The pilot was confident in his response. “You’ll all be leaving together.”

  Emily nodded firmly. “Let’s go, then. We’ve wasted enough time here.”

  With the six of them now reunited and their goal set, they turned to follow Bellamy, moving forward together, their shared experiences on the island forging a bond they never could have expected.

  Mark and Karen found themselves lagging behind the others, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavy between them. Finally, Karen broke the silence, her voice soft and filled with concern.

  “Mark, I was really worried about you back there. You went off on your own, and with everything that’s happened...”

  Mark sighed, his gaze fixed on the ground as they walked. “I needed some space, Karen. Time to clear my head.”

  Karen didn’t let it go. “But why would you want to be alone at a time like this? We should be sticking together.”

  “Don’t,” he said, snapping his head round towards her. “Just don’t.”

  Karen’s expression changed as a thought struck her.

  “You’re not alone? There’s…there’s someone else.”

  A hollow laugh that sounded more like a sigh came from Mark.

  “Oh, there is. But not in the way you think.” Mark hesitated, then decided to confide in her. His voice was tinged with regret as he confessed that it was because of Lucy.

  “Lucy?” Karen repeated, a note of curiosity and more than a touch of jealousy in her voice.

  “Yeah,” Mark replied, his tone heavy with emotion. “She’s someone from my past, a childhood friend. I lost touch with her because of my own competitive nature, my relentless pursuit of success.”

  “And you’ve had time to think about her while you’ve been on the island?” Karen asked, trying to make sense of what he was telling her.

  Mark looked at the woman beside him and contemplated how much of what had happened on the island he should share with her. The two of them had shared a lot, perhaps not as much as they could have, but wasn’t that down to him and his idiocy?

  He took a deep breath and spoke.

  He gave a bitter smile. “I’ve let competition and ambition rule my life. I’ve been so focused on winning that I’ve lost sight of what truly matters. Lucy cut me off. We were both kids, really, teenagers. It came to a head, finally, in high school. We both ran for class president, and I…well, I behaved terribly.”

  Karen reached out for his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, urging him to go on.

  “I wanted to win, you see. I wanted it to be me.” He shook his head as though trying to deny the truth. “She put her flyers up. I tore them down. She was a lovely, caring person, and I told everyone how wicked she was.” He flicked his eyes towards Karen. “Some of the things I said about her…” He let the sentence trail off.

  “It’s in the past now,” Karen said. With a faint smile, she said, “At least you got to be president.”

  “No!” Mark barked. “I didn’t. She still won. Can you believe that? I tried to destroy her, and she still won. I lost the election, and I lost my best friend. The moment the results were announced, she walked up to me, her eyes filled with both relief and sadness. Do you know what she said to me? She said, ‘Mark, we could have done great things together. I wish you could see that winning doesn’t always mean tearing others down.’ I’ll never forget it. And what did I say?”

  Karen shook her head.

  “I congratulated her. And then I walked away.”

  Salt tears mixed with the salt sweat on Mark’s face.

  Karen gripped more tightly on Mark’s hand. “I’m sorry, Mark. I had no idea. We all have our demons, our regrets. Maybe this ordeal is a chance for all of us to confront them and find a way to move forward.”

  Mark looked down at the ground, his voice barely a whisper. “I thought it was something I could bury. I thought I could leave it in the past. But now, being here on this island, it’s like the past is catching up with me.”

  “But it is the past, Mark. No matter how painful, you can’t go back and change it. All you can do is focus on the present moment…and what you want in the future.”

  Mark pulled up, letting the others walk further ahead, and looked at Karen.

  “Do you still…want something with me?” he asked, his voice weak and uncertain.

  “Let’s get home and talk about it then,” Karen said. “It’s been a hell of a day and I never make a decision on an empty stomach.”

  She gave him one of the stunning smiles that had drawn him to her in the first place, and then they turned to catch up with the team, not letting go of each other’s hands.

  FIFTY-ONE

  The team reached the cave where Ryan Bellamy’s base was hidden, a sense of relief washing over them. They knew they were one step closer to escaping the island and its relentless trials. As they pushed the heavy door open, the sight of Chen and Liam inside brought a collective sigh of relief. The two groups exchanged glances, a mixture of reassurance and curiosity dancing in their eyes.

  While the group of six that had made their way across the island were relieved to see the two experts, there was a look of astonishment and fear on the face of the colleagues in the cave.

  Once the shadow of Bellamy at the head of the party came into focus, his Chen’s expression changed.

  “You…” Chen said.

  “Me,” said the pilot, nodding a greeting to the analyst and the techie.

  “Sarah!” Liam blurted. “You’re alright. Where did you…?”

  Sarah stepped forward, eager to break the silence. “Chen, Liam, you won’t believe what we’ve been through.”

  Emily added, “It’s been like something out of a thriller novel.”

  Karen nodded in agreement, her eyes briefly meeting Mark’s. They were still processing their own emotions and experiences.

  Jonathan took charge, explaining the situation to Chen and Liam in quick, concise terms. He detailed the deceptive team-building exercise, and the plan to call for a helicopter rescue, omitting his clifftop battle with his counterpart.

  Chen, ever the pragmatic thinker, absorbed the information with a calm demeanour. Liam, on the other hand, seemed both awestruck and somewhat overwhelmed by the whirlwind of revelations.

  As he tried to wrap his head around the bizarre turn of events, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “So, you’re saying we’ve been duped into this whole thing?”

  “It was all Thornicroft,” Sarah nodded.

  “The audacity!” Chen scoffed. “How does he think he’s going to get away with this?”

  Sarah shrugged. “That’s something we are going to have to deal with when we get home,” she said.

  With a sigh of determination, Ryan reached for the satellite phone, his fingers dialling a number he had clearly used before. The atmosphere in the cave was taut with anticipation as the phone rang, each ring feeling like an eternity. Then, a voice crackled through the device, and a wave of relief washed over them as they realised their ordeal was coming to an end.

  With his voice filled with authority, Ryan Bellamy spoke into the phone. “This is Bellamy. We’re ready for extraction.”

  As he confirmed their location and the imminent arrival of the helicopter, the tension in the room dissipated. The weary but triumphant team knew that their extraordinary adventure had irrevocably changed them, teaching them the value of teamwork, resilience, and the importance of humility.

  Now, they stood together, waiting for the sound of the helicopter blades that would signal their return to civilisation, their bond forged in the crucible of a surreal island, where they had learned that sometimes, the true path to success lay not in competition, but in collaboration.

  What happened next was up to them.

  Thank you for reading

  Zero Days Since Last Incident.

  If you have enjoyed this book, please visit Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub, StoryGraph or wherever you leave reviews. Reviews help readers to find my books and help me reach new readers.

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  Best wishes,

  JE Rowney

 

 

  J.E. Rowney, Zero Days Since Last Incident: A gripping psychological thriller.

 

 

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