Chapter Seven
For the Taking
I sat with my back against a tree and watched Colt. Colt Brennan was his name.
I had to admit I at least liked his name. It was strong like he was.
I liked something else about him. Of the entire group of survivors he was the only one that was working.
He was constantly on the move. First he had made endless trips out to the wreckage to search through what was scavenge-able in the plane. At first several of the other men had gone out with him to the wreckage, but they’d all soon been back, the whole lot of them as white as milk and puking on the beach.
They said the wreckage was a nightmare full of dead bodies that were being eaten on by various monsters that came out of the water. As bad as their reaction to the sight had been Colt neither seemed bothered by the gore or the sea creatures. I pitied the sea monster that tried to grab a hold of him.
I’d overheard enough from the chattering group gathered around the fire that Colt had made by rubbing two sticks together that it had been Colt that had carried or helped most of them ashore.
It hadn’t just been me that he’d saved. And yet given all that Colt had done for everyone not one of the group of chattering magpies had even asked Colt’s opinion on any of the plans they were theorizing and voting over like they were an elected Continental Congress.
The one guy that was clearly exhibiting the knowledge and ability to survive wasn’t even being considered as a pertinent source of information!
They were idiots and beyond that they were just plain lazy.
I’d asked Colt what I could do and he’d smiled slightly and led me over to this tree where he’d made me sit down. He’d said I had a concussion and that I shouldn’t go to sleep. I was sleepy, but dutifully I stayed awake and watched him.
Time to time he glanced over to check on me. I knew he wanted my body, but he was doing more than perhaps many men would in pursuit of it.
I still wasn’t interested in him, but I was intrigued by him. I was also scared of him. He was being Mister Nice Guy right now, but that could change. There were no safeguards of established society to protect me here.
I certainly couldn’t count on the protection of any of those by the fire to keep me safe. Half of them were already giving me looks that didn’t bode well and as the only surviving female it wasn’t hard to figure out what they had in mind.
It sounded strange, but Colt could perhaps offer me the most safety of anyone. That wasn’t an option I was going to consider at the moment though. Not till I had to anyway.
It was weird to consider, but if being taken advantage of was inevitable I preferred it be him as opposed to any of the others.
My thoughts troubled me and I tried to push them aside and focus in on just watching Colt be busy about the camp.
A couple of things occurred to me about him. It was apparent that Colt was a loner. I doubted that he did very well in a team like atmosphere, as he was too dominant and controlling for that.
He’d just finished putting up a lean-to shelter and gotten fresh water from somewhere. The man seemed to have boundless energy. He wore me out just looking at him.
*****
“Kim?”
My eyes had drifted shut and I jerked them open as I sat up a bit. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Was I in trouble?
I glanced at his face to see that little smile was there again.
“It’s probably all right for you to sleep now. Here I brought you a cushion.”
He gestured to a cushion lying on the sand before me and I mumbled ‘thank you’ before I collapsed my head onto it. There were at least some perks to being highly sought after.
*****
Colt shook his head slightly still smiling. She’d gone asleep the instant her head hit the cushion.
He glanced up from her to the pack of fools discussing what should be done over by the fire. There was nothing to do but survive.
Colt sat down on the sand beside Kim. He was very tired and yet he held himself awake because he’d seen some of the glances directed at Kim from the others. It didn’t take lawlessness long to form in the heart of man in the absence of societal oversight.
In such a lawless state as there now existed only strength could be respected. He was making just such a statement even now by remaining beside Kim’s side. She was his and nobody else’s. Her brother hadn’t been so crazy about everything radically changing after all.
Colt glanced up at the orange glowing sky of drifting cloud cover overhead. He couldn’t understand yet alone comprehend, how any of this was possible, but it was. Falling through the world to land on another world certainly constituted a radical change, so did having a woman in his life.
Not just any woman, but one that he had promised to protect. He’d gotten pretty lucky all things considered. She was gorgeous and she wasn’t a small minded loser like the group of men over by the fire.
The idiots gathered in deep discussion around the fire didn’t even know why he had built the fire. Instinctively he’d known that they would congregate around it foolishly.
What need was there of a fire in such a warm climate, but they hadn’t bothered themselves to ask that.
The only thing a fire was good for was to attract attention. If there was some form of threat down here be it from the animal or human kind in this sunken realm, those by the fire were most likely to be attacked first.
The idiots by the fire were bait meant to buy the time needed in a diversion in order for him and Kim to escape if need be. Yes, it was brutal and uncaring of him to set them up perhaps, but it was an effective means by which to survive.
