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Chapter thirty-eight

Darla

“ W hat did you say?” Weston asks, looking at me in confusion.

“I said, I might be able to help with that. The only problem is, we need to travel along part of the beach to get there, and we’ll be out in the open.”

“That’s okay, if they are still in the air we might be able to time it right, will you take us there?” he asks, bending so he’s eye level with me. I nod my head and he smiles, cupping the side of my face. “Good girl.”

I lick my lips and quickly turn away, heading down the path towards a place I haven’t stepped foot in for fifteen years.

We barely speak as I lead us silently through the jungle. Thankfully, the chopper is still circling the island when we arrive at the edge of the beach where we need to sprint to our destination.

The smoke from our fire is high in the sky, and I hate that we wasted it on assholes trying to kill us.

“Okay, we need to make a run for it, it’s maybe… 400 feet or so, the cave is around the corner there,” I tell them, pointing to our right.

“We’re ready, Zee, lead the way,” Kingsley whispers from behind me. I take a moment to make sure the chopper sound isn’t getting closer, then take off running. The sound of their boots hitting the sand is heavy around me as I sprint forward.

When we’re only a hundred feet away, the sound of the chopper grows louder, vibrating through the air. I push myself to run faster, and so do my guys. But as we reach the edge of the cave, I suddenly stop dead in my tracks while the three of them race ahead, disappearing into the safety inside.

A soft whimper slips from my lips as I stare into the cave. My body is frozen in place, no matter how much I know I need to follow. But it’s like my body isn’t listening, refusing to respond.

Arms wrap around me and I’m dragged inside as I gasp in surprise.

I look up and see Bower’s concerned face staring down at me.

“Are you okay? Why’d you stop?” I shake my head, unable to speak.

My hands come out to grip his biceps as I try to ground myself in the present, and not think about the last time I was in here.

I lean my forehead against his chest as I whisper, “I… I thought I could be in here, but I can’t. I can’t look.”

He hugs me tightly, pushing my face into his chest and covering the side so I can’t see anything. “You don’t need to look, Tink. Just tell us what we’re looking for, we can get it, don’t even open your eyes for a second.”

I take a deep breath as my fingers dig into his chest. I’m so thankful I have them here with me. I think I’d still be frozen at the entrance if it wasn’t for them.

“This is where I put them… and all their stuff. The ones… I killed.”

His arms tighten around me .

“They had weapons. I took a knife, McStabby, because I needed it, but I didn't want anything else that belonged to them. I don’t know where the weapons are, exactly, but I put their bodies at the back of the cave.”

“West and King are looking now, we’ll just stay here while they search.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, a small amount of relief filling me, knowing I don’t have to see them again.

“You don’t have to thank me, Tink. I’m impressed with how strong you’re being.”

“I don’t feel strong, I feel weak,” I tell him honestly as my body relaxes into him.

“I can only imagine what you’ve been through, and being back here, after all this time, is incredibly brave. Thank you for bringing us here. Any weapons we can find can only help us.”

We stay silent as we listen to rustling and movement from the other two, and I wonder if they’ll find anything useful.

I don’t really remember much about their possessions, I was in a fog when I dragged their bodies in here, refusing to give them a real burial. It took a damn long time to do it, too.

“We got a few things that should help,” Kingsley says, startling me. He and Weston move to stand between us and the cave entrance, so I can look at them without seeing what’s behind me.

Weston’s holding a sword and a gun as he smirks down at me. “This will definitely help, assuming it works.” He opens it up and checks the chamber. “I’ve got two shots in here, but I have a handful of bullets to reload it with.

“There’s another one here,” Kingsley says, holding up a second one and passing it to Bower. “You should take it, I haven’t shot a gun before. I’ll take the sword.” Weston passes him the sword, and all three of them inspect their weapons.

It gives me a small amount of relief to see them with some way to defend themselves. Although I’m not sure what good it will do against machine guns.

“I saw a small notebook in one of their pockets,” Weston says, and I realize he’s staring down at me with concern in his eyes. “It was written in Samoan.”

“What does that mean?” I ask, unsure what he’s trying to tell me.

“They were pirates, Zee. Thieves or smugglers, most likely. They were probably aboard a bigger ship that sank, we’ll never know. But I thought you’d want to know who they were.”

I stare at the ground as I think about that. It doesn’t change what happened, it doesn’t make it any less or any more painful. All it does is help explain their presence and lack of rescue. Finally, I look up at him and nod. “Okay, thanks for telling me.”

“Now we need a plan,” Kingsley says, thankfully changing the subject.

“We’re sitting ducks in this cave, so we need to get back to the jungle,” Weston says as he slowly moves to the cave entrance.

Bower grabs my hand and along with Kingsley we follow him.

“They’re going to land soon. Our best bet is to stay hidden and try to take them by surprise.

We’ll take them out from the ground. How’s your aim, Bower? ”

“I’d say average. I’m not terrible, but I’m not a marksman either. And with an unfamiliar gun…” he trails off and shrugs.

“We should use the trees,” I say, bringing three sets of eyes to me. “We can hide in the trees and attack from above when they pass under us. ”

Weston slowly nods as he thinks about it. “Yeah, that’s our best bet. Maybe we hold up near the main path, near where you took down Brutus? There’s lots of coverage there.”

I nod and we all move to the edge of the cave. The chopper is disappearing around the far end of the island, giving us the perfect opportunity to get back under the cover of the jungle.

