A Fortunate Accident – Chapter 26

A bullet zips past my head and blows a tree trunk to itty bitty pieces. I dodge out of the way, duck under a downed tree, and leap over a protruding root system. Crashing footsteps and grunts follow me, but I’m too scared to look back and see who it is. Friend or foe — I’m not sure. I’m not slowing down to find out.

A shout of pain comes from behind me when a gun fires, but all the people in my group are still running. So whoever they hurt was an enemy. Good. Another round of gunfire and someone curses.

“Go! Follow them!” someone else yells.

Panic races through my chest like an unchecked flight descending into a strong gravity well. I’m not much of a crier, but I would give anything to sink into a bed and burst into tears right about now. Instead, I’m running for my life.

I hope everyone else is okay. I hope I don’t have to tell Saif’s family that he died in the jungle and it was my fault. I hope I don’t have to go to Kalvin’s mother and explain the death of her beloved son. I hope I don’t have to face Takemo’s family, either. When I researched him, I knew they were tight with each other, but I never thought I’d ever meet them.

Someone ends up right next to me and grabs my hand.

“To the right,” Kalvin says, panting through labored breaths. He tugs me over, and my legs jerk with the change of direction. Up ahead, a clearing yawns out between two trees, and three-meter tall grass occupies the open space.

The grass sways in the wind, and I panic even more. Who the fuck knows what’s in there?

“Keep going, Skylar. Don’t stop,” Saif says, coming up behind us.

I throw a glance over my shoulder. Saif, Takemo, Luca, and one of his men are behind me. Thank God I’m not alone. The sheer panic and terror coursing through my body turns to energy now that I have allies.

I leap into the long grass, my arms forward to keep it out of my face. The edges of the grass are sharp and slice at my skin. I hiss at the pain and the lines of blood that erupt along my sleeves.

“Ouch! Shit.” Kalvin whispers behind me.

“I don’t know which way to go!” I can’t see over the grass. I can’t even see a meter in front of me.

The guy bringing up the rear turns and fires into the jungle. “Got another one,” he says, turning and following us into the grass.

“Slow down, Sky,” Saif calls ahead. “Angle left. The less we make the grass move, the harder it will be to find us. Break off. Give them several paths to follow.”

“No. Stay together. Strength in numbers,” I respond. I don’t want to lose them now.

“Step through the grass, not on it,” Luca directs, “and watch out for water horses. They like the long grass.”

My feet squish through mud as the ground softens. We must be near the middle of the field. Is there a water hole near here? I part the grass, push it aside, and step between the clumps instead of on them. I’m sure an excellent tracker could figure out which way we went, though. The military is out to get us, and they will spare no expense to track us down.

“Why the fuck am I even here?” I grumble, parting more grass and gingerly stepping into the cleared space. “I should be flying through space.”

“I know what I’d rather be doing.” Kalvin reaches out to grab my ass. I laugh as I leap forward and swat at the empty space behind me.

“Is there ever a time when you aren’t thinking of sex?”

“Nope,” he responds.

“Me neither.” Saif is now on my right. “And tonight is my turn on the rotation.” He raises his eyebrows twice.

“You people have a calendar for fucking?” Takemo asks, his voice dropping to a whisper. I shoot him a deadly glare. “No, really. Is that how it works?”

“That’s how it works in my network,” I say, speeding up.

“It’s actually not a bad idea when your men aren’t into each other,” Takemo mumbles. “I never thought of it that way.”

“I’m not sleeping with Saif,” Kalvin says, mock disgust in his voice.

“And I’m not sleeping with you, either,” Saif counters.

“See?” I say, turning around.

Big mistake.

I stumble to my left and straight into a water hole. Damn it. I splash into the water, getting my boots, socks, and pants wet up to my knees. An eel slithers through my legs and bolts away, but not before trying to shock me. I squeak a half scream as the electrical current singes my leg.

“Shit, Skylar. You almost fell in.”

Kalvin holds out his hand to pull me out when my eyes focus on the creatures on the opposite side of the hole.

“What the fuck is that?” I point, and Kalvin, Saif, and Takemo look.

They’re lizards of some kind, but they resemble horses with long legs and drawn-out faces. Black scales shine a rainbow of light over their bodies. A tongue shoots out to sample the air, and it’s forked like a snake. Their eyes are yellow and slitted too. After a few more moments, they all lift their heads from the water and stare in our direction. They look at me, and I look at them, but nothing more happens.

“Shit. They saw us?” Luca asks, coming up next to the guys.

I turn to face him slowly.

“Aw, fuck.” Disappointment is evident in his sigh. “That’s only going to make things harder. They’re standing between us and our exit from this place.” He looks left and right.

“What… What do they do?” I’m almost afraid to ask this question.

