Secret Ops: Ty's Revenge

by Kim Vanderpool

  Concentrating on putting foot in front of the other is a task in itself. I stumble a few times. Now that I have thrown up I have nothing in me. This isn't good. I have to keep my head on straight. Panicking isn't going to help me here. I need to get out of here before it gets dark. I’m not even sure if I’m going the right way. It could be days before I find civilization if any at all. Even breathing takes a lot of effort. I feel so weak and it takes all my energy to stay up right. Dizziness is taking over and the desert heat isn't helping. I feel myself falling. Then nothing, total darkness.

  I feel myself being pulled and there’s a sharp pain in my right thigh. My eyes feel too heavy to open, my limbs are still jelly. I feel something warm running in my boot. I have to open my eyes. I need to know why my thigh is hurting so damn bad. Growling, I hear growling. Why is there growling? Then something that smells like rot is breathing in my face. I feel cold, so damn cold. The heat is no longer a problem anymore. Suddenly a sharp pain spears through my left arm. I feel as if I’m being torn apart. Tugging and pulling, snarling and growling. Getting one eye open is a task, but I manage to do it. At least three mountain lions, maybe more, I’m going to be eaten alive. This is not how I wanted to go out. I’m not sure if I ever thought about death, but I definitely don’t want to go out like this. Life is a funny thing. People live it dangerously not giving a care one way or the other. No one really knows how they will die it just happens.

  Waking up one morning or going to bed and never waking up isn't a guarantee. Alive one moment and dead the next. I really need to stop thinking about death. If I want to live, and I do, I need to find a way out of this situation. With my hand I search around me trying not to move too much. I don’t want the lions to get any more aggressive than they already are. I find a rock, a tiny thing really. That won’t do. I need something bigger. If I’m going to go out, might as well do it fighting. There I can feel my finger tips on it. It’s bigger than the last. Trying to inch toward it as much as I can with the lions trying to chew my leg off is almost a feeble attempt. I can’t help but scream out. I’m being torn to shreds and the pain is almost too much to with-stand.

  The rock is too heavy to pick up with one hand. If I move I know I will be attacked tenfold, but I have to try. Jerking my good arm back with all my might I punch the lion in the head while kicking the other with my good foot. I may as well been smacking at a fly with all the power I put in that one punch. The lion’s roar means that I just pissed it off. Rolling to my side I pick up the rock with my injured hand bashing the lion in the head. I know that I just startled it nothing more. The other one trying to rip my leg apart perks up. The kick I gave it didn't even phase it. This is my opportunity to bash it in the head as well. My arm is injured as well as my leg. Thank god there’s only two of them not three as I had earlier thought.

  Both lions start stalking around me. Now that they know their prey is alive and injured, I guess they want to play first. The sun has set and the moon is now shining. It’s hard to tell how big the lions really are, they could be only cubs on their first hunt or grown. I just don’t know. Not many people live to tell about being attached by lions. I will be lucky to live through this. I need to form a plan to get them to back the hell off. I don’t know how long I can hold this huge rock before I topple over. It feels as if my arms are dragging the ground.

  The one on the left decides it’s time to attack. It launches toward me. I swing the rock with all my might nailing it in the side. It gives a cry falling to the ground. I swing my body around catching a glimpse of the other lion. Its teeth barring and gives the scariest roar I’ve ever heard. Suddenly it leaps at me knocking me on my back. For a moment, I can’t breathe. It starts ripping at my arm. My rock has fallen out of my hands. I don’t have much strength left in me. Turning and twisting is all I can do to avoid any damage to my face. Something sharp stabs me in the back. Funny how I can feel that when the lion is ripping me apart. The lion claws at my head somehow twisting to my side I get my tattered arm behind my back feeling a cold metal sharp object. Pulling it out of the waist of my pants I find that it may be a knife. With all the fight that’s left in me I sink the knife in the stomach of the lion. It falls on top of me. I can feel blood seeping out of it and on me.

