Death by Bikini

by Linda Gerber

  “Yes! That’s it! Come on!”

  I still couldn’t tell if he was breathing on his own. I covered his mouth with mine and forced air into his lungs. Thunk, thunk. Thunk, thunk.

  Again, I breathed for him.

  And his lips did move. Unmistakably. Everything in the world narrowed to that point of contact between his lips and mine. Awakening. Life. Now I knew I was crying.

  I sat up, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, and tried to laugh. “I hope you don’t think that qualified as our first kiss.”

  He coughed. I took that as a good sign.

  “I’ll need one when you’re well. A kiss, I mean. To make up for all the trouble you’ve caused.”

  His hand closed over mine. “I’ll . . . think . . . about it.”

  I wanted to dance, to sing, to swim, to laugh. But we weren’t out of the woods yet. There was still the matter of Seth’s gunshot wound. Not to mention Hisako, who was waiting outside to kill us both. Seth needed medical attention, and we were trapped. Somehow we had to get out of this cave.

  “Seth, I’m going to go for help.”

  His hand tightened, squeezing on my fingers. "Don’t ... go.”

  “But you’re hurt. If we don’t—”

  “I’ll be . . . okay. Just . . . need rest.”

  I hesitated. Everything I knew about first aid told me I should seek immediate attention for Seth. But the first-aid rules don’t generally take into consideration an assassin trying to hunt you down and kill you. If I left Seth, and something happened to me, who would know where to look for him? He could lay up there all alone and die. That didn’t seem like the best scenario for either of us. I was going to have to take him with me, but until he was stronger, that wasn’t going to happen either.

  I propped my back against the cave wall and let Seth’s head rest on my lap. And no, it wasn’t quite as romantic as it sounds. I was keeping steady pressure on his wound, which, to be honest, was pretty gross. Plus, we were both cold and wet, and scared. Or at least I was. I can’t tell you what Seth was thinking, because, as you may imagine, he was rather quiet.

  I didn’t feel like talking, anyway. I was too busy beating myself up. For someone who prides herself on reading people, I had missed Hisako by a long shot.

  “Aphra?” Seth felt for my hand again.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What? No. Listen, I didn’t mean what—”

  “I mean . . . for coming here. We . . . should never have come . . . to your island.”

  "But I’m glad you did,” I said softly.

  His grip on my hand relaxed. “So what . . . do we do . . . now?”

  “I don’t know. Hisako could still be out there.”

  “What? Your friend?”

  “Not anymore.”

  Seth tried to sit up. “I don’t understand.”

  I pushed him back down. “Save your strength.”

  “I’m fine.” He struggled upright again, but the way he groaned told me he was far from fine.

  “You just about drowned! And in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve been shot!”

  “It’s just . . . a flesh wound.”

  “What is this, Monty Python? Lie still.”

  “I thought you said . . . she was still out there. That she would . . . figure out where we were.”

  He was right. “Well, we’ll just have to find another way out.” I hoped there was another way. I’d only come in through the pool before. But then, I had never attempted to climb to the upper chamber because there were hordes of bats up there. Those bats had to get in and out somehow, though, right? That meant there had to be another opening. Problem was, I’d have to join the bats to find it. “You wait here. I’ll climb up there and find a way out, then I’ll come back to get you.”

  “I’m coming . . . with you.”

  “No. Are you crazy? You’ll start bleeding again.”

  “I won’t let you . . . go alone. It could be . . . dangerous.”

  “You’re very gallant. But listen to yourself. You don’t even have the energy to complete an entire sentence without pausing. You really think you’re going to be able to protect me? Let’s get real. I’m going to tie your shirt around your arm . . . there. It feels like it stopped bleeding, but you don’t want to take any chances, so keep it elevated and—”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “What is it about this concept that you’re not getting? You stay here, and I’ll go look for—”

  “I. Am. Coming. With. You.”

