Chapter 2 - Time Will Tell.

Charlie watched as Hugo's boat disappeared into the distance. The water was freezing and her legs already felt like seizing up just by treading water.
Charlie turned around in the water to face her task. The Island called to her, she didn't know how long it was going to take her to swim, but she hoped that her strength and determination to survive would mean she would make it. She had to, for Ruby. Charlie drew in a deep breath and started to swim.

Three hours Later

Yabbee Creek Police Station.

Angelo had arrived back at the station from leaving Martha at the hospital. It had been a long night. Derrick had kidnapped Martha, and Angelo had finally been able to rescue her, whilst getting shot at, resulting in a bad graze to his head. One of Angelo's undercover counterparts had released Derrick the night before in the hope that he would lead the police to the person behind the people smuggling, but instead of that, he had kidnapped Martha, and Angelo's main suspect, Hugo, was still on the loose.

"Has anyone seen Charlie lately?" Angelo asked, realising he had not spoken to his girlfriend all night. She had no idea what he had been through.

"No, we were wondering the same thing" Watson replied.

"What do you mean?" Angelo frowned.

"She went over to the Wharf last night to follow up some leads in the smuggling case. We haven't heard from her since then - we assumed she went home and would report back in the morning, since she wasn't officially on duty"

"And no-one has heard from her at all? Did you not think to try ringing her?"

"We left a message on her mobile. Like I said, she wasn't on duty, so she didn't have to report back"

"This is Constable Buckton we are talking about here, she wouldn't do that" Angelo dialled Charlie's mobile number, but frowned again as the voicemail kicked in. He then tried Charlie's house.

"Hey Leah, it's Angelo. Is Charlie there?"

"No, I thought she was at the station, I haven't seen her since she left the christmas party last night"

"Ok Thanks Leah. Can you get her to ring me if she turns up?"

"Sure. Bye"

Angelo hung up the phone, worry etched on his face. Something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He was interrupted by one of the other officers.

"Constable Rosetta, there is an anonymous male on the phone asking to speak to you"

"Ok, put him through" Angelo replied, frowning as he picked up the handset.

"Angelo, how lovely to speak to you, although I suppose you are the appropriate person to deal with a little problem I have"

"Hugo. I wondered where you had got to. I need you to come down to the station. I have a couple of questions I would like answered"

"That might be difficult seeing as I am no longer in the Bay. I thought you might like to know that I bumped into Charlie last night, at the Wharf"

"Hugo, where is she? Have you done something to her?"

"Lets see. She unfortunately uncovered my little secret down at the Wharf last night. By the way you better get some medical help down there. Charlie suffered a small head injury, and then I took her for a little ride on my boat. As you can probably guess, Charlie wasn't very happy when she came to, and started making demands. I couldn't listen to her anymore, so as of now, she's swimming. Lets hope she's a tough swimmer, the water's a bit choppy today"

"You tell me where the hell you have left her or I swear you will live to regret it"

"If I were you, if you want to see Charlie safe and well, I would stop the threats Angelo"

Angelo tried to calm his anger and listened as Hugo explained exactly where he had left Charlie. Once off the phone, Angelo phoned the police helicopter to sweep the area, to try and locate Charlie. Once the rescue plan was initiated, all Angelo could do was wait. He had never been very patient, but this was going to be one of the longest waits of his life. Charlie's situation sounded critical, if help didn't reach her soon, it could be too late.

Four Hours Later.

After what seemed like eternity, Charlie reached the shore of the Island. She staggered out of the water and collapsed onto the warm sand. Breathing heavily, Charlie was aware that she was not out of danger. Perhaps the hardest part of survival was now to begin. All she could hope was that Hugo had now alerted her colleagues to her dilemma, and that they were now looking for her. As the exhaustion waved over her, and the thumping in her head got heavier, Charlie closed her eyes and drifted away. After a while, she wasn't sure whether the darkness coming over her was a bad dream, or whether she was following the path to death. Only time would tell.