  I think I may have lost consciousness again. The sun is now bright and high in the sky. I’m still under the lifeless lion. The other is lying only a few feet away. I’m not sure if it’s dead or just lying there because its mate is dead. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to survive this. My mind goes back to the knife that was in my jeans. Why the hell do I have a knife on me and why would, whoever put me here, leave it on me? I have so many questions running through my head and no damn answers.

  Finally getting out from under the lion; I hope like hell the other isn't able to move. I stink like rotting meat and dried blood. I look to the mountain hope blooms in my chest. Maybe it’s real after all. My arm is torn to shreds and my leg isn't much better. I need help and quickly. Hobbling toward what I hope is a safe haven; I make my way slowly toward the mountain. I keep repeating over and over that I’m going to make it. I need to make it. I need to find out who has done this to me and why.

  I hobble toward the mountain. Having no idea what’s keeping me on my feet. Blood is seeping out of my arm, and my boots are full of blood. I’m so thirsty I start to cough. My raw throat is sticking together. The mountain is big and I’m not for sure if I can make it to the base of it, but I have to try. Falling a few times, not knowing if I’ll be able to get back up. I need shade it’s too hot, but I have no sweat on me. I think I’m on the brink of dying. Dehydration is common in the desert. If the snakes, scorpions and mountain lions don’t get you first, dehydration will.

  Finally, making it to the base of the mountain I see what looks like a path. I’m not sure if this is my imagination or if it’s real at this point. I follow it finding a small enclosure of trees tightly knitted together. Hiding in here would be best. If I die then at least it will take a while for the wild animals to drag my body away. Dragging my battered body in the nest of vines and trees is a challenge. Lying on the ground in the leaves and dirt, I want to close my eyes and sleep. I know if I do I will never wake up. My stomach growls, but I ignore it. There’s no way I am able to pull myself back up to forge for food. I heave and heave, but there’s nothing in me to come up. After lying here for a while trying to keep my eyes open, I realize that it’s no use. I can’t seem to stay awake.

  I feel tugging on my feet, but can’t move to fight it off. Opening my eyes long enough to see a man standing over me I try to open my mouth, but no words come out. I feel as if I’m being carried. Not sure if it’s just my body shutting down for the last time. I want to sleep. I keep telling myself that I need to stay awake. I can’t seem to hold my eyes open. Sleep is the only way the pain will go away. So I do. Blessed sleep.

  This time when I wake up I try to will my eyes open. It’s no use I feel too weak even for that small task. I feel myself being jolted around. I can’t do anything about it. Not even a moan will escape my dry cracked lips. I have no moisture in my mouth. I’m so thirsty. Why do I feel as though I’m being moved? Did the wild animals already find me? My mind wants to shut down again. I try fighting it, but I can’t seem to find the energy to do so. Darkness envelopes me once again and I blissfully fall under its spell.

  I really should be dead, maybe I am. I can’t be sure. It’s dark once again. I can’t move and the pain is so intense that I want to cry out. Opening my mouth I can only mange a moan. My throat hurts so badly, it feels as if I have swallowed rusty nails. My breathing is irregular and I feel as if the oxygen has been sucked out of my lungs. Nope very much alive. If I were dead I don’t think I would feel this much pain all at once. Who am I kidding I wouldn’t feel any pain at all.

  “Here drink this. Come on open up.” A smooth soft voice coaches me.

  I think it might be an angel. I no longer feel any pain so I must be in heaven
. My eyes are gritty and burning so I keep them closed. A large hand lifts my head. I feel something pressed to my lips and cool liquid flows down my throat. I can’t swallow so I choke. The hand eases me back against something soft. It feels cool against my overheated skin. I can’t move my arms and legs. I still feel so weak. Again I fall to the darkness.

  Jolting up right, I’m soaked in sweat. My eyes are no longer gritty and burning. Looking around the room, yes a room, I have no idea where the hell I am. The room is dark and it’s comfortable. My arm and leg are beyond sore and searing pain shoots through my whole body. Dizziness over takes me and I feel the urge to throw up. I swallow a few times, but it doesn’t help. I breathe deeply letting the air out slowly until the sickening feeling goes away. The rawness of my throat isn’t so bad any more. I’m in a bed that I have no memory of how I got here or where here even is. Did someone find me? Where are they now?

