Page 153 of The Darkest Hour

Rotting at our feet.

She headed off, leaving the dead bodies behind.

I followed.

We walked in silence. The sound of gravel crunching beneath our feet filled the air as we made it to neatly trimmed hedges next to a huge storage area.

I kicked it open.

Inside, rows of hunting weapons and gear lay in wait, untouched and perfectly organized. Rifles gleamed next to several cases of ammunition and equipment stacked methodically, as if anticipating the return of their sick hunters who would never come.

We had enough to start a war, if necessary. Just no one to shoot and kill.

“This is good.” I checked some of the guns, confirming they were in perfect shape. “If any sickos do arrive for some happy kid hunting, we’ll be here to destroy them.”

Silent, Onyx put her gun on top of one of them and left the storage space.

I left to follow her.

Is she going to be okay?

“Havoc.” Onyx stopped and pointed. “Do you see that?”

Further off in the distance, just beyond the formal gardens, a circular helipad stood out.

“I see it.”

Onyx’s mood picked up and she hurried forward.

From our point of view, a black helicopter rested silently upon it.

As we headed that way, she glanced at me. “Can you fly it?”

“No, but. . .we have all the time to learn.”

She sighed. “Yes. . .we do. That’s right. We can figure it out. Learn how to do whatever and then get off here.”

If it is still in working shape.

The hanging man had taken great care to make sure his secrets never left this island. There was no guarantee that his last act of caution was simply killing the pilot and staff.

Maybe, he did more.

Of course, I wouldn’t say that out loud and ruin the last drop of hope Onyx held on to.

The closer we got, the more I noticed that beyond the helipad, the land sloped gently down toward the edge of the island, where beach stretched out.

And it was much nicer than the one we had landed on. All pale white sand kissed by the calm crystal blue waves.

The view was breathtaking, yet there was an emptiness to it all too.

A sense of abandonment that hung like a ghost in the ocean breeze.

We got closer to the helipad and my morbid guess became truth.

Onyx’s voice cracked at the end. “No. God. . .no.”

It wasn’t that the helicopter was black.

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