A/N: I know you've waited for this, a few of you more than others I bet, but I am here right on time as I've promised you I will be on Thursdays :-D

I absolutely loved reading your reviews on the previous chapters, your thoughts on Carlisle's sanity, that you were upset he destroyed Iris even though she's been part of the story for such a short time, your theories about the dossiers and if Edward is dangerous or not … well, let's see if any of those questions will be answered in this chapter, alright?

I'm gonna continue putting the disclaimer here just be sure that everyone are aware of where this story originated.

This story isn't 100 % mine. I have transformed it into a story from an interactive story app called Choices (an app I am completely obsessed with atm) and the creators are Pixelberry Studios.

So here's my disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the plot of this story. All recognizable content belongs to their respective owner. No copyright infringement intended. Names and places have been changed for the purpose of Fanfiction.


{Chapter 11}

Back at The Ethereal, those who stayed behind were standing around in a circle in the lobby. Nobody moved or spoke.

"Error. Visual input is registering as frozen."

"No, Iris. They're just ... staring at you," I told her.

Everyone gawked at the flickering hologram of Iris, emitting from the tiny, spherical drone that floated behind her.

"So ... this is the Observatory's AI?" Victoria asked.

"Not exactly," Garrett answered. "She's a backup copy Tanya restored. But she doesn't know what happened on the island."

"It remembers nothing?" Alistair sneered, and Iris's digital smile fell.

"No. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Nearby, on the couches, Kate was using a first-aid kit to tend to Peter who was sporting a sprained wrist. She snorted. "Sounds more like convenient to me."

Peter winced. "Ouch! Easy, doc!"

"Pipe down, you big baby! You clearly sprained your wrist in that fall on the mountain! I thought you were the toughest guy in school."

Peter grinned at her. "Hey ... you really think so, Katie?"

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up. I'm just saying. How do we know if she's telling the truth?"

"You do not. I was not programmed to have any facial tics to signal deception."

Kate glanced sideways at Iris with a crestfallen expression. "Thanks for making my point. By the way, I'm shocked we didn't all get killed out there."

"We're fine, Kate. We handled ourselves well," Garrett told her, not pleased with her pessimism, but I actually agreed with her.

"We were lucky. This island's getting crazier by the minute. There was a good chance a lot of us wouldn't come back. We can't keep pushing our luck like this."

"Thank you. At least Bella gets it," Kate said, and for the first time since I met her, the smile she gave me was grateful and kind.

Garrett looked at me sadly. "Really, Bella? Sure, we had some close calls, but look what we accomplished."

Leah spoke before I could answer him. "What's important is that Kate has a point. The machine can't be trusted. We should destroy it. Now."

"Please refrain."

"What? No way, dude!" As Leah moved toward the hologram, Emmett stepped in front of her, arms outstretched.

"Out of the way, Emmett—"

"No."

"Emmett's right, Leah. Take it easy," I said and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Not too long ago, none of us trusted you either."

Emmett shined up. "Exactly!"

Leah narrowed her eyes at me. "That was a massive gamble on your part—"

"And one that paid off. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you, right?"

"Don't be too sure that it paid off just yet," she said but backed down.

"Thank you, Bella." Iris's digital voice said behind me and turned to her.

"You can thank me by proving me right, Iris."

"Affirmative."

"If I could just get my hands on that golden snitch thing, I could get a look at what makes Iris tick!" Rosalie leaped for Iris's projector drone, which dodged her grasping hands.

"I would prefer if you did not."

"Just. Get. Over. Here!"

I felt a small tap on my shoulder and looked to see Victoria. "So, Bella ... those voices on the radio. You're sure that's what they were saying?"

"My god, it's ... it's erupting ... the volcano's erupting..." Iris's holographic mouth moved, but the sound of her voice was that of a panicked man.

Benjamin stared at her, scared. "Uh, what is she doing?"

"It's what we heard! She must've recorded it!" Tanya gasped.

"This is unbelievable ... the El Jardín volcano is erupting, but ... it's not like anything I've ever seen ... God help us all..."

"That's not creepy. That's not creepy at all," Benjamin said and rubbed his neck in a manner he only displayed when he was truly uncomfortable.

Peter tried to wave it away as if it was nothing. "Whatever, it's stupid! It makes no sense. The volcano hasn't erupted. Obviously."

"Yet."

Everyone stopped and looked at Tanya.