  Throwing my legs over the side of the bed is almost too much to take. My leg feels as if it has been torn apart. Then it hits me, Lions, I was attacked by mountain lions. They nearly killed me. I remember hiding in a thicket of trees and vines. Then nothing. My memory fades after that. Suddenly the door to the room opens and a huge figure walks in. I don’t know who he is, but the man standing in the doorway looks very intimidating.

  “Where am I?” My voice sounds raw and scratchy.

  “You can’t walk just yet. Your leg needs time to heal as well as your arm.” The man helps me lie back down.

  I look down at myself for the first time noticing that I am in nothing but a sheet. Pulling it up to my chin and making sure that my breast are covered so I’m not exposed. Did this man undress me? I have an IV stuck in my good arm and bandages covering my torn and tattered arm and leg. “Where am I?” I ask again.

  “You’re safe now. Get some rest we’ll talk in the morning.” He situates the pillow under my head.

  I hear the door close quietly behind him. Once again the room is enclosed by darkness. I don’t know where I am or who this man is. Whoever he is, he saved my life and for that I owe him everything. He could be the same person who put me in the desert in the first place. That doesn’t make sense though, why would he save me if he wanted me dead? Am I really safe? I surely can’t defend myself against this man if he decides he wants me dead and where the hell are my clothes? Is there someone else here besides him? All these questions and still no answers. My eyes feel heavy and I finally fall in a fitful sleep.

  “Hey wake up.” The man says shaking me.

  My eyes pop open instantly. The sun is streaming through the window. The room is bathed in light, it’s cool and comfortable. Looking around the room, I notice two things, one the room is big and two the man in it is just as big. He seems to be taking up all the space. He is standing beside the bed looking down at me. His hands are stuck in the front pockets of his jeans.

  “Where am I?” This question is getting old.

  “My house.”

  “How did I get here?”

  “I found you in a nest of trees and vines. I will answer more of your questions, but first I want to ask a few of my own.”

  “Okay.”

  The man sits on the bed careful not to touch my injured leg. “Who are you?”

  “I…don’t know.”

  “How did you get to the desert?”

  “I don’t know that either.”

  “I see. That’s not much to go on.” He looks thoughtful.

  “Sorry I wish I had more to tell you.”

  “I have breakfast ready. I hope you like eggs and toast?” He smiles warmly at me.

  Before, I can say anything he is out the door. I look around the room, now that he isn't in it, noticing that it’s beautiful. The bed I’m lying on is big and soft. The windows are long and narrow with beautiful white and blue drapes hanging down, softly flowing to the floor. The entire room is made up of cherry wood that gives off a light shine. I wonder who this room belongs to; it doesn’t appear to have been used much. Testing my strength I rise to a sitting position. The IV is still in my arm so my ability to move is limited. It’s hard to move with the sheet still around me and I certainly don’t want to take it off. I need cloths desperately.

  The man enters the room with a try full of food just as I’m about to stand and look through the closet for some cloths. I grab the sheet holding it tight against my body. I don’t know this man, not even his name. I don’t know where I am or how I even got here. He sits the food down on the bed beside me.

  “Eat.” He commands.

  The food looks delicious and smells even better. I pick up the toast nibbling off the corner. I never knew toast could taste so damn good. I grab the fork taking a bit of the eggs. Before I know it I’m taking huge bites. Picking up the glass of orange juice I take a big gulp of it. I don’t know how long I have been without food, but this makes me appreciate every bit I put in my mouth.

  “What’s your name?” I ask around a mouth full of toast.

  “Lazarus.”

  I roll his name over in my mind trying to trigger any memories. It doesn’t. I still can’t remember a dam thing. I have no idea of what has happened to me. “Nice to meet you Lazarus.”

  “Likewise.” He smiles warmly.

