What the hell happened?
Was this heaven?
Had I died with Galloway?
My bare feet dashed across the short-pile carpet, beelining for the exit.
I passed the bathroom and slammed to a halt.
A woman stared back.
As much as the men who’d tried to hurt my family were strangers, so too was this mirrored reflection.
It took three heartbeats to recognise myself. Five more until the hurried breathing in the mirror matched mine. My eyes were wild beneath unkempt seaweed hair. My collarbones looked as if they lived within a skin layer of flying free on skeletal wings. My legs were sticks. My fullish chest was mostly flat with teardrop bumps reminding me I’d suckled Coco. I’d grown from naïve introvert to powerful mother all while combating survival.
The outlander was me.
And I’d never felt more alone.
Tears came swiftly but I didn’t have time for such nonsense.
I’d cried enough.
I’d cry again later.
But for now, I had to find my daughters. I’d made a promise. Galloway had died believing I would keep that promise.
Turning away, I wrenched open the door and charged into the corridor.
Rows and rows of identical doors greeted me. Numbers labelled them from high to low, peepholes glittered in artificial light, and sideboards held seashells and sculptures of clownfish and turtles.
Where am I?
A man came around the corner in a light grey pantsuit with a tray of covered food and water.
Water.
Yes, please.
Not evergreen-tainted water from our trees or slightly earthy rainwater from our reservoirs.
Pure, pure water.
In a glass tinkling with ice.
Ice!
Did such a wondrous thing still exist?
“Ah, you’re awake. I was just coming to get you.”
My mind snapped from the water trance, and I spun around, expecting to see another person behind me.
He couldn’t be speaking to me...surely? I’d never set eyes on him before, yet he spoke as if he knew me.
I turned back to face him, pointing at myself. “You’re speaking to me?”
He smiled. He was older than the interloping vagabonds on my island but kindness radiated in his eyes. A stethoscope hung around his neck and his nametag gave him an address of Stefan.
“Yes, of course. You’re the woman rescued from the island.”
My mouth dried up.
Placing the tray on the sideboard with clownfish frolicking, he held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. You were awake last night, but I did wonder if you would remember. After all, such trauma can sometimes render a mind forgetful for a time.”
I couldn’t look away from his hand. It’d been so long since I’d touched anyone but Galloway and the children.
Conner.
His memory took me by surprise at the worst moments.
Galloway.
Both...were gone.
Tears pricked my eyes as I stared at the man’s hand. Did I want to touch him? Was it safe?
But he never dropped his offering, forcing me to be brave and place my fingers into his.
The moment I touched him, splices of the past few hours attacked me.
Fainting mid-fight with the men holding my daughters.
A boat sloshing and roaring, taking me from Galloway.
Screaming as a large, looming ship accepted me into its belly.
Fainting again as I tried to fight and was held down by three men on a gurney.
Crying as needles and medicine were administered against my wishes.
And through it all, the horror of what would happen to Pippa and Coco. And how much Galloway would hate me for abandoning him so soon after he’d abandoned me.
I hadn’t held a funeral.
I hadn’t given him his last rites (not that I knew what that entailed).
I’d just...gone.
Ripping my hand from his, I swallowed. “Where are my family?”
“You mean the toddler and the girl?” He grinned. “Doing mightily well, I must say. The girl mentioned you’d been on that island for almost four years. It’s remarkable that you’re in the shape you are for such a length of time.”
“What shape?”
“Strong and fairly healthy. Your blood-work came back with some vitamin and mineral deficiencies along with very low iron levels, but you’re not dehydrated. It truly is a miracle.”
“It wasn’t a miracle.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Oh? Were you trained survivalists before the accident?”
“No. But it wasn’t a miracle. It was hard work and determination not to die.”
His shoulders lowered; his face softened. “It’s amazing what the threat of death can make a human achieve.”
Galloway.
Waterworks tried to come again. I dug fingertips into my eyes. “Can...can you take me to them? My children?”
As long as I was with Pip and Coco, I could keep the impending agony of Galloway’s death from consuming me a little longer. Long enough to figure out where we were and what this new future meant.
Stefan nodded. “Of course. That was the plan. I was going to give you lunch and then take you to them. I’m the nurse working with Doctor Finnegan.” He came closer, lowering his voice. “Do you remember what the captain told you last night? Or is it a blur?”
“The captain?”
“Yes, of this vessel.”
The ship.
“We’re on a boat?”
“More than just a boat.” His lips quirked. “You’re on Pacific Pearl.”