The bow of the boat crumbled as it hit the rocks. The water came pouring in through the gash in the side. Jarod ordered everyone up on deck. On his way out of the cabin he grabbed the First-Aid kit.
Up on deck Miss Parker cornered him. "If we live through this I'm gonna beat your skull to a pulp." Miss Parker growled.
"Not now Parker." Jarod shouldered past her.
"It's not his fault that we sailed into a storm." Sydney said to her calmly.
"I don't care I'm still going to kill him, whether you like it or not." Parker walked away from him and into the darkness.
"The dinghy is stuffed, we'll have to swim to shore." Jarod said and they heard a splash. Lyle, Broots and Sydney all looked to the end where Parker walked off. "Parker! Stop been an idiot and get round the other side of the boat!" Jarod yelled at her. Parker didn't say anything, they just heard a soft paddling sound in the dark. "Jesus Christ Parker! Sydney take this and everyone get carefully into the water." Jarod said and jumped into the water.
"I'll take that Sydney." Lyle took the first aid kit and jumped over board. Broots and Sydney followed suit.
"Parker! Where are you?" Jarod was treading water, looking around for her. Parker didn't respond. "You're going to get yourself killed! Now stop been stupid and start swimming." A wave crashed down on him. When he resurfaced he heard Parker coughing and spitting the water of her mouth. Jarod swam over to her and grabbed her arm.
"Let go!" Parker started to kick herself away.
"Stop been such a bitch and start swimming." Jarod yelled at her.
"Fine just let go of me!" Parker hissed. Jarod let go of her and she disappeared under the water.
"Jesus Christ! Parker!" Jarod started swimming as well. He'll have to handle Parker when they get out of the water, she's too slippery out here.
When everyone but Parker gets up on the beach Jarod starts to worry, but also Sydney was wheezing. "You OK Syd?" Jarod walked over to him.
"Yes...Just a little...Out of breath." Sydney answered.
"OK, you sit down and take it easy while I go look for Parker. Bloody idiot!" Jarod cursed and walked along the beach.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
20 MINUTES LATER.
Jarod came back without having any luck locating Parker. The other three were able to find some dryish wood and start a fire, with the matches that were in the first aid kit. When Sydney saw Jarod was alone, he became worried. "No luck." Sydney said simply, but couldn't help the touch of fear creeping into his voice.
"No, she couldn't have drowned she was just in front of me. But she did dive under and swim off." Jarod flopped down next to the fire and stared into the flames. "She's so bloody stubborn even when you're only trying to help her." Jarod poked the flames with a log of wood and then just threw it on in despair.
"It'll be light soon, we'll search for her then." Sydney said to try and brighten his mood.
"I can't sit here and wait." Jarod stood up and walked away. "Parker! Parker, answer me! I'm sorry! Parker!" They heard in the still of the early morning darkness.
"I'll search the beach." Lyle stood up and walked along the beach, leaving his coat and shirt drying by the fire.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
DAWN.
Everyone had been searching for three hours straight and now they were exhausted. The morning light didn't brighten anyone's mood, but at least it wouldn't be raining again. "I'll look again." Jarod got up slowly.
"Jarod, take a break. You've been looking all night, Broots and Lyle can look, you haven't had any sleep." Sydney said to him.
"No." Jarod walked off.
"I'll help him look." Broots walked off in the other direction.
Broots came to a small pool of water, with a waterfall coming over a rocky outcrop. Over on the rocks, sitting on her knees was Parker cleaning her gun. "Parker!" Broots called out. Parker looked up and stared at him. "Everyone's been looking for you." Broots told her, but Parker didn't say anything. "Miss Parker?" Broots walked closer to her. Parker raised her gun and fired at a tree, just in front of her to make sure the gun still works. Broots started to back away. Parker didn't pay any attention, she just disappeared into the trees. "Miss Parker wait!" Broots ran over to where she was standing but couldn't see any movement in the trees. Broots turned around and ran back to the others.
From her vantagepoint, Parker could see Broots running back to the campsite and talking to Syd, pointing back the way he came. She saw Lyle put his dry shirt back on and checking his gun. "It won't work brother dear." Parker whispered. Just then Jarod came back into view, then ran over to where Broots pointed.
"Parker! Answer me, look I'm sorry for calling you a bitch and getting angry at you! Just come back!" She heard him calling. Parker changed positions and quietly put the silencer on her gun. She aimed her gun and fired at a branch of a tree.
