Chapter 492: Ryan Caught

"Damn it."

Sydney’s irritated voice broke the silence as she paced along the shoreline.

The water stretched out in front of them, dark and almost perfectly still beneath the night sky. On the opposite side of that black expanse stood Brigantine.

And from there, for what felt like forever, gunshots had been echoing across the open water.

Sydney was not normally the type to show nerves.

She could be impatient, loud, sarcastic. Annoyed with almost everything and everyone around her.

But nervous?

That was rare.

Tonight, however, she had every reason to be.

The gunfire from Brigantine had been impossible to ignore.

The night was quiet everywhere else. With the open shoreline and the water carrying sound, every shot had reached them clearly. There had been too many to count. A steady, frightening rain of gunfire that told them one thing.

The rescue had not gone according to plan.

"I guess the quiet infiltration and extraction failed pretty badly," Christopher muttered.

He tried to say it lightly.

Like a joke.

But there was no amusement on his face.

His eyes remained fixed on the darkness beyond the water. His expression carried only worry and the fear that Ryan, Rachel, Lucy, Mei, Tommy, Keith, and Emily might not return.

Sydney stopped pacing long enough to glare at him.

"Things happened that nobody planned for," she said with a snort. "Who the hell could’ve expected all of that?"

"Calm down, Sydney," Cindy said.

Sydney looked toward her.

"Pacing around won’t help them."

Cindy sounded composed, but she was just as afraid as everyone else. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and she kept staring across the water as though looking hard enough could make the boat appear.

Behind her, Rebecca and Daisy looked even worse.

Rebecca stood near the water with both hands clenched together. Daisy kept shifting anxiously from one foot to the other, unable to remain still for more than a few seconds.

"S...Should we go after them?" Rebecca asked.

She took a small step toward the boats waiting along their side of the shore.

Christopher shook his head.

"No."

Rebecca looked at him.

"We wait, like we planned."

"But what if—"

"The bullets are still going," Christopher interrupted quietly. "Whatever’s happening over there isn’t over yet."

Nobody argued after that.

The group stood in silence.

Everyone knew that Rachel could protect herself and the others from gunfire with her barriers. They also knew Ryan could use his plasma and wind abilities to defend himself to a degree.

But knowing that did not make the sound of gunshots any less terrifying.

There were too many shots.

Too many men.

Too much uncertainty.

Sydney looked toward the distant darkness again.

Her jaw clenched.

"Come on," she muttered. "Come on, guys."

Then, suddenly, the gunfire stopped.

The silence that followed was worse.

No more bullets echoed from Brigantine.

No more shouting reached them through the dark.

Just the soft movement of water against the shore.

Everyone froze.

The confrontation was over.

But none of them knew what that meant.

It could mean Ryan and the others had escaped.

Or it could mean they had been caught.

Christopher lowered his head slightly.

Daisy grabbed Rebecca’s hand.

Cindy held her breath.

Sydney stared at the darkness with an expression that had lost all of its usual anger.

Now, they could only wait.

They needed to hear one sound.

The sound of a motorboat.

Minutes passed.

Each second felt longer than the last.

Then, at last, a faint engine sound reached them.

Cindy’s head snapped up.

"There!"

Everyone turned toward the water.

A small light appeared in the distance.

At first, it was only a shape moving through the darkness. But as the engine grew louder, the outline of a boat became clearer.

"It’s the boat!" Cindy shouted. "That’s them!"

Christopher exhaled sharply.

"Thank God."

"They made it!" Daisy said.

She jumped in place before throwing her arms around Rebecca.

Rebecca hugged her back.

"Y...Yeah," she whispered.

Sydney narrowed her eyes, trying to see through the darkness.

As the boat came closer, they could make out the silhouettes of people inside.

Rachel.

Mei.

Lucy.

Sydney let out a breath.

"I can see Mei," she said. "Damn. She looks fine from here. Did those idiots treat her like a princess or something?"

"Shut up, Sydney," Christopher said, rolling his eyes.

But there was relief in his voice.

They had expected the worst.

They had prepared themselves to see injuries.

Maybe even bodies.

