Chapter 44- The Mirage Island (Part 1)

I gasp as the air filled my lungs. I manage to swim into the surface after my nasty fall into the water. Huge waves tried to push me deep into the ocean but I manage to stay afloat thanks to my swimming instructor back in Atlantria.

Now what? I manage to survive that blasted free fall and now I'm stuck in the water with no island in sight.

Great! I just prolonged my inevitable death.

With greeted teeth, I tried to look for Mason and Dianara. I'm sure they're around here somewhere. When I was about to swim around, a yacht stopped just a few feet away from me.

I tried to look up to see who was aboard but the light of the sun makes it hard to see the person standing.

Suddenly, a lifebuoy tied in a rope was thrown on my side.

"Hold on to that for a moment. I'll pull you up." I heard somebody says.

I grab the lifebuoy and the man pulled me up aboard.

"Thank You." I said and relieved that I am finally on a solid surface.

"You're very welcome, my lady." He said and handed me a white towel to dry myself.

When I finally able to see the person's face, I saw a good-looking man in a black tux. He looks around 30 years old and he got a short black hair and brown eyes.

"You're the one in the airport back in Las Vegas." I stated remembering our first encounter when Axel unceremoniously carried me on his shoulder like a sack.

"You still remember that?" He asked amusedly.

"Well, I just paid a little attention." I replied.

"Sir," A man in a dark suit interrupted. "We spotted the twins at the east."

"Lead the way." He ordered and the boat sped towards the east.

Moments later, Mason and Dianara joined us aboard.

"Archie, my man!" Mason greeted "I knew you wouldn't fail me!"

The man he called Archie, our savior, raised an eyebrow at him. "What if I didn't come into your aide?"

"I will be the first one to kill him before the sharks finds him." Dianara deadpanned.

"Empty threats doesn't make you scary." Mason grumbled.

Dianara glared at Mason before storming off inside the cabin.

"What you've done was quite reckless." Archie remarked. "She's lucky that she's got the primary instincts for survival." He said glancing towards my direction. " As they all say; the body may remember what the mind forgets." He said with a secret smile.

"I wouldn't do it if I knew it wouldn't work." Mason said. "Besides, sticking to the plan would only get us in trouble." He added.

"Sir! There was an explosion in Brindisi Airport." A man interrupted.

"Explosion?" Archie asked.

"See, I told you." Mason pipped.

"The men stationed there reported that a plane covered in flames exploded after it landed. The flights are currently cancelled and some of them are redirected towards Bari."

"No news for the guy inside the plane?" Mason inquired.

"Who?" Archie asked confused.

"Apparently, there is this one guy that the police spotted but after the explosion some believed that he died but they are still trying to look for the remains."

"May he Rest In Peace." Mason said as he do the sign of the cross.

"You mean Marshall?" I asked confused as Archie.

"Are we talking about the same person? The 'The Marshall'?" Archie asked surprised. "He's back?"

"More like barbecued." Mason scoffed.

Archie shook his head.

"Search for Marshall Youngblood at the airport and report to me immediately once he is spotted." He ordered.

"Yes boss," the man said before scramming off to the other side of the boat.

"Make yourself comfortable." Archie says.

I nodded my head before sitting near Mason who's busy drying his hair.

"Let's go back to the base." Archie commanded his men.

"Right away boss."

Now that the men inside the boat are busy taking us into their hideout, I was trying to start a conversation with Mason.

Thinking of what to say, I asked the thing that's bothering me the most since I found out that they save me from my father's clutches.

"Where's Axel?"

Mason stopped drying his hair and looked at me. He smiled mischievously before saying, "Why? Do you miss him?"

"No!" I denied defensively. "Why would I? I'm just curious."

"Oh really?" He teases.

"Stop it Mason. It's not funny." I said trying to look serious but the man in front of me didn't even budge.

"I'll tell you even if you deny it because I knew you do even without telling it verbally." He said.

"I'm no—"

"He's still in Rome attending a ball."

"A what!? Ball?" I asked confused. Out of all the reasons why he's not with us, going to a ball was the last thing I expected him to be.

"Yeah. He said something about looking for an item. He'll meet us once he's done."

"Oh."

"We're finally here!" Archie suddenly informed us.

I turn to where he is looking and saw an island. My eyes widens when I saw the same Island that my other self is pointing at when I was falling.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"Do what?" Archie asked.

"I'm sure that the island is not visible. How do you manage to cover it?"

Archie looked at me with a bemused facial expression.

"Interesting question." He said rubbing his chin. "Don't you agree with me Mason?"

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Mason replied.

"You see young lady, this island is not exactly in the map." Archie started explaining.

"Oh come on Archie, don't tell her the obvious. It's definitely not in the map. It cannot be seen with a naked eye. Remember?" Mason said making Archie glared at him. 

Mason raised both of his hands in resignation. "Chill!"

"As I was saying..." Archie continued. "That island is called the Mirage Island. Some locals knew of its existence but most of the only believed that it's actually a myth. When my grandfather discovered this place, he made it his home to hide from his enemies. Very few people can see it from afar but when you manage to go through its territory, you'll be able to see the island. It's actually a mystery why and how it's hidden until I met Axel."

"Oh God, why am I hearing this again?" Mason commented. "Should I start covering my ears now on how you two met? You see, I've heard it a thousand times and—mmfffph." Mason was interrupted by Archie when he covered Mason's mouth with a cloth.

"One word from that mouth and I'll throw you out of the boat."

Mason nodded his head in annoyance and spits the cloth. "What was that? I hope it's a clean cloth."

"Shut up."

"That place is amazing then." I praised while my mind is thinking 'I need to find out its secret.'

"Yes! It definitely is." Archie says smiling.

"Boss! We're here." Archie's men informed us and truth to his words I saw a beautiful grand mansion ahead.

"Well, welcome to my humble abode."

Once we're docked and ready to leave the yacht, Archie stops.

"One question." He said gaining all of our attention. "Who tipped the police that the plane will land in Brindisi?"

A moment of silence passed before a sinister smile broke from Mason's annoyed expression earlier. "Well, what can you say? All is well!" He exclaimed before exiting the boat.

End of Chapter 44 Part 1

Author's note: For those of you who can't remember Archie, he's from chapter 9. Well, what can I say? Pay close attention to my side characters. Some of them are very vital in this story. Especially for the ending 🙈
Thank you for reading!
Enjoy 😊

⚠️The chapter is unedited (like the rest of the book) ⚠️