"We might be hearing broadcasts that haven't happened yet," she explained.

"Tanya ... what are you saying?" Alistair asked in the most gentle voice I'd ever heard him use with another person.

Tanya twisted her hands nervously. "We've gotta face facts. Sabertooth tigers? Giant mutant crabs? A fox that breathes ice? Now, this?"

I met Edward's eyes and knew that we were both thinking back to those strange atmospheric lights we saw from the airstrip watchtower the first day.

"Everyone's thinking it. I know it's scary, and we want to keep telling ourselves that everything is okay, but we can't afford to do that anymore. So let's just say it out loud, okay? …Time travel."

The group erupted in a cacophony of shouts.

Alice laughed almost maniacally. "That's ... that's just silly!"

"This isn't your fan fiction, Tanya!" Kate said degradingly, and I frowned at her.

"Yeah, and I must've skipped the part in my evolution textbook about ice-breathing foxes." Peter snorted but winced when he accidentally gestured with his injured arm.

"I didn't say we were traveling to the past," Tanya continued to make it clear what she had meant. "Just like the broadcasts ... maybe some things ... just haven't happened yet."

Garrett conceded. "Okay, I mean, let's say sure. It's got something to do with time. I admit that's the only explanation that accounts for everything we've seen, but what matters is, what do we do about it? I think the Observatory proved one thing, and that's that no help is coming for us."

I sighed. Everything was starting to feel like a huge defeat. Everywhere we turned was another dead end. "We are turbo-screwed."

Victoria shook her head at me. "You can't think that way. I know what it's like to want to throw in the towel, but we're counting on each other, right?"

Her words, sadly, did nothing to lift me up. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but we're not exactly a team of geniuses. We are just college kids. What do we know about situations like this?"

"Bella's got a point," Benjamin agreed, but he didn't look happy about it.

"Oh really?" Garrett asked. "Well, I say that I think you've been hanging around Edward too much, 'cause you're starting to sound an awful lot like him."

Edward shrugged. "What can I say? Princess is the only sane person around here."

"No, you're wrong Bella," Tanya said and displayed some serious fierceness for the first time since I started to get to know her. "It's just a problem, and every problem has a solution. We just have to find it."

"Uh, guys? There is one thing we found here at the resort while you were gone." Emmett handed me a familiar framed photograph of a picturesque marina, filled with docked yachts and sailboats.

"So it wasn't a dream." I thought to myself but showed no recognition outwardly. "Is this ... here?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"Yup! Only a couple miles south!"

"It's Mr. Cullen's private marina," Alice explained. "Reserved for only the resort's most illustrious guests. Many kept their prized yachts there."

"And if there are any left..." Kate trailed off, but the hope in her voice was clear.

Garrett was the first to move into action, as usual. "We know what we have to do. Everyone, get your things. We're getting off this rock."

Alistair smiled sarcastically. "Ohhh, yes, certainly! After only narrowly surviving our little jaunts to the shelter and the Observatory, why not wander off again?"

Garrett looked at him. "Alistair, you can't seriously be suggesting we stay here, after what we just talked about."

"I'm simply asking for a little more pattern recognition. We are extraordinarily fortunate to have survived this long."

"And we'll keep surviving," Garrett insisted.

"So you insist. But keep tempting fate, and eventually, we may face something we cannot survive so easily."

We all went back to our rooms to pack our things, and Alistair's words kept ringing in my head. It wasn't in my nature to be such a pessimist, and maybe Garrett was right and I had been spending too much time with Edward.

I wanted to be hopeful about the marina. I really did, but with the track record we'd had so far, I didn't dare to let the hopes get too high.

Shaking my head to clear it, I decided to be cautiously hopeful and at the very least act neutral about it all, until it was clear what would happen.

There was a knock at the door, and when I opened it, Victoria stood outside.

"Hey."

"Hi."

She smiled at me, a cute little smirk. "I'm, um ... really, really glad you're back. I've been thinking about you. I was actually pretty worried."

I gave her a teasing smirk in return. "Didn't think I could handle myself?"

"Oh, I have no doubt you can handle quite a bit." She moved to the window, gazing out on El Jardín. "I can't believe we're leaving. I know it's only been four days, but..." The sunlight cast her reflection against the glass window, which floated like a ghost over the island peaks. "somehow it feels like I've known you forever."

She turned to face me. "Do you think we'll still talk? When we get back home, I mean."

