I went to the front door , picked up my sneakers , and then raced to my room to keep packing . Our dad 's sister , Aunt Lorelei , invited the three of us girls to go on a cruise . Even though I 'd anticipated it for weeks , I forgot we were leaving that day . Natalie , the ever - prepared one , packed a week in advance and helped Ginny do the same . She reminded me , but I had other things to do at the time , like message my best friend on Facebook . The doorbell rang just as I zipped my duffle . Hi , Lorelei ! " Mom 's voice echoed up the stairs . I grabbed my duffle and carry - on . As I headed downstairs , I listened to my mom and dad chatting with Aunt Lorelei . The contrast between Dad and Aunt Lorelei 's Texas accents and Mom 's Scottish one made me smile . Though Dad and his sister were both from Texas , their family had moved to California when they were teenagers because of my grandpa 's job . But after my grandparents passed away and Dad met Mom , they decided to stay in California , Dad because of Mom , and Aunt Lorelei because Dad is her only relative . " Hey , y ' all ! " Aunt Lorelei said , hugging Natalie . " Let 's go put your stuff in the car , then we 'll come back to say goodbye . " Aunt Lorelei laughed . Once in the car , Aunt Lorelei put on her large sunglasses , turned on the air and cranked up the country music . Aunt Lorelei was cool . Not only could she pull off those shades amazingly with her blonde bob but she wore stylish , expensive clothes , drove a Camaro , my favorite kind of car , and she was taking us on a cruise . I wanted to be just like her . As she prayed , my mind drifted to what we would do on the cruise . Yeah , I accepted Jesus as my Savior at VBS at age seven , but God didn 't matter much to me any more . After seven years , church and Christianity just got old and boring . We drove about thirty minutes to the pier . Aunt Lorelei parked , and we got out and unloaded our luggage . Then , we joined the masses of people heading toward the cruise terminal . Aunt Lorelei had enough money that this wasn 't her first cruise . She knew the drill . When we reached the porters , we handed our duffles and suitcases to one of them , but kept our carry - ons with us . We thanked the porter , Aunt Lorelei gave him a tip , and we moved with the rest of the crowd to a building . Inside , we stood in a long line . Once our turn , each of us had to let them search our carry - ons . Then , we had to step through a metal detector . Our earrings set it off , because all of us except Ginny wore them . When the security guards realized that was all , they let us through . Then , Aunt Lorelei handed our passports , her credit card , and some other papers I didn 't pay much attention to , to a uniformed man at a desk to our left . After a few minutes of looking the documents over and doing something on a computer , he said , " All right , ladies , you 're all good . Welcome to the Pacific Mermaid . " We left the building and another worker showed us where to board the cruise ship . Once up the ramp , we walked through a kind of open , roofed hallway on the outside of the ship , then through a hallway inside the ship . After that , we stepped through large glass double doors into the most luxurious , huge place I 've ever seen . Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and red and gold jacquard carpet covered the floor . Matching red couches sat around the room , most filled with people . We went to the safety drill so , as the ship staff told us , we would know what to do in the unlikely event of an emergency . Then , we decided to go to the pool . Aunt Lorelei warned us ahead of time to pack our swimsuits in our carry - ons since the ship 's staff would send the rest to our rooms . As we made our way to the pool , a lady in a floppy sunhat bumped my side with some of her overabundant bags . She acted like she didn 't even notice . I turned to look at her , scowling . She scolded a brown - haired boy about Ginny 's age with more bags to be careful not to break her stuff . The water felt so good . I love swimming . The crowdedness of the pool didn 't stop me from having a good time . My sisters and I went down the five huge waterslides several times . I don 't like heights , but waterslides are the exception . Who can resist the awesomeness of waterslides ? Well , Aunt Lorelei can . She said she was too old for that kind of thing . But people older than her went down the waterslides . She just didn 't know what she was missing . While we kept riding the waterslides , Aunt Lorelei sat in one of the chairs around the pool , tanning and chatting with a woman with long blonde hair . Aunt Lorelei waved to me . The woman said something to her , she responded , and the woman waved , too . I waved back . The boat set off while we swam . A few hours later , it started to rain , so we wrapped in our towels and followed Aunt Lorelei to our rooms for showers . One of us would share a room with her , and the other two would have the other room . Aunt Lorelei gave me the key to our room , and we went in . It had brown carpet , two twin beds , a round window centered on the same wall as the bed headboards , and a large dresser with a mirror . We had to sort the luggage around , because whoever delivered it put it all in our room . Then , we took showers . Both bedrooms had their own bathroom . While Ginny showered , I got my stuff unpacked . Might as well use the dresser , since we 'd be in there for a week . The music wasn 't my type , being country , but Aunt Lorelei loved it . She and Dad only listened to country . After the concert , we went back to Natalie and Aunt Lorelei 's room . We played some Dutch Blitz , about the only thing Ginny and I both liked , because of our determination to beat each other . Stubborn and competitive Scottish blood , I guess . " As a matter of fact , I forgot to bring it . " I sighed as I got into bed . No matter how hard I tried , I always forgot something . " No . You lost them five months ago , or had you forgotten ? If you always want to borrow my stuff , why don 't you just buy your own ? Then , if you lose it , I won 't care . " " It 's fine , Shayne , " she cut me off . " I 'll just do something else with my hair tomorrow . " She stayed quiet for a minute , but then she said , " Good night . " " Good night . " I shouldn 't have exploded on her . After all , she didn 't make money babysitting all the time like I did so she could buy stuff . But she did lose things sometimes . I didn 't want the stuff I put my money into getting lost . After breakfast , Aunt Lorelei made us play shuffleboard . I thought only old people liked it , but it wasn 't too bad . After that , we headed for the arcade , Natalie 's choice . Suddenly the ship lurched and threw us forward and against a wall . My scream joined the screams of others . A man over a loudspeaker said , " Everyone please remain calm . The engine of the ship has malfunctioned in such a way that the ship can no longer sail . It 's storming , and this has already caused damage to the ship because the ocean floor is very rocky . Everyone please stay calm and come to the main deck for evacuation . Be advised that it is raining , so be careful to follow the instructions of the ship staff . " " That 's really weird . Cruise ships don 't tend to get problems like that . Come on , girls , " Aunt Lorelei said , moving ahead and leading us down the hall to the main deck . It was hard to walk , because the ship kept swaying . Some people tried to comfort small children who cried , but they looked just as worried and scared as the children . I couldn 't help being scared myself . The ship 's crew distributed life jackets to the passengers and gave instructions as to how to enter the life rafts . At our turn , they gave us life jackets . As we put them on , they told us to jump into the chute one by one , and get out of the way of the chute right away . They said not to leave the life raft and to remain calm because help would arrive soon . They also warned us that since it was raining , we should huddle together for warmth . We went down the chute and found seats in the life raft amongst some twenty other passengers . I noticed that boy and his rude mother I saw earlier sitting in one corner of the life raft . Icy rain fell on us . Wind rocked the raft and blew straight through my clothes . Ginny huddled against me , digging her chin into my shoulder . I elbowed her . Aaaand , that 's the end of part 1 ! What do you think ? This was the longest part , but I hope there were enough pictures to keep your interest . The sky darkened and the rain pelted harder . Several orange life rafts bobbed furiously in the stormy waves . Unless looking for our rescue , I ducked over to avoid the rain as much as possible , which didn 't help much . The wind drove us farther and farther from the cruise ship , as the violent waves dashed it to pieces . Waves beat against the life rafts , throwing water into them . I screamed when a cold wave hit my back . I think by then , everyone was soaked through . A huge wave overturned several life rafts , dumping their passengers into the Pacific . The people struggled to stay above water . Even though they wore life jackets , the violence of the waves made it hard for them . Some grabbed onto broken pieces of the ship to keep them afloat . People in the life rafts paddled toward the swimmers , using either their hands or broken pieces of the ship that they grabbed from the water . With the waves against us , it took a while to reach the people . By the time a life raft reached people , several already had drowned . Saving people almost seemed hopeless . We just tried to reach as many people as we could . Aunt Lorelei and I reached out and each grabbed one of a woman 's hands . We pulled her in , careful not to make the life raft tip . Then , a red haired , green - eyed man and Aunt Lorelei pulled another woman in . I looked out at the water . Five people to be rescued still . We all paddled toward them . The man pulled another man into the raft . I stretched out my hand to the blonde woman I recognized from talking with Aunt Lorelei at the pool the day before . After pulling her up , I reached for another woman , but a wave sent her under , and she didn 't come back up . That wave also sent more water into the raft . I shivered , partly from the cold , partly from the sight of all the floating dead bodies . It didn 't look like anyone outside a life raft was alive . The waves kept capsizing the life rafts , sending their passengers into the ocean . Those still in rafts constantly struggled to stay aboard and rescue as many fallen passengers as possible . Waves poured over us , and then a huge wave turned our raft over . I paddled to the surface and took a deep breath . The man who sat near us in the raft trod water about two yards in front of me . He grabbed the raft and tried to turn it right side up . I felt the water rushing past me and knew a huge wave must be gathering behind me . I coughed and took a breath just before the wave crashed over me . I struggled to get above water , but another wave must have come , because I sank . The water stung my eyes . I ran out of breath way too quickly . I thought I 'd die . I swam up as hard as I could and just in time , I reached the surface . I gulped in the wet , salty air . I shoved my hair out of my face and searched frantically for the life raft and my family . Our raft , now right - side - up , had Natalie and a few other people inside . No sign of Ginny or Aunt Lorelei . I swam the best I could toward the raft , but waves kept pushing me under , and I seemed to keep coming up farther from the raft . I constantly struggled to get above water , get the water and my hair out of my eyes , and breathe . I knew I would drown . Fighting the waves took so much energy . I knew at any moment I wouldn 't have any strength left . " Save your energy ! We 'll come to you ! " the man said . I barely heard over the wind . The life jacket didn 't help much . How much longer would it be till I died ? Finally , the raft got to me and hands reached out to me . I reached and people grabbed me and pulled me in . I tried to catch my breath , relieved to no longer have to fight every second for my life . I looked at the people in the raft . The woman from the pool , another woman with black hair , the man , Natalie , and that boy sat inside . We all paddled hard . I grabbed a piece of the ship from the water beside me and used it as a paddle . I knew my aunt and sister