Seeing Mei alive was enough to make all of them feel like they could breathe again.

For a few seconds, the group stood smiling.

Then the boat came closer.

And the smiles disappeared.

Something was wrong.

There was no celebration on the boat.

No relief.

No one waved.

Lucy was steering with a grim expression.

Tommy sat near Emily, looking exhausted and broken.

Keith was lying down, clearly injured.

Rachel’s head was lowered.

Mei was crying quietly which was very shocking from her.

Christopher scanned the boat again.

His eyes moved over every person inside.

Lucy.

Keith.

Tommy.

Emily.

Mei.

Rachel.

Then back again.

His expression slowly changed.

"W...where’s Ryan?" Cindy asked.

Her voice trembled.

The question had been in everyone’s mind.

At first, they thought Ryan might be lying down inside the boat. There was barely any room, and Emily and Keith both appeared to be injured.

But the closer the boat came, the clearer it became.

Ryan was not there.

He was not sitting in the back.

He was not near Tommy.

He was not beside Rachel.

He was not in the boat at all.

The motorboat reached the shore.

Lucy slowed it down and brought it close enough for the others to step forward.

Nobody on the boat spoke.

Their silence answered the question before anyone had to say the words.

Sydney walked closer.

"Hey," she said.

No one looked at her.

"Where the hell is Ryan?" She asked raising her tone.

Still nobody answered.

Sydney’s gaze shifted toward Rachel.

Rachel was sitting near the front of the boat, her hands resting in her lap. Her green eyes were red and swollen. Tear tracks remained on her cheeks.

Sydney’s expression twisted.

She stepped into the shallow water and reached toward Rachel.

"Rachel."

Rachel did not react.

"Rachel!"

Sydney grabbed her shoulders.

"Where is Ryan?!"

Rachel slowly raised her eyes.

Her lips trembled.

"R...Ryan..."

She could not finish.

Lucy spoke instead.

"He was caught."

The words hit the shore like another gunshot.

Christopher flinched.

Cindy’s hand rose to cover her mouth.

Daisy went still.

Rebecca’s face turned pale.

Sydney stared at Lucy.

For a moment, she did not understand.

Then her expression shifted.

"W...What do you mean, caught?"

Her voice shook.

She gave a weak, awkward smile, like she expected someone to tell her it was a misunderstanding.

"That has to be a joke."

Nobody answered.

Sydney looked past the boat.

She searched the darkness over the water as though Ryan might appear in another boat behind them. As though he had stayed behind for some reason. As though he would suddenly come running out of the trees with that calm look on his face.

But there was only darkness.

Only the faint outline of Brigantine in the distance.

Only silence.

Sydney’s smile slowly disappeared.

"W...why would he get caught?"

She whispered.

Then slowly her expression twisted into anger again.

"Why?! What the hell happened?!"

She shouted.

"W...We have to go back for him!"

Mei’s voice rang across the dark shoreline.

Before anyone could stop her, she stumbled toward the motorboat’s controls. Her hands shook as she reached for the ignition, desperate to start the engine again.

"Mei—"

Tommy reached for her arm.

"Don’t touch me!"

Mei slapped his hand away.

Her breathing had become broken. Tears kept filling her eyes, but she wiped at them angrily, refusing to let herself break down completely.

"W...We have to get him back," she said.

Her fingers clenched around the black fabric wrapped around her shoulders.

Ryan’s jacket.

The jacket he had given her only minutes ago.

The jacket he had placed around her as he told her he was taking her home.

"W...We can do it," Mei continued, her voice shaking. "If we just go back, if we hurry, if we—"

Her words failed her.

She looked down at Ryan’s jacket.

Then she began to cry again.

Lucy stood from the front of the boat.

"We can’t."

Mei looked at her.

Lucy’s face was cold, but not cruel.

"I know this is difficult for you to understand," Lucy said quietly, "but he stayed behind so we could escape."

Mei’s eyes widened.

"So we could all escape," Lucy repeated. "If we go back now, we throw away the chance he gave us."

"All?" Sydney snapped.

Everyone turned toward her.

Sydney’s face was red with anger.

