Fresh Flesh by Todd Russell Page B

realizes I killed Bobby. .
."
    "But you did it to save me."
    "That's why I'm concerned. In the eleven
years I've been here there has never been a reason to come over and
attack me, outside of their leader disliking me, maybe. But after
today? Things are different now."
    His eyes burned through her and she had to
turn away.
    "What does this all mean?" she asked.
    "It's a matter of time before he finds out.
Maybe he already knows about you. He might have been annoyed but
still forgiven me for killing Bobby. But you? Just like when Bobby
parachuted to the wrong place, I was under an obligation in their
leader's mind to bring him to them. I did. Their leader feels like
everything here is a possession. He is a god here. When he learns
there's a woman on the island, he'll have every one of his psychos
hunting us. They'll want you, he'll want you, Jessica. I can't let
that happen."
    "Do you think he knows about me?"
    Dick stood up, grabbed Bobby's buck knife and
tested the blade's sharpness.
    "Hope not."
    Dick said he wanted to go look at something
outside and would be right back and left the cave. She sat near the
fire and watched the burning branches. She tried to accept the
story Dick had told her. She could be a deep thinking, feeling
person. She had never weighed in on any deep political or religious
issues. Capital punishment didn't directly impact her life, didn't
alter her rich world. Heck, she wasn't registered to vote. She had
no opinion on whether she was for or against capital
punishment.
    A strong gust of wind blew in as if to scold
her for living so non-committal.
    She looked away from the fire and saw Dick
standing still, watching her from the cave entrance.
    "I checked the ground by Edward's hand for
footsteps. Only yours were there."
    "And that means?"
    "I hope it means that—I don't know. Maybe
birds carried his hand there?" But there was something wrong in
Dick's voice that suggested he didn't believe that's what
happened.
    Dick walked across the cave and held out
something. She took it, eyeing it by the firelight. Dick had
cleaned away the nastiness before presented it to her.
    Edward's wedding ring.
    "Jessica, I hope you can understand now why I
deceived you. I wanted to shelter the bad stuff on this island from
you. I was hoping we could. . .get to know each other and I could
break the truth about this place to you at some later date. Maybe
in stages. You almost died on me and I didn't want you to run away
and—"
    "You should have been straight with me from
the beginning."
    "I'm sorry. I said it before, I can't take
anything back. Please believe me. All I can do is apologize and
hope that you'll forgive me. I didn't know anything about Edward —
and I had nothing to do with his hand— I swear ."
    She never once looked up at him. She stared
only at Edward's unique gold wedding ring. Once again, she saw Nile
Waters, the shifty jeweler, greasing her: "I'll tell you what, Mrs.
Stanton, you don't want to wear just any ring, you have to have
something to match your charming figure. Now, don't be fooled by
the small dollar imitations. Let me have a one-of-a-kind ring made
especially for you. Expensive? Well. . ."
    Edward's ring wasn't unique, it was a dusty
relic. The last single, solitary proof here that Jessica Stanton
ever existed.
    Out of love, not the rage and depression that
poisoned the island, she threw the ring into the fire.
     

CHAPTER 16
     
    They both awoke the next morning like the
devil had pursued them in their dreams. Neither spoke about their
nightmares. Dick went out, caught some fish and retrieved some
coconuts. Jessica followed him everywhere.
    They ate in silence. Jessica played with her
food for quite some time before Dick said something. Then she
grudgingly ate, but only a small amount.
    After breakfast, Dick and she sat on their
facing rock seats.
    "Jessica, can I ask you something?" Dick
said.
    "Sure."
    "You've been here well over a month and
there's something that I can't figure out