couldn 't stay afloat much longer . When we finally got to them , the sight of them holding onto a piece of the ship relieved me . That probably saved their lives . We pulled them in . I grabbed Aunt Lorelei in a hug . Then , I reached over and hugged Ginny . I was so relieved they weren 't dead . We looked around for others , but all the bodies floating in sight were obviously dead . None of the other life rafts were occupied . The waves kept rushing at us , throwing our raft in all directions . We clung to that raft . I think everyone hoped as much as I did that we didn 't get thrown into the water again . The storm went on for I don 't even know how long , but it calmed down a little bit and thankfully , we managed to stay in the raft . Eventually , the rain stopped pouring , and the waves became gentle ripples . The sun peeked out from behind a cloud . With the sudden calm , I fell asleep . I awoke shivering . My clothes still weren 't dry . I sat up from leaning on Aunt Lorelei 's shoulder and rubbed my sore neck . I wondered why no help came yet . I looked around . Everyone in the life raft was awake , but no one said anything . The many bodies , life rafts , and pieces of the ship dwindled to only a few overnight . I assumed they must have floated away or sank . Off in the distance , to the right of the raft , I could have sworn I saw land . " You know , Shayne , I think you 're right ! " She looked around at everyone else . " Guys , does that look like land to you ? " Using our hands or whatever metal pieces from the ship we found still floating around , we paddled slowly but surely toward land . It took us somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour to reach a beach . Beyond the beach grew a thick forest , and a mountain peeked over the treetops . I got out of the raft and plopped onto the sand . I lay on my back and just rested . Aunt Lorelei and Natalie thanked God aloud . The rest lay on the sand near me , except the man and the black - haired woman , who pulled the raft far enough onto the beach for it not to get taken away by the tide . Then they collapsed onto the sand with the rest of us . I fell asleep again . When I woke , the sun just peeked over the horizon . The sunset colored the sky orange and purple . I sat up . Everyone else sat around a fire a couple yards away . My skin burned . I guess I got sunburned while lying there . I wished I 'd thought of that earlier . I sat down next to Aunt Lorelei as the blonde lady said in the most disgusting , high - pitched , whiny voice I ever heard , " These mosquitoes are just dreadful ! I can 't stand bugs ! Why are they still attacking me when there 's a fire ? " " Here , Shayne , eat some of these , " Aunt Lorelei said , handing me a baseball cap full of berries . I thanked her and put some in my mouth . The idea of eating out of someone else 's sweaty old hat made me cringe , but my hunger overcame that . At least the berries were pretty good . " I found them , and gathered them in my hat . Since I 'm a Webelos Cub Scout , I know what kinds of plants are safe to eat . And if there are any animals around here , we can eat them , too , " Rupert said . " Webelos Cub Scout . It 's what you are right before you become a Boy Scout . You can 't be an actual Boy Scout till you 're ten . Well , not you , but you know , a boy . " " Well , some things from the crash washed up onto the shore . There are a couple knives , " Aunt Lorelei said . " We put everything in a community pile so everybody can use them if they just happen to need them . Not that a lot of the stuff is super useful . " " Well , I certainly wouldn 't use a knife . I couldn 't dream of killing an animal . That 's so gross and cruel ! " Caroline said . " Oh , you mean my foster mom . My real mom died a few months after my seventh birthday . Then I got put into foster care with this awful woman named Miss Queenie . See , she doesn 't let me have or do anything , except Scouts . She only took me on the cruise because I won it in a sweepstakes . I needed a parent or guardian and she wanted to go , but she wouldn 't have taken me unless she had to . She would have made me stay with her mother , Miss Prudence . " " Well , sorry about your mom , " I said . " I mean , your real mom . I guess you don 't miss Miss Queenie very much . " " Thanks , " Rupert said . " It 's not like Miss Queenie wanted me . She only took me in for the money . Nobody ever wanted me . I 'm just a useless orphan . " We sat around the fire , talking about whatever we thought of . I learned that Daniella was a divorced hairstylist who worked at a fancy salon . The hairstylist part explained the blue streak in her hair . Liam was a single businessman who spent all his free time at the gym or surfing at the beach . Caroline said she 'd had a husband and son , but they died in a car accident , so she lived alone and taught preschool . After a while , Daniella said , " Well , I 'm tired . I 'm going to go find a place to sleep . " " All right . You three girls find a good place to sleep and I 'll be there in a bit . I want to do something , " Aunt Lorelei said . I had an awful dream . A blonde girl stood on the witness stand , testifying she saw a lady kill a man and a little boy . Then , the judge pounded her gavel , and sentenced the woman to life in prison . As the police led the woman out , she stopped in front of the girl and glared at her with piercing green eyes . " I 'll get you one day . You will pay , " the woman whispered so just the girl could hear . The woman continued to glare at the girl as the police took her away . The girl screamed . I jerked out of sleep . That scream sounded so real . But now , no noises came from the dark . The dream probably just made me think I heard a scream . I dreamed that a lot and it always felt real . My sisters , but not Aunt Lorelei , lay on the ground beside me . I figured she must have decided to sleep somewhere else . Maybe she couldn 't find us . I lay down again and went back to sleep . When I woke up in the morning , Aunt Lorelei still wasn 't there . I got up to search for her . I walked along the beach at the front of the island . The sand burned my feet . The sea had claimed my flip flops the day before . I found no sign of her . I decided to look in the