AN: I couldn't go long without writing. I just want to give a shout-out to Finalhybrid and James. Thanks so much for faithfully reviewing so far! (Is anyone reading this really good at making YouTube vids? If so, PLEASE private message me.)
Cal froze as the door of the garage rattled. Please, God, don't let it be Chloe, he thought in a silent word of prayer. Jimmy looked almost relaxed and it was clear that he knew just a little more about the situation than Cal did. The door swung open, and in stepped a very disheveled-looking Henry Dunn. Cal narrowed his eyes and wished he wasn't tied up so he could lunge at that bastard.
Henry nodded to Cal, almost politely, and circled Jimmy.
"Is your mind made up?" he asked, starting to grin.
Jimmy let out a feral noise that fell just short of a snarl.
Henry laughed while Cal looked on in confusion.
"Here, let me get that for you." Henry pulled down the gag around Jimmy's mouth and stepped back as Jimmy almost snapped his teeth shut over his hand.
---
A house. There was actually a house up there. As Chloe tried to stifle the sobs that wouldn't stop coming, she crept towards the blue house on the cliff. She had no idea as to whether she should go into the house or keep an eye on it for a while. She walked around to the garage and heard a voice coming faintly from inside it. She quickly wiped her face on the sleeve of her jacket, looked around her, and walked slowly to the closest window. She pressed her back up against the wall and listened silently for a moment, trying to recognize the voice coming from within.
"You will sign this confession, or you can kiss your Abby goodbye."
Chloe blinked rapidly, trying to think. That voice was strikingly familiar, and it could only belong to one person on the island. Henry. Suddenly, everything started falling into place. Wakefield's accomplice had been with them the whole time, seeing their every move and overhearing their every plan.
Almost unwilling to believe that he was the killer, she turned and peeked inside the window, taking the risk that Henry could be facing it.
---
Cal could see that Jimmy wasn't even debating over whether to sign the confession. He'd already made up his mind, he was just trying to piss off Henry by keeping silent.
"Is that a no?" Henry asked rhetorically. As Henry stared Jimmy down, Cal saw a movement in the corner of his eye. His heart lurched when he saw Chloe looking through the window at him, a horrified expression on her beautiful face. Throwing a glance at Henry, who wasn't looking his way, he shook his head at Chloe, trying to convey a message of "get away from here."
---
"What was that?" Henry asked sharply, facing Cal.
Chloe ducked beneath the window. Crap. She heard the footsteps coming to the window, so she quickly laid down in the dirt and pressed herself against the bottom of the house, frozen in terror. When the sound of the steps retreated from the window, she crawled to the other side of the house where there were no telltale windows and hauled herself up. Running away wouldn't do her any good anymore, but she didn't know if Wakefield was still out in the woods or in the house or anywhere else. Rash decisions could only lead to certain death at this point, so Chloe stayed put, occasionally looking around the side of the house where the garage was to see if Henry had left yet.
---
"…it's pretty exciting stuff, huh?" Henry asked, almost finished with the story. "Cal, well, you got lucky. Anything you want to say? Get it out," he added, pulling down the rag from Cal's mouth.
"You…you bastard!" Cal yelled furiously.
"Funny you should say that," Henry said thoughtfully. "Trish said the same thing before I killed her."
"How the hell do you get off thinking that slaughtering people left and right will make Abby love you?" Cal spat.
"She'll never love you," Jimmy growled.
"Oh, really? You think so?" Henry said happily, albeit sarcastically.
"I'll sign your damn contract, on the condition that I can say good-bye to Abby. Take it or leave it." Jimmy held his head up and left it at that.
"Nice deal; you can see her within the hour," Henry acknowledged, sliding the gag back into place over Jimmy's mouth.
He walked back over to Cal and re-tied the rag around his mouth.
"And do I have plans for you…" he trailed off, leaving the garage.
---
Chloe heard a door slam and immediately whipped her head around the side of the garage to see what was going on. She saw Henry striding in the other direction back to the main house. She heard a second door close and was sure that Henry wasn't outside. She waited for probably half an hour before deciding she had to go in. She dashed around to the garage door and darted inside, locking the door behind her. Ignoring Jimmy, she ran over to Cal, slid down the rag, and kissed him furiously.
