Witch Island (22 page)

“What the hell, Darren?” Gwen said, running to Melinda.

“Dude,” Jim said. “Come on. That wasn’t cool.”

Before he knew it, he was charging at Paul. Jim put a hand on him, but he batted it away. Paul’s eyes widened and he went to run, but Darren reached out, grabbed him by the throat and tackled him to the ground. Darren was up in seconds, straddling Paul. Reaching back, he sent a fist into Paul’s nose, breaking and disfiguring it. Blood exploded over Paul’s face.

As frightened as he was, Darren took pleasure at seeing Paul’s broken face. Maybe this was what losing control was like. An individual’s emotions went out of whack. He lost all ability to reason and control himself, going along for the ride. But that couldn’t be right. He hadn’t gone into a rage until now. He had been thinking—still was, in fact. Hitting Paul was on target for what he wanted to do, but shoving Melinda like he had? No way he would have done that to her, let alone any female.

Now, he needed to gain control of himself. Paul was pretty fucked up, and would probably need surgery to repair his nose. Hopefully, the guy wouldn’t squeal on him, but who knew?

Someone had jumped onto his back. He felt their weight. The person was hitting him, but it didn’t hurt. He reached back, grabbed whoever it was by the hair—a female—and tossed her into the woods, then returned his focus to Paul.

Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were wrapped around Paul’s throat, the kid’s eyes bulging, face turning red.
How did that happen?
he asked himself. It felt good, squeezing the life from Paul’s body, but then he realized what he was doing. He was killing Paul. No, he had to stop. He wasn’t a murderer. He attempted to release his grip, but like everything else he tried to do, his fingers only seemed to tighten.

Paul struggled to free himself, pawing at Darren’s arms. He dug his nails into Darren’s skin, drawing blood, but Darren felt no pain, and continued to strangle Paul. Then, something gave in Paul’s neck, and Darren’s fingers collapsed into his flesh. Darren screamed inside his own head. Paul stopped fighting, his arms going limp, like an off switch had been flipped. He stared blankly at nothing.

Jim watched Darren tackle Paul.
Damn it,
he thought,
this is bad.
He needed to break it up before someone got hurt. He saw Shay jump on top of Darren. She was trying to pry him off of Paul. Good, he might need some help. But then Darren reached back, grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the woods, as if she weighed ounces.

Even for Darren, that was a great feat. The big guy was a terror on the football field, but off the field, especially among friends, he was a teddy bear.

“Get him off of Paul,” Gwen said. “I’ll help Shay.”

Jim came up to Darren and saw what was really happening. Paul was getting the life choked out of him. Paul wasn’t fighting back. “Darren, stop. You’re hurting him. He can’t breathe.” He tried to pull the linebacker off Paul, but it was like trying to lift a car.

The longer Jim looked at Paul, the more the kid looked dead. He wasn’t moving, blinking, or struggling.

Jim jumped on Darren’s back, putting the kid in a chokehold. Darren stood, finally releasing Paul. Darren pried at Jim’s arm, loosening the hold. Jim had succeeded at getting the big guy off of Paul. He just hoped no serious damage had occurred.

Jim had prepared himself for a fight, the big guy enraged, but instead, Darren cried out, as if in immense pain. His body trembled, as if an electrical current ran through it. Jim was thrown off, but managed to land on his feet. He was ready to take Darren on if he had to in order to calm him down, but the big guy simply fell forward and crashed to the ground.

Chapter Twenty-One

A gust of wind exploded over the area, circling like a mini tornado, letting loose a screeching cry before shooting into the woods, leaving a wake of broken tree limbs and falling leaves behind.

“What the hell was that?” Gwen asked. She was kneeling next to Melinda now, making sure the girl was all right. Darren had shoved her pretty hard. She stood and saw Shay coming from the brush, pieces of forest debris clinging to her hair. She looked okay.

“How’s Paul?” Gwen asked. “Mel’s going to be fine…” Her words faded away at seeing the look on Jim’s face.

“I think…Paul’s dead,” he said.

“What?” Shay asked.

Gwen hurried over to Paul, almost hesitating when she saw him. His eyes were open, unblinking. She knelt and felt for a pulse.