forest . I walked through the forest for a while , looking under trees . Not finding her , I almost turned back , when red sand caught my eye . It looked like blood stained the sand . I jogged farther into the forest , following the blood trail , and then screamed at what I saw . Aunt Lorelei lay on the ground , bloody slashes covering her body , soaking her clothes . Her eyes were open and glazed over . Tears welled up in my eyes . I dropped to my knees , sobbing into my hands . I couldn 't think straight . Why would someone kill her ? Both my sisters started crying and hugged me . I hugged them , not sure what to do . I felt helpless . We just hugged and cried for a long time . Then , a thought occurred to me . Someone on this island was a murderer . I didn 't know who it was , but I had to protect my sisters from them . Caroline 's scream echoed . A little later , she , Daniella , Liam and Rupert came up . I don 't remember a lot of what happened . I was still really shocked . Voices asked if we were okay . Caroline acted all dramatic and everyone looked at us with confused and sorry expressions . Voices jumbled together . I tried to make them all out . " Caroline , you stay with the girls while Daniella , Rupert and I go search the island for natives . We should always have at least three in a group , so no one else winds up dead . And we should check the community pile to see if any knives are missing , " Liam said . I put my arms around both my sisters . I didn 't know what else to do to comfort them when I felt the same way they did . Caroline , my sisters , and I sat silently for a long time . Aunt Lorelei is dead was the only thought that went through my mind . " Oh , my goodness , Leo ! It 's just you ! " Caroline said , gasping , jumping up , and grabbing Liam 's large bicep . " I thought for sure that horrendous native came back for another murder ! " " Like I said , always have at least three people present in a group . That way , whoever the murderer is , they won 't take the chance of revealing themself to the third person . And a knife is missing from the community pile . " " You 'll be fine . And don 't call me Leo . My name is Liam . Anyway , " he said , jerking from Caroline 's grasp . " Is there anything any of us can do for you three right now ? " he asked my sisters and me . " It wouldn 't be hard if you didn 't whine and just dug , " Liam said . " You should come , Caroline . It 'll help toughen you up . " Caroline looked slightly put out at Liam 's insulting her toughness , but what did she expect ? Probably also the fact that Liam had no interest in her , despite her flirtations , upset her . If I was a guy , though , I would have no interest in her either . She was so annoying ! " No , you stay here . You don 't need to see that again either . You 're only , what , nine ? " Liam said , walking backwards in the direction of Aunt Lorelei 's body . She ran to join Liam , who turned around and picked up his pace to a fast walk , leaving her . Caroline then tried to converse with Daniella , but Daniella made no motion to talk back . Liam and Daniella were acting really immature . But who would want to talk to a person who irritated the fire out of everyone ? Rupert knelt by the place the fire was the night before . A pile of sticks lay nearby . I guessed someone gathered them last night . He rubbed two sticks together . I rolled my eyes . I doubted he 'd actually be able to start a fire . Actually , Rupert did get a fire started . Then , he joined us . I sat there a while , until I felt like I 'd die if I didn 't get water and something to eat . " It 's no safer here than anywhere else on this island . Plus , I don 't think any of you guys killed your aunt , and I didn 't , so the murderer isn 't even with us right now . And we 'll be safe in a group , like Liam said . Besides , we need water , " Rupert said . " Come on , I 'll show you . " Rupert led us through the trees , past where we slept the night before . The shade of the trees made me thankful ; the ground didn 't burn my feet so much . After walking a while , we reached a small , round pool about five yards from the base of the mountain . I looked up at the mountain . A dark hole about 90 feet up looked like a cave . Too bad . No way would I climb that high , otherwise , I 'd stay in there . I knelt , cupped water in my hands and drank . It was so refreshing , despite its lukewarm temperature . We all drank some . When we 'd finished drinking , we searched for food . Rupert showed us where he found the berries the day before , and we ate enough to fill us up . Rupert said he needed to add wood to his fire , so he gathered up sticks . Then , we went back to the edge of the trees near the fire and sat in the shade . Rupert went and put the sticks on the fire , and then sat next to Ginny . Ginny and Rupert chatted , but Natalie and I didn 't say much . I didn 't feel like talking , still caught up in the fact of Aunt Lorelei 's death . How would Dad and Mom feel ? I longed for them and home more than anything . " I know you 're really upset about your aunt and I hate to bring it up , but I can 't get this really weird thing out of my mind . Next to her body , there was a word made out of sticks . It said ' ASK ' . " " The only thing I can think is that the murderer wants us to ask who it is . But I 'm not asking anyone . I don 't want to be killed . But I guess it would be okay , because I would go to Heaven , " Rupert said . " Well , God made the first people perfect , but they did something wrong . Wrong things people do are called sin . We all sin . And sin can 't be around a perfect God , " Natalie said . " So , " Natalie continued , even though Rupert started doodling in the sand with a stick , not paying much attention to her , " if we believe Jesus is God , came to earth , died for our sins , and came back to life , and we trust Him as the only way for our sins to be forgiven , God becomes our Father . Then one day , whether we die , or He comes back to earth , He 'll take those who have trusted Him to Heaven to live there with Him forever . He loves you , Rupert , and He wants to be your Heavenly Father . " The adults came back a few hours later . It scared me to know for sure that my aunt 's murderer was in our company . Caroline complained that she would die of thirst if she didn 't get water " right this minute ! " So we showed the adults the pool . When we got there , Caroline hesitated . I guess she thought there might be something harmful in the water , but her thirst seemed to overcome her fear , because she took some in her hands and drank . I wasn 't sure if I wanted to see it . I already knew Aunt Lorelei was dead . I had seen her body with my own eyes . But my sisters hadn 't . They would probably want me there . So , I got up and went with them after Liam . He led us to the place where I had found the body . " The cross was Daniella 's idea . She thought it would be a nice touch , " Liam said . " Do you want me to say some words ? " I shook my head . Words would do no good . He hadn 't even known Aunt Lorelei . What good were words when my heart hurt so much ? I wanted to cry too . But that would mean I was weak , wouldn 't it ? I didn 't want Liam to see me cry and I didn 't want my sisters to feel like I was weak . " All right , I assume you all want to stay together . So how about we make a guy shelter and a girl shelter right next to each other ? " Liam said . The seven of us walked through the woods for a while , searching for a tree that would work . Caroline tripped , screamed , and then got up and said , " Oh , I think I sprained my ankle ! " She limped over to Liam , grabbed his arm , and said , " Oh , Leo , I need help ! I don 't think I 'll be fit to do anything strenuous like build a shelter . Can you help me get to the pool ? I 'm going to die of thirst ! And I think water will do my wound some good . " " There . It 's all settled . Daniella 's pretty tough and she and Natalie will be glad to stay with you , won 't you , Daniella ? " The three of us kids continued through the forest with Liam . I wondered if we had just left the murderer behind , or if he stayed with us . After about ten minutes of searching , we found a tree that had several trunks coming from it to build both shelters against . We found Daniella , Natalie and Caroline at the water pool . Caroline gasped as we came up , and then put a hand on her heart and exhaled when she saw it was us . Daniella rolled her eyes . " Well , we should lean sticks or some tough grasses up against the tree , then fill in spaces with leaves and mud . Caroline could do the filling in , " Rupert said . " And we could lay the life raft on top of the girls ' shelter for extra protection . " Daniella sighed and jerked her head , I think , half nodding , and half flicking her black side bangs out of her eyes . I heard her mutter , " Can 't do anything without bossing me around , can he ? Just like my ex - husband , " as they left . When Ginny , Rupert and Daniella returned , dragging the life raft , we showed Rupert the sticks we found . Rupert instructed in finding the best sticks and sent Ginny , Natalie , and Daniella in search of taller sticks . Meanwhile , Rupert and Liam leaned the sticks against the tree . Rupert told me to pile up some mud and leaves for Caroline . After I had a pile , Rupert told me to let the air out of the life raft so we could put it on top of the shelter . I found the air valves and opened them . Then I lay on my stomach on the raft to push the air out . Rupert proceeded to tell Caroline how to put the mud and leaves in the cracks . " Eww ! " Caroline said when she picked up a glob of mud . She dropped it , splattering some mud on Liam 's boardshorts . He clenched his teeth , I think to bite back what he wanted to say . After we finished building the shelters , I felt so ready for bed , even though the sun hadn 't set . The heat could really drain you of all your energy . When I voiced this , Caroline exclaimed her exhaustion . It seemed like sleep took forever to come . Despite how tired I was , I couldn 't get my mind to calm down . Aunt Lorelei was gone forever . She would never come over or laugh or listen to country music again . She would never hug me again . I missed her so much . " Oh , hi , Shayne . I couldn 't sleep . I was just thinking about what I used to do with my husband before he died , " she said , blinking at tears in her light blue eyes . I left the shelter to stretch my legs . I only intended to stay out there a little bit . I didn 't want to be out alone . At that moment , Rupert came out of the guys ' shelter . I rolled my eyes . Ginny never complimented boys unless she liked them . We munched on the ferns as we continued looking for more food . The ferns tasted just okay . I wouldn 't have eaten them if I had other options but at this point food was food . As we neared the ocean on the right side of the island ( according to where we landed ) , we came to a swampy area . I would have turned back , if I hadn 't noticed what I did . Rupert saw it , too . He stared . I nodded , reluctant , not wanting to get muddy or to see this , because from here , it didn 't look pretty . Rupert rolled up his pants and we stepped into the mud . I sank in to about my mid - calves . I took a few more steps , and then the mud came up to my waist . Just like Aunt Lorelei , blood covered his body . Ginny screamed and started crying . She hugged me . I put an arm around her . We just stood there for a little while , staring at Liam . I looked at Rupert and Ginny , sick to my stomach . The mud sloshed behind us . We turned . A crocodile 's head poked out of the mud just inches from us . I screamed , turned around , grabbed Ginny 's hand and ran . I didn 't even stop to see if Rupert came with us . His scream stopped me . Ginny and I looked back . I was horrified that maybe the crocodile had him . It didn 't yet , but it chased him . We ran the few yards back to him , Ginny grabbed his hand and we ran the fastest I ever had in my life . I looked back . The crocodile lagged behind several yards , but I didn 't stop . I wanted to be out of sight of the thing . When I looked back and didn 't see the crocodile , I kept running a little longer , not wanting it to catch up . Once I was pretty sure we outran the thing , I let go of Ginny 's hand and collapsed onto my back . They joined me on the ground , gasping . After a few minutes , Rupert said , " Well , I can 't say I 'm not afraid of anything any more . " " When we explored , we didn 