  I take him in for the first time. He has a rugged look about him. He is one huge man. His jeans are worn and faded hanging off his slim hips. His chest is broad and I can see a hint of muscle under his flannel shirt. His dark green eyes seem a little intense. His brown hair is sticking out on ends. I’m beginning to think he wears it that way. He looks to have shaved this morning.

  “Are you a doctor?” That would explain how he knew to hook me up to an IV.

  “Something like that.”

  What the hell is that supposed to mean? You are or you’re not. “Do you live here alone?”

  “Yes.”

  Why would a man like this want to live here in the middle of nowhere, at least I think it’s in the middle of nowhere, alone? “Where are we exactly?”

  “I told you my house.”

  Maybe he isn't very smart. I don’t think he gets my meaning. “Where is your house located?”

  “On the mountain where I found you.”

  Maybe I should try to speak a little slower. “Where is this mountain located?”

  “The desert.”

  Good lord. “Which desert?”

  “Nevada.”

  Finally we are getting somewhere. So I’m still in Nevada. Okay at least I know where I am now. “Why do you live here alone?”

  “Finish your breakfast before it gets cold. I’ll unhook your IV later when I know you’re wounds aren’t going to get infected.” He walks out of the room.

  Chapter 12

  “Hey can I have some cloths?” I yell at his retreating back.

  He stops. Looking over his shoulder. “Not until your wounds heal. I still have to put clean bandages on them. It would be difficult to try and do that with cloths on.” With that he retreats down the hall. I want to scream out in frustration. Unfortunately this is his home and I must respect him. Falling back against the bed I don’t know what is in my IV, but it makes me feel really drowsy.

  There’s laughing all around me. I can’t make out what is being said. I can only make out a voice that seems so familiar to me. I can’t see his face though. I try to turn my head, but something is holding me in place. It’s a large hand. The smell of liquor is strong in the air. I try desperately to fight the hand that has me penned to the ground, but he is so much stronger than I am. “No please don’t hurt me.” I’m crying. More laughing erupts.

  “Hey wake up.” A large handshakes me.

  “No!” I scream out.

  “Shh --- you’re okay now. No one is going to hurt you. It’s all a dream.”

  It’s Lazarus. I take deep gulps of air in. Opening my eyes I find him sitting on the bed next to me, his hand wiping the sweat from my brow. I can still feel the hands that had held me down. It felt so real. Too re
al. It takes a few minutes for me to calm down enough to get my heart back to normal.

  “I’m --- sorry I didn't mean to wake you.” I say around a lump in my throat.

  “It’s okay. Do you remember what the dream was about?”

  “Hands. Hands were holding me down.”

  Lazarus continues to wipe my brow. “It’s okay your safe, no one can hurt you anymore. Go back to sleep.”

  “I don’t think I can.” I’m too scared to go back to sleep. I don’t want to have that dream again.

  He doesn’t say anything as he continues to wipe the sweat from my face tenderly. It amazes me how this rouge man can be so kind to me when he doesn’t even know who I am. The moon light is streaming through the window softly casting a glow around him. At this moment he almost seems like an angel. Closing my eyes I savor the feel of his tenderness. I don’t feel as scared as I did when I woke up from the dream. I want to ask him to hold me, but I feel that would be asking too much. He has already done so much for me already.

  “How are you feeling now?”

  “Better.” I lie.

  “Try and get some rest.” I watch Lazarus retreating back as he exits the room.

  “Wait.” I say before he can make it all the way out of the room.

  “Yes?”

  “I need to use the,” this is embarrassing, “bathroom. If you could point me in the right direction.”

  He smiles warmly at me then helps me to sit up. He reaches down taking me in his arms cradling me as if I’m a child. I’m now naked in this strangers arms. I feel the warmth grown in my cheeks. This is humiliating. He doesn’t seem to mind at all though. Once we are in the bathroom he kicks the door shut with his foot. I hope he doesn’t think he is going to stay in here with me as I use the bathroom.

  He is still holding me in his arms, I look from the toilet back to him. Clearing my throat I say. “You can put me down now.” He does after he closes the seat on the toilet and deposits me. He crosses his arms as if he has done this thing before. “May I have some privacy?” I can’t pee in front of this man.