Never Close Your Eyes

DTM 🐊 : C. 14

|| Chapter Fourteen ||

I leaned him backwards so the stranger could make out my figure next. My less threatening figure.

"Can you take us south to Memphis?"

"Well, hell yes." The man spoke with no anxiety in his voice, showing how much confidence he had in playing captain of the boat.

His hands steadily shook while he grabbed onto Vasquez's wrists in a failing attempt to grasp what little life he had left.

"Then, let's go."

Dark blue orbs went straight to my form as I went behind his authority for my own selfish needs, right in front of his face. What? He prefer me to do it behind his back and he find whatever it is later on?

"I do not want to walk, and I sure as hell do not want to be stranded in the middle of croc infested waters." I established the pros of this guy joining us temporarily, "He says he knows, so he goes."

"I-I'll take you as far as the Fortuner Bridge, just north of the city. Roadblock on East side keeps things pretty quiet."

As he spoke, I knew Vasquez was questioning how dumb I was or how smart I was thinking. The audacity of the 18-year-old is appalling, in his head.

Neither of us let go of the person we both had some sort of contact with, our eyes never breaking. I was waiting for him to spit some shitty reason and he was waiting for me to break.

In my eyes, I was breathing every single value of this outsider. I'm not familiar with this place and the dynamic of it, but he is.

I'm sure Vasquez is very familiar with a place similar to this, but it's the bayou. Locals know more about this than any of our northerner-selfs.

Doc didn't seem to want to stick his knowledge out there between us, and I'm sure Warren was just waiting to break us up from another cat fight.

"We bring him." I challenged the wolf once more.

"After that, where you headed? East? West?"

"Shut up." Vasquez snapped, not breaking eye contact with me as he broke fear into the stranger like a glow-in-the-dark stick being activated, "Something happens, to anyone here, it's on you, kid."

The way he said 'kid' made me think it was suppose to be a shot at insulting me, but I didn't take it like that. I'm nearly grown but in their eyes, I'm still the kid they raised.

Keep underestimating me. I'm not being irrational about this. It's a smart move.

Vasquez shoved the man back into the pontoon's decaying seats, "Nothing worse than a blabbermouth that won't shut up anyway."

When the man began to act as if he was about to go into a long story about whatever he could possibly think of, avoiding the machine of the boat entirely, Warren interrupted his plan.

"Does this thing actually run?"

"I swear, it ran as soon as yesterday."

He's a liar; lies to survive. But it's not even a good one. I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing I had just literally vouched for this man's life.

He better pull through for me, or I'll throw him overboard myself.

"10K, check the motor." Warren ordered, her mimicking my stance as well.

Her chest was more prominent, but it wasn't put out in the world like she wanted it to be. No, it was more of a 'I'll-kick-your-ass-and-still-look-feminine' way.