"Of course we'll still talk," I said with feeling. It would be impossible to forget the friendships I'd made on this island. "I didn't know any of you except Benjamin before we got here, and no matter what happens, I feel like I made friends for life."

"Let's just hope that 'for life' is a long time."

I chuckled. "Amen to that."

Victoria shifted awkwardly, rocking on her heels for a moment. I realized she was carrying a small bag. "There's another reason I stopped by. I found these really nice clothes in a suitcase a guest left behind in my suite. They must've been here for some mountain climbing. They'd be useful if things get dangerous out there, but they're too big for me, and you're the more adventurous one."

She took out a blue top, a pair of sturdy cargo pants, climbing boots, and a holster, complete with a kit of small tools attached. "See, you'd have all these tools, like this knife and such. So no matter what happens, you'd be prepared. What do you think?"

"It looks awesome, Victoria. You're the best!" I said excitedly.

"Really? You like it?"

"I'll put it on right now. I'll be right back." I went into the en-suite bathroom and quickly slipped into my new outfit. It fit perfectly, almost as if I had bought it for myself.

"So? How's it feel?" Victoria asked through the door.

I looked in the mirror. "As a matter of fact, it feels amazing." I opened the door and showed her how it looked.

"It looks it, too." She met my gaze. "So ... are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

Soon, the entire group was walking along the shoreline, leaving a wide trail of footprints in the sand. I looked over my shoulder in time to see the tower of The Ethereal vanish behind the trees.

"Sticking to the beach makes the walk to the marina a little longer, but it's safer than cutting through the rainforest," Garrett said up front to no one in particular.

I noticed Rosalie looking me up and down. "Rosalie?"

"Just digging the new look. That's a pretty nice knife you got there."

"Oh, thanks!"

Rosalie flashed her knife with a practiced flick. It glinted in the sun. "Mine's bigger."

Edward surveyed the horizon. Iris floated beside him. "Got a weather report for us, Princess Leia?"

There was no answer, and Benjamin stepped in. "I think he's talking to you, Iris."

"My designation is not Princess Leia."

Edward gaped, almost as if he had been offended. "It's 'cause you're a hologram, and she was a hologram in that one scene and ... Dammit, if you don't remember any references, nicknames with you are gonna be friggin' impossible," he muttered disappointedly.

Iris's holographic mouth turned up into a smile. "Alias accepted. Princess Leia, now accessing weather scanners. High of 91 degrees. Precipitation 0 percent. Humidity 70 percent. Barometer 30.1 inches mercury. Visibility 6.2 miles."

Edward grinned. "Perfect weather for the trip."

"Where exactly are we sailing once we get a boat?" I asked him, and he pointed in the intended direction.

"Northeast. Santo Domingo's about 250 miles from here. Those big yachts in the marina picture definitely have the range to get us there."

"Hey, Edward, so you were in the military, right? What exactly is gonna happen to us when we get there? I mean, if this time travel crap is real, are we about to get quarantined?" Benjamin asked, half-joking, half-serious and very worried.

"Or thrown in the loony bin?" Rosalie interjected.

Peter inhaled sharply as he thought of something. "What if we go back to, like, World War II times, and we have to kill Hitler? I always wanted to kill Hitler!"

Edward snorted. "Relax. Most likely, it'll just be the local coast guard. They'll either let us go ... or they'll throw us in jail for the rest of our lives," he said calmly.

Benjamin's eyes widened and he looked at me with building panic. "He's just kidding, right, Bella? Tell me he's kidding."

I shrugged. I could often tell when Edward was joking or not, but this time, I really didn't know.

"What does that mean?"

"It means I don't know. It could very well be true. I don't think there's any use in convincing ourselves that everything will be fine and go back to normal when we get away from here," I said honestly, and Edward nodded at me in approval.

"Exactly. I'm not kidding when I tell you that every military on the planet is gonna wanna know what we've seen. What we found. Just because we're getting our asses outta here, it doesn't mean the danger'll be over."

I turned my head when I overheard Alistair mutter to himself. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"What do you mean?" Tanya asked before I could.

"I never should have come here! Why did I do this to myself?! Why did I think my life would somehow be better after coming here? What did I expect? I should have simply accepted things as they were."

Peter looked at him sympathetically. "Easier said than done, bro."

"Maybe. But it's worth the effort to find peace with yourself," Victoria said, always able to say something positive. I envied her for it.