  “Seth, don’t be an idiot. There’s no way—”

  From outside came a crash, followed by another.

  “She knows we’re in here,” Seth said in a low voice.

  “Don’t worry,” I whispered. “She can’t get in.”

  “What’s to stop her from going through the pool?”

  “If she does that, we’ll pounce her when she comes up on this side.”

  “It’s pitch black in here. We’d never see her.”

  “Then she couldn’t see us, either.”

  “Unless she has a flashli—”

  Another crash. What was she doing? Trying to claw her way in? I didn’t want to wait to find out.

  “Okay, you win. Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER 14

  My plan was simple: to get Seth far enough away from the front of the cavern that Hisako couldn’t see him if she somehow got inside. Then I’d figure out what to do next.

  We felt our way up the clammy, sloping rock to the back of the cavern. Seth’s breathing came in raspy fits, and he had to sit down every few feet. I was beginning to wonder if what we were doing was such a good idea. The back of the cave was blacker than a bat’s behind. I had no idea where we were going or what lay ahead. Of course, the alternative was to do nothing, and that didn’t seem like such a good idea, either.

  As we climbed farther, the ceiling of the front chamber dropped so that I could feel the cold, damp rock just above my head. Before long, we had to crouch, and then crawl as the passage became shorter and shorter. Then the texture of stone beneath us abruptly changed. Coarse fragments in the rock bit into my hands and knees.

  “Great.” I muttered.

  “What is it?”

  “I’m not sure, but this feels like pahoehoe. It’s a kind of lava rock. This is not going to be fun to cross.”

  “Wait.” I heard tearing sounds and then Seth touched my leg. “Give me your hands.” I reached back, and he handed me some strips of his shirt. “Wrap this around them.”

  I quickly did as he suggested, and then I made him sit still so I could wrap his shoulder back up with the remains. The fabric helped some, but my hands still hurt. Of course, I wasn’t about to complain. Seth was keeping pace with me over the same rough rock even though he had to gimp along like a three-legged dog.

  The ceiling continued to drop. Before long we’d have to make like soldiers and crawl on our elbows. It would not be easy for him. He was already breathing heavily, so it was probably a good time for him to rest.

  “Wait here,” I said. “I’m going to go scout ahead and see where this leads.”

  This time he didn’t argue, and that scared me. Either he was giving up, or he was too far gone to care. Fueled by the fear, I crawled forward again. I had to find a way out. For Seth.

  The walls seemed to be closing in on me. Literally. Not because I was freaking out or anything. I really could feel the passage getting narrower and narrower until I realized that I must be in a sort of lava tube. How many tubes might run throughout the cave, I had no idea. I tried not to panic. I couldn’t see a thing in there. What if I made a wrong turn going back to get Seth and got stuck in a maze of tubes forever?

  I called out to him. “Seth?”

  “Here! Did you . . . find anything?”

  “Not yet. I’m still looking.”

  I breathed a little easier. At least if I could hear him, I could find my way back to that spot.

 
; I pressed on. The rocks continued to narrow until I had just enough room to lay flat, cheek pressed against the rough, cold stone. And then my hand hit solid rock ahead. Dead end.

  My eyes stung with tears of frustration. All that work for nothing. I was going to have to try another route, and we didn’t have much time. But then I discovered an even bigger problem. As I tried to push myself back, I found that the space was too tight, and I couldn’t move enough to turn around. Cold fear caught in my throat.

  “Seth?” I called. “I need help.”

  Silence.

  “Seth? Are you okay?”

  More silence.

  The fear intensified. My heart began to race uncomfortably. I was alone and blind and stuck under several tons of rock. Despite the chill, I began to sweat. My chest tightened up. I couldn’t breathe. I could feel the beginnings of a full-on panic attack. But that wouldn’t do Seth or me any good. I closed my eyes—not that it made a difference in the blackness of the cave—and made myself breathe deeply.

  Think.

