Vicious Memories

Chapter 41

It was supposed to be a fun excursion.

We reached the lake in a flurry of anticipation, mid-morning sunlight breaking through the previous day's clouds to bathe our skin in waves of heat. I was sweating already, but that was okay.

I'd been roped into the group because they needed another guard. Gabriel didn't want us leaving in the first place - he thought it was too dangerous, and part of me agreed with him. But a few of the villagers were insistent. Bev agreed we needed the R&R for our mental well-being. Gabriel insisted that at least five guards join the group.

We went in a pack - Bev, Neema, Cooper, Shana, Tana, Felix, Alice, me, and eight others.

I couldn't keep beating my head against a rock. If I wanted to catch whoever had murdered Jessica and Sirus, I had to look at things from a different perspective.

I caught up to Felix just before we reached the lake.

"Last night," I said quietly, "I went walking and saw Bev wandering around. Does she usually go for walks in the middle of the night?"

He regarded me curiously for a moment, as if to see whether I was being serious or not. "Sure she does," he said eventually. "Some of the others do as well. Clarke and Braxton, to name two. Helps clear the mind."

"Right. That's what she said. Do you go for nighttime walks, too?"

"Me? No. I prefer my sleep. Too much walking around at night would keep me from being able to get everything done when the sun is actually up."

He patted me on the back with one of his large hands, causing me to stumble a step.

"Thanks."

We passed through Atlantis and the split in the river. Twenty minutes of hiking past the fork brought us to our destination, and like so many things in this jungle, it was on top of us before we even realized it.

The curtain of jungle ended twenty yards from a lake the size of a city block. I stopped walking.

"Holy shit."

"Told you it was worth it," Bev said, elbowing me lightly. She continued ahead with the others.

I would have traded anything for a camera at that moment, for something that could capture even a fraction of the scene before me.

Gold sunlight flooded a watery paradise. Brown tree trunks and rich green leaves circled a thin grass ribbon of land fronting the clearest water I had ever seen. Dirt, rocks, and fish were easily visible through the crystal surface, which lapped at the muddy shore with tiny waves. On the far side of the lake a waterfall fell forty yards down a moss-covered cliff face to beat against the rippling water. The force of the impact sent up a fine mist that I could feel on my skin even from the outer edge of the clearing. I took a second to breath and the smell of freshwater and flowers whispered that here, in this space, life grew unchecked.

When I finally stepped forward I realized that the rest of the group was staring at me, silly smiles on all of their faces.

"Wow," I said.

"We usually come here every week," Neema told me. "In the past it's been with the entire village, leaving a few guards behind to look after things. I didn't think we'd get to come back for a long time, what with... well, everything going on, and all."

I set my pack down with the others, unable to stop looking around. "This is incredible."

"It is. And you shouldn't just stand there gawking," Tana said, peeling her shirt off to reveal an expanse of firm tan skin and a red swimsuit top. "It's hot as hell, and the water is always perfect." She started to slip out of her shorts, several others already wading into the shallows.