by Ramona Gray
“We cannot sit here forever like frightened children,” Vida replied. “I can kill him.”
“Only if he doesn’t see you,” Rose said. “If I distract him, keep his attention, you can come up behind him and-and snap his neck like you did the pinkie, right?”
She cringed at how casual she sounded in planning the murder of another human being, but Patrick had already murdered three people. They couldn’t let him live.
“It is too dangerous. You will stay here and -”
“No! Vida, you don’t get how dangerous the guns are. If Patrick shoots you, you will die. This is our best plan. Please, trust me.”
“What if he shoots you with this metal weapon?”
“He won’t. He thinks he needs me as his prisoner to convince you to help him.”
He studied her before nodding. “All right. You will distract him while I swim behind him. Take a deep breath and hold tight to me, Rose.”
“Okay.” Her body was shaking from cold and fear.
Vida cupped the back of her head and rested his forehead against hers. “I will keep you safe. I promise.”
“I know. Vida, I -”
“You what?”
She shook her head. Now was not the time to tell him she loved him. “Be careful, okay?”
“Do not worry, sweet flower. Take a deep breath.”
* * *
“Cave is empty.” Teagan said. He, Wallace and Duncan joined the others by the second smaller cave that Vida obviously used for cooking.
He glanced at Doc. “No blood or signs of struggle.”
Doc nodded, his face was strained, and he kept running his hand repeatedly through his hair until his blond hair was sticking up in short, erratic spikes. “Yeah, okay. We go to the waterfall next.”
Teagan led them through the jungle. He was dripping with sweat and he could hear the harsh panting of the others, but he didn’t slow his pace. As they drew closer to the falls, he could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air.
“Hold up.” He held up his left arm and the others stopped as he took a few steps forward. He peered around a clump of shrubs. “Fuck.”
“Guess we know what he used the bullets for.” Wallace had joined him, and he spat on the ground before arming the sweat from his forehead.
“What is it?” Talla called.
“Dead brino,” Wallace kicked at the dead beast as the others joined him and Teagan. “Fuck me, this thing stinks worse than a cow’s ball sack.”
“Cows don’t have ball sacks,” Randy joined him and squatted next to the brino, “bulls do.”
“Tomato, tomahto.” Wallace held his hand over his nose.
“There is a blood trail leading toward the waterfall.” Duncan was studying the ground.
“Could be Patrick’s blood,” Wallace said.
“It could be Brody’s blood or Rose’s.” Doc ran his hand through his hair again.
“C’mon, we need to keep moving,” Teagan said.
They continued toward the waterfall until the trail of blood ended in a pool of blood seeping into the ground. Duncan crouched and studied the blood as Wallace studied the jungle around them.
“Maybe it – fuck me!” He screamed shrilly as a hand snaked out of the bush next to him and grabbed his ankle. He pulled away, raising his spear as Doc pushed him back.
“Brody!” Doc was already squirming into the bush and after a few seconds he said, “Teag! Help me!”
Teag pushed past the prickles. Doc was squatting next to Brody who looked pale and exhausted, but kissed Doc enthusiastically when Doc pressed his mouth against his.
“Let’s get him out of here,” Teag said. He and Doc carefully dragged Brody out of the bushes.
“It’s really good to see you,” Brody said.
“Fuck, man, you just about gave me a goddamn heart attack. As it is, I think I peed my pants a little.” Wallace was leaning over with one hand on his chest.
“Sorry, Wallace,” Brody grimaced as he moved his injured leg.
“Babe, what happened to your leg?” Doc touched the tourniquet that was around his leg.
“Patrick fucking shot me. I was bleeding like a stuck pig, but Rose tied a tourniquet. You okay?” He studied Doc’s face.
Doc nodded as he shrugged out of his med kit. “I’m fine. Just like you’re going to be fine.” He gave Brody another quick kiss before resting his forehead against his.
“Where’s Rose now?” Teagan asked.
“I don’t know for sure. She said she was going to lead Patrick away from me. I’m assuming she went to the waterfall but…”
“We need to keep moving,” Teagan said.
