by Tara Ellis
“At least,” Peta agreed. “I’d probably go for a few more over the next couple of days to make sure. It’s incredible how potent it is. Our strongest medications had practically no impact on even slowing the prions, but whatever’s in this plant stops it cold.”
Waving a hand at the various bags piled up around them in the small room, Peta smiled. “We filled everything we brought with us in less than an hour. Engracia was right; it’s everywhere. Akuba said it can be kept fresh for up to a week or two before it has to go through a drying process to prevent molding, so we should be good on time.”
Jason’s expression was hard for Peta to read as he studied the bags and seemingly thought about what she’d said. “There should be enough here for Garrett to treat anyone left alive in the lab,” he said, his voice strained. “We’ve got to work out a way to get more to him, as soon as possible.”
Peta realized then he was fighting to control his emotions, and she leaned back to give him some space. She had the same reaction when they’d first starting picking the leaves of the Libi Prani, surrounded by the plant that could be the salvation of countless people. It was overwhelming.
Marty was just as perceptive of Jason’s emotions, but instead of retreating, the dog moved from his side and onto his lap with a small moan. Tearing his gaze away from the bags and down at Marty, Jason grasped the dog’s head in his hands and lifted it so that their noses were touching. “I’m okay, bud,” he whispered. “Thanks for having my back.”
His body winding up with excited energy, Marty licked Jason’s chin once and then pulled away. Getting to his feet, he chuffed and gave his head a shake before running around in a circle near the front door, which consisted of a hanging grass-woven mat.
Laughing, Jason held an arm out to Peta to help him up. “I hear ya, bud. I could use a trip outside, too.”
As Peta hauled Jason to his feet, the easy comradery they shared wasn’t lost on her. It was rare for her to find someone she was comfortable around and to discover such a friend in Jason was completely unexpected. But as she looked up at him while their hands remained clasped together, there was no denying the chemistry brewing between them, or her desire to get closer.
Flustered, Peta didn’t pull away when his hand slid up her arm to rest at the base of her neck. As she lowered her walls and allowed herself to respond to the attraction, instead of leaning in for a kiss, Jason simply drew her in snug to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. It was exactly what she needed.
Closing her eyes, Peta hugged him back and released a long breath full of pain, remorse, and a deep despair that couldn’t be shouldered alone.
She wasn’t alone. It was a liberating awareness that permitted her to replace some of the hollowness with hope, and a reason to keep fighting other than out of a stubbornness to not give up.
The sound of someone approaching caused them to separate, but not before Peta met the intense gaze of Jason’s green eyes. What she saw left little doubt that he felt the same way.
“You’re awake!” Akuba said as she walked into the room. She had a cup in her hand and based on the smell, Peta was guessing it was more tea.
The house that belonged to Akuba’s mother was actually a series of connecting rooms amongst the ruins. A thatched roof had been secured and the woven doors made, so that while it was still a rather crude dwelling, it had solid walls and was located toward the center and safest area of the city. Peta had seen the straw huts being built on the outskirts, where most of the Lokono tribe was living, and it was immediately clear how they were struggling to come up with a way to support so many people in such a harsh environment.
Accepting the drink, Jason craned his neck to look beyond Akuba and into the room she’d just come from. “How is your mom doing? It really hasn’t been long enough for the antibiotics to have kicked in, but are you seeing any improvement?”
Frowning, Akuba glanced back over her shoulder. “I believe so. It may be from the other medication we gave her, but the fever is at least gone and she is more aware. She’s asleep right now, but maybe you can examine the wound once she wakes up?”
“Of course,” Jason replied, and then pointed at her own leg. “How about you?”
“I made sure she took some of the antibiotics, too,” Peta interjected.
“It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Akuba added with a small grin that quickly faded. “I also had to give some to Slaider, as the scratches on his leg were already looking infected. We’re going to need more, and not just the antibiotics. Many of the Lokono have different illnesses that we don’t have the means to treat out here. The Amazon is not very forgiving.”
Jason ran a hand through his overgrown hair. “That’s an understatement.”
Marty barked impatiently at them, drawing a chuckle from Jason. Taking the tea, he motioned with it toward the door. “We need to go find a tree, and then you guys need to catch me up on what’s been happening. What the plan is.”
Peta found the rest of their group already gathered nearby, at a central fire. She found it interesting how even in the heat of the jungle, the fire was needed as a constant source of safe drinking water, food, and a sense of security. Whether the protection it offered was false or not didn’t really matter, it simply made them feel better to be around it.
Devon, Tyler and Jess were all busy stuffing various supplies into their backpacks, and it was a stark reminder that they were still up against the clock. Her pulse quickened at the thought of Tyler’s dad and the dozens of other patients left alive underground in California, waiting for them. It was difficult not to feel extreme guilt over every minute spent doing anything personal or absolutely unnecessary, but it was also critical for them to balance their need for rest and food. Peta’s knee started bouncing as soon as she sat down, as she became increasingly eager to finalize their next steps.
“He’s getting better?” Jess asked.
