Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten, I'm glad people are enjoying this fic ;) I promise I'll try to update a lot quicker in the future!
Chapter 4
Erica Kane's presence was always a very powerful one, a presence that was felt by nearly everyone in the room she stepped into. The reporters and camera people that had been trailing her stayed behind the door she had walked through with her fiancé, Jackson Montgomery, and the two of them walked towards the front of the room determinedly.
The room wasn't very big, maybe the size of a college classroom, with several chairs set up in rows and a podium in the front. A table to the side held large containers of coffee and water, but Erica walked right past it towards the front. There were several other people in the room, most sitting in small groups on the chairs in the room. The people were all as different as day and night; many of them recognized Erica, some looking at her in awe, others in suspicion and even dislike. But all the people had one thing in common – no one looked happy to be there, or just happy to be anywhere at all. There were several people crying, some being consoled by a loved one.
Erica carefully sat down in a chair towards the front, followed by Jack and glanced at her watch. They had told her on the phone that the airline was going to make a statement to the families of the plane crash victims and update them about the rescue situation. She knew that was why she was here, but somehow it all still felt very unreal. The thought of her Bianca being on the plane that she had seen only as the mangled, torn wreck it now was on the news caused Erica to shudder. Jack had done his best to get her to calm down enough for them to get here, he knew that the reporters would want a statement from her about what was going on as well.
A door to the side of the room opened, stopping all conversation in the room abruptly. A tall man in a dark suit walked in, followed by a few well-dressed people carrying documents. The man stepped up to the podium, looking around the room, before he turned on the microphone and began to speak.
"My name is William Carter and I am the president of US Airways. I am here to inform you all about the tragic accident of Flight 2133 that occurred yesterday afternoon. I deeply regret that we all had to come together like this and I am very sorry for all of your losses. So far the cause of the crash is still unknown, but we do have crews working around the clock on this. As far as we know, the plane veered off course because of a bad storm front and crashed soon after in the South Atlantic Ocean. The plane was occupied by thirty passengers and six crewmembers. Rescue crews are working very hard at the accident site to recover the victims, however due to the severity of the crash we aren't optimistic about there being any survivors," the man explained, several gasps and sobs could be heard at his last statement.
William Carter waved one of the well-dressed men over, taking a sheet from him, cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the people in the room, "Rescue workers have been able to recover twenty-six bodies and all have been positively identified. So far ten passengers appear to be missing, their bodies have not yet been recovered. Apparently all ten of the missing passengers were sitting in the back part of the plane that tore off during the crash and scattered wreckage for several hundred feet. If they are not found within the immediate accident site, we will increase the search radius to cover more area. I have here a list with the names of the passengers still missing. If your family member or loved one is on this list, please know we will do everything in our power to find them and we will keep you updated on our progress. To everyone else, I am truly sorry for your loss and if you could please remain after I read the names so we can make sure everyone is able to give their loved one a proper burial as soon as possible. Thank You."
He pulled out another sheet, smoothed it out and started to read, "These are the names of the ten missing passengers in alphabetical order: Joseph Anslinger, Rebecca Davis, Blake Farrington, Amelia Herzog, Rachel Jenkins, Peter Marks, Father Abraham Michaels, Bianca Montgomery, Jan Sleator and Greenlee Smythe. You will be notified with any news concerning your loved ones."
Erica's heart twisted at the mention of her daughter's name, she wasn't sure whether to be happy that Bianca's body hadn't been found and hope she was alive or to be upset that she didn't know what Bianca's fate was. After all, Mr. Carter had made it clear that they did not expect to find any survivors. Erica had seen the pictures on TV, she doubted anyone could really survive a crash that left wreckage like that. She felt Jack's arm around her waist and was truly glad for his presence. Looking up at him she realized for the first time she was crying.
"Honey, did I hear wrong or did he say Greenlee Smythe was on that plane?" Jack asked quietly and Erica, thinking back to Mr. Carter reading the names, scowled.
"Yes, I believe he did. But Jack, I can't worry about that now. After all, Bianca is…," she didn't even finish her sentence as more tears spilled from her eyes and he pulled her closer to him.
"I'm sorry, dear. They'll do their best to find her, you know that. There's still some hope," he answered roughly, feeling like he wanted to cry himself. He loved Bianca as if she were his own daughter and couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like without her.
"Oh, I hope so, Jack," Erica said softly, fighting to compose herself. She knew the reporters outside would want to hear everything that happened and wouldn't leave her alone until she made a statement.