"Look." Jarod walked over to the tree that she shot and found another clearing with a rocky ledge, covering dry wood. There was enough room under the ledge for everyone to sleep comfortably, with room to spare. There were some fruit trees around with some fruit on them. "At least she's not angry with me any more." Jarod smiled.
"*Come back when ready*" Sydney read.
"What?" Jarod walked over to where Sydney was.
"See, *come back when ready* She still might be angry with you, but she doesn't want us to starve. She's just telling us that she's OK and she'll be back soon. She doesn't like been stuck with a group of people for a long time, so be prepared that she'll go off every now and then until some one comes to get us." Sydney said.
"Trusty old Sis." Lyle said.
"Let's get everything set up." Jarod said and started to walk away, he turned back to Sydney. "Where would she be?"
"Somewhere nearby, she wants to stay close to us but not to be bothered."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
1:30A.M.
Everyone was sleeping soundly when Parker crept down from her little hiding place, to see that everyone was OK. Jarod wasn't really asleep, he only has his eyes closed. Parker knelt next to Jarod and put her gun clip next to him. "Truce." Parker whispered and got up.
When Parker was a safe distance away he got up and followed her quietly, just to make sure she was going to be all right. He didn't care about what Sydney said about been able to take care of herself, he just wanted to be sure.
They came to a woody area, with really wide, tall trees. Parker climbed up one of them that had a little lump on its trunk that Parker could use as a step to boost herself up. She climbed all the way up to the middle of the tree where all the branches forked and create a basin type structure in the middle of the tree. Parker slipped into the basin and disappeared out of sight.
Jarod smiled to himself. *She never got out of the habit of climbing trees I see, oh well, at least she's safe up there* Then Jarod quietly went back to camp.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE NEXT MORNING:
7:30A.M.
With the rocky ledge covering them, Jarod, Sydney, Lyle and Broots were able to sleep even after the sun was up, where as if they were on the beach they would have been awake at 5a.m.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
After breakfast, Jarod was able to talk to Sydney in a quiet corner. "Parker's OK."
"How do you know?" Sydney asked.
"I saw her last night, but only for a minute." Jarod didn't want to confess about following her to see where she was.
"Do you know when she's coming back?" Sydney asked him, relieved to hear that she wasn't hurt.
"No, she didn't know I was awake. But she whispered to me *truce* and gave me the clip to her gun." Jarod pulled the clip out of his pocket and showed Sydney.
"You know she carries a spare?" Sydney asked him.
"Yeah, but giving me one of he clips and whispering truce means something, after all we are talking about Parker." Jarod smiled.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE CENTRE:
MR PARKER'S OFFICE:
SAME DAY:
4:30P.M.
Mr Parker is in his office with Sam. "They should be back by now, and you say they haven't been in touch since my daughter reported that they had recaptured Jarod and were on the way back?"
"Yes Sir." Sam answered.
"I want you to position their last communication and see if you can track where they would be now." Mr Parker ordered.
"Yes Sir." Sam left.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
9:35P.M.
Everyone went to bed early, since there was nothing better to do and it started to rain heavily again. Parker sat upright when the torrent began to fall. She jumped down from the tree and ran over to where the others were. When she came to the campsite, everyone was asleep, so she crept over in between Lyle and Jarod. She would've gone between Broots and Jarod, but she didn't think Broots would feel really comfortable, waking up in the morning only to find Parker next to him. Or would he?
Jarod moved when she sat down next to him, but he just rolled onto his side, facing her. When he stop moving Parker laid down and went to sleep. Jarod opened one eye slightly and saw her lying there. He smiled and went back to sleep.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
3:00A.M.
Lyle had no idea that Parker was next to him, so when he stretched he touched her shoulder. Parker opened her eyes and saw Lyle sitting up next to her. Parker sat up quickly and shoved him down by his throat. "Jarod." Lyle wheezed, gripping Parker's wrists, trying to pull them off. "Jarod!" Lyle said louder.
Jarod sat up and looked around quickly, but then he saw Parker leaning over Lyle choking him. "Parker, let him go!" Jarod wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her off Lyle.
"He's been watching me!" Parker started to kick at Lyle. She got him in the mouth.
"Shit! I haven't been watching you! I stretched and I accidentally touched your shoulder. You're acting like I was going to hurt you." Lyle said, moaning at his sore mouth.
"If there were pillows here it wouldn't surprise me if you tried to smother me!" Parker hissed and started to kick at Lyle again.
"Jesus! If we're going to be here for a long period of time you have to know that I won't try and hurt you." Lyle said to her, using his shirt cuff to try and stop the bleeding.