Tanya nodded to herself. "I guess I kinda felt the same way. I wanted something else for myself, but I should've known to not rock the boat."

Rosalie hummed in agreement. "Better to just know your limits. Taking risks just gets you on an FBI watch list."

"I just want to get back home and have everything exactly the way it was," Kate sighed and looked down as her feet continued to trudge through the sand.

Garrett looked at us incredulously. "Come on, guys, look where we are! Look what we've faced! You're telling me you haven't felt like you've grown in the last four days?"

Edward rolled his eyes. "Grown? I've grown sick of the pep talks, Cap."

I thought for a moment and then tried to sound as positive as Victoria. "I guess if you don't try, how do you ever find out what you're capable of?" It wasn't quite convincing since I unintentionally ended it as a question.

"Famous last words."

"That's completely preposterous."

Garrett silenced Rosalie and Alistair and smiled at me. "I think Bella's right. Life's a test. You have to keep pushing yourself. I don't know what you were looking for out here, Alistair. But it doesn't matter if you've found it. It matters that you tried."

"No, what matters is that you succeed or die trying," Leah said, and everyone looked at her a bit uneasily. I was very glad when Edward diffused the tension with a comic remark.

"Now there's a pep talk."

Garrett sighed. "Look, Coach always told me, whether it's an engineering class or a 260-pound linebacker, you've gotta look each and every challenge square in the eye and face it head-on," he continued, and Edward rolled his eyes.

"Was your coach around three feet tall and a motivational poster?" he asked, which caused Garrett to give him an unamused smile.

"Hilarious, coming from a guy who takes his advice from Jose Cuervo," he retorted, and Edward laughed loudly.

"Speaking of Jose, if any of you kids find yourself in Costa Rica, look me up." His eyes lingered longer on me. "First round's on ... me..."

As we came around the bend in the shoreline, Edward's face fell and he trailed off.

"Wh ... wha...?" I stammered, unable to get anything out.

Smoke coiled slowly in the air like black snakes. The crystal blue water of the marina lapped against the charred wood and metal of the ships' shattered hulls.

"Uh, Alice? This ... doesn't really look like the photo," Emmett said sadly.

The inlet was lined with debris-strewn docks. Millions of dollars' worth of exquisite boats lay in ruin. Garrett stepped forward, his face slack. He fell to his knees. "How? ...Why?"

Edward frowned angrily. "First my plane. Now, this?"

"Someone is trying awfully hard to keep us here," Leah said and looked around suspiciously. The boats were still burning, an indication that their destruction was recent.

Alistair threw his hands up in the air. "See?! This is what I'm talking about! This is what we get for trying!"

Kate shoved him hard, causing him to stumble. "Will you shut up, Alistair? You're scaring Tanya."

"Oh, hmph ... I..."

I looked at Garrett, slumped on his knees, gazing out at the devastation, and I knew what I had to do. "Get the hell up, Garrett!" I yelled at him harshly.

"Bella—"

"I'm not accepting defeat. Are you?"

"Maybe you should," Edward told me, but I ignored him. So far, he'd influenced me a lot in how I thought about all of this, but seeing the boats in their state had woken me up. Someone was trying to keep us here on the island, and I knew they'd get what they wanted if we just gave up.

"No. Because that's not the kinda person I am. Is that the kinda person you are, Garrett Gayle?"

"No," Garrett answered me, and I saw how his determination slowly came back. He got up to his feet.

"Um, great talk and all, but what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Kate asked seriously.

Garrett looked toward the horizon. "I don't know. But I know what we won't do. And that's to give up. There are answers here. We've just gotta find 'em. Something will tell us what we're up against."

Peter clapped Garrett hard on his back in solidarity. "You heard the man! Let's split up."

Everyone nodded and began searching the marina. Furball nuzzled against my leg. "Where should we go first, little guy?"

I looked around and then caught up with Peter. "Hey, Peter. Any luck so far?"

"Actually, yeah. Check it." He gestured to a pristine jet ski tethered to the dock.

I smiled wide. "Still in good shape. Nice."

"Yeah ... but it's almost out of gas. Nowhere near enough to get to the coast." He looked around at the smoke rising from the destroyed ships. "Guess we're still stuck here." He didn't appear very sad about that fact.

"You still don't want to leave, do you? Even with all the monsters and the time travel, you want to stay."