They got up and walked, his arm around her waist, towards the exit. It was then that Erica saw Mary Smythe sitting on a chair in the back, alone. Their eyes locked as Erica got closer and she opened her mouth to throw a comment at the other woman, but there wasn't anything she could think to say. Erica felt the uncertainty of Bianca's fate weigh her down and she could see the same in the other woman's eyes. She passed Mary without a word and she almost felt sympathy for her when she saw the other woman teary-eyed as well.
Erica shook off the feeling and she and Jack walked through the door into the barrage of reporters.
Blake looked in disgust at the two girls sitting across from him and repressed any depreciative noise he thought of making. Ever since Greenlee had woken up his hatred for her had come back tenfold and seven years of therapy had gone down the drain. After all, his therapist had never prepared him for an actual meeting with the girl that had ruined his life and his family.
At first he had worried she would recognize him, if not by his physical features then by the look of hatred in his eyes. But many years ago, to try and leave his past behind, he'd had his name changed and gotten contacts to change his eye color. Not to mention the half dozen plastic surgeries he'd had to undergo after the accident to restore his face; he'd been left with several ugly scars that a skilled doctor had luckily managed to reduce to practically nothing. On top of that, the last time Greenlee had seen him his hair had been longer and darker, and his body had been less built. Overall Blake felt confident she did not know who he was, although she had looked at him questioningly earlier that day and he knew he'd have to be more careful, especially with letting his feelings for her show. Which was easier said than done, he still relived that tragic night in his dreams and the anger over what she'd done still burned as strong as it had back then.
He miserably thought back to that night seven years ago. They'd been in High School then and deeply in love, or so they thought. That night at the party, she'd had way too much to drink and although he admitted to having contributed to that, it didn't excuse what she did. Driving completely, insanely drunk with him and his little brother in the car, in the dark. If only she…
"Blake, are you okay?" The voice broke his thoughts and he looked up into Bianca's face. Blake smiled at her, sincerely, and wiped the sweat off his brow.
"Yeah, just thinking about everything, y'know," he answered, watching as she nodded with a smile of her own. Bianca was the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on and when he looked at her, for a moment, he could even forget all the bad stuff that had happened to him. Blake figured his chances weren't all that bad, the way she looked and smiled at him made him think he definitely had a chance with her. If only he could get her away from Greenlee, there was no way he could date someone that was friend's with that evil incarnate.
Bianca watched the expression on Blake's face change from thoughtful, to delighted to angry and wondered what was up with him. Ever since she'd woken up on the raft that night he'd kept looking at her weird and she'd caught him stealing glances at her several times, not to mention he constantly felt the need to smile at her. Bianca, not being the type of person to be rude to someone, always smiled back, but she couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy around him.
"Maybe I should just tell him I'm gay," she thought to herself and looked over at Greenlee next to her, considering enlisting the other girl to help her. Guys always got the point much quicker when they saw you actually did have a girlfriend and weren't just lying to get away from them. She sighed, deciding that if Blake actually made a move on her she'd tell him.
She looked back at Greenlee, who was intently staring at the piece of fish on her stick that she was holding into the fire, as if willing it to be done. The eight of them sat around the fire Peter had started and were roasting pieces of the fish Joe and Father Abe had caught like s'mores in the fire. It was an idyllic scene, Bianca almost felt like she was camping with her family. It was now dark out and the sky above them sparkled with thousands of stars that were much brighter here than back at home. The wood in the fire crackled and occasionally sent sparks up in the air. The fire was throwing an orangey glow onto Greenlee's face, the shadows flickering across her skin and for the first time Bianca realized how truly beautiful the other girl was.
Alarmed at her thoughts, she turned her head, trying to think of anything but Greenlee's dark eyes and soft skin.
"Hey, what happened to Amelia and Rachel?" she finally asked and the other people around the fire looked around, apparently no wiser than her.
"I have no idea. They were supposed to look for a possible water source and any edible fruits in the forest. Maybe they had problems finding their way back," Peter answered and as soon as the words were out of his mouth they heard a rustling of leaves to their side and watched as Amelia Herzog stepped through the thick brush towards them.
"Amelia, we were just talking about you guys. What took you so long?" the very overweight Joe asked as he took a bite from his fish.
Amelia, her hair looking slightly disheveled, adjusted her glasses and looked around the fire, "Rachel's not here either?"
"What do you mean? She was supposed to be with you," Peter remarked, now studying the woman closely.
Amelia scoffed, smoothing out her blouse as she felt all eyes on her before answering, "Yeah, she was. We were somewhere in the woods and I heard a weird sound so I turned around, Rachel was right behind me. When I turned back she was gone! I thought she'd come back here or something."
