Page 45 of Blue Arrow Island (Blue Arrow Island #1)

A knife is often best used as a deterrent or defensive tool. In this course, you’ll learn defensive knife applications such as blocking, parrying, and finding escape opportunities.

- Excerpt from a police training manual written by Ben Hollis

The next afternoon, I’m too furious with Marcus to even look at him. Things were tense between us yesterday when we got back to camp right before sunset, having seen no sign of the flower once again. And it got worse when Ellison switched off his aromium.

He dropped to his hands and knees and immediately threw up the entire contents of his stomach. Once there was nothing left, his body dry heaved for more than fifteen minutes. We had to call for help and it took Niran, Wyatt, and Chance to carry him back to camp.

And did he heed that warning from his body to stop messing with aromium? Absolutely not. He crawled into bed and slept, then downed a canteen of water this morning and pronounced himself ready for another day of searching.

It wasn’t just me, but also Ellison and Nova, who begged him to change his mind, but he was resolved. I’m terrified of what will happen when his aromium gets switched off tonight.

And again tomorrow. And the day after that, if he’s still even able to walk. I’ve given up hope we’ll find the flower, though I’m pretending otherwise because giving up goes against everything I believe.

It’s time to discuss other options. We could try cornering Tiders one or two at a time and switching off their aromium, although that idea carries more risk than reward.

We need to spread the truth throughout the Rising Tide camp about aromium. If the ones, twos and threes know what it is, and that it can be turned off if they want to live peacefully and share the supplies, it could change everything.

Most of Virginia’s power comes from keeping her people in the dark. If we can enlighten them, we’ll weaken her.

That’s what she’s doing to us. She’s trying to weaken us, one nonlethal blow at a time. The storm and its destruction of our camp, picking off our people one at a time, firing flaming arrows into our camp. She’s chipping away at us, and I think we need to do the same thing to her.

“B.”

I turn to look at Marcus, and when I do, I find his gaze locked onto something.

A jaguar. It’s bigger than the one I saw a few days ago, and it’s snarling as it stalks toward Marcus.

“Stay behind me,” he commands.

My fury for him is immediately replaced with fear. His machete is drawn in his left hand, his handgun in his right.

Gunshots are our last resort. The sound will broadcast our location to the Tiders, but if it’s pull the trigger or be killed ... we’ll have to take our chances.

I’m caught off guard when, instead of waiting for the jaguar to strike, Marcus attacks it instead.

He drops his gun, wrapping both hands around the machete’s hilt and swinging it at the jaguar’s neck.

The cat snarls, a bright-red gash appearing on its neck. Marcus is so fast and strong that I’m left stunned. Its front feet stumbling, the jaguar changes gears and lunges toward me instead.

I hardly even see Marcus moving and then the animal’s head is dropping to the ground, sheared off by his knife.

I gape at him, knowing how much strength that had to take.

“Let’s move,” he says, not even breathing hard. “The blood’s gonna?—”

The wail of a siren makes me jump. It’s shrill, resembling community-wide storm warning sirens before the virus.

“That means a boat of new prisoners has been spotted,” Marcus says. “We have to go.”

“Where? Back to camp?”

He shakes his head. “We’ll go straight to the beach. Our aromium will help.”

I turn around, but he calls out my name, stopping me.

He comes toward me and I turn. Tilting my chin up with his forefinger, he brings my gaze to his. “Don’t do anything dangerous. We get who we can on beach days, but it’s not worth getting yourself killed.”

My pulse races because I know this is his way of telling me he cares about me.

The day I arrived here was a free-for-all shit show.

And the worst part is, none of the Tiders even realize what they’re truly doing.

They aren’t saving the newcomers from the island’s more dangerous faction—they are the more dangerous one.

“So you want me to listen to you and not get myself killed, but you won’t listen to me?”

He groans and sighs heavily. “You don’t understand.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Make me understand.”

He hesitates, then gives me a pained look. “I’ve done horrible shit. If something bad happens to me, I deserve it.”

“Really?” I arch a brow, skeptical and even angrier than I was before. “You think you’re the only one who’s done things just to survive?”

He looks off in the distance, a crease forming between his brows. “We don’t have time for this. We have to go.”

“You have to promise me no more aromium.”

He scoffs. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

“Fuck you!” I shove his chest, but he doesn’t move. “Why did you make me care about you just so I could watch you kill yourself?”

His expression softens. “I didn’t do that. It’s just that there’s no other way.”

