out…. He decided not to follow that trail of thought and instead dashed down the hall, speeding up as he crossed in front of the door and praying no one would notice. He stood on his hind legs again and checked the door, this one opening easily to reveal the mess hall, thankfully empty at this hour.
No ammo in here, but… where there’s food, there has to be a way to cook it !
Fador moved past the tables and chairs to the back of the room. Leaping onto the tray slide, he walked through into the kitchen itself. A row of stoves lay on his left.
Jackpot! I’ll need my hands for this.
He took one more cautionary look around before jumping to the floor and changing into a man, walking over to the burners.
“Fuck!” He ducked and froze, hoping no one heard his outburst and cursing himself for being so stupid. Of course they’re electric. There goes the damned explosion. I guess a fire will have to do.
When no one seemed to have noticed the noise he had made, he looked around for something he could burn. A smile crossed his face when he found a large carton full of paper towel rolls. He put it on top of the nearest burner and turned it on high, watching with satisfaction as it started to smoke.
What else? He crossed over to the walk-in freezer and found several cases of alcohol. Fador opened two bottles and poured them on the napkins, watching as flames leaped high into the air. The fire grew into a blaze and he smashed several bottles on the floor and against the walls, enabling the easy spread of the fire. Within minutes the ceiling had caught fire as well and the whole kitchen became an inferno. He walked out the door into the mess hall and ran over to the nearest window, opening it and leaping out into the night.
* * * *
It was the cold that woke her, but it took Amber several moments to realize what was wrong. She had already grown used to sleeping between the two men and with neither beside her, the cold drew her out of a dead sleep.
“What time is it?” Not that it matters here, really. When no one answered, she sat up and looked around in the gloom. It seemed far too early for either man to be stirring, especially as tired as they had both claimed to be earlier when they dragged her to the ground and demanded she go to sleep so they could. The sudden realization that she had been duped had her to her feet before the thought could fully form in her mind.
Those assholes! The escape plan— it must be tonight! Which could only mean one thing. They had left her here and gone into a dangerous situation, leaving her here all alone.
What happens if they don’t come back? A chill that had nothing to do with the cold night air of the island ran down her spine, leaving her frozen in place. What bothered her more, being abandoned here, surrounded by murderers… or the alternative?
A scream rang out, cutting through the night and severing her paralysis.
“Michael! Fador! Oh, please God, no!”
Amber ran through the forest toward the beach, ignoring the tree limbs that slapped stinging welts across her face and arms.
Please let them be all right—
She ran out the edge of the tree-line and nearly fell when her feet hit loose sand. Somehow, she kept her feet and ran off to her right, toward the source of the scream. The moon shone eerily over the surf and the sand, mercifully casting shadows around the many stones in her path. She fought panic as the screaming ended as suddenly as it had started.
Michael….
Amber’s heart caught in her throat and her lungs threatened to burst with the effort as she ran down the beach, leaping over the smaller of the rocks and dashing around the ones she knew she couldn’t have cleared. Indistinct voices came to her now, voices raised in anger, occasionally yelling out.
Fador….
The night had become a nightmarish blur as tears came unbidden to her eyes. They were in terrible danger.
If they’re even still alive. Amber ran from the thought, trying to outpace