“Oh my God,” Shay said. “Do something, Gwen.”

Gwen knelt next to Paul, already knowing he was dead. His throat was crushed, his eyes lifeless. Her stomach felt queasy. She turned to look at Shay. “He’s gone.”

“No,” Shay said, shaking her head. She shoved Gwen out of the way. “Come on, baby, wake up. Wake up.”

Gwen looked at Jim, put a hand over her mouth. Tears rimmed her eyes and she blinked them away. Jim looked stunned. “Jim?”

“Yeah?”

“Paul’s dead.”

“I know.”

“Stop saying that,” Shay said, and slapped Paul’s cheek.

Gwen grabbed her from behind and pulled her up. “He’s gone, sweetie.”

Jim couldn’t believe this was happening. His best friend was dead, killed by Darren. Friends killing friends. None of this made any sense, including the screaming wind that had kicked up.

“I…” Shay said, then fell quiet. She looked at Darren, the big guy face down on the ground. Her face scrunched into a grimace of hate. “He killed him.”

“Guys?” Melinda said.

Everyone turned to see Melinda sitting up.

“You!” Shay screamed, pointing. “This is your fault.” Shay broke free from Gwen and ran at Melinda.

Jim moved quickly and wrapped Shay up into his arms. She fought to break free. “Let me go. She got Paul killed. I’m going to strangle her. Let me go.”

“Stop it, Shay,” Jim shouted. “Something’s going on here. Can’t you see that? We need to figure it out.”

“Screw that,” Gwen said. “We need to get off this island and call the cops.”

Melinda stood on shaky feet, her eyes darting around. She looked frightened and confused.

“Let me go, Jim,” Shay said.

“You promise to relax?”

“For now.”

Jim released her, staying ready in the event he needed to react.

Shay launched a ball of spit at Melinda. “I’m gong to make sure your boyfriend spends the rest of his life in jail.”

“Guys,” Melinda said. “Something’s not right. That wasn’t me before. I couldn’t stop myself. It was like someone else was making me do things.”

“Shut the fuck up before I beat your ass,” Shay said.

“Paul didn’t try and rape me…” Melinda glanced down at Paul’s body. She covered her mouth. “Oh my God, is he…?

“Yeah, he’s dead, you whore,” Shay said, then charged toward Melinda, but Jim was ready and grabbed her. “You don’t get to say his name. Don’t say his name.”

“Paul didn’t want to hurt me,” Melinda said. She shook her head. “I mean, I came on to him, but it wasn’t me. I was sitting in the chair by the fire and then all of a sudden I couldn’t move, yet my body did move. It felt like I was burning up inside. Something else was controlling me. I never even wanted to talk to Paul.”

“Nice try,” Shay said, “but we aren’t buying it.”

“Wait,” Jim said. He released Shay. “Why would she say Paul didn’t attack her, after having told us he had?”

“I don’t know, but she’s fucking crazy,” Shay said. “Darren’s going to jail and she’s going to a psych home.”

Movement from Jim’s left caught his attention. Darren was coming around.

“Shit, he’s waking up,” Shay said, and kicked Darren in the ribs and the head before Jim grabbed her.

Darren grunted and rolled onto his back, putting a hand to his head.

Jim wasn’t sure what to do. Maybe Shay had the right idea and Darren needed to be knocked out again, then tied up. He didn’t know what to do.

“What do we do?” Gwen asked. She picked up a branch that had been lying on the ground.

Jim spun Shay around so she could look at him. “Paul was my best friend,” he said. “I’m all messed up in the head right now, but we need to stay calm, okay?”

“I can’t promise anything, but there’s no way I want to be here anymore. We need to leave, get the cops.”

“Okay, but I need you all to get behind me until we see what’s up with Darren.”

Gwen moved toward Jim, but Melinda grabbed her wrist. “Mel, let go of me.”

“Wait,” Melinda said. “I’m telling you guys. I wasn’t myself. And I don’t think Darren was either. There’s something going on. I think I was drugged.”

