Escape, the Complete Trilogy Read online

  The water looked inviting, and she had not been skinny dipping since high school graduation a few years ago. Why not? At least, if anyone came along, she would be underwater from the neck down. She eased into the water and went out just over her head. She swam lazily along the length of the beach and back. She admired the beautiful color of the water, and the colors of the fish that occasionally swam by.

  Treading water for a few minutes, she faced the beach and the trees behind it. It was beautiful. She thought she would have to take notes on the drive home so that she could remember how to get back there.

  Thinking about the man she had left back in the cave, she wondered what his story was and how they had met up. Unfortunately, this was not the first time she had woken up in an unfamiliar place in the last couple of months. She knew she had to get her life back in order, and being in this place seemed to be a wake-up call to all the beauty in the world she could experience.

  She wouldn’t say that she was a drug user per se, but she had been hanging around with people who were. To be specific, a man who was, and he didn’t have her best interests in mind. She had always been a great student—at least, until her last semester, when she’d started spending time with Rick. He was on the West Coast for business. Well, that was what he had told her, anyway. He claimed to have ties to organized crime back in Chicago. She knew it was stupid, but something about him was charismatic and dangerous, and she was drawn to him instantly.

  She was fortunate to have done well enough last semester that she could graduate after taking a summer course to make up for one class she had failed. Had she met him a couple years ago, she was sure she never would have made it through school. Shaking her head in disappointment, she felt like this was the first time she had been thinking clearly in months.

  Now is the time, she thought. Whatever this is, however I wound up here, it’s time to move on. That life is over. She felt like a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders during the twenty minutes she had spent swimming around in the water. It was time to get her life back on track. Looking back at her clothes on the rocks, she figured putting her clothes back on would be a good place to start.

  First checking to make sure no one had come along, she walked out of the water and felt her clothes. They were completely dry—unlike her. She stood there, facing the sun over the trees, and was really impressed with how she looked and felt. She felt confident. This place was so desolate, she had given up on the idea that someone would come along; but she felt so good, she almost didn’t care if someone did. The gym is really paying off. She turned her back to the sun, and after five minutes, she was completely dry. She was just buttoning her shorts when she heard a voice behind her shout, “Hey!”

  * * *

  It was damp and dimly lit, but at least the air smelled amazing. Judging by the sound of the waves crashing close by and the soft ground underneath, he figured he was lying on wet sand. More than once, he had woken up in a random place after a long night of partying, but the throbbing at the back of his head didn’t feel like a result of too much tequila.

  In fact, after he managed to sit up and take stock of himself, he was near positive he had not had a thing to drink last night. As he took in his surroundings, he saw that he was sitting in some type of cave on a beach, and the ocean was a dozen yards or so in front of him. From his seated position, he looked out of the cave. The bright sunlight made him wish he had a pair of sunglasses. If nothing else, the brilliant blue ocean and deserted white sand was as pleasant a sight as he could ask for.

  At least, he thought it was as pleasant a sight as he could ask for—until he saw a beautiful woman emerge from the water one-hundred yards across the other side of the beach. Is she wearing anything? He laughed as he remembered. Son-of-a-bitch. He loved Mexico. At least, that’s where he assumed he was.

  Slowly, he stood up and made his way into the daylight, holding his hand over his eyes to block the sun while he looked around. Moving his head from side to side, he stretched his neck and ran his hand over the back of his head, where the pain was most intense. Yep, that’s a good bump there. If he had not been drinking last night, he wondered what had happened to his head.

  No, this had to be his friends messing with him. Shaking his head and chuckling, he reached into the left pocket of his cargo shorts to fish out his phone and call one of the guys to pick him up. This was a good one. He and his buddies had started doing this a couple of years ago in high school. It had become their tradition that if one of them passed out from overindulging, they would wake up in an odd place.

  It had started innocently enough. The first time, they moved his buddy, Jeff, from his bed and laid him in the bathtub. The next time, they moved his buddy, Phil, from the couch onto the sidewalk in front of the house they rented. They progressively began moving whoever was the unfortunate one further and further from their house, which was situated about one-hundred-fifty miles south of Houston, Texas. There were six of them, and they found themselves waking in stranger and stranger places each time—a junkyard, a shopping mall bathroom, and the courtyard of a retirement village, just to name a few.

  After the last time, they vowed their next victim would wake up over the border in Mexico. It seemed he was the lucky winner. Very funny. He was chuckling—until he had gone through all his pockets twice to find they were completely empty. They wouldn’t have been cruel or mean enough to leave him with nothing in a different country, would they?

  He looked around the beach, but aside from the beautiful woman on the other side, there was no one. She was partially hidden behind some rocks, putting on her clothes. Yep, she hadn’t been wearing a thing. He regretted not being close enough to see much of anything, but decided that was probably for the best, anyway. In the back of his mind, he could hear his grandmother scolding him for even having the thought. His grandmother had been a big influence in his life when he was growing up and had taught him to always respect women. He figured he could strike up a conversation, anyway. At the very least, she could tell him where he was.

