After almost two hours, Lisa heard a rustling in the bushes, and three of the search party members emerged from the woods. She was sure there had been six of them when they left, and ran over to find out what had happened. They all looked at each other nervously for a minute, then finally the man in the cowboy hat who Jackson had earlier mocked spoke up.
"We were going along the path the boys had gone, and we thought it had been an awful long time, so we stopped to rest, and we heard this sound- like huge footsteps. So we did what any self-respecting search party would do. We ran like hell. And we, er, lost a few people on the way." Lisa stared in disbelief.
"You mean you just abandoned them? In the middle of the woods? With what you believed to be a dangerous creature? What if something happens to them- what if they get killed?" None of them responded, and she stormed down the beach to find Jackson. They won't listen to me, but they might listen to him. In fact, for him, they might go out and rescue those people themselves. She found him lying on the sand with his feet in the water, looking like a vacationer on any normal beach. He opened his eyes as her frame blocked his light. "Oh, mighty leader, your camp needs you." He smirked at her and stood, dusting sand off the khaki shorts he'd found in somebody's luggage.
"What can I do for you, sweetheart?" He rested his hands on her hips, knowing that she wouldn't pull away if she needed something from him. She flinched, but didn't run away or hit him.
"Jackson, the search party heard something in the woods. They panicked and ran back, and they left three people out there. Plus, the boys are still missing. You need to send them back out. They'll listen to you." She tried to give him her best pleading look.
"Babe, I'd love to help, but I need to do what's best for everybody." She started to back away from him in horror. "I mean, the fewer people we have drinking the clean water and eating the food, the longer we'll last. So in a way, this is a blessing in disguise. Go tell everyone that a memorial service will be held here at sunset, and that the vacant huts are to be used as public gathering areas. The extra pillows and blankets will go to the rest of us. And by the way, Leese, you should spend more time inside- you're starting to burn." He lightly touched her reddened cheeks, and she tore herself away from him and ran to one of the empty huts, trying not to weep.
How could he do this? They all trust him to keep them safe, and at this point, they're past realizing that he's not going to do that. He'll just keep letting things like this happen until he decides we've hit the right number of people, and I have a sinking feeling that in his mind, that number is two- me and him. And they'll be no one to stop him from doing whatever he wants. And I'll be stuck here, with him, for the rest of my life. This thought was just too much to bear, and she broke down crying on the makeshift bed.
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Jackson was heading back to the camp to organize the redistribution of bedding when he heard a sob from one of the now-unassigned huts. He ventured in slowly, hoping it wasn't the little girl he'd seen around the camp. He didn't care much for children, and had no desire to have to comfort one right now. Instead, he found Lisa sprawled over the pile of pillows, crying. She didn't seem to have noticed him coming in, and he knelt down beside her before gently stroking her back. She jumped at the touch, and upon seeing who it was, let out a shriek.
"Get away from me! Haven't you done enough? Why can't you just leave me alone?" He saw the fear in her reddened eyes, and resisted the urge to slap her for yelling at him. He gripped her arm lightly, not wanting to scare or hurt her, but wanting to make sure she didn't get away.
"Lisa, you have to understand. I'm doing what's best for everybody here, and you need to accept that. Look around, Leese, nobody seems to think life here is that bad except for you. Even the people who were in the woods today seem to be okay- they're helping move stuff without complaint." She tried to pull her arm back, and he tightened his grip slightly to prevent her from moving.
"They probably have post-traumatic stress disorder, Jackson. They're in shock, and they need psychiatric help. Just because they're not running in circles and screaming doesn't mean that they're okay." He just gazed at her silently for a moment, brushed a tear off her cheek, then let her arm go and slowly stood up.
"Memorial service is at sundown. Get yourself cleaned up and be there. I found something for you to wear- it's in our hut." He left the room, and Lisa tried to process exactly what had just happened. She suddenly felt horribly numb to everything that was going on, and found herself leaving and heading back to the lodging she shared with Jackson, where she located the clothing he'd referred to. It was a pale blue cocktail dress, ruffled at the neck and hem, made of a gauzy fabric. She just stared at it for a moment. He wants me to wear this? To a funeral? Does he have absolutely no respect? She made up her mind then and there that she was not going. There was no point in going out to the beach wearing a dead woman's party dress to hear Jackson blather on about the greater good. She would just stay here and try to fall asleep before he got back.
Lisa had been asleep for a few hours when Jackson came in, grabbing her shoulder and roughly shaking her awake. She tried to ignore him, but became afraid that he would give her a concussion if she didn't respond soon.
"What do you want? I'm trying to sleep." He finally stopped with the shaking as she sat up and leaned against the wall.
"Where were you? Why didn't you come to the service? Everybody was there except you, and quite frankly, it made you seem petty." He sounded angry, and she debated what the best response was to avoid pain.
"I couldn't go. Not in that." She gestured at the neatly folded outfit on the other side of the room. "It wouldn't be right."
"Leese, you should have come. Nobody there would have cared what you were wearing, and you, who are always oh-so-critical of my leadership style, should've heard the speech I made. These people need guidance and leadership, which I can provide for them. Why are you the only one who doesn't seem to get that?" She turned away from him and tried to get back to sleep, but he got hold of her chin and forced her to face him. "It's ironic, really, that they just bend to my every whim, while you defy everything I do or say." He was practically hissing at her at this point.
"How do you find that ironic? The one you go out of your way to torture hates you? I'd say that's exactly what one would expect to happen."
"No, Leese, that the one who I go out of my way to treat nicely claims to hate me, and does everything in her power to torment me. Even in this room, you have more pillows than anyone else, nicer clothes than anyone else, hell, you're even farthest from the latrine. Show me the torture. Tell me, what exactly is so awful?" She tried to twist away from him, and was horrified when he pulled her back, just staring into her eyes. She felt tears starting to run down her cheeks, and sighed in relief when he let her go, letting her roll to face away from him. As she tried to force herself to sleep, she thought of any possible way to get off this island.