Jim thought for a moment, fear taking hold of him. Melinda’s words hit him like a punch to the gut. It was the island, had to be. Everything in his head told him to run. Leave them all and run, but he couldn’t do that. He should’ve stayed away, made his friends change their minds about the camping spot. Should’ve listened to his grandparents and parents.

Darren sat up, rubbing his head. “What the hell happened?”

Startled, Jim took a step back. He needed to be the strong one, appear unafraid. “You feeling okay, buddy?”

“Fuck that,” Shay said. “I hope he feels like shit. You murdered Paul. You’re going to prison, asshole, and I hope you take it up the ass every day.”

“What?” Darren said, clearly confused. Then his mouth dropped open. “Paul.” He sprang to his feet and stumbled forward, crashing to the ground.

“Take it easy,” Jim said, but stood on guard in case he needed to protect himself and the others.

Darren sat up. “I don’t understand…” He looked at his hands. “Did I…” He looked at Jim.

Jim nodded. “Paul’s dead.”

“No. That wasn’t me. I remember… I wasn’t in control. I couldn’t stop myself. All this heat racked my body when…when I was next to Melinda. Then I lost all control over my body and attacked Paul.”

“You and your girlfriend work on this story?” Shay asked. “Well, forget it. No one believes either of you. Kiss your NFL career goodbye.”

Darren got to his feet, seeming to not have heard Shay’s comments. “My head is all foggy. I don’t understand any of this. I couldn’t stop myself. It wasn’t me. You got to believe me, Jim.”

“We’ll figure this out,” Jim said, just wanting his friend to stay calm.

“Fuck you,” Shay said. “I’ve had enough of this shit. “Screw waiting until we get off this rock, I’m calling the cops.” She pulled out her cell phone.

“Stop,” Jim said. He couldn’t believe how quickly things had gone to hell, but he needed to sort them out. Paul was dead, Darren had killed him, and both people were talking about something controlling them.

“Damn phone won’t get a signal,” Shay said. “I was texting back at the camp.”

“Something is definitely wrong here,” Jim said, feeling anxious. “I mean wrong in a really messed up way.”

“Yeah,” Gwen agreed. “Look at Melinda and Darren. They’re both confused, frazzled. How do you explain that they both had no control over themselves?”

“Maybe Darren knew all along about Mel’s cheating ass,” Shay said, “and together they worked on a story to kill Paul.”

“Stop it, Shay,” Gwen said. “This is serious shit we’re in.”

“You know what?” Shay said, putting a hand on her hip. She waved her finger in the air. “I don’t need to stay here for this shit. I’m leaving, and if anyone tries to stop me, I’ll scratch their eyes out.” She turned to head down the path.

Gwen grabbed her by the shoulder in an attempt to stop her. “Wait—”

Shay pivoted around and shoved her away. She held out her fists, ready to fight. “Get the hell away from me.” She shook her head. “You’re my best friend, but if you want to stay here with this murdering piece of trash, then that’s your business. Leaving is mine.”

“Guys,” Darren said, still sitting on the ground. “I’m telling you, I wasn’t myself. I couldn’t control anything. I saw myself choking Paul, but couldn’t stop. As much as I wanted to hurt him I never wanted him dead. I don’t even know when or how I got knocked out. Did one of you hit me over the head?”

“No one laid a hand on you,” Gwen said.

“Then what happened?” Darren asked.

Jim looked at the ring on his finger. “I grabbed you…touched you with this ring. It’s the witch that’s doing all this. She’s real and she’s here.” Jim quickly told them the story of the ring.

“Oh my God,” Melinda said. “It’s got to be the witch then.”

“Enough,” Gwen said. “There’s no witch.”

“Oh, I think there is,” Jim said. “There really is. How else do you explain Mel’s and Darren’s stories? Both of them feeling intense heat rack their bodies, then losing control.”

“We need to get off the island,” Jim said.

“Wait, what about Steve and Julie?” Melinda asked. “Where the hell have they been? I’m not leaving without them.”

“Me either,” Jim agreed. “We’ll find them, and then get the hell out of here.”

“No, we won’t,” Shay said, coming back down the trail.

“Why not?” Jim asked.

“The canoes are gone.”