't come over here , " Rupert said . " We should warn the others to stay away from the swamp . That croc must have thought we might take its home . " I saw a person with dark hair with her back to us a few yards in front of us and put my hand out in front of Rupert to stop him . She was too tall to be Natalie . Daniella ! " Well , I 'll look for him . You three head back to the shelters so there 'll be more than two people there . Head through the woods that way and you 'll be there soon , " she said , pointing in the direction she meant . " I don 't think he would have stabbed himself that many times . And there would have been a weapon near the body if he killed himself . I think someone must have killed him in the night . " " Okay , there are crocodiles on this island , but they 're not near us . If you leave our shelter and go out to the left , then make another left and head that way for a while , you 'll get to a swamp . The crocodiles live there . " Daniella entered the shelter . " Guys , this is going to be kind of hard to hear , but you need to know . I just found Liam . And he 's dead , " she said . " Oh , we - " Caroline said , but then said , " What ? How dreadful ! " And with that , Caroline burst into what I thought looked like convincing tears , as good as her real reaction . I felt uneasy the rest of the day . Daniella took charge of us all , not letting anyone go anywhere without her to " protect " us . When Rupert , Ginny and I went to go wash off the mud , she almost came with us except that it would have broken the three person rule . came with us . Other than that , she wouldn 't let us out of her sight . She said she wanted to protect us , but I think couldn 't help but wonder if she had different motives . I dreaded when night would come . I didn 't want to sleep near the murderer . And the murders always happened at night . It took me forever to fall asleep and every little noise made me jerk awake and look around the shelter to make sure everyone was still there . In the morning when I woke up , only my sisters lay in the shelter with me . That made me wonder if someone else was dead . But I hesitated to leave . I didn 't want to go find another dead body . And if I always found them , would people think I was the murderer ? A scream interrupted my thoughts . It sounded like Caroline . I didn 't get up . Caroline screamed about everything . She could have just stubbed her toe . Her screaming usually didn 't mean anything serious . I lay back down and tried to go back to sleep . " Shayne , we just found Caroline dead ! " Natalie said . " We need to hide ! Daniella killed her and if we don 't hide , she could come find us ! " " Okay , " I said , my head still swimming with the fact that Caroline was dead . That just left Daniella and us kids . Who would die next ? I was terrified . I wanted to scream or cry or break something . I wanted to be off this stupid island and safe at home . But I had to hold it together for my sisters . " If we go in here far enough that she can 't see us , she might not bother coming in to find us , " Rupert said . He pulled a knife out of his pocket , got on his hands and knees and said , " I 'll clear a bit of a path through here . " He crawled through the brush , cutting away branches . When he made a kind of long tunnel through the thorns , he said , " Come on in , guys . " " Guys , I feel bad . I heard Caroline scream , but I just stayed in the shelter . I tried to make myself believe she just stubbed her toe or something . But I kind of had a feeling . I just didn 't want to believe it . If I 'd gotten up and done something , Caroline might not be dead . " Later that day , Rupert used the knife to cut away more thorns so we all had room to lie down . By that time , it was dark , and I surprisingly fell asleep right away . I slept for a little while , but then I woke up again . I groaned . Why couldn 't I just lie down and sleep normally ? " They lived down the street from us . I knew them well enough to know it was her . I saw her stabbing Jack . He screamed , which made Mr . Kensington come running . By the time he got to her , I think Jack was dead , because he didn 't get up or scream any more . Then , she stabbed Mr . Kensington until he stopped screaming . I know she did it . " I woke suddenly . My fear of Daniella coming and killing me already made it so that I couldn 't sleep well . And now , I had to have one of those dreams . Ever since I testified against her when I was ten , I had creepy dreams about Mrs . Smith - Kensington and couldn 't help worrying that one day , she 'd come after me , even though I knew she lived behind bars . A scream pierced the quiet . I thought the screaming came from my dream , but I couldn 't have imagined that . A second scream echoed through the night . I crawled out of the thorns . I didn 't want to just sit around if someone needed help . But I had no weapon . I wondered if I should go to the community pile to see if a knife was there , but by that time , the person could be dead . The lack of light made it hard to see . I wanted to follow the screams , but no more came . I realized as I ran that I should have checked my sisters ' safety before I left . I tore through trees and brush in search of whoever screamed , scared now , that it was one of my sisters . Thorns scraped my arms and legs as I ran through the forest . I found nothing . Maybe my dream confused me and just thought I heard a scream ? It got a little lighter as I continued farther . I looked down and stopped short . Daniella lay on the forest floor . Blood saturated her clothes . And again , on the ground , in capital letters I read the word , " ASK " . " If he attacks us , yes ! I 'm not letting a little creep murder any of us . We shouldn 't act like this is nothing just because he 's a little kid . " " See ? He took them to leave us defenseless . We need to hurry up and get water . Them we need to get to safe place . Maybe we should go somewhere else so he won 't find us , " I said . We made it to the water pool and Natalie started drinking . I had just knelt down , when Ginny gasped . I looked at her . She stared at the ground . About a foot in front of her a snake slithered toward her . I was as terrified as she looked . We both hated