  I had been crawling straight forward, no twists or turns. It stood to reason that if I just backed up, I would find Seth. And once I did, I would have to get smarter about finding the nearest exit. If there were indeed several lava tubes in the cave, I’d better figure out a strategy for choosing the right one.

  Again, I thought of the bats.

  I have to tell you that just thinking about those things makes my skin crawl. I’m not talking about a surface fear. I am terrified of them. It’s not rational. And it didn’t make my realization any easier.

  Bats are nocturnal hunters, which meant that, at that very moment, they would be winging their way in and out of the cave through some opening somewhere. To get out of the cave, I would have to follow the bats. But since I couldn’t see where that opening might be, I would have to adapt their sonar sense to find the way out. I had to become one with them. I might have laughed at the irony if I hadn’t been so disgusted.

  If I could just get back to Seth, we could listen for the bats together. Problem was, I was stuck, and I had no idea where Seth was. Or where I was, for that matter. But now I had hope, and that gave me enough courage to try again. By lifting up on my toes, I was able to gain enough leverage to inch backward. My shirt got shredded, and the rock raked my stomach, but at least I was moving. Finally, the ceiling raised enough that I could sit. I turned around and crab-walked to where I thought Seth would be.

  He wasn’t there.

  “Seth? Where are you?”

  Nothing. And I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t even see my own hands if I held them right in front of my face. The panic started to set in again.

  I reached out. “Seth?” I moved a little to my left. Nothing. A little more. Nothing. I struck out blindly. “Come on. This isn’t funny.”

  Finally I felt my foot touch something soft. I nudged it. “Seth?”

  “Unh . . .”

  It’s hard to describe the relief I felt at that moment. I almost started to cry again.

  “Did you . . . ,” he said groggily. “The opening . . .”

  “Not yet,” I said. “But I think I know how to find it now.”

  We sat very still and listened. Behind us, the falls rushed over the cliff and into the pool. Nearer, water dripped steadily on stone. And ahead to the left came the agitated rustling of tiny bodies. My insides curdled while, at the same time, I felt giddy with relief.

  “Come on. This way.”

  Seth and I slowly, carefully, crawled toward the sound. The way was narrow, but the sounds grew louder as we pressed forward. Finally, the darkness faded into lesser shades of black. Somewhere ahead, light was getting into the cave. There must be an opening!

  Unfortunately, the bats began to sense our presence, and they weren’t happy. They started making anxious squeaking noises and shifting around. I gritted my teeth and tried to shut out the sound. Something brushed against my hair. Instinctively, I raised my hand to swat it away. Big mistake. I aroused protective bat mamas who swooped at me, leathery wings beating the air, furry little bodies bumping against me, tiny feet catching my hair.

  I threw my arms over my head. This only caused the bats to become even more agitated.

  “Be still!” Seth’s voice hissed from the darkness.

  “I am!”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. I tried to focus only on my contact with Seth and to ignore the creatures flying around my head. For the first time, I was glad for the darkness so that he couldn’t see that I was crying again.

  It seemed to take forever, but eventually the bats settled down. Now all I had to do was crawl through their domain. No problem. Tentatively, I placed a hand down on the rock in front of me . . . right onto something squishy and cold. Bat poop. I recoiled, wiping my hand on my pants. “Ugh! That’s nasty!”

  “Don’t be a wimp.”

  Wimp? I don’t think so. I crawled right through the middle of the bat colony. Over the gushy, guano-covered rocks. The smell was overwhelming. More than once I thought I was going to lose it, but I wasn’t about to give Seth the satisfaction.

  Finally—and just in time—I caught a whiff of fresh air. Outside air. It was enough to keep me going. The blackness turned to gray. I could see dark shapes darting through the air ahead. Through the ceiling.

