Elemental: Earth

by L. E. Washington

  His fingers dropped to her blouse, the zipper in the front. He began to softly kiss the side of her neck as he slowly brought the zipper lower, exposing a pale, yellow lace bra. Her breasts rose just above the lace, and Gustavo’s breath caught when he saw them.

  “Quiero ser tuya. Tú me vuelvas loco,” and Gustavo brought his mouth to the rising flesh of her breasts, gently kissing and breathing her in.

  “Gustavo,” Tessa whispered.

  “My love,” he said as he looked up.

  “I cannot in good conscience do this.” She would continue to play this “lioness” he believed her to be. If he truly admired this part of her, maybe it would be what saved her. “I do not want to be that woman. Could you really look at me the same afterward?” She saw a shift in his eyes. A fire flickered, and it scared her.

  “Do you think your Gavin believes your little ruse?” Gustavo laughed. “Do you think your Zinsser is going to come and get you? It will not happen, mija. Zinsser loves only one-- himself. The Fuerza brothers are smart, but they’re not as smart as I’m. They knew your trick. They played you girls as you played them. You’re here, mija, because I desire you. You’re alive, corazon, because I love you. I have saved you, and you will come to see it very soon. You may not love me, Tessa, but that does not matter. You’re mine, now. But don’t worry. I take good care of my property, and I know a precious gem when I see it.”

  It was hard for Tessa to control her ire. She wanted to kick his ass, and she was positive that she could, but there was nothing she could do. Maybe Gustavo was right. Zinsser wouldn’t make a deal. Gavin could be setting them up to exact his revenge. What if it was true?

  “I will make you more comfortable,” Gustavo said, seeming to get his anger under control. “We will be moving out in two days, and then you will have all that you have ever wanted. Until then, I will set you up in my room. Then, you will be with me always. There are no chairs, but my bed will be better for us both.”

  This was it-- Gustavo would have her one way or the other, chivalrously or not. She had made her choice by rejecting him.

  Then, the ground beneath her seemed to quiver in the slightest. She could hear the wind outside rustle the palm fronds and stir the vines.

  “A storm?” Gustavo asked and then chuckled. “Even the gods are not pleased with your rejection of me tonight,” he scolded Tessa.

  Her chair vibrated with force as the ground shook more violently. She looked to Gustavo in alarm. He quickly cut the ties on her ankles that bound her to the chair and picked her up. He sat her inside the doorway and then went to the other side. The earth continued to quake.

  “Capo!” Nico Gonzalez appeared out of nowhere and began rattling off that many of the soldiers had run off in fear. Gustavo yelled that they should keep them in place. Then he told Nico to stay with Tessa, mumbling that he’d to do everything himself.

  Outside, Gustavo was met with a sight that, had he not seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed. A deluge of rain was just starting and the ground, shaking and quaking even more, was beginning to separate into jagged chasms. Some soldiers were shooting into an area of the jungle while others were running, calling for Jesus and Mother Mary. Gustavo was trying bravely to stand his ground and yell at these “stupid goats” to get back to work instead of being afraid of a little rain, but it was requiring some fancy footwork on his part to stay on any piece of solid ground.

  The sound of rushing water distracted him, and suddenly, Gustavo watched a tidal wave of muddy river water race into the camp through the jungle, making its own pathway. Soldiers stupidly tried to outrun it, which forced them into the chasms Gavin had created. Once in, the water filled it hurriedly and the sound of their cries drowned.

  Still plenty of soldiers and emissaries were running, talking into radios attached to their shoulders. Some were coming out of the barely-standing tents. A few came rushing out of the Gonzalez brothers’ rickety cabin. There were more trying to run away than Gustavo had ever banked on.

  * * * *

  “It’s your turn, little brother.” Gavin winked at Giles.