"Without Ryan, that isn’t all, you idiot!"

"S...Sydney..." Cindy called softly.

She stepped forward as if she wanted to calm her down, but Sydney pulled away.

"I’m going back," Sydney said.

She jumped into the motorboat, landing hard near the controls.

"I’m bringing him back."

Her eyes moved across the group.

"Get your asses out of here if you want. I’m not leaving him there."

Keith, still injured and pale, lifted his head slightly.

Sydney glared down at him.

"Just stay out of my way."

"Sydney..." Christopher called out to her.

She turned toward him.

Christopher stood on the shore with his fists clenched. His face carried the same pain as everyone else’s, but he did not move toward the boat.

Sydney stared at him.

"You’re coming too, right?"

Christopher did not answer.

The silence was enough.

Sydney’s expression twisted.

Her eyes became wet.

"Right?!" She shouted. "We’re going back for him!"

Christopher lowered his gaze.

It hurt him to do it.

But he could not lie to her.

He remembered his conversation with Ryan earlier, he had in private accompanied by Lucy.

Sydney turned away from him, breathing hard.

Then she reached for the motor controls.

Lucy caught her wrist.

"You’re not going back there."

Sydney looked at her sharply.

"Let go of me."

"No."

"You better let go."

Lucy’s grip did not loosen.

"Do you want Ryan’s sacrifice to mean nothing?" She asked.

Sydney’s eyes flashed.

"He did not sacrifice himself so we could turn around, get caught, and give Gaspar more people to hurt."

"You don’t know that!"

"I know enough."

Lucy’s voice became sharper.

"You think you can get there, grab him, and escape again? They have armed men, motorbikes, Gaspar, and an entire settlement waiting for you."

Sydney yanked at her arm.

"With my ability, I can do it!"

"No, you can’t."

"I can get in and out quickly!"

"You’ll get yourself killed," Lucy said. "Or worse, captured."

Sydney’s face shook.

"I don’t fucking care!"

She pulled free from Lucy’s hand.

But Lucy caught her again.

This time, she dragged Sydney away from the controls.

Sydney spun around, anger overtaking her grief.

Her fist rose.

For a split second, it looked like she was about to hit Lucy.

Then someone shoved her.

Sydney lost her balance and fell backward out of the boat.

Splash!

Cold water crashed around her.

She landed hard on the shallow edge of the shore, soaked from the waist down. For a moment, she sat there in shock, water dripping from her hair and clothes.

Then she looked up.

Rachel stood in the boat above her.

Tears covered Rachel’s face.

Her green eyes were red.

But beneath the grief was anger.

Real anger.

"Get yourself together!" Rachel shouted.

Sydney stared at her.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Sydney’s expression broke.

"G...Get myself together?"

She repeated, her voice trembling.

"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

She punched the water.

A spray of cold droplets rose around her.

"Ryan got fucking caught by those fuckers!"

Rachel’s hands clenched at her sides.

"So you’re going to get yourself caught too?!"

Sydney glared at her.

Rachel’s voice rose.

"The first thing you do is not run straight into danger and get yourself killed!"

Sydney’s breath caught.

Rachel took a step closer to the edge of the boat.

Her tears continued falling, but she did not look away.

"You think I don’t want to go back?" Rachel asked.

Her voice shook.

"You think I’m okay with leaving him there?!"

She pressed a hand against her chest.

"I...I was right there... right there, and I still couldn’t save him."

The pain in her voice silenced everyone.

Mei stood near the cart, gripping Ryan’s jacket tightly around herself. Tommy kept his head lowered. Lucy looked away toward the darkness across the water.

Christopher, Cindy, Daisy, and Rebecca remained completely still.

Rachel stared down at Sydney.

"But Ryan told us to leave," she said.

"He trusted us to leave."

Rachel’s expression hardened.

"If we go back now without a plan, we are not saving him. We are giving Gaspar more hostages."

Sydney looked down at the water around her.

Her hands trembled.

She wanted to argue.

She wanted to scream that they could not abandon him.

That Ryan would never abandon them.

That he was still there, somewhere in Brigantine, hurt and alone.

Her shoulders slowly dropped.