snakes . We both crouched there , not moving . The snake moved closer . I tried to think of what to do , but couldn 't . The snake struck and bit Ginny 's ankle . She screamed . At that , Natalie turned and looked at Ginny . Leaves cracked to my right . It sounded like rapid footsteps getting closer . Rupert ran up , knife in hand . I was terrified . Who did he intend to kill ? Next thing I knew , Rupert jumped in front of me and cut the snake 's head off . I breathed hard . I looked at Ginny . She looked close to tears . Rupert knelt next to her . " I don 't think you should move a lot . It 's better for you to stay calm and still , " Rupert said . " But we should stop that bleeding . " I thought about it . If he was the killer and just made up his getting saved , I didn 't want him near me and my sisters . And how could he not be the murderer ? What if he just wanted to get me to trust him again ? " Shayne , what if he gave us all the knives ? Then , say he just happened to be the murderer . He couldn 't do anything to us , " Ginny said . Ginny looked at Rupert , then at me . " Shayne , I don 't know why , I just feel like we can trust him . I mean , he just jumped in front a snake for me . " I thought about it . I guess it didn 't make sense for Rupert to be the murderer . He always seemed like a nice kid and why would he save Ginny from the snake if he wanted us dead ? " We 'll go look for the bodies . If one of them is gone , I 'll be more likely to believe you . But that doesn 't mean I do yet . Anyway , are you going to give those knives over ? " I said . " That 's fair enough , I guess , " Rupert said . Rupert handed one of the knives to me and the other to Natalie . " Now , Ginny , I don 't think you should go walking around a lot . You need to rest . " " That 's what my friends call me , because my full name is Rupert Ronald Rutter . I like it . It 's like I 'm a pirate , " Rupert said . " I know a girl named Alaska at school . And hey , I could think of worse names than that . What about Queenie , Prudence , and all the names of Miss Prudence 's cats ? " I sighed . " Well , initials really limits things . It could be any combination of A , S , and K names . It would take us forever to figure it out . If we 're even right that they are initials . And we don 't even know if it stands for a guy name or a girl name . " " When I was 10 , I testified against a woman named Arlene Smith - Kensington for killing her husband and son . It 's Caroline ! " I said . " I 'm positive . Her hair is a different color now , and she 's wearing color contacts , but it 's the same face ! I can 't believe I didn 't think of this before . If only I didn 't have this stupid bad memory ! " " I bet she escaped . Remember that talk Mom and Dad had , all quiet , and Mom said , ' No , we shouldn 't tell Shayne . We don 't want her to worry ' ? That 's what they were talking about ! " " What , out loud ? Well , I mean , I guess I could , but I 'm not really good at it yet . " We bowed our heads and Rupert said , " Uh , okay . God , I think we 're all kind of scared right now , even me . Please keep us safe and get us off this island . Let the girls get back to their parents and please give me a good family one day . Please , don 't let Caroline come after us . Thanks for dying for me and becoming my Father . Amen . " I got up and dried my eyes . I had to tell Ginny about Natalie 's death and to apologize . I ran back to the shelters . Ginny wasn 't in either of them . Then , it occurred to me that Rupert wasn 't around when I found Natalie . The little creep ! Had he killed everyone and then just tried to get me to believe he was innocent ? Did he have Ginny now ? I tried to think if Caroline really had looked like Arlene Smith - Kensington . I went to the thorn tunnel to search for Ginny and Rupert , but still no sign of them . I ran back to the shelters , and something I didn 't notice before caught my eye . A big leaf lay on the ground . I picked it up . My breath caught . Arlene had Ginny and Rupert . Why had I left Ginny alone ? I was so stupid . Why hadn 't I brought Ginny with me ? Like an idiot , I left her alone . And now , Arlene would kill them . I put my hand in my pocket and feeling the knife there , I left to search the island . Where could they be ? I looked at the sun . It was close to the horizon , but not touching it yet . Then , a scream echoed over the treetops . Ginny ! Oh , God , please not her , too ! I raced toward the scream , coming to the base of the mountain . She screamed in reply . I looked up . Did Arlene really have them all the way up there ? Under normal circumstances , I would never have climbed this mountain , but my sister could die . I started climbing . I climbed the best I could , but I was terrified . I looked down . I shouldn 't have . I only managed to make it ten feet so far . The only heights I liked led to waterslides . I pressed on , just suppressing a scream when I grabbed a rock and it fell out of sight . Even though I tried not to make noise , I figured Arlene knew I approached by the sound of all the falling rocks and the scream . After what seemed like forever , I reached the ledge at the opening of the cave . I climbed onto the ledge and crawled into the cave . I strained to see the inside . It looked empty . Okay , so they weren 't there . Where were they ? I thought I heard a stifled scream from above . I mustered up my courage and kept climbing . I looked up . Only a little farther to the next ledge . I kept climbing toward it . When I pulled myself up , I realized I 'd reached the mountain top . " So you finally figured out who I am . Took your aunt only a day . And even your little sister figured it out before you did , " Arlene said , her typical whiny voice gone . Coldness emanated from her voice . She held the knife to Rupert 's arm , and then said , " Get up . " I noticed that blood covered Rupert 's arm . I wondered if the blood on the note came from there . " So , Shayne , what are you going to do now ? " Arlene said , yanking Ginny up by the arm with her left . Ginny yelped , but Arlene put the blade back to her throat with her right and growled , " Shut up ! " I tried to think fast . I had the knife in my pocket . But if I tried anything , Arlene would jam the blade