“Once they catch a scent, it’s hard to avoid them. They usually chase and grab their prey, then shake them until they can drown them in the water.”

Great. Now my boots are going to squish while I run for my life.

“No stopping,” Luca insists. “We have to get into the jungle on the other side and find a place to hide out.”

His last man comes running up to us. “Good news. We’ve lost all of them but two. Those two are coming this way.”

No time to dump out my boots and wring out my socks. Time to get moving. I slip away from the water hole, and the water horses watch me go, their yellow eyes tracking my movements. That can’t be good.

I fall into step behind Luca, thank the heavens. I prefer to be following a professional rather than just winging it, even at the speed he’s walking. The long grass cuts me over and over. I’m dripping blood everywhere.

Luca accesses his side pack as he goes. “That’s going to be a problem.” He hands me a roll of gauze. “Wrap up and pull down your sleeves. Water horses can smell blood almost a klick away.”

Fantastic. This keeps getting better and better.

I do as I’m told, just barely stopping the blood from flowing down my arms. I’m going to come out of this job looking like I went through a war. I’ll need full-body makeup if I’m going to be seen in public at restaurants or anything fancy. Most of these cuts will scar.

Sigh. So much for this incredible body I’ve been cultivating all these years.

“When we get to the tree line, I want you to run out ahead. If the water horses follow, we can shoot them, but only if they pursue.”

I nod my head and keep my mouth closed, so I don’t puke all over everything. My stomach is in knots, and my body is thinking about giving up — just giving up, lying down, and wishing for death.

“But who knows what she’ll find in the jungle,” Kalvin reminds Luca.

“I’m beginning to wish I had taken Skylar up on her offer of staying home,” Saif says.

“Yeah, I’m not a fan,” Takemo chimes in.

“You all are my favorite people right now,” Luca says, sarcasm coating every word. “Go,” he urges me as we reach the tree line.

Adrenaline surges, and I run out ahead of everyone else, with Saif and Kalvin on my tail. This time, it’s easier to keep a steady pace without gunshots whizzing by my head. But behind me, the rumble of the water horses is abundantly clear. Most reptiles are not fast, especially big ones. But Rio has never been one for details. The animals here are exceptions to every rule. My bet is that these water horses don’t have to be fast. They just have to be persistent. And if their prey has nowhere to go, they’ll catch them, eventually.

My lungs are burning with the heat and humidity. Running is like swimming through soup, and my legs just can’t go any faster. They only get slower, slower, slower. I’m sucking in air, but it’s not helping. Whatever I’m bringing in, it’s not enough to purge my muscles of the acid they’re building up.

“I can’t… go… anymore,” I say, slowing down.

I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

My enemies are right behind me.

I expect to turn and find Dominic running after me, too. I mean, why not, right? Everyone is out to get me. It would only make sense that he would be here, too. Him and the ghosts of everyone I’ve ever wronged or screwed over. Boy, oh boy, Skylar. You really know how to fuck things up.

Launching myself over a downed log, I lose my balance and come crashing to the ground. My feet are so waterlogged they’re not working correctly anymore. I roll through two bushes and stop at the base of a giant nest.

I register the eggs first before I see the bird’s legs. My eyes scan upward over the large barrel-round body to the tiny head and long curving beak. She looks like a rolled-up gray wool blanket with a katana sword for a head. Her eyes blink, and she tilts her head to the side to look at me. Holy shit, the thing must be at least two meters tall.

I freeze as footsteps run up to me. Kalvin wasn’t that far behind, but I don’t think he witnessed me tumble into the bushes. Those water horses will find us soon enough. I’m still bleeding, and my arms and sleeves are soaked red.

The bird leans down, and I’m too mesmerized to move. I hold my breath, squeeze my eyes shut, and prepare for the worst. Will she pluck my eyes out? Beat me to death with her wings? What holy hell can I expect now?

Her beak touches along my jaw, and a jolt of current rushes through me. In the split second it takes for me to jerk back, my brain races through a memory from my childhood.

I sat in my room and played a duonet game with Vivian. I was supposed to be asleep, but I missed her so much. So I would stay up, keep the lights low, lock my door, and play the games under my covers so no one could hear anything. I was so lonely, and Vivian’s laughter and smiles were the only things that got me through the dark days.

Her beak grazes my chin again, and this time she fills my mind with the desert — long, unbroken dunes, so much sand, a blistering sun above.

Not Rio.

I open my eyes, and the giant bird is staring at me. We lock gazes for a long moment, and oh no, I feel like I’m seeing my past invade my future. What the hell is going on?

The thundering of legs is approaching. I need to get up.

Now.

I pull myself to my knees and ready myself to run. The giant bird backs up, opens her wings to a massive three meter wingspan, and screeches loud enough for everything to halt — my heart, my lungs, and the water horses too.