Denise struggled to get free from the hulking weight perched atop her. Finding curly hair close at hand, she clutched for a handful of the unruly locks and heaved for all she was worth. Her efforts were rewarded by the sounds of Jeff screaming in pain as hanks of hair came loose in Denise’s grasp. The diversion was enough to convince Jeff to roll away from the source of his attack. Unfortunately for him, the space he rolled into was already occupied by Ted, who quickly became aware of who it was that had tried to invade his piece of the cosmos. With all the strength he could muster, Ted delivered a clench-fisted blow, connecting with Jeff’s nose, resulting in a great flow of blood, and a rewarding pain in Ted’s knuckles. Jeff blacked out from the pain, allowing Ted to renew his attack on any missed assailants.
Marsha could barely make out the shapes of moving bodies, let alone identify any of them. She was aware, though, of a lone figure attempting to flee, with another in hot pursuit. Simple deduction told her that the pursuer had to be either Ted or Brian, and she darted to the edge of what had now become a distinct clearing in an attempt to cut off the pursued’s escape. Her intentions were good, but her aim wasn’t. She did connect, but in doing so, dropped poor Ted to the ground.
“Damn it, Marsha! I’m on your side!” Ted exclaimed. “How about you put that thing down, before someone gets hurt?”
“Sorry, Ted,” she apologized, “I was aiming for the other guy! In this light, it’s hard to see who’s who, ya know!”
“Yeah, I know, and I appreciate your intervention attempt, but that fucking thing hurts! What the hell is it, anyway?”
“Umm, I think it’s a broken piece of branch. I got two of those guys, for sure. Are you okay?” Marsha asked with real concern in her voice.
“Yeah, I think so,” Ted assured her, “but it’s Denise I’m worried about. Where the hell is she? I can’t see a damned thing. Where’s that stupid lantern, anyway?” A fast sweep of the clearing showed the lantern, almost buried under Brian’s lifeless form. “Come on, let’s get Brian and Denise out of here, before those assholes regain consciousness!” Ted strongly suggested. With that, Ted managed to revive Brian, then strained to lift him up and onto his feet, while Marsha attended to Denise, who was still in the grip of fear.
“Wha . . . what the hell happened?” Brian asked, still in a daze. He took a step, then winced in pain. “Jesus, I think I broke a rib or something! Damn, but that hurts!” He took a minute to survey the scene, then turned to Ted. “You count how many there were?”
“I think there were five of ‘em. One got away, and the other four are out cold, mostly thanks to Marsha” Ted answered. “We were about to go after him, but neither of you two were in any shape to be left behind.”
“The boat!” Brian exclaimed. “He’s heading back to the boat! If we don’t catch him, or get there first, he’ll take the damned thing and leave us marooned! Then we’ll all be fucked, stuck on this island with these four assholes!” With that, Brian took a long stride as he started to run, then pulled up short, obviously in pain. “Damn! I can’t run with these ribs all busted up! Ted, you and Marsha have got to find that son-of-a-bitch, and make sure he doesn’t take the boat! I’ll help Denise, and catch up to you as soon as we can. Now go!”
Ted and Marsha took off, but in a different direction from the goon they were pursuing. At first, Brian wondered where in the hell Ted was going, then he remembered that Ted knew every short-cut there was on this island. The chances of the two teens arriving at the beach first was a lot better than those of the escaping attacker. Feeling a little relieved with the improvement of their chances, he turned and walked back to Denise.
“Hey, Girl,” Brian said softly, genuine concern ringing in his voice, “how you doing? You gonna be able to struggle back down to the beach? We’ve gotta put as much distance between us and those four as we can, and as quickly as possible. You ready?”
“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” Denise replied just as softly, “and thanks, Brian. If it hadn’t been for you and Ted tackling those guys, Marsha wouldn’t have been able to find that branch, or whatever it was. And if she hadn’t, they’d have . . .” Her words trailed off as the impact of her close call registered in her brain. She wanted so desperately to sit and have a good cry. Now wasn’t the time, nor was this the place. The tears would have to wait.
“Hey, if it was Marsha in that situation, you’d have done the same, and we both know it. Here, put your arm around my shoulder, and let’s get the hell out of here while we still can” Brian lectured. As much as he wanted to hold Denise and let her know that she was safe again, they had to get back to the beach. But without a light, they’d be half blind. He cursed under his breath.
“We’ll follow Ted’s trail,” Denise suggested, “if we can find it. That boy knows places on this island that don’t exist, I swear! As long as we can follow his trail, we’ll be okay.”
It was a tough struggle following the path that Ted and Marsha had started, and the blackness of the night had both of them stumbling and tripping. Brian took hold of Denise’s hand, his mind making note of just how soft and delicate her skin felt, and how warm and secure he tried to make her to feel in his grip. Maybe, under other circumstances . . . . Right now, though, they needed to get back with the other two as soon as possible.
Ted and Marsha made it to the beach in record time, considering the time of day. They could see stars, but there was no moon out. Running as fast as they could over the soft sand, Ted reached the speedboat a few seconds before Marsha. The two pushed the craft into the water, and Ted made a step with his hands for Marsha to hoist herself up onto the forward deck.
“Get this thing started, then I’ll shove us off” he ordered. Marsha jumped into the cockpit, sliding onto the helmsman’s seat and behind the wheel.
“Ted! There’s no keys! How’re we gong to start this thing?” Marsha cried out in fear. Ted continued to shove the boat back into the water. As long as they were out of reach of Jeff’s goon, they’d be a lot safer.
“Grab a paddle, and start heading us out into the cove! If I have to, I’ll hot-wire this damned barge!” he hissed loudly. Marsha began to search for something to use as an oar, finding a make-shift paddle in one of the gunwale lockers. “Here, give me that, and you steer. I can paddle better than you, and no offense to your gender. Now let’s get the fuck outta here!”
“But what about Brian and Denise? We can’t just leave them here!” Marsha protested.
“If I don’t get this tub running, getting Brian and Dennie out is gonna be academic! Those guys are looking for pussy, and you two girls are what they have in mind. We can go back in for the other two, but first, we have to get that engine started” Ted lectured. She had to admit that his logic made sense, but the fear in her heart for their friend’s welfare was real, too. All she could do would be to follow Ted’s lead.