[[Until We Become Lions]]

Chapter 65

Later that day.

    Raiding Jose's island had not been a complete waste. Espada had managed to ping the location of where the lieutenant was heading, and with Juan's help, they were able to evacuate the Outcast prisoners. Danijela appreciated Espada's discreet nature in refusing to ask who the fuck Juan was and how he had arrived so readily. It was just as she had mentioned to Danijela earlier, they needed outside help beyond their own if they wanted to take down Jose Castillo.

    Espada was already making plans to hit the town of Revmira to locate the scientist, but Danijela begged for at least a day to recover from what she saw. She did not return to the Montero encampment with Espada and instead went with Juan to their rendezvous where Guapo awaited patiently for his humans' arrival. Danijela had never had a ton gator lay on her before, as she swung in the hammock that Juan triple secured to make sure she did not go plummeting to the ground as Guapo jumped up with her, but it was quite comforting.

    The sound of his purrs, if you could call it that, calmed her down from having an absolute meltdown. Her eyes were closed, only able to see the red tint of her own eyelids as the sun shined down on her. Forgetting the images of the torture chamber was quite easy. It was like seeing a movie once and then only remembering bits and pieces of it until it faded into obscurity. The screams, however, stuck with her like a leech. What she wouldn't do for a little music and dance right now.

    "Little Dani."

    Juan's voice came first before the shadow that took away the red filter behind her eyelids. Danijela opened them, seeing Juan standing over her, blocking out the sun.

    "Guapo is running low on food. So unless we wanna see that little Chorizo go missing, I'm going to take him for a little walk."

    Danijela sat up as Guapo slid off her. Amazing how light she felt all of a sudden.

    "How do you know about Chorizo?" She asked.

    "I'm an expert at what I do, Little Dani. I got my eyes everywhere like a fucking STD."

    Danijela rolled her eyes and smiled as she leaned back in the hammock.

    "You're absolutely disgusting."

    "Mmm, wait till you see what I have planned for us later."

    Juan smirked but then looked hesitant as he bent down. She stared up at him with the same energy. How were they to proceed after what happened last night. Did it make them an item? Was it a one-time occurrence? Just for fun? It was a question neither of them felt like asking or defining so Danijela was pleased when his lips captured hers. He was slow and wary, unlike the force she had seen before. To calm his nerves she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in, capturing his lips with her own. Had it not been for her new fondness for the giant lizard, she would have demanded Juan strip down and join her on that hammock until the next day rose. But she could settle for this for now.

Juan smiled as he pulled away, "I knew you couldn't get enough of Juan Cortez."

"I'm going to need you to stop referring to yourself in the third person." She grimaced as she fought back a chuckle.

"Juan Cortez will consider it."

She shook her head and watched Juan and Guapo pile into their stolen FND vehicle. It was a long way to any water sources so she knew they would be at least a few hours. She swung aimlessly on the hammock, debating whether she wanted to take a nap or head down to the Montero farm to fill her stomach with some food. She knew she had to eat at some point, going on day two without doing so, but her appetite was long gone after seeing what Jose Castillo's sick mind was capable of.

Not only did she have the sounds of screams on loop in her head, but also the words that Jose had written, how blatant and how violent they seemed, even if they were just black marks on a digital white sheet. It carried a load of possibilities that could be in Diego's and Evee's future if she did not act quickly enough. But on the other hand, it stirred another thought. Or perhaps a reminder. She looked a few meters away from her, where the gear Juan had brought for her and her own small amount of items rested. The backpack Evee had given her had all but lost it's color with all the action it had seen over the past few weeks, yet somehow it persevered in protecting the one-of-a-kind item inside.

She had seen inside a snippet of the monsters in Jose's mind. Was it time she finally came face to face with the monsters that lurked in Amaia's? Was she ready to see who this mysterious Evimer had been? Was she ready to face the truth of who her beloved Anton really is? Danijela fumbled out of the hammock and walked over, snatching the backpack. She retreated back to the hammock, finding peace in the slow swaying motions for she felt she needed all the comfort she could get before opening what was inside.

Like a precious relic, she retrieved the journal with such caution, one may have believed it to be wrought with some contagious disease. Perhaps it was. Inside this journal was the truth. The truth about her mother. The truth about her father. Juan Cortez. Anton. Perhaps even herself. The banality of it all was no matter how much they tried to hide themselves away, the truth would always come out.

With one last fortifying breath, she opened the journal.