"Why should I believe you?" Parker hissed.
"This isn't getting us anywhere, let's go back to sleep and talk about sleeping arrangements in the morning." Sydney suggested.
"You won't have to if he kills me through the night." Parker growled.
"For crying out loud Parker, get it through your head, I WASN'T TRYING TO KILL YOU!" Lyle said, getting a little annoyed for been blamed for something he wasn't going to do.
"OK, go back to your corners! If it would make you feel any better, why don't you go between Broots and Jarod?" Sydney asked her. Broots started to shuffle around nervously.
"Why did you go between Jarod and me, instead of next to Sydney or Broots? Why did you go next to Jarod, because you ALWAYS say how much you hate and can't stand him?" Lyle asked smugly.
Parker got out of Jarod's hold and pounced on Lyle pinning him down by his throat. "He's the only one that I trust that wouldn't try anything you moron! And if you're implying anything else, I'm gonna beat your sorry little ass!" Parker hissed and let him up.
"OK, can we go back to sleep now? We have to try and find a way to get back to The Centre and we won't be able to think clearly if we're all zombies." Sydney tried to calm the hostile situation.
"Fine." Parker got up and walked around Jarod and knelt down between Jarod and Broots. Broots started to shuffle away a little. Parker just looked at him and smiled. "Just don't touch me and you might survive the night." Parker laid down on her back and closed her eyes.
Broots looked at Sydney cautiously. Sydney just smiled and nodded his head. "It'll be OK Broots, but if it was the other way around you'd be in trouble."
"Are you two gonna shut up or do I have to do it for you?" Parker growled.
"Sorry." Sydney said. Everyone fell silent.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
8A.M.
When Jarod woke up he felt a weight on his arm. When he turned his head down, he saw Parker's head resting on his arm, still asleep. Jarod lifted his head slightly to see if Sydney was awake, but he and everyone else were still sleeping. Jarod shifted slightly, but froze when Parker also started to move. Parker just put her head more comfortably on his arm and brought her left hand up and rested it on Jarod's elbow. Jarod smiled and went back to sleep.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE CENTRE:
MR PARKER'S OFFICE:
SAME TIME.
"What do you mean, you can't find them? They can't have just disappeared!" Mr Parker growled at Sam.
"We still haven't finished searching Sir. But so far there isn't any trace of them, I just thought that I'd keep you up to date with our progress."
"What progress? You haven't found them yet! FIND THEM!" Mr Parker yelled and then turned his back on Sam.
Sam turned around and walked out. "Who woke up on the wrong side of the cot this morning? Jesus, you'd think he was actually missing her." Sam mumbled to himself.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
COT MEANING, LIKE IN JAROD'S CELL. HIS BED. LIKE DRACULA, *WHO WOKE UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE COFFIN* THUNDERCHILD.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
8:30A.M.
Jarod woke up again. He couldn't stay asleep anymore. This time when he looked at Sydney, he was sitting up and looking at Parker. Jarod smiled at him and when he went to lift Parker's head of his shoulder he nearly had a heart attack. "Don't even think about!" Parker growled.
"Oh, you're awake." Jarod retracted his hand quickly.
"Of course." Parker got up. "If you wanted to get up you just had to say so." Parker stood up and walked out towards the beach.
"How was I to know she was awake?" Jarod asked Sydney. Lyle was just leaning on his elbows smiling at Jarod, trying not to laugh.
"I think she really likes you." Lyle said to him, still smiling.
"Given half the chance she could kill any of us, so I wouldn't repeat that." Jarod got up and walked after Parker. He found her resting against a log that was washed ashore.
"Fuck it!" Parker growled angrily. Jarod decided it would be best if he left her alone. "What do you want Jarod?"
"Nothing." Jarod said in a small voice.
"Do you want to talk?"
"Not really, but if you want to..."
"I do, so get over." Parker said, then held her head. "Sorry, do want to come over here and talk?" Parker asked in a different voice.
Jarod walked over and sat down next to her. "What's up?"
"I need to get off this island! I don't like been here. I feel like I'm drowning and the boat is only a few metres away and I keep swimming and the boat keeps on getting further and further away. And I need..." Parker looks out to the water.
"What?" Jarod looks at her.
"Something that I can never have." Parker got up and walked away. Jarod just watched her go, letting her go, when she wants to talk some more, she'll come back.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE CENTRE:
MR PARKER'S OFFICE:
10:30A.M.
Sam came in and Mr Parker looked up. "This better be good."