He shrugged non-committingly. "Yeah. Guess I do. Maybe I like it here."

I nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. "I have nothing to go home to either," I confessed, and he froze.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Nothing I'd really miss, anyway. I haven't talked to my parents since I started college, and the only friend I had before all of this is right here with me. And this place? It's like a fresh start. Maybe it's dangerous, maybe it's weird, but here I feel important somehow, ya know?" I told him honestly. I'd barely been able to admit it to myself, but it was a reason as to why I didn't push our getaway like Garrett did. I also knew that the chances of continuing to explore whatever it was that Edward and I had between us were very slim once we left El Jardín.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, actually. I do."

I nudged him lightly with my elbow, knowing that he wouldn't accept a hug from me. We just weren't that good of friends yet. "Just remember, you're not alone, okay?"

Peter nodded casually, trying to look nonchalant. "Y-yeah ... I know. Thanks, dude."

I spotted Alice on the deck of a large yacht. The bow was almost intact but the ship had been snapped in half, with the stern portion mostly submerged. I crossed the gangway to join her. "Found anything?" I asked her.

"Not yet, it's just ... weird."

"What is?"

"I feel like I recognize this yacht."

She headed to the middle of the ship, ending in a twisted splintered steel. A cracked staircase lead down to the partly submerged deck below.

"Are you going down there? It's flooded," I said and reached to stop her.

"I have to check something."

"Then I'm coming with you. You shouldn't go down there alone, in case something happens."

"Really? Well, let's go then!"

We headed down the stairs into the dark compartment. The water rose quickly around us as we waded further in.

"This must've been the storage compartment," Alice mumbled.

I ducked under a hanging cargo net and found several cracked wooden boxes, having tumbled from their shelves. "Let's be careful, okay? I've got a bad feeling this ship is gonna go completely under any minute now. What are you looking for, anyway?"

"Proof. Help me with this?"

Together, we lifted a wooden crate out of the water. Alice wiped the brine off the label.

"There it is. This vessel's name," she said.

"Daedalus?"

Alice's face fell. "I was right. I did recognize this ship. We're on Mr. Cullen's yacht."

"What does that mean? Why would he leave it here?" I looked over and saw tears welling in Alice's eyes. "Alice, I'm sure he's okay somewhere."

"Thank you, Bella. But I'm not so sure about that."

A sudden crack shook the floor beneath our feet. Alice screamed and I lost my footing.

"The boat! It's going under the—" The water raced above my head and cut off my words. The stern of the ship completely broke off from the bow and slipped below the water's surface.

I spun around to swim for the exit but my path was blocked by the thick ropes of the cargo net. I looked down and saw the knife strapped to my shoulder. I unsheathed the knife and quickly sawed through the ropes of the cargo net. I grabbed Alice's hand and pulled her with me, swimming out of the boat and toward the surface.

We breached the surface, gasping for air, and pulled ourselves back onto the docks, just as the others ran up.

Edward threw himself onto his knees in front of me and cupped my face while looking at me with wide, frightened eyes. "Holy hell, you guys okay?"

"How'd you even make it out of there?" Garrett asked breathlessly.

"It was all Bella's quick thinking. I'd be dead right now if it weren't for you," Alice gasped out and placed a hand on my shoulder gratefully.

"I'm just glad you're alright. Way to keep your wits about you, Bella," Garrett praised and I smiled at him.

"Gotta admit, I'm impressed. I thought you were a goner for sure," Edward said, once again regaining his joking persona.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said dryly but didn't protest when he laced our fingers together and pulled me with him.

I followed as he leaped from the pier to a splintered sailboat. He deftly maintained balance on the slick deck.

"Careful there, Top Gun!" I cautioned him, but all he did was laugh.

"Never been careful in my life." He rummaged through a storage compartment. "Ha, come to Papa." He tossed something small and orange to me, and I caught it instinctively.

"A flare gun? Nice find!" I lowered it, letting it hang by my side. "No point firing it now, when we don't know if anyone's around to see it."

"Well, there you go using your good sense. Yeah, you're right. We oughta wait until we see a plane or a ship in the distance."

I gave the flare gun back to Edward when he was back on the dock and looked over my shoulder. I noticed Benjamin kneeling on the dock, fiddling with a hefty, waterproof case covered in seaweed.

"I'm gonna see what Benji found," I told Edward, but he looked reluctant about me leaving his side.