“I need to stabilize Brody first,” Doc said. “You guys go on. We’ll be fine.”
“We can give you five minutes to -”
Shrill screaming tore through the air and Brody’s eyes widened. “Rose!”
“Randy and Talla, stay with them!” Teagan snarled. “Wallace and Duncan, you’re with me.”
* * *
When Rose emerged, the water was only waist deep and she wasn’t far from the shore. In front of her, she could see Patrick’s broad back. He had moved away from the drop off and was scanning the water and the jungle around him.
“Fuck,” she heard him mutter, “the stupid bitch drowned herself.”
Vida had already swum away. She splashed back in the water, hoping to make some noise to catch Patrick’s attention. When he immediately spun around, she tried to look terrified – it didn’t require much effort.
“There you are!” He gave her a jolly smile, his gaze dipping to her hardened nipples against the translucent material of her bra.
She crossed her arms over his chest and he laughed. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’re not my type. At all.”
He waded toward her. “I thought you’d drowned, Rose. Didn’t you say you couldn’t swim?”
She held out her shaking hands. “Don’t come near me.”
He gave her a weary look. “Stop pissing me off. I’ve had a really long fucking day and I’m tired.”
Behind him, Vida rose out of the water. Rose kept her frightened gaze trained on Patrick’s face.
Patrick stopped moving and studied her. “Do you know what I hate, Rose?”
“Stay away from me.”
He gave her another weary look as Vida reached for him. “What I hate is -”
Rose cried out when Patrick whirled around and aimed the gun at Vida. He fired, and Rose screamed Vida’s name as he clasped his hand over his stomach and gave Patrick a puzzled look.
“Well now you’ve just fucked everything up, you stupid, dumb Smurf,” Patrick sighed as Vida stumbled back.
Screaming Vida’s name, Rose surged forward in the water. Before she’d even taken a few steps, Vida’s eyes closed and he sank below the surface of the water.
“Vida! NO!” Rose screamed.
Patrick turned and waded toward her. He grabbed her by the hair and she shrieked and screamed, beating at him with her fists as he dragged her onto shore. One of her flailing fists caught him in the ribs and he bellowed a curse before punching her in the face.
She fell onto her back, the water lapping at her feet, her ears ringing and her breath coming in harsh pants. Vida was dead. Disbelief and shock flooded through her.
Vida was dead. The man she loved was gone forever.
Hot tears flowed down her cheeks as Patrick, holding his ribs with one hand and the gun with the other, stood over her.
“I’m going to kill you,” she moaned.
He laughed and pointed the gun at her. “With Vida dead, you’re of no use to me, Rose.”
His finger pressed down on the trigger as something large and fast-moving tackled him. The bullet whined past Rose’s ear, burying itself in the sand beside her skull. Patrick screamed in pain as Teagan landed on him with a hard thud.
Teagan knocked the gun from his hand and punched Patrick twice in the face. Blood poured from Patrick’s nose and Teagan pun
ched him a third time before grabbing the gun. He scrambled off Patrick and pointed the gun at him as Patrick made a low laugh and struggled to sit up.
“Rosie, you okay? Wallace helped her stand and she clutched at him.
“Vida! Vida is dead! He shot him. He shot him and…”
She started to cry, and Wallace pulled her into his embrace as Duncan studied the water.
“I’m so sorry, Rosie. I’m so sorry.” Wallace rubbed her lower back as Patrick spit out a mouthful of blood before staggering to his feet.
“Teag, old buddy, what are you going to do? Huh? I saved your life in Mosul and now you’re gonna repay me by killing me? Someone on your own goddamn team.”
“You killed Davis,” Teagan said.
Patrick shrugged. “It was necessary for the mission.”
“There is no fucking mission!” Teagan shouted. “You killed Davis and the others because you’ve lost your goddamn mind, Patrick.”
Patrick was slowly backing toward the jungle. “I guess we’ll just need to agree to disagree.”
“Stop moving,” Teagan said as a pinkie stepped out from the jungle.