  “Thought you’d never ask,” Giles replied as his entire being swelled, turning into a column of yellow and red radiance. Tree leaves and fines overhead caught fire and quickly shared with the others until the camp was surrounded in a massive glow. Some soldiers called for buckets and tried to use water from the chasms to douse the flames in the trees around them. Giles’ hands created perfect spheres, and he wound up and pitched like he was playing a friendly game of baseball rather than hurling balls of fire at the makeshift headquarters of one of the biggest drug gangs in the Americas.

  “Don’t get to hot-headed,” Gavin laughed. “Remember we need to keep the girls safe and get them out of here.”

  At this scolding, the flames seemed to diminish just slightly.

  “Our best bet is to disappear into the jungle for a while,” Reed suggested. “We’ve created a diversion, and now they’ll be too concerned about their precious money and product, that we can slip away.”

  “Your best bet is to have the final piece to your puzzle.” Dallas’ voice came out of the darkness, and he materialized in front of them, smiling.

  “Glad you could make it,” Giles clamped his brother on the shoulder. “But who’s babysitting?”

  “He’s fine. Passed out cold. Not going anywhere for a while I’d say except to prison. Got the U.S. ambassador and the Federales on the way to make a little discovery,” was Dallas’ response. “Just figured I hadn’t heard anything for a while and thought I’d better check up on things. Glad I did because it looks like you need a little wind in your sails.”

  The brothers rolled their eyes at the horrible pun, and Dallas laughed as his long, raven hair began to dance around his shoulders. Dallas’ grey eyes focused on the command center, and soon the rain was falling in slanted sheets as the air shifted. Debris began to spin with the wind as flames increased all around the camp.

  “We’ve got ourselves a full-on apocalypse!” Giles laughed.

  “Bet the padre is going to be busy at confession tonight,” Reed added.

  “If they live to see it,” Dallas commented.

  “Okay, here’s what I’m thinking,” Gavin voiced over the noise of their attack and the voices of desperate men. “We may not have a lot of time. Your fire is spreading really quickly. We need to get in, get girls, get out. I’ll tell you where each girl is, then I’ll hold off the soldiers that are left for you three to get the girls. I’ll get Tessa once you’re out. I may have to go toe-to-toe with the capo. Seems he’s got quite the crush on her, the main reason they kidnapped them anyway. We split up and meet in Rio in two weeks.”

  They all agreed, and Gavin told them in detail how to find each girl. He knew he could hold off the soldiers until the six of them were safe. What wasn’t certain was getting Tessa out of the clutches of her captor, but at least the capo was out here and pissed off about the situation. Maybe he’d stay here long enough for Gavin to make his move.

  The three younger brothers darted into the cabin as Gavin employed the assistance of vines and roots to trip and encircle some of the soldiers, pulling them down to the soil that would begin to swallow them. Out of nowhere, a fresh battalion of young soldiers arrived in a rusty Jeep firing incessantly towards Gavin. He dodged and dipped behind scrap metal and skeletons of cars on cinder blocks. One bullet grazed his temple, and he tenderly touched to see the blood, a red-green color, oozing from the wound.

  The sound of the roof caving in just behind him, alerted Gavin that his time was quickly fleeting. Hoping that his brothers were out of the house, Gavin held his breath wondering how he’d be able to rescue Tessa and keep himself alive as well. The wind shifted, swirling Giles and puddled water around Gavin, but allowing a reprieve to enter the danger zone. He found a hole, squeezed himself through, and picked his way over charred wood and blackened furniture, all the while breathing through h
is soaked t-shirt. He slowly navigated to the front room where he’d seen Tessa, and there lay Nico, sweat covering his body and blood streaming from his mouth and nose. No one else was around.

  “Tessa?” Gavin called. “Tessa! Answer me!”

  A sense of panic hit him in the gut. Gavin would never forgive himself if he didn’t find her. He should have taken her when he could have. He should have never watched these goons abduct them in the first place. He should have never fallen for her either, but now that he had, he couldn’t let anything happen to her.

  He frantically began kicking through fiery walls and flipping over debris when he could, but he wasn’t finding anything. he’d almost made it to the front door when he could hear a faint call of “Gavin! Help me!”