"Okay, but don't venture on any more broken yachts, alright?"

"I promise," I said, and turned away from him. I reached Benjamin and looked at the case curiously. "Found something?"

"Maybe? It was floating over there in the water. Can't get it open. The latch is stuck. Every fiber of my being is telling me to not open the creepy box. That's, like, Movies 101."

"Well, someone's gotta open it. Why don't we do it together?"

Benjamin and I teamed up to pull on the box's lid. The lid popped open, revealing the box's contents.

"Whoa!"

Inside were more dossiers like the ones at the Observatory. The one at the top was on Kate, and I took it up to read.

Target Analysis

Clearance: Epsilon

Surname: Stone

First: Katarina

Middle: Isla

D.O.B.: 1995 Dec 31

Birthplace: Bellevue, WA

Background: Raised by a single mother. Taught to work hard for what she wants, and she wants it all. Top of her class. Will have her pick of med schools. Stud QB Boyfriend is just the cherry on top.

Psychological Profile: As motivated and hardworking as they come. Hard to tell if she enjoys her status or if it's all a means to an end.

Threat Assessment: 5

Like the previous files I found, there was a stamp, and this one was in the shape of what looked like a Peacock.

I placed the folder next to me on the dock and took up the next one; this one on Victoria.

Target Analysis

Clearance: Epsilon

Surname: Johnson

First: Victoria

Middle: Kelly

D.O.B.: 1996 Jul 20

Birthplace: Boulder, CO

Background: Spent her whole childhood in a hospital battling Rotterdam's syndrome (rare auto-immune disease) Costs bankrupted her parents, leading to their divorce.

Psychological Profile: Constant near-death experiences give her unabashed craving of experiences marked by socialization and intimacy issues.

Threat Assessment: 0

Strong-willed survivor, but not a threat.

I had no idea that Victoria had been a sick child, but her unwavering positivity and thirst for life suddenly made so much sense. Her stamp was a clear drawing of a dolphin, impossible to mistake for something else. Her threat assessment of zero interested me because I believed Victoria was fiercer than she wanted to let on.

The last one was of Peter.

Target Analysis

Clearance: Epsilon

Surname: Chen

First: Peter

Middle: Hyun

D.O.B.: 1995 Nov 17

Birthplace: Saginaw, MI

Background: Shy nerd turned the big man on campus. Unlikely to be drafted into the pros. His star is fading fast, so he hangs on to the glory days. A grueling life has left him tough enough for any encounter.

Psychological Profile: Not very bright, but intense loyalty. (Particularly to his QB Garrett Gayle) Prevents him from being manipulated.

Threat Assessment: 3

After having heard the story between him and Rosalie, not a whole lot in his folder surprised me. The stamp next to his picture was of a paw that I think was a bear, but a lot of large animals had similar paw prints.

I looked up from the folder and shared a look with Benjamin. I immediately noticed that he wasn't as shocked at seeing the dossiers as I had expected.

"Have you seen any reports like this before?"

He hesitated but eventually nodded. "Yes. When we were searching Cullen's office."

"I have too," I admitted.

"You have?"

"Yes ... at the Observatory. I found three of them, but I didn't tell the others."

Benjamin nodded understandingly. "Me neither. I found four."

"And now we have three more. That makes ten. And we're thirteen, so there are probably three more somewhere."

"This is totally insane," Benjamin said underneath his breath in complete awe. "What's the point of all this? And what do those weird stamped symbols mean? They all look like animals."

"I'm not sure. But it all has to add up to something. Did you keep the four you found?"

"Yes. I hid them in my room."

"Can I see them later?"

"Of course."

A shout from across the marina grabbed our attention.

"Everybody! Come here, quick!"

The group hustled over to the pier Tanya was on. She was standing by something tied to the dock, beneath a large tarp.

"What've you got for us?" Garrett asked.

Tanya yanked away the tarp, and I gasped in delight. "A speedboat!"

"A high-performance runabout. Visual analysis indicates a Neptune-class model 2850."

"It's completely intact," Tanya said excitedly. "Almost looks brand new. Not sure why this one's okay when everything else here is destroyed, but—"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Short Stuff," Edward said, and Benjamin frowned in response.

"Pretty sure the Trojans would feel differently about that."

"Keys?"

Tanya shook her head no, and Garrett gave a hopeful look to Rosalie.

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms defiantly. "Are you telling me to hotwire it?"