“If I don’t?” Patrick asked. “You don’t have the guts to kill me, Teag. We both know it. You’re weak and that’s exactly why Garrett put me in charge and not you. He knew you couldn’t cut it. He knew you –”
He stopped and raised his head, sniffing the air like a dog, before turning. The pinkie was right behind him and it cocked its head as Patrick stumbled back.
“Teagan, Teag,” Patrick gave him a terrified look as he pressed his hand against his ribs. “Shoot it for fuck’s sake.”
Teagan stared at the gun in his hand. “Why waste two bullets killing you and the pinkie, when I can just use one?”
“Teagan?” Patrick whispered, “Buddy, please.”
“Good-bye, Patrick,” Teagan said as the pinkie grabbed Patrick by the arms and dragged the screaming, struggling man into his embrace.
“Don’t look, Rosie.” Wallace tried to turn her face and she pushed his hand away.
“He killed Vida,” her voice was low and emotionless. “He deserves to suffer.”
She watched unflinchingly as the pinkie, its jaw distended and its teeth protruding, buried its face in Patrick’s neck. He screamed piercingly as the pinkie tore the skin off from the base of his throat, up the side of his face and into his scalp.
It chewed Patrick’s flesh in an almost thoughtful manner as the blood poured from Patrick’s face and he screamed repeatedly. The pinkie dipped his head again and bit off Patrick’s nose, crunching it down. Patrick made a gargling sound as the blood poured into his open mouth. The pinkie bit off both his lips and Patrick made one final scream, his teeth bared to the sky, before the pinkie tore out his throat. Blood sprayed and the pinkie lapped at it delicately.
“Teag.” Wallace’s voice was thick with repulsion. “Kill it, man.”
Teagan raised the gun and aimed it at the pinkie before whistling sharply. The pinkie raised its head, tattered pieces of flesh and meat hanging from its fangs and stared at him. Teagan pulled the trigger and a black hole appeared between the pinkie’s eyes. It dropped like a stone, Patrick’s dead body falling on top of it.
“Well, fuck,” Wallace said. “That was fucking awful. I don’t think I’ll ever fucking sleep again.”
Two more pinkies came out of the trees. They studied the body of the fallen pinkie with disinterest, stepping over both it and Patrick’s body without a second glance. The one on the left flicked its forked tongue out and Duncan made a sound of disgust.
“Kill them.”
Teagan aimed at the one on the left and fired. The bullet hit it in the mouth and blood and teeth flew as the bullet tore through the pinkie’s soft pallet and into its brain. It fell to the ground with a muffled thud. The pinkie on the right stopped and stared at the body before turning toward Teagan.
There was no anger or fear in its gaze. Instead it seemed more confused than anything. It studied the gun in Teagan’s hand and took a step back when Teagan aimed the gun at it.
“Shoot it, Teag,” Wallace said.
Teagan pulled the trigger and fear swept through Rose when there was only a loud click.
Teagan pulled the trigger again. “Fuck!”
“What’s wrong?” Rose could hear the panic in her voice.
“Misfire.” Teagan tossed the gun aside.
“Of course it fucking misfired,” Wallace said with a groan.
“Now what?” Teagan said.
Wallace glanced at Duncan and tightened his grip on his spear. “We kill this fucking thing the old-fashioned way. You ready, Duncan?”
Duncan nodded, readjusting his grip on the handle of his sword. Teagan pulled the machete from his belt and said, “Move in close and tight. Don’t give him a chance to – fuck, Wallace watch out!”
The pinkie had darted forward with its unnatural speed. It wrapped his hand around Wallace’s throat and lifted him. Wallace drove his spear into the pinkie’s thigh and it made a high-pitch squealing noise before tossing him like a rag doll into the trees. He hit a tree with a harsh thud, slamming his head against the rough bark before falling to the ground. He didn’t move, and Teagan roared with anger before attacking the pinkie with the machete.
The pinkie dodged his swing before grabbing Teagan’s arm. He sank his nails into Teagan’s flesh and, snarling and hissing, twisted Teagan’s arm until Rose heard his arm snap. Teagan screamed, and the pinkie dropped him to the ground before turning and ducking. Duncan’s sword whistled through the air where the pinkie’s head had been only seconds earlier.
