Page 20 of Blue Arrow Island
Listlessly, I part my lips. Mari gently tips the canteen to my mouth, lukewarm water flowing out of it. It feels good on my throat. The dribble that runs down my chin and neck grounds me.
Marcelle’s room. A torch. And a threat about being a “baby killer.”
How did I live through that? I didn’t think there was a chance. I turn my mouth away from the canteen and look to the side, expecting Marcelle and her friends to be standing there.
I cry out in pain from the movement. Everything hurts. I’ve had broken ribs enough times to know what it feels like. One of my eyes is so swollen I can only partially see out of it.
“I need to know who did this to you,” Pax says. “Was it Marcelle?”
Somewhere on the edges of my consciousness, I’m slightly offended. He thinks one woman could do this to me and I wouldn’t fight back at all? People were holding me down. I didn’t get in a single hit or kick. They planned to do this to me, and they executed their plan well.
“You can just nod. It’s not a big mystery—you were found unconscious in her room and she has scratch marks on her face.”
That bitch spat on me. She didn’t even have the guts to fight me one on one. When I’m able to stay awake, I’m going to be more pissed off about it. For now, it’s just not important.
When he sees I’m not going to respond, Pax sighs, aggravated. “We can talk about that later. For now, you need to eat this.” He holds something in front of my mouth.
I waver, sleep lulling me like a siren song I can’t resist.
“Fucking eat it!” he commands. “You’re not dying, do you hear me? Whoever did this to you violated the rules and they’ll pay for it. Open your mouth and eat three bites of food and then you can sleep.”
My eyes focus on him. Why does he care so much whether I live or die? And more importantly, why don’t I seem to care?
Three bites. Maybe I can do it.
He nudges my lips open and puts something sweet in my mouth. Sluggishly, I mash it with my teeth.
Banana. At least it’s not a piece of hairy rat tail.
I was tough before I got here. Now I’m a victim, lying down and letting Marcelle try to kill me. What happened to me? I was asleep in the open, the easiest of targets.
“These two will be harder to chew, but they’re important.” Pax’s arm is warm and strong on my back. “You have to chew these or you’ll choke. It’s fish. Okay?”
I think I nod. He pushes one into my mouth, the fishy, smoky taste making me frown.
“There you go.” His voice encourages me. “One more bite, a little more water, and you can go back to sleep. I’ll be right here guarding you.”
I’m going to be late for work. Billy won’t let me eat for three days. I want to tell Pax, but I can’t get my mouth to make words. He puts another bite of fish in my mouth and I slowly work it with my teeth until I can swallow it.
The woman, Mari, tips the canteen to my mouth again and I take a long drink. She removes it.
“Can you do a little bit more?” she asks.
Not waiting for my answer, she returns the canteen spout to my lips. I take two lazy swallows before my head slumps to the side.
“Okay, back to sleep,” Pax says. “That was good, Briar.”
My pained cry as he helps me lie back is raspy. I have questions. It’s not safe to sleep. I can’t fight it, though. My body slides back into blissful unawareness.
“How much blood has he lost?”
“I don’t know...a lot.”
“Oh shit. What happened?”
I don’t recognize the first two voices, but I think the third one is Pax’s.
“Fucking jaguar got him,” a woman says, her voice steely with anger.