"We've tracked down their last communication and it doesn't help much, but I've got people checking different courses they could have taken. There are a lot of islands of the coast of Miami where they left, but there are hundreds of different courses on which they could come. If it is all right with you Sir, I would like to send out the heli to quickly search the islands instead of using a boat to check them all, which would waste time and we don't know if anyone's injured." Sam explained carefully.
"How long till we'll be able to begin searching with the helicopter?" Mr Parker asked as he leant back in his chair.
"Tomorrow some time, it all depends on how quickly we can get the correct group of islands." Sam said.
"Very good. I want you to over look the arrangements for me."
"Yes Sir." Sam said. "Will that be all?"
"Yes." Sam walked out the door. *Maybe he does care about her after all* Sam thought.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
LOCATION IS OFF THE COAST OF MIAMI:
8P.M.
Jarod, Sydney, Broots and Lyle are sitting round the fire. No one has seen Parker all day. After everyone fell asleep Jarod would go and check if she was in her tree. "Does anyone know where she could be?" Lyle asked.
"No, I haven't seen her." Sydney said.
"Has anyone seen her eat anything?" Lyle asked.
"No." Everyone answered.
"I'll go look for her." Jarod said and stood up.
"If you can get her to come back." Lyle said to Jarod truthfully.
Jarod walked away and started to walk to Parker's tree. He climbed up and he couldn't see Parker anywhere. Jarod started to walk away when he heard something to his right. He started to walk towards the noise. "Jarod?"
"Yeah, where are you?" Jarod walked further into the clearing and sat down on a log. Parker jumped down from the tree and walked over to him. She straddled the log, facing him. "Do you want to finish talking?"
Parker put her finger to his lips and shook her head. "No talking, just silence." Parker ran her finger down his lips and onto his chin. She lifted her hand and ran her fingers through his hair while looking at his hair falling back into place.
Jarod started to move his head closer to hers, she jerked her head away a little, but he kept moving his mouth closer. Jarod lifted his hand and started to stroke her neck in small circular movements. Parker moved her mouth in closer. He closed the gap slowly. They kissed gently at first, but as their passion grew their kisses grew hungrier. Parker broke off the kiss and stood up.
"Where..." Parker put her finger back on his lips again.
"No talking, just silence." Parker whispered again and straddled him, resting her shins on the log, either side of Jarod. She put her hands on either side of his head and ran her fingers through his hair. Jarod pressed his head heavier on her left hand and rested his hands on her lower back, running them from her lower back down along her thighs and back up. She moved her head onto the side and started to kiss him again. Jarod closed his arms around her tightly and pulled her closer.
As Parker and Jarod were kissing, she heard twigs breaking and Lyle calling. "Jarod!" Parker jerks back in panic. When she jerked back, Jarod's arms closed round her tightly keeping her from falling onto the ground.
"Let go." She whispered, tucking her shirt in as she stood up and stepped away from him.
Lyle steps away from the consuming darkness into the clearing, which was illuminated by the high moon. "Here you two are." Then he saw how uncomfortable both Jarod and Parker were looking. "I'm interrupting something." Lyle turned around.
"What do you want Lyle?" Parker walked over to him.
"I was just coming to see if Jarod had found you, I see he has, so I'll go." Lyle walked back to the campsite. Jarod came over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"I supposed you don't want to finish our little *conversation*?" Jarod asked as he started to kiss her neck gently.
"When you put it that way, how can I resist?" Parker turned round and locked her arms round his neck.
"You can't." Jarod held her tightly, resting his hands on her hips and kissed her softly.
Back at the campsite, Lyle sat back down, shaking his head and smiling. "What happened?" Sydney asked.
"They're talking. I interrupted them so I thought that I'd just leave them." Lyle leant back on his elbows, still smiling.
"Do you know what they're talking about?" Sydney asked, thoroughly interested because they NEVER get on well together.
"I can tell you it ISN'T about the weather, or how we're getting home." Lyle said.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE CENTRE:
MR PARKER'S OFFICE:
9:00P.M.
Sam just burst in with a piece of paper in his hand. "What is the meaning of you bursting in here like a lunatic?" Mr Parker growled at him.
"I've found them!" Sam said and handed him the piece of paper.
"Send out the boats to go and bring them back. When you get them you take orders from my daughter as per usual." Mr Parker said smiling.
"Yes Sir."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
11:30P.M.
Everyone had something to eat. Jarod went to get some more wood for the fire because their supply was getting low and no one knew how long they would be stuck on the island for. He didn't get much because Parker came with him, and he got distracted with other things, but his excuse was that he couldn't find any. Lyle knew better, that he was just covering his and Parker's butts.