"Nooo. I'm not telling you anything. You do exactly as you please."

"You're goddamn right." Rosalie flicked out her knife, and a few moments later, the speedboat's engine revved to life.

"Hell yeah. Alright, what's the range, Blue Girl Group? Can it reach the Dominican Republic?"

"That's you again, Iris," Benjamin said to translate another one of Edward's nicknames.

"I see. On a full tank of gas, yes."

Edward checked the tank and grimaced. "Well, it's got gas, but not completely full. So it might make it ... but it might also stall out in the middle of the Caribbean and we die."

"Who's 'we' in this situation? Because to fit everyone, uh, to quote Jaws, we're gonna need a bigger boat," Benjamin said with wide eyes.

I nodded in agreement. "You're right, it's way too small. A couple of us should go and bring back help. The question is, who? I'm not gonna lie, it's a gamble that it would even reach safe haven."

Everyone stood around in an awkward silence until Garrett pulled off his shirt and hopped into the boat. "I'll do it. I'll be back with rescue before you know it."

"Easy, Magellan. You'd get lost within a mile!" Edward stripped off his shirt, too, and jumped in after Garrett.

"Be my guest, man. Anybody else? We have room for a third." Garrett's eyes fell on me.

"What do you say, Princess? Fancy a spin in a speedboat with me and Steve Rogers here?"

I thought about it for a second and then nodded. "Yeah, I'll tag along."

Edward and Garrett both offered me a hand and I took them both. They helped me jump over and into the boat.

Rosalie made a mock salute. "Well, it was nice knowin' ya."

"Rosalie!" Alice exclaimed.

Benjamin smiled uneasily. "Hey, just ... don't forget about us, okay?"

"I'll be back soon. Promise," I reassured him. If we reached the Dominican Republic, there was no way I would leave my friends to fend for themselves.

Garrett took the throttle and guided the speedboat out of the inlet and into the open sea. Behind us, the island began to recede, and our friends shrank to pinpricks.

"I hope they'll be okay until we can bring help," I mused.

"They'll be fine." Edward stretched out on a seat and laid down in the sunshine. "Now this is the life. We've got about three hours of nothing but flat ocean ahead. If you want some sunscreen, I've got it in my bag."

I dug the sunscreen out of Edward's bag and stripped down to my bikini. It was hard to not notice how Edward unabashedly ogled me, and I smirked.

"You need a hand with that?" he asked.

"If you've got one to spare,"I replied, and he grinned.

"Matter of fact, I've got two."

I laid down on my stomach on the long cushioned bench and Edward started spreading out the sunscreen. His touch was rough, firm, forceful, and the best massage I'd ever had.

"Mmmhm..." I moaned softly.

"You okay down there?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Oh, hell yes."

I let my eyes close and smiled to myself, enjoying every moment of Edward's stress-relieving touch.

"Alright, done," he said, and I wanted to protest.

"So soon?"

"Maybe we can pick that up later..." he leaned closer to my ear, "when we have a little privacy."

He winked at me as I got dressed. I laid back down on the seat and closed my eyes, feeling warm and comfortable and perfect in the sunshine.

Suddenly I felt a chill. The sun glided behind a dark cloud. The sky instantly grew a dark gray, and it started to rain as the waves underneath became higher and stronger.

"What's happening?" I asked, alarmed.

"Storm rolling in fast. Surf's kicking up quick."

The speedboat bounced across foaming white waves, and the wind whipped past us.

"See that?" Garrett pointed ahead.

In the clouds overhead there were sparkles of orange blossom.

"That orange lightning, it looks just like when we were in my plane!"

"Guys! Look out!" I exclaimed.

Dead ahead, a massive crater opened up in the ocean. Deep, dark water swirled at high speed.

"Whirlpool!"

"There's something coming out of it!" I screamed, thoroughly freaking out at this point.

"Sweet mother of god..."

A sea monster rose several stories out of the water, towering over the speedboat. Its rows of gleaming teeth seemed to grin at us.


A/N: Whew! Not a whole lot of answers there, only more questions … hehe, sorry about that :-P

By the way, I love Kate's comment about Tanya writing fan fiction, don't you? ;-)

But seriously, what happened to the boats? Even more dossiers? And Benjamin has more of them? And a sea monster? Really? Yeeeah :-D

Review, and you will get a teaser of chapter 12!

Until then,

Stay Awesome!