"HELP! HELP! Please! You have to help me!" Her voice, shrill and loud blared through the air like an arrow, piercing the sky. Blackburn glared at her, his movements sharp. She was racing across the sand to reach them, focussing purely on the bright light of their torches and her heart beating and eyes stopping tears at the possibility of release. The figures straightened up and stared at her in amazement, and one even jogged up to meet her. "Miss, are you alright? Please, come with me", Anna felt the first human contact other than Blackburn she had had in over a year as he pressed his hand to her wrist to steer her towards the ship. Instinctively she pulled back, eyes wide as a startled doe. The man blinked and stepped back in shock before trying to usher her forwards. As they crossed the grainy particles beneath them which slid unstable under their feet, Anna was thinking fast. Blackburn would not risk killing her in the open, not when these men were here so she was safe for now. But once on board the ship anything could happen. She could easily have an 'accident', it could even be made to seem like suicide. He could not risk her reaching Comco. She honestly wasn't sure what he would do if that happened, what he would be prepared to risk amongst the chaos of their return, and she knew he planned for her she would be dead before they were in a position to find out. Her and Blackburn were wrapped in thick, musty blankets and sat side by side on the small boat, knees knocking together. The motor was loud, allowing little room for talk as they raced towards the larger ship. It left small flurries of white foam and huge drifting waves, cascading behind them. The spray and wind whipped their hair around, pushing it back from their faces. Anna could feel Blackburn's knee resting next to her's, tense. His hand was clenched in a fist. Suddenly she was unsure about her earlier assumption that he would not try anything on the small boat. Supposed she 'slipped'? The man opposite them was looking pretty attentively however so she hoped the madness in Blackburn's eyes was not enough to make him risk it.
As the motor slowed and the boat, neared the wind seemed to grow wilder. They were led on board to a scene of controlled chaos, shouts from all directions, and ushered into a small white cabin to greet a large, tanned and heavily tattooed man with a fine brown beard and rough hands. "You must be the ones that signalled for help." His voice was sturdy but kind as he surveyed them and they him. "Yes. We appreciate you helping us out, we have been on that island a long time", Blackburn sounded utterly civil. Anna had come to realise that he could put on a different persona at will, only showing himself truly when he was alone, or with her, as she didn't count.
"Aye it seems it! How long?" the man, who had introduced himself as Captain Yarrow asked. Blackburn gave a brief, undetailed account of what had happened, largely truthful with many details (such as his treatment of her) left out. Anna noticed he barely mentioned her, focussing the listener on what he had done, only acknowledging her with the use of 'we'. She wondered if this was done on purpose to draw attention away from her, make her easier to forget, less noticeable.
The Captain it turned out, was sailing a merchant ship although a couple of the men on board were armed to guard against pirates. They had been passing near the island when they had seen smoke and come to investigate. He was happy to sail them to the nearest port and contact Comco on their behalf but Blackburn insisted on doing that himself. Anna sat outside as he radioed in and she wondered what exactly he was saying. He returned and looked at her for the first time since arriving on the ship. The Captain stood nearby so Anna imagined whatever Blackburn said was as much for his benefit as it was for her's. "I've contacted Comco, they thought we were dead. They sent a couple of search and rescues at first but it seems we drifted a long way from Canva and were presumed lost at sea. They are sending a plane to pick us up, they'll be there tomorrow." This time it was Anna's turn to stare. He'd said 'us', did he really mean for her to come with him? Or did he simply want to wait until everyone was asleep to off her? Her mind ran through the scenarios in a second. A tragic accident, suicide, mentally unstable. A cold shudder went through her, she could not let that happen. Instead Anna looked her ex-Professor straight in the eyes and stated "I look forward to it." He narrowed his eyes at her but remained silent.
Anna was led to a small, box-like cabin below deck where a bed had been hastily made. She and Blackburn, despite their tiredness, had been given a thorough medical check up and several injections before being cleared. Anna understood that Blackburn was sleeping in the galley with the other sailors, but as a woman she was being offered the luxury of her room. Due to her elated exhaustion, Anna's inhibitions were temporarily lifted. As Blackburn and a crew member had accompanied her, explaining her privilege in being given a room, she had muttered "finally, someone who knows how to treat a lady". Blackburn, who despite the day seemed to be displaying no signs of tiredness, gripped her shoulder hard at that. He stood by the door before following the crew member upstairs and growled "goodnight 'my lady'" the sarcasm flowing like treacle.