Parker went off by herself after her little *make-out* session with Jarod, but no one was worried now since they knew that this would happen and they all decided that they'd sleep and figure out what to do tomorrow.
At around a quarter to 11, Parker came back and curled up next to Jarod, resting her head on his chest. Jarod jumped but relaxed when he saw it was Parker. "Don't be so jumpy." Parker whispered and kissed him softly.
"I didn't think that you'd be coming back tonight." Jarod said when the kiss ended.
"Ah, you missed me." Parker put her head back down and put her arm over Jarod's stomach. Jarod put his arm around her shoulders gently rubbing the tip of her shoulder with his thumb. Parker fell asleep with his gentle movements.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE ISLAND:
7:30A.M.
Lyle was awake first and when he saw Parker resting her head on Jarod's chest with his arm around her shoulders, holding her tightly, Lyle smiled. He got up and walked over to Sydney, trying not to make too much noise. When he touched Sydney's shoulder he jumped. "Shh, look at someone." Lyle pointed to Parker and Jarod.
Sydney sat up and looked at them and smiled. "Your point?" Sydney asked.
"Someone's fibbing to us." Lyle said to him in a whisper
"Well, you don't expect her to tell you THAT do you? Lyle, you have a lot to learn." Sydney shook his head.
"What?"
"What it took for her to find this out was to be stuck here with him for God knows how long. But rest assured when we get back to The Centre, it will be business as usual, she'll put this in the back of her mind and lock it up in a little safe." Sydney said as Parker moved. They both looked at each other and froze. All Parker did was curl up more against Jarod and go back to sleep.
"That was close." Lyle whispered.
"What's wrong Syd?" Broots mumbled.
"Look at someone." Sydney whispered. Broots sat up and looked at Parker and Jarod.
"I'm not seeing that am I?"
"Yeah. We better go out onto the beach if we're going to talk. If we wake her, she won't be too happy." Everyone stood up and walked out onto the beach, leaving Parker and Jarod to sleep.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
8:05A.M.
Parker woke up and she didn't see anyone. Jarod was still sleeping. She untangled herself and stood up. Jarod just moved his head and went back to sleep. She walked out onto the beach, but no where near the others, even thou they saw her walk out and sit on the sand, looking out onto the water. "I think someone needs to talk." Sydney said.
"She probably won't talk to any of us." Lyle said as they just watched her.
"I think she just wants to go back to The Centre where everything's routine and reliable." Sydney said as they saw Jarod come out and kneel behind her. Jarod placed a hand on her back. Parker turned around and looked at him. She turned back to look at the water and leant back against him. Jarod linked his arms around her and kissed her neck.
"I think we all want to go back to our normal lives." Lyle agreed. Sydney got up and walked over to them.
"Are you all right?" Sydney asked. Parker tried to stand up but Jarod held her down. "Easy, I'm just going to sit here, if you don't want to talk, we won't." Sydney sat down next to them, looking out onto the water. Parker sat there silently.
After a few minutes, Jarod noticed that Parker was crying. "Hey, shh." Jarod held her and started to gently rock her. "What's wrong?" Jarod asked her.
"Nothing, just let me go." Parker got up and ran into the trees. Jarod got up and followed her and then just stopped.
"What's wrong with her?" Sydney asked as he came up beside him.
"I don't know. She's been acting strangely all day." Jarod said sadly.
"I think you should go and talk to her and find out what's wrong." Sydney said. Jarod nodded and walked in the same direction as Parker.
He found her in a heap on the ground, hanging her head down, near the pond, crying. "What's wrong?" Jarod asked as he came near her. As soon as he got close Parker jumped up and backed away.
"You don't get it, do you?" Parker cried.
"No, I'm afraid I don't."
"As soon as someone comes and gets us, everything will be over. Finished. Kaput. Finale. So long it's been nice knowing you!" Parker sat down on the ground crying. "I just lost Tommy and now I'm going to lose you!"
Jarod got up and walked over to her. "Parker, look at me." Jarod said gently. Parker kept her head down. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head. "I'm not going anywhere."
"But The Centre."
"Screw The Centre. I'm going to be with you. No one can stop that."
"Don't tease me." Parker turned her head away.
"I'm not." Jarod wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.
"Lyle's going to tattle-tail to Daddy or The Council."
"You let me deal with Lyle. But I don't think he'll tell anyone, anything." Jarod kissed her. "Now do you want to come back out onto the beach?"
"Yeah, if someone does come and get us, how will you escape?" Parker stood up.