  He was amazed he’d heard it in the crackling of the fire and the moaning of the wind. “Heard” wasn’t exactly the word, though. More like “felt”. Then, he felt it again and knew exactly where she was. Seeing a ratty, smoking leather sofa tipped forward, he picked it up and saw where the floorboards had fallen in. Tessa looked up from below, standing mud-streaked in a dark cellar under the house.

  “You sure are a lot of trouble,” Gavin said, but smiled as he said it. He got down on his belly and extended his arm, reaching out his large, sure hand.

  Tessa barely had to stretch to reach Gavin’s hand, and he pulled her up effortlessly. He got her up to the main floor, helped her find her footing, checked her for injuries, and then swept her up in his arms and bolted for the door, greeted by the sound of rapid firing again.

  He hurried to a Jeep, shoved her behind the wheel, and told her she was driving. Then he climbed in the back to face what was left of the makeshift operation.

  “Drive!” was all he barked at her, but as Tessa was just about to turn around and put her foot to the floorboard, she saw a calm literally come over Gavin’s large frame. Then the ground began to shake.

  She let out a surprised scream and gripped the wheel.

  “DRIVE!!” Gavin shouted at her again, not changing his position at all.

  Tessa threw the Jeep into first and stamped her foot on the accelerator, only for the tires to spin in the mud. She tried “reverse” but got nowhere. She threw it back into first. “Damnit! There’s too much mud!!”

  Gavin didn’t respond and didn’t move. Frantic, she looked back to Gavin to solicit his help only to notice a customized Hummer come splashing through mud and scattering soldiers and even a few chickens. Someone was leaning out the passenger-side window firing directly at their Jeep. Then, the ground ripped wide open, and Tessa watched in disbelief as the Hummer clumsily dropped bit-by-bit into the giant hole. Not even registering what she had seen, she tried to back up again when suddenly, a gust of wind almost palpable whipped up around her and pushed the car forward. She gunned the engine and took off to the sight of Dallas, spinning his motorcycle around with Gillian on the back hanging on for dear life.

  Who are these brothers?

  Hours later, Gavin patted Tessa’s knee and motioned for her to pull over onto the shoulder.

  “We’re ditching the ride,” he instructed.

  “What? Why?” Tessa was already mentally and emotionally exhausted. She hadn’t eaten for at least a day and a half. She’d hardly rested in spite of the sleep she’d gotten back at the Gonzalez hut.

  “Surely you don’t think I’m going to walk!”

  “Turning ‘princess’ on me?” Gavin was clawing through the glove compartment for anything of use.

  “Um, how about ‘human’?” Tessa corrected. “You do know what that is, right?” She regretted the question as soon as she’d uttered it, for that was exactly what she had been wondering for the last few hours as they drove along in silence.

  She hadn’t spoken because she couldn’t speak. She didn’t really know what to say after an experience like that. She felt like at any moment she was going to wake up from this crazy dream. It couldn’t be real. he’d made the ground split open and swallow up that Hummer. And if he’d made that happen, he must be responsible for making the earthquake.

  And what about Dallas? She was certain he’d helped her get the Jeep out of the mud with his little ‘nudge’. They’d done all of that—the brothers. The Fuerzas had caused all of that to happen—the fire, the crazy monsoonish rain and flooding river, the tornadic winds, and the earthquakes that had gulped men down like candy. No wonder the government had wanted them. How many other catastrophes had they caused? What about these natural disasters everyone hears about on the news all of the time? Are they all real, or are they caused by these brothers? Should she be worried?

  No, Tessa thought. Just stop it! You’re letting your imagination run away with you. You’re sleep and food-deprived, that’s all. It’s been crazy. There’s just some weird atmospheric mess, I’m sure. At least you’re out of that hellhole and away from Gustavo. It didn’t seem like that was going to end well. Be thankful Gavin came when he did. Don’t question how he did.

  “Let’s go,” Gavin commanded.

