AncilChapter 20: A Hopeful Promise
“Who’s there?” I asked as I dangled from the tree.
“It doesn’t matter. If I was a jumbie you would be dead by now,” the voice said. “They set traps very similar to this I heard. Sometimes even better and more deadly. You just clip to the tech to a tree and you have an instant trap.”
“Megan?” I started as I recognized the voice.
“You know I had a feeling it was you following us. I just had a feeling it was you.”
“What gave me away?” I asked while still dangling from the tree, my right foot feeling bloated as though ready to explode.
“The better question is what didn’t give you away,” Megan said before cutting me down from the tree and helping me up. I could hardly stand because my right foot was clearly injured as it hurt every time I stepped on it.
“Was I that obvious?”
“Kind of. I spotted you back at the grocery store when you were pulling food off the shelf like a madman clearly without any intention of being QUIET.”
“What? Really?” I said in surprise.
“Yep. My father sent me and Rajiv to look for you after you got reported being seen in Arima. We were searching the entire city for you the whole morning. It was kind of like my punishment for opposing him in Sando,” Megan said. “We were about to go into the grocery when I spotted you pulling food stuff off the shelves. Luckily Rajiv, or Negue Jadin as he likes to be called, didn’t see you because you wouldn’t be here right now. I managed to convince him not to go to the grocery. So I basically saved your life…AGAIN! All the time I had to be steering him away.”
“That’s nice, but why search for me after leaving me alone on the ship?”
“Long story.”
“Well I have all the time in the world right now,” I said.
“Long story!”
A voice from a two way radio connected to Megan’s belt then said, “You eh come back yet? How long you go pee for?”
“I’m coming just now,” Megan responded with the two-way radio then told me that she had to go and started running off
“Wait!” I shouted. “Where are you going?”
“That’s not important,” she said as she moved deeper into the bushes
I followed her and kept urging her to stop but she kept shouting at me to stop following her. She eventually turned around when she found that I wasn’t listening and slapped me across the face.
“What the hell was that?” I asked with my hand over my jaw.
“I told you to stop following me. I’m risking my life right here with you. Just stop following me. We’ll come back for you if we could.”
“Who is we?” I asked.
“Just stay safe until we could come up with a plan,” she responded without bothering to answer the question. She then walked closer to me handed me her gun then said warmly, “Don’t make this harder than it already is Jed. Use this gun to defend yourself. It have different levels of power on it based on how hard you squeeze the trigger so don’t squeeze it too hard. And don’t engage a jumbie unless you make eye contact with it. If you don’t make eye contact with it then it won’t attack you. Jumbies attack based on fear and they could tell that you’re afraid through your eyes or through rash body language like running. Keep your eyes to yourself, stay calm and you’ll be okay. They usually only come out in the night but they could still come out during the day if necessary. But whatever you do, don’t make a scene because if these jumbies report you again the Midnight Robber WILL come for you and I don’t think he’ll be very merciful the second time around.” There was some seriousness in her voice. “Right now he knows that you are in Arima so he would have his men scoping out this area so it’s either you go to a new city or find a good place to hide here and make him think that you’re dead. It doesn’t seem like he likes living humans around unless they are working for him. Just don’t make him find you and don’t give away your location. You already caused enough trouble as is. Your best bet to survive now is just to stay out of trouble.”
“Staying out of trouble in a town filled with jumbies is much easier said than done.”