"I won't tell you, now come on, Sydney's worried about you." Jarod put his arm around her shoulders and walked her back to the beach.
As soon as Sydney saw her he walked over to her. "Are you all right?" Sydney asked quietly.
"No." Parker shook her head.
"Do you want to tell me?" Sydney asked as they walked back to where they were. She remained silent.
Jarod sat down on his knees and Parker sat down in front of him, wanting to lean back but not sure if she should. "Come back here." Jarod put his hands on her shoulders and tried to pull her back, but she wouldn't move. "Relax." Jarod whispered. Parker reluctantly leant back. "There you go, just calm down." Jarod wrapped his arms around her middle.
Lyle and Broots walked over to where they were sitting. As soon as Lyle got close, Parker sat up and glared at him. "Hey truce, I'm not going to do or say anything." Lyle sat down nearer the water. Broots sat behind Sydney.
"Lyle." Jarod said as he pulled Parker back on to his chest. Lyle turned round. "What are you going to tell Mr Parker or some hotshot at The Centre about what happened here?" Parker tensed up. "Easy." Jarod stroked her face.
"Only that we sailed into a storm. We got shipwrecked here. Sis tried to strangle everyone. And she was on her own for the whole time. And I expect everyone to play along."
Parker relaxed against Jarod but she wouldn't stop staring at Lyle. "Is that all, or is that just what you want me to know?" Jarod asked.
"That's what I'm planing to tell them." Lyle looked at Parker. "And there's an expression I never would have expected to see on your face."
"What?" Parker growled.
"Confusion, happiness, contentment." Lyle said.
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." Parker said sarcastically.
"I said that you were just getting worked up over nothing, now didn't I?" Jarod whispered close to her ear.
"Maybe. But I still don't trust you!" Parker hissed.
"Great, a truce for three seconds and she barks at me."
"You just..." Parker stopped talking suddenly.
"What..." Parker clamped a hand over his mouth.
"I can hear a boat." Parker said. "Let go." Jarod let her go. Parker got up and ran back into the trees.
"Why is she going back there?" Sydney asked confused.
"Don't ask me."
A short time later Parker reappeared with her gun. "Where's the clip I gave you?" Parker asked.
"Here." Jarod took it out of his pocket.
"Thanks." Parker took it from him and put it in her pocket. She armed her gun and flicked off the safety.
"Miss Parker? Mr Lyle?" They heard Sam calling them over the loudspeaker. Parker pointed her gun at the ground and fired. They heard the boat getting louder and this time the engine was revving a lot harder. Then there were two boats. "Miss Parker, is everyone all right?"
"You took your fucking time!" Parker hissed.
"But we had to find where you were." Sam said as they beached the boat.
"Have you heard of helicopters?" Parker spat back.
*At least she's still the same* Sam thought. "We sent the heli out and that's how we found the boat."
"How come we didn't hear the chopper?" Lyle asked.
"We didn't need to get close to be able to see the boat, there are pieces all over the place." Sam got off the boat and walked over to them. "Are we ready to leave?"
"Yes, go get our stuff, we're leaving." Parker ordered. Broots went back and got their coats. Sydney, Lyle and Jarod stayed on the beach.
"Do want handcuffs for him, Miss Parker?" Sam asked.
"He's not going anywhere." Parker growled. "On the boat." Lyle and Sydney got on the boat. Broots came back with Parker's white coat, Jarod's leather jacket and Lyle's suit coat.
"I also put the fire out, Miss Parker."
"Good, lets go." Parker lightly shoved Broots forward and got onto the first boat. The second boat was just for sweepers and an escort. "On second thoughts Sam, you better give me the handcuffs, we wouldn't want him falling over board, now would we?" Parker held her hand out for the cuffs.
"It never crossed my mind." Jarod said, sounding like he was lying through is teeth.
"I'm sure." Parker says, sarcastically. Sam handed her the cuffs. "Now be good and go down below." Parker said as she pushed him back. Jarod walked down the stairs. "Sit." She pointed to the bed. Jarod sat. Parker put the cuffs on one hand then threaded them around the bedpost and cuffed his other hand. "Be good and STAY." Parker growled and walked back up on deck. "Stand guard out here, make saw he doesn't pull a disappearing act."
"Yes Miss Parker." Sam stood outside the hatch.
Parker climbed up onto the upper deck and sat in the sun, leaning against the railing. Sydney and Broots decided to stay on the lower deck and sit in the chairs. The second boat threw a line to the boat everyone was on, Sam caught it and tied it round the pole at the back and signaled the sweeper up at the wheel to kick over the engine and put the boat into reverse.