  Without a sound, Tessa slipped off her safety belt and climbed out of the Jeep. She looked at the terrain that lay ahead of them-- sloping and lush with jungle. She leaned down, rolled up the legs of her pants, took a deep breath, and started in just behind Gavin.

  The gray light of morning was just beginning to spread, but Tessa and Gavin didn’t see much of it deep in the jungle. She was amazed at his night vision, and there had been plenty of times he’d to pick her up and let her ride on his back over rocky rivers and dense undergrowth that she couldn’t navigate. She had tried to stop herself from straining to see, but it was a natural tendency. It had, however, taken even more of a toll on her, and she rubbed her temples at the thought of her pounding headache. Her eyes watered with the strain, and he legs were burning after the numbness of the sitting and zip-ties followed by the intense activity. (Not to mention she wasn’t wearing the best shoes for traversing the Amazon.) She felt a bit like an invalid, especially when she thought of all of the training exercises she had not only been on but developed for her squads. Had she really gone that soft that quickly?

  “Let’s stop here,” Gavin suggested. “The sun will be up soon, and we need to get some rest.” Tessa dropped to the ground not minding where. “We still have a ways to go, so we definitely need a good night’s sleep.”

  Tessa began to giggle. She couldn’t stop once she got started. The entire situation was so preposterous-- she was in the jungle, traipsing around with this guy named Gavin who had just sprung her from a drug lord’s distribution center, and in doing so had caused earthquakes that separated the land so that even Hummers were swallowed into caverns below. They had left a perfectly good Jeep on the side of the road so that he could delve deep into the jungle at night and steer them through with ease as if it were the middle of the day. And now, he was saying it was time to get a good night’s sleep. Even to her, this sounded incredible, but she couldn’t imagine writing her report when she got back to Jameson.

  And with that thought, she laughed aloud maniacally, losing her balance and rolling back in the moss.

  “Alrighty, then,” Gavin said as he looked at her quizzically. “Obviously you’re much in need of rest.”

  Tessa nodded as she tried to get her laughter under control. Her eyes were brimming with tears as part of the effect of this punch-drunk hilarity, but she conceded-- she was more tired than she had been in a long, long time.

  “Well, this is as good a place as any,” Gavin said, glancing around.

  Tessa was still trying to calm herself when she realized what Gavin was proposing.

  “You mean here? Out in the open during the daylight? Isn’t that leaving us a bit vulnerable?”

  Gavin turned, sought out some branches, vines, and leaves, and coerced them to obey under his steady gaze. They smoothly connected and wove together, creating a screen of sorts. Then, Gavin turned to the mossy carpet and blew a faint breath towards it causi
ng the carpet to puff into a thickness almost four times its original status. He turned towards Tessa and bowed deeply as he swept a pathway to her chambers with his arms.

  Tessa was still trying to convince herself that she had in fact seen all that had just happened. She crept behind the screen and lay down on the moss. Gavin nestled beside her, and she could feel him sinking beneath the surface on which she lay. The moss seemed to cradle her, and the screen of leaves shielded her from the sun. Soon, she was softly snoring within minutes.

  When she awoke, Tessa had the strangest feeling of being watched, and a small panic pierced her heart. Slowly turning, she saw a pair of intent eyes staring at her.

  “Hungry?” Gavin greeted her. He held out a quince to her.

  “How long have you been awake?” she responded as she reached for the fruit.

  “About an hour.”

  “How long have you been staring at me?”

  “About an hour.”

  Tessa had the distinct feeling that during that hour, Gavin had somehow learned all he wanted to learn regarding her being in Argentina and her connection with Gillian, Melissa, and Dara. She both wished for and dreaded having that conversation, but she wanted it out in the open so that she could really deal with her feelings for him and decide whether he felt anything (other than hatred at betrayal) for her.

  “So, what’s next?” she asked wanting to break the silence at the very least.

  Gavin stared intently for the next few seconds and said, “We’re heading out. We have a long walk today, and then, once I’m certain no one is following us, we’ll talk.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Tessa replied as she stood, brushed herself off and looked at Gavin to begin leading them through the jungle.