into Ginny 's throat . God , please help us , I prayed . " Arlene , you know , I know who you are . I 'm a danger to you . When we get rescued , I 'll tell everyone who you are and what you 've done . You won 't get away with killing the people you have here . " " Well , you might as well just kill me and get it over with . It 's not like if you kill me , it would be a bad thing for me . I know I 'd be in Heaven . " " You think you 're so brave , don 't you ? Well , you know what ? I think I 'd rather let you see your little sister suffer and die before I kill you . " She pulled the knife away from Ginny 's neck and would have jammed it into the lower part of Ginny 's side , except Ginny jerked to the left and Arlene got her right hip instead . Ginny screamed and tried to pull away , but Arlene kept a firm grip around her middle and the knife in her hip . Blood ran down Ginny 's leg . My mind raced . What could I do ? At least Arlene 's blade wasn 't at Ginny 's throat any more . I pulled the knife from my pocket and unsheathed it . I ran at Arlene and tried to stab her , but she jerked away , putting Ginny in front of the blade . As Ginny cried out from the knife Arlene still held in her leg , I stopped just in time to not stab Ginny . " Well , maybe you don 't care about your family , but I care about mine . Leave her alone and deal with me . I 'm the one you want . " She yanked the knife out of Ginny 's leg . Ginny screamed . Arlene shoved Ginny to the ground and lunged at me . A more intense fear than I ever felt in my life gripped me . I saw this woman kill her own family and knew she killed so many others . I kept trying to stab Arlene , but her skill surpassed mine by far . But another idea struck me . If I could get her closer to the edge , maybe I could force her over the side . The fall could kill her . I backed up and moved to my left , closer to the edge . I stood only about a foot away . Thinking of forcing her over the edge made me think of Rupert . Arlene caught me by surprise and I didn 't dodge fast enough . Her knife got me in the lower right arm . I screamed in pain and grabbed my right with my left as my knife went flying over the edge . Arlene smiled . I braced myself , ready for my only chance . I put out my arms and when she came at me , I pushed her to the left with all my might , but not fast enough . Pain seared my other forearm . " Ow ! " I yelled . I drew back , expecting her to finish me off at any second . But to my surprise , I heard a scream . I looked up to find Ginny beside me . She wrapped her arms around me and we both thanked God for His deliverance . Then , I caught sight of her leg . Blood saturated the right leg of her shorts . I pulled my shirt off , leaving on my tank top , and tied it around Ginny 's leg . " Okay . " Ginny pulled the shirt off and did as I instructed . My arms stung really badly , but the cut on my left arm wasn 't too bad and had already stopped bleeding for the most part . " She 's dead . I wouldn 't have done it if I didn 't have to ! See , this knife fell from the top of the mountain and landed on the ledge , so I grabbed it . I heard Arlene screaming as she fell , but then , she caught hold of the mountain and climbed up to this cave . So , I … I killed her , " Rupert said . " Killing someone wasn 't what I expected . I always watched movies where killing the villain was amazing . But , to know that you stopped a person from living … She had a knife , though , and when she saw me , there was so much hatred in her eyes , and then she came toward me . I had to kill her or she would have killed me . But when I stabbed her , her eyes went all wide and she started gasping and I felt awful . " Rupert sounded close to tears . " It was completely self - defense ! " I exclaimed . " And she was so evil . You know she killed all those other people . Now she can 't hurt anyone else . You shouldn 't feel any guilt for killing her . " That seemed to comfort him a bit . He took a deep breath . " Well , after I killed her , I pushed her over the side . So , she 's down there somewhere . " We actually ripped pieces of cloth from her clothes to use as bandages . It was really disgusting because she was in terrible shape , but we were kind of desperate . Then , we went back to the shelters . I wanted to get away from that body as quickly as possible . I never wanted to see Arlene Smith - Kensington again . After that , I don 't remember how many days passed before people discovered us . Maybe three or four . By that time , Ginny could walk a little better , but she used one of us a crutch at all times . Rupert felt better , too , but his side still bothered him . At what sounded like a whirring helicopter propeller , we went out to the beach to see if rescue really had arrived . A helicopter stood in the sand . A black woman and a woman with short blonde curls rushed up to us . " Hello , I 'm Chental Vickers , and this is Jaicelynn Starr . We 're with the Coast Guard . Are you all right ? " the black woman said . " I know where 3 out of 5 bodies are . I 'm not sure if Arlene buried Daniella or if she 's still where I found her . My aunt is buried . The killer , and my sister aren 't . They must be awful by now . I really don 't want to see them , especially Natalie . " " Well , we 're pleased to meet you . I just wish it was under better circumstances . We thought the storm killed everyone , until we discovered movement on this island . This island is several nautical miles away from the initial crash . We 'll just find the bodies , and then we 'll send another helicopter to retrieve them later . " I told Chental and Jaicelynn where to find the bodies . They came back in ten minutes . Then , we all boarded the helicopter . Once we got to the search and rescue place , they booked a flight home for us . I was so excited to see Mom and Dad that the next few hours hardly felt real . " Mom ! Dad ! " I yelled . I was never so happy to see them in my life . I ran to them . Ginny followed slower on crutches . For a while , I did nothing but cry and hug Mom . I heard her crying , too . Thankfully , the Coast Guard people informed them about Aunt Lorelei and Natalie 's deaths so I didn 't have to . Mom pulled back to look at me , tears still shining in her green eyes .