  Having walked across the beach, he was about twenty feet behind her when he called out, “Hey!”

  2

  SHE JUMPED, arms flailing in surprise. “Hey, yourself,” she said, maybe just a little too angrily. “You scared me half to death.”

  “Sorry about that; I wasn’t sure what to say.”

  She looked at him closely. He was smirking, though he was trying not to. She narrowed her eyes. “How much did you see just now?”

  His smirk turned into a gentle smile, and his dimples came out again. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  She sized him up. “Nothing you haven’t seen on me before, or just in general?”

  “In general,” he chuckled.

  She laughed. “I’m sorry. I really don’t remember a thing about last night or how we got here.” She thought he looked a little concerned.

  Slowly, he asked, “What do you mean, how we got here?”

  “Last night, when we were on the beach,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I have no idea how that happened. I’m sorry; I know this must sound weird, but I don’t really remember you. I’m Abby.” She held out her hand.

  He stared, a bit dumbfounded for a moment. As she rolled back the tape in her mind to figure out what she might have said to confuse him, he finally spoke. “Well,” he said, extending a hand, “I’m Eric, and I guess we’re in the same boat.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I just woke up by those rocks over there and saw this very pretty girl out on the beach. I wandered over because I was hoping you could tell me where I am.”

  “Wait, you didn’t drive us here?”

  “Didn’t drive us here? I’m sorry—Abby, is it?”

  She nodded her head.

  “I’m sorry, Abby, but no, I didn’t drive us here. I don’t know where here is.”

  She looked around, concerned, and sat down on one of the rocks. It was the middle of the morning, as far
as she could tell, but she suddenly felt very tired and overwhelmed. She was thoroughly worn out from the adrenaline and panic of the past twelve hours. “I figured we came here together,” she said, confused. “What do you remember about last night?”

  He thought back. His memory was fuzzy. He had so readily assumed his friends had dumped him here that he had not put much thought into what had led up to that. Looking at the water, he remembered, “There was a real bad storm, wasn’t there?” He looked around, slowly remembering more. He stared up at the cliffs above the cave for some time before he spoke, trying to put together what happened.

  He pointed at them. “I must have been on top of those cliffs there. I thought I could hear someone calling out, so I stood up to have a look and...” He lost his thought for a moment and felt the back of his head. “I must have walked right off the edge up there. After that, I don’t remember a thing.”

  “How about before that?”

  “Before that? Before that, I think I just got home from work, and... well, I’m not sure. I’ll tell ya, I thought I had this one figured out, but I’m a little short on the details, to tell you the truth.”

  “Well, Eric, you’re right. It looks as though we are in the same boat.” She told him how she’d woken up last night on the beach. She was the voice he’d heard calling out. She recounted seeing him in the water, and though she didn’t see him fall, she said she believed it, seeing as he was unconscious when she’d found him and fished him out of the water.

  He looked impressed. “Well, thank you, Abby; I guess I owe my life to you. Now, how about we find our way through these trees and hope there’s a bar on the other side, so I can buy you a drink?” He flashed an insanely charming smile.

  “Well, I already went in there, and there’s not much but trees. I was hoping you would know the way.”

  “So, we’re both here, but neither of us remember how we got here. Neither of us knows where we are.” He thought for a moment. “I assume you don’t have a phone on you, either?”

  Abby shook her head.

  Eric was still clinging to his original thought. It was the only thing that made sense at the moment. “Any chance you know Phil or Jeff? A couple buddies of mine. Sometimes, we pull pranks on each other, drop each other off in random places when we are... let’s say, less than conscious.”

  That thought had not occurred to her. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “I know Phil! We took some classes together last semester.”

  “Last semester, as in college? No, Phil isn’t in college. Damn.” He thought about it. “We must have some mutual friends who are in on this.”

  Of course, she didn’t think any of her girlfriends would do something like this. She was not close enough to any of her friends that they would play pranks on each other. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “We must. That’s the only thing that makes sense. Where are you from?”

  “Anaheim. I assume we’re somewhere a few hours south. If not, it’s awfully warm here for the fall.”

  He laughed. “California? Jeez...”

  “How about you?”

  “Texas. I was figurin’ we must be on the coast or in Mexico. Which is definitely something my buddies would pull off.”

  It was her turn to laugh. “You have friends that would drop you off on a beach in Mexico if you were passed-out drunk?”

  “Well... yeah.” He seemed confused that this would confuse her.

  “Nice friends,” she said wryly. “But, I can’t imagine we’re in Mexico—at least not on the Gulf side. I guess we could be on the West Coast, though. Any chance your friends would dump you there?”

  He thought about it and laughed a bit. “They’re crazy, but not that crazy. Plus, it’s a twenty-hour ride to Tijuana from where I live, and that’s if you drive straight through. Unless I lost an entire day, that doesn’t make any sense.”

  “What do you do for work?”

  “I swing a hammer.”

  Abby furrowed her brow.

  “I’m a construction worker. Build houses.”