“Bullshit.” I’m seething, so furious I ignore the brush of something against my lower leg. “The rest of us can do it. Our aromium wasn’t on as long as yours was. Send Stella in your place.”

His eyes widen with alarm. “B ... you have to relax.”

I look down and see vines coiling around his legs, another one sliding up my left leg in a soft caress.

“Oh shit.”

They’re up to Marcus’s thighs now, encasing him like a mummy. He meets my eyes.

“It’s your anger. They’re responding to it. And since you’re mad at me, they might squeeze me to death if you don’t relax.” He cringes as the vines encircle his waist.

I close my eyes, picturing a meadow. My parents are there. So is Marcus. My dad is giving him a warm look.

“Good,” Marcus says. “Deep breaths. Good thoughts.”

I imagine I’m taking my mom’s hands, looking into her eyes. Telling her how much I love her. How much she taught me. How much I miss her but still feel her with me.

“Think about being okay,” he says. “Try to send that message out with your mind.”

I open my eyes, following his direction.

I’m okay. I’m safe. I’m not angry.

The vines slow, then pause. It’s almost like they’re waiting for me to tell them what to do.

I keep assuring them—in my mind—that I’m okay. They retreat, uncoiling from around Marcus. The one that climbed up my side brushes a small leaf across my cheek before sliding away.

Marcus exhales softly, locking his eyes on mine. “We need to go. Keep your emotions in check.”

“Why are the vines only responding to me?”

“It’s too much to explain right now. We have to go. You take the lead.”

Aromium allows me to race through the jungle faster than I could move without it. I’m dodging obstacles before my mind fully registers them. Marcus is right behind me, reminding me when I need to change course.

It’s not great timing for a new boatload of prisoners. But I suppose it’s not great timing for the Tiders, either.

“Do you talk to people or just take them by force?” I call over my shoulder.

“Some people try talking, but I don’t.”

A smile tugs at my lips because that tracks. Marcus can be a bull in a china shop.

When the beach comes into view, I slow to a stop. Finding a safe vantage point, we scan the area and find the Tiders gathered on their end of the beach. Not everyone from our camp is here. Most of the command and security people are, and several other adults who can hold their own in a fight.

The boat is almost here. I can make out people on the deck shielding their eyes from the sun to see the beach better. I know the terror they must be feeling, being forced to swim toward danger.

I creep closer to our group, calling out to them so they know it’s us.

Relief flashes over Nova’s face when she sees us. She’s wearing a fitted, sleeveless black shirt and sand-colored canvas pants, the lines on her scalp freshly shaven. With her defined arm muscles and a stun stick in her hand, she looks like a warrior going into battle.

Ellison isn’t here. That makes sense, since her skill set is so valuable to the camp.

“Lean into your aromium,” Marcus says softly, his hardened gaze locked onto Virginia, who’s just a small figure at the other end of the beach from this distance. “But control your emotions.”

That’s easier said than done with some of the people here. If I get a shot at Virginia or Marcelle, I’m taking it, mission be damned.

It’s more complicated with Pax. He’s complicit in Virginia’s scheming to keep everyone at Rising Tide in the dark about aromium and he cut out Olin’s tongue, which I can’t forgive. But I don’t think he’s all bad.

The first boat passenger jumps into the water. Marcus stalks to the front of the group and I follow. Amira comes to my side, an arrow nocked and ready.

“Be careful,” I say under my breath.

“You too.”

Marcus is the first to move. He bursts toward the first couple of prisoners, a man and a woman. He scoops them both up with an arm around their waists and rushes them back to us.

Arrows fly from Tiders who are moving toward us, but Marcus is so fast he’s out of range before they land.

Adele and Stella each take one of the prisoners from Marcus. I run toward the water, hearing boots kicking up wet sand behind me.

Pax is throwing someone over his shoulder when our eyes meet. Knife in hand, I head straight for him.

“Fight him off!” I yell to his captive. “I’ll help you!”

The man thrashes, kicking his feet at Pax. But he can’t get any momentum. I grab his shirt and pull, Pax growling as he tries to keep his hold.

“What the hell are you doing?” he bellows. “You’ve made a mistake switching sides.”

When I grab the man’s midsection and pull, he falls to the ground. Pax swipes his knife at me, narrowly missing when I jump back. The man gets to his feet and runs away.

“You lied about aromium,” I snap at Pax. “You’re just Virginia’s toy.”