The pinkie yanked the spear from his thigh and dropped it on the ground. He reached for Duncan and Duncan danced back, swinging the sword with wide and powerful sweeps. Duncan was fast, but the pinkie seemed to be almost a blur as he avoided Duncan’s sword.
He raked his claws across Duncan’s chest, shredding his shirt and ripping open the skin. Duncan stumbled back into the water, pressing one hand against his chest as blood poured out of the slashes. The pinkie followed him into the water as Duncan raised his sword.
The pinkie made a squealing sound of triumph that turned to pain. He stared in disbelief at the spear that was buried in its side. Rose, her arms trembling, shoved the spear in a little further. The stench of the pinkie was overwhelming, and she gagged and then screamed when the pinkie wrapped its hand around her throat and lifted her into the air.
Choking and gasping, she tore at the hand as her feet dangled in the air. She kicked at the pinkie, a little surprised when he dropped her into the water and turned away from her. The air she had just dragged into her lungs, escaped in a startled whoosh as she followed the pinkie’s gaze.
Vida, his blue skin glistening in the setting sun, emerged from the water like an ancient and powerful god.
“Vida?” Rose whispered.
He walked toward the pinkie and Rose’s eyes widened when the pinkie turned and tried to run. It had only taken a few steps when Vida’s arm wrapped around its neck. It screamed and hissed, clawing at Vida’s arm with its nails as Vida dragged it deeper into the water.
It shrieked again and tried to twist its head to sink its fangs into Vida’s powerful arm. Vida’s arm tightened around it, and the pinkie made one final scream before Vida dragged it under the water and they both disappeared.
“Rose!” Duncan was staggering toward her and she struggled to her feet. “You okay?”
“Are you?” She studied the blood on his chest and he nodded.
“I think so. The beast scratched me up some.”
“Vida’s alive,” she said.
He smiled at her. “He is.”
He hugged her with one arm as she scanned the water anxiously.
“I’m going to check on the others.”
She nodded but stayed where she was as Duncan moved toward Teagan. “Are you all right, Teagan?”
“Broke my fucking arm, but I’ll live. Check on Wallace.”
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She heard Wallace’s low groan. “I’m fine. What happened to the last one? Where the fuck is it?”
“Vida has it,” Duncan said.
“What the fuck is he doing with it?” Wallace’s voice was growing stronger.
“Drowning it, I believe,” Duncan said. “Give me your hand.”
“Fuck, my head hurts. Fucking thing rattled my brains. Probably got a goddamn concussion. Teag, you okay?”
“Broken arm.”
“Jesus. That’s gonna hurt like a bitch when Doc sets it.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Rose ignored the men behind her. She was still scanning the water and panic was starting to set in. What if the pinkie had overpowered Vida under the water? What if he was hurt or -”
The water rippled, and she cried out when Vida emerged again. He smiled at her and she stumbled forward, nearly falling into his arms. He lifted her, and she kissed him hard on the mouth.
“Oh, Vida.” She began to cry, and he kissed away the tears before carrying her to the shore.
“Shh, small flower. Do not cry.”
He set her down and she studied his stomach. There was obvious bruising and when she traced her fingers across his abs, he winced and sucked in his breath but there was no wound from a bullet.
“How?” She whispered.
“I told you, flower, my kind heals quickly in the water.”
“I thought it killed you.”
“It did not.”
She threw her arms around him and stared up at him. “I love you, Vida.”
A look of surprise crossed his face before he scooped her up again and started toward the others. “Come, flower, it is time to go home.”
* * *
“Hey, big guy.” Wallace eased down onto the fallen log next to Vida. “I never did say thanks for saving our lives yesterday.”
“You are welcome.” Vida stared at the hand Wallace was holding out to him before saying, “How is your head?”
Wallace dropped his hand and grinned at him. “I got a hard head. Doc says I got a mild concussion, but it could have been a lot fucking worse. At least I didn’t have to have a bullet dug out of my thigh,” his gaze drifted to Brody who was sitting across the fire with Doc, “or a broken arm set, or stitches in my chest without fucking pain meds.”
