Much as I had assumed, the plane's rough landing and quick departure signaled the start of what seemed to be endless work. Even as I calmly barked orders at those who had arrived before us and set camp up on a solid and yet empty part of the beachfront, it was clear that Mr. Davis was unprepared for this immediately upon landing.
I will admit, the moon being high in the sky, that this has been a rather long day for him. As he sets the final box down in our shared research tent, I place a block of rations into his hand with enough force that he looks at me in alarm.
I smile softly, "Thank you for your assistance. If I'm not mistaken, they've got a fire going. Go meet the rest of our team. I can handle the rest."
His eyes widen as he looks around, "You have got to be kidding me. This is far too much—"
"What good will an exhausted helper do?" I ask with a note of exhaustion in my own voice, cutting him off, "Get some rest. I don't need to do too much tonight."
I seem to make him frown a lot. Then again, I likely give him more questions than I do answers. If I could just fucking find a way out, I wouldn't be so evasive about the questions all of my assistants end up asking me.
I quickly shove my overbearing thoughts to the side as I, instead, work diligently to unpack the endlessly excessive gear the government was adamant to provide on this trip. They know well enough about my distaste for live specimens, and yet they provided cages and even tranquilizers.
They'd have better luck trying to use that shit on me... Not like they haven't tried.
"Dr. Moore?" A voice calls from behind me and I freeze, hardly recognizing my surroundings before I smooth my expression over with a placid smile. I turn around to find Mr. Davis once again staring at me with a sense of awe and an easygoing smile, "That doesn't seem to be a little. You could've just had me suck it up."
I furrow my brows out of habit as I look through the tent door and find the light of dawn creeping behind his head. I let my eyes widen in surprise as I laugh, "I got a little sidetracked. I'm just about done, so if—"
"It's just now dawn. If we want to see the island, it's best we do it now. Apparently, the sun makes the heat a lot worse." My assistant seems anxious to discover more about this mysterious island and I smile softly, taking one of the bags that I loaded with potentially useful things and hand it to him.
"We likely won't find too much of interest, but it's better to be prepared. I'm assuming that the others are up if you are?" I gently push past him and take a look at the camp I now find myself in, counting well over thirty men that are armed with a variety of weapons that have me nearly breathless in the faint memory of the pain they can cause.
He follows me quietly as the rest of the camp take notice of me, their gazes somewhere between curiosity and disbelief. My eyes land on the only one who seems impervious to surprise, his muscled arms crossed in scrutiny as he watches me.
I walk right up to him and hold my hand out with an easygoing smile, "Victor Moore. I'm the head of research in this trip. Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner."
"You are the," He pauses as his eyes flick to the man who walks behind me in a mixture of concern and question, "You are the one the government sends for these things?"
His thick, foreign accent barely hides the curious gleam in his eyes as he meets mine. I smile with a hint of warning as I clear my throat and drop my hand, "I am. You are one of the soldiers sent as part of the international agreement about this island, right? Let's hope that we work well together."
The way his eyes roam over my face makes my skin crawl in discomfort. As per the agreement, the States were finally forced to reveal exactly what they believed to find here and why they had originally intended to send me alone with only their soldiers to ensure my return. It was immediately clear that he knows who— what— I am, but he still seemed shocked at my appearance.
"Dr. Moore?" Mr. Davis asks with a slight tremor to his voice, "We should try to leave quickly. If the wildlife is predominantly adapted to the heat of this environment, it might be a lot harder to find them when it gets hot."
I sigh slightly and nod, "Right, we each have handheld radios that were distributed the second that everybody arrived, correct? That means I am expecting to receive a response when I ask if anybody finds anything. We do not harm the ecosystem. If you must use those damn guns, I better find out that whatever you killed was about to kill you. Mr. Davis, you're with me. All of us should be back absolutely no later than noon. If anybody is in a life-threatening situation, mister soldier, I expect you to assist them."
"You do not order me." The soldier grumbles, his dark brown eyes keen with distrust.
"That is correct. I am also far more used to these types of expeditions than anybody else. I trust you are no idiot, right? Do not shoot unless you have no choice. Often times, when we do not know the species we might find, we do not know if fighting back is smarter than fleeing. Sometimes guns only harm and anger. They are nothing but destructive." The venom in my voice apparently serves as little warning for him as I watch the expression on his face change from distrust to simple disgust.
"You know nothing—"
He starts to reply and I shake my head, merely grabbing my assistant's arm with a harder grip than I intended, dragging him away from the soldier as I plaster a smile onto my lips, "America gained first access to research. It would seem, however, that whatever country is supplying the soldiers plans for their research to favor how much money exotic animals sell for."
Mr. Davis, however, looks alarmed, "Did you see how jacked he is? Maybe don't... piss him off?"
"There is little he could do to me." I state blankly as I step towards the blanket of brush that seems to quickly turn into a forest of trees that bear some resemblance to live oak. "Come on, let's see what we can find. Most of this island is a swamp, if I remember correctly, and that means that any water we stand in could lead to a cave. Those radios are far from waterproof. Follow behind me and watch your step, is that understood?"
Between the buzzing of my own nerves and Mr. Davis's excitement, it very quickly becomes certain that I can't hear or see anything beyond frogs and fish, even with a flashlight.
Until I hear the trademark shout and piercing boom that signals a shot has been fired. Instantly, my mind goes blank in a mixture of shock, fear, and pain as I remember the details of every bullet that tore through my body. I shakily hold my radio up to my mouth as I stare at where the shot was fired.
"This is team two, anybody... come in."
I didn't need to ask, so it would seem. His voice is shaky, even through the hazy static of the radio.
"We're dropping like flies. If anybody is close, if anybody heard the gunshot, run. Get to the camp. This—"
The radio cuts out, leaving me to deal with the terrified young man that now clings to me in dread.
YOU ARE READING
Forever Captive
General Fiction****** Disclaimer! This book contains depictions of violence, gore, vulgar language, and *checks notes* the grammar and words of a man who has a habit of writing on his poor computer at 2 in the morning. That being said, it does also contain lemon...