  I don’t believe I have ever been as happy to see the night sky as I was when I reached that opening. Eagerly, I stood and wriggled through. Ghosts of clouds were all that remained of the storm. Stars sparkled as if the gods had tossed a handful of glitter into the air. Moonlight frosted the rocks around me in a silvery wash. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

  From my narrow ledge of rock, I could look out over the tops of the jungle trees and down toward the valley. Toward home. I closed my eyes and thanked the bats.

  The next problem would be figuring out where we were going to go from there. On one side of the cliff, I could hear the steady rush of the waterfall. On the other side, the rocks looked loose and unstable. Above me, slabs of stone jutted outward in a way that would make climbing up impossible.

  It would have to be down, then.

  Down to where Hisako was waiting with her gun.

  CHAPTER 15

  Seth was in no condition to go rock climbing. His arm was weak from the gunshot, and he was still a little woozy from the drowning thing. But there was no alternative.

  With the trees below and the way the rock face was situated, we couldn’t see all the way down to the clearing. I hoped that meant Hisako could not see us. With luck, the sound of the waterfall would also drown out any noise that we made.

  “You keep a lookout while I climb,” I told Seth, “and I’ll watch while you climb.”

  He just nodded and peered over the ledge. A little cautiously, I thought.

  “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights.”

  “Hah!” He gave me an arrogant tough-guy look, but I noticed that he didn’t deny the acrophobia.

  “Don’t worry.” I felt among the vines that clung to the cliff face to find some sturdy enough to support our weight. “I climb up here all the time.” Of course, when I go rock climbing, I use the proper gear, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Besides, we’re just climbing from one ledge to another. It’s not really that far if you look at it that way.”

  He gave me a dark look.

  “I’m just saying.”

  The drop to the next ledge was probably only about eight feet, but I worried that, with Seth’s shoulder, he wouldn’t be able to climb even that far. I climbed down first. Not that I’d be able to catch him if he fell or anything like that, but at least I could try to guide him to the next foothold.

  As it was, I shouldn’t have worried. Seth had the natural grace of an athlete, and even though his left arm dangled uselessly at his side, he made it to the next level without a problem—except for the amount of strength it took from him. He looked like he was going to pass out. I pulled him away from the ledge. “H
ow ’bout we sit for a minute.”

  He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

  “Stop already. What is it that you’re trying to prove? That you can be tough? Okay, I believe you. Now sit.”

  He sat, but only because he was getting too weak to stand. I knelt beside him and checked his shoulder. Now that I could see it in the moonlight, I was even more amazed that he’d made it this far. The bullet had passed straight through his arm. The skin around the puckered wounds was puffy and swollen, like a rising omelet. I was careful not to let the shock show on my face as I tied the torn shirt around it neatly.

  “You’re going to want to have your dad look at that.”

  He nodded.

  I sat next to him and looked out over the moonlit trees. “I’ve never been up here at night. It’s kinda peaceful.”

  He wasn’t as impressed. “We need to get down.”

  I figured he was just nervous on account of the height thing, and I tried to reassure him.

  He scowled. “I was thinking of my parents. They’re still not safe.”

  “Oh.” I looked down at my hands. The silence stretched between us. Finally I got up the nerve to ask. “Who are you running from, Seth?”

  “A crazy woman with a gun.”

  “Funny. Who sent her? Why is she after you?”

  “Huh. And here I thought you knew it all.”

  “My guess is you’re hiding from the Mob.”

  He bunched up his shoulders and looked away. “Tell me. Who’s your family hiding from? Does it have something to do with organized crime?”

  His voice took on a tone I hadn’t heard before. “It’s bigger than that.”

  “Bigger than a crime cartel? Because that’s pretty big.”

  “As big as an entire government?”

  “What?”

  He snorted. “You had no clue, did you? ‘Oh, I know all about you and your family, Seth,’” he mimicked.

  “Hey. I said I knew you weren’t who you were claiming to be. I never said I knew why.”

  He shot me a sharp look. “Because we don’t know who to trust anymore.”