Several hours later, they reached an area with heavy green vines. Blackburn took a knife and made a notch in a vine which leaked milky liquid. Then the milkiness ran to clear and her teacher slurped up the liquid. Once his thirst had been quenched he passed it to Anna. "Here. It's drinkable. You'll need it." Anna did. She was feeling very dehydrated although it was nearing darkness and the hottest part of the day had drawn to a close. She was a bit off put by drinking from the same bit as him, sharing his saliva but he looked at her impatiently and she decided she didn't care, gulping down the wonderful nourishing water.
She wiped her mouth, whilst Blackburn filled a small animal skin bag with the clear, water-like sap from the vine. He motioned for her to fill the one in her survival pack and they continued. "Sir? How long do you think we'll be stuck here?" Anna asked, her brain still trying to comprehend the enormous fact that they were utterly stranded. Castaways. Blackburn gave her a cursory glance and answered, "I don't know Anna. Someone wanted me out of the way, they think we are dead. No longer a threat. There are people in this world who will do whatever they can to achieve their aims, even if it means disposing of inconvenient people."
"Like you did with Heather?" It slipped out. Automatically without her meaning it to. Anna froze. It must be true what they say, if you think about something too much you start to say it, to betray your thoughts with your words. Blackburn stopped and turned, his penetrating eyes on her. She couldn't move. She needed to run. To get away. Now. But Blackburn pinned her down with his glare, his gaze holding her still. "What?" his low voice stated the one word. He didn't need to say more, it was enough. She was in serious trouble. She had just become extremely inconvenient to him. "I – I didn't mean – I was just saying that – I um, I" Anna stammered, shock and adrenaline coursing through her system at the horror of the situation. She was now stuck on a desert island, with a man who wanted to kill her and was more than capable of doing it. "Tell me. There is no point in lying", Blackburn threatened softly. Anna tried anyway. "I, I meant that um, well Heather she was going to go work for the NSA which was um, convenient for ah, the Spire as she was such an embarrassment." It was a poor excuse. Blackburn just stared at her and then said "I don't believe you."
It was like a death sentence. Anna tried to run but he caught her almost immediately, a burly arm tight around her waist as he hoisted her around and flung her away from him. He forced her against a palm tree, his huge hands gripping her shoulders and then her wrists as she tried to pull away, his body pressed up against her's, keeping her in place as she struggled. "What did you mean? Tell me Faeilr!" Anna had ice in her veins, she could feel every point of contact with this man, her instructor, deadly and dangerous. "I was in the room that night. I saw you, talking to Heather, I saw her threaten you and then ignore you and I saw you kill her. You murdered her! You murdered her! But I won't tell anyone, I mean it. Please, I won't, please! Please don't kill me! Please don't hurt me!"
Blackburn grimaced and stared down at her, pondering. Anna realised what an awful situation she was in. He knew that she knew about Heather. He knew that they were now seen as dead but if they ever got off this island she was a serious threat to him. She noticed again how her body rubbed against his as she struggled in his grip, frantically trying anything to get away. She managed to bite him which drew a cry of frustration from him and broke his thoughts. She stilled, afraid he would hit her, but he simply renewed his grip, keeping his hands away from her mouth. His face drew into a scowl and he continued to think through his options, although he was now in an even worse mood. His hands had her wrists pinned down by her sides. His breath was in her face and she grimaced, unable to get away, as much as she tried to move her head. He knew. He didn't care.
As Anna awaited her fate her thoughts turned. He had killed Heather which meant he was surely capable of things that were not as bad but still bad, and even worse things than killing. He may be her instructor, her teacher, but he was also a man, on an island, potentially for a long time alone and she was a woman, young and in no position to defend herself against this huge predator. No one knew where they were, no one could stop him or even prosecute him considering they were rescued. He surely would not let her live to board a ship and even if he did, he would make sure she would never tell her secrets. He didn't just have to kill her, he could use her. In any way.
Blackburn's stare finally ended as he relaxed his grip and stepped back. Anna tried to bolt, sure he would kill her when she felt him grip her waist again and push her chest against the tree, his hand on the small of her back. She couldn't crane her head to see but heard a ripping sound as he tore bandages from the survival kit and used them to tie her hands behind her back. He was no amateur, he knew what he was doing. "Come on. Don't run. You won't last a day. You need me, I don't need you. You know what I can do. I strongly suggest you do as I say." Anna looked at him, horror on her face at the thought of being made to navigate this jungle in front of him, with her hands tied. She wouldn't be able to stop herself falling, nothing. "What do you want from me? What are you going to do to me?" she asked. Blackburn simply told her to keep moving and to call him 'sir'.
Call him 'sir'. It was laughable. Authority meant nothing now. They were no longer at the Spire where such formalities were required. This was what Anna focussed on as she made her way, haphazardly through the jungle with her captor right behind. The sky was getting dark and the heat of the day rapidly cooling. Blackburn told her to stop at a small natural clearing. He separated her hands and tied them, still behind her, round a tree. Anna wondered why he bothered. If she left him she would die. And she could no more get off this island as learn to fly. She watched as he expertly constructed a shelter, made using the palm trees available and the long, waterproof leaves. He also fed her some water from the sack. Anna wanted nothing from him but was desperately thirsty and eagerly sipped from the bottle at her lips. He disappeared into the forage for a long time and eventually returned with a dead bird. It was large but she didn't know what it was. Anna was exhausted, sagging against the tree and managed to manoeuvre herself into a sitting position, her arms aching. She found herself dozing.
When she awoke she found it was truly dark. Stars twinkled briefly through gaps in the thick canopy and the island was alive with chatter of animals. The air was humid but rapidly cooling. Blackburn had lit a fire and roasted the bird. He held onto her wrist whilst she ate with her other hand, the hot meat delicious. Then her instructor took a small pot from his survival pack and poured the melted fat from the animal in. Next her gathered some ash from the fire and poured water from the water skin through it, filtering it. He did this into another small bowl, repeating the process until the water took on the black colour of the ash. Next her mixed it with the fat and allowed the mixture to boil and then cool. Anna recognised the technique with surprise. The ash/water mix was potash. He was making soap!
Going to the toilet was the worst bit. Blackburn had dug a narrow but deep trench some way from the camp. He marked trees with a pen from the kit. Anna stared at it, her hands tied behind her. "No way" she asserted, positive this was some sort of joke. But Blackburn just jerked her forward and gently pushed her to the ground. She did not know what was happening but shrieked, kicking out when his hands reached for the waistband of her jeans, undoing them. "Relax Faeilr" he groaned. "I'm just making it easier so you don't mess up those clothes on the john". Her hands still tied behind her, she let him gently slide her out of her shoes and jeans, whimpering slightly when he removed her knickers. But he wasn't looking at that, he was staring at her eyes, as if determined to show her that he didn't care, this was just a necessity. The next part was horrible. Crouching in the open whilst Blackburn stood near. After her pleas he had reluctantly untied her hands and turned around but he was still close enough to have his hand on her head, to warn him if she decided to run or attack him. "Get on with it girl" he growled. "I really really don't care, we're all human, I'm former military remember!"
Back at the shelter, Blackburn tied his wrist to hers in a complicated knot she was sure she could never undo without him realising. The shelter was small and they had to lie close together. She saw now why the leaves covering the roof of this contraption was so important. The clouds had rolled and thunder struck, and it rained. It didn't just rain. It poured. It was rain like she'd never experienced before, heavy, dense, a literal wall of water. Anna's first night began in tears, the world around her echoing her sentiments.
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