“Alright, three more seconds…” Weston says as we all prepare to run. “Go!”

He leads the way as we all jog down the beach. Bower keeps hold of my hand as we run behind the other two, and it doesn’t take us long to be back in the protection of the trees.

We decide to walk through the jungle instead of running, as the faster movements might be more noticeable if they can see us through the canopy of trees at all. We walk silently, listening to the sound of the chopper as it circles the island.

As we reach the main path, the chopper gets louder and we all freeze, turning our faces to the sky as we listen.

“It’s landing,” Weston announces. “On the beach, let’s move!” We start running down the path until we reach our destination.

“Zee, climb! We’ll be right up behind you,” Weston instructs, and I do as he asks, wasting any time as I leap to the closest branch and scramble up.

I find a few good spots to look over the path with maximum coverage and as they slowly make their way up, Kingsley and Bower on the other side of the path and Weston on my side, I start to grow more and more worried that one, or all of us, are going to get hurt, or worse, killed .

I double check that I still have McStabby in my sheath and my bag is slung over my shoulder with Steve in it. I’m grateful I carry both everywhere.

“Eep!” I jump in surprise and Mo-Mo lands on the branch in front of me, waving his arms as he freaks out.

“Mo-Mo!” I snatch him up and hug him tight to me, quickly pulling back so I can talk to him. “The people who have arrived, they’re bad. You need to go back home and stay there, okay? Make sure all the others do the same. It’s not safe for you out here.”

“Eep!” he trills quietly, his hand reaching out to touch my cheek gently. I push my face into his touch and smile at him.

“I’ll be okay, buddy. My friends here are gonna help protect me. But you gotta go, you’ll give me away and it’s too dangerous for you, understand?”

He holds out his hand for a fist bump, which I return with a tight smile, then he drops down a few branches, landing in front of Weston.

I watch with wide eyes as he seems to give him a stern talking to, waving his hands at him as he trills, then waves up in my direction before he goes silent, looking like he’s waiting for an answer.

Weston seems to understand him though, because he nods. “Okay, buddy, don’t worry. I promise to protect her with my life.” My heart jumps in my chest at such bold words, and Mo-Mo lets out a small trill before swinging away, back to his home.

Weston looks up, his eyes meeting mine. He gives me a wink and I give him a tight smile in return.

A noise down the path has us both turning back to watch for our pursuers. Slowly, I lower myself onto my stomach along the branch as I gaze down and wait .

They walk in silence, but I can still hear the sound of their boots crunching on the jungle floor as they head towards us.

This isn’t the first time I’ve spied on men from the trees, but this time, a terrible knot of anxiety twists in my gut. My hands tremble against the bark, and every breath feels too loud, like even the jungle can hear my fear.

When the first man comes into view, my heart pounds so heavily in my chest, I’m sure they’ll be able to hear it.

He’s dressed all in black, in what looks to be some sort of tactical gear.

He holds a large looking gun, likely a semi-automatic, based on my limited knowledge, as he scans his surroundings, his gun moving with his eyeline.

I try to quiet my breathing, and as he moves, I realize, to our luck, he’s not looking up. He thinks we’re on the ground. Maybe we have a chance after all.

A second man enters my sightline, and I wonder how many of them there are.

I hope it’s only two.

Movement has me glancing down at Weston and I watch as he holds out the gun and takes aim at the first man. I hold my breath and the entire jungle seems to grow silent, waiting for the sound of the gun to fire.

But it doesn’t come. Instead, all I hear is the distinct click on the gun. I watch in horror as Weston tries again, but it makes the same noise. The gun isn’t working.

It’s done one thing, though, it’s alerted these men that we’re here, in the trees. Their guns swing upwards in our direction as they look for us.

Suddenly, Bower drops from where he was hiding, right onto the back of the other man. As he yells out, the first man swings around, giving Weston the chance to drop on top of him .

Unsure what to do, I start to scramble down the tree as the four of them roll around below me, each pair fighting over the gun, and trying not to get shot.

I stop on the branch Weston had been perched on to survey the scene and realize Kingsley’s there too.

He lifts the sword, then takes a punch to the jaw, falling backwards, the sword flying to the side, making me gasp in fear.

The same man swings the butt of his gun around, knocking Bower to the ground at the same time the first man yells, “Don’t move!” Aiming his gun at Weston’s chest, as he stands there, breathing heavily, his fists clenched at his sides as he glowers back at him.

“Where’s the other one?” The man asks, but nobody speaks. The second man is aiming his gun at the other two as they all stare at each other. “There were four of you. Where is the other guy?” he asks again, his voice taking on a warning tone.

“We’re the only ones here,” Weston growls back.

“Stand up!” The second man yells. Kingsley and Bower quietly get to their feet.

“Walk, to the beach.” He gestures with his gun in that direction.

They narrow their eyes at him but do as they’re told.

“Hands on your heads, you make one wrong move, I shoot. We don’t need three of you to get an answer,” he warns them.

Their hands go up and the first gunman has Weston do the same, following behind them after grabbing the discarded sword. I breathe heavily, my fingers digging into the branch so tight I’m surprised I haven’t cracked it yet.

I have no gun, no sword, no real way to take down two men, both larger than me and armed with weapons that could cut down all four of us before I could even throw a single knife. My pulse thunders in my ears as panic claws at my throat.

What the hell am I supposed to do now?