A few minutes later they were on their way back to Blue Cove.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
The boats arrived in Blue Cove at 1:35p.m, where they swapped into the cars. The sweepers took Jarod back to The Centre and everyone else went home to have a shower and get changed. They agreed to return back to The Centre and overlook what Mr Parker was going to be doing with Jarod. And it was also agreed that no one would say anything about what happened on the island.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE CENTRE:
MR PARKER'S OFFICE:
2:10P.M.
Everyone was ordered to Mr Parker's office so that he could debrief them on what will be happening now. "Well done Angel. I never doubted you for a minute."
"I can go now. That was our deal *bring Jarod back and I leave for good*" Parker told him. She knew that Jarod wouldn't be staying long but she had to at least PRETEND that he was staying for longer than a few days.
"Yes of course Honey." Mr Parker said sitting back in his chair. "I'll organise the paperwork so you can leave on Monday."
"Good. What will happen to him now?"
"You don't need to worry about that Honey, you'll be free in a couple of days and you won't ever have to worry about him again."
"You're not going to kill him. I didn't spend four fucking years to bring him back just so you could shoot him!"
"No, no, we won't be shooting him. I just meant after you leave The Centre you'll have your own life and you won't have to worry about him."
*I find it hard to believe that he is just going to let me go* Parker thought. *No, he's up to something* Then she saw a look in his eyes. It was the look of a cat just about to pounce on a bird. "We can go now, can't we?"
"Yes of course. You've told me all I need to know."
"Good." Parker, Lyle, Sydney and Broots left his office. He picked up the phone and dialed.
"Matumbo...Yes, Jarod's back and she'll be officially leaving on Monday...No, she doesn't suspect anything, she believes that she'll be able to walk away...Yes, put everything into action, the project will need to be set up by Monday if everything's to go as planned...I know it's been a long time in coming, but we'll soon have another race of Pretenders." Mr Parker hung up.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Everyone was in Miss Parker's office. She was pacing round dangerously. "He's up to something, you know as well as I do that I WON'T be leaving here. But what is it?" Parker sat down in her chair, resting her elbows on the desk.
"I have an idea what it might be." Sydney said quietly.
"What?" Sydney sat at Parker's desk and leant over to her.
"You're mother told me that you have the pretender gene. No one knew, all except for you're mother and I. Your father might have found out somehow. Catherine was testing you when you were little, you wouldn't remember. She told me that you solved Jarod's puzzles quicker than he did. She thought it might have been luck, so she got me to give her one of Jarod's harder SIMS. You completed it quicker than Jarod. She made me promise not to tell anyone because of what they were doing to Jarod. I haven't told a soul until now."
"That's impossible!" Parker exclaimed.
"No, it isn't. Think about it, you're Lyle's twin and he's a pretender and you've always been able to sense something was wrong in a couple of places when we were hunting for Jarod." Broots said nervously.
"Yeah, that's because everything was WRONG! I could see things that were wrong and I...I, oh my God." Parker went silent.
"What's wrong?"
"I felt there was something wrong and I heard Momma's voice whispering to me to leave." Parker laughed lightly and shook her head. "But you hear Momma too don't you?"
"No. This isn't a joke, we have to get Jarod out to protect both of you." Lyle said dead serious.
"He'll be getting out himself. He told me that he would be getting away but not telling me how."
"Probably with Angelo's help."
"Yeah, for the next couple of days, act normal. Don't attract any attention to us. If we show any different signs, we'll be in the firing line when he escapes." Parker said to them seriously.
"Deal. Business as usual." Everyone agreed.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
PARKER MANOR:
2 DAYS LATER:
3:35A.M.
Everyone was acting normal. Broots had found the files that were sent from Matumbo to Mr Parker. Sydney was right, they were planing to use Parker to create a new and better race of pretenders. He went straight to Parker and told her what he found. Mr Parker had been acting rather too cheering for Parker's liking and decided it would be best if she wasn't alone, which wasn't very difficult because Sydney needed her help with files.
Time was ticking away for Parker, if Jarod didn't escape soon, like tomorrow, they would be in the same experiment and only one of them would survive. Today was Saturday and she was scheduled to *leave* The Centre on Monday, time defiantly was running out.
