No One Cries For The Lost

XXII: To Dream Of Whales

XXII

To

Dream Of Whales

Return Day 6

Tygron

The familiar smell of death and dirty, dumb luck blonde fills my nostrils. My perfect dream of whales and water is interrupted in the most unwanted of fashions. The distinct click of a Remington Mohawk 600 bolt-action brings me out of what was an otherwise enjoyable,deep sleep. And I open my eyes to see that blue-eyed, blonde-haired she-devil. My honest first thought is a long, unbroken 'shit' that lingers in my mind. My second thought is to question how in the fuck the resourceful little minx managed to get out of her ropes so fast.And as I wonder that, I begin to notice Annabella's absence at the camp. And the mere fact that Neona's even here means that she's probably not breathin' anymore. And I'm gonna have to dig a third grave. Four, once I get my window on this sneaky little bitch.

I stare down the end of her gun barrel. My arms crossed over my chest as I lie against my pack and slowly lift my head. I push myself off my forearms and smile up at her. As much of a fuckin' pain in the ass as the bitch is, I gotta admit, she's one impressive little girl. Sorta reminds me of my daughter.

"Don't move a fuckin' muscle." She orders me in a low, angry tone, one that surprisingly manages to intimidate me. And for a woman of Neona's fairly small and nimble stature, that's quite the accomplishment.

The fact that she's in a tank top right now revealing her arms despite the coolth of the wet season should shock me. But honestly, It hink I'm even more shocked by the sheer amount of scratches, cuts and bruises all over her arms and the blood on her face. Obviously her escape wasn't that much of an easy one.

I immediately reach down to my pocket and try and find my revolver in my pants, trying not to be too obvious.

"You looking for this?" She questions, letting go of the gun with one hand, pulling my revolver from her pocket.

I smile. "You are one damn stubborn, impressive little girly, you know that?" I laugh, suddenly my next thought kicks in,"is that even loaded."

"Want to test it?"

She's dead fuckin' serious and I am loving it. The moment I met this woman I knew there was more to the quiet, detached little girl act she played. She is not a true Human anymore, not since her time out here. Just like every other man and woman out there, or at least most of them, there was an innate inner darkness inside her and she finally managed to find it out here. And now, now I'm finally seeing her embrace it all. And now I know. I'm seeing the true Neona Taft. And I am superbly impressed by her. Everything I said about her was right. Everything she's done has only proved it. And now she's only gonna finish her job. And kill me next. Try and end me before I can end her little friend out there. Me. She's willing to kill Quail, Jace, Annabella...and now me...just to protect her wolf. Just to keep an animal alive. An animal that's killed five people. And that just doesn't sit well with me. But, I guess I know when I'm beat. My only chance lies with her not just shooting me dead right here, right now. And for once I look to be in luck, this seems to not be the case.

"Well," I laugh again, "bravo Miss Taft. Bravo. I am superbly impressed," I tell her, "you managed to get me. And I'd assume you killed Annabella last night too, huh?"

She doesn't say anything. She just tightens that ironclad steady grip on her rifle. And narrows her eyes. She reaches her one bad leg back and kicks a scarf forward at me through the snow. I lean over to reach out and grab it and take a look. It's Annabella's for sure, I can tell by the ornate Inuit sky and all of the animals sewn into the design. It's splattered with her blood, all over it. I smile and then laugh before the tears come. And I hold it closer to me. And then I look up at her and take my fuckin' hat off.