In all fairness he hadn’t been going to make the fire originally, but the ringleader of the group had ticked him off by his condescending attitude toward him. The man was a former Army Captain and when he’d inquired of Colt about his suspicion of Colt’s military background, Colt had confirmed his time spent as a Marine with the rank of Sergeant.
That had been all that it took. The Captain had immediately looked down his aquiline nose at him and ordered him to go out and salvage supplies from the wreckage of the plane.
Colt had gone, but not because he’d been ordered to. He’d been planning on going anyway to look for supplies.
Most of what he’d brought back he’d dumped in a pile near the fire, while the others had talked and pigged out on what little usable food he’d managed to find in the wreckage. Without them noticing he’d rummaged through the supplies and picked out most of the handy devices and secured them away in a pack that now sat beside of him in the sand. The most namely device being the air marshal’s handgun, along with a flare gun.
He’d overheard enough of the discussion going on over by the fire to deduce that after some sleep they planned to start out along the beach in search of human habitation. They intended to walk right out in the open along the beach!
Colt shook his head, the Captain should have known better. Another strange occurrence in this sunken world was that the water directly offshore was freshwater. Out where the plane wreckage was the water got more brackish and salty, but in close to the beach the water was pure drinking quality.
The freshwater along the shore meant that everything had to come to the shore to drink, which made the beachfront a place of likely confrontation with the creatures of this place. Having seen firsthand some of the creatures gnawing on the dead remains within the plane’s fuselage had left him with little desire to see what other creatures this place may yet hold.
The beach was the last place that he wanted to be!
As eager as he was to leave he had to wait for those over by the fire to fall asleep before he and Kim could slip away.
He glanced down at Kim. She was as beautiful as the lush tropical petals of a rare flower in full bloom. The glasses perched on her nose only added a level of cuteness to her that was unexpected, even as it was sexy.
Gently he grasped the rims of the glasses and slipped them off her face so they didn’t press into her face as she slept. Looking at her now, as she slept, he felt a level of protectiveness sweep over him as he had never felt before for another human being.
He’d keep her safe. He’d make her his woman too, but that would come later. Right now he had to focus on just keeping them both alive.
Tiredly he let his eyes close as he leaned back against a tree along the forested edge of the beach. He drifted into the realm of restful unconsciousness, but his battle tested senses of perception never really went to sleep. He was asleep, with one eye open so to speak.
*****
I blinked my eyes open. Oh no, where were my glasses?
I relaxed as my fingers found them folded on the cushion before me. I slipped them on and took in my surroundings.
It never seemed to get dark here. It was always this hazy orange glow.
It was impossible to tell what time it was, but instinctively I knew that several hours had gone by since I had been last awake. Then in a panic stricken moment I realized that Colt was gone!
I abruptly sat up and was about to call out, when a big hand closed over my mouth and I was drug bodily backward into the jungle vegetation behind me. I was about to let an elbow loose into my unknown captor, when I smelled him and sensed who it was that held me.
Not sure why, I felt myself relax in the knowledge that it was Colt who held me. His face came into view as his fingers came away from my mouth. There was such a sense of expectant wariness about him that I didn’t dare speak.
My skin prickled with sensation, as a chill swept through me, as I wondered vainly at what my city noise conditioned senses were missing out on. One finger came up to his lips and I nodded in silence.
His hand reached out and pressed my glasses more firmly onto my face. It was an odd gesture and I wasn’t prepared for his further contact of me, when he leaned in close and whispered directly against my ear, “Follow me if you want to live.”
I swallowed convulsively, as he abruptly moved off into the jungle staying low and looking very much as if he knew what he was doing.
What about the others?
If there was danger we couldn’t just leave them un-alerted to it could we?
Shouts rang out from the beach and I popped my head up ever so slightly to look towards the sound of the commotion. I’d expected to see some version of a monster ripping into those gathered about the fire, and I was surprised to see otherwise.
My hand flew to my mouth in shock as I watched the former Army Captain’s head lopped off by the downward swing of a cutlass.
Pirates!
Oh God!
I scuttled backward into the jungle vegetation, until I thought it was safe to get to my feet. I ran in a panic to catch up with wherever Colt had gotten off too. I didn’t want to be alone out here.
My bare foot landed on a rock and I tumbled into the undergrowth with a cry of pain. There was no time for pain though and I got back up to my feet and gingerly took a step forward. I grimaced, but the pain was manageable and I took another step.
Somewhere between the plane and the beach I had lost my flats. What I wouldn’t give for some form of shoe wear right now. The only shoes I knew of in existence though right now where the sandals in my bag and the last time I’d seen my bag it had been slung over Colt’s shoulder as he had headed off into the jungle.
I was a good distance from the beach now and the sounds of chaos taking place there couldn’t be heard any longer. I was alone in the jungle. As a girl I had run free in a jungle remarkably similar to this one, but that had been a long time ago and a lot had changed since then.