Parker was in bed asleep, her exhaustion finally won about 1 hour ago. With today been Saturday, she was anxious, hoping if she stayed awake someone would ring to inform her that Jarod had escaped. But no one rang. A troubled haunted sleep plagued her, when a warm hand touched her naked shoulder. Parker slowly opened her eyes only to find Jarod sitting next to her, with one hand on her shoulder and the other on her other side, next to her hip, supporting him as he leant over her. "Hey." Parker smiled at him.
"Hey, you don't need to worry about what they're going to do, I'm out. Sleep peacefully once more." Jarod whispered to her lovingly.
"How'd you know?" Parker sat up slightly on one elbow.
"Angelo." Jarod said to her gently.
"I'm just glad you're out. For both our necks." Parker sat up properly and wrapped her arms around his neck, sitting next to him with her cheek pressed against his. Jarod wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.
"Yeah, do mind if I crash here because..."
RING. RING.
Parker let go of Jarod and picked up the phone. "This better be good!" Parker barked into it sleepily.
"I'm sorry to wake you Miss Parker, but Jarod escaped tonight. Only a few hours ago." Broots said gently on the other end.
"Great! Just when I was about to leave that arsehole decides he wants his freedom again." Parker snarls. "Start a trace now. I'll be in tomorrow." Parker hung up. She turned to Jarod and wrapped her arms around his neck again. "Now what were you saying?"
"Can I spend the night here? I'm too tired to run and hide. I'd be safe here." Jarod pulled her closer again.
"Exactly how tired are you?" Parker purred as she moved closer to him.
"Not much, I just had too think of an excuse to sleep here." Jarod whispered as he brushed his lips across her cheek.
Parker purred like a kitten. "You don't need an excuse." She moved her lips closer to his and kissed his mouth hungrily. Jarod broke off the kiss, which earned a growl from Parker.
"I'm just taking my boots off, I'm not going anywhere." Jarod said as he undid the laces on his boots. Parker sat up, resting her hands on his shoulders and started to kiss his neck. Jarod dropped his boots at the foot of the bed and turned to Parker. "Now where were we?" Jarod asked her, kneeling on the bed in front of her.
Parker placed her hands gently on either side of his head and kissed him passionately. Jarod put his hands on her lower back and pulled her closer to him. She leant back, pulling him on top of her. She smiled up at him when he moved the covers away from her as she started to undo the buttons on his shirt.
"I've missed you." Jarod whispered next to her ear as she got his shirt off.
"I've missed you too." Parker purred. They rolled over so that she was on top of him.
"I don't ever want to leave you're side, but I have to."
"Shh." She placed her finger on his lips, which he kissed softly. "Let's forget everything. The Centre, the hunt, Daddy, Sydney. Everything, just for one night. Tonight's our night." Parker kissed him sweetly. Jarod traced up her back, under the T-shirt and held the base of her neck gently, pulling her closer to him.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE NEXT MORNING:
6:45A.M.
Jarod was up and showered when Parker's alarm went off. She didn't move. She was sleeping soundly. Jarod crept over and sat next to her and gently kissed her cheek. Parker smiled and curled up around him. "Kitten, time to wake up." Jarod kissed her again.
Parker slowly opened her eyes. "Kitten?"
"You purred as you slept last night, so I'm going to call you Kitten." Jarod kissed her again. "My little Kitten."
"You're little Kitten can inflict pain." Parker wriggled down into the pillows lazily. "But not on you."
"You awake now?"
"Yeah. I don't know how I'm meant to live through today, I only got a few hours sleep." Parker closed her eyes again. "But I have to."
"I know." Jarod stroked her face. "How about you go have a shower and wake yourself up. I'll be down in the kitchen for a little, but I have to get moving before everyone is at work."
"OK."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
THE CENTRE:
8:00A.M.
Parker stormed into Broots' hole, which made him jump and fumble. "Damnit Broots! Can't you be anything but a klutz?"
"I'm sorry Miss Parker, but you scared me." Broots picked up the papers that had fallen to the floor. Broots looked strangely at her she seemed different. Happier somehow, even with the shields and acid, she's happy. Broots smiled and put the papers back on the desk.
"Have you got anything on Rat Boy yet?" Parker snarled.
"Not yet."
"Well get on wit it! The sooner we get him back the sooner I can leave." Parker leant down and whispered in his ear. "Don't try too hard." And patted his shoulder.
"Yes Miss Parker." Broots typed away at his keyboard. Parker walked out.
The End of Rough Seas
Whatcha think? Good? Bad? Should I steal Miss Parker's gun and shoot myself? Umm...Maybe not. You know the drill. Gimme, gimme, gimme feedback, I need it to survive.
devilish_princess698@yahoo.com.au