Peta looked up to find the young girl earnestly staring at her and was racked by even more guilt. What were they supposed to do with Jess? What would be more dangerous; staying in the village or going back with them? “Um, yeah. I think he’s going to be fine.”
“Good, because I’m ready to get outta here,” Devon said as he stood and dropped his pack onto the ground with a thud. “We need to get word to Garrett ASAP to send that boat back, if he hasn’t already.”
“I’m sure he’s already ahead of us on that,” Jason said, approaching the fire with Marty in tow. “We should be able to make better time going back, since we know where we’re going.”
“You’re okay to leave tonight?” Peta asked, skeptical.
Jason raised his cup of tea in a mock toast. “By the time it’s dark, after I drink this and about ten more cups of water, I think I’ll be good enough. The bigger question is Davies. What’s being done about that situation? Has anything happened while I was out of it?”
“We don’t know where they are,” Jess said, jamming a sweatshirt deep into the pack with unnecessary force.
“The Lokono don’t want our help, anyway,” Tyler added with a sideways glance at Jess.
When Jason raised his eyebrows at Akuba, she nodded in confirmation. “The elders have not changed their minds. While they have accepted me as the new Captain in place of my mother, I need to honor their wishes. Though, I agree with them on this.”
“I don’t think they really understand what he might be capable of,” Peta insisted. “And we have no idea how many of The Cured could be out there by now.”
“Peta.” Akuba shifted on the wooden bench to face her. “You need to trust me when I say the Lokono understand better than anyone what those touched by the Kra Puru are capable of. We have the numbers to stand against them, and if it’s the knowledge of what’s already occurred between ourselves and Davies that worries you, I will be here to remind them.”
Peta scowled as she was forced to admit that Akuba was right. The Lokonos confrontation was two-thousand years in the making and it was seen as
arrogant for them, as outsiders, to think they could somehow alter it. Although the Lokono were probably right, it didn’t change how any of them felt about it.
Jason threw a rock into the fire with enough force to send up a cascade of sparks. “I don’t want to leave Eddy out there with him!”
“None of us do,” Devon answered. “But I think the whole reason he’s in that situation is because he wanted us to be successful in getting this plant where it needs to go. We’ll come back for him,” he added, looking evenly at Jason across the fire. “I promise to come back with you. For both him, and the Lokono.” Devon shifted his gaze to Akuba, and Peta understood the deeper meaning in his words.
Jess zipped her pack with a flourish, and the sound caused everyone to look at her. “We have to go tonight,” she announced, her lips set in a thin line of determination. “It’s the only way we’re going to be able to help all of them. We can’t do it this way. We need to bring more people back with us. And more medicine, equipment, and supplies. The same way my dad would set up a remote research site.”
Before Peta could comment on how once again Jess had set them straight, the sound of several feet pounding the ground made them all stop and turn in the direction of an approaching group of people.
Viresh was in the lead, in spite of his age, and he was followed closely by the same four guards from earlier. “It’s Dr. Davies!” he called out as he reached the central courtyard.
Akuba leapt to her feet and Devon rushed to help her limp over to the men, followed closely by the rest of their group. Dewika and Sahil appeared and joined the gathering crowd of both outsiders and Lokono, moving to either side of Akuba.
“A scout just returned to report that he’s approaching,” Viresh explained, speaking primarily to Akuba.
“What do you mean, “approaching”?” Sahil asked, perplexed. “Are we under attack?”
Viresh shook his head. Frowning, he glanced at the guards first and then shrugged. “They said he approaches boldly, without weapons. Dr. Davies, two foreigners, and less than a dozen of the touched. About a mile out, walking on the trail.”
Peta nervously studied the outer walls of the city. Though crumbling in places, the stone barrier was ten feet tall and created a substantial perimeter. She believed it was a combination of the wall and sulfur gasses from the hot springs that kept the jaguars and other animals at bay, but she had no idea what sort of ploy Davies was attempting.
“It would seem he wants to talk,” Akuba said, sounding as skeptical as Peta felt.
Dewika hooked an arm through Akuba’s and stared out at the open, main entrance. “What is there to talk about with those touched by the Kra Puru, other than how to also take our souls?”
With a grimace, Jason turned to Peta and looking weary, pulled the Glock from his holster. Releasing the clip, he turned it, and Peta counted their four final bullets before he slammed it back into place. Racking the chamber, he then gestured toward the jungle. “We’re about to find out.”
Chapter 12
JASON
Tan Presi Rutu
Suriname, South America
“We should go now, while we still can.” Tyler hefted his back pack and paced the length of the fire pit for the hundredth time, ready to move at a moment’s notice.
Jason was getting dizzy watching him. They were all just as anxious to be on the move, but now that they felt trapped it created a different sort of edginess that the teen wasn’t handling well. It had been over an hour since the scouts first reported back and they were stuck in a waiting game.
“Viresh said they can lead us a different way out,” Tyler tried again, pausing in front of Jason. “We can totally go around whoever’s still hiding out there.”