She pulled away, and murmured, "Cal, I was so scared."
"Chloe, you've got to get out of here. Henry's coming back."
"Not before I get you out of here." She moved behind him, intending to untie him. "Damn! It's a lock!"
Chloe dug in her pockets, looking for anything she could use to pick it. She pulled out a hairpin, crossed her fingers, and worked it into the lock.
Jimmy watched as a tear ran down his cheek. Chloe and Cal were so obviously in love, and they might have a chance if they got out of there alive.
Chloe's face fell as the hairpin snapped inside of the lock. She swore loudly, muttering, "There's got to be a key around here somewhere." She began rummaging through the piles of junk stacked around the garage, frantically looking for a key.
"Darling?" Cal called. "Henry has the key."
Chloe gave up looking for it and went back to Cal. She kissed him again. "I love you," she whispered, her eyes flooded with tears.
"I love you, Chloe," Cal said as he kissed away her tears.
Suddenly, another door slammed, jarring them from their moment of peace. Chloe jumped and clumsily tied the rag back around Cal's mouth. She ran back to the door, unlocking it, and dove behind a stack of paint cans just as the door re-opened, with Henry dragging a worn-out looking Abby inside.
Jimmy's eyes lit up when his sight fell on Abby. She looked at him, hesitating for a moment, before going up to him, moving the gag and kissing him as Chloe had kissed Cal.
Cal glanced over at Chloe, who was crouched wide-eyed behind the paint cans. She was barely breathing, but only had eyes for Cal. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Henry decided Abby had kissed Jimmy for too long and ripped her away from him. Abby fell to the floor and scrambled to get up, but not before grabbing a screwdriver and stabbing it into Henry's foot. She used her moment of his pain to run out the door. Henry, grimacing, pulled the tool out of his foot, picked up a boarding knife, and ran after her.
Jimmy started to struggle against his locks.
"Right," Chloe said, coming out of hiding, "break the lock."
She unearthed a hammer from behind a quiver full of arrows and carried it over to where Jimmy stood. "Don't move your hands," she cautioned him as he moved his hands as far apart as they would go. Shaking, she raised the hammer and brought it down on the lock. Nothing happened except for the shock of the impact that sent up Chloe's thin arms. She hit the lock again, and it cracked sickeningly. She used her fingers to pull it apart, and before she could even step away, Jimmy was out the door.
"Your turn," she said to Cal, even more nervous than she'd been with Jimmy. She tried to ignore the heat that went coursing through her fingertips as she moved Cal's hands apart gently. She swung the hammer at the lock, hearing a feeble crack. Chloe hit the lock one more time and shattered it, freeing Cal.
"Cheap lock," Cal joked weakly, taking Chloe into his arms.
"Oh, shut up," she retorted as she buried her face into the crook of his neck.
"I just want to get out of here," she whispered.
Cal nodded. "Let's go."
---
Jimmy was gaining on Henry as they both tore through the woods after Abby; he was only a few yards behind. As he advanced on Henry a little more, he grabbed his shoulders from behind and slammed him to the ground. Jimmy caught up with Abby and they kept running. Henry was no longer behind them.
---
"Where are we going, Cal?" Chloe asked as they jogged through the trees, away from the house.
"I'm not too sure, actually," he replied. "Away until we find some help."
"Oh my God, Cal!" Chloe cried, pulling on his arm. "A boathouse!"
They ran to the boathouse and went inside, not once dropping hands until they saw the radio.
"Harper's Island, do you read me? Over." The radio crackled to life, and Chloe broke into a grin.
Cal picked up the controller and spoke into it. "This is Cal Vandeusen and Chloe Carter, over."
"We have officials on the island. Are you still in danger? Over."
"Yes, very much so, actually," Cal responded. "There's a-"
His words were cut short when the door behind them creaked open.
Chloe screamed. In the doorway stood Henry, with a boarding knife shining in his hands.
AN: Not my best, but I wanted to get it up tonight. I'm tired and need some sleep; it's been a long day. I was going to stick with the original ending, sort of, but…that would have cut this story a lot shorter than I intend it to be. I'm trying to extend it a bit more. So, bear with me here! Reviews are wonderful and I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading.