Page 67 of Forever is the Sweetest Con
Trina’s eyes are wide and watery. “You said last night you would go check the crew cabins today if I was still worried.” Kei nods. “Well, I’m still worried.”
“Okay,” Kei says. He’s smiling that kind smile, the one that makes you feel seen and understood and validated. “That’s understandable. We can go check now. Damian, you want to come with me?”
“Say less,” Damian says, springing to his feet. “I bet we’ll find those motherfuckers in there laughing about how doom and gloom we all are.” This was met with a few forced chuckles.
“Be careful,” Trina warbles.
“Look for our phones,” Valeria says.
“Bring back wine!” Sue-Ellen calls.
As we watch Kei and Damian disappear down the beach path, a collective heaviness settles over the camp. No one speaks. We all sit watching the flames recede, until it’s nothing more than a pile of red-hot coals.
“Anyone got a ghost story?” Giovanni asks.
“No,” Trina says fervently.
“How about we play a game? Never Have I Ever?”
A resounding chorus of ‘Nos.’
“Anyone got any special talents?”
“Forget about it, G,” Isa says. “It’s not the time.”
Giovanni’s face reddens, and he looks like he’s about to go off, but he’s interrupted by the sound of feet crunching on gravel.
I turn to see Kei and Damian coming down the path. I wait for them to call out that it’s fine, all good, nothing to worry about, but they say nothing at all. It’s hard to see their expressions in the dim light, but as they get closer, I see their furrowed brows, their set jaws, their rigid postures.
“What?” I hear myself breathe. “What is it?”
Damian and Kei look at one another, a silent negotiation.Who’s going to say it?
Kei swallows. “The crew cabins,” he says, his voice cracking. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I look at Harmony. Her mouth is slack and she’s blinking rapidly.
“They’re empty,” Damian says in a flat voice. “Totally empty.”
I look at Kei, waiting for him to smile and say it’s all going to be okay. He holds my gaze for a long moment before turning to address the whole group.
“Everyone’s gone.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sue-Ellen is the first to break the shocked silence. “Gone where?”
Damian looks at the sand as he shakes his head. “Their cabin is completely empty. Like, cleaned out. No computers, no clothing, no personal items, nothing.”
“But they’ll be back, right?” Trina says, her voice wobbling. No one answers her.
“Are you sure you checked the right place, bro?” asks Isa, holding Sue-Ellen close against his chest. Even her face is marked with worry.
“We’re sure,” Kei says.
“Well, where the heck did they go?” Sue-Ellen says. There is a long pause as we all look at one another, waiting for someone to have some answers. But all we have are questions.
“Are they coming back?”
“Did someone take them?”