Jason got it. No one was more aware of the time and lives slipping away than Tyler, and he’d actually shown a lot of restraint throughout everything. To have it come down to finally having a cure and then not being able to take it back…well, he’d be upset, too. “That’s not why we have to stay,” Jason said evenly.
“He knows we’re here looking for a way to stop the Kra Puru,” Peta said from beside Jason. They were back to being seated around the fire, waiting for word of when Davies was at the gate. “If we’re already gone, then the obvious assumption will be that we succeeded and we might lose any chance we have of resolving this without violence.”
“He’ll come after us for sure then,” Jess agreed. Tyler shot her a look, obviously feeling a little betrayed that his closest friend wasn’t supporting him. “If he finds us with those leaves,” she insisted, “he won’t stop until all of the Libi Prani and the Lokono are destroyed!”
“This is damage control for him.” Devon added with a grimace.
Tyler stared down at his feet, unable to come up with a viable argument.
“We’re still getting out of here tonight,” Jason promised. “But Jess is right. We need to be smart about it and pick the right time.”
“So, we let him see that we’re here,” Peta said. “Find out what he wants.”
Jason turned to watch the firelight play over the shadows of Peta’s face. While it was only around five, it got dark early in the jungle, especially with the haze-covered sky. “Knowing what his intentions are with the Lokono puts us in a stronger position strategically,” Jason confirmed. “And if we can throw him off so that he doesn’t suspect the medicinal value of the Libi Prani, that’ll be even better.”
“Then what?” Tyler insisted, dropping his pack with frustration. “What good does any of that do us if we can’t get this stuff back to the states?”
“Do you remember what I told you before?” Jason asked, his own voice rising. He was continuing to gain his strength back and with it, some more clarity. “Assess the threat. The scouts said there were less than a dozen of The Cured with Davies. That means there’s still more than double that left out there…likely watching and waiting to see what we’re going to do. So, we let Davies come to us. We let him make the next move and do all the talking while revealing his strategy, instead of the other way around. We use his arrogance to manipulate him and lead him to believe we haven’t gotten anywhere here, and that the poor Lokono are just as helpless as he believes they are, and therefore not a threat to him. I think that Akuba was right, and he’s more interested in controlling these people than killing them. It’s imperative that we don’t give him a reason to change his mind.”
“Well then, how do you figure we can still leave tonight?” Devon asked. Jason noticed how the other man had suddenly grown more serious since that afternoon, and he found it interesting how that bothered him more in some ways than the idea of finally confronting Davies.
Jason finished the last bite of protein bar he had, and after resting one hand on Marty’s head, he then gestured at the jungle with the empty wrapper in the other. “Worst case, we distract him while you and Tyler slip away. He’s never seen the two of you, and I can guarantee that once he gets a good look at me and realizes who I am, it’s going to confuse him.”
Jason grinned at the thought, and felt some satisfaction when he saw the implications dawn on both Tyler and Devon. Davies or his people may have seen him the night before when he was fighting them off with Peta, but not well enough to recognize him. It had been ten years since the day Jason had confronted the man over the daughter no one had told him about, but they’d never forget each other, and he was counting on that.
Slaider approached the fire and looked anxiously from Akuba to Peta. “I’ve stashed the bags of Libi Prani near the far wall, behind the makeshift village.”
“Is there a way to get through the wall near there?” Jason asked.
Nodding, Slaider glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Yeah, and Viresh has a couple of scouts waiting to take us the whole way, whenever you’re ready to go.”
“It might not be all of us,” Peta said, looking grim. “Which means you’ll each have to carry a few of those bags.” When the indigenous man simply accepted
the directive, Peta reached up and clasped one of his hands. “Thank you. We would have never gotten here without you.”
Sahil’s arrival broke off any further conversation as he gestured for Akuba to follow him. “They are here.”
As they all stood, Jason grabbed at Devon’s arm. “You and Tyler stay out of sight. If things go sideways you know what to do.”
With a curt nod, Devon took Marty from Jason and then he and Tyler scooted off to a nearby structure, leaving the rest of them to follow behind Akuba and the other elders that were gathering together in the courtyard.
“You can go with them,” Jason said to Jess as she watched Tyler leave with a pained expression.
“No, I can’t,” she said bluntly. “He’s my dad. It doesn’t matter if he believes it or not, and if there’s some way I can still help him, I have to try. I’m the only one who has any chance of getting through to him, if there’s something left in there. And I don’t care what anyone said earlier to the elders, Kavish wouldn’t be with him right now if it weren’t for me. He and Akuba both ended up staying at the preserve because I wouldn’t leave when I was supposed to.”
Jason waited for Peta to get a couple of steps ahead before he stopped Jess with a hand on her shoulder, and she looked back at him with a questioning look. “And you would most likely be dead right now if you had gone to Jackson Hole.” When she averted her gaze without acknowledging what he’d said, Jason tugged at her arm until Jess looked at him again. “Don’t you ever apologize for being alive. Do you hear me? We’ve all made decisions these past two weeks that we have to learn how to live with, but we can never be sorry for being where we are today, right now, because we’re exactly where we’re meant to be.”