Anna cried when she used her first proper toilet since before Stow. By the time she had crawled into a soft, heavenly bed (plain and flat with a hard, single layer mattress by previous standards) she had no more tears to shed. It was delicious. The rock of the boat, the silence that stretched out, broken by glorious waves. The softness of the material, a scratchy tarp that she would not have touched before Stow but that seemed amazingly foreign and comforting after nothing. Anna fell deeply into sleep.
She woke in the darkness, blinking at the dim light of the open door. To her horror, she recognised the large silhouette mirrored in the frame. She froze, cursing herself for being so stupid. She should have stayed awake, guarded against the inevitable confrontation with Blackburn but her rescue had dazzled her and she had been so blinded by feelings that she had forgotten to worry. Her survival instincts were in overdrive now though. "Sleep well Faeilr?" he sneered, his body blocking the only exit. "Did you sleep better the last month or so? Sleeping in trees, always looking over your shoulder?" Anna cautiously moved her legs, which had turned to jelly, to the side of the bed.
"Get away from me!" she growled, her arm reaching for a weapon she knew wasn't there. "You don't touch me!"
"Oh but you can't be trusted, you have shown me that," Blackburn muttered, eyes glinting. "You showed me that when you foolishly ran away last month, and that means you are a problem for me. I can't let anyone know what you know, I've worked too hard to have everything ruined by a little girl!" he spoke the words with such venom and something hit Anna deep in the stomach, rage filling her at the phrase 'little girl'. "You aren't the boss of me anymore James, I don't have to do what you say! I am not tied up to you, all alone on a desert island anymore. I don't have to listen to your snores and if you touch me, if you step one more foot inside this cabin, I will scream!" Anna was out of breath, her fury replaced by sheer icy terror at the look on Blackburn's face. He looked furious. He took a deliberate step closer and Anna backed up. "You will not scream. You will cooperate and you will do whatever I tell you to do without question, no matter what it is", his voice was deadly and low. "When we get back to Comco, you will do nothing to arouse suspicion, I will brief you on what to tell others and under no circumstances will you submit to the census device." His eyes glittered dangerously and Anna swallowed. "Okay, okay. Please, please don't hurt me! Please, can't you just erase them – erase my memories of her, of that night?" she stammered. Blackburn rolled his eyes.
"How stupid are you Anna? If I did that, you would be very confused as to what had happened and why you were so afraid of me this past year".
"I'm not afraid of you!" the words slipped out, bitingly sharp and Anna quailed under Blackburn's gaze as he smirked and stepped nearer, cautiously. "No, of course you aren't" he whispered sarcastically as she pressed herself against the wall. His voice turned serious. "I cannot use the census machine for this. It would raise too many questions and can be easily undone. No. You will keep quiet, you will do as I say and you will not ever tell a soul about any of this. I will be monitoring you, watching your every move. Do not think you can trick or escape me, you know me well enough by now to know that you even try and I will not hesitate to put an end to you!" his hasty words were replaced with a calm and measured tone. "Do you understand?"
Anna's instincts were screaming at her to run. She was in danger, he was lying, and even if he wasn't she would be in thrall to him for the rest of her life. But her voice stammered out, "I understand, sir."
"Good. Look sharp Faeilr." Once he had left, Anna sunk down the wall to the floor, relief and shock pouring through her. She was sweating, she hadn't realised how much presence the man had, how much of the room he took up with his aura. He wasn't about to kill her, she began shaking, the toll of a year and a half of fear coming through, her body wracked with sobs. She hadn't realised how much she had been holding in and how much she had firmly believed this day would never happen. But she was going to be able to return to Comco. She was not going to be murdered unless he felt it was necessary. For the first time in a long time, Anna allowed herself to relax slightly, her breathing deepening as she drifted to sleep.
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