Matt woke to the sound of waves lapping against the reef, the salt wind biting his cheeks. His body ached from the night spent hiding in the fisherman's hut, but sleep had been impossible. Every creak of the palm roof above him made him flinch. The memory of yesterday—the screams, the blood, Gabriel's fall—was too fresh, burned into him like iron.
He stayed crouched, tracing the sand with his fingers, each line he drew a fragile tether to reality. He could almost hear Poppa T's laughter, Gabriel's jokes, and Odette's soft voice telling him to slow down, savor the moment. But they were gone. And that weight, the absence of everything he loved, pressed down on him harder than the sun ever could.
A shadow passed outside the broken hut doorway. Matt's body tensed. He had learned to listen to shadows, to feel the air itself for danger.
"Matt…"
The voice was low, familiar, carrying the calm urgency that only Ferus could pull off. Matt's chest loosened a fraction. He scrambled to his feet, brushing sand from his arms.
"You're alive," Ferus said, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth, though his eyes were still sharp. "I thought they… you know."
Matt swallowed, voice catching. "I'm… I'm here. Somehow. But…" His throat closed, tears stinging. He tried to blink them back, failed. "But they—my family…"
He dropped to his knees again, letting the sound of his own trembling fill the quiet. Ferus crouched beside him.
"Shh," Ferus said softly, putting a hand on Matt's shoulder. "It's okay to cry."
Matt's head fell against his knees. "I saw them die. Every single one of them. I was there… and I didn't—" His voice broke. He let out a shuddering sob.
Ferus's hand tightened, and for the first time in weeks, he let his own walls crumble. The man who had seemed unshakable for years felt the sting of helplessness, and a single tear ran down his cheek. He quickly wiped it away, embarrassed at the vulnerability, but didn't leave Matt. Instead, he leaned closer, voice low, steady.
"You're not alone, Matt. You're still here. And that's why you have to keep going."
Matt raised his head, bloodshot eyes meeting Ferus's. "I have to find out who did this. I have to… I have to make them pay. Even if it means—" His voice was hard, edged with fire. "Even if it means killing every living being who had a hand in this."
Ferus's eyes widened, a shadow of fear crossing his face. "Including me?"
Matt blinked, startled. Then a weak smile broke through. "No… dummy. You're part of my family somehow."
Ferus laughed, a low sound that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Somehow, huh?"
Matt nodded, eyes narrowing. "Yeah. Somehow. I've survived this far. Somehow, I'll finish this."
The flashback hit him again, sharper this time, as if the reef itself whispered the horrors of yesterday. He saw the villa, the sun reflecting off the glass doors, the steaks sizzling on the grill, and then the shadows—men in black, moving like death incarnate. He remembered Odette's scream, Gabriel falling, Poppa T trying to fight them off.
He remembered tripping over the roots, seeing the tattooed arm, and the echoing gunshots.
He remembered Ferus telling him, quietly, to hide, to stay alive.
And now here he was, safe for a moment, yet the fire inside him burned hotter than ever.
"I need to know about the island," Matt said, finally breaking the silence. "About my grandfather. Why… why do people want this place so badly?"
Ferus took a deep breath, his eyes distant, staring toward the horizon. "Your grandfather didn't just get the island. He earned it. Saved it. This wasn't a gift. He saved the lives of every fisherman in this village when a storm came years ago, when no one else could. The government… they recognized it, gave him the reef, the land, as a narrow grace for what he did."
Matt listened, absorbing every word. "And… what makes it so special that people would kill for it?"
Ferus's expression darkened. "The reef itself, the tide pools, the mangroves… the island holds a secret the world doesn't know. There's wealth there, yes, but more importantly, it's a strategic location. A place to hide, a place to dominate. Don Leonardo wants it not for the sand, not for the fish, but for control. The island is a key. And because of what happened yesterday, they know there's a survivor. That survivor is you."
Matt's fists clenched. "Then I have to be ready. I won't let them take anything else. Not this time."
Ferus nodded, eyes flicking to the shadows along the shore. "They'll be back. And when they come, we have to move fast. No mistakes. Not like yesterday."
The following two days were a tense blur. Matt and Ferus stayed hidden during the daylight, only moving when the tide was low or when the moon rose high. Every gust of wind, every rustle of leaves made Matt jump. Every distant engine or flash of light made Ferus grip his shoulder, whispering warnings.
"You've grown," Ferus said one night, leaning against a tree as Matt kept watch. "Yesterday… you were just a boy. Today… you're something else."
Matt's jaw was tight. "I don't feel like anything except a boy who failed his family."
"You survived. That's not nothing," Ferus replied. "And survival is the first step."
Then, two days later, it happened.
Engines hummed over the reef before the shadows even emerged.
"They're here," Ferus whispered, crouched beside Matt.
Matt's hands shook as he gripped the edge of the mangrove roots. "I'm ready."
The men emerged from the treeline. Their movements precise, guns raised, scanning the shore. Ferus's eyes met Matt's. "Go," he said.
Matt hesitated. "Ferus…"
"Go!" Ferus snapped.
Matt ran, using every shadow, every dune, every shell pile for cover. He could hear the gunfire behind him, the shouting, the engines fading in and out as Ferus confronted the attackers.
By the time Matt reached the cover of the mangrove forest, he dared to look back. Ferus had been caught. Struggling. Surrounded. But Matt had no time.
Tears streamed down his face, a mix of fear, rage, and helplessness. He clenched his fists, swallowing hard.
"I'll come back for you," he whispered through the wind. "I swear it, Ferus. I'll come back."
And with that, Matt disappeared into the forest, leaving the fate of Ferus—and everything else—suspended in the unknown.