"Gone?" Peter asked, now starting to look worried, "What do you mean 'gone'?"
Amelia shrugged, eyeing their fish hungrily, "Just like it sounds. It was as if she disappeared, I never heard a sound or saw anything."
The red-haired reporter sat down and gladly took some fish from someone, while everyone else around the fire looked at each other worriedly.
The cool water pooled around her feet as she walked across the sand. Although it was the middle of the night she had no problems seeing her surroundings, the moon was full and bright, softly illuminating the beach. Bianca's gaze swept around her, along the sandy beach that surrounded the forest all around the island and she wondered how far they'd have to go before they could go back.
"Hey, are you training for the Olympics or something? Slow down," came the voice from behind her and Bianca glanced over her shoulder at Greenlee and stopped until the girl caught up with her.
They walked side by side in silence for a short while, until Greenlee spoke up, "They don't actually expect us to find her out here or anything, right? I mean, Amelia even said that Rachel vanished in the forest, why're we out here?"
Bianca looked at her friend and for once actually had to agree with the older girl. Shortly after Amelia had returned Peter had decided they all should split into groups and look for Rachel, in case she'd gotten lost or was injured somewhere. The other two groups had gone into the forest, taking their only two flashlights, while Greenlee and her were supposed to look around the beach, staying in the near vicinity of the camp in case Rachel returned. But they'd been walking for nearly half an hour now and Bianca really doubted they'd find anything here anyway.
Sighing, she walked up the beach a little way to where the sand was dry and sat with her knees drawn up to her chest. Greenlee plopped down next to her and leaned back on her hands, her eyes watched the stars in the sky. And without realizing it, Bianca turned to watch her friend. The older girl laid back on the sand, pulling Bianca with her gently and pointed at the sky, "Hey, look at the stars, aren't they great? I wish they were this bright back in Pine Valley, it'd sure make for some romantic evenings, don't you think?"
"Huh? Uh….yeah," Bianca answered, not having been paying attention at all. Her eyes were still on her friend, watching the soft smile on Greenlee's face as the girl watched the stars, the way her eyes twinkled every time she was about to say something that'd surely cause Bianca to laugh. She felt Greenlee's skin where their arms were touching and she had to suppress the urge to move her fingers just an inch so their hands would be entwined.
Bianca growled internally, this wasn't the time to have a schoolgirl crush. Getting up, she brushed the sand off her and offered a hand to the older girl, "Come on Copernicus, let's go back and wait for the others. They should be getting back soon."
Greenlee sighed and reached for Bianca's hand, pulling herself up. But the force of Bianca pulling her up caused both of them to nearly lose their footing and each girl grabbed a hold of the other. They both stood, hands on the other's arms, their faces mere inches apart. Bianca felt her heart beat quicker, her eyes locked with Greenlee's and she felt the other girl's soft breath on her skin. She had never felt such an urge to kiss anyone and the feeling scared her. She pulled away before anything else could happen and started walking back into the direction they came from.
Greenlee followed, confused about what had just happened, still shaken at the fact that she'd almost kissed Bianca.
"I'm telling you, he was just gone!" Jan exclaimed and ran a hand across her very short blonde hair in exasperation. Everyone threw her an incredulous look and she groaned, throwing her hands up in defeat and walked away, into the tent.
Peter shook his head and tried to think of something, anything, to explain their situation. They'd just returned to their camp having had no luck in finding Rachel, only to find out that Joe, who'd been paired with Jan, had vanished as well. Peter was at a complete loss as to what was going on. The others were looking at him as if he should have an answer, but he definitely didn't.
"Jan didn't see anything?" Blake asked while throwing another few branches into the fire.
"No," Peter shook his head, "she said that they'd split up to search a clearing and within the few seconds she'd had her back turned he vanished."
"And I don't imagine it's very easy to kidnap a guy of Joe's size," Amelia snorted and received a few dirty looks from around the fire.
"I don't know what to think about this. There's no reason for either Rachel or Joe to have left, unless they're lost somewhere. Let's go to bed now and we'll go on searching tomorrow, in the light," Peter decided and everyone got up, following each other into the tent.
The figure waited until the last person had vanished into the tent and slowly stood up from its crouching position. Its yellow eyes were darting back and forth from behind the bushes, watching the tent for any more movement. With a low growl the figure threw one last glance at the tent and then turned around, sprinting into the forest. It vanished quickly in the thick brush, not leaving a clue to its existence once it was gone.