AncilMy heart stopped. I smelt under my arm just to make sure that my smell didn’t actually give away my position. It was definitely possible.
“Let’s just go back to the ship before we end up getting there late. If he was here I sure we would have seen him by now,” Megan said.
I heard more talking but it seemed to be getting a lot fainter. I slowly peeked outside from the dumpster and saw them walking away. Rajiv was completely bareback and he wore tight fitting khaki breeches that reached to just above his knees where willows hung. Megan was in an all-black suit that seemed to be the exact same uniform that she had on when I last saw her the night before. I was relieved to know that she was alright but I was also confused about the fact that she was with Rajiv and they were looking for me. I also couldn’t help but ponder on the whereabouts of the others and if they were even alive. Sam, Melanie, Ravi, Cornell and Marsha all went missing yesterday and I had no idea where they went. But I had seen Megan and Rajiv and I was convinced that they had an idea of where the others were so I quietly crept out of the dumpster and followed after them.
They walked through the empty town in between the abandoned cars and I keenly followed them hiding behind abandoned vehicles, fruit stalls and buildings. They didn’t seem to have a clue that I was following them but Megan turned around a couple times suspiciously looking for something. I highly doubted that she suspected me because I was clearly out of sight. I followed them out of the town and into the forests. The further they got into the forest the harder it was for me to keep track of them and the muddier my feet became. I tried my best to keep them in sight but they eventually got lost among the tall dense evergreen trees and grass. I wasn’t sure if I should keep going or head back. Head back to where? There wasn’t anywhere or anyone to head back to. Maybe going forward was the best option for me especially after what happened to me last night in the town with the jumbies. I assumed that if jumbies were around here I would have seen or heard them already.
The mud felt gooey beneath my bare feet and the leaves felt cold against my skin but I diligently moved forward in hopes of spotting Megan and Rajiv, using the thick bark of the trees as support from the unstable and muddy forest floor.
While walking I noticed a power gun on the ground, just lying there for no apparent reason. It was too big a break to let slide. If the gun was loaded it would definitely be useful in my plight especially since the weapon was powerful enough to incinerate titanium into dust. The damage it could do to a jumbie was immeasurable so without hesitation, in a rush of blood, I walked over to it to pick it up but my luck was about to run out. I felt a force grapple my right shin and pull it viciously upward, until I hung upside down from a tree by one leg about a foot from the forest floor. The sudden rush of blood to my head caused my vision to spin and the intense pressure of the rope pulling on my shin caused me to bellow out in pain. My right foot felt numb and if I hadn’t still been able to move my toes I would have jumped to the conclusion that it was dislocated from the abrupt yank.
While I was dealing with the pain of hanging upside from the tree I heard a voice say, “Has your roof fallen off yet?”