  “Ah.” She looked him over. That explained the nice tan and good physique. She figured that heaving lumber all day in Texas would give you that look.

  “You?”

  “I just graduated over the summer. Well, finished my last classes. Not much of a graduation ceremony for summer students, but the degree is the same.”

  He drummed his fingers on his legs. “I have no clue what’s going on, but I’m thirsty, and I’m not one to sit around, waiting for things to happen. I’m going to take a look in those trees. Want to join me?”

  Abby considered it. Still sitting on one of the rocks, she was dead tired, and frankly, didn’t want to move at the moment. The thought of aimlessly wandering through the forest didn’t appeal to her. “I already explored a little bit. Didn’t find anything. Do you mind if I stay here for a few? Just promise me that when you find a way out, you’ll come back to get me.”

  He smiled. “You can count on it.” He headed off into the trees and was out of view in under a minute.

  Abby climbed off the rock and found a cool, shady spot in the sand. Maybe it was the workout she’d had last night in the water or maybe it was the anxiety of not knowing where she was—or maybe it was a little bit of both. Either way, she felt as though she had been hit by a truck. Settling down into a soft, comfortable spot, she figured it couldn’t hurt to close her eyes for a few minutes. Could it?

  * * *

  Eric searched in vain for a road for hours. He was careful to stick close to what seemed to be the only path through the trees. He certainly didn’t want to get lost and not find his way back to the beach. Plus, he figured it had to lead somewhere. He thought about the girl back there, waiting for him. What are the chances I get to meet a beautiful woman and be her hero on the same day? Now, he just had to find a road or another sign of civilization to fulfill that possibility.

  As he walked, he tried to think about their situation, but it was an endless, frustrating loop playing through his mind. They obviously seemed to be here together—or at least, seemed to be here for the same reason. But exactly what that reason was, he couldn’t figure out. He decided to put it from his mind for the time being and concentrate on finding a way out. He would worry about the why and how they’d gotten there once they were laughing about the whole experience over drinks later.

  He was looking for high ground; some vantage point where he would be able to see for a distance and look for some type of road or landmark. He remembered being on the cliff above the cave last night. How did I get up there? He couldn’t remember and was kicking himself for not thinking of it hours ago, when he was back at the beach. Unfortunately, another such opportunity did not readily present itself. He did find some small hills, but the trees were too tall for him to see much of anything—that was, until he came to the edge of a very large clearing.

  Looking across the clearing, he figured it was easily the length of several football fields. On the other side of the open space were more trees, but it was obvious the tree-covered ground went uphill. Way uphill. In fact, it looked like the incline continued for several miles to the top of a very high hill. He looked at the sun getting low in the sky. It had taken him several hours to get this far, and he didn’t want to be caught stumbling through the trees once the sun went down. Plus, he didn’t want to leave Abby alone on the beach, thinking he had abandoned her.

  He figured he would be able to get back this way easily enough tomorrow. They could both come out and climb the hill together in the daylight. Hell, there are tougher situations to be in, he thought. He figured he could do worse than camping out on the beach for a night with a good-looking girl.

  * * *

  She woke up from her nap when he returned a few hours later. He was looking rather proud of himself, carrying an armful of wood in one arm and what looked like a bush in the other hand.

  He tossed the wood onto the sand and sat next to her. “You’re right; there ain’t nothi
n’ out there. No roads or people, anyway. I did find us some dinner, though.” He held up the bush.

  “Well, then, Mr. Wilderness Man, how exactly do we prepare this shrub?”

  He smiled. “Honeysuckle. This stuff grows all over my grandfather’s ranch. Been eatin’ them since I was a kid.” He showed her how to pop the back off the flower and suck the sweet nectar out. He held one out for her.

  “I thought those were poisonous,” she stated, more than asked.

  “Some are, but not all of them. You have to know which kind you can eat.” Again, he held one out for her, hoping she would join him.

  She looked at his offering and was tempted. Unable to remember the last time she ate, she nearly reached out and took one from him, but she stopped herself. She was still not entirely sure she could trust him and regretted not going into the trees with him to see for herself that there was no obvious route out. She was torn, but didn’t want to be poisoned. She decided to wait until he’d had a few first. “I’m okay for now, thanks. How about the wood?”

  “Fire!” He was very enthusiastic. “I figure the sun will be going down soon, and we seem to be stuck here for tonight. I’ll get a fire going to keep us warm.” He raised his eyebrows and smiled, looking for approval.

  “I’ll be more impressed when we find our way out of here and figure out what the hell is going on.”

  They didn’t speak for a while, but she did get thirsty. The sun was indeed fading, and she had not had anything to drink since that morning. With the exception of her swim, she had done her best to stay out of the sun for most of the day, but it was still hot.

  She decided to give the flowers a try, as he’d had no apparent reaction to them. They were very sweet and not thirst-quenching at all, but it was something. Then, she had an idea and disappeared into the trees for a while to collect some more of those giant leaves. She arranged them in little indentations in the sand around their camp. If it rained again, they would have water in the morning. If it did not rain, at least they might collect some dew.