay here."
"None of you are okay if you stay here. My group will come destroy you." I replied.
"Your group- no offense, but they sound terrible. What, do they just find people and kill them and then take what they need?"
"Basically." I replied.
"What makes you so sure they'll come for us?"
"Because I never came back."
"Yeah, but you made it clear that you didn't want to go back to them. I mean isn't that why you did all of this? To get away?" Nick asked.
"Yes. But, you're missing the big picture. They will be coming for me. No one leaves the group."
"So, you're saying that they will be coming to get you?"
I nodded. "Yes. They probably have already figured it all out. Either they think that we failed the mission and we got killed, or that we are being held hostage by your group. Both of those scenarios lead to the same thing. They will be coming for your people. And they will kill every single one of you."
His eyes got wide as he started realizing the significance of the situation. He sat back in the chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"That's why you need to let me go, and you all need to get as far away from here as possible." I said.
"But why can't you come with us? Why do you have to leave?"
"Then they will know it was me. They'll know I'm still alive and that I warned you to go. And they will follow us. They won't leave you alone until they have me back." I replied.
"But if you go, then they will be tracking you forever. You won't be able to escape."
"But you can."
He stared at me, his brown eyes practically piercing mine.
"You need to tell everyone this." He finally said.
"Of course." I replied.
"But I can't let you leave- go out on your own. You'll die."
I laughed. "I was on my own for quite a while. I'll be fine. It was nice actually."
"But you said so yourself. They'll find you. Eventually."
"I'll just have to keep running." I said. "I went through all of this to get away from them…to get out. I'm not going to give up easily."
"Can you at least wait until you tell everyone what you told me before you just disappear?" Nick asked.
"Once I tell them, they'll want me gone. It's the only way for you all to stay safe. They're not going to pass up safety, for my sake."
"You don't know that. I was practically in the same situation. I was reckless. They would have had an easier time if I wasn't with them. But they stuck by me and helped me pull myself back up. They won't just toss you out."
I fiddled with the handcuffs around my wrists.
Suddenly a blonde woman, who appeared to be the group's leader, walked into the room followed by two men.
"Nick, what are you doing in here?" She demanded.
"We were talking." He said. "Needed to thank her for saving my life."
"Saving your life? Have you lost your mind?" The tall Hispanic man asked.
"You shouldn't be in here." The blonde woman said to Nick as she pulled him up by the collar.
"Really? Because there's something she needs to tell you."
"Whatever she needs to tell us isn't important. We can't trust anything she says."
"You do know I can hear you." I said.
They all shot a look at me, staring at me with angry eyes, except for Nick who was smirking.
"Look, I know you don't want to listen." I said as I managed to stand up. "But you're all in huge danger."
"Yeah. We are since you're still here." The Hispanic man spat at me.
"Exactly my point actually. But not for the reasons you may think." I replied.
"Go on." The blonde woman said.
"My group will be coming after you since I didn't return to them. Their rule is three days. After three days, they will come. And you don't want to be anywhere near here when that happens."
"Why is that?" The woman asked.
"It's a complicated story that I don't want to get into." I started. "But they could be thinking that you all killed me and the others, or that you're holding us hostage, which is actually the truth, only it was me who killed my partners. Either way, they will come to kill all of you. They already know where you are. We had been spying on you for weeks."
"What do you suggest we do?" She asked.
"You let me go, and you get the hell out of here."
"They won't let her leave." Nick interrupted. "When you become part of the group, you can never leave. That's why all of this happened."
"I'm sorry?"
"The group I'm part of, they're sick, sick people. I couldn't leave on my own. So once they let me come on this mission, I knew it was my chance to escape. I was never planning on killing any of you, only the guys I came with."
"And you just thought we'd let you leave?" A bald Hispanic man asked.
"What would have happened if they had gotten to one of us first before you killed them?" The woman asked.
"I didn't let that happen. I knew the plan and where they'd be. I made sure none of you got hurt. I waited to ambush you when I saw you had your weapons nearby." I replied. "Like I said, I've been watching you."
They were silent, processing the information I had given them.
"All I'm asking is you let me go and leave. As long as I'm not with you, you're safe. They'll only be looking for me once they realize you're gone." I finally said.
"Mom, we can't just leave her out there." Nick whispered to the woman.
Mom? She was his mother?
"You're right." She whispered back.
She turned back to me. "When do you suggest we leave?"
"As soon as you possibly can. It will take them a day or two to make it to where we are, but don't wait much longer."
"You don't think we can take them?" She asked me.
I shook my head. "I've been trapped with them for months. I've seen what they're capable of. I wouldn't take my chances."
She was silent, pondering what exactly the plan would be.
"We will follow your advice, on one condition."
I nodded in reply.
"You stay with us."
"Madison!" The tall Hispanic man roared at the woman.
"She has to stay with us! We can't just leave her to die out there!"
"She looks like she can take care of herself pretty well from what she did to us! Isn't that why we have her handcuffed and locked in here in the first place? Do you expect to just leave her like this forever, so we feel safe?"
"Sorry to interrupt." I started. "But you're right. I can take care of myself. I got good at it. And also, the handcuffs are pretty useless."
I fiddled with them for a bit with a pin I had tucked in my sleeve.
I unhooked one side of them in seconds. "See?"
Nick laughed and was grinning from ear to ear.
"If I really wanted to hurt you, I would have done so hours ago."
Madison looked stunned, but a small smile appeared on her face.
"Do you really want to be out on your own?" She asked.
"Honestly, I can survive by myself." I replied.
She shook her head. "I asked if you wanted to be alone."
I pondered that for a moment. "You seem like you have a decent set up here, you responded to my attack fairly quickly."
"We can fend for ourselves well, I'd say." She replied.
"Do you realize what you're risking by keeping me around?"
"Yes. I do. But we will have you officially on our side to help with that. I'm assuming you know how, based on what I just witnessed." She joked.
"I know a thing or two." I smirked lightly.
"You're staying." She said firmly. "The handcuffs can stay off for obvious reasons, but I'm still going to have you stay in here until we all feel comfortable. Understand?"
"Yes." I replied.
"If you cross us, I won't hesitate to take necessary action."
I nodded.
"Nick will bring a cot in for you and some water. You can clean yourself off. We will discuss more in the morning."
"Thanks."
"Name?" Madison asked.
"Cassie." I replied.
She nodded. "Madison, Travis, Daniel. And my son, Nick."
I smiled lightly.
"Don't make me regret this." She added.
And with that the three of them left, leaving only me and Nick.
"Told you they'd let you stay." He said.
"Your mother's in charge?" I asked.
He nodded. "Sort of. She obviously sees how much we could benefit from having you here."
"I suppose."
"Show me that handcuff trick sometime?" He smirked.
"We'll see." I replied.