It was nearly dusk by the time we entered the hotel suite. The room was massive! I had never been in such a ritzy hotel before and found it all quite impressive. Slowly and quietly, I walked through the corridor and surveyed my surroundings. There in front of me, the room opened up into a large sitting room and beyond that was a raised floor with a built-in hot tub. The entire back wall was floor-to-ceiling windows, displaying a most attractive view of the skyline. Off to one side of the sitting room, there was a well stocked kitchen and attached dining room. In the opposite corner of the room, to my pleasure, there was a fully stocked wet-bar, complete with leather-clad bar stools. The room also held quite an impressive home entertainment system that even Spielberg himself might envy. On each side of the room, there were two doors, which I assumed were the bedrooms. As I understood, there were 4 of them - each with its own private bath and dressing area. Yes, Quite impressive indeed.

"You approve then, Luv?" asked Collin, breaking my long silence.

"It will do for now," I joked.

"Beats the hell out of island life," he chuckled, as he led me into the sitting room.

Still looking the place over, I shot back, still joking, "I don't know, I kinda miss our little hut, primitive as it was."

We smiled at each other, as if both remembering where we had just been rescued from days before. Then came the embrace. For what felt like an eternity, we held one another, trying to hold back the tears. As we stood there, embracing, my mind became flooded with images once more of the events that had led me to this point in my life. I struggled desperately to block them out - fight them back, lock them away forever. I began to tremble uncontrollably, but, finally, I succumbed to the tears. Still, we held each other closer, as if our lives depended on it, not saying a word, feeling the other one's pain. Then, as suddenly as it all started, it ended. No more fears, or tears, or horrific images filling every crevice of my mind. Just the two of us, embracing. Nothing else mattered anymore.

At that moment, Collin gently put his right hand under my chin, lifting my face to meet his. We just stood there a moment, gazing into each other's eyes, as if we were staring right into one another’s soul. It was quite a beautiful moment. Then, ever so softly came his warm lips upon mine and we kissed. A most passionate kiss. It was as if in that instance we suddenly became one. All the fear, rage, passion - intermingling, all melding together into that one singe kiss. And without warning, I felt myself being lifted off my feet and carried - almost floating - across the floor and into one of the bedrooms.

Before I knew what was happening, we had fallen back onto the bed, sans clothes, and were in the complete throws of passion. Our bodies intertwined, breathing heavily, moving as one. And there we spent the remainder of the night and the early parts of the next morning - making love.

CHAPTER 6:

April 26th, 2002

Images filled my mind - strange, blurred. It was as if I were just coming out of a dream-like state. Everything seemed so surrealistic. At one point, I felt a gust of wind on my face, which gave me the feeling I was flying. I imagined that I was a bird, soaring through the heavens, gazing down at the wondrous world below me.

Once, I tried to open my eyes, but only darkness filled them. The sound of the night air whistling in my ears. An instant later, I felt a rush of cold water overtake me. I gasped for air and struggled most desperately for my life. Then, once more, the cool night air hit me, as I felt myself being lifted. The entire experience gave me the impression of what birth must feel like.

Then, nothing. Just the feeling of floating on a cloud, warm arms around me. God, was I dreaming?! Had I really been reborn into this world once more? Every now and then I was soothed by a calming, masculine voice. I wondered if I had indeed died and was being carried through the heavens by God Almighty Himself.

When I finally did awaken, it was to the sound of the ocean. A warm breeze blew on my face and I could feel the warmth of the sun above me. My vision was still quite blurred, and I could not quite make out the image standing in front of me.

"Are you awake?" the muffled yet familiar voice asked. "Here, drink this."

I could feel the cool liquid touch my parched, swollen lips and glide over my tongue and down my throat. I tried hard to swallow, but the pain overtook me and I began to choke.

"Careful now...care - ful...," the voice said once more, caressing my face the whole while.

Finally, the water went down and I could breathe once more.

"You gave me quite a scare. I thought for a while you might be dead. Looks like you will pull through after all, though."

Images still fuzzy. I thought I could make out the shape of a man kneeling beside me. I tried desperately to speak, but the pain was unbearable in my throat and mouth, so only a gurgle sound came out.

"Hush now.... don’t try to speak," the calming voice spoke. "Your throat is still quite bruised and swollen. Give it a rest for a few more days until it's better."

Over the next few days, I continued to drift in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, when I awoke, I became frightened that I was all alone. I couldn't see or hear another soul anywhere - only the sound of the waves crashing down on the shore and birds flying overhead. Then, when I would awake again, I'd feel the unmistakable warmth of a human body lying next to me, sometimes with arms wrapped around me.

Several times a day, I was fed water - only a few sips at a time. The soothing masculine voice ever present and reassuring that everything would be okay. In the distance, though, I thought I could hear him mutter curses to himself, as well as prayers to God. A few times I even heard the unmistakable sound of someone weeping in the distance. Then, sleep would overtake me again and I would drift off into the semi-dream state I had become accustomed to.

ON TO CHAPTER 7

BACK TO CHAPTER 1

BACK TO LIBRISCROWE