I was used to getting my caramel latte and idly strolling down a hard paved street to get to work situated in a high-rise among the many in the city. I had been born into this environment, but it was now alien to me and there were pirates here, who even now might be following my trail.
Something rustled in the brush off to my right and I sucked in my breath in fright. My heart was going a million beats a second at the unknown.
The brush moved again and on a panicked note I called out, “Colt?”
The rustling stopped and then there was movement towards me. It wasn’t Colt. Instead it was some version of a tiger sized leopard that I doubted still existed on the surface of the planet.
My heart froze within me and I stood as still as a statue as it came towards me. It would do no good to run, but the nerve to remain still was vanishing quickly.
“Stay still!” Came the hissed out command from nearby.
In relief my eyes drifted over to see Colt standing not ten feet away from me. The big cat had stopped at the voice and the appearance of the second individual.
The big cat looked undecided as to what it wanted to do. It had a sour look to it as it hissed heavily at us disgruntled.
Colt’s big hand curled around my waist and I went willingly as he pulled me behind him. A sense of secure peace occurred then as I pressed up against his back as he stared down the big cat that probably weighed as much as both of us put together and more.
Peering around Colt’s side I saw the big cat toss its head disgustedly before it ambled leisurely off into the jungle. I breathed a little more freely after I saw its tail retreat from view.
Colt turned to me and I found that I couldn’t meet his eyes.
I brushed at my hair and stepping back I winced, which he immediately noticed. A hand closed over my shoulder and I found myself sitting on the ground with my foot grasped in both of his hands before I knew it.
His unexpected touch was startling!
He looked from my foot down to me and all the warning I had of his intentions was a cryptic, “You can’t walk on this.”
He stooped down and his hands settled around my waist and he rose back up abruptly and I found myself draped over his shoulder. I’d never in all my adult life been so manhandled before!
“Hey! Let me down! You can’t……”
Smack!
I jumped in startlement at the smarting contact of his hand with my bottom.
“Pipe down or I’ll give you another one.” Came his correspondingly terse comment.
In fury I drew my elbow back to smash it into the location of one of his kidneys off to the side of his spine. I thought twice about my action though, when his palm suggestively cupped over the other cheek of my bottom, as he made his way through the jungle.
The message was clear. I hit him and I’d get one back myself.
I had no desire to experience the stinging burn again that half my bottom had already suffered. I let my drawn back elbow relax, as I endured the embarrassment of my situation.
“I hate you!” I said meaningfully and then unable to help myself I elbowed him hard in the kidney.
He grunted sharply and almost came to a stop. He went on though and his hand as I knew it would gave me the promised retribution I’d been expecting, only it was a lot harder than the first time had been.
Tears came to my eyes and I bit my lip hard before I savagely said, “I really hate you now!”
“Duly noted, now shut up or do you want another one?”
I shut up as his hand drifted back to the other side. A moment went by as I experienced extreme frustration at the hopelessness of my situation.
Finally I couldn’t stand it anymore and I whispered out fiercely against his back, “Why don’t you just tie me up and get it over with! I know you want me! You stinking coward! You think you’re so tough beating up on a woman! Go ahead and show me how tough you are! I hate you! I hate all men, but I especially hate you!”
“Would you just shut up already!” Came the unperturbed voice of the man that held me captive.
More tears fell as I hung limply over this man’s shoulder. I wasn’t ready for this interaction with a male business. He was both my savior and my tormentor.
Could God really be so cruel as to throw me into a situation like this where intimacy was assured to take place with someone that I detested?
I was scared and alone with a man in the jungle that I fully knew intended to make me his Eve at some point. Meanwhile my brother was out there, God knew where, perhaps injured or even now in the process of dying!
A package I couldn’t stop now would arrive to break the hearts of my adoptive parents and where was I in all this?
Slung over the shoulder of a caveman that should’ve gone out with the dinosaurs!
In a sheer cry of frustration I drove my other elbow into his other kidney. Again he grunted painfully, but I was too caught up in cringing at the expected pain of his next smack to take enjoyment of the pain that I had caused him.
The smack didn’t come.
He’d stopped and was breathing heavily. Oh no this was going to be bad!
I’d pushed him too far!
I instantly regretted my impulsive attempts to hurt him. I was the one that stood the most to lose in any confrontation between us.
His voice had a pained note to it as he said, “You have quite the temper don’t you?”
“Yes.” I admitted feeling a little relieved at the normality of his tone of voice.
He nodded briefly before saying, “Don’t get me wrong baby, I like that you have spunk, but you’d be best served to not practice anymore of it on me!”
“What would you do?” I asked unable to help myself.
“I’ll set you down on your bare feet on this rough terrain and let the open wound on your foot come in contact with all the bacteria and who knows what else this sunken land is harboring. Is that what you want Princess? Do you want to see your foot rot and have to have it cut off?”
“No.” I said biting my lip, as I realized what a fool I had made of myself.
What he was saying was the truth. I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with him on my own anyway and I very well may have fallen victim to pirates lagging behind. Instinctively I knew that was a far worse fate to be considered than whatever Colt might require of me.
Colt started out again and it wasn’t long before he was breathing heavy again. It was hard work carrying me and the two packs that he had slung on his other shoulder uphill as he was.
“I’m sorry.” I said softly against his back.
He stopped and leaned one shoulder against a tree for a moment and huffed out, “Me too. I smacked you too hard that last time.”
I blinked slowly in realization of what he was apologizing for. Then again as I realized that he was actually apologizing for something. Strangely the stinging burn I was feeling on the posterior end and the resentful anger that it had inspired went away.
“I was wrong about you.” I said softly, as he started out walking again.
There was a wry note to his voice as he asked, “Oh and how’s that?”
I was way out on a limb here, but I stuttered out my thought in hopes that I was right, “I don’t think you’re the type to force yourself on an unwilling woman.”
He snorted derisively in response, which had me wondering if I was right.
“I’m right though, aren’t I?” I asked more hesitantly than I wanted to.
There was a sour note to his voice as he said, “I should’ve gagged you.”
“Why?” I asked curiously, but he didn’t answer. He just kept trudging on through the thick vegetation holding me firmly in place over his shoulder.
I hoped I was right, but when it came to this caveman there was very little that I could be sure of, as he didn’t fit the mold that most men I had met were made by.
*****
Koke looked around, but there was little to be seen in the stale darkness of the ship’s hold. While there was little to be seen there was a lot to be heard.
Miserably Koke listened to the muttered prayers, wails of grief, and pained groans from those held within the hold of the ship. From what little coherent conversation he’d managed to elicit from the group held within the ship’s hold he’d discovered that none of them were from the plane.
Instead as incredible as it was they all claimed to have arrived here to this sunken realm via a luxury cruise liner. They had all been busy enjoying their vacations, when their voyage had taken a hellish turn for the worse.
Besides him there were fifteen others in the hold. There had been some others, but the Pirates had come for them a while back and those taken had not returned.
Those in the hold though had heard their screams. Koke could well imagine what their grisly fates had been.
Koke considered himself to be a peaceable man, who got along well with his fellow man. He had believed in the criminal justice system in regards to equal representation before the law, but that was in the past. Right now he wanted these pirates dead!
Anybody who could perpetrate such crimes against humanity deserved nothing but death. He was scared. What man wouldn’t be in his predicament?
The scene that awaited him made the infamous prison shower scene pale in comparison in terms of harsh treatment. He wasn’t submitting to that tortured future quietly.
Vainly he searched around in the dark for something to help him make a good account of himself when the time came. He found nothing of use and quite a few times he’d drawn back in revulsion upon touching the remains of some bygone rotting individual.
Defeated he leaned up against one of the dry rotted sides of the ship’s hold, as cold murky water swished about his ankles.
“God?”
A moment passed before he asked out softly again in question, “God?”
“Why?”
Still there was no answer and a quiver of anguish swept through him and in desperation he said, “I need help! I…….don’t want what’s going to happen…… to happen.”
Koke shook his head, before saying with a hint of bitterness, “Thy will be done. God help me!”
Koke slid down against the side of the hull in the smelly dungeon. His hand fell on something. He fingered it in the darkness as to ascertain what it was. It was a bone.
Koke fought against revulsion for what he held. He felt the bone out carefully in the dark. The bone was a small broken off fragment with one round end and one jaggedly sharp end. It wasn’t much, but it was something. What was he going to do with it?
It was too small to really hold it in the grip of his hand and if he tried to lash out with it he’d be hacked to pieces in seconds. He swallowed as an idea occurred to him.
Koke reached up and wiped at the cold sweat on his brow. His plan could work given what he knew of these pirates, but it was humiliating even to consider.
His jaw firmed and his grip tightened on the small bone fragment. Survival. Survival was what it was all about now.
He was going to survive to find his sister!
He only hoped that her predicament was better than his right now. He thought of the tough soldier type that he had passed his sister off onto.
A brief smile touched his lips. She was safe all right. Vainly though he wished that he was more of a confident warrior type like Colt, but he’d have to do with whatever he could nerve up in terms of courage.
As someone once